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The History of Herodotus: Page 16
Volume One - Book III
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BOOK III
THE THIRD BOOK OF THE HISTORIES, CALLED THALEIA
1. Against this Amasis then Cambyses the son of Cyrus was making his
march, taking with him not only other nations of which he was ruler,
but also Hellenes, both Ionians and Aiolians:[1] and the cause of the
expedition was as follows:--Cambyses sent an envoy to Egypt and asked
Amasis to give him his daughter; and he made the request by counsel of
an Egyptian, who brought this upon Amasis[2] having a quarrel with him
for the following reason:--at the time when Cyrus sent to Amasis and
asked him for a physician of the eyes, whosoever was the best of those
in Egypt, Amasis had selected him from all the physicians in Egypt and
had torn him away from his wife and children and delivered him up to
Persia. Having, I say, this cause of quarrel, the Egyptian urged
Cambyses on by his counsel bidding him ask Amasis for his daughter, in
order that he might either be grieved if he gave her, or if he refused
to give her, might offend Cambyses. So Amasis, who was vexed by the
power of the Persians and afraid of it, knew neither how to give nor
how to refuse: for he was well assured that Cambyses did not intend to
have her as his wife but as a concubine. So making account of the
matter thus, he did as follows:--there was a daughter of Apries the
former king, very tall and comely of form and the only person left of
his house, and her name was Nitetis. This girl Amasis adorned with
raiment and with gold, and sent her away to Persia as his own
daughter: but after a time, when Cambyses saluted her calling her by
the name of her father, the girl said to him: "O king, thou dost not
perceive how thou hast been deceived by Amasis; for he adorned me with
ornaments and sent me away giving me to thee as his own daughter,
whereas in truth I am the daughter of Apries against whom Amasis rose
up with the Egyptians and murdered him, who was his lord and master."
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These words uttered and this occasion having arisen, led Cambyses
the son of Cyrus against Egypt, moved to very great anger.
2. Such is the
report made by the Persians; but as for the Egyptians they claim
Cambyses as one of themselves, saying that he was born of this very
daughter of Apries; for they say that Cyrus was he who sent to Amasis
for his daughter, and not Cambyses. In saying this however they say
not rightly; nor can they have failed to observe (for the Egyptians
fully as well as any other people are acquainted with the laws and
customs of the Persians), first that it is not customary among them
for a bastard to become king, when there is a son born of a true
marriage, and secondly that Cambyses was the son of Cassandane the
daughter of Pharnaspes, a man of the Achaimenid family, and not the
son of the Egyptian woman: but they pervert the truth of history,
claiming to be kindred with the house of Cyrus. Thus it is with these
matters; 3, and the following story is also told, which for my part I
do not believe, namely that one of the Persian women came in to the
wives of Cyrus, and when she saw standing by the side of Cassandane
children comely of form and tall, she was loud in her praises of them,
expressing great admiration; and Cassandane, who was the wife of
Cyrus, spoke as follows: "Nevertheless, though I am the mother of such
children of these, Cyrus treats me with dishonour and holds in honour
her whom he has brought in from Egypt." Thus she spoke, they say,
being vexed by Nitetis, and upon that Cambyses the elder of her sons
said: "For this cause, mother, when I am grown to be a man, I will
make that which is above in Egypt to be below, and that which is below
above." This he is reported to have said when he was perhaps about ten
years old, and the women were astonished by it: and he, they say, kept
it ever in mind, and so at last when he had become a man and had
obtained the royal power, he made the expedition against Egypt.
4. Another thing also contributed to this expedition, which was as
follows:--There was among the foreign mercenaries[3] of Amasis a man
who was by race of Halicarnassos, and his name was Phanes, one who was
both capable in judgment and valiant in that which pertained to war.
This Phanes, having (as we may suppose) some quarrel with Amasis, fled
away from Egypt in a ship, desiring to come to speech with Cambyses:
and as he was of no small repute among the mercenaries and was very
closely acquainted with all the affairs of Egypt, Amasis pursued him
and considered it a matter of some moment to capture him: and he
pursued by sending after him the most trusted of his eunuchs with a
trireme, who captured him in Lykia; but having captured him he did not
bring him back to Egypt, since Phanes got the better of him by
cunning; for he made his guards drunk and escaped to Persia. So when
Cambyses had made his resolve to march upon Egypt, and was in
difficulty about the march, as to how he should get safely through the
waterless region, this man came to him and besides informing of the
other matters of Amasis, he instructed him also as to the march,
advising him to send to the king of the Arabians and ask that he would
give him safety of passage through this region.
5. Now by this way
only is there a known entrance to Egypt: for from Phenicia to the
borders of the city of Cadytis belongs to the Syrians[4] who are
called of Palestine, and from Cadytis, which is a city I suppose not
much less than Sardis, from this city the trading stations on the sea-
coast as far as the city of Ienysos belong to the king of Arabia, and
then from Ienysos again the country belongs to the Syrians as far as
the Serbonian lake, along the side of which Mount Casion extends
towards the Sea. After that, from the Serbonian lake, in which the
story goes that Typhon is concealed, from this point onwards the land
is Egypt. Now the region which lies between the city of Ienysos on the
one hand and Mount Casion and the Serbonian lake on the other, which
is of no small extent but as much as a three days' journey, is
grievously destitute of water.
6. And one thing I shall tell of, which
few of those who go in ships to Egypt have observed, and it is this:--
into Egypt from all parts of Hellas and also from Phenicia are brought
twice every year earthenware jars full of wine, and yet it may almost
be said that you cannot see there one single empty[5] wine-jar. In
what manner, then, it will be asked, are they used up? This also I
will tell. The head-man[6] of each place must collect all the
earthenware jars from his own town and convey them to Memphis, and
those at Memphis must fill them with water and convey them to these
same waterless regions of Syria: this the jars which come regularly to
Egypt and are emptied[7] there, are carried to Syria to be added to
that which has come before. [7] It was the Persians who thus prepared
this approach to Egypt, furnishing it with water in the manner which
has been said, from the time when they first took possession of Egypt:
but at the time of which I speak, seeing that water was not yet
provided, Cambyses, in accordance with what he was told by his
Halicarnassian guest, sent envoys to the Arabian king and from him
asked and obtained the safe passage, having given him pledges of
friendship and received them from him in return.
8. Now the Arabians
have respect for pledges of friendship as much as those men in all the
world who regard them most; and they give them in the following
manner:--A man different from those who desire to give the pledges to
one another, standing in the midst between the two, cuts with a sharp
stone the inner parts of the hands, along by the thumbs, of those who
are giving the pledges to one another, and then he takes a thread from
the cloak of each one and smears with the blood seven stones laid in
the midst between them; and as he does this he calls upon Dionysos and
Urania. When the man has completed these ceremonies, he who has given
the pledges commends to the care of his friends the stranger (or the
fellow-tribesman, if he is giving the pledges to one who is a member
of his tribe), and the friends think it right that they also should
have regard for the pledges given. Of gods they believe in Dionysos
and Urania alone: moreover they say that the cutting of their hair is
done after the same fashion as that of Dionysos himself; and they cut
their hair in a circle round, shaving away the hair of the temples.
Now they call Dionysos Orotalt[8] and Urania they call Alilat.
9. So then when the Arabian king had given the pledge of friendship to
the men who had come to him from Cambyses, he contrived as follows:--
he took skins of camels and filled them with water and loaded them
upon the backs of all the living camels that he had; and having so
done he drove them to the waterless region and there awaited the army
of Cambyses. This which has been related is the more credible of the
accounts given, but the less credible must also be related, since it
is a current account. There is a great river in Arabia called Corys,
and this runs out into the Sea which is called Erythraian. From this
river then it is said that the king of the Arabians, having got a
conduit pipe made by sewing together raw ox-hides and other skins, of
such a length as to reach to the waterless region, conducted the water
through these forsooth,[9] and had great cisterns dug in the waterless
region, that they might receive the water and preserve it. Now it is a
journey of twelve days from the river to this waterless region; and
moreover the story says that he conducted the water by three[10]
conduit-pipes to three different parts of it.
10. Meanwhile Psammenitos the son of Amasis was encamped at the
Pelusian mouth of the Nile waiting for the coming of Cambyses: for
Cambyses did not find Amasis yet living when he marched upon Egypt,
but Amasis had died after having reigned forty and four years during
which no great misfortune had befallen him: and when he had died and
had been embalmed he was buried in the burial-place in the temple,
which he had built for himself.[11] Now when Psammenitos son of Amasis
was reigning as king, there happened to the Egyptians a prodigy, the
greatest that had ever happened: for rain fell at Thebes in Egypt,
where never before had rain fallen nor afterwards down to my time, as
the Thebans themselves say; for in the upper parts of Egypt no rain
falls at all: but at the time of which I speak rain fell at Thebes in
a drizzling shower.[12]
11. Now when the Persians had marched quite
through the waterless region and were encamped near the Egyptians with
design to engage battle, then the foreign mercenaries of the Egyptian
king, who were Hellenes and Carians, having a quarrel with Phanes
because he had brought against Egypt an army of foreign speech,
contrived against him as follows:--Phanes had children whom he had
left behind in Egypt: these they brought to their camp and into the
sight of their father, and they set up a mixing-bowl between the two
camps, and after that they brought up the children one by one and cut
their throats so that the blood ran into the bowl. Then when they had
gone through the whole number of the children, they brought and poured
into the bowl both wine and water, and not until the mercenaries had
all drunk of the blood, did they engage battle. Then after a battle
had been fought with great stubbornness, and very many had fallen of
both the armies, the Egyptians at length turned to flight.
12. I was witness moreover of a great marvel, being informed of it by
the natives of the place; for of the bones scattered about of those
who fell in this fight, each side separately, since the bones of the
Persians were lying apart on one side according as they were divided
at first, and those of the Egyptians on the other, the skulls of the
Persians are so weak that if you shall hit them only with a pebble you
will make a hole in them, while those of the Egyptians are so
exceedingly strong that you would hardly break them if you struck them
with a large stone. The cause of it, they say, was this, and I for my
part readily believe them, namely that the Egyptians beginning from
their early childhood shave their heads, and the bone is thickened by
exposure to the sun: and this is also the cause of their not becoming
bald-headed; for among the Egyptians you see fewer bald-headed men
than among any other race. This then is the reason why these have
their skulls strong; and the reason why the Persians have theirs weak
is that they keep them delicately in the shade from the first by
wearing /tiaras/, that is felt caps. So far of this: and I saw also a
similar thing to this at Papremis, in the case of those who were slain
together with Achaimenes the son of Dareios, by Inaros the Libyan.
13. The Egyptians when they turned to flight from the battle fled in
disorder: and they being shut up in Memphis, Cambyses sent a ship of Mytilene up the river bearing a Persian herald, to summon the
Egyptians to make terms of surrender; but they, when they saw the ship
had entered into Memphis, pouring forth in a body from the
fortress[13] both destroyed the ship and also tore the men in it limb
from limb, and so bore them into the fortress. After this the
Egyptians being besieged, in course of time surrendered themselves;
and the Libyans who dwell on the borders of Egypt, being struck with
terror by that which had happened to Egypt, delivered themselves up
without resistance, and they both laid on themselves a tribute and
sent presents: likewise also those of Kyrene and Barca, being struck
with terror equally with[14] the Libyans, acted in a similar manner:
and Cambyses accepted graciously the gifts which came from the
Libyans, but as for those which came from the men of Kyrene, finding
fault with them, as I suppose, because they were too small in amount
(for the Kyrenians sent in fact five hundred pounds' weight[15] of
silver), he took the silver by handfuls and scattered it with his own
hand among his soldiers.
14. On the tenth day after that on which he received the surrender of
the fortress of Memphis, Cambyses set the king of the Egyptians Psammenitos, who had been king for six months, to sit in the suburb of
the city, to do him dishonour,--him I say with other Egyptians he set
there, and he proceeded to make trial of his spirit as follows:--
having arrayed his daughter in the clothing of a slave, he sent her
forth with a pitcher to fetch water, and with her he sent also other
maidens chosen from the daughters of the chief men, arrayed as was the
daughter of the king: and as the maidens were passing by their fathers
with cries and lamentation, the other men all began to cry out and
lament aloud,[16] seeing that their children had been evilly
entreated, but Psammenitos when he saw it before his eyes and
perceived it bent himself down to the earth. Then when the water-
bearers had passed by, next Cambyses sent his son with two thousand
Egyptians besides who were of the same age, with ropes bound round
their necks and bits placed in their mouths; and these were being led
away to execution to avenge the death of the Mytilenians who had been
destroyed at Memphis with their ship: for the Royal Judges[17] had
decided that for each man ten of the noblest Egyptians should lose
their lives in retaliation. He then, when he saw them passing out by
him and perceived that his son was leading the way[18] to die, did the
same as he had done with respect to his daughter, while the other
Egyptians who sat round him were lamenting and showing signs of grief.
When these also had passed by, it chanced that a man of his table
companions, advanced in years, who had been deprived of all his
possessions and had nothing except such things as a beggar possesses,
and was asking alms from the soldiers, passed by Psammenitos the son
of Amasis and the Egyptians who were sitting in the suburb of the
city: and when Psammenitos saw him he uttered a great cry of
lamentation, and he called his companion by name and beat himself upon
the head. Now there was, it seems, men set to watch him, who made
known to Cambyses all that he did on the occasion of each going forth:
and Cambyses marvelled at that which he did, and he sent a messenger
and asked him thus: "Psammenitos, thy master Cambyses asks thee for
what reason, when thou sawest thy daughter evilly entreated and thy
son going to death, thou didst not cry aloud nor lament for them,
whereas thou didst honour with these signs of grief the beggar who, as
he hears from others, is not in any way related to thee?" Thus he
asked, and the other answered as follows: "O son of Cyrus, my own
troubles were too great for me to lament them aloud, but the trouble
of my companion was such as called for tears, seeing that he has been
deprived of great wealth, and has come to beggary upon the threshold
of old age." When this saying was reported by the messenger, it seemed
to them[19] that it was well spoken; and, as is reported by the
Egyptians, Crœsus shed tears (for he also, as fortune would have it,
had accompanied Cambyses to Egypt) and the Persians who were present
shed tears also; and there entered some pity into Cambyses himself,
and forthwith he bade them save the life of the son of Psammenitos
from among those who were being put to death, and also he bade them
raise Psammenitos himself from his place in the suburb of the city and
bring him into his own presence.
15. As for the son, those who went
for him found that he was no longer alive, but had been cut down first
of all, but Psammenitos himself they raised from his place and brought
him into the presence of Cambyses, with whom he continued to live for
the rest of his time without suffering any violence; and if he had
known how to keep himself from meddling with mischief, he would have
received Egypt so as to be ruler of it, since the Persians are wont to
honour the sons of kings, and even if the kings have revolted from
them, they give back the power into the hands of their sons. Of this,
namely that it is their established rule to act so, one may judge by
many instances besides and especially[20] by the case of Thannyras the
son of Inaros, who received back the power which his father had, and
by that of Pausiris the son of Amyrtaios, for he too received back the
power of his father: yet it is certain that no men ever up to this
time did more evil to the Persians than Inaros and Amyrtaios. As it
was, however, Psammenitos devised evil and received the due reward:
for he was found to be inciting the Egyptians to revolt; and when this
became known to Cambyses, Psammenitos drank bull's blood and died
forthwith. Thus he came to his end.
16. From Memphis Cambyses came to the city of Saïs with the purpose of
doing that which in fact he did: for when he had entered into the
palace of Amasis, he forthwith gave command to bring the corpse of
Amasis forth out of his burial-place; and when this had been
accomplished, he gave command to scourge it and pluck out the hair and
stab it, and to do to it dishonour in every possible way besides: and
when they had done this too until they were wearied out, for the
corpse being embalmed held out against the violence and did not fall
to pieces in any part, Cambyses gave command to consume it with fire,
enjoining thereby a thing which was not permitted by religion: for the
Persians hold fire to be a god. To consume corpses with fire then is
by no means according to the custom of either people, of the Persians
for the reason which has been mentioned, since they say that it is not
right to give the dead body of a man to a god; while the Egyptians
have the belief established that fire is a living wild beast, and that
it devours everything which it catches, and when it is satiated with
the food it dies itself together with that which it devours: but it is
by no means their custom to give the corpse of a man to wild beasts,
for which reason they embalm it, that it may not be eaten by worms as
it lies in the tomb. Thus then Cambyses was enjoining them to do that
which is not permitted by the customs of either people. However, the
Egyptians say that it was not Amasis who suffered this outrage, but
another of the Egyptians who was of the same stature of body as
Amasis; and that to him the Persians did outrage, thinking that they
were doing it to Amasis: for they say that Amasis learnt from an
Oracle that which was about to happen with regard to himself after his
death; and accordingly, to avert the evil which threatened to come
upon him, he buried the dead body of this man who was scourged within
his own sepulchral chamber near the doors, and enjoined his son to lay
his own body as much as possible in the inner recess of the chamber.
These injunctions, said to have been given by Amasis with regard to
his burial and with regard to the man mentioned, were not in my
opinion really given at all, but I think that the Egyptians make
pretence of it from pride and with no good ground.
17. After this Cambyses planned three several expeditions, one against
the Carthaginians, another against the Ammonians, and a third against
the "Long-lived" Ethiopians, who dwell in that part of Libya which is
by the Southern Sea: and in forming these designs he resolved to send
his naval force against the Carthaginians, and a body chosen from his
land-army against the Ammonians; and to the Ethiopians to send spies
first, both to see whether the table of the Sun existed really, which
is said to exist among these Ethiopians, and in addition to this to
spy out all else, but pretending to be bearers of gifts for their
king.
18. Now the table of the Sun is said to be as follows:--there is
a meadow in the suburb of their city full of flesh-meat boiled of all
four-footed creatures; and in this, it is said, those of the citizens
who are in authority at the time place the flesh by night, managing
the matter carefully, and by day any man who wishes comes there and
feasts himself; and the natives (it is reported) say that the earth of
herself produces these things continually.
19. Of such nature is the
so-called table of the Sun said to be. So when Cambyses had resolved
to send the spies, forthwith he sent for those men of the Ichthyophagoi who understood the Ethiopian tongue, to come from the
city of Elephantine: and while they were going to fetch these men, he
gave command to the fleet to sail against Carthage: but the Phenicians
said that they would not do so, for they were bound not to do so by
solemn vows, and they would not be acting piously if they made
expedition against their own sons: and as the Phenicians were not
willing, the rest were rendered unequal to the attempt. Thus then the
Carthaginians escaped being enslaved by the Persians; for Cambyses did
not think it right to apply force to compel the Phenicians, both
because they had delivered themselves over to the Persians of their
own accord and because the whole naval force was dependent upon the
Phenicians. Now the men of Cyprus also had delivered themselves over
to the Persians, and were joining in the expedition against Egypt.
20. Then as soon as the Ichthyophagoi came to Cambyses from
Elephantine, he sent them to the Ethiopians, enjoining them what they
should say and giving them gifts to bear with them, that is to say a
purple garment, and a collar of twisted gold with bracelets, and an
alabaster box of perfumed ointment, and a jar of palm-wine. Now these
Ethiopians to whom Cambyses was sending are said to be the tallest and
the most beautiful of all men; and besides other customs which they
are reported to have different from other men, there is especially
this, it is said, with regard to their regal power,--whomsoever of the
men of their nation they judge to be the tallest and to have strength
in proportion to his stature, this man they appoint to reign over
them.
21. So when the Ichthyophagoi had come to this people they
presented their gifts to the king who ruled over them, and at the same
time they said as follows: "The king of the Persians Cambyses,
desiring to become a friend and guest to thee, sent us with command to
come to speech with thee, and he gives thee for gifts these things
which he himself most delights to use." The Ethiopian however,
perceiving that they had come as spies, spoke to them as follows:
"Neither did the king of the Persians send you bearing gifts because
he thought it a matter of great moment to become my guest-friend, nor
do ye speak true things (for ye have come as spies of my kingdom), nor
again is he a righteous man; for if he had been righteous he would not
have coveted a land other than his own, nor would he be leading away
into slavery men at whose hands he has received no wrong. Now however
give him this bow and speak to him these words: The king of the
Ethiopians gives this counsel to the king of the Persians, that when
the Persians draw their bows (of equal size to mine) as easily as I do
this, then he should march against the Long-lived Ethiopians, provided
that he be superior in numbers; but until that time he should feel
gratitude to the gods that they do not put it into the mind of the
sons of the Ethiopians to acquire another land in addition to their
own."
22. Having thus said and having unbent the bow, he delivered it
to those who had come. Then he took the garment of purple and asked
what it was and how it had been made: and when the Ichthyophagoi had
told him the truth about the purple-fish and the dyeing of the tissue,
he said that the men were deceitful and deceitful also were their
garments. Then secondly he asked concerning the twisted gold of the
collar and the bracelets; and when the Ichthyophagoi were setting
forth to him the manner in which it was fashioned, the king broke into
a laugh and said, supposing them to be fetters, that they had stronger
fetters than those in their country. Thirdly he asked about the
perfumed ointment, and when they had told him of the manner of its
making and of the anointing with it, he said the same as he had said
before about the garment. Then when he came to the wine, and had
learned about the manner of its making, being exceedingly delighted
with the taste of the drink he asked besides what food the king ate,
and what was the longest time that a Persian man lived. They told him
that he ate bread, explaining to him first the manner of growing the
wheat, and they said that eighty years was the longest term of life
appointed for a Persian man. In answer to this the Ethiopian said that
he did not wonder that they lived but a few years, when they fed upon
dung; for indeed they would not be able to live even so many years as
this, if they did not renew their vigour with the drink, indicating to
the Ichthyophagoi the wine; for in regard to this, he said, his people
were much behind the Persians.
23. Then when the Ichthyophagoi asked
the king in return about the length of days and the manner of life of
his people, he answered that the greater number of them reached the
age of a hundred and twenty years, and some surpassed even this; and
their food was boiled flesh and their drink was milk. And when the
spies marvelled at the number of years, he conducted them to a certain
spring, in the water of which they washed and became more sleek of
skin, as if it were a spring of oil; and from it there came a scent as
it were of violets: and the water of this spring, said the spies, was
so exceedingly weak that it was not possible for anything to float
upon it, either wood or any of those things which are lighter than
wood, but they all went to the bottom. If this water which they have
be really such as it is said to be, it would doubtless be the cause
why the people are long-lived, as making use of it for all the
purposes of life. Then when they departed from this spring, he led
them to a prison-house for men, and there all were bound in fetters of
gold. Now among these Ethiopians bronze is the rarest and most
precious of all things. Then when they had seen the prison-house they
saw also the so-called table of the Sun: 24, and after this they saw
last of all their receptacles of dead bodies, which are said to be
made of crystal in the following manner:--when they have dried the
corpse, whether it be after the Egyptian fashion or in some other way,
they cover it over completely with plaster[21] and then adorn it with
painting, making the figure as far as possible like the living man.
After this they put about it a block of crystal hollowed out; for this
they dig up in great quantity and it is very easy to work: and the
dead body being in the middle of the block is visible through it, but
produces no unpleasant smell nor any other effect which is unseemly,
and it has all its parts visible like the dead body itself. For a year
then they who are most nearly related to the man keep the block in
their house, giving to the dead man the first share of everything and
offering to him sacrifices: and after this period they carry it out
and set it up round about the city.
25. After they had seen all, the spies departed to go back; and when
they reported these things, forthwith Cambyses was enraged and
proceeded to march his army against the Ethiopians, not having ordered
any provision of food nor considered with himself that he was
intending to march an army to the furthest extremities of the earth;
but as one who is mad and not in his right senses, when he heard the
report of the Ichthyophagoi he began the march, ordering those of the
Hellenes who were present to remain behind in Egypt, and taking with
him his whole land force: and when in the course of his march he had
arrived at Thebes, he divided off about fifty thousand of his army,
and these he enjoined to make slaves of the Ammonians and to set fire
to the seat of the Oracle of Zeus, but he himself with the remainder
of his army went on against the Ethiopians. But before the army had
passed over the fifth part of the way, all that they had of provisions
came to an end completely; and then after the provisions the beasts of
burden also were eaten up and came to an end. Now if Cambyses when he
perceived this had changed his plan and led his army back, he would
have been a wise man in spite of[22] his first mistake; as it was,
however, he paid no regard, but went on forward without stopping. The
soldiers accordingly, so long as they were able to get anything from
the ground, prolonged their lives by eating grass; but when they came
to the sand, some did a fearful deed, that is to say, out of each
company of ten they selected by lot one of themselves and devoured
him: and Cambyses, when he heard it, being alarmed by this eating of
one another gave up the expedition against the Ethiopians and set
forth to go back again; and he arrived at Thebes having suffered loss
of a great number of his army. Then from Thebes he came down to
Memphis and allowed the Hellenes to sail away home.
26. Thus fared the expedition against the Ethiopians: and those of the
Persians who had been sent to march against the Ammonians set forth
from Thebes and went on their way with guides; and it is known that
they arrived at the city of Oasis, which is inhabited by Samians said
to be of the Aischrionian tribe, and is distant seven days' journey
from Thebes over sandy desert: now this place is called in the speech
of the Hellenes the "Isle of the Blessed." It is said that the army
reached this place, but from that point onwards, except the Ammonians
themselves and those who have heard the account from them, no man is
able to say anything about them; for they neither reached the
Ammonians nor returned back. This however is added to the story by the
Ammonians themselves:--they say that as the army was going from this
Oasis through the sandy desert to attack them, and had got to a point
about mid-way between them and the Oasis, while they were taking their
morning meal a violent South Wind blew upon them, and bearing with it
heaps of the desert sand it buried them under it, and so they
disappeared and were seen no more. Thus the Ammonians say that it came
to pass with regard to this army.
27. When Cambyses arrived at Memphis, Apis appeared to the Egyptians,
whom the Hellenes call Epaphos: and when he had appeared, forthwith
the Egyptians began to wear their fairest garments and to have
festivities. Cambyses accordingly seeing the Egyptians doing thus, and
supposing that they were certainly acting so by way of rejoicing
because he had fared ill, called for the officers who had charge of
Memphis; and when they had come into his presence, he asked them why
when he was at Memphis on the former occasion, the Egyptians were
doing nothing of this kind, but only now, when he came there after
losing a large part of his army. They said that a god had appeared to
them, who was wont to appear at intervals of long time, and that
whenever he appeared, then all the Egyptians rejoiced and kept
festival. Hearing this Cambyses said that they were lying, and as
liars he condemned them to death.
28. Having put these to death, next
he called the priests into his presence; and when the priests answered
him after the same manner, he said that it should not be without his
knowledge if a tame god had come to the Egyptians; and having so said
he bade the priests bring Apis away into his presence: so they went to
bring him. Now this Apis-Epaphos is a calf born of a cow who after
this is not permitted to conceive any other offspring; and the
Egyptians say that a flash of light comes down from heaven upon this
cow, and of this she produces Apis. This calf which is called Apis is
black and has the following signs, namely a white square[23] upon the
forehead, and on the back the likeness of an eagle, and in the tail
the hairs are double, and on[24] the tongue there is a mark like a
beetle.
29. When the priests had brought Apis, Cambyses being somewhat
affected with madness drew his dagger, and aiming at the belly of
Apis, struck his thigh: then he laughed and said to the priests: "O ye
wretched creatures, are gods born such as this, with blood and flesh,
and sensible of the stroke of iron weapons? Worthy indeed of Egyptians
is such a god as this. Ye however at least shall not escape without
punishment for making a mock of me." Having thus spoken he ordered
those whose duty it was to do such things, to scourge the priests
without mercy, and to put to death any one of the other Egyptians whom
they should find keeping the festival. Thus the festival of the
Egyptians had been brought to an end, and the priests were being
chastised, and Apis wounded by the stroke in his thigh lay dying in
the temple.
30. Him, when he had brought his life to an end by reason
of the wound, the priests buried without the knowledge of Cambyses:
but Cambyses, as the Egyptians say, immediately after this evil deed
became absolutely mad, not having been really in his right senses even
before that time: and the first of his evil deeds was that he put to
death his brother Smerdis, who was of the same father and the same
mother as himself. This brother he had sent away from Egypt to Persia
in envy, because alone of all the Persians he had been able to draw
the bow which the Ichthyophagoi brought from the Ethiopian king, to an
extent of about two finger-breadths; while of the other Persians not
one had proved able to do this. Then when Smerdis had gone away to
Persia, Cambyses saw a vision in his sleep of this kind:--it seemed to
him that a messenger came from Persia and reported that Smerdis
sitting upon the royal throne had touched the heaven with his head.
Fearing therefore with regard to this lest his brother might slay him
and reign in his stead, he sent Prexaspes to Persia, the man whom of
all the Persians he trusted most, with command to slay him. He
accordingly went up to Susa and slew Smerdis; and some say that he
took him out of the chase and so slew him, others that he brought him
to the Erythraian Sea and drowned him.
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