Cambyses II and Egypt

Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.

From Herodotus, translated by William Beloe, 1830.

I. Against this Amasis Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, led an army, composed as well of his other subjects, as of the Ionic and Æοlic Greeks. His inducements were these: by an ambassador whom he despatched for this purpose into Egypt, he demanded the daughter of Amasis, which he did at the suggestion of a certain Egyptian who had entertained an enmity against his master.

This man was a physician, and when Cyrus had once requested of Amasis the best medical advice which Egypt could afford for a disorder in his eyes, the king had forced him, in preference to all others, from his wife and family, and sent him into Persia. In revenge for which treatment this Egyptian instigated Cambyses to require the daughter of Amasis, that he might either suffer affliction from the loss of his child, or by refusing to send her, provoke the resentment of Cambyses.

Amasis both dreaded and detested the power of Persia, and was unwilling to accept, though fearful of refusing the overture. But he well knew that his daughter was meant to be not the wife but the concubine of Cambyses, and therefore he determined on this mode of conduct: Apries, the former king, had left an only daughter: her name was Nitetis, and she was possessed of much elegance and beauty.

The king, having decorated her with great splendor of dress, sent her into Persia as his own child. Not long after, when Cambyses occasionally addressed her as the daughter of Amasis,

'Sir,' said she, 'you are greatly mistaken, and Amasis has deceived you: he has adorned my person, and sent me to you as his daughter; but Apries was my father, whom he, with his other rebellious subjects, dethroned and put to death.'

This speech and this occasion immediately prompted Cambyses in great wrath, to commence hostilities against Egypt.—Such is the Persian account of the story.

II. The Egyptians claim Cambyses as their own, by asserting that this incident did not happen to him, but to Cyrus, from whom, and from this daughter of Apries, they say he was born.' This, however, is certainly not true.

The Egyptians are of all mankind the best conversant with the Persian manners, and they must have known that a natural child could never succeed to the throne of Persia whilst a legitimate one was alive.

And it was equally certain that Cambyses was not born of an Egyptian woman, but was the son of Cassaudane, the daughter of Pharnaspes, of the race of the Achaemenides. This story therefore was invented by the Egyptians, that they might from this pretence claim a connexion with the house of Cyrus.

III. Another story also is asserted, which to me seems improbable. They say that a Persian lady once visiting the wives of Cyrus, saw standing near their mother the children of Cassandane, whom she complimented in high terms on their superior excellence of form and person. 'Me,' replied Cassandane, 'who am the mother of these children, Cyrus neglects and despises; all his kindness is bestowed on this Egyptian female.'

This she said from resentment against Nitetis. They add that Cambyses, her eldest son, instantly exclaimed, 'Mother, as soon as I am a man I will effect the utter destruction of Egypt.'

These words, from a prince who was then only ten years of age, surprised and delighted the woman; and as soon as he became a man, and succeeded to the throne, he remembered the incident, and commenced hostilities against Egypt.

ΙV. He had another inducement to this undertaking. Among the auxiliaries of Amasis was a man named Phanes, a native of Halicarnassus, and greatly distinguished by his mental as well as military accomplishments. This person being, for I know not what reason, incensed against Amasis, fled in a vessel from Egypt to have a conference with Cambyses.

As he possessed great influence amongst the auxiliaries, and was perfectly acquainted with the affairs of Egypt, Amasis ordered him to be rigorously pursued, and for this purpose equipped, under the care of the most faithful of his eunuchs, a three-banked galley. The pursuit was successful, and Phanes was taken in Lydia; but he was not carried back to Egypt, for he circumvented his guards, and by making them drunk effected his escape. He fled instantly to Persia.

Cambyses was then meditating the expedition against Egypt, but was deterred by the difficulty of marching an army over the deserts, where so little water was to be procured. Phanes explained to the king all the concerns of Amasis; and to obviate the above difficulty, advised him to send and ask of the king of the Arabs a safe passage through his territories.

V. This is indeed the only avenue by which Egypt can possibly be entered. The whole country, from Phoenicia to Cadytis, a city which belongs to the Syrians of Palestine, and in my opinion equal to Sardis, together with all the commercial towns as far as Jenysus, belong to the Arabians.

This is also the case with that space of land which from the Syrian Jenysus extends to the lake of Serbonis, from the vicinity of which Mount Casius stretches to the sea. At this lake, where, as was reported, Typhon was concealed, Egypt commences. This tract, which comprehends the city Jenysus, Mount Casius, and the lake of Serbonis, is of no trifling extent; it is a three days journey over a very dry and parched desert.

VI. I shall now explain what is known to very few of those who travel into Egypt by sea. Twice in every year there are exported from different parts of Greece to Egypt, and from Phoenicia in particular, wine secured in earthen jars, not one of which jars is afterwards to be seen. I shall describe to what purpose they are applied: the principal magistrate of every town is obliged to collect all the earthen vessels imported to the place where he resides, and send them to Memphis. The Memphians fill them with water, and afterwards transport them to the Syrian deserts. Thus all the earthen vessels carried into Egypt, and there carefully collected, are continually added to those already in Syria.

VII. Such are the means which the Persians have constantly adopted to provide themselves with water in these deserts, from the time that they were first masters of Egypt. But as, at the time of which we speak, they had not this resource, Cambyses listened to the advice of his Halicarnassian guest, and solicited of the Arabian prince a safe passage through his territories; which was granted, after mutual promises of friendship.

VIII. These are the ceremonies which the Arabians observe when they make alliances, of which no people in the world are more tenacious. On these occasions some one connected with both parties stands betwixt them, and with a sharp stone opens a vein of the hand, near the middle finger, of those who are about to contract. He then takes a piece of the vest of each person, and dips it in their blood, with which he stains several stones purposely placed in the midst of the assembly, invoking during the process Bacchus and Urania.

When this is finished, he who solicits the compact to be made pledges his friends for the sincerity of his engagements to the stranger or citizen, or whoever it may happen to be; and all of them conceive an indispensable necessity to exist of performing what they promise. Bacchus and Urania are the only deities whom they venerate. They cut off their hair round their temples, from the supposition that Bacchus wore his in that form; him they call Urotalt; Urania, Alilat.

IX. When the Arabian prince had made an alliance with the messengers of Cambyses, he ordered all his camels to be laden with camel-skins filled with water, and to be driven to the deserts, there to wait the arrival of Cambyses and his army.

Of this incident the above seems to me the more probable narrative. There is also another, which however I may disbelieve, I think I ought not to omit. In Arabia is a large river called Corys, which loses itself in the Red Sea: from this river the Arabian is said to have formed a canal of the skins of oxen and other animals sewed together, which was continued to the above-mentioned deserts, where he also sunk a number of cisterns to receive the water so introduced. From the river to the desert is a journey of twelve days; and they say that the water was conducted by three distinct canals into as many different places.

X. At the Pelusian mouth of the Nile Psammenitus, the son of Amasis, was encamped, and expected Cambyses in arms. Amasis himself, after a reign of forty-four years, died before Cambyses had advanced to Egypt, and during the whole enjoyment of his power he experienced no extraordinary calamity. At his death his body was embalmed, and deposited in a sepulchre which he had erected for himself in the temple of Minerva. During the reign of his son Psammenitus Egypt beheld a most remarkable prodigy; there was rain at the Egyptian Thebes, a circumstance which never happened before, and which, as the Thebans themselves assert, has never occurred since. In the higher parts of Egypt it never rains, but at that period we read it rained at Thebes in distinct drops.

XI. The Persians having passed the deserts, fixed their camp opposite to the Egyptians, as with the design of offering them battle. The Greeks and Carians, who were the confederates of the Egyptians, to show their resentment against Phanes, for introducing a foreign army against Egypt, adopted this expedient: his sons, whom he had left behind, they brought into the camp, and in a conspicuous place, in the sight of their father, they put them one by one to death on a vessel brought thither for that purpose. When they had done this, they filled the vase which had received the blood with wine and water; having drank which, all the auxiliaries immediately engaged the enemy. The battle was obstinately disputed; but after considerable loss on both sides, the Egyptians fled.

XII. By the people inhabiting the place where this battle was fought a very surprising thing was pointed out to my attention. The bones of those who fell in the engagement were soon afterwards collected, and separated into two distinct heaps. It was observed of the Persians, that their heads were so extremely soft as to yield to the slight impression even of a pebble; those of the Egyptians, on the contrary, were so firm, that the blow of a large stone could hardly break them.

The reason which they gave for this was very satisfactory—the Egyptians from a very early age shave their heads, which by being constantly exposed to the action of the sun, become firm and hard: this treatment also prevents baldness, very few instances of which are ever to be seen in Egypt. Why the skulls of the Persians are so soft may be explained from their being from their infancy accustomed to shelter them from the sun, by the constant use of turbans. I saw the very same fact at Papremis, after examining the bones of those who, under the conduct of Achaemenes, son of Darius, were defeated by Inarus the African.

XIII. The Egyptians after their defeat fled in great disorder to Memphis. Cambyses despatched a Persian up the river in a Mitylenian vessel to treat with them; but as soon as they saw the vessel enter Memphis, they rushed in a crowd from the citadel, destroyed the vessel tore the crew in pieces, and afterwards carried them into the citadel.

Siege was immediately laid to the place, and the Egyptians were finally compelled to surrender. Those Africans who lived nearest to Egypt, apprehensive of a similar fate, submitted without contest, imposing a tribute on themselves, and sending presents to the Persians.

Their example was followed by the Cyreneans and Barceans, who were struck with the like panic. The African presents Cambyses received very graciously, but he expressed much resentment at those of the Cyreneans, as I think, on account of their meanness. They sent him five hundred mince of silver, which, as soon as be received, with his own hands he threw amongst his soldiers.

ΧΙV. On the tenth day after the surrender of the citadel of Memphis Psammenitus, the Egyptian king, who had reigned no more than six months, was by order of Cambyses ignominiously conducted, with other Egyptians, to the outside of the walls, and by way of trial of his disposition, thus treated: his daughter, in the habit of a slave, was sent with a pitcher to draw water; she was accompanied by a number of young women clothed in the same garb, and selected from families of the first distinction.

They passed with much and loud lamentation before their parents, from whom their treatment excited a correspondent violence of grief. But when Psammenitus beheld the spectacle, he merely declined his eyes on the ground: when this train was gone by, the son of Psammenitus, with two thousand Egyptians of the same age, were made to walk in procession with ropes round their necks, and bridles in their mouths.

These were intended to avenge the death of those Mitylenians who, with their vessel, had been torn to pieces at Memphis. The king's counsellors had determined that for every one put to death on that occasion ten of the first rank of the Egyptians should be sacrificed. Psammenitus observed these as they passed; but al- though he perceived that his son was going to be executed, and whilst all the Egyptians around him wept and lamented aloud, he continued unmoved as before.

When this scene also disappeared, he beheld a venerable personage, who had formerly partaken of the royal table, deprived of all he had possessed, and in the dress of a mendicant asking charity through the different ranks of the army. This man stopped to beg alms of Psammenitus, the son of Amasis, and the other noble Egyptians who were sitting with him; which, when Psammenitus beheld, he could no longer suppress his emotions, but calling on his friend by name, wept aloud, and beat his head.

This the spies, who were placed near him to observe his conduct on each incident, reported to Cambyses; who, in astonishment at such behavior, sent a messenger, who was thus directed to address him: 'Your lord and master, Cambyses, is desirous to know why, after beholding with so much indifference your daughter treated as a slave, and your son conducted to death, you expressed so lively a concern for that mendicant, who, as he has been informed, is not at all related to you.'

Psammenitus made this reply: 'Son of Cyrus, my domestic misfortunes were too great to suffer me to shed tears: but it was consistent that I should weep for my friend, who, from a station of honor and of wealth, is in the last stage of life reduced to penury'

Cambyses heard and was satisfied with his answer. The Egyptians say that Croesus, who attended Cambyses in this Egyptian expedition, wept at the incident. The Persians also who were present were exceedingly moved, and Cambyses himself yielded so far to compassion, that he ordered the son of Psammenitus to be preserved out of those who had been condemned to die, and Psammenitus himself to be conducted from the place where he was to his presence.

XV. The emissaries employed for the purpose found the young prince had suffered first, and was already dead; the father they led to Cambyses, with whom he lived, and received no farther ill treatment; and could he have refrained from ambitious attempts, would probably have been intrusted with the government of Egypt.

The Persians hold the sons of sovereigns in the greatest reverence, and even if the fathers revolt, they will permit the sons to succeed to their authority: that such is really their conduct may be proved by various examples. Thannyras, the son of Inarus, received the kingdom which his father governed; Pausiris also, the son of Amyrtaeus, was permitted to reign after his father, although the Persians had never met with more obstinate enemies than both Inarus and Amyrtaeus.

Psammenitus revolted, and suffered for his offence: he was detected in stirring up the Egyptians to rebel; and being convicted by Cambyses, was made to drink a quantity of bullock's blood, which immediately occasioned his death.—Such was the end of Psammenitus.

XVI. From Sais Cambyses proceeded to Memphis to execute a purpose he had in view. As soon as he entered the palace of Amasis he ordered the body of that prince to be removed from his tomb, When this was done he commanded it to be beaten with rods, the hair to be plucked out, and the flesh to be goaded with sharp instruments, to which he added other marks of ignominy.

As the body was embalmed, their efforts made but little impression; when therefore they were fatigued with these outrages, he ordered it to be burned. In this last act Cambyses paid no regard to the religion of his country; for the Persians venerate fire as a divinity.

The custom of burning the dead does not prevail in either of the two nations; for the reason above mentioned the Persians do not use it, thinking it profane to feed a divinity with human carcasses; and the Egyptians abhor it, being fully persuaded that fire is a voracious animal, which devours whatever it can seize, and when saturated finally expires with what it has consumed. They hold it unlawful to expose the bodies of the dead to any animals; for which reason they embalm them, fearing lest, after interment, they might become the prey of worms.

The Egyptians assert that the above indignities were not inflicted on the body of Amasis; but that the Persians were deceived, and perpetrated these insults on some other Egyptian of the same age with that prince. Amasis, they say, was informed by an oracle of the injuries intended against his body; to prevent which he ordered the person who really sustained them to be buried at the entrance of his tomb, whilst he himself, by his own directions given to his son, was placed in some secret and interior recess of the sepulchre.

These assertions I cannot altogether believe, and am rather inclined to impute them to the vanity of the Egyptians.

ΧVΙΙ. Cambyses afterwards determined to commence hostilities against three nations at once; the Carthaginians, the Ammonians, and the Macrobian Ethiopians, who inhabit that part of Libya which lies towards the southern ocean. He accordingly resolved to send against the Carthaginians a naval armament; a detachment of his troops was to attack the Ammonians by land; and he sent spies into Ethiopia, who, under pretence of carrying presents to the prince, were to ascertain the reality of the celebrated table of the sun, and to examine the condition of the country.

XVIII. What they called the table of the sun was this:—A plain in the vicinity of the city was filled to the height of four feet with the roasted flesh of all kinds of animals, which was carried there in the night, under the inspection of the magistrates; during the day, whoever pleased was at liberty to go and satisfy his hunger. The natives of the place affirm that the earth spontaneously produces all these viands: this however is what they term the table of the sun.

XIX. As soon as Cambyses had resolved on the measures he meant to pursue with respect to the Ethiopians, he sent to the city of Elephantine for some of the Ichthyophagi whιο were skilled in their language.

In the mean time he directed his naval forces to proceed against the Carthaginians; but the Phoenicians refused to assist him in this purpose, pleading the solemnity of their engagements with that people, and the impiety of committing acts of violence against their own descendants. Such was the conduct of the Phoenicians, and the other armaments were not powerful enough to proceed. Thus therefore the Carthaginians escaped being made tributary to Persia; for Cambyses did not choose to use compulsion with the Phoenicians, who had voluntarily become his dependants, and who constituted the most essential part of his naval power. The Cyprians had also submitted without contest to the Persians, and had served in the Egyptian expedition.

XX. As soon as the Ichthyophagi arrived from Elephantine Cambyses despatched them to Ethiopia. They were commissioned to deliver, with certain presents, a particular message to the prince. The presents consisted of a purple vest, a gold chain for the neck, bracelets, an alabaster box of perfumes, and a cask of palm wine.

The Ethiopians to whom Cambyses sent are reported to be superior to all other men in the perfections of size and beauty: their manners and customs, which differ also from those of all other nations, have, besides, this singular distinction—the supreme authority is given to him who excels all his fellow-citizens in size and proportionable strength.

XXI. The Ichthyophagi on their arrival offered the presents, and thus addressed the king: 'Cambyses, sovereign of Persia, from his anxious desire of becoming your friend and ally, has sent us to communicate with you, and to desire your acceptance of these presents; from the use of which he himself derives the greatest pleasure.'

The Ethiopian prince, who was aware of the object they had in view, made them this answer:—'The king of Persia has not sent you with these presents from any desire of obtaining my alliance; neither do you speak the truth, who, to facilitate the unjust designs of your master, are come to examine the state of my dominions: if he were influenced by principles of integrity he would be satisfied with his οwn, and not covet the possessions of another; nor would he attempt to reduce those to servitude from whom he has received no injury. Give him therefore this bow, and in my name speak to him thus:—The king of Ethiopia sends this counsel to the king of Persia: when his subjects shall be able to bend this bow with the same ease that I do, then with a superiority of numbers he may venture to attack the Macrobian Ethiopians. In the mean time, let him be thankful to the gods that the Ethiopians have not been inspired with the same ambitious views of extending their possessions.'

XXII. When he had finished he unbent the bow and placed it in their hands; after which, taking the purple vest, he inquired what it was, and how it was made: the Ichthyophagi properly explained to him the process by which the purple tincture was communicated; but he told them that they and their vests were alike deceitful.

He then made similar inquiries concerning the bracelets and the gold chain for the neck; on their describing the nature of those ornaments he laughed, and conceiving them to be chains, remarked, that the Ethiopians possessed much stronger.

He proceeded, lastly, to ask them the use of the perfumes; and when they informed him how they were made and applied, he made the same observation as he had before done of the purple robe.

When he came to the wine, and learned how it was made, he drank it with particular satisfaction; and inquired on what food the Persian monarch subsisted, and what was the longest period of a Persian's life. The king, they told him, lived chiefly on bread; and they then described to him the properties of corn: they added, that the longest period of life in Persia was about eighty years. 'I am not at all surprised,' said the Ethiopian prince, 'that, subsisting on dung, the term of life is so short among them; and unless,' he continued, pointing to the wine, 'they mixed it with this liquor, they would not live so long:' for in this he allowed that they excelled the Ethiopians.

XXIII. The Ichthyophagi, in their turn, questioned the prince concerning the duration of life in Ethiopia, and the kind of food there in use: they were told that the majority of the people lived to the age of one hundred and twenty years, but that some exceeded even that period; that their meat was baked flesh, their drink milk.

When the spies expressed astonishment at the length of life in Ethiopia, they were conducted to a certain fountain, in which having bathed, they became shining as if anointed with oil, and diffused from their bodies the perfume of violets. But they asserted that the water of this fountain was of so insubstantial a nature, that neither wood, nor any thing still lighter than wood, wοuld float on its surface, but every thing instantly sunk to the bottom.

If their representation of this water was true, the constant use of it may probably explain the extreme length of life which the Ethiopians attain. From the fountain they were conducted to the public prison, where all that were confined were secured by chains of gold; for among these Ethiopians brass is the rarest of all the metals. After visiting the prison they saw also what is called the table of the sun.

XXIV. Finally, they were shown their coffins, which are said to be constructed of crystal, and in this manner:—after all the moisture is exhausted from the body, by the Egyptian or some other process, they cover it totally with a kind of plaster, which they decorate with various colors, and make it convey as near a resemblance as can be of the person of the deceased. They then inclose it in a hollow pillar of crystal, which is dug up in great abundance, and of a kind that is easily worked.

The deceased is very conspicuous through the crystal, has no disagreeable smell, nor any thing else that is offensive. This coffin the nearest relations keep for a twelvemonth in their houses, offering before it different kinds of victims, and the first-fruits of their lands; these are afterwards removed, and set up round the city.

XXV. The spies, after executing their commission, returned; and Cambyses was so exasperated at their recital, that he determined instantly to proceed against the Ethiopians, without ever providing for the necessary sustenance of his army, or reflecting that he was about to visit the extremities of the earth.

The moment that he heard the report of the Ichthyophagi, like one deprived of all the powers of reason, he commenced his march with the whole body of his infantry, leaving no forces behind but such Greeks as had accompanied him to Egypt. On his arrival at Thebes he selected from his army about fifty thousand men, whom he ordered to make an incursion against the Ammonians, and to burn the place from whence the oracles of Jupiter were delivered; he himself, with the remainder of his troops, marched against the Ethiopians. Before he had performed a fifth part of his intended expedition the provisions he had with him were totally consumed. They proceeded to eat the beasts which carried the baggage, till these also failed.

If after these incidents Cambyses had permitted his passions to cool, and had led his army back again, notwithstanding his indiscretion, he still might have deserved praise. Instead of this, his infatuation continued, and he proceeded on his march. The soldiers, as long as the earth afforded them any sustenance, were content to feed on vegetables; but as soon as they arrived among the sands and the deserts, some of them were prompted by famine to proceed to the most horrid extremities. They drew lots; and every tenth man was destined to satisfy the hunger of the rest.

When Cambyses received intelligence of this fact, alarmed at the idea of devouring one another, he abandoned his designs on the Ethiopians; and returning homeward, arrived at length at Thebes, after losing a considerable number of his men. From Thebes he proceeded to Memphis, from whence he permitted the Greeks to embark.—Such was the termination of the Ethiopian expedition.

XXVI. The troops who were despatched against the Ammonians left Thebes with guides, and penetrated, as it should seem, as far as Oasis. This place is distant from Thebes about a seven days' journey over the sands, and is said to be inhabited by Samians of the Æschryonian tribe. The country is called in Greek, 'The happy Island.’

The army is reported to have proceeded thus far; but what afterwards became of them it is impossible to know, except from the Ammonians, or those whom the Ammonians have instructed on this head. It is certain that they never arrived among the Ammonians, and that they never returned.

The Ammonians affirm, that as they were marching forwards from Oasis through the sands, they halted at some place of middle distance, for the purpose of taking repast, which, while they were doing, a strong south wind arose, and overwhelmed them beneath a mountain of sand, so that they were seen no more.—Such, as the Ammonians relate, was the fate of this army.

XXVII. Soon after the return of Cambyses to Memphis the god Apis appeared, called by the Greeks Epaphus. On this occasion the Egyptians clothed themselves in their richest apparel, and made great rejoicings. Cambyses took notice of this, and imagined it was done on account of his late unfortunate projects.

He ordered, therefore, the magistrates of Memphis to attend him; and he asked them why they had done nothing of this kind when he was formerly at Memphis, and had only made rejoicings now that he had returned with the loss of so many of his troops. They told him that their deity had appeared to them, which after a long absence it was his custom to do; and that when this happened, it was customary for all the Egyptians to hold a solemn festival.

Cambyses disbelieved what they told him, and condemned them to death, as guilty of falsehood.

XXVIII. As soon as they were executed he sent for the priests, from whom he received the same answer. ‘If,' said he, 'any deity has shown himself familiarly in Egypt, I must see and know him.' He then commanded them to bring Apis before him, which they prepared to do.

This Apis, or Epaphus, is the calf of a cow which can have no more young. The Egyptians say, that on this occasion the cow is struck with lightning, from which she conceives and brings forth Apis. The young one so produced, and thus named, is known by certain marks. The skin is black, but on its forehead is a white star, of a triangular form. It has the figure of an eagle on the back, the tail is divided, and under the tongue it has an insect like a beetle.

XXIX. When the priest conducted Apis to his presence, Cambyses was transported with rage. He drew his dagger, and endeavoring to stab him in the body, wounded him in the thigh; then turning to the priests with an insulting smile: ‘Wretches!' he exclaimed, 'think ye that gods are formed of flesh and blood, and thus susceptible of wounds? This, indeed, is a deity worthy of Egyptians: but you shall find that I am not to be mocked with impunity.'

He then called the proper officers, and commanded the priests to be scourged: he directed also that whatever Egyptian was found celebrating this festival should be put to death. The priests were thus punished, and no farther solemnities observed Apis himself languished and died in the temple, from the wound of his thigh, and was buried by the priests without the knowlege of Cambyses.

XXX. The Egyptians affirm, that in consequence of this impiety, Cambyses became immediately insane, who indeed did not before appear to have had the proper use of his reason.

The first impulse of his fury was directed against Smerdis, his own brother, who had become the object of his jealousy, because he was the only Persian who had been able to bend the bow, which the Ichthyophagi brought from Ethiopia, the breadth of two fingers. He was therefore ordered to return to Persia, where as soon as he came, Cambyses saw this vision: a messenger appeared to arrive from Persia, informing him that Smerdis, seated on the royal throne, touched the heavens with his head.

Cambyses was instantly struck with the apprehension that Smerdis would kill him, and seize his dominions; to prevent which he despatched Prexaspes, a Persian, and one of his most faithful adherents, to put him to death. He arrived at Susa, and destroyed Smerdis, some say, by taking him aside whilst engaged in the diversion of the chase: others believe that he drowned him in the Red Sea; this, however, was the commencement of the calamities of Cambyses.

XXXI. The next victim of his fury was his sister, who had accompanied him into Egypt. She was also his wife, which thing he thus accomplished: before this prince no Persian had ever been known to marry his sister; but Cambyses, being passionately fond of one of his, and knowing that there was no precedent to justify his making her his wife, assembled those who were called the royal judges; of them he desired to know whether there was any law which would permit a brother to marry his sister, if he thought proper to do so.

The royal judges in Persia are men of the most approved integrity, who hold their places for life, or till they shall be convicted of some crime. Every thing is referred to their decision; they are the interpreters of the laws, and determine all private disputes. In answer to the inquiry of Cambyses, they replied shrewdly, though with truth, that although they could find no law which wουld permit a brother to marry his sister, they had discovered one which enabled a monarch of Persia to do what he pleased.

In this answer, the awe of Cambyses prevented their adopting literally the spirit of the Persian laws; and to secure their persons, they took care to discover what would justify him who wished to marry his sister. Cambyses therefore instantly married the sister whom he loved, and not long afterwards a second. The younger of these, who accompanied him to Egypt, he put to death.

XXXII. The manner of her death, like that of Smerdis, is differently related. The Greeks say that Cambyses made the cub of a lioness, and a young whelp engage each other, and that this princess was present at the combat; and when this latter was vanquished, another whelp of the same litter broke what confined it, and flew to assist the other, and that both together were too much for the young lion.

Cambyses seeing this, expressed great satisfaction; but the princess burst into tears. Cambyses observed her weep, and inquired the reason; she answered, that seeing one whelp assist another of the same brood, she could not but remember Smerdis, whose death she feared nobody would revenge. For which saying, the Greeks affirm, that Cambyses put her to death.

On the contrary, if we may believe the Egyptians, this princess was sitting at table with her husband, and took a lettuce in her hand, dividing it leaf by leaf: ‘Which’ said she, 'seems in your eyes most agreeable, this lettuce whole, or divided into leaves?' He replied, ‘When whole.' 'You,' says she, 'resemble this lettuce, as I have divided it, for you have thus torn in sunder the house of Cyrus.' Cambyses was so greatly incensed, that he threw her down, and leaped on her; and being pregnant, she was delivered before her time, and lost her life.

XXXIII. To such excesses in his own family was Cambyses impelled, either on account of his impious treatment of Apis, or from some other of those numerous calamities which afflict mankind. From the first hour of his birth he labored under what by some is termed the sacred disease. It is therefore by no means astonishing that so great a bodily infirmity should at length injure the mind.

XXXIV. His frenzy however extended to the other Persians. He once made a remarkable speech to Prexaspes, for whom he professed the greatest regard, who received all petitions to the king, and whose son enjoys the honorable office of royal cup-bearer. 'What,' said he, on some occasion, ‘do the Persians think of me, or in what terms do they speak of me?’

'Sir,' he replied, 'in all other respects they speak of you with honor; but it is the general opinion that you are too much addicted to wine.' 'What!' returned the prince in anger, 'I suppose they say that I drink to excess, and am deprived of reason; their former praise therefore could not be sincere.'

At some preceding period he had asked of those whom he used most familiarly, and of Croesus among the rest, whe- ther they thought he had equalled the greatness of his father Cyrus. In reply they told him, that he was the greater of the two, for that to all which Cyrus had possessed, he had added the empire of Egypt and of the ocean. Croesus, who was present, did not assent to this. 'Sir,' said he to Cambyses, ‘in my opinion you are not equal to your father; you have not such a son as he left behind him.' Which speech of Croesus was highly agreeable to Cambyses.

XXXV. Remembering this, he turned with great anger to Prexaspes: 'You,' said he, 'shall presently be witness of the truth or falsehood of what the Persians say. If I hit directly through the heart your son, who stands yonder, it will be evident that they speak of me maliciously; if I miss my aim, they will say true in affirming that I am mad.'

No sooner had he spoken than he bent his bow, and struck the young man. When he fell, the king ordered his body to be opened, and the wound to be examined. He was rejoiced to find that the arrow had penetrated his heart; and turning to the father with a malicious smile, 'You observe,' said he, 'that it is not I that am mad, but the Persians who are foolish. Tell me,' he continued, 'if you ever saw a man send an arrow surer to its mark?'

Prexaspes, seeing he was mad, and fearing for himself, replied, 'I do not think, sir, that even a deity could have aimed so well.'—Such was his treatment of Prexaspes. At another time, without the smallest provocation, he commanded twelve Persians of distinction to be interred alive.

XXXVI. Whilst he was pursuing these extravagances, Croesus gave him this advice: 'Do not, sir, yield thus intemperately to the warmth of your age and of your temper. Restrain yourself, and remember that moderation is the part of a wise man, and it becomes every one to weigh the consequences of his actions. Without any adequate offence you destroy your fellow-citizens, and put even children to death. If you continue these excesses, the Persians may be induced to revolt from you. In giving you these admonitions, I do but fulfil the injunctions which the king your father repeatedly laid on me, to warn you of whatever I thought necessary to your welfare.'

Kind as were the intentions of Croesus, he received this answer from Cambyses: 'I am astonished at your presumption in speaking to me thus, as if you had been remarkable either for the judicious government of your own dominions, or for the wise advice which you gave my father. I cannot forget, that instead of waiting for the attack of the Massagetae, you counselled him to advance and encounter them in their own territories. By your misconduct you lost your own dominions, and by your ill advice were the cause of my father's ruin. But do not expect to escape with impunity; indeed I have long wished for an opportunity to punish you.'

He then eagerly snatched his bow, intending to pierce Croesus with an arrow; but by an expeditious flight he escaped. Cambyses instantly ordered him to be seized and put to death; but as his officers were well acquainted with their prince's character, they concealed Croesus, thinking that if at any future period he should express contrition, they might by producing him obtain a reward; but if no farther inquiries were made concerning him, they might then kill him. Not long afterwards Cambyses expressed regret for Croesus, which when his attendants perceived, they told him that he was alive. He expressed particular satisfaction at the preservation of Croesus, but he would not forgive the disobedience of his servants, who were accordingly executed.

XXXVII. Many things of this kind did he perpetrate against the Persians and his allies whilst he stayed at Memphis: neither did he hesitate to violate the tombs, and examine the bodies of the dead. He once entered the temple of Vulcan, and treated the shrine of that deity with much contempt.

The statue of this god exceedingly resembles the Pataici, which the Phoenicians place at the prow of their triremes: they who have not seen them may suppose them to resemble the figure of a pigmy. Cambyses also entered the temple of the Cabiri, to which access is denied to all but the priests. He burned their statues, after exercising on them his wit and raillery. These statues resemble Vulcan, whose sons the Cabiri are supposed to be.

XXXVIII. For my own part, I am satisfied that Cambyses was deprived of his reason; he would not otherwise have disturbed the sanctity of temples, or of established customs. Whoever had the opportunity of choosing for their own observance, from all the nations of the world, such laws and customs as to them seemed the best, would, I am of opinion, after the most careful examination, adhere to their own.

Each nation believes that their own laws are by far the most excellent; no one therefore but a madman would treat such prejudices with contempt. That all men are really thus tenacious of their own customs, appears from this, amongst other instances: Darius once sent for such of the Greeks as were dependent on his power, and asked them what reward would induce them to eat the bodies of their deceased parents; they replied that no sum could prevail on them to commit such a deed.

In the presence of the same Greeks, who by an interpreter were informed of what passed, he sent also for the Callatiae, a people of India known to eat the bodies of their parents. He asked them for what sum they would consent to burn the bodies of their parents. The Indians were disgusted at the question, and entreated him to forbear such language.—Such is the force of custom; and Pindar seems to me to have spoken with peculiar propriety when he observed that custom was the universal sovereign.

[…]

LXI. Whilst Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, passed his time in Egypt, committing various excesses, two magi, who were brothers, and one of whom Cambyses had left in Persia as the manager of his domestic concerns, excited a revolt against him. The death of Smerdis, which had been studiously kept secret, and was known to very few of the Persians, who in general believed that he was alive, was a circumstance to which the last-mentioned of these magi had been privy, and of which he determined to avail himself.

His brother, who, as we have related, joined with him in this business, not only resembled in person, but had the very name of the young prince, the son of Cyrus, whο had been put to death by the order of his brother Cambyses. Him, Patizithes, the other magus, publicly introduced and placed on the royal throne, having previously instructed him in the part he was to perform. Having done this, he sent messengers to different places, and one in particular to the Egyptian army, ordering them to obey Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, alone.

LXII. These orders were every where obeyed. The messenger who came to Egypt found Cambyses with the army at Ecbatana, in Syria. He entered into the midst of the troops, and executed the commission which had been given him.

When Cambyses heard this, he was not aware of any fallacy, but imagined that Prexaspes, whom he had sent to put Smerdis to death, had neglected to obey his commands. 'Prexaspes,' said the king, 'thou hast not fulfilled my orders.'—'Sir,' he replied, 'you are certainly deceived; it is impossible that your brother should rebel against you, or occasion you the smallest trouble. I not only executed your orders concerning Smerdis, but I buried him with my own hands. If the dead can rise again, you may expect also a rebellion from Astyages the Mede; but if things go on in their usual course, you can have nothing to apprehend from your brother. I would recommend therefore that you send for this herald, and demand by what authority he claims our allegiance to Smerdis.'

LXIII. This advice was agreeable to Cambyses: the person of the herald was accordingly seized, and he was thus addressed by Prexaspes: 'You say, my friend, that you come from Smerdis, the son of Cyrus; but I would advise you to be cautious, as your safety will depend on your speaking the truth; tell me, therefore, did Smerdis himself intrust you with this commission, or did you receive it from some one of his officers?’—'I must confess,' replied the herald, ‘that since the departure of Cambyses on this Egyptian expedition I have never seen Smerdis, the son of Cyrus. I received my present commission from the magus to whom Cambyses intrusted the management of his domestic affairs; he it was who told me that Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, commanded me to execute this business.' This was the sincere answer of the herald; on which

Cambyses thus addressed Prexaspes: ‘I perceive that, like a man of integrity, you performed my commands, and have been guilty of no crime: but what Persian, assuming the name of Smerdis, has revolted against me?' ‘Sir,’ answered Prexaspes, 'I believe I comprehend the whole of this business: the magi have excited this rebellion against you; namely, Patizithes, to whom you intrusted the management of your household, and Smerdis, his brother.'

LXIV. As soon as Cambyses heard the name of Smerdis, he was impressed with conviction of the truth; and he immediately perceived the real signification of the dream in which he had seen Smerdis seated on the royal throne, and touching the firmament with his head. Acknowleging that without any just cause he had destroyed his brother, he lamented him with tears. After indulging for a while in the extremest sorrow, which a sense of his misfortunes prompted, he leaped hastily on his horse, determining to lead his army instantly to Susa against the rebels.

In doing this the sheath fell from his sword, which being thus naked, wounded him in the thigh. The wound was in the very place in which he had before struck Apis, the deity of the Egyptians.

As soon as the blow appeared to be mortal Cambyses anxiously inquired the name of the place where he was: they told him it was called Ecbatana. An oracle from Butos had warned him that he should end his life at Ecbatana; this he understood of Ecbatana of the Medes, where all his treasures were deposited, and where he conceived he was in his old age to die.

The oracle, however, spoke of the Syrian Ecbatana. When he learned the name of the town, the vexation arising from the rebellion of the magus, and the pain of his wound, restored him to his proper senses. 'This,' he exclaimed, remembering the oracle, 'is doubtless the place in which Cambyses, son of Cyrus, is destined to die.'

LXV. On the twentieth day after the above event he convened the more illustrious of the Persians who were with him, and thus addressed them:—'What has happened to me compels me to disclose to you what I anxiously desired to conceal. Whilst I was in Egypt I beheld in my sleep a vision, which I could wish had never appeared to me. A messenger seemed to arrive from home, informing me that Smerdis, sitting on the royal throne, touched the heavens with his head. It is not in the power of men to counteract destiny; but fearing that my brother would deprive me of my kingdom, I yielded to passion rather than to prudence. Infatuated as I was, I despatched Prexaspes to Susa to put Smerdis to death. After this great crime I lived with more confidence, believing that Smerdis being dead, no one else wουld rise up against me. But my ideas of the future were fallacious: I have murdered my brother, a crime equally unnecessary and atrocious, and am nevertheless deprived of my power. It was Smerdis the magus.whom the divinity pointed out to me in ray dream, and who has now taken arms against me. Things being thus circumstanced, it becomes you to remember that Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, is actually dead, and that the two magi, one with whom I left the care of my household, and Smerdis, his brother, are the men who now claim your obedience. He whose office it would have been to have revenged on these magi any injuries done to me, has unworthily perished by those who were nearest to him : but since he is no more, I must now tell you, Ο Persians! what I would have you do when I am dead:—I entreat you all, by those gods who watch over kings, and chiefly you who are of the race of Achaemenides, that you will never permit this empire to revert to the Medes. If by any stratagem they shall have seized it, by stratagem do you recover it. If they have by force obtained it, do you by force wrest it from them. If you shall obey my advice, may the earth give you its fruits in abundance! may you ever be free, and your wives and your flocks prolific! If you do not obey me—if you neither recover nor attempt to recover the empire, may the reverse of my wishes befall you! and may every Persian meet a fate like mine!'

LXVI. Cambyses having thus spoken, bewailed his misfortunes. When the Persians saw the king thus involved in sorrow they tore their garments, and expressed their grief aloud. After a very short interval the bone became infected, the whole of the thigh mortified, and death ensued. Thus died Cambyses, son of Cyrus, after a reign of seven years and five months,' leaving no offspring, male or female.

The Persians who were present could not be persuaded that the magi had assumed the supreme authority, but rather believed that what Cambyses had asserted concerning the death of Smerdis was prompted by his hatred of that prince, and his wish to excite the general animosity of the Persians against him. They were therefore generally satisfied that it was really Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, who had assumed the sovereignty. To which they were the more inclined, because Prexaspes afterwards positively denied that he had put Smerdis to death. When Cambyses was dead he could not safely have confessed that he had killed the son of Cyrus.

Herodotus. Translated by William Beloe, Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1830.

Herodotus

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