Seven weeks after Nitetis had quitted her native country, a long train of
equipages and horsemen was to be seen on the king's highway from the west
to Babylon, moving steadily towards that gigantic city, whose towers
might already be descried in the far distance.
[The great road called the "king's road," of which we shall have
more to say, was made by Cyrus and carefully kept up by Darius.]
The principal object in this caravan was a richly-gilded, four-wheeled
carriage, closed in at the sides by curtains, and above by a roof
supported on wooden pillars. In this vehicle, called the Harmamaxa,
resting on rich cushions of gold brocade, sat our Egyptian Princess.
[Harmamaxa--An Asiatic travelling carriage. The first mention of
these is in Xenophon's Anabasis, where we find a queen travelling in
such a vehicle. They were later adopted by the Romans and used for
the same object.]
On either side rode her escort, viz.: the Persian princes and nobles whom
we have already learnt to know during their visit to Egypt, Croesus and
his son.
Behind these, a long train, consisting of fifty vehicles of different
kinds and six hundred beasts of burden, stretched away into the distance,
and the royal carriage was preceded by a troop of splendidly-mounted
Persian cavalry.
The high-road followed the course of the Euphrates, passing through
luxuriant fields of wheat, barley and sesame yielding fruit two, and
sometimes even three, hundred-fold. Slender date-palms covered with
golden fruit were scattered in every direction over the fields, which
were thoroughly irrigated by means of canals and ditches.
It was winter, but the sun shone warm and bright from a cloudless sky.
The mighty river swarmed with craft of all sizes, either transporting the
products of Upper Armenia to the plains of Mesopotamia, or the wares of
Greece and Asia Minor from Thapsakus to Babylon.
[Thapsakus--An important commercial town on the Euphrates, and the
point of observation from which Eratosthenes took his measurements
of the earth.]
Pumps and water-wheels poured refreshing streams over the thirsty land,
and pretty villages ornamented the shores of the river. Indeed every
object gave evidence that our caravan was approaching the metropolis of
a carefully governed and civilized state.
Nitetis and her retinue now halted at a long brick house, roofed with
asphalte, and surrounded by a grove of plane-trees.
[Asphalte--Nearly all authorities, ancient as well as modern, report
that bitumen, which is still plentifully found in the neighborhood
of Babylon, was used by the Babylonians as mortar. See, besides the
accounts of ancient writers, W. Vaux, 'Nineveh and Persepolis'.
Burnt bitumen was used by Assyrians for cement in building.]
Here Croesus was lifted from his horse, and approaching the carriage,
exclaimed: "Here we are at length at the last station! That high tower
which you see on the horizon is the celebrated temple of Bel, next to the
Pyramids, one of the most gigantic works ever constructed by human hands.
Before sunset we shall have reached the brazen gates of Babylon. And now
I would ask you to alight, and let me send your maidens into the house;
for here you must put on Persian apparel, to appear well-pleasing in the
eyes of Cambyses. In a few hours you will stand before your future
husband. But you are pale! Permit your maidens to adorn your cheeks
with a color that shall look like the excitement of joy. A first
impression is often a final one, and this is especially true with regard
to Cambyses. If, which I doubt not, you are pleasing in his eyes at
first, then you have won his love for ever; but if you should displease
him to-day he will never look kindly on you again, for he is rough and
harsh. But take courage, my daughter, and above all, do not forget the
advice I have given you." Nitetis dried her tears as she answered: "How
can I ever thank you, O Croesus, my second father, my protector and
adviser, for all your goodness? Oh, forsake me not in the days to come!
and if the path of my life should lead through grief and care, be near to
help and guide me as you did on the mountain-passes of this long and
dangerous journey. A thousand times I thank thee, O my father!"
And, as she said these words, the young girl threw her arms around the
old man's neck and kissed him tenderly.
On entering the court-yard, a tall stout man, followed by a train of
Asiatic serving-maidens, came forward to meet them. This was Boges, the
chief of the eunuchs, an important official at the Persian court. His
beardless face wore a smile of fulsome sweetness; in his ears hung costly
jewelled pendents; his neck, arms, legs and his effeminately long
garments glittered all over with gold chains and rings, and his crisp,
stiff curls, bound round by a purple fillet, streamed with powerful and
penetrating perfumes.
Making a low and reverential obeisance before Nitetis, and holding, the
while, his fat hands overloaded with rings before his mouth, he thus
addressed her: "Cambyses, lord of the world, hath sent me to thee, O
Queen, that I may refresh thy heart with the dew of his salutations. He
sendeth thee likewise by me, even by me the lowest of his servants,
Persian raiment, that thou, as befitteth the consort of the mightiest of
all rulers, mayest approach the gates of the Achaemenidae in Median
garments. These women whom thou seest are thy handmaidens, and only
await thy bidding to transform thee from an Egyptian jewel into a Persian
pearl."
The master of the caravansary then appeared, bearing, in token of
welcome, a basket of fruits arranged with great taste.
Nitetis returned her thanks to both these men in kind and friendly words;
then entering the house laid aside the dress and ornaments of her native
land, weeping as she did so, allowed the strangers to unloose the plait
of hair which hung down at the left side of her head, and was the
distinctive mark of an Egyptian princess, and to array her in Median
garments.
[In almost all the Egyptian pictures, the daughters and sons of the
Pharaohs are represented with these locks of hair, plaited and
reaching from the forehead to the neck. Rosellini, Mon. stor. II.
123. Lepsius, Denkmaler. The daughter of Rameses II. is drawn
thus, and we have examples of the same in many other pictures.]
In the meantime, a repast had been commanded by the princes who
accompanied her. Eager and agile attendants rushed to the baggage-
waggons, fetching thence, in a few moments, seats, tables, and golden
utensils of all kinds. The cooks vied with them and with each other, and
as if by magic, in a short space of time a richly-adorned banquet for the
hungry guests appeared, at which even the flowers were not wanting.
During the entire journey our travellers had lived in a similar luxury,
as their beasts of burden carried every imaginable convenience, from
tents of water-proof materials inwrought with gold, down to silver foot-
stools; and in the vehicles which composed their train were not only
bakers, cooks, cup-bearers and carvers, but perfumers, hair-dressers and
weavers of garlands. Beside these conveniences, a well-fitted up
caravansary, or inn, was to be found about every eighteen miles along the
whole route, where disabled horses could be replaced, the plantations
around which afforded a refreshing shelter from the noonday heat, or
their hearths a refuge from the snow and cold on the mountain-passes.
The kingdom of Persia was indebted for these inns (similar to the post-
stations of modern days) to Cyrus, who had endeavored to connect the
widely-distant provinces of his immense dominions by a system of well-
kept roads, and a regular postal service. At each of these stations the
horseman carrying the letter-bag was relieved by a fresh man on a fresh
steed, to whom the letters were transferred, and who, in his turn, darted
off like the wind, to be again replaced at a similar distance by another
rider. These couriers, called Angari, were considered the swiftest
horsemen in the world.
[Herodotus V. 14. 49-52. Persian milestones are still to be found
among the ruins of the old king's road, which led from Nineveh to
Ecbatana. The Kurds call them keli-Shin (blue pillars).]
Just as the banqueters, amongst whom Boges had taken his seat, were
rising from table, the door opened, and a vision appeared, which drew
prolonged exclamation of surprise from all the Persians present.
Nitetis, clad in the glorious apparel of a Median princess, proud in the
consciousness of her triumphant beauty, and yet blushing like a young
girl at the wondering admiration of her friends, stood before them.
The attendants involuntarily fell on their faces before her, according to
the custom of the Asiatics, and the noble Achaemenidae bowed low and
reverentially; for it seemed as if Nitetis has laid aside all her former
bashfulness and timidity with her simple Egyptian dress, and with the
splendid silken garments of a Persian princess, flashing as they were
with gold and jewels, had clothed herself in the majesty of a queen.
The deep reverence paid by all present seemed agreeable to her, and
thanking her admiring friends by a gracious wave of the hand, she turned
to the chief of the eunuchs and said in a kind tone but mingled with a
touch of pride; "Thou hast performed thy mission well; I am content with
the raiment and the slaves that thou hast provided and shall commend thy
circumspection to the king, my husband. Receive this gold chain in the
meanwhile, as a token of my gratitude."
The eunuch kissed the hem of her garment, and accepted the gift in
silence. This man, hitherto omnipotent in his office, had never before
encountered such pride in any of the women committed to his charge. Up
to the present time all Cambyses' wives had been Asiatics, and, well
aware of the unlimited power of the chief of the eunuchs, had used every
means within their reach to secure his favor by flattery and submission.
Boges now made a second obeisance before Nitetis, of which, however, she
took no notice, and turning to Croesus said: "Neither words nor gifts
could ever suffice to express my gratitude to you, kindest of friends,
for, if my future life at the court of Persia prove, I will not venture
to say a happy, but even a peaceful one, it is to you alone that I shall
owe it. Still, take this ring. It has never left my finger since I
quitted Egypt, and it has a significance far beyond its outward worth.
Pythagoras, the noblest of the Greeks, gave it to my mother, when he was
tarrying in Egypt to learn the wisdom of our priests, and it was her
parting gift to me. The number seven is engraved upon the simple stone.
This indivisible number represents perfect health, both to soul and body
for health is likewise one and indivisible.
[Seven, the "motherless" number, which has no factor below ten.]
The sickness of one member is the sickness of all; one evil thought,
allowed to take up its abode within our heart, destroys the entire
harmony of the soul. When you see this seven therefore, let it recall my
heart's wish that you may ever enjoy undisturbed bodily health, and long
retain that loving gentleness which has made you the most virtuous, and
therefore the healthiest of men. No thanks, my father, for even if I
could restore to Croesus all the treasures that he once possessed, I
should still retrain his debtor. Gyges, to you I give this Lydian lyre;
let its tones recall the giver to your memory. For you, Zopyrus, I have
a golden chain; I have witnessed that you are the most faithful of
friends; and we Egyptians are accustomed to place cords and bands in the
hands of our lovely Hathor, the goddess of love and friendship, as
symbols of her captivating and enchaining attributes. As Darius has
studied the wisdom of Egypt and the signs of the starry heavens, I beg
him to take this circlet of gold, on which a skilful hand has traced the
signs of the Zodiac.
[Diodorus (I. 49.) tells, that in the tomb of Osymandyas (palace of
Rameses II. at Thebes) there lay a circle of gold, one ell thick and
365 ells in circumference, containing a complete astronomical
calendar. The circle of the zodiac from Dendera, which is now in
Paris,--an astronomical ceiling painting, which was believed at the
time of its discovery to be of great age, is not nearly so ancient
as was supposed, dating only from the end of the Ptolemaic dynasty.
Letronne was the first to estimate it correctly. See Lepsius,
Chron. p.63. and Lauth, 'les zodiaques de Dendera'. Munich 1865.]
And lastly, to my dear brother-in-law Bartja I commit the most precious
jewel in my possession--this amulet of blue stone. My sister Tachot hung
it round my neck as I kissed her on the last night before we parted; she
told me it could bring to its wearer the sweet bliss of love. And then,
Bartja, she wept! I do not know of whom she was thinking in that moment,
but I hope I am acting according to her wishes in giving you her precious
jewel. Take it as a gift from Tachot, and sometimes call to mind our
games in the Sais gardens."
Thus far she had been speaking Greek, but now, addressing the attendants
who remained standing in an attitude of deep reverence, she began in
broken Persian: "Accept my thanks also. In Babylon you shall receive a
thousand gold staters." Then turning to Boges, she added: "Let this sum
be distributed among the attendants at latest by the day after to-morrow.
Take me to my carriage, Croesus."
The old king hastened to do her bidding, and as he was leading her
thither she pressed his arm and whispered gently, "Are you pleased with
me, my father?"
"I tell you, girl," the old man answered, "that no one but the king's
mother can ever be your equal at this court, for a true and queenly pride
reigns on your brow, and you have the power of using small means to
effect great ends. Believe me, the smallest gift, chosen and bestowed as
you can choose and bestow, gives more pleasure to a noble mind than heaps
of treasure merely cast down at his feet. The Persians are accustomed to
present and receive costly gifts. They understand already how to enrich
their friends, but you can teach them to impart a joy with every gift.
How beautiful you are to-day! Are your cushions to your mind, or would
you like a higher seat? But what is that? There are clouds of dust in
the direction of the city. Cambyses is surely coming to meet you!
Courage, my daughter. Above all try to meet his gaze and respond to it.
Very few can bear the lightning glance of those eyes, but, if you can
return it freely and fearlessly, you have conquered. Fear nothing, my
child, and may Aphrodite adorn you with her most glorious beauty! My
friends, we must start, I think the king himself is coming." Nitetis sat
erect in her splendid, gilded carriage; her hands were pressed on her
throbbing heart. The clouds of dust came nearer and nearer, her eye
caught the flash of weapons like lightning across a stormy sky. The
clouds parted, she could see single figures for a moment, but soon lost
them as the road wound behind some thickets and shrubs. Suddenly the
troop of horsemen appeared in full gallop only a hundred paces before
her, and distinctly visible.
Her first impression was of a motley mass of steeds and men, glittering
in purple, gold, silver and jewels. It consisted in reality of a troop
of more than two hundred horsemen mounted on pure white Nicaean horses,
whose bridles and saddle-cloths were covered with bells and bosses,
feathers, fringes, and embroidery. Their leader rode a powerful coal-
black charger, which even the strong will and hand of his rider could not
always curb, though in the end his enormous strength proved him the man
to tame even this fiery animal. This rider, beneath whose weight the
powerful steed trembled and panted, wore a vesture of scarlet and white,
thickly embroidered with eagles and falcons in silver.
[Curtius III. 3. Xenoph. Cyrap, VIII. 3. 7. Aeschylus, Persians
835. 836. The king's dress and ornaments were worth 12,000 talents,
or L2,250,000 (estimate of 1880) according to Plutarch, Artaxerxes
24.]
The lower part of his dress was purple, and his boots of yellow leather.
He wore a golden girdle; in this hung a short dagger-like sword, the hilt
and scabbard of which were thickly studded with jewels. The remaining
ornaments of his dress resembled those we have described as worn by
Bartja, and the blue and white fillet of the Achaemenidae was bound
around the tiara, which surmounted a mass of thick curls, black as ebony.
The lower part of his face was concealed by an immense beard. His
features were pale and immovable, but the eyes, (more intensely black, if
possible, than either hair or beard), glowed with a fire that was rather
scorching than warming. A deep, fiery-red scar, given by the sword of a
Massagetan warrior, crossed his high forehead, arched nose and thin upper
lip. His whole demeanor expressed great power and unbounded pride.
Nitetis' gaze was at once riveted by this man. She had never seen any
one like him before, and he exercised a strange fascination over her.
The expression of indomitable pride, worn by his features, seemed to her
to represent a manly nature which the whole world, but she herself above
all others, was created to serve. She felt afraid, and yet her true
woman's heart longed to lean upon his strength as the vine upon the elm.
She could not be quite sure whether she had thus pictured to herself the
father of all evil, the fearful Seth, or the great god Ammon, the giver
of light.
The deepest pallor and the brightest color flitted by turns across her
lovely face, like the light and shadow when clouds pass swiftly over a
sunny noonday sky. She had quite forgotten the advice of her fatherly
old friend, and yet, when Cambyses brought his unruly, chafing steed to a
stand by the side of her carriage, she gazed breathless into the fiery
eyes of this man and felt at once that he was the king, though no one had
told her so.
The stern face of this ruler of half the known world relaxed, as Nitetis,
moved by an unaccountable impulse, continued to bear his piercing gaze.
At last he waved his hand to her in token of welcome, and then rode on to
her escort, who had alighted from their horses and were awaiting him,
some having cast themselves down in the dust, and others, after the
Persian manner, standing in an attitude of deep reverence, their hands
concealed in the wide sleeves of their robes.
He sprang from his horse, an example which was followed at once by his
entire suite. The attendants, with the speed of thought, spread a rich
purple carpet on the highway, lest the foot of the king should come in
contact with the dust of the earth, and then Cambyses proceeded to salute
his friends and relations by offering them his mouth to kiss.
He shook Croesus by the right hand, commanding him to remount and
accompany him to the carriage, as interpreter between himself and
Nitetis.
In an instant his highest office-bearers were at hand to lift the king
once more on to his horse, and at a single nod from their lord, the train
was again in motion.
Cambyses and Croesus rode by the side of the carriage.
"She is beautiful, and pleases me well," began the king. "Interpret
faithfully all her answers, for I understand only the Persian, Assyrian
and Median tongues."
Nitetis caught and understood these words. A feeling of intense joy
stole into her heart, and before Croesus could answer, she began softly
in broken Persian and blushing deeply: "Blessed be the gods, who have
caused me to find favor in thine eyes. I am not ignorant of the speech
of my lord, for the noble Croesus has instructed me in the Persian
language during our long journey. Forgive, if my sentences be broken and
imperfect; the time was short, and my capacity only that of a poor and
simple maiden."
[Diodorus tells us that Themistocles learnt the Persian language
during the journey to Susa. We are not, therefore, requiring an
impossibility of Nitetis.]
A smile passed over the usually serious mouth of Cambyses. His vanity
was flattered by Nitetis' desire to win his approbation, and, accustomed
as he was to see women grow up in idleness and ignorance, thinking of
nothing but finery and intrigue, her persevering industry seemed to him
both wonderful and praise worthy. So he answered with evident
satisfaction: "I rejoice that we can speak without an interpreter.
Persevere in learning the beautiful language of my forefathers. Croesus,
who sits at my table, shall still remain your instructor."
"Your command confers happiness!" exclaimed the old man. "No more eager
or thankful pupil could be found, than the daughter of Amasis."
"She justifies the ancient report of the wisdom of Egypt," answered the
king, "and I can believe that she will quickly understand and receive
into her soul the religious instructions of our Magi."
Nitetis dropped her earnest gaze. Her fears were being realized. She
would be compelled to serve strange gods.
But her emotion passed unnoticed by Cambyses, who went on speaking: "My
mother Kassandane will tell you the duties expected from my wives. To-
morrow I myself will lead you to her. The words, which you innocently
chanced to hear, I now repeat; you please me well. Do nothing to
alienate my affection. We will try to make our country agreeable, and,
as your friend, I counsel you to treat Boges whom I sent as my
forerunner, in a kind and friendly manner. As head over the house
of the women, you will have to conform to his will in many things."
"Though he be head over the house of the women," answered Nitetis,
"surely your wife is bound to obey no other earthly will than yours.
Your slightest look shall be for me a command; but remember that I am a
king's daughter, that in my native land the weaker and the stronger sex
have equal rights, and that the same pride reigns in my breast, which I
see kindling in your eyes, my lord and king! My obedience to you, my
husband and my ruler, shall be that of a slave, but I can never stoop to
sue for the favor, or obey the orders of a venal servant, the most
unmanly of his kind!"
Cambyses' wonder and satisfaction increased. He had never heard any
woman speak in this way before, except his mother; the clever way in
which Nitetis acknowledged, and laid stress on, his right to command her
every act, was very flattering to his self-love, and her pride found an
echo in his own haughty disposition. He nodded approvingly and answered:
"You have spoken well. A separate dwelling shall be appointed you.
I, and no one else, will prescribe your rules of life and conduct. This
day the pleasant palace on the hanging-gardens shall be prepared for your
reception."
"A thousand, thousand thanks," cried Nitetis. "You little know the
blessing you are bestowing in this permission. Again and again I have
begged your brother Bartja to repeat the story of these gardens, and the
love of the king who raised that verdant and blooming hill, pleased us
better than all the other glories of your vast domains."
"To-morrow," answered the king, "you can enter your new abode. But tell
me now how my messengers pleased you and your countrymen."
"How can you ask? Who could know the noble Croesus without loving him?
Who could fail to admire the beauty of the young heroes, your friends?
They have all become dear to us, but your handsome brother Bartja
especially, won all hearts. The Egyptians have no love for strangers,
and yet the gaping crowd would burst into a murmur of admiration, when
his beautiful face appeared among them."
At these words the king's brow darkened; he struck his horse so sharply
that the creature reared, and then turning it quickly round he gallopped
to the front and soon reached the walls of Babylon.
...........................
Though Nitetis had been brought up among the huge temples and palaces of
Egypt, she was still astonished at the size and grandeur of this gigantic
city.
Its walls seemed impregnable; they measured more than seventy-five feet
--[Fifty ells. The Greek ell is equal to one foot and a half English.]--
in height and their breadth was so great, that two chariots could
conveniently drive abreast upon them. These mighty defences were crowned
and strengthened by two hundred and fifty high towers, and even these
would have been insufficient, if Babylon had not been protected on one
side by impassable morasses. The gigantic city lay on both
shores of the Euphrates. It was more than forty miles in circumference,
and its walls enclosed buildings surpassing in size and grandeur even the
Pyramids and the temples of Thebes.
[These numbers and measurements are taken partly from Herodotus,
partly from Diodorus, Strabo and Arrian. And even the ruins of this
giant city, writes Lavard, are such as to allow a very fair
conclusion of its enormous size. Aristotle (Polit. III. I.) says
Babylon's dimensions were not those of a city, but of a nation.]
The mighty gates of brass, through which the royal train entered the
city, had opened wide to receive this noble company. This entrance was
defended on each side by a strong tower, and before each of these towers
lay, as warder, a gigantic winged bull carved in stone, with a human
head, bearded and solemn. Nitetis gazed at these gates in astonishment,
and then a joyful smile lighted up her face, as she looked up the long
broad street so brightly and beautifully decorated to welcome her.
The moment they beheld the king and the gilded carriage, the multitude
burst into loud shouts of joy, but when Bartja, the people's darling,
came in sight, the shouts rose to thunder-peals and shrieks of delight,
which seemed as if they would never end. It was long since the populace
had seen Cambyses, for in accordance with Median customs the king seldom
appeared in public. Like the Deity, he was to govern invisibly, and his
occasional appearance before the nation to be looked upon as a festival
and occasion of rejoicing. Thus all Babylon had come out to-day to look
upon their awful ruler and to welcome their favorite Bartja on his
return. The windows were crowded with eager, curious women, who threw
flowers before the approaching train, or poured sweet perfumes from above
as they passed by. The pavement was thickly strewn with myrtle and palm
branches, trees of different kinds had been placed before the house-
doors, carpets and gay cloths hung from the windows, garlands of flowers
were wreathed from house to house, fragrant odors of incense and sandal-
wood perfumed the air, and the way was lined with thousands of gaping
Babylonians dressed in white linen shirts, gaily-colored woollen
petticoats and short cloaks, and carrying long staves headed with
pomegranates, birds, or roses, of gold or silver.
The streets through which the procession moved were broad and straight,
the houses on either side, built of brick, tall and handsome. Towering
above every thing else, and visible from all points, rose the gigantic
temple of Bel. Its colossal staircase, like a huge serpent, wound round
and round the ever-diminishing series of stories composing the tower,
until it reached the summit crowned by the sanctuary itself.
[This temple of Bel, which many consider may have been the tower of
Babel of Genesis XI., is mentioned by Herodotus I. 181. 182. 183.
Diodorus II. 8. 9. (Ktesias), Strabo 738 and many other ancient
writers. The people living in its neighborhood now call the ruins
Birs Nimrod, the castle of Nimrod. In the text we have
reconstructed it as far as possible from the accounts of classical
writers. The first story, which is still standing, in the midst of
a heap of ruins, is 260 feet high. The walls surrounding the tower
are said to be still clearly recognizable, and were 4000 feet long
and 3000 broad. ]
The procession approached the royal palace. This corresponded in its
enormous size to the rest of the vast city. The walls surrounding it
were covered with gaily-colored and glazed representations of strange
figures made up of human beings, birds, quadrupeds and fishes; hunting-
scenes, battles and solemn processions. By the side of the river towards
the north, rose the hanging-gardens, and the smaller palace lay toward
the east on the other bank of the Euphrates, connected with the larger
one by the wondrous erection, a firm bridge of stone.
Our train passed on through the brazen gates of three of the walls
surrounding the palace, and then halted. Nitetis was lifted from her
carriage by bearers; she was at last in her new home, and soon after in
the apartments of the women's house assigned to her temporary use.
Cambyses, Bartja and their friends already known to us, were still
standing in the gaily-carpeted court of the palace, surrounded by at
least a hundred splendid dignitaries in magnificent dresses, when
suddenly a sound of loud female voices was heard, and a lovely Persian
girl richly dressed, her thick fair hair profusely wreathed with pearls,
rushed into the court, pursued by several women older than herself. She
ran up to the group of men; Cambyses with a smile placed himself in her
path, but the impetuous girl slipped adroitly past him, and in another
moment was hanging on Bartja's neck, crying and laughing by turns.
The attendants in pursuit prostrated themselves at a respectful distance,
but Cambyses, on seeing the caresses lavished by the young girl on her
newly-returned brother, cried: "For shame, Atossa! remember that since
you began to wear ear-rings you have ceased to be a child!
[Ear-rings were given to the Persian girls in their fifteenth year,
the marriageable age. Vendid. Farlard XIV. 66. At this age too
boys as well as girls were obliged to wear the sacred cord, Kuctl or
Kosti as a girdle; and were only allowed to unloose it in the night.
The making of this cord is attended with many ceremonies, even among
the Persians of our own day. Seventy-two threads must be employed,
but black wool is prohibited.]
It is right that you should rejoice to see your brother again, but a
king's daughter must never forget what is due to her rank, even in her
greatest joy. Go back to your mother directly. I see your attendants
waiting yonder. Go and tell them, that as this is a day of rejoicing I
will allow your heedless conduct to pass unpunished, but the next time
you appear unbidden in these apartments, which none may enter without
permission, I shall tell Boges to keep you twelve days in confinement.
Remember this, thoughtless child, and tell our mother, Bartja and I are
coming to visit her. Now give me a kiss. You will not? We shall see,
capricious little one!" And so saying the king sprang towards his
refractory little sister, and seizing both her hands in one of his own,
bent back her charming head with the other and kissed her in spite of
her resistance. She screamed from the violence of his grasp, and ran
away crying to her attendants, who took her back to her apartments.
When Atossa had disappeared, Bartja said; "You were too rough with the
little one, Cambyses. She screamed with pain!"
Once more the king's face clouded, but suppressing the harsh words which
trembled on his lips, he only answered, turning towards the house: "Let
us come to our mother now; she begged me to bring you as soon as you
arrived. The women, as usual, are all impatience. Nitetis told me your
rosy cheeks and fair curls had bewitched the Egyptian women too. I would
advise you to pray betimes to Mithras for eternal youth, and for his
protection against the wrinkles of age!"
"Do you mean to imply by these words that I have no virtues which could
make an old age beautiful?" asked Bartja.
"I explain my words to no one. Come."
"But I ask for an opportunity of proving, that I am inferior to none of
my nation in manly qualities."
"For that matter, the shouts of the Babylonians today will have been
proof enough, that deeds are not wanted from you, in order to win their
admiration."
"Cambyses!"
"Now come! We are just on the eve of a war with the Massagetae; there
you will have a good opportunity of proving what you are worth."
A few minutes later, and Bartja was in the arms of his blind mother.
She had been waiting for her darling's arrival with a beating heart, and
in the joy of hearing his voice once more, and of being able to lay her
hands again on that beloved head, she forgot everything else--even her
first-born son who stood by smiling bitterly, as he watched the rich and
boundless stream of a mother's love flowing out to his younger brother.
Cambyses had been spoiled from his earliest infancy. Every wish had been
fulfilled, every look regarded as a command; and thus he grew up totally
unable to brook contradiction, giving way to the most violent anger if
any of his subjects (and he knew no human beings who were not his
subjects) dared to oppose him.
His father Cyrus, conqueror of half the world--the man whose genius had
raised Persia from a small nation to the summit of earthly greatness--who
had secured for himself the reverence and admiration of countless
subjugated tribes--this great king was incapable of carrying out in his
own small family-circle the system of education he had so successfully
adopted towards entire countries. He could see nought else in Cambyses
but the future king of Persia, and commanded his subjects to pay him an
unquestioning obedience, entirely forgetful of the fact that he who is to
govern well must begin by learning to obey.
Cambyses had been the first-born son of Kassandane, the wife whom Cyrus
had loved and married young; three daughters followed, and at last,
fifteen years later, Bartja had come into the world. Their eldest son
had already outgrown his parents' caresses, when this little child
appeared to engross all their care and love. His gentle, affectionate
and clinging nature made him the darling of both father and mother:
Cambyses was treated with consideration by his parents, but their love
was for Bartja. Cambyses was brave; he distinguished himself often in
the field, but his disposition was haughty and imperious; men served him
with fear and trembling, while Bartja, ever sociable and sympathizing,
converted all his companions into loving friends. As to the mass of
the people, they feared the king, and trembled when he drew near,
notwithstanding the lavish manner in which he showered rich gifts around
him; but they loved Bartja, and believed they saw in him the image of the
great Cyrus the "Father of his people."
Cambyses knew well that all this love, so freely given to Bartja, was not
to be bought. He did not hate his younger brother, but he felt annoyed
that a youth who had as yet done nothing to distinguish himself, should
be honored and revered as if he were already a hero and public
benefactor. Whatever annoyed or displeased him he considered must be
wrong; where he disapproved he did not spare his censures, and from his
very childhood, Cambyses' reproofs had been dreaded even by the mighty.
The enthusiastic shouts of the populace, the overflowing love of his
mother and sister, and above all, the warm encomiums expressed by
Nitetis, had excited a jealousy which his pride had never allowed
hitherto. Nitetis had taken his fancy in a remarkable degree. This
daughter of a powerful monarch, like himself disdaining everything mean
and inferior, had yet acknowledged him to be her superior, and to win his
favor had not shrunk from the laborious task of mastering his native
language. These qualities, added to her peculiar style of beauty, which
excited his admiration from its rare novelty, half Egyptian half Greek,
(her mother having been a Greek), had not failed to make a deep
impression on him. But she had been liberal in her praise of Bartja;
that was enough to disturb Cambyses' mind and prepare the way for
jealousy.
As he and his brother were leaving the women's apartments, Cambyses
adopted a hasty resolution and exclaimed: "You asked me just now for an
opportunity of proving your courage. I will not refuse. The Tapuri have
risen; I have sent troops to the frontier. Go to Rhagae, take the
command and show what you are worth."
"Thanks, brother," cried Bartja. "May I take my friends, Darius, Gyges
and Zopyrus with me?"
"That favor shall be granted too. I hope you will all do your duty
bravely and promptly, that you may be back in three months to join the
main army in the expedition of revenge on the Massagetae. It will take
place in spring."
"I will start to-morrow."
"Then farewell."
"If Auramazda should spare my life and I should return victorious, will
you promise to grant me one favor?"
"Yes, I will."
"Now, then, I feel confident of victory, even if I should have to stand
with a thousand men against ten thousand of the enemy." Bartja's eyes
sparkled, he was thinking of Sappho.
"Well," answered his brother, "I shall be very glad if your actions bear
out these glowing words. But stop; I have something more to say. You
are now twenty years of age; you must marry. Roxana, daughter of the
noble Hydarnes, is marriageable, and is said to be beautiful. Her birth
makes her a fitting bride for you."
"Oh! brother, do not speak of marriage; I . . ." "You must marry, for
I have no children."
"But you are still young; you will not remain childless. Besides, I do
not say that I will never marry. Do not be angry, but just now, when I
am to prove my courage, I would rather hear nothing about women."
"Well, then, you must marry Roxana when you return from the North. But I
should advise you to take her with you to the field. A Persian generally
fights better if he knows that, beside his most precious treasures, he
has a beautiful woman in his tent to defend."
"Spare me this one command, my brother. I conjure thee, by the soul of
our father, not to inflict on me a wife of whom I know nothing, and never
wish to know. Give Roxana to Zopyrus, who is so fond of women, or to
Darius or Bessus, who are related to her father Hydarnes. I cannot love
her, and should be miserable . . ."
Cambyses interrupted him with a laugh, exclaiming: "Did you learn these
notions in Egypt, where it is the custom to be contented with one wife?
In truth, I have long repented having sent a boy like you abroad. I am
not accustomed to bear contradiction, and shall listen to no excuses
after the war. This once I will allow you to go to the field without a
wife. I will not force you to do what, in your opinion, might endanger
your valor. But it seems to me that you have other and more secret
reasons for refusing my brotherly proposal. If that is the case, I am
sorry for you. However, for the present, you can depart, but after the
war I will hear no remonstrances. You know me."
"Perhaps after the war I may ask for the very thing, which I am refusing
now--but never for Roxana! It is just as unwise to try to make a man
happy by force as it is wicked to compel him to be unhappy, and I thank
you for granting my request."
"Don't try my powers of yielding too often!--How happy you look!
I really believe you are in love with some one woman by whose side all
the others have lost their charms."
Bartja blushed to his temples, and seizing his brother's hand, exclaimed:
"Ask no further now, accept my thanks once more, and farewell. May I bid
Nitetis farewell too, when I have taken leave of our mother and Atossa?"
Cambyses bit his lip, looked searchingly into Bartja's face, and finding
that the boy grew uneasy under his glance, exclaimed abruptly and
angrily: "Your first business is to hasten to the Tapuri. My wife needs
your care no longer; she has other protectors now." So saying he turned
his back on his brother and passed on into the great hall, blazing with
gold, purple and jewels, where the chiefs of the army, satraps, judges,
treasurers, secretaries, counsellors, eunuchs, door-keepers, introducers
of strangers, chamberlains, keepers of the wardrobe, dressers, cup-
bearers, equerries, masters of the chase, physicians, eyes and ears of
the king, ambassadors and plenipotentiaries of all descriptions--were in
waiting for him.
[The "eyes and ears" of the king may be compared to our police-
ministers. Darius may have borrowed the name from Egypt, where such
titles as "the 2 eyes of the king for Upper Egypt, the 2 ears of the
king for Lower Egypt" are to be found on the earlier monuments, for
instance in the tomb of Amen en, heb at Abd el Qurnah. And in
Herodotus II. 114. the boy Cyrus calls one of his playfellows "the
eye of the king," Herod. (I, 100.)]
The king was preceded by heralds bearing staves, and followed by a host
of fan, sedan and footstool-bearers, men carrying carpets, and
secretaries who the moment he uttered a command, or even indicated a
concession, a punishment or a reward, hastened to note it down and at
once hand it over to the officials empowered to execute his decrees.
In the middle of the brilliantly-lighted hall stood a gilded table, which
looked as if it must give way beneath the mass of gold and silver
vessels, plates, cups and bowls which were arranged with great order upon
it. The king's private table, the service on which was of immense worth
and beauty, was placed in an apartment opening out of the large hall, and
separated from it by purple hangings. These concealed him from the gaze
of the revellers, but did not prevent their every movement from being
watched by his eye. It was an object of the highest ambition to be one
of those who ate at the king's table, and even he to whom a portion was
sent might deem himself a highly-favored man.
As Cambyses entered the hall, nearly every one present prostrated
themselves before him; his relations alone, distinguished by the blue and
white fillet on the tiara, contented themselves with a deferential
obeisance.
After the king had seated himself in his private apartment, the rest of
the company took their places, and then a tremendous revel began.
Animals, roasted whole, were placed on the table, and, when hunger was
appeased, several courses of the rarest delicacies followed, celebrated
in later times even among the Greeks under the name of "Persian dessert."
[Herodotus (I. 133.) writes that the Persians fancied the Greeks'
hunger was never satisfied, because nothing special was brought to
the table at the end of the meal.]
Slaves then entered to remove the remains of the food. Others brought in
immense jugs of wine, the king left his own apartment, took his seat at
the head of the table, numerous cup-bearers filled the golden drinking-
cups in the most graceful manner, first tasting the wine to prove that it
was free from poison, and soon one of those drinking-bouts had begun
under the best auspices, at which, a century or two later, Alexander the
Great, forgot not only moderation but even friendship itself.
Cambyses was unwontedly silent. The suspicion had entered his mind, that
Bartja loved Nitetis. Why had he, contrary to all custom, so decidedly
refused to marry a noble and beautiful girl, when his brother's
childlessness rendered marriage an evident and urgent duty for him? Why
had he wished to see the Egyptian princess again before leaving Babylon?
and blushed as he expressed that wish? and why had she, almost without
being asked, praised him so warmly?
It is well that he is going, thought the king; at least he shall not rob
me of her love. If he were not my brother I would send him to a place
from whence none can return.
After midnight he broke up the banquet. Boges appeared to conduct him to
the Harem, which he was accustomed to visit at this hour, when
sufficiently sober.
"Phaedime awaits you with impatience," said the eunuch.
"Let her wait!" was the king's answer. "Have you given orders that the
palace on the hanging-gardens shall be set in order?"
"It will be ready for occupation to-morrow."
"What apartments have been assigned to the Egyptian Princess?"
"Those formerly occupied by the second wife of your father Cyrus, the
deceased Amytis."
"That is well. Nitetis is to be treated with the greatest respect, and
to receive no commands even from yourself, but such as I give you for
her."
Boges bowed low.
"See that no one, not even Croesus, has admission to her before my.....
before I give further orders."
"Croesus was with her this evening."
"What may have been his business with my wife?"
"I do not know, for I do not understand the Greek language, but I heard
the name of Bartja several times, and it seemed to me that the Egyptian
had received sorrowful intelligence. She was looking very sad when I
came, after Croesus had left, to inquire if she had any commands for me."
"May Ahriman blast thy tongue," muttered the king, and then turning his
back on the eunuch he followed the torch-bearers and attendants, who were
in waiting to disrobe him, to his own private apartments.
At noon on the following clay, Bartja, accompanied by his friends and a
troop of attendants, started on horseback for the frontier. Croesus went
with the young warriors as far as the city gates, and as their last
farewells and embraces were being exchanged, Bartja whispered to his old
friend: "If the messenger from Egypt should have a letter for me in his
bag, will you send it on?"
"Shall you be able to decipher the Greek writing?"
"Gyges and love will help me!"
"When I told Nitetis of your departure she begged me to wish you
farewell, and tell you not to forget Egypt."
"I am not likely to do that."
"The gods take thee into their care, my son. Be prudent, do not risk
your life heedlessly, but remember that it is no longer only your own.
Exercise the gentleness of a father towards the rebels; they did not rise
in mere self-will, but to gain their freedom, the most precious
possession of mankind. Remember, too, that to shew mercy is better than
to shed blood; the sword killeth, but the favor of the ruler bringeth joy
and happiness. Conclude the war as speedily as possible, for war is a
perversion of nature; in peace the sons outlive the fathers, but in war
the fathers live to mourn for their slain sons. Farewell, my young
heroes, go forward and conquer!"