among the Athenians during this time; but as to the Lacedemonians he
heard that they had escaped from great evils and had now got the better
of the Tegeans in the war. For when Leon and Hegesicles were kings of
Sparta, the Lacedemonians, who had good success in all their other wars,
suffered disaster in that alone which they waged against the men of
Tegea. Moreover in the times before this they had the worst laws of
almost all the Hellenes, both in matters which concerned themselves
alone and also in that they had no dealings with strangers. And they
made their change to a good constitution of laws thus:—Lycurgos, a
man of the Spartans who was held in high repute, came to the Oracle at
Delphi, and as he entered the sanctuary of the temple, straightway the
Pythian prophetess said as follows:
"Lo, thou art come, O Lycurgos, to this rich shrine of my temple,
Loved thou by Zeus and by all who possess the abodes of Olympos.
Whether to call thee a god, I doubt, in my voices prophetic,
God or a man, but rather a god I think, O Lycurgos."
66. Some say in addition to this that the Pythian prophetess also set
forth to him the order of things which is now established for the
Spartans; but the Lacedemonians themselves say that Lycurgos having
become guardian of Leobotes his brother's son, who was king of the
Spartans, brought in these things from Crete. For as soon as he became
guardian, he changed all the prevailing laws, and took measures that
they should not transgress his institutions: and after this Lycurgos
established that which appertained to war, namely Enomoties and Triecads
and Common Meals, 7701 and in addition to this the Ephors and the
Senate. Having changed thus, the Spartans had good laws; and to Lycurgos
after he was dead they erected a temple, and they pay him great worship.
So then, as might be supposed, with a fertile land and with no small
number of men dwelling in it, they straightway shot up and became
prosperous: and it was no longer sufficient for them to keep still; but
presuming that they were superior in strength to the Arcadians, they
consulted the Oracle at Delphi respecting conquest of the whole of
Arcadia; and the Pythian prophetess gave answer thus:
"The land of Arcadia thou askest; thou askest me much; I refuse it;
Many there are in Arcadian land, stout men, eating acorns;
These will prevent thee from this: but I am not grudging towards thee;
Tegea beaten with sounding feet I will give thee to dance in,
And a fair plain I will give thee to measure with line and divide it."
When the Lacedemonians heard report of this, they held off from the
other Arcadians, and marched against the Tegeans with fetters in their
hands, trusting to a deceitful 78 oracle and expecting that they
would make slaves of the men of Tegea. But having been worsted in the
encounter, those of them who were taken alive worked wearing the fetters
which they themselves brought with them and having "measured with line
and divided" 79 the plain of the Tegeans. And these fetters with which
they had been bound were preserved even to my own time at Tegea, hanging
about the temple of Athene Alea. 80
67. In the former war then I say they struggled against the Tegeans
continually with ill success; but in the time of Croesus and in the
reign of Anaxandrides and Ariston at Lacedemon the Spartans had at
length become victors in the war; and they became so in the following
manner:—As they continued to be always worsted in the war by the men of
Tegea, they sent messengers to consult the Oracle at Delphi and inquired
what god they should propitiate in order to get the better of the men
of Tegea in the war: and the Pythian prophetess made answer to them
that they should bring into their land the bones of Orestes the son of
Agamemnon. Then as they were not able to find the grave of Orestes,
they sent men again to go to the god and to inquire about the spot where
Orestes was laid: and when the messengers who were sent asked this, the
prophetess said as follows:
"Tegea there is, in Arcadian land, in a smooth place founded;
Where there do blow two blasts by strong compulsion together;
Stroke too there is and stroke in , and trouble on trouble.
There Agamemnon's son in the life-giving earth is reposing;
Him if thou bring with thee home, of Tegea thou shalt be master." 81
When the Lacedemonians had heard this they were none the less far from
finding it out, though they searched all places; until the time that
Lichas, one of those Spartans who are called "Well-doers," 82 discovered
it. Now the "Well-doers" are of the citizens the eldest who are passing
from the ranks of the "Horsemen," in each year five; and these are bound
during that year in which they pass out from the "Horsemen," to allow
themselves to be sent without ceasing to various places by the Spartan
State.
68. Lichas then, being one of these, discovered it in Tegea by means
both of fortune and ability. For as there were at that time dealings
under truce with the men of Tegea, he had come to a forge there and was
looking at iron being wrought; and he was in wonder as he saw that which
was being done. The smith therefore, perceiving that he marvelled at it,
ceased from his work and said: "Surely, thou stranger of Lacedemon, if
thou hadst seen that which I once saw, thou wouldst have marvelled much,
since now it falls out that thou dost marvel so greatly at the working
of this iron; for I, desiring in this enclosure to make a well, lighted
in my digging upon a coffin of seven cubits in length; and not believing
that ever there had been men larger than those of the present day,
I opened it, and I saw that the dead body was equal in length to the
coffin: then after I had measured it, I filled in the earth over it
again." He then thus told him of that which he had seen; and the other,
having thought upon that which was told, conjectured that this was
Orestes according to the saying of the Oracle, forming his conjecture
in the following manner:—whereas he saw that the smith had two pairs of
bellows, he concluded that these were the winds spoken of, and that the
anvil and the hammer were the stroke and the stroke in , and that the
iron which was being wrought was the trouble laid upon trouble, making
comparison by the thought that iron has been discovered for the evil of
mankind. Having thus conjectured he came back to Sparta and declared the
whole matter to the Lacedemonians; and they brought a charge against him
on a fictitious pretext and drove him out into exile. 83 So having come
to Tegea, he told the smith of his evil fortune and endeavoured to hire
from him the enclosure, but at first he would not allow him to have it:
at length however Lichas persuaded him and he took up his abode there;
and he dug up the grave and gathered together the bones and went with
them away to Sparta. From that time, whenever they made trial of one
another, the Lacedemonians had much the advantage in the war; and by now
they had subdued to themselves the greater part of Peloponnesus besides.
69. Croesus accordingly being informed of all these things was sending
messengers to Sparta with gifts in their hands to ask for an alliance,
having commanded them what they ought to say: and they when they came
said: "Croesus king of the Lydians and also of other nations sent us
hither and saith as follows: O Lacedemonians, whereas the god by an
oracle bade me join with myself the Hellene as a friend, therefore,
since I am informed that ye are the chiefs of Hellas, I invite you
according to the oracle, desiring to be your friend and your ally
apart from all guile and deceit." Thus did Croesus announce to the
Lacedemonians through his messengers; and the Lacedemonians, who
themselves also had heard of the oracle given to Croesus, were pleased
at the coming of the Lydians and exchanged oaths of friendship and
alliance: for they were bound to Croesus also by some services rendered
to them even before this time; since the Lacedemonians had sent to
Sardis and were buying gold there with purpose of using it for the image
of Apollo which is now set up on Mount Thornax in the Lacedemonian land;
and Croesus, when they desired to buy it, gave it them as a gift.
70. For this reason therefore the Lacedemonians accepted the alliance,
and also because he chose them as his friends, preferring them to all
the other Hellenes. And not only were they ready themselves when he made
his offer, but they caused a mixing-bowl to be made of bronze, covered
outside with figures round the rim and of such a size as to hold three
hundred amphors, 84 and this they conveyed, desiring to give it as a
gift in to Croesus. This bowl never came to Sardis for reasons of which
two accounts are given as follows:—The Lacedemonians say that when the
bowl was on its way to Sardis and came opposite the land of Samos, the
men of Samos having heard of it sailed out with ships of war and took
it away; but the Samians themselves say that the Lacedemonians who were
conveying the bowl, finding that they were too late and hearing that
Sardis had been taken and Croesus was a prisoner, sold the bowl in
Samos, and certain private persons bought it and dedicated it as a
votive offering in the temple of Hera; and probably those who had sold
it would say when they ed to Sparta that it had been taken from them by
the Samians.
71. Thus then it happened about the mixing-bowl: but meanwhile Croesus,
mistaking the meaning of the oracle, was making a march into Cappadokia,
expecting to overthrow Cyrus and the power of the Persians: and while
Croesus was preparing to march against the Persians, one of the
Lydians, who even before this time was thought to be a wise man but in
consequence of this opinion got a very great name for wisdom among
the Lydians, had advised Croesus as follows (the name of the man was
Sandanis):—"O king, thou art preparing to march against men who wear
breeches of leather, and the rest of their clothing is of leather also;
and they eat food not such as they desire but such as they can obtain,
dwelling in a land which is rugged; and moreover they make no use of
wine but drink water; and no figs have they for dessert, nor any other
good thing. On the one hand, if thou shalt overcome them, what wilt thou
take away from them, seeing they have nothing? and on the other hand,
if thou shalt be overcome, consider how many good things thou wilt lose;
for once having tasted our good things, they will cling to them fast
and it will not be possible to drive them away. I for my own part feel
gratitude to the gods that they do not put it into the minds of the
Persians to march against the Lydians." Thus he spoke not persuading
Croesus: for it is true indeed that the Persians before they subdued the
Lydians had no luxury nor any good thing.
72. Now the Cappadokians are called by the Hellenes Syrians; 85 and
these Syrians, before the Persians had rule, were subjects of the Medes,
but at this time they were subjects of Cyrus. For the boundary between
the Median empire and the Lydian was the river Halys; and this flows
from the mountain-land of Armenia through the Kilikians, and afterwards,
as it flows, it has the Matienians on the right hand and the Phrygians
on the other side; then passing by these and flowing up towards the
North Wind, it bounds on the one side the Cappadokian Syrians and on the
left hand the Paphlagonians. Thus the river Halys cuts off from the rest
almost all the lower parts of Asia by a line extending from the sea
that is opposite Cyprus to the Euxine. And this tract is the neck of the
whole peninsula, the distance of the journey being such that five days
are spent on the way by a man without encumbrance. 86
73. Now for the following reasons Croesus was marching into
Cappadokia:—first because he desired to acquire the land in addition to
his own possessions, and then especially because he had confidence in
the oracle and wished to take vengeance on Cyrus for Astyages. For
Cyrus the son of Cambyses had conquered Astyages and was keeping him in
captivity, who was brother by marriage to Croesus and king of the Medes:
and he had become the brother by marriage of Croesus in this manner:—A
horde of the nomad Scythians at feud with the rest withdrew and sought
refuge in the land of the Medes: and at this time the ruler of the Medes
was Kyaxares the son of Phraortes, the son of Deïokes, who at first
dealt well with these Scythians, being suppliants for his protection;
and esteeming them very highly he delivered boys to them to learn their
speech and the art of shooting with the bow. Then time went by, and the
Scythians used to go out continually to the chase and always brought
back something; till once it happened that they took nothing, and when
they ed with empty hands Kyaxares (being, as he showed on this occasion,
not of an eminently good disposition 87) dealt with them very harshly
and used insult towards them. And they, when they had received this
treatment from Kyaxares, considering that they had suffered indignity,
planned to kill and to cut up one of the boys who were being instructed
among them, and having dressed his flesh as they had been wont to dress
the wild animals, to bear it to Kyaxares and give it to him, pretending
that it was game taken in hunting; and when they had given it, their
design was to make their way as quickly as possible to Alyattes the son
of Sadyattes at Sardis. This then was done; and Kyaxares with the guests
who ate at his table tasted of that meat, and the Scythians having so
done became suppliants for the protection of Alyattes.
74. After this, seeing that Alyattes would not give up the Scythians
when Kyaxares demanded them, there had arisen war between the Lydians
and the Medes lasting five years; in which years the Medes often
discomfited the Lydians and the Lydians often discomfited the Medes (and
among others they fought also a battle by night): 88 and as they still
carried on the war with equally balanced fortune, in the sixth year a
battle took place in which it happened, when the fight had begun, that
suddenly the day became night. And this change of the day Thales the
Milesian had foretold to the Ionians laying down as a limit this very
year in which the change took place. The Lydians however and the Medes,
when they saw that it had become night instead of day, ceased from their
fighting and were much more eager both of them that peace should be made
between them. And they who brought about the peace between them were
Syennesis the Kilikian and Labynetos the Babylonian: 89 these were they
who urged also the taking of the oath by them, and they brought about an
interchange of marriages; for they decided that Alyattes should give his
daughter Aryenis to Astyages the son of Kyaxares, seeing that without
the compulsion of a strong tie agreements are apt not to hold strongly
together. Now these nations observe the same ceremonies in taking oaths
as the Hellenes, and in addition to them they make incision into the
skin of their arms, and then lick up the blood each of the other.
75. This Astyages then, being his mother's father, Cyrus had conquered
and made prisoner for a reason which I shall declare in the history
which comes after. 90 This then was the complaint which Croesus had
against Cyrus when he sent to the Oracles to ask if he should march
against the Persians; and when a deceitful answer had come back to him,
he marched into the dominion of the Persians, supposing that the answer
was favourable to himself. And when Croesus came to the river Halys,
then, according to my account, he passed his army across by the bridges
which there were; but, according to the account which prevails among the
Hellenes, Thales the Milesian enabled him to pass his army across. For,
say they, when Croesus was at a loss how his army should pass over the
river (since, they add, there were not yet at that time the bridges
which now there are), Thales being present in the army caused the river,
which flowed then on the left hand of the army, to flow partly also on
the right; and he did it thus:—beginning above the camp he proceeded to
dig a deep channel, directing it in the form of a crescent moon, so that
the river might take the camp there pitched in the rear, being turned
aside from its ancient course by this way along the channel, and
afterwards passing by the camp might fall again into its ancient course;
so that as soon as the river was thus parted in two it became fordable
by both branches: and some say even that the ancient course of the river
was altogether dried up. But this tale I do not admit as true, for how
then did they pass over the river as they went back?
76. And Croesus, when he had passed over with his army, came to that
place in Cappadokia which is called Pteria (now Pteria is the strongest
place in this country, and is situated somewhere about in a line with
the city of Sinope 91 on the Euxine). Here he encamped and ravaged the
fields of the Syrians. Moreover he took the city of the Pterians, and
sold the people into slavery, and he took also all the towns that lay
about it; and the Syrians, who were not guilty of any wrong, he forced
to remove from their homes. 92 Meanwhile Cyrus, having gathered his
own forces and having taken up in addition to them all who dwelt in the
region between, was coming to meet Croesus. Before he began however to
lead forth his army, he had sent heralds to the Ionians and tried to
induce them to revolt from Croesus; but the Ionians would not do as he
said. Then when Cyrus was come and had encamped over against Croesus,
they made trial of one another by force of arms in the land of Pteria:
and after hard fighting, when many had fallen on both sides, at length,
night having come on, they parted from one the other with no victory on
either side.
77. Thus the two armies contended with one another: and Croesus being
ill satisfied with his own army in respect of number (for the army
which he had when he fought was far smaller than that of Cyrus), being
dissatisfied with it I say on this account, as Cyrus did not attempt to
advance against him on the following day, marched back to Sardis, having
it in his mind to call the Egyptians to his help according to the oath
which they had taken (for he had made an alliance with Amasis king of
Egypt before he made the alliance with the Lacedemonians), and to
summon the Babylonians as well (for with these also an alliance had
been concluded by him, Labynetos 93 being at that time ruler of the
Babylonians), and moreover to send a message to the Lacedemonians
bidding them appear at a fixed time: and then after he had got all these
together and had gathered his own army, his design was to let the winter
go by and at the coming of spring to march against the Persians. So with
these thoughts in his mind, as soon as he came to Sardis he proceeded to
send heralds to his several allies to give them notice that by the fifth
month from that time they should assemble at Sardis: but the army which
he had with him and which had fought with the Persians, an army which
consisted of mercenary troops, 94 he let go and disbanded altogether,
never expecting that Cyrus, after having contended against him with such
even fortune, would after all march upon Sardis.
78. When Croesus had these plans in his mind, the suburb of the city
became of a sudden all full of serpents; and when these had appeared,
the horses leaving off to feed in their pastures came constantly thither
and devoured them. When Croesus saw this he deemed it to be a portent,
as indeed it was: and forthwith he despatched messengers to the dwelling
of the Telmessians, who interpret omens: and the messengers who were
sent to consult arrived there and learnt from the Telmessians what the
portent meant to signify, but they did not succeed in reporting the
answer to Croesus, for before they sailed back to Sardis Croesus had
been taken prisoner. The Telmessians however gave decision thus: that an
army speaking a foreign tongue was to be looked for by Croesus to
invade his land, and that this when it came would subdue the native
inhabitants; for they said that the serpent was born of the soil, while
the horse was an enemy and a stranger. The men of Telmessos thus made
answer to Croesus after he was already taken prisoner, not knowing as
yet anything of the things which had happened to Sardis and to Croesus
himself.
79. Cyrus, however, so soon as Croesus marched away after the battle
which had been fought in Pteria, having learnt that Croesus meant after
he had marched away to disband his army, took counsel with himself and
concluded that it was good for him to march as quickly as possible
to Sardis, before the power of the Lydians should be again gathered
together. So when he had resolved upon this, he did it without delay:
for he marched his army into Lydia with such speed that he was himself
the first to announce his coming to Croesus. Then Croesus, although he
had come to a great strait, since his affairs had fallen out altogether
contrary to his own expectation, yet proceeded to lead forth the
Lydians into battle. Now there was at this time no nation in Asia more
courageous or more stout in battle than the Lydian; and they fought on
horseback carrying long spears, the men being excellent in horsemanship.
80. So when the armies had met in that plain which is in front of the
city of Sardis,—a plain wide and open, through which flow rivers (and
especially the river Hyllos) all rushing down to join the largest called
Hermos, which flows from the mountain sacred to the Mother surnamed
"of Dindymos" 95 and runs out into the sea by the city of Phocaia,—then
Cyrus, when he saw the Lydians being arrayed for battle, fearing their
horsemen, did on the suggestion of Harpagos a Mede as follows:—all
the camels which were in the train of his army carrying provisions and
baggage he gathered together, and he took off their burdens and set
men upon them provided with the equipment of cavalry: and having thus
furnished them forth he appointed them to go in front of the rest of
the army towards the horsemen of Croesus; and after the camel-troop he
ordered the infantry to follow; and behind the infantry he placed his
whole force of cavalry. Then when all his men had been placed in their
several positions, he charged them to spare none of the other Lydians,
slaying all who might come in their way, but Croesus himself they were
not to slay, not even if he should make resistance when he was captured.
Such was his charge: and he set the camels opposite the horsemen for
this reason,—because the horse has a fear of the camel and cannot endure
either to see his form or to scent his smell: for this reason then the
trick had been devised, in order that the cavalry of Croesus might be
useless, that very force wherewith the Lydian king was expecting most
to shine. And as they were coming together to the battle, so soon as the
horses scented the camels and saw them they turned away back, and the
hopes of Croesus were at once brought to nought. The Lydians however
for their part did not upon that act as cowards, but when they perceived
what was coming to pass they leapt from their horses and fought with
the Persians on foot. At length, however, when many had fallen on either
side, the Lydians turned to flight; and having been driven within the
wall of their fortress they were besieged by the Persians.
81. By these then a siege had been established: but Croesus, supposing
that the siege would last a long time, proceeded to send from the
fortress other messengers to his allies. For the former messengers were
sent round to give notice that they should assemble at Sardis by the
fifth month, but these he was sending out to ask them to come to his
assistance as quickly as possible, because Croesus was being besieged.