Seven weeks later, a long line of chariots and riders of every
description wound along the great highway that led from the west to
Babylon, the gigantic city which could be seen from a long distance.
Nitetis, the Egyptian princess, sat in a gilt four-wheeled chariot,
called a "Harmamaxa." The cushions were covered with gold brocade; the
roof was supported by wooden columns; its sides could be closed by
means of curtains.
Her companions, the Persian nobles, the dethroned King of Lydia and
his son, rode by the side of her chariot. Fifty carriages and six
hundred sumpter-horses followed, and a regiment of Persian soldiers on
splendid horses preceded the procession.
The road lay along the Euphrates, through luxuriant fields of wheat,
barley, and sesame, which yielded two or even three hundredfold.
Slender date-palms, with heavy clusters of fruit, stood in the fields,
which were intersected in all directions by canals and conduits.
Although it was winter, the sun shone warm and clear in the cloudless
sky. The mighty river was crowded with barges and boats, which brought
the produce of the Armenian highlands to the Mesopotamian plain, and
forwarded to Babylon the greater part of the wares which were brought
to Thapsacus from Greece.
Engines, pumps, and water-wheels poured refreshing moisture on the
fields and plantations along the banks, which were dotted with
numerous villages. Everything indicated that the capital of a
civilized and well-governed country was close at hand.
The carriage and suite of Nitetis stopped before a long building of
brick covered with bitumen, by the side of which grew numerous
plane-trees. Croesus was helped from his horse, approached the
carriage of the Egyptian princess, and cried to her:--"We have reached
the last station-house. The high tower that stands out against the
horizon is the famous tower of Bel, like your Pyramids one of the
greatest achievements of mortal hands. Before the sun sets we shall
reach the brazen gates of Babylon. Permit me to help you from the
carriage, and to send your women to you into the house. To-day you
must dress yourself according to the custom of Persian queens, so that
you may be pleasant in the eyes of Cambyses. In a few hours you will
stand before your husband. How pale you are! See that your women
skillfully paint joyous excitement on your cheeks. The first
impression is often decisive, and this is the case with your future
husband, more than with any one else. If, as I do not doubt, you
please him at first sight, you have won his heart forever. If you
displease him, he will, in accordance with his rough habits, scarcely
deign to look on you again with kindness. Courage, my daughter. Above
all things, remember what I have taught you."
Nitetis wiped away a tear, and returned:--"How shall I thank you for
all your kindness, Croesus, my second father, my protector and
adviser! Oh, do not ever desert me! When the path of my poor life
passes through sorrow and grief, remain my guide and protector, as you
have been during this long journey over dangerous mountain passes.
Thank you, my father, thank you a thousand times."
With these words, the girl put her beautiful arms round the old man's
neck and kissed him like an affectionate daughter.
When she entered the court of the gloomy house, a man came towards
her, followed by a train of Asiatic serving-women. The leader, the
chief eunuch, one of the most important Persian court officials, was
tall and stout. There was a sweet smile on his beardless face;
valuable rings hung from his ears; his arms and legs, his neck, his
long womanish garments, were covered with gold ornaments, and his
stiff artificial curls were surrounded by a purple fillet, and sent
forth a pungent odor. Boges, for this was the eunuch's name, bowed
respectfully to the Egyptian and said, holding his fleshy hand covered
with rings before his mouth:--"Cambyses, the ruler of the world, sends
me to meet you, O queen, that I may refresh your heart with the dew of
his greetings. He further sends to you through me, his poorest slave,
the garments of Persian women, that you may approach the gate of the
Achaemenidae in Median dress, as beseems the wife of the greatest of
rulers. These women your servants await your commands. They will
transform you from an Egyptian emerald into a Persian diamond." Boges
drew back, and with a condescending movement of his hand allowed the
host of the inn to present the princess with a most tastefully
arranged basket of fruit.
Nitetis thanked both men with friendly words, entered the house, and
tearfully put off the robes of her home; the thick plait, the mark of
an Egyptian princess, was unfastened, and strange hands clad her in
Median fashion.
Meanwhile her companions commanded a meal to be prepared. Nimble
servants fetched chairs, tables, and golden utensils from the wagon;
the cooks bustled about, and were so ready and eager to help each
other that soon, as if by magic, a splendidly laid table where nothing
was wanting, down to the very flowers, awaited the hungry travelers.
The same luxury had been displayed during the whole journey, for the
sumpter-horses that followed the royal travelers carried every
imaginable convenience, from gold-woven water-proof tents down to
silver footstools, and the carts that accompanied them bore bakers,
cooks, cup-bearers, carvers, men to prepare ointment, wreath-winders,
and hair-dressers.
Well-appointed inns were established at regular intervals along the
high-road. Here the horses that had fallen on the way were replaced by
fresh ones, shady trees offered a pleasant shelter from the heat of
the sun, and on the mountains the fires of the inns protected the
traveler from cold and snow.
The Persian inns, which resembled our post-houses, were first
established by Cyrus the Great, who sought to shorten the enormous
distances between the different parts of his realm by means of
well-kept roads. He had also organized a regular postal service. At
every station the riders with their knapsacks found substitutes on
fresh horses ready for instant departure, who, after receiving the
letters which were to be forwarded, galloped off post-haste, and when
they reached the next inn threw their knapsacks to other riders who
stood in readiness. These couriers were called Angares, and were
considered the swiftest horsemen in the world.
When the company, who had been joined by Boges the eunuch, rose from
table, the door of the inn opened. A long-drawn sigh of admiration
was heard, for Nitetis stood before the Persians in the splendid
Median court dress, proudly exultant in the consciousness of her
beauty, and yet suffused with blushes at her friends' astonishment.
The servants involuntarily prostrated themselves in the Asiatic
manner, but the noble Achaemenidae bowed low and reverently. It was as
if the princess had laid aside all shyness with the simple dress of
her home, and assumed the pride and dignity of a queen with the silken
garments, heavy with gold and jewels, of a Persian princess.
The deep respect which had just been shown her seemed to please her.
With a condescending movement of her hand she thanked her admiring
friends; then she turned to the chief eunuch and said to him kindly
but proudly:--"You have done your duty. I am not dissatisfied with the
robes and the slaves you have provided for me. I shall duly praise
your care to my husband. Meanwhile, receive this golden chain as a
sign of my gratitude."
The powerful overseer of the king's wives kissed her hand and silently
accepted the gift. None of his charges had yet treated him with such
pride. All the wives whom Cambyses had owned till now were Asiatics,
and as they were acquainted with the full power of the chief eunuch,
they were accustomed to do all they could to win his favor by means of
flattery and submission.
Boges again bowed low to Nitetis; but without paying any further
attention to him, she turned to Croesus and said in a low tone:--"I
cannot thank you, my gracious friend, with word or gift for what you
have done for me; it will be owing to you alone if my life at this
court becomes, if not happy, at least peaceful." Then she continued in
a louder voice, audible to her traveling companions:--"Take this ring,
which has not left my hand since our departure from Egypt. Its value
is small, its significance great. Pythagoras, the noblest of all the
Greeks, gave it to my mother when he came to Egypt to listen to the
wise teachings of our priests. She gave it to me when I left home.
There is a seven engraved on this simple turquoise. This number, which
is indivisible, represents the health of body and soul, for nothing is
less divisible than health. If but a small portion of the body
suffers, the whole body is ill; if one evil thought nestles in our
heart, the harmony of the soul is disturbed. Whenever you look at
this seven, let it remind you that I wish you perfect enjoyment of
bodily health, and the continuance of that benignity which makes you
the most virtuous and therefore the most healthy of men. No thanks, my
father, for I should remain in your debt though I should restore to
Croesus the wealth of Croesus. Gyges, take this Lydian lyre of ivory,
and when its strings give forth music, remember the giver. To you,
Zopyrus, I give this chain, for I have noticed that you are the most
faithful friend of your friends, and we Egyptians put bonds and ropes
into the fair hands of our goddess of love and friendship, beautiful
Hathor, as a symbol of her binding qualities. To you, Darius, the
friend of Egyptian lore and the starry firmament, I give for a
keepsake this golden ring, on which you will find the Zodiac engraved
by a skillful hand. Bartja, my dear brother-in-law, you shall receive
the most precious treasure I possess. Take this amulet of blue stone.
My sister Tachot put it round my neck when for the last time I pressed
a kiss upon her lips before we fell asleep. She told me this talisman
would bring sweet happiness in love to him who wore it. She wept as
she spoke, Bartja. I do not know what she was thinking of, but I hope
I am carrying out her wish when I lay this treasure in your hand.
Think that Tachot is giving it to you through me her sister, and think
sometimes of the garden of Sais."
She had spoken in Greek till then. Now she turned to the servants, who
were waiting at a respectful distance, and said in broken
Persian:--"You too must accept my thanks. You shall receive a thousand
gold staters. Boges," she added, turning to the eunuch, "I command you
to see that the sum is distributed not later than the day after
to-morrow! Lead me to my carriage, Croesus!"
The old man hastened to comply with her request. While he conducted
Nitetis to the carriage, she pressed his arm against her breast and
whispered, "Are you satisfied with me, my father?"
"I tell you, maiden," returned the old man, "you will be the first at
this court after the king's mother, for true regal pride is on your
brow, and you possess the art of doing great things with small means.
Believe me, a trifling gift, chosen as you can choose, will cause
greater pleasure to a nobleman than a heap of gold flung down before
him. The Persians are accustomed to bestow and to receive costly
gifts. They know how to enrich one another. You will teach them to
make each other happy. How beautiful you are! Is that right, or do you
desire higher cushions? But what is that! Do you not see clouds of
dust rolling hither from the town? That must be Cambyses, who is
coming to meet you. Keep yourself upright, girl. Above all, try to
bear your husband's glance and return it. Few can bear the fire of his
eye. If you succeed in meeting it without fear or embarrassment, you
have conquered. Courage, courage, my daughter! May Aphrodite adorn you
with her loveliest charms! To horse, my friends! I think the King is
coming to meet us."
Nitetis sat very erect in the golden carriage, and pressed her hands
on her heart. The cloud of dust came nearer and nearer. Now bright
sunbeams were reflected in the weapons of the approaching host, and
darted from the cloud of dust like lightning from a stormy sky. Now
the cloud divided, and figures could be distinguished; now the
approaching procession vanished behind the thick bushes at a turn of
the road; and now, not a hundred feet away, the galloping riders were
seen distinctly as they approached nearer and nearer.
The whole procession seemed to consist of a gay crowd of horses, men,
purple, gold, silver, and jewels. More than two hundred riders, all on
snow-white Nisaean steeds, whose bridles and caparisons glittered with
gold bells and buckles, feathers, tassels, and embroidery, were
followed by a man who was often carried away by the powerful
coal-black horse on which he rode, but who generally proved to the
unmanageable, foaming animal that he was strong enough to tame its
wildness. The rider, whose knees pressed the horse so that the animal
trembled and panted, wore a garment with a scarlet and white pattern,
which was embroidered with silver eagles and falcons. His trousers
were of purple, his boots of yellow leather. He wore a golden belt
round his waist, in which was a short dagger-like sword, whose hilt
and sheath were incrusted with jewels. The rest of his dress resembled
Bartja's. His tiara also was surrounded by the blue-and-white fillet
of the Achaemenidae. Thick jet-black hair streamed from it. A thick
beard of the same color covered the whole lower portion of his hale,
rigid face. His eyes were even darker than his hair and beard, and
glittered with a fire that burned instead of warming. A deep red scar,
caused by the sword of a Massagetian warrior, marked the lofty brow,
large aquiline nose, and thin lips of the rider. His whole bearing
bore the stamp of great power and immoderate pride.
Nitetis could not turn her eyes from his form. She had never seen any
one like him. She thought she saw the essence of all manliness in the
intensely proud face. It seemed to her as if the whole world, but
especially she herself, had been created to serve this man. She feared
him, and yet her humble woman's heart longed to cling to this strong
man as the vine clings to the elm. She did not know whether the father
of all evil, terrible Seth, or the giver of all light, great Ra, was
to be imagined in this form.
As light and shade alternate when the heavens are clouded at noon, so
did deep red and ashy pallor appear on her face. She forgot the
precepts of her fatherly friend; and yet when Cambyses forced his wild
snorting steed to stand still by the side of her carriage, she gazed
breathlessly into the flashing eyes of the man, for she knew that he
was the King, though no one had told her.
The stern face of the ruler of half the world softened more and more,
the longer she, urged by a strange impulse, endured his piercing
glance. At last he waved his hand in welcome and rode towards her
companions, who had dismounted, and who either prostrated themselves
in the dust before the King, or stood bowing low, in accordance with
Persian custom, hiding their hands in the sleeves of their garments.
Now he himself sprang from his horse. At the same time all his
followers swung themselves out of the saddle. The carpet-bearers in
his train spread, quick as thought, a heavy purple carpet on the road,
so that the King's foot should not touch the dust. A few seconds
later, Cambyses greeted his friends and relations with a kiss.
Then he shook Croesus's hand, and ordered him to mount again and
accompany him to Nitetis as interpreter.
The highest dignitaries hastened up and helped the King to mount. He
gave the signal, and the whole procession moved on. Croesus rode
beside Cambyses by the golden carriage.
"She is beautiful, and pleasing to my heart," cried the Persian to his
Lydian friend. "Now translate to me faithfully what she says in answer
to my questions, for I understand only Persian, Babylonian, and
Median."
[Illustration: _BABYLONIAN MARRIAGE MARKET._
Photogravure from a Painting by Edwin Long, R.A.
"Once a year in each village the maidens of age to marry were
collected all together into one place, while the men stood
round them in a circle. Then a herald called up the damsels
one by one and offered them for sale. He began with the most
beautiful; when she was sold for no small sum, he offered for
sale the one who came next to her in beauty. All of them were
sold to be wives. The richest of the Babylonians who wished
to wed, bid against each other for the loveliest maidens,
while the humbler wife-seekers who were indifferent about
beauty took the more homely damsels with a marriage
portion.... The marriage portions were furnished by the money
paid for the beautiful damsels, and thus the fairer maidens
portioned out the uglier.
No one was allowed to give his daughter in marriage to the
man of his choice, nor might any one carry away the damsel
whom he had purchased without finding bail really and truly
to make her his wife. If, however, it turned out that they
did not agree, the money might be paid back."--_Herodotus_,
Book I. Sec. 196.]
Nitetis had understood his words. Inexpressible joy filled her heart,
and before Croesus could answer the King she said in a low tone, in
broken Persian, "How shall I thank the gods, who let me find favor in
your eyes? I am not ignorant of the language of my lord, for this
noble old man has instructed me in the Persian language during our
long journey. Pardon me if I can answer in broken words only. My time
for instruction was short, and my understanding is only that of a poor
ignorant maiden."
The usually stern King smiled. His vanity was flattered by Nitetis's
eagerness to gain his approbation, and this diligence in a woman
seemed as strange as it was praiseworthy to the Persian, who was used
to see women grow up in ignorance and idleness, thinking of nothing
but dress and intrigue.
He therefore answered with evident satisfaction, "I am glad that I can
speak to you without an interpreter. Continue to try to learn the
beautiful language of my fathers. My companion Croesus shall remain
your teacher in the future."
"Your command fills me with joy," said the old man, "for I could not
desire a more grateful or more eager pupil than the daughter of
Amasis."
"She confirms the ancient fame of Egyptian wisdom," returned the King;
"and I think that she will soon understand and accept with all her
soul the teachings of the magi, who will instruct her in our
religion."
Nitetis looked down. The dreaded moment was approaching. She was
henceforth to serve strange gods in place of the Egyptian deities.
Cambyses did not observe her emotion, and continued:--"My mother
Cassandane shall initiate you in your duties as my wife. I will
conduct you to her myself to-morrow. I repeat what you accidentally
overheard: you please me. Look to it that you keep my favor. We will
try to make you like our country; and because I am your friend I
advise you to treat Boges, whom I sent to meet you, graciously, for
you will have to obey him in many things, as he is the superintendent
of the harem."
"He may be the head of the women's house," returned Nitetis. "But it
seems to me that no mortal but you has a right to command your wife.
Give but a sign and I will obey, but consider that I am a princess,
and come from a land where weak woman shares the rights of strong men;
that the same pride fills my breast which shines in your eyes, my
beloved! I will gladly obey you the great man, my husband and ruler;
but it is as impossible for me to sue for the favor of the unmanliest
of men, a bought servant, as it is for me to obey his commands."
Cambyses's astonishment and satisfaction increased. He had never heard
any woman save his mother speak like this, and the subtle way in which
Nitetis unconsciously recognized and exalted his power over her whole
existence satisfied his self-complacency. The proud man liked her
pride. He nodded approvingly and said, "You are right. I will have a
special house prepared for you. I alone will command you. The pleasant
house in the hanging gardens shall be prepared for you to-day."
"I thank you a thousand times!" cried Nitetis. "If you but knew how
you delight me by your gift! Your brother Bartja told me much of the
hanging gardens, and none of the splendors of your great realm pleased
us as much as the love of the king who built the green mountain."
"To-morrow you will be able to enter your new dwelling. Tell me how
you and the Egyptians liked my envoys?"
"How can you ask! Who could become acquainted with noble Croesus
without loving him? Who could help admiring the excellent qualities of
the young heroes, your friends? They have become dear to our house,
especially your beautiful brother Bartja, who won all hearts. The
Egyptians are averse to strangers, but whenever Bartja appeared among
them a murmur of admiration arose from the gaping throng."
At these words the King's face grew dark. He gave his horse a heavy
blow, so that it reared, turned its head, galloped in front of his
retinue, and in a few minutes reached the walls of Babylon....
The walls seemed perfectly impregnable, for they were two hundred
cubits high, and their breadth was so great that two carriages could
easily pass each other. Two hundred and fifty high towers surmounted
and fortified this huge rampart. A greater number of these citadels
would have been necessary if Babylon had not been protected on one
side by impenetrable marshes. The enormous city lay on both sides of
the Euphrates. It was more than nine miles in circumference, and the
walls protected buildings which surpassed even the pyramids and the
temples of Thebes and Memphis in size....
Nitetis looked with astonishment at this huge gate; with joyful
emotion she gazed at the long wide street, which was festively decked
in her honor.