Read the _Persica_ of Ctesias[303] of Cnidus in twenty-three books.
In the first six he treats of Assyrian affairs and of events before
the foundation of the Persian empire, and only begins to treat of
Persian affairs in the seventh book. In books 7-13 he gives an
account of Cyrus, Cambyses, the Magian, Darius, and Xerxes, in
which he differs almost entirely from Herodotus, whom he accuses of
falsehood in many passages and calls an inventor of fables. Ctesias
is later than Herodotus, and says that he was an eyewitness of most
of what he describes, and that, where this was not the case, he
obtained his information directly from Persians, and in this manner
he composed his history. He not only disagrees with Herodotus, but
also in some respects with Xenophon the son of Gryllus. Ctesias
flourished in the time of Cyrus, son of Darius and Parysatis, brother
of Artoxerxes[304] who succeeded to the throne.
He begins[305] by stating that Astyages (whom he also calls Astyigas)
was not related to Cyrus; that he fled from him to Agbatana,[306]
and hid himself in the vaults[307] of the royal palace with the
aid of his daughter Amytis and her husband Spitamas; that Cyrus,
when he came to the throne, gave orders that not only Spitamas and
Amytis, but also their sons Spitaces and Megabernes should be put
to the torture for assisting Astyigas; that the latter, to save his
grandchildren from being tortured on his account, gave himself
up and was taken and loaded with chains by Oebaras; that shortly
afterwards he was set free by Cyrus and honoured as his father; that
his daughter Amytis was treated by him as a mother and afterwards
became his wife. Her husband Spitamas, however, was put to death,
because, when asked, he had falsely declared that he did not know
where Astyigas was. In his account of these events Ctesias differs
from Herodotus. He adds that Cyrus made war upon the Bactrians,
without obtaining a decisive victory; but that when they learnt that
Astyigas had been adopted by Cyrus as his father, and Amytis as his
mother and wife, they voluntarily submitted to Amytis and Cyrus.
He also relates how Cyrus made war on the Sacae, and took prisoner
their king Amorges, the husband of Sparethra, who after her husband
was captured collected an army of 300,000 men and 200,000 women,
made war upon Cyrus and defeated him. Amongst the large number of
prisoners taken by the Sacae were Parmises, the brother of Amytis,
and his three sons, who were subsequently released in exchange for
Amorges.
Cyrus, assisted by Amorges, marched against Croesus and the city
of Sardes. By the advice of Oebaras he set up wooden figures
representing Persians round the walls, the sight of which so
terrified the inhabitants that the city was easily taken. Before
this, the son of Croesus was handed over as a hostage, the king
himself having been deceived by a divine vision. Since Croesus was
evidently meditating treachery, his son was put to death before his
eyes; his mother, who was a witness of his execution, committed
suicide by throwing herself from the walls. After the city was taken
Croesus fled for refuge to the temple of Apollo; he was three times
put in chains, and three times loosed invisibly from his bonds,
although the temple was shut and sealed, and Oebaras was on guard.
Those who had been prisoners with Croesus had their heads cut off,
on suspicion of having conspired to release him. He was subsequently
taken to the palace and bound more securely, but was again loosed by
thunder and lightning sent from heaven. Finally Cyrus, against his
will, set him free, treated him kindly from that time, and bestowed
upon him a large city near Agbatana, named Barene, in which there
were 5000 horsemen and 10,000 peltasts,[308] javelin-throwers, and
archers.
Cyrus then sent Petisacas the eunuch, who had great influence with
him, to Persia to fetch Astyigas from the Barcanians, he and his
daughter Amytis being anxious to see him. Oebaras then advised
Petisacas to leave Astyigas in some lonely spot, to perish of hunger
and thirst; which he did. But the crime was revealed in a dream, and
Petisacas, at the urgent request of Amytis, was handed over to her
by Cyrus for punishment. She ordered his eyes to be dug out, had him
flayed alive, and then crucified. Oebaras, afraid of suffering the
same punishment, although Cyrus assured him that he would not allow
it, starved himself to death by fasting for ten days. Astyigas was
accorded a splendid funeral; his body had remained untouched by wild
beasts in the wilderness, some lions having guarded it until it was
removed by Petisacas.
Cyrus marched against the Derbices (Derbikes), whose king was
Amoraeus. The Derbices suddenly brought up some elephants which
had been kept in ambush, and put Cyrus’s cavalry to flight. Cyrus
himself fell from his horse, and an Indian wounded him mortally with
a javelin under the thigh. The Indians fought on the side of the
Derbices and supplied them with elephants. Cyrus’s friends took him
up while he was still alive and returned to camp. Many Persians and
Derbices were slain, to the number of 10,000 on each side.
Amorges, when he heard of what had happened to Cyrus, in great haste
went to the assistance of the Persians with 20,000 Sacan cavalry. In
a subsequent engagement, the Persians and Sacae gained a brilliant
victory, Amoraeus, the king of the Derbices, and his two sons being
slain. Thirty thousand Derbicans and 9000 Persians fell in the
battle. The country then submitted to Cyrus.
Cyrus, when near his death, declared his elder son Cambyses king,
his younger son Tanyoxarces (Tanyoxarkes) governor of Bactria,
Choramnia, Parthia, and Carmania, free from tribute. Of the children
of Spitamas, he appointed Spitaces satrap of the Derbices, Megabernes
of the Barcanians, bidding them obey their mother in everything.
He also endeavoured to make them friends with Amorges, bestowing
his blessing on those who should remain on friendly terms with one
another, and a curse upon those who first did wrong. With these words
he died, three days after he had been wounded, after a reign of
thirty years. This is the end of the eleventh book.
The twelfth book begins with the reign of Cambyses. Immediately after
his accession he sent his father’s body by the eunuch Bagapates
to Persia for burial, and in all other respects carried out his
father’s wishes. The men who had the greatest influence with him were
Artasyras the Hyrcanian, and the eunuchs Izabates, Aspadates, and
Bagapates, who had been his father’s favourite after the death of
Petisacas. Bagapates was in command of the expedition against Egypt
and its king Amyrtaeus, whom he defeated, through the treachery of
his chief counsellor Combaphis the eunuch, who betrayed the bridges
and other important secrets, on condition that Cambyses made him
governor of Egypt. Cambyses first made this arrangement with him
through Izabates, the cousin of Combaphis, and afterwards confirmed
it by his personal promise. Having taken Amyrtaeus alive he did him
no harm, but merely removed him to Susa with 6000 Egyptians chosen
by himself. The whole of Egypt then became subject to Cambyses. The
Egyptians lost 50,000 men in the battle, the Persians 7000.
In the meantime a certain Magian called Sphendadates,[309] who had
been flogged by Tanyoxarces for some offence, went to Cambyses and
informed him that his brother was plotting against him. In proof of
this he declared that Tanyoxarces would refuse to come if summoned.
Cambyses thereupon summoned his brother, who, being engaged on
another matter, put off coming. The Magian thereupon accused him more
freely. His mother Amytis, who suspected the Magian, advised Cambyses
not to listen to him. Cambyses pretended not to believe him, while in
reality he did. Being summoned by Cambyses a third time, Tanyoxarces
obeyed the summons. His brother embraced him, but nevertheless
determined to put him to death, and, unknown to his mother Amytis,
took measures to carry out his plan. The Magian made the following
suggestion. Being himself very like Tanyoxarces, he advised the king
publicly to order that his head should be cut off as having falsely
accused the king’s brother; that in the meantime Tanyoxarces should
secretly be put to death, and he (the Magian) should be dressed in
his clothes, so that Tanyoxarces should be thought alive. Cambyses
agreed to this. Tanyoxarces was put to death by being forced to drink
bull’s blood; the Magian put on his clothes and was mistaken for
him by the people. The fraud was not known for a long time except
to Artasyras, Bagapates, and Izabates, to whom alone Cambyses had
entrusted the secret.
Then Cambyses, having summoned Labyzus, the chief of Tanyoxarces’s
eunuchs, and the other eunuchs, showed them the Magian seated and
dressed in the guise of his brother, and asked them whether they
thought he was Tanyoxarces. Labyzus, in astonishment, replied,
“Whom else should we think him to be?” the likeness being so great
that he was deceived. The Magian was accordingly sent to Bactria,
where he played the part of Tanyoxarces. Five years later Amytis,
having learnt the truth from the eunuch Tibethis, whom the Magian
had flogged, demanded that Cambyses should hand over Sphendadates to
her, but he refused. Whereupon Amytis, after heaping curses upon him,
drank poison and died.
On a certain occasion, while Cambyses was offering sacrifice, no
blood flowed from the slaughtered victims. This greatly alarmed
him, and the birth of a son without a head by Roxana increased this
alarm. This portent was interpreted by the wise men to mean that
he would leave no successor. His mother also appeared to him in a
dream, threatening retribution for the murder he had committed, which
alarmed him still more. At Babylon, while carving a piece of wood
with a knife for his amusement, he accidentally wounded himself in
the thigh, and died eleven days afterwards, in the eighteenth year of
his reign.
Bagapates and Artasyras, before the death of Cambyses, conspired to
raise the Magian to the throne, as they afterwards did. Izabates, who
had gone to convey the body of Cambyses to Persia, finding on his
return that the Magian was reigning under the name of Tanyoxarces,
disclosed the truth to the army and exposed the Magian.[310] After
this he took refuge in a temple, where he was seized and put to death.
Then seven distinguished Persians conspired against the Magian. Their
names were Onophas, Idernes, Norondabates, Mardonius, Barisses,
Ataphernes, and Darius Hystaspis.[311] After they had given and taken
the most solemn pledges, they admitted to their counsels Artasyras
and Bagapates, who kept all the keys of the palace. The seven, having
been admitted into the palace by Bagapates, found the Magian asleep.
At the sight of them he jumped up, but finding no weapon ready to
hand (for Bagapates had secretly removed them all) he smashed a chair
made of gold and defended himself with one of the legs, but was
finally stabbed to death by the seven. He had reigned seven months.
Darius was chosen king from the seven conspirators in accordance with
a test agreed upon, his horse being the first to neigh after the
sun had risen, the result of a cunning stratagem.[312] The Persians
celebrate the day on which the Magian was put to death by a festival
called Magophonia. Darius ordered a tomb[313] to be built for
himself in a two-peaked mountain, but when he desired to go and see
it he was dissuaded by the soothsayers and his parents. The latter,
however, were anxious to make the ascent to it, but the priests who
were dragging them up, being frightened at the sight of some snakes,
let go the ropes and they fell and were dashed to pieces. Darius
was greatly grieved and ordered the heads of the forty men who were
responsible to be cut off.
Darius ordered Ariaramnes, satrap of Cappadocia, to cross over into
Scythia, and carry off a number of prisoners, male and female. He
went over in thirty penteconters,[314] and among others took captive
Marsagetes, the Scythian king’s brother, who had been imprisoned by
his own brother for certain offences. The ruler of the Scythians
(Scytharkes), being enraged, wrote an abusive letter to Darius, who
replied in the same tone. Darius then collected an army of 800,000
men and crossed the Bosporus and the Ister[315] by a bridge of boats
into Scythian territory in fifteen days. The two kings sent each
other a bow in turn. Darius, seeing that the bow of the Scythians was
stronger, turned back and fled across the bridges, destroying some of
them in his haste before the entire army had crossed. Eighty thousand
of his men, who had been left behind in Europe, were put to death by
the ruler of the Scythians. Darius, after he had crossed the bridge,
set fire to the houses and temples of the Chalcedonians, because they
had attempted to break down the bridges which he had made near their
city and had also destroyed the altar erected by him, when crossing,
in honour of Zeus Diabaterios.[316]
Datis, the commander of the Persian fleet, on his return from Pontus,
ravaged Greece and the islands. At Marathon he was met by Miltiades;
the barbarians were defeated and Datis himself slain, the Athenians
afterwards refusing to give up his body at the request of the
Persians.
Darius then returned to Persia, where, after having offered
sacrifice, he died after an illness of thirty days, in the
seventy-second year of his age and the thirty-first of his reign.
Artasyras and Bagapates also died, the latter having been for seven
years the keeper of the tomb of Darius.
Darius was succeeded by his son Xerxes, over whom Artapanus the
son of Artasyras had as great influence as his father had had over
Darius. His other confidential advisers were the aged Mardonius and
Matacas the eunuch. Xerxes married Amestris, the daughter of Onophas,
who bore him a son, Dariaeus, two years afterwards Hystaspes and
Artoxerxes, and two daughters, one named Rhodogune and another called
Amytis after her grandmother.
Xerxes decided to make war upon Greece, because the Chalcedonians
had attempted to break down the bridge as already stated and had
destroyed the altar which Darius had set up, and because the
Athenians had slain Datis and refused to give up his body. But
first he visited Babylon, being desirous of seeing the tomb of
Belitanes,[317] which Mardonius showed him. But he was unable to fill
the vessel of oil, as had been written.
Thence he proceeded to Agbatana, where he heard of the revolt of
the Babylonians and the murder of Zopyrus their satrap. Ctesias’s
account is different from that of Herodotus. What the latter relates
of Zopyrus is attributed by Ctesias, with the exception of his mule
giving birth to a foal, to Megabyzus, the son-in-law of Xerxes and
the husband of his daughter Amytis. Babylon was taken by Megabyzus,
upon whom Xerxes bestowed, amongst other rewards, a golden hand-mill,
weighing six talents, the most honourable of the royal gifts. Then
Xerxes, having collected a Persian army, 800,000 men and 1000
triremes without reckoning the chariots, set out against Greece,
having first thrown a bridge across at Abydos. Demaratus the Spartan,
who arrived there first and accompanied Xerxes across, dissuaded him
from invading Sparta. His general Artapanus, with 10,000 men, fought
an engagement with Leonidas, the Spartan general, at Thermopylae;
the Persian host was cut to pieces, while only two or three of the
Spartans were slain. The king then ordered an attack with 20,000, but
these were defeated, and although flogged to the battle, were routed
again. The next day he ordered an attack with 50,000, but without
success, and accordingly ceased operations. Thorax the Thessalian
and Calliades and Timaphernes, the leaders of the Trachinians, who
were present with their forces, were summoned by Xerxes together with
Demaratus and Hegias the Ephesian, who told him that the Spartans
could never be defeated unless they were surrounded. A Persian army
of 40,000 men was conducted by the two leaders of the Trachinians
over an almost inaccessible mountain-path to the rear of the
Lacedaemonians, who were surrounded and died bravely to a man.
Xerxes sent another army of 120,000 men against Plataea under the
command of Mardonius, at the instigation of the Thebans. He was
opposed by Pausanias the Spartan, with only 300 Spartiates,[318]
1000 perioeki,[319] and 6000 from the other cities. The Persians
suffered a severe defeat, Mardonius being wounded and obliged to take
to flight. He was afterwards sent by Xerxes to plunder the temple of
Apollo, where he is said to have died from injuries received during a
terrible hailstorm, to the great grief of Xerxes.
Xerxes then advanced against Athens itself, the inhabitants of
which manned 110 triremes and took refuge in Salamis. Xerxes took
possession of the empty city and set fire to it, with the exception
of the Acropolis, which was defended by a small band of men who
had remained; at last, they also made their escape by night, and
the Acropolis was fired. After this, Xerxes proceeded to a narrow
strip of land in Attica called Heracleum, and began to construct
an embankment in the direction of Salamis, intending to cross over
on foot. By the advice of the Athenians Themistocles and Aristides
archers were summoned from Crete.[320] Then a naval engagement took
place between the Greeks with 700 ships and the Persians with more
than 1000 under Onophas. The Athenians were victorious, thanks to
the advice and clever strategy of Aristides and Themistocles; the
Persians lost 500 ships, and Xerxes took to flight. In the remaining
battles 12,000 Persians were killed.
Xerxes, having crossed over into Asia and advanced towards Sardes,
despatched Megabyzus to plunder the temple at Delphi. On his refusing
to go, the eunuch Matacas was sent in his place, to insult Apollo
and plunder the temple. Having carried out his orders he returned to
Xerxes, who in the meantime had arrived in Persia from Babylon. Here
Megabyzus accused his wife Amytis (the daughter of Xerxes) of having
committed adultery. Xerxes severely reprimanded her, but she declared
that she was not guilty. Artapanus and Aspamitres the eunuch, the
confidential advisers of Xerxes, resolved to kill their master.
Having done so, they persuaded Artoxerxes that his brother Dariaeus
had murdered him. Dariaeus was taken to the palace of Artoxerxes,
and, although he vehemently denied the accusation, he was put to
death.
Thus Artoxerxes became king, thanks to Artapanus, who entered into a
conspiracy against him with Megabyzus (who was bitterly aggrieved at
the suspicion of adultery against his wife), each taking an oath to
remain loyal to the other. Nevertheless, Megabyzus revealed the plot,
the guilty conduct of Artapanus came to light, and he met the death
which he had intended for Artoxerxes. Aspamitres, who had taken part
in the murders of Xerxes and Dariaeus was cruelly put to death, being
exposed in the trough.[321] After the death of Artapanus there was
a battle between his fellow-conspirators and the other Persians, in
which the three sons of Artapanus were killed and Megabyzus severely
wounded. Artoxerxes, Amytis, and Rhodogune, and their mother Amestris
were deeply grieved, and his life was only saved by the skill and
attention of Apollonides, a physician of Cos.
Bactra and its satrap, another Artapanus, revolted from Artoxerxes.
The first battle was indecisive, but in a second, the Bactrians were
defeated because the wind blew in their faces, and the whole of
Bactria submitted.
Egypt, under the leadership of Inarus a Libyan, assisted by a native
of the country, also revolted, and preparations were made for war.
At the request of Inarus the Athenians sent forty ships to his aid.
Artoxerxes himself was desirous of taking part in the expedition, but
his friends dissuaded him. He therefore sent Achaemenides his brother
with 400,000 infantry and eighty ships. Inarus joined battle with
Achaemenides, the Egyptians were victorious, Achaemenides being slain
by Inarus and his body sent to Artoxerxes. Inarus was also successful
at sea. Charitimides, the commander of the forty Athenian ships,
covered himself with glory in a naval engagement, in which twenty
out of fifty Persian ships were captured with their crews, and the
remaining thirty sunk.
The king then sent Megabyzus against Inarus, with an additional army
of 200,000 men and 300 ships commanded by Oriscus; so that, not
counting the ships’ crews, his army consisted of 500,000. For, when
Achaemenides fell, 100,000 of his 400,000 men perished. A desperate
battle ensued, in which the losses were heavy on both sides, although
those of the Egyptians were heavier. Megabyzus wounded Inarus in the
thigh, and put him to flight, and the Persians obtained a complete
victory. Inarus fled to Byblus, an Egyptian stronghold, accompanied
by those of the Greeks who had not been killed in battle. Then
all Egypt, except Byblus, submitted to Megabyzus. But since this
stronghold appeared impregnable, he came to terms with Inarus and
the Greeks (6000 and more in number), on condition that they should
suffer no harm from the king, and that the Greeks should be allowed
to return home whenever they pleased.
Having appointed Sarsamas satrap of Egypt, Megabyzus took Inarus and
the Greeks to Artoxerxes, who was greatly enraged with Inarus because
he had slain his brother Achaemenides. Megabyzus told him what had
happened, how he had given his word to Inarus and the Greeks when
he occupied Byblus, and earnestly entreated the king to spare their
lives. The king consented, and the news that no harm would come to
Inarus and the Greeks was immediately reported to the army.
But Amestris, aggrieved at the idea that Inarus and the Greeks should
escape punishment for the death of her son Achaemenides, asked the
king [to give them up to her], but he refused; she then appealed to
Megabyzus, who also dismissed her. At last, however, through her
constant importunity she obtained her wish from her son, and after
five years the king gave up Inarus and the Greeks to her. Inarus was
impaled on three stakes; fifty of the Greeks, all that she could lay
hands on, were decapitated. Megabyzus was deeply grieved at this, and
asked permission to retire to his satrapy, Syria. Having secretly
sent the rest of the Greeks thither in advance, on his arrival he
collected a large army (150,000 not including cavalry) and raised
the standard of revolt. Usiris with 200,000 men was sent against
him; a battle took place, in which Megabyzus and Usiris wounded each
other. Usiris inflicted a wound with a spear in Megabyzus’s thigh two
fingers deep; Megabyzus in turn first wounded Usiris in the thigh and
then in the shoulder, so that he fell from his horse. Megabyzus, as
he fell, protected him, and ordered that he should be spared. Many
Persians were slain in the battle, in which Zopyrus and Artyphius,
the sons of Megabyzus, distinguished themselves, and Megabyzus gained
a decisive victory. Usiris received the greatest attention and was
sent to Artoxerxes at his request.
Another army was sent against him under Menostanes the son of
Artarius, satrap of Babylon and brother of Artoxerxes. Another battle
took place, in which the Persians were routed; Menostanes was shot
by Megabyzus, first in the shoulder and then in the head, but the
wound was not mortal. However, he fled with his army and Megabyzus
gained a brilliant victory. Artarius then sent to Megabyzus, advising
him to come to terms with the king. Megabyzus replied that he was
ready to do so, but on condition that he should not be obliged to
appear at court again, and should be allowed to remain in his
satrapy. When his answer was reported to the king, the Paphlagonian
eunuch Artoxares and Amestris urged him to make peace without delay.
Accordingly, Artarius, his wife Amytis, Artoxares (then twenty years
of age), and Petisas, the son of Usiris and father of Spitamas,
were sent for that purpose to Megabyzus. After many entreaties and
solemn promises, with great difficulty they succeeded in persuading
Megabyzus to visit the king, who finally pardoned him for all his
offences.
Some time afterwards, while the king was out hunting he was attacked
by a lion, which Megabyzus slew as it reared and was preparing to
rush upon him. The king, enraged because Megabyzus had slain the
animal first, ordered his head to be cut off, but owing to the
entreaties of Amestris, Amytis, and others his life was spared and he
was banished to Curtae, a town on the Red Sea. Artoxares the eunuch
was also banished to Armenia for having often spoken freely to the
king in favour of Megabyzus. After having passed five years in exile,
Megabyzus escaped by pretending to be a leper, whom no one might
approach, and returned home to Amytis, who hardly recognized him. On
the intercession of Amestris and Amytis, the king became reconciled
to him and admitted him to his table as before. Megabyzus died at the
age of seventy-six, deeply mourned by the king.
After his death, his wife Amytis, like her mother Amestris before
her, showed great fondness for the society of men. The physician
Apollonides of Cos, when Amytis was suffering from a slight illness,
being called in to attend her, fell in love with her. For some time
they carried on an intrigue, but finally she told her mother. She
in turn informed the king, who left her to do as she would with
the offender. Apollonides was kept in chains for two months as a
punishment, and then buried alive on the same day that Amytis died.
Zopyrus, the son of Megabyzus and Amytis, after the death of his
father and mother revolted against the king. He visited Athens, where
he was well received owing to the services his mother had rendered to
the Athenians.[322] From Athens he sailed with some Athenian troops
to Caunus and summoned it to surrender. The inhabitants expressed
themselves ready to do so, provided the Athenians who accompanied
him were not admitted. While Zopyrus was mounting the wall, a Caunian
named Alcides hit him on the head with a stone and killed him. The
Caunian was crucified by order of his grandmother Amestris. Some time
afterwards, Amestris died at a great age, and Artoxerxes also died
after having reigned forty-two years. Here the seventeenth book ends.
Artoxerxes was succeeded by his son Xerxes, his only legitimate
son by Damaspia, who died on the same day as her husband.[323] The
bodies of the king and queen were conveyed by Bagorazus to Persia.
Artoxerxes had seventeen illegitimate sons, amongst them Secydianus
by Alogune the Babylonian, Ochus (afterwards king) and Arsites by
Cosmartidene, also a Babylonian. Besides these three, he also had a
son Bagapaeus and a daughter Parysatis by Andria, also a Babylonian,
who became the mother of Artoxerxes and Cyrus. During his father’s
lifetime, Ochus was made satrap of Hyrcania, and given in marriage to
Parysatis, the daughter of Artoxerxes and his own sister.
Secydianus, having won over the eunuch Pharnacyas, who had the
greatest influence over Xerxes next to Bagorazus, Menostanes, and
some others, entered the palace after a festival, while Xerxes was
lying in a drunken sleep and put him to death, forty-five days after
the death of his father. The bodies of both father and son were
conveyed together to Persia, for the mules which drew the chariot in
which was the father’s body, refused to move, as if waiting for that
of the son; and when it arrived,[324] they at once went on rapidly.
Secydianus thus became king and appointed Menostanes his
azabarites.[325] After Bagorazus returned to court, Secydianus, who
cherished a long-standing enmity against him, on the pretext that
he had left his father’s body in Persia without his permission,
ordered him to be stoned to death. The army was greatly grieved, and,
although Secydianus distributed large sums amongst the soldiers, they
hated him for the murder of his brother Xerxes and now for that of
Bagorazus.
Secydianus then summoned Ochus to court, who promised to present
himself but failed to do so. After he had been summoned several
times, he collected a large force with the obvious intention of
seizing the throne. He was joined by Arbarius, commander of the
cavalry, and Arxanes, satrap of Egypt. The eunuch Artoxares also came
from Armenia and placed the crown[326] on the head of Ochus against
his will.
Thus Ochus became king and changed his name to Dariaeus. At the
suggestion of Parysatis, he endeavoured by trickery and solemn
promises to win over Secydianus. Menostanes did all he could to
prevent Secydianus from putting faith in these promises or coming to
terms with those who were trying to deceive him. In spite of this
Secydianus allowed himself to be persuaded, was arrested, thrown into
the ashes,[327] and died, after a reign of six months and fifteen
days.
Ochus (also called Dariaeus) thus became sole ruler. Three eunuchs,
Artoxares, Artibarzanes, and Athous had the greatest influence
with him, but his chief adviser was his wife. By her he had had
two children before he became king, a daughter Amestris and a son
Arsaces, afterwards called Artoxerxes. After his accession she bore
him another son, called Cyrus from the sun.[328] A third son was
named Artostes, who was followed by several others, to the number of
thirteen. The writer says that he obtained these particulars from
Parysatis herself. Most of the children soon died, the only survivors
being those just mentioned and a fourth named Oxendras. Arsites, his
own brother by the same father and mother, revolted against the king
together with Artyphius the son of Megabyzus. Artasyras was sent
against them, and, having been defeated in two battles, gained the
victory in a third, after he had bribed the Greeks, who were with
Artyphius, so that only three Milesians remained faithful to him. At
length Artyphius, finding that Arsites did not appear, surrendered to
the king, after Artasyras had solemnly promised him that his life
should be spared. The king was anxious to put Artyphius to death,
but Parysatis advised him not to do so at once, in order to deceive
Arsites and induce him also to submit; when both had surrendered, she
said they could both be put to death. The plan succeeded, Artyphius
and Arsites surrendered, and were thrown into the ashes. The king
wished to pardon Arsites, but Parysatis by her importunity persuaded
him to put him to death. Pharnacyas, who had assisted Secydianus to
kill Xerxes, was stoned to death. Menostanes was also arrested and
condemned, but anticipated his fate by suicide.
Pissuthnes also revolted, and Tissaphernes, Spithradates, and
Parmises were sent against him. Pissuthnes set out to meet them with
Lycon the Athenian and a body of Greeks, who were bribed by the
king’s generals to desert him. Pissuthnes then surrendered, and,
after having received assurances that his life should be spared,
accompanied Tissaphernes to the court. But the king ordered him
to be thrown into the ashes and gave his satrapy to Tissaphernes.
Lycon also received several towns and districts as the reward of his
treachery.
Artoxares the eunuch, who had great influence with the king, desiring
to obtain possession of the throne himself, plotted against his
master. He ordered his wife to make him a false beard and moustache,
that he might look like a man. His wife, however, betrayed him; he
was seized, handed over to Parysatis, and put to death. Arsaces the
king’s son, who afterwards changed his name to Artoxerxes, married
Statira, daughter of Idernes, whose son Teritukhmes, who had been
appointed to his father’s satrapy after his death, married the king’s
daughter Amestris. Teritukhmes had a half-sister Roxana, of great
beauty and very skilful in bending the bow and hurling the spear.
Teritukhmes having fallen in love with her and conceived a hatred
of his wife Amestris, in order to get rid of the latter, resolved
to put her into a sack, where she was to be stabbed to death by 300
accomplices, with whom he had entered into a conspiracy to raise
a revolt. But a certain Udiastes, who had great influence with
Teritukhmes, having received letters from the king promising to
reward him generously if he could save his daughter, attacked and
murdered Teritukhmes, who courageously defended himself and slew (it
is said) thirty-seven of his assailants.
Mitradates,[329] the son of Udiastes, the armour-bearer of
Teritukhmes, took no part in this affair, and when he learnt what
had happened, he cursed his father and seized the city of Zaris to
hand over to the son of Teritukhmes. Parysatis ordered the mother
of Teritukhmes, his brothers Mitrostes and Helicus, and his sisters
except Statira to be put to death. Roxana was hewn in pieces alive.
The king told his wife Parysatis to inflict the same punishment
upon the wife of his son Arsaces. But Arsaces by his tears and
lamentations appeased the wrath of his father and mother. Parysatis
having relented, Ochus spared Statira’s life, but at the same time
told Parysatis that she would one day greatly regret it.
In the nineteenth book the author relates how Ochus Dariaeus fell
sick and died at Babylon, having reigned thirty-five years. Arsaces,
who succeeded him, changed his name to Artoxerxes. Udiastes had
his tongue cut out and torn out by the roots behind; and so he
died. His son Mitradates was appointed to his satrapy. This was
due to the instigation of Statira, whereat Parysatis was greatly
aggrieved. Cyrus, being accused by Tissaphernes of designs on the
life of his brother Artoxerxes, took refuge with his mother, by whose
intervention he was cleared of the charge. Disgraced by his brother,
he retired to his satrapy and laid his plans for revolt. Satibarzanes
accused Orontes of an intrigue with Parysatis, although her conduct
was irreproachable; Orontes was put to death, and his mother was
greatly enraged against the king, because Parysatis had poisoned
the son of Teritukhmes. The author also mentions him who cremated
his father contrary to the law, Hellanicus and Herodotus being thus
convicted of falsehood.[330]
Cyrus having revolted against his brother[331] collected an army
composed of both Greeks and barbarians. Clearchus was in command
of the Greeks; Syennesis, king of Cilicia, assisted both Cyrus
and Artoxerxes. The author then reports the speeches of the two
princes to their troops. Clearchus the Spartan, who was in command
of the Greeks, and Menon the Thessalian, who accompanied Cyrus, were
always at variance, because Cyrus took the advice of Clearchus in
everything, while Menon was disregarded. Large numbers deserted from
Artoxerxes to Cyrus, none from Cyrus to Artoxerxes. For this reason
Artabarius, who meditated desertion, was accused and thrown into the
ashes. Cyrus attacked the king’s army and gained the victory, but
lost his life by neglecting the advice of Clearchus. His body was
mutilated by Artoxerxes, who ordered his head and the hand with which
he had struck him to be cut off, and carried them about in triumph.
Clearchus the Spartan withdrew during the night with his Greeks, and
after he had seized one of the cities belonging to Parysatis, the
king made peace with him.
Parysatis set out for Babylon, mourning for the death of Cyrus, and
having with difficulty recovered his head and hand sent them to
Susa for burial. It was Bagapates who had cut off his head by order
of Artoxerxes. Parysatis, when playing at dice with the king, won
the game and Bagapates as the prize, and afterwards had him flayed
alive and crucified. At length she was persuaded by the entreaties
of Artoxerxes to give up mourning for her son. The king rewarded the
soldier who brought him Cyrus’s cap, and the Carian who was supposed
to have wounded him, whom Parysatis afterwards tortured and put to
death. Mitradates having boasted at table of having killed Cyrus,
Parysatis demanded that he should be given up to her, and having got
him into her hands, put him to death with great cruelty. Such is the
contents of the nineteenth and twentieth books.
The twenty-first, twenty-second, and twenty-third books conclude
the history. Tissaphernes began to plot against the Greeks, with
the assistance of Menon the Thessalian, whom he had won over. In
this manner, by cunning and solemn promises, he got Clearchus and
the other generals in his power, although Clearchus suspected and
was on his guard against treachery and endeavoured to avert it; but
the soldiers, being deceived by the words of Menon, compelled the
unwilling Clearchus to visit Tissaphernes. Proxenus the Boeotian, who
had been already deceived, also advised him to go. Clearchus and the
other generals were sent in chains to Artoxerxes at Babylon, where
all the people flocked to see Clearchus. Ctesias himself, Parysatis’s
physician, bestowed every attention upon Clearchus while he was in
prison and did all he could to mitigate his lot. Parysatis would have
given him his freedom and let him go, had not Statira persuaded the
king to put him to death. After his execution, a marvellous thing
happened. A strong wind sprang up and heaped a quantity of earth upon
his body, which formed a natural tomb. The other Greeks who had been
sent with him were also put to death, with the exception of Menon.
The author next tells us of the insults heaped by Parysatis on
Statira, and the poisoning of Statira, which was brought about
in the following manner, although she had long been on her guard
against this kind of death. A table knife was smeared with poison
on one side. One of the little birds, about the size of an egg,
called _rhyndace_, was cut in half by Parysatis, who herself took
and ate the portion which had not been touched by the poison, at the
same time offering Statira the poisoned half. Statira, seeing that
Parysatis was eating her own portion, had no suspicions, and took the
fatal poison. The king, enraged with his mother, ordered her eunuchs
to be seized and tortured, including her chief confidant Ginge. The
latter, being accused and brought to trial, was acquitted by the
judges, but the king condemned her and ordered her to be tortured and
put to death, which caused a lasting quarrel between mother and son.
The tomb of Clearchus, eight years afterwards, was found covered with
palm-trees, which Parysatis had had secretly planted by her eunuchs.
The author next states the cause of the quarrel of Artoxerxes with
Evagoras, king of Salamis.[332] The messengers sent by Evagoras to
Ctesias about the receiving of letters from Abuletes. The letter of
Ctesias to Evagoras concerning reconciliation with Anaxagoras prince
of the Cyprians. The return of the messengers of Evagoras to Cyprus
and the delivery of the letters from Ctesias to Evagoras. The speech
of Conon to Evagoras about visiting the king; and the letter of
Evagoras on the honours he had received from him. The letter of Conon
to Ctesias, the agreement of Evagoras to pay tribute to the king,
and the giving of the letters to Ctesias. Speech of Ctesias to the
king about Conon and the letter to him. The presents sent by Evagoras
delivered to Satibarzanes; the arrival of the messengers in Cyprus.
The letters of Conon to the king and Ctesias. The detention of the
Spartan ambassadors to the king. Letter from the king to Conon and
the Spartans, delivered to them by Ctesias himself. Conon appointed
commander of the fleet by Pharnabazus.
The visit of Ctesias to Cnidus, his native city, and to Sparta.
Proceedings against the Spartan ambassadors at Rhodes, and their
acquittal.[333] The number of stations, days, and parasangs from
Ephesus to Bactria and India. The work concludes with a list of the
Assyrian kings from Ninus and Semiramis to Artoxerxes. This writer’s
style is clear and very simple, which makes the work agreeable
to read. He uses the Ionic dialect, not throughout, as Herodotus
does, but only in certain expressions, nor does he, like Herodotus,
interrupt the thread of his narrative by ill-timed digressions.
Although he reproaches Herodotus for his old wives’ tales, he is
not free from the same defect, especially in his account of India.
The charm of his history chiefly consists in his manner of relating
events, which is strong in the emotional and unexpected, and in his
varied use of mythical embellishment. The style is more careless than
it should be, and the phraseology often descends to the commonplace,
whereas that of Herodotus, both in this and other respects as far
as vigour and art are concerned, is the model representative of the
Ionic dialect.
_History of India._[334]
Also read the same author’s _History of India_, in one book, in
which he employs the Ionic dialect more frequently. In regard to
the river Indus, he says that, where it is narrowest, it is forty,
where it is widest, two hundred stades broad.[335] He declares that
the population of India is almost greater than that of the whole
world. He also mentions a worm found in this river, the only living
creature which breeds there. Beyond India there are no countries
inhabited by men. It never rains there, the country being watered by
the river. He says of the _pantarba_,[336] a kind of seal-stone, that
477 seal-stones and other precious stones, belonging to a Bactrian
merchant, which had been thrown into the river, were drawn up from
the bottom, all clinging together, by this stone.
He also speaks of elephants which knock down walls, of little[337]
apes with tails four cubits long, and of cocks of very large size;
of the parrot about as large as a hawk, which has a human tongue
and voice, a dark-red beak, a black beard, and blue feathers up to
the neck, which is red like cinnabar.[338] It speaks Indian like a
native, and if taught Greek, speaks Greek.
He next mentions a fountain which is filled every year with liquid
gold, from which a hundred pitcherfuls are drawn. These pitchers have
to be made of earth, since the gold when drawn off becomes solid,
and it is necessary to break the vessel in order to get it out. The
fountain is square, sixteen cubits in circumference, and a fathom
deep. The gold in each pitcher weighs a talent. At the bottom of the
fountain there is iron, and the author says that he possessed two
swords made from it, one given him by the king, the other by his
mother, Parysatis. If this iron[339] be fixed in the ground, it keeps
off clouds and hail and hurricanes. Ctesias declares that the king
twice proved its efficacy and that he himself was a witness to it.
The Indian dogs are very large and even attack lions. There are great
mountains, from which are dug sardonyx, onyx, and other seal-stones.
It is intensely hot and the sun appears ten times larger than in
other countries; large numbers of people are suffocated by the heat.
The sea is as large as that of Greece; it is so hot on the surface
and to a depth of four fingers that fish cannot live near it, but
keep on the bottom.
The river Indus flows across plains and between mountains, where the
so-called Indian reed grows. It is so thick that two men can hardly
get their arms round it, and as tall as the mast of a merchant-ship
of largest tonnage. Some are larger, some smaller, as is natural
considering the size of the mountain. Of these reeds some are male,
others female. The male has no pith and is very strong, but the
female has.
The _martikhora_ is an animal found in this country. It has a face
like a man’s, a skin red as cinnabar, and is as large as a lion. It
has three rows of teeth, ears and light-blue eyes like those of a
man; its tail is like that of a land scorpion, containing a sting
more than a cubit long at the end. It has other stings on each side
of its tail and one on the top of its head, like the scorpion, with
which it inflicts a wound that is always fatal. If it is attacked
from a distance, it sets up its tail in front and discharges its
stings as if from a bow; if attacked from behind, it straightens it
out and launches its stings in a direct line to the distance of a
hundred feet. The wound inflicted is fatal to all animals except the
elephant. The stings are about a foot long and about as thick as a
small rush. The _martikhora_[340] is called in Greek _anthropophagos_
(man-eater), because, although it preys upon other animals, it kills
and devours a greater number of human beings. It fights with both its
claws and stings, which, according to Ctesias, grow again after they
have been discharged. There is a great number of these animals in
India, which are hunted and killed with spears or arrows by natives
mounted on elephants.
Observing that the Indians are extremely just, Ctesias goes on to
describe their manners and customs. He mentions a sacred spot in an
uninhabited district, which they honour under the name of the Sun
and the Moon. It is a fifteen days’ journey from mount Sardo.[341]
Here the Sun is always cool for thirty-five days in the year, so
that his votaries may attend his feast and after its celebration
may return home without being scorched. In India there is neither
thunder, lightning, nor rain, but winds and hurricanes, which carry
along everything that comes in their way, are frequent. The sun,
after rising, is cool for half the day, but for the remainder is
excessively hot in most parts of the country. It is not the heat of
the sun that makes the Indians swarthy; they are so naturally. Some
of them, both men and women, are very fair, though they are fewer in
number. Ctesias says that he himself saw five white men and two white
women. In support of his statement that the sun cools the air for
thirty-five days, he mentions that the fire which streams from Aetna
does no damage to the middle of the country through which it passes,
because it is the abode of just men, but destroys the rest.[342] In
the island of Zacynthus there are fountains full of fish, out of
which pitch is taken. In the island of Naxos there is a fountain from
which sometimes flows a wine of very agreeable flavour. The water of
the river Phasis, if allowed to stand a day and a night in a vessel,
becomes a most delicious wine. Near Phaselis in Lycia there is a fire
which never goes out, but burns on a rock both night and day. It
cannot be extinguished by water, which rather increases the flame,
but only by throwing earth upon it.
In the middle of India there are black men, called Pygmies,[343] who
speak the same language as the other inhabitants of the country. They
are very short, the tallest being only two cubits in height, most of
them only one and a half. Their hair is very long, going down to the
knees and even lower, and their beards are larger than those of any
other men. When their beards are full grown they leave off wearing
clothes and let the hair of their head fall down behind far below the
knees, while their beard trails down to the feet in front. When their
body is thus entirely covered with hair they fasten it round them
with a girdle, so that it serves them for clothes. They are snubnosed
and ugly. Their sheep are no bigger than lambs, their oxen, asses,
horses, mules, and other beasts of burden about the size of rams.
Being very skilful archers, 3000 of them attend on the king of India.
They are very just and have the same laws as the Indians. They hunt
the hare and the fox, not with dogs, but with ravens, kites, crows,
and eagles.
There is a lake 800 stades in circumference, the surface of which,
when not ruffled by the wind, is covered with floating oil. Sailing
over it in little boats, they ladle out the oil with little vessels
and keep it for use. They also use oil of sesamum and nut-oil, but
the oil from the lake is best. The lake also abounds in fish.
The country produces much silver and there are numerous silver mines,
not very deep, but those of Bactria are said to be deeper. There is
also gold, not found in rivers and washed, as in the river Pactolus,
but in many large mountains which are inhabited by griffins. These
are four-footed birds as large as a wolf, their legs and claws
resembling those of a lion; their breast feathers are red, those of
the rest of the body black. Although there is abundance of gold in
the mountains, it is difficult to get it because of these birds.
The Indian sheep and goats are larger than asses, and as a rule have
four young ones, sometimes six, at a time. There are neither tame nor
wild pigs. The palm trees and dates are three times as large as those
of Babylon. There is a river of honey that flows from a rock.
The author speaks at length of the Indians’ love of justice, their
loyalty to their kings and their contempt of death. He also mentions
a fountain, the water from which, when drawn off, thickens like
cheese. If three obols’ weight of this thick mass be crushed, mixed
with water, and given to any one to drink, he reveals everything that
he has ever done, being in a state of frenzy and delirium the whole
day. The king makes use of this test when he desires to discover the
truth about an accused person. If he confesses, he is ordered to
starve himself to death; if he reveals nothing, he is acquitted.
The Indians are not subject to headache, ophthalmia, or even
toothache; to ulcers on the mouth, or sores in any other part of the
body. They live 120, 130, 150, and some even 200 years.
There is a serpent a span in length, of a most beautiful purple
colour, with a very white head, and without teeth. It is caught on
the burning mountains, from which the sardonyx is dug. It does not
sting, but its vomit rots the place where it falls. If it is hung up
by the tail it discharges two kinds of poison, one yellow like amber,
when it is alive, the other black, when it is dead. If one drinks
only as much of the former as a grain of sesamum dissolved in water,
his brain runs out through his nose and he dies immediately; if the
other poison is administered, it brings on consumption, which does
not prove fatal for at least a year.
There is a bird called _dikaerum_ (meaning in Greek “just”), the size
of a partridge’s egg. It buries its excrement in the ground in order
to hide it. If any one finds it and takes only a morsel of it about
the size of a grain of sesamum in the morning, he is overcome by
sleep, loses consciousness, and dies at sunset.
There is also a tree called _parebum_, about the size of an olive,
which is only found in the royal gardens. It bears neither flowers
nor fruit, and has only fifteen very stout roots, the smallest of
which is as thick as a man’s arm. If a piece of this root, about a
span in length, be put near any body of matter, gold, silver, brass,
stones, in fact, everything except amber, it attracts it; if a
cubit’s length of it be used, it attracts lambs and birds, the latter
being generally caught in this way. If you wish to solidify a gallon
of water, you need only throw in a piece of the root the weight of
an obol; the same with wine, which can be handled like wax, although
on the next day it becomes liquid again. The root is also used as a
remedy for those suffering from bowel complaints.
There is a river that flows through India, not large, but about
two stades broad. It is called _Hyparchus_[344] in Indian, meaning
in Greek “bestowing all blessings.” During thirty days in the year
it brings down amber. It is said that in the mountains there are
trees on the banks of the river where it passes through, which
at a certain season of the year shed tears like the almond, fir,
or any other tree, especially during these thirty days. These
tears drop into the river and become hard. This tree is called in
Indian _Siptakhora_,[345] meaning in Greek “sweet,” and from it
the inhabitants gather amber. It also bears fruit in clusters like
grapes, the stones of which are as large as the nuts of Pontus.
On these mountains there live men with the head of a dog, whose
clothing is the skin of wild beasts. They speak no language, but bark
like dogs, and in this manner make themselves understood by each
other. Their teeth are larger than those of dogs, their nails like
those of these animals, but longer and rounder. They inhabit the
mountains as far as the river Indus. Their complexion is swarthy.
They are extremely just, like the rest of the Indians with whom they
associate. They understand the Indian language but are unable to
converse, only barking or making signs with their hands and fingers
by way of reply, like the deaf and dumb. They are called by the
Indians _Calystrii_, in Greek _Cynocephali_ (“dog-headed”). [They
live on raw meat.] They number about 120,000.
Near the sources of this river[346] grows a purple flower, from which
is obtained a purple dye, as good in quality as the Greek and of an
even more brilliant hue. In the same district there is an animal
about the size of a beetle, red as cinnabar, with very long feet,
and a body as soft as that of a worm. It breeds on the trees which
produce amber, eats their fruit and kills them, as the woodlouse
destroys the vines in Greece. The Indians crush these insects and
use them for dyeing their robes and tunics and anything else they
wish.[347] The dye is superior to the Persian.
The _Cynocephali_ living on the mountains do not practise any trade
but live by hunting. When they have killed an animal they roast it in
the sun. They also rear numbers of sheep, goats, and asses, drinking
the milk of the sheep and whey made from it. They eat the fruit of
the Siptakhora, whence amber is procured, since it is sweet. They
also dry it and keep it in baskets, as the Greeks keep their dried
grapes. They make rafts which they load with this fruit together with
well-cleaned purple flowers and 260 talents of amber, with the same
quantity of the purple dye, and 1000 additional talents of amber,
which they send annually to the king of India. They exchange the rest
for bread, flour, and cotton stuffs with the Indians, from whom they
also buy swords for hunting wild beasts, bows, and arrows, being very
skilful in drawing the bow and hurling the spear. They cannot be
defeated in war, since they inhabit lofty and inaccessible mountains.
Every five years the king sends them a present of 300,000 bows, as
many spears, 120,000 shields, and 50,000 swords.
They do not live in houses, but in caves. They set out for the chase
with bows and spears, and as they are very swift of foot, they pursue
and soon overtake their quarry. The women have a bath once a month,
the men do not have a bath at all, but only wash their hands. They
anoint themselves three times a month with oil made from milk and
wipe themselves with skins. The clothes of men and women alike are
not skins with the hair on, but skins tanned and very fine. The
richest wear linen clothes, but they are few in number. They have no
beds, but sleep on leaves or grass. He who possesses the greatest
number of sheep is considered the richest, and so in regard to their
other possessions. All, both men and women, have tails above their
hips, like dogs, but longer and more hairy. They are just, and live
longer than any other men, 170, sometimes 200 years.
It is said that beyond their country, above the sources of the river,
there are other men, black like the rest of the Indians. They do no
work, do not eat grain nor drink water, but rear large numbers of
cattle, cows, goats, and sheep, whose milk is their only food. When
they drink milk in the morning and then again at mid-day, they eat a
sweet root which prevents the milk from curdling in the stomach, and
at night makes them vomit all they have taken without any difficulty.
In India there are wild asses[348] as large as horses, or even
larger. Their body is white, their head dark red, their eyes bluish,
and they have a horn in their forehead about a cubit in length.
The lower part of the horn, for about two palms distance from the
forehead, is quite white, the middle is black, the upper part, which
terminates in a point, is a very flaming red. Those who drink out of
cups made from it are proof against convulsions, epilepsy, and even
poison, provided that before or after having taken it they drink some
wine or water or other liquid out of these cups. The domestic and
wild asses of other countries and all other solid-hoofed animals have
neither huckle-bones nor gall-bladder, whereas the Indian asses have
both. Their huckle-bone is the most beautiful that I have seen, like
that of the ox in size and appearance; it is as heavy as lead and of
the colour of cinnabar all through. These animals are very strong and
swift; neither the horse nor any other animal can overtake them. At
first they run slowly, but the longer they run their pace increases
wonderfully, and becomes faster and faster. There is only one way
of catching them. When they take their young to feed, if they are
surrounded by a large number of horsemen, being unwilling to abandon
their foals, they show fight, butt with their horns, kick, bite, and
kill many men and horses. They are at last taken, after they have
been pierced with arrows and spears; for it is impossible to capture
them alive. Their flesh is too bitter to eat, and they are only
hunted for the sake of the horns and huckle-bones.
In the river Indus a worm is found resembling those which are usually
found on fig-trees. Its average length is seven cubits, though some
are longer, others shorter. It is so thick that a child ten years
old could hardly put his arms round it. It has two teeth, one in the
upper and one in the lower jaw. Everything it seizes with these teeth
it devours. By day it remains in the mud of the river, but at night
it comes out, seizes whatever it comes across, whether ox or camel,
drags it into the river, and devours it all except the intestines.
It is caught with a large hook baited with a lamb or kid attached
by iron chains. After it has been caught, it is hung up for thirty
days with vessels placed underneath, into which as much oil from the
body drips as would fill ten Attic _kotylae_.[349] At the end of the
thirty days, the worm is thrown away, the vessels of oil are sealed
and taken as a present to the king of India, who alone is allowed to
use it. This oil sets everything alight--wood or animals--over which
it is poured, and the flame can only be extinguished by throwing a
quantity of thick mud on it.
There are trees in India as high as cedars or cypresses, with leaves
like those of the palm-tree, except that they are a little broader
and have no shoots. They flower like the male laurel, but have no
fruit. The tree is called by the Indians _karpion_, by the Greeks
_myrorodon_ (unguent-rose); it is not common. Drops of oil ooze out
of it, which are wiped off with wool and then squeezed into stone
alabaster boxes. The oil is reddish, rather thick, and so fragrant
that it scents the air to a distance of five stades. Only the king
and his family are allowed to use it. The king of India sent some
to the king of Persia, and Ctesias, who saw it, says that he cannot
compare the perfume with any other.
The Indians also have very excellent cheese and sweet wine, both of
which Ctesias tested himself.
There is a square fountain in India, about five ells in
circumference. The water is in a rock, about three cubits’
depth down, and the water itself three fathoms. The Indians of
highest rank--men, women, and children--bathe in it [not only for
cleanliness, but as a preventive of disease]. They plunge feet
foremost into the water, and when they jump into it, it throws them
out again on to dry land, not only human beings, but every animal,
living or dead, in fact, everything that is thrown into it except
iron, silver, gold, and copper, which sink to the bottom. The water
is very cold, and agreeable to drink; it makes a loud noise like that
of water boiling in a caldron. It cures leprosy and scab. In Indian
it is called _balladē_, and in Greek _ophelimē_ (useful).
In the mountains where the Indian reed grows there dwells a people
about 30,000 in number. Their women only have children once in
their life, which are born with beautiful teeth in the upper and
lower jaw. Both male and female children have white hair on the
head and eyebrows. Up to the age of thirty the men have white hair
all over the body; it then begins to turn black, and at the age of
sixty it is quite black. Both men and women have eight fingers and
eight toes. They are very warlike, and 5000 of them--bowmen and
spearmen--accompany the king of India on his military expeditions.
Their ears are so long that their arms are covered with them as far
as the elbow, and also their backs, and one ear touches the other.
[In Aethiopia there is an animal called _crocottas_,[350] vulgarly
_kynolykos_ (dog-wolf), of amazing strength. It is said to imitate
the human voice, to call men by name at night, and to devour those
who approach it. It is as brave as a lion, as swift as a horse, and
as strong as a bull. It cannot be overcome by any weapon of steel.
In Chalcis in Euboea there are sheep which have no gall-bladder, and
their flesh is so bitter that even the dogs refuse to eat it. They
also say that beyond the gates of Mauretania the rain is abundant in
summer, and that it is scorching hot in winter. Among the Cyonians
there is a fountain which gives out oil instead of water, which the
people use in all their food. In Metadrida there is another fountain,
some little distance from the sea, the flow of which is so violent
at midnight that it casts up on land fishes in such numbers that the
inhabitants, unable to pick them up, leave most of them to rot on the
ground.][351]
Ctesias relates these fables as perfect truth, adding that he
himself had seen with his own eyes some of the things he describes,
and had been informed of the rest by eye-witnesses. He says that he
has omitted many far more marvellous things, for fear that those
who had not seen them might think that his account was utterly
untrustworthy.