Our young bride and bridegroom had not travelled farther than Ephesus,
when the news reached them that Amasis was dead. From Ephesus they
went to Babylon, and thence to Pasargadae, which Kassandane, Atossa and
Croesus had made their temporary residence. Kassandane was to accompany
the army to Egypt, and wished, now that Nebenchari had restored her
sight, to see the monument which had lately been built to her great
husband's memory after Croesus' design, before leaving for so long a
journey. She rejoiced in finding it worthy of the great Cyrus, and spent
hours every day in the beautiful gardens which had been laid out round
the mausoleum.
It consisted of a gigantic sarcophagus made of solid marble blocks,
and resting like a house on a substructure composed of six high marble
steps. The interior was fitted up like a room, and contained, beside the
golden coffin in which were preserved such few remains of Cyrus as had
been spared by the dogs, vultures, and elements, a silver bed and a
table of the same metal, on which were golden drinking-cups and numerous
garments ornamented with the rarest and most costly jewels.
The building was forty feet high. The shady paradises--[Persian
pleasure-gardens]--and colonnades by which it was surrounded had
been planned by Croesus, and in the midst of the sacred grove was a
dwelling-house for the Magi appointed to watch over the tomb.
The palace of Cyrus could be seen in the distance--a palace in which he
had appointed that the future kings of Persia should pass at least
some months of every year. It was a splendid building in the style of
a fortress, and so inaccessibly placed that it had been fixed on as the
royal treasure-house.
Here, in the fresh mountain air of a place dedicated to the memory of
the husband she had loved so much, Kassandane felt well and at peace;
she was glad too to see that Atossa was recovering the old cheerfulness,
which she had so sadly lost since the death of Nitetis and the departure
of Darius. Sappho soon became the friend of her new mother and sister,
and all three felt very loath to leave the lovely Pasargadm.
Darius and Zopyrus had remained with the army which was assembling in
the plains of the Euphrates, and Bartja too had to return thither before
the march began.
Cambyses went out to meet his family on their return; he was much
impressed with Sappho's great beauty, but she confessed to her husband
that his brother only inspired her with fear.
The king had altered very much in the last few months. His formerly pale
and almost noble features were reddened and disfigured by the quantities
of wine he was in the habit of drinking. In his dark eyes there was the
old fire still, but dimmed and polluted. His hair and beard, formerly so
luxuriant, and black as the raven's wing, hung down grey and disordered
over his face and chin, and the proud smile which used so to improve his
features had given way to an expression of contemptuous annoyance and
harsh severity.
Sometimes he laughed,--loudly, immoderately and coarsely; but this was
only when intoxicated, a condition which had long ceased to be unusual
with him.
He continued to retain an aversion to his wives; so much so that the
royal harem was to be left behind in Susa, though all his court took
their favorite wives and concubines with them on the campaign. Still no
one could complain that the king was ever guilty of injustice; indeed he
insisted more eagerly now than before on the rigid execution of the
law; and wherever he detected an abuse his punishments were cruel and
inexorable. Hearing that a judge, named Sisamnes, had been bribed
to pronounce an unjust sentence, he condemned the wretched man to
be flayed, ordered the seat of justice to be covered with his skin,
appointed the son to the father's vacant place and compelled him to
occupy this fearful seat.--[Herodot. V. 25.]--Cambyses was untiring as
commander of the forces, and superintended the drilling of the troops
assembled near Babylon with the greatest rigor and circumspection.
The hosts were to march after the festival of the New Year, which
Cambyses celebrated this time with immense expense and profusion. The
ceremony over, he betook himself to the army. Bartja was there. He came
up to his brother, beaming with joy, kissed the hem of his robe, and
told him in a tone of triumph that he hoped to become a father. The king
trembled as he heard the words, vouchsafed his brother no answer, drank
himself into unconsciousness that evening, and the next morning called
the soothsayers, Magi and Chaldaeans together, in order to submit a
question to them. "Shall I be committing a sin against the gods, if I
take my sister to wife and thus verify the promise of the dream, which
ye formerly interpreted to mean that Atossa should bear a future king to
this realm?"
The Magi consulted a short time together. Then Oropastes cast himself at
the king's feet and said, "We do not believe, O King, that this marriage
would be a sin against the gods; inasmuch as, first: it is a custom
among the Persians to marry with their own kin; and secondly, though it
be not written in the law that the pure man may marry his sister, it
is written that the king may do what seemeth good in his own eyes. That
which pleaseth thee is therefore always lawful."
Cambyses sent the Magi away with rich gifts, gave Oropastes full
powers as regent of the kingdom in his absence, and soon after told
his horrified mother that, as soon as the conquest of Egypt and the
punishment of the son of Amasis should have been achieved, he intended
to marry his sister Atossa.
At length the immense host, numbering more than 800,000 fighting men,
departed in separate divisions, and reached the Syrian desert in
two months. Here they were met by the Arabian tribes whom Phanes had
propitiated--the Amalekites and Geshurites--bringing camels and horses
laden with water for the host.
At Accho, in the land of the Canaanites, the fleets of the Syrians,
Phoenicians and Ionians belonging to Persia, and the auxiliary ships
from Cyprus and Samos, won by the efforts of Phanes, were assembled.
The case of the Samian fleet was a remarkable one. Polykrates saw in
Cambyses' proposal a favorable opportunity of getting rid of all
the citizens who were discontented with his government, manned forty
triremes with eight thousand malcontent Samians, and sent them to
the Persians with the request that not one might be allowed to return
home.--[Herod. III. 44.]
As soon as Phanes heard this he warned the doomed men, who at once,
instead of sailing to join the Persian forces, returned to Samos and
attempted to overthrow Polykrates. They were defeated, however, on land,
and escaped to Sparta to ask help against the tyrant.
A full month before the time of the inundation, the Persian and Egyptian
armies were standing face to face near Pelusium on the north-east coast
of the Delta.
Phanes' arrangements had proved excellent. The Arabian tribes had kept
faith so well that the journey through the desert, which would usually
have cost thousands of lives, had been attended with very little loss,
and the time of year had been so well chosen that the Persian troops
reached Egypt by dry roads and without inconvenience.
The king met his Greek friend with every mark of distinction, and
returned a friendly nod when Phanes said: "I hear that you have been
less cheerful than usual since the death of your beautiful bride. A
woman's grief passes in stormy and violent complaint, but the sterner
character of a man cannot so soon be comforted. I know what you feel,
for I have lost my dearest too. Let us both praise the gods for granting
us the best remedy for our grief--war and revenge." Phanes accompanied
the king to an inspection of the troops and to the evening revel. It was
marvellous to see the influence he exercised over this fierce spirit,
and how calm--nay even cheerful--Cambyses became, when the Athenian was
near.
The Egyptian army was by no means contemptible, even when compared with
the immense Persian hosts. Its position was covered on the right by the
walls of Pelusium, a frontier fortress designed by the Egyptian kings as
a defence against incursions from the east. The Persians were assured by
deserters that the Egyptian army numbered altogether nearly six hundred
thousand men. Beside a great number of chariots of war, thirty thousand
Karian and Ionian mercenaries, and the corps of the Mazai, two
hundred and fifty thousand Kalasirians, one hundred and sixty thousand
Hermotybians, twenty thousand horsemen, and auxiliary troops, amounting
to more than fifty thousand, were assembled under Psamtik's banner;
amongst these last the Libyan Maschawascha were remarkable for their
military deeds, and the Ethiopians for their numerical superiority.
The infantry were divided into regiments and companies, under different
standards, and variously equipped.
[In these and the descriptions immediately following, we have drawn
our information, either from the drawings made from Egyptian
monuments in Champollion, Wilkinson, Rosellini and Lepsius, or from
the monuments themselves. There is a dagger in the Berlin Museum,
the blade of which is of bronze, the hilt of ivory and the sheath of
leather. Large swords are only to be seen in the hands of the
foreign auxiliaries, but the native Egyptians are armed with small
ones, like daggers. The largest one of which we have any knowledge
is in the possession of Herr E. Brugsch at Cairo. It is more than
two feet long.]
The heavy-armed soldiers carried large shields, lances, and daggers; the
swordsmen and those who fought with battle-axes had smaller shields and
light clubs; beside these, there were slingers, but the main body of the
army was composed of archers, whose bows unbent were nearly the height
of a man. The only clothing of the horse-soldiers was the apron, and
their weapon a light club in the form of a mace or battle-axe. Those
warriors, on the contrary, who fought in chariots belonged to the
highest rank of the military caste, spent large sums on the decoration
of their two-wheeled chariots and the harness of their magnificent
horses, and went to battle in their most costly ornaments. They were
armed with bows and lances, and a charioteer stood beside each, so that
their undivided attention could be bestowed upon the battle.
The Persian foot was not much more numerous than the Egyptian, but they
had six times the number of horse-soldiers.
As soon as the armies stood face to face, Cambyses caused the great
Pelusian plain to be cleared of trees and brushwood, and had the
sand-hills removed which were to be found here and there, in order to
give his cavalry and scythe-chariots a fair field of action. Phanes'
knowledge of the country was of great use. He had drawn up a plan of
action with great military skill, and succeeded in gaining not only
Cambyses' approval, but that of the old general Megabyzus and the best
tacticians among the Achaemenidae. His local knowledge was especially
valuable on account of the marshes which intersected the Pelusian plain,
and might, unless carefully avoided, have proved fatal to the Persian
enterprise. At the close of the council of war Phanes begged to be heard
once more: "Now, at length," he said, "I am at liberty to satisfy your
curiosity in reference to the closed waggons full of animals, which I
have had transported hither. They contain five thousand cats! Yes, you
may laugh, but I tell you these creatures will be more serviceable to us
than a hundred thousand of our best soldiers. Many of you are aware that
the Egyptians have a superstition which leads them rather to die than
kill a cat, I, myself, nearly paid for such a murder once with my life.
Remembering this, I have been making a diligent search for cats during
my late journey; in Cyprus, where there are splendid specimens, in Samos
and in Crete. All I could get I ordered to be caught, and now propose
that they be distributed among those troops who will be opposed to the
native Egyptian soldiers. Every man must be told to fasten one firmly
to his shield and hold it out as he advances towards the enemy. I will
wager that there's not one real Egyptian, who would not rather fly from
the battle-field than take aim at one of these sacred animals."
This speech was met by a loud burst of laughter; on being discussed,
however, it was approved of, and ordered to be carried out at once. The
ingenious Greek was honored by receiving the king's hand to kiss, his
expenses were reimbursed by a magnificent present, and he was urged to
take a daughter of some noble Persian family in marriage.
[Themistocles too, on coming to the Persian court, received a high-
born Persian wife in marriage. Diod. XI. 57.]
The king concluded by inviting him to supper, but this the Athenian
declined, on the plea that he must review the Ionian troops, with whom
he was as yet but little acquainted, and withdrew.
At the door of his tent he found his slaves disputing with a ragged,
dirty and unshaven old man, who insisted on speaking with their master.
Fancying he must be a beggar, Phanes threw him a piece of gold; the old
man did not even stoop to pick it up, but, holding the Athenian fast by
his cloak, cried, "I am Aristomachus the Spartan!"
Cruelly as he was altered, Phanes recognized his old friend at once,
ordered his feet to be washed and his head anointed, gave him wine and
meat to revive his strength, took his rags off and laid a new chiton
over his emaciated, but still sinewy, frame.
Aristomachus received all in silence; and when the food and wine had
given him strength to speak, began the following answer to Phanes' eager
questions.
On the murder of Phanes' son by Psamtik, he had declared his intention
of leaving Egypt and inducing the troops under his command to do the
same, unless his friend's little daughter were at once set free, and a
satisfactory explanation given for the sudden disappearance of the boy.
Psamtik promised to consider the matter. Two days later, as Aristomachus
was going up the Nile by night to Memphis, he was seized by Egyptian
soldiers, bound and thrown into the dark hold of a boat, which, after a
voyage of many days and nights, cast anchor on a totally unknown shore.
The prisoners were taken out of their dungeon and led across a desert
under the burning sun, and past rocks of strange forms, until they
reached a range of mountains with a colony of huts at its base. These
huts were inhabited by human beings, who, with chains on their feet,
were driven every morning into the shaft of a mine and there compelled
to hew grains of gold out of the stony rock. Many of these miserable men
had passed forty years in this place, but most died soon, overcome by
the hard work and the fearful extremes of heat and cold to which they
were exposed on entering and leaving the mine.
[Diodorus (III. 12.) describes the compulsory work in the gold mines
with great minuteness. The convicts were either prisoners taken in
war, or people whom despotism in its blind fury found it expedient
to put out of the way. The mines lay in the plain of Koptos, not
far from the Red Sea. Traces of them have been discovered in modern
times. Interesting inscriptions of the time of Rameses the Great,
(14 centuries B. C.) referring to the gold-mines, have been found,
one at Radesich, the other at Kubnn, and have been published and
deciphered in Europe.]
"My companions," continued Aristomachus, "were either condemned
murderers to whom mercy had been granted, or men guilty of high treason
whose tongues had been cut out, and others such as myself whom the king
had reason to fear. Three months I worked among this set, submitting
to the strokes of the overseer, fainting under the fearful heat, and
stiffening under the cold dews of night. I felt as if picked out
for death and only kept alive by the hope of vengeance. It happened,
however, by the mercy of the gods, that at the feast of Pacht, our
guards, as is the custom of the Egyptians, drank so freely as to fall
into a deep sleep, during which I and a young Jew who had been deprived
of his right hand for having used false weights in trade, managed to
escape unperceived; Zeus Lacedaemonius and the great God whom this young
man worshipped helped us in our need, and, though we often heard the
voices of our pursuers, they never succeeded in capturing us. I had
taken a bow from one of our guards; with this we obtained food, and when
no game was to be found we lived on roots, fruits and birds' eggs. The
sun and stars showed us our road. We knew that the gold-mines were not
far from the Red Sea and lay to the south of Memphis. It was not long
before we reached the coast; and then, pressing onwards in a northerly
direction, we fell in with some friendly mariners, who took care of us
until we were taken up by an Arabian boat. The young Jew understood the
language spoken by the crew, and in their care we came to Eziongeber
in the land of Edom. There we heard that Cambyses was coming with an
immense army against Egypt, and travelled as far as Harma under the
protection of an Amalekite caravan bringing water to the Persian army.
From thence I went on to Pelusium in the company of some stragglers from
the Asiatic army, who now and then allowed me a seat on their horses,
and here I heard that you had accepted a high command in Cambyses' army.
I have kept my vow, I have been true to my nation in Egypt; now it is
your turn to help old Aristomachus in gaining the only thing he still
cares for--revenge on his persecutors."
"And that you shall have!" cried Phanes, grasping the old man's hand.
"You shall have the command of the heavy-armed Milesian troops, and
liberty to commit what carnage you like among the ranks of our enemies.
This, however, is only paying half the debt I owe you. Praised be
the gods, who have put it in my power to make you happy by one single
sentence. Know then, Aristomachus, that, only a few days after your
disappearance, a ship arrived in the harbor of Naukratis from Sparta.
It was guided by your own noble son and expressly sent by the Ephori
in your honor--to bring the father of two Olympic victors back to his
native land."
The old man's limbs trembled visibly at these words, his eyes filled
with tears and he murmured a prayer. Then smiting his forehead, he cried
in a voice trembling with feeling: "Now it is fulfilled! now it has
become a fact! If I doubted the words of thy priestess, O Phoebus
Apollo! pardon my sin! What was the promise of the oracle?
"If once the warrior hosts from the snow-topped mountains
descending,
Come to the fields of the stream watering richly the plain,
Then shall the lingering boat to the beckoning meadows convey thee,
Which to the wandering foot peace and a home can afford.
When those warriors come, from the snow-topped mountains descending,
Then will the powerful Five grant thee what long they refused."
"The promise of the god is fulfilled. Now I may return home, and I will;
but first I raise my hands to Dice, the unchanging goddess of justice,
and implore her not to deny me the pleasure of revenge."
"The day of vengeance will dawn to-morrow," said Phanes, joining in
the old man's prayer. "Tomorrow I shall slaughter the victims for the
dead--for my son--and will take no rest until Cambyses has pierced
the heart of Egypt with the arrows which I have cut for him. Come, my
friend, let me take you to the king. One man like you can put a whole
troop of Egyptians to flight."
.......................
It was night. The Persian soldiers, their position being unfortified,
were in order of battle, ready to meet any unexpected attack. The
foot-soldiers stood leaning on their shields, the horsemen held their
horses saddled and bridled near the camp-fires. Cambyses was riding
through the ranks, encouraging his troops by words and looks. Only one
part of the army was not yet ranged in order of battle--the centre. It
was composed of the Persian body-guard, the apple-bearers, Immortals,
and the king's own relatives, who were always led into battle by the
king in person.
The Ionian Greeks too had gone to rest, at Phanes' command. He wanted to
keep his men fresh, and allowed them to sleep in their armor, while he
kept watch. Aristomachus was welcomed with shouts of joy by the Greeks,
and kindly by Cambyses, who assigned him, at the head of one half the
Greek troops, a place to the left of the centre attack, while Phanes,
with the other half, had his place at the right. The king himself was to
take the lead at the head of the ten thousand Immortals, preceded by the
blue, red and gold imperial banner and the standard of Kawe. Bartja was
to lead the regiment of mounted guards numbering a thousand men, and
that division of the cavalry which was entirely clothed in mail.
Croesus commanded a body of troops whose duty it was to guard the camp
with its immense treasures, the wives of Cambyses' nobles, and his own
mother and sister.
At last Mithras appeared and shed his light upon the earth; the spirits
of the night retired to their dens, and the Magi stirred up the sacred
fire which had been carried before the army the whole way from Babylon,
until it became a gigantic flame. They and the king united in feeding it
with costly perfumes, Cambyses offered the sacrifice, and, holding the
while a golden bowl high in the air, besought the gods to grant him
victory and glory. He then gave the password, "Auramazda, the helper and
guide," and placed himself at the head of his guards, who went into
the battle with wreaths on their tiaras. The Greeks offered their own
sacrifices, and shouted with delight on hearing that the omens were
auspicious. Their war-cry was "Hebe."
Meanwhile the Egyptian priests had begun their day also with prayer and
sacrifice, and had then placed their army in order of battle.
Psamtik, now King of Egypt, led the centre. He was mounted on a golden
chariot; the trappings of his horses were of gold and purple, and plumes
of ostrich feathers nodded on their proud heads. He wore the double
crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, and the charioteer who stood at his left
hand holding the reins and whip, was descended from one of the noblest
Egyptian families.
The Hellenic and Karian mercenaries were to fight at the left of the
centre, the horse at the extreme of each wing, and the Egyptian and
Ethiopian foot were stationed, six ranks deep, on the right and left of
the armed chariots, and Greek mercenaries.
Psamtik drove through the ranks of his army, giving encouraging and
friendly words to all the men. He drew up before the Greek division, and
addressed them thus: "Heroes of Cyprus and Libya! your deeds in arms
are well known to me, and I rejoice in the thought of sharing your glory
to-day and crowning you with fresh laurels. Ye have no need to fear,
that in the day of victory I shall curtail your liberties. Malicious
tongues have whispered that this is all ye have to expect from me; but I
tell you, that if we conquer, fresh favors will be shown to you and
your descendants; I shall call you the supporters of my throne. Ye
are fighting to-day, not for me alone, but for the freedom of your own
distant homes. It is easy to perceive that Cambyses, once lord of Egypt,
will stretch out his rapacious hand over your beautiful Hellas and its
islands. I need only remind you, that they be between Egypt and your
Asiatic brethren who are already groaning under the Persian yoke. Your
acclamations prove that ye agree with me already, but I must ask for a
still longer hearing. It is my duty to tell you who has sold, not only
Egypt, but his own country to the King of Persia, in return for immense
treasures. The man's name is Phanes! You are angry and inclined to
doubt? I swear to you, that this very Phanes has accepted Cambyses' gold
and promised not only to be his guide to Egypt, but to open the gates of
your own Greek cities to him. He knows the country and the people, and
can be bribed to every perfidy. Look at him! there he is, walking by
the side of the king. See how he bows before him! I thought I had heard
once, that the Greeks only prostrated themselves before their gods. But
of course, when a man sells his country, he ceases to be its citizen.
Am I not right? Ye scorn to call so base a creature by the name of
countryman? Yes? then I will deliver the wretch's daughter into your
hands. Do what ye will with the child of such a villain. Crown her with
wreaths of roses, fall down before her, if it please you, but do not
forget that she belongs to a man who has disgraced the name of Hellene,
and has betrayed his countrymen and country!"
As he finished speaking the men raised a wild cry of rage and took
possession of the trembling child. A soldier held her up, so that her
father--the troops not being more than a bow-shot apart--could see all
that happened. At the same moment an Egyptian, who afterwards earned
celebrity through the loudness of his voice, cried: "Look here,
Athenian! see how treachery and corruption are rewarded in this
country!" A bowl of wine stood near, provided by the king, from which
the soldiers had just been drinking themselves into intoxication. A
Karian seized it, plunged his sword into the innocent child's breast,
and let the blood flow into the bowl; filled a goblet with the awful
mixture, and drained it, as if drinking to the health of the wretched
father. Phanes stood watching the scene, as if struck into a statue
of cold stone. The rest of the soldiers then fell upon the bowl like
madmen, and wild beasts could not have lapped up the foul drink with
greater eagerness.--[Herodotus tells this fearful tale (III. ii.)]
In the same moment Psamtik triumphantly shot off his first arrow into
the Persian ranks.
The mercenaries flung the child's dead body on to the ground; drunk with
her blood, they raised their battle-song, and rushed into the strife far
ahead of their Egyptian comrades.
But now the Persian ranks began to move. Phanes, furious with pain
and rage, led on his heavy-armed troops, indignant too at the brutal
barbarity of their countrymen, and dashed into the ranks of those
very soldiers, whose love he had tried to deserve during ten years of
faithful leadership.
At noon, fortune seemed to be favoring the Egyptians; but at sunset the
Persians had the advantage, and when the full-moon rose, the Egyptians
were flying wildly from the battle-field, perishing in the marshes and
in the arm of the Nile which flowed behind their position, or being cut
to pieces by the swords of their enemies.
Twenty thousand Persians and fifty thousand Egyptians lay dead on
the blood-stained sea-sand. The wounded, drowned, and prisoners could
scarcely be numbered.
[Herod. III. 12. Ktesias, Persica 9. In ancient history the loss
of the conquered is always far greater than that of the conquerors.
To a certain extent this holds good in the present day, but the
proportion is decidedly not so unfavorable for the vanquished.]
Psamtik had been one of the last to fly. He was well mounted, and, with
a few thousand faithful followers, reached the opposite bank of the Nile
and made for Memphis, the well-fortified city of the Pyramids.
Of the Greek mercenaries very few survived, so furious had been Phanes'
revenge, and so well had he been supported by his Ionians. Ten thousand
Karians were taken captive and the murderer of his little child was
killed by Phanes' own hand.
Aristomachus too, in spite of his wooden leg, had performed miracles of
bravery; but, notwithstanding all their efforts, neither he, nor any of
his confederates in revenge, had succeeded in taking Psamtik prisoner.
When the battle was over, the Persians returned in triumph to their
tents, to be warmly welcomed by Croesus and the warriors and priests
who had remained behind, and to celebrate their victory by prayers and
sacrifices.
The next morning Cambyses assembled his generals and rewarded them with
different tokens of distinction, such as costly robes, gold chains,
rings, swords, and stars formed of precious stones. Gold and silver
coins were distributed among the common soldiers.
The principal attack of the Egyptians had been directed against the
centre of the Persian army, where Cambyses commanded in person; and
with such effect that the guards had already begun to give way. At
that moment Bartja, arriving with his troop of horsemen, had put fresh
courage into the wavering, had fought like a lion himself, and by his
bravery and promptitude decided the day in favor of the Persians.
The troops were exultant in their joy: they shouted his praises, as "the
conqueror of Pelusium" and the "best of the Achaemenidae."
Their cries reached the king's ears and made him very angry. He knew
he had been fighting at the risk of life, with real courage and the
strength of a giant, and yet the day would have been lost if this boy
had not presented him with the victory. The brother who had embittered
his days of happy love, was now to rob him of half his military glory.
Cambyses felt that he hated Bartja, and his fist clenched involuntarily
as he saw the young hero looking so happy in the consciousness of his
own well-earned success.
Phanes had been wounded and went to his tent; Aristomachus lay near him,
dying.
"The oracle has deceived me, after all," he murmured. "I shall die
without seeing my country again."
"The oracle spoke the truth," answered Phanes. "Were not the last words
of the Pythia?"
'Then shall the lingering boat to the beckoning meadows convey thee,
Which to the wandering foot peace and a home will afford?'
"Can you misunderstand their meaning? They speak of Charon's lingering
boat, which will convey you to your last home, to the one great
resting-place for all wanderers--the kingdom of Hades."
"Yes, my friend, you are right there. I am going to Hades."
"And the Five have granted you, before death, what they so long
refused,--the return to Lacedaemon. You ought to be thankful to the gods
for granting you such sons and such vengeance on your enemies. When my
wound is healed, I shall go to Greece and tell your son that his father
died a glorious death, and was carried to the grave on his shield, as
beseems a hero."
"Yes, do so, and give him my shield as a remembrance of his old father.
There is no need to exhort him to virtue."
"When Psamtik is in our power, shall I tell him what share you had in
his overthrow?"
"No; he saw me before he took to flight, and at the unexpected vision
his bow fell from his hand. This was taken by his friends as a signal
for flight, and they turned their horses from the battle."
"The gods ordain, that bad men shall be ruined by their own deeds.
Psamtik lost courage, for he must have believed that the very spirits of
the lower world were fighting against him."
"We mortals gave him quite enough to do. The Persians fought well. But
the battle would have been lost without the guards and our troops."
"Without doubt."
"I thank thee, O Zeus Lacedaemonius."
"You are praying?"
"I am praising the gods for allowing me to die at ease as to my country.
These heterogeneous masses can never be dangerous to Greece. Ho,
physician, when am I likely to die?"
The Milesian physician, who had accompanied the Greek troops to Egypt,
pointed to the arrow-head sticking fast in his breast, and said with a
sad smile, "You have only a few hours more to live. If I were to draw
the arrow from your wound, you would die at once."
The Spartan thanked him, said farewell to Phanes, sent a greeting to
Rhodopis, and then, before they could prevent him, drew the arrow from
his wound with an unflinching hand. A few moments later Aristomachus was
dead.
The same day a Persian embassy set out for Memphis on board one of
the Lesbian vessels. It was commissioned to demand from Psamtik the
surrender of his own person and of the city at discretion. Cambyses
followed, having first sent off a division of his army under Megabyzus
to invest Sais.
At Heliopolis he was met by deputations from the Greek inhabitants of
Naukratis and the Libyans, praying for peace and his protection, and
bringing a golden wreath and other rich presents. Cambyses received
them graciously and assured them of his friendship; but repulsed the
messengers from Cyrene and Barka indignantly, and flung, with his own
hand, their tribute of five hundred silver mince among his soldiers,
disdaining to accept so contemptible an offering.
In Heliopolis he also heard that, at the approach of his embassy, the
inhabitants of Memphis had flocked to the shore, bored a hole in the
bottom of the ship, torn his messengers in pieces without distinction,
as wild beasts would tear raw flesh, and dragged them into the fortress.
On hearing this he cried angrily: "I swear, by Mithras, that these
murdered men shall be paid for; ten lives for one."
Two days later and Cambyses with his army stood before the gates of
Memphis. The siege was short, as the garrison was far too small for
the city, and the citizens were discouraged by the fearful defeat at
Pelusium.
King Psamtik himself came out to Cambyses, accompanied by his principal
nobles, in rent garments, and with every token of mourning. Cambyses
received him coldly and silently, ordering him and his followers to
be guarded and removed. He treated Ladice, the widow of Amasis, who
appeared at the same time as her step-son, with consideration, and, at
the intercession of Phanes, to whom she had always shown favor, allowed
her to return to her native town of Cyrene under safe conduct. She
remained there until the fall of her nephew, Arcesilaus III. and the
flight of her sister Pheretime, when she betook herself to Anthylla,
the town in Egypt which belonged to her, and where she passed a quiet,
solitary existence, dying at a great age.
Cambyses not only scorned to revenge the imposture which had been
practised on him on a woman, but, as a Persian, had far too much respect
for a mother, and especially for the mother of a king, to injure Ladice
in any way.
While he was engaged in the siege of Sais, Psamtik passed his
imprisonment in the palace of the Pharaohs, treated in every respect as
a king, but strictly guarded.
Among those members of the upper class who had incited the people to
resistance, Neithotep, the high-priest of Neith, had taken the foremost
place. He was therefore sent to Memphis and put in close confinement,
with one hundred of his unhappy confederates. The larger number of the
Pharaoh's court, on the other hand, did homage voluntarily to Cambyses
at Sais, entitled him Ramestu, "child of the sun," and suggested that he
should cause himself to be crowned King of Upper and Lower Egypt, with
all the necessary formalities, and admitted into the priestly caste
according to ancient custom. By the advice of Croesus and Phanes,
Cambyses gave in to these proposals, though much against his own will:
he went so far, indeed, as to offer sacrifice in the temple of Neith,
and allowed the newly-created high-priest of the goddess to give him
a superficial insight into the nature of the mysteries. Some of
the courtiers he retained near himself, and promoted different
administrative functionaries to high posts; the commander of Amasis'
Nile fleet succeeded so well in gaining the king's favor, as to be
appointed one of those who ate at the royal table.
[On a statue in the Gregorian Museum in the Vatican, there is an
inscription giving an account of Cambyses' sojourn at Sais, which
agrees with the facts related in our text. He was lenient to his
conquered subjects, and, probably in order to secure his position as
the lawful Pharaoh, yielded to the wishes of the priests, was even
initiated into the mysteries and did much for the temple of Neith.
His adoption of the name Ramestu is also confirmed by this statue.
E. de Rough, Memoire sur la statuette naophore du musee Gregorian,
au Vatican. Revue Archeol. 1851.]
On leaving Sais, Cambyses placed Megabyzus in command of the city; but
scarcely had the king quitted their walls than the smothered rage of the
people broke forth; they murdered the Persian sentinels, poisoned the
wells, and set the stables of the cavalry on fire. Megabyzus at once
applied to the king, representing that such hostile acts, if not
repressed by fear, might soon be followed by open rebellion. "The two
thousand noble youths from Memphis whom you have destined to death as
an indemnification for our murdered ambassadors," said he, "ought to
be executed at once; and it would do no harm if the son of Psamtik were
added to the number, as he can some day become a rallying centre for
the rebels. I hear that the daughters of the dethroned king and of the
high-priest Neithotep have to carry water for the baths of the noble
Phanes."
The Athenian answered with a smile: "Cambyses has allowed me to employ
these aristocratic female attendants, my lord, at my own request."
"But has forbidden you to touch the life of one member of the royal
house," added Cambyses. "None but a king has the right to punish kings."
Phanes bowed. The king turned to Megabyzus and ordered him to have the
prisoners executed the very next day, as an example. He would decide the
fate of the young prince later; but at all events he was to be taken to
the place of execution with the rest. "We must show them," he concluded,
"that we know how to meet all their hostile manifestations with
sufficient rigor."
Croesus ventured to plead for the innocent boy. "Calm yourself, old
friend," said Cambyses with a smile; "the child is not dead yet, and
perhaps will be as well off with us as your own son, who fought so well
at Pelusium. I confess I should like to know, whether Psamtik bears his
fate as calmly and bravely as you did twenty-five years ago."
"That we can easily discover, by putting him on trial," said Phanes.
"Let him be brought into the palace-court to-morrow, and let the
captives and the condemned be led past him. Then we shall see whether he
is a man or a coward."
"Be it so," answered Cambyses. "I will conceal myself and watch him
unobserved. You, Phanes, will accompany me, to tell me the name and rank
of each of the captives."
The next morning Phanes accompanied the king on to a balcony which ran
round the great court of the palace--the court we have already described
as being planted with trees. The listeners were hidden by a grove of
flowering shrubs, but they could see every movement that took place,
and hear every word that was spoken beneath them. They saw Psamtik,
surrounded by a few of his former companions. He was leaning against
a palm-tree, his eyes fixed gloomily on the ground, as his daughters
entered the court. The daughter of Neithotep was with them, and some
more young girls, all dressed as slaves; they were carrying pitchers of
water. At sight of the king, they uttered such a loud cry of anguish
as to wake him from his reverie. He looked up, recognized the miserable
girls, and bowed his head lower than before; but only for a moment.
Drawing himself up quickly, he asked his eldest daughter for whom she
was carrying water. On hearing that she was forced to do the work of a
slave for Phanes, he turned deadly pale, nodded his head, and cried to
the girls, "Go on."
A few minutes later the captives were led into the court, with ropes
round their necks, and bridles in their mouths.
[This statement of Herodotus (III. 14.) is confirmed by the
monuments, on which we often see representations of captives being
led along with ropes round their necks. What follows is taken
entirely from the same passage in Herodotus.]
At the head of the train was the little prince Necho. He stretched his
hands out to his father, begging him to punish the bad foreigners who
wanted to kill him. At this sight the Egyptians wept in their exceeding
great misery; but Psamtik's eyes were dry. He bowed his tearless face
nearly to the earth, and waved his child a last farewell.
After a short interval, the captives taken in Sais entered. Among them
was Neithotep, the once powerful high-priest, clothed in rags and moving
with difficulty by the help of a staff. At the entrance-gate he raised
his eyes and caught sight of his former pupil Darius. Reckless of all
the spectators around him, he went straight up to the young man, poured
out the story of his need, besought his help, and ended by begging an
alms. Darius complied at once, and by so doing, induced others of the
Achaemenidae, who were standing by, to hail the old man jokingly and
throw him little pieces of money, which he picked up laboriously and
thankfully from the ground.
At this sight Psamtik wept aloud, and smote upon his forehead, calling
on the name of his friend in a voice full of woe.
Cambyses was so astonished at this, that he came forward to the
balustrade of the veranda, and pushing the flowers aside, exclaimed:
"Explain thyself, thou strange man; the misfortunes of a beggar, not
even akin to thee, move thy compassion, but thou canst behold thy son
on the way to execution and thy daughters in hopeless misery without
shedding a tear, or uttering a lament!"
Psamtik looked up at his conqueror, and answered: "The misfortunes of
my own house, O son of Cyrus, are too great for tears; but I may be
permitted to weep over the afflictions of a friend, fallen, in his old
age, from the height of happiness and influence into the most miserable
beggary."
Cambyses' face expressed his approval, and on looking round he saw that
his was not the only eye which was filled with tears. Croesus, Bartja,
and all the Persians-nay, even Phanes himself, who had served as
interpreter to the kings-were weeping aloud.
The proud conqueror was not displeased at these signs of sympathy, and
turning to the Athenian: "I think, my Greek friend" he said, "we may
consider our wrongs as avenged. Rise, Psamtik, and endeavor to imitate
yonder noble old man, (pointing to Croesus) by accustoming yourself to
your fate. Your father's fraud has been visited on you and your family.
The crown, which I have wrested from you is the crown of which Amasis
deprived my wife, my never-to-be-forgotten Nitetis. For her sake I began
this war, and for her sake I grant you now the life of your son--she
loved him. From this time forward you can live undisturbed at our court,
eat at our table and share the privileges of our nobles. Gyges, fetch
the boy hither. He shall be brought up as you were, years ago, among the
sons of the Achaemenidae."
The Lydian was hastening to execute this delightful commission, but
Phanes stopped him before he could reach the door, and placing himself
proudly between the king and the trembling, thankful Psamtik, said: "You
would be going on a useless errand, noble Lydian. In defiance of your
command, my Sovereign, but in virtue of the full powers you once gave
me, I have ordered the grandson of Amasis to be the executioner's first
victim. You have just heard the sound of a horn; that was the sign that
the last heir to the Egyptian throne born on the shores of the Nile has
been gathered to his fathers. I am aware of the fate I have to expect,
Cambyses. I will not plead for a life whose end has been attained.
Croesus, I understand your reproachful looks. You grieve for the
murdered children. But life is such a web of wretchedness and
disappointment, that I agree with your philosopher Solon in thinking
those fortunate to whom, as in former days to Kleobis and Biton, the
gods decree an early death.
[Croesus, after having shown Solon his treasures, asked him whom he
held to be the most fortunate of men, hoping to hear his own name.
The sage first named Tellus, a famous citizen of Athens, and then
the brothers Kleobis and Biton. These were two handsome youths, who
had gained the prize for wrestling, and one day, when the draught-
animals had not returned from the field, dragged their mother
themselves to the distant temple, in presence of the people. The
men of Argos praised the strength of the sons,--the women praised
the mother who possessed these sons. She, transported with delight
at her sons' deed and the people's praise, went to the statue of the
goddess and besought her to give them the best that could fall to
the lot of men. When her prayer was over and the sacrifice offered,
the youths fell asleep, and never woke again. They were dead.
Herod. I, 31. Cicero. Tuscul. I. 47.]
"If I have ever been dear to you, Cambyses--if my counsels have been
of any use, permit me as a last favor to say a few more words. Psamtik
knows the causes that rendered us foes to each other. Ye all, whose
esteem is worth so much to me, shall know them too. This man's father
placed me in his son's stead at the head of the troops which had been
sent to Cyprus. Where Psamtik had earned humiliation, I won success and
glory. I also became unintentionally acquainted with a secret, which
seriously endangered his chances of obtaining the crown; and lastly,
I prevented his carrying off a virtuous maiden from the house of her
grandmother, an aged woman, beloved and respected by all the Greeks.
These are the sins which he has never been able to forgive; these are
the grounds which led him to carry on war to the death with me directly
I had quitted his father's service. The struggle is decided now. My
innocent children have been murdered at thy command, and I have been
pursued like a wild beast. That has been thy revenge. But mine!--I
have deprived thee of thy throne and reduced thy people to bondage. Thy
daughter I have called my slave, thy son's death-warrant was pronounced
by my lips, and my eyes have seen the maiden whom thou persecutedst
become the happy wife of a brave man. Undone, sinking ever lower and
lower, thou hast watched me rise to be the richest and most powerful of
my nation. In the lowest depth of thine own misery--and this has been
the most delicious morsel of my vengeance--thou wast forced to see
me--me, Phanes shedding tears that could not be kept back, at the sight
of thy misery. The man, who is allowed to draw even one breath of
life, after beholding his enemy so low, I hold to be happy as the gods
themselves I have spoken."
He ceased, and pressed his hand on his wound. Cambyses gazed at him
in astonishment, stepped forward, and was just going to touch his
girdle--an action which would have been equivalent to the signing of a
death-warrant when his eye caught sight of the chain, which he himself
had hung round the Athenian's neck as a reward for the clever way in
which he had proved the innocence of Nitetis.
[The same sign was used by the last Darius to denote that his able
Greek general Memnon, who had offended him by his plainness of
speech, was doomed to death. As he was being led away, Memnon
exclaimed, in allusion to Alexander, who was then fast drawing near:
"Thy remorse will soon prove my worth; my avenger is not far off."
Droysen, Alex. d. Grosse, Diod. XVII. 30. Curtius III. 2.]
The sudden recollection of the woman he loved, and of the countless
services rendered him by Phanes, calmed his wrath his hand dropped.
One minute the severe ruler stood gazing lingeringly at his disobedient
friend; the next, moved by a sudden impulse, he raised his right hand
again, and pointed imperiously to the gate leading from the court.
Phanes bowed in silence, kissed the king's robe, and descended slowly
into the court. Psamtik watched him, quivering with excitement, sprang
towards the veranda, but before his lips could utter the curse which his
heart had prepared, he sank powerless on to the ground.
Cambyses beckoned to his followers to make immediate preparations for a
lion-hunt in the Libyan mountains.