Makers of History

 Darius the Great

 BY

 JACOB ABBOTT

 WITH ENGRAVINGS

 NEW YORK AND LONDON

 HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS

 1904

 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty, by

 HARPER & BROTHERS, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York. 

 Copyright, 1878, by JACOB ABBOTT. 

[Illustration: DARIUS CROSSING THE BOSPORUS. ]

PREFACE. 

In describing the character and the action of the personages whosehistories form the subjects of this series, the writer makes noattempt to darken the colors in which he depicts their deeds ofviolence and wrong, or to increase, by indignant denunciations, theobloquy which heroes and conquerors have so often brought uponthemselves, in the estimation of mankind, by their ambition, theirtyranny, or their desperate and reckless crimes. In fact, it seemsdesirable to diminish, rather than to increase, the spirit ofcensoriousness which often leads men so harshly to condemn the errorsand sins of others, committed in circumstances of temptation to whichthey themselves were never exposed. Besides, to denounce or vituperateguilt, in a narrative of the transactions in which it was displayed, has little influence in awakening a healthy sensitiveness in theconscience of the reader. We observe, accordingly, that in thenarratives of the sacred Scriptures, such denunciations are seldomfound. The story of Absalom's undutifulness and rebellion, of David'sadultery and murder, of Herod's tyranny, and all other narratives ofcrime, are related in a calm, simple, impartial, and forbearingspirit, which leads us to condemn the sins, but not to feel apharisaical resentment and wrath against the sinner. 

This example, so obviously proper and right, the writer of this serieshas made it his endeavor in all respects to follow. 

CONTENTS. 

 Chapter Page

 I. CAMBYSES 13

 II. THE END OF CAMBYSES 38

 III. SMERDIS THE MAGIAN 59

 IV. THE ACCESSION OF DARIUS 82

 V. THE PROVINCES 99

 VI. THE RECONNOITERING OF GREECE 123

 VII. THE REVOLT OF BABYLON 144

 VIII. THE INVASION OF SCYTHIA 167

 IX. THE RETREAT FROM SCYTHIA 189

 X. THE STORY OF HISTIĘUS 210

 XI. THE INVASION OF GREECE 233

 XII. THE DEATH OF DARIUS 264

ENGRAVINGS. 

 Page

 MAP OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE. 

 DARIUS CROSSING THE BOSPORUS _Frontispiece. _

 THE ARMY OF CAMBYSES OVERWHELMED IN THE DESERT 35

 PHĘDYMA FEELING FOR SMERDIS'S EARS 69

 THE INDIAN GOLD HUNTERS 121

 THE BABYLONIANS DERIDING DARIUS FROM THE WALL 156

 MAP OF GREECE 232

 THE INVASION OF GREECE 256

[Illustration: MAP OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE. ]

DARIUS THE GREAT

CHAPTER I. 

CAMBYSES. 

B. C. 530-524

Cyrus the Great. --His extended conquests. --Cambyses andSmerdis. --Hystaspes and Darius. --Dream of Cyrus. --His anxiety andfears. --Accession of Cambyses. --War with Egypt. --Origin of the warwith Egypt. --Ophthalmia. --The Egyptian physician. --His plan ofrevenge. --Demand of Cyrus. --Stratagem of the King of Egypt. --Resentmentof Cassandane. --Threats of Cambyses. --Future conquests. --Temperamentand character of Cambyses. --Impetuosity of Cambyses. --Preparations forthe Egyptian war. --Desertion of Phanes. --His narrow escape. --Informationgiven by Phanes. --Treaty with the Arabian king. --Plan for providingwater. --Account of Herodotus. --A great battle. --Defeat of theEgyptians. --Inhuman conduct of Cambyses. --His treatment ofPsammenitus. --The train of captive maidens. --The young men. --Scenesof distress and suffering. --Composure of Psammenitus. --Feelings of thefather. --His explanation of them. --Cambyses relents. --His treatment ofthe body of Amasis. --Cambyses's desecrations. --The sacred bullApis. --Cambyses stabs the sacred bull. --His mad expeditions. --The sandstorm. --Cambyses a wine-bibber. --Brutal act of Cambyses. --He is deemedinsane. 

About five or six hundred years before Christ, almost the whole of theinterior of Asia was united in one vast empire. The founder of thisempire was Cyrus the Great. He was originally a Persian; and the wholeempire is often called the Persian monarchy, taking its name from itsfounder's native land. 

Cyrus was not contented with having annexed to his dominion all thecivilized states of Asia. In the latter part of his life, he conceivedthe idea that there might possibly be some additional glory and powerto be acquired in subduing certain half-savage regions in the north, beyond the Araxes. He accordingly raised an army, and set off on anexpedition for this purpose, against a country which was governed by abarbarian queen named Tomyris. He met with a variety of adventures onthis expedition, all of which are fully detailed in our history ofCyrus. There is, however, only one occurrence that it is necessary toallude to particularly here. That one relates to a remarkable dreamwhich he had one night, just after he had crossed the river. 

To explain properly the nature of this dream, it is necessary first tostate that Cyrus had two sons. Their names were Cambyses and Smerdis. He had left them in Persia when he set out on his expedition acrossthe Araxes. There was also a young man, then about twenty years ofage, in one of his capitals, named Darius. He was the son of one ofthe nobles of Cyrus's court. His father's name was Hystaspes. Hystaspes, besides being a noble of the court, was also, as almost allnobles were in those days, an officer of the army. He accompaniedCyrus in his march into the territories of the barbarian queen, andwas with him there, in camp, at the time when this narrativecommences. 

Cyrus, it seems, felt some misgivings in respect to the result of hisenterprise; and, in order to insure the tranquillity of his empireduring his absence, and the secure transmission of his power to hisrightful successor in case he should never return, he established hisson Cambyses as regent of his realms before he crossed the Araxes, and delivered the government of the empire, with great formality, intohis hands. This took place upon the frontier, just before the armypassed the river. The mind of a father, under such circumstances, would naturally be occupied, in some degree, with thoughts relating tothe arrangements which his son would make, and to the difficulties hewould be likely to encounter in managing the momentous concerns whichhad been committed to his charge. The mind of Cyrus was undoubtedly sooccupied, and this, probably, was the origin of the remarkable dream. 

His dream was, that Darius appeared to him in a vision, with vastwings growing from his shoulders. Darius stood, in the vision, on theconfines of Europe and Asia, and his wings, expanded either way, overshadowed the whole known world. When Cyrus awoke and reflected onthis ominous dream, it seemed to him to portend some great danger tothe future security of his empire. It appeared to denote that Dariuswas one day to bear sway over all the world. Perhaps he might be eventhen forming ambitious and treasonable designs. Cyrus immediately sentfor Hystaspes, the father of Darius; when he came to his tent, hecommanded him to go back to Persia, and keep a strict watch over theconduct of his son until he himself should return. Hystaspes receivedthis commission, and departed to execute it; and Cyrus, somewhatrelieved, perhaps, of his anxiety by this measure of precaution, wenton with his army toward his place of destination. 

Cyrus never returned. He was killed in battle; and it would seem that, though the import of his dream was ultimately fulfilled, Darius wasnot, at that time, meditating any schemes of obtaining possession ofthe throne, for he made no attempt to interfere with the regulartransmission of the imperial power from Cyrus to Cambyses his son. Atany rate, it was so transmitted. The tidings of Cyrus's death came tothe capital, and Cambyses, his son, reigned in his stead. 

The great event of the reign of Cambyses was a war with Egypt, whichoriginated in the following very singular manner:

It has been found, in all ages of the world, that there is somepeculiar quality of the soil, or climate, or atmosphere of Egypt whichtends to produce an inflammation of the eyes. The inhabitantsthemselves have at all times been very subject to this disease, andforeign armies marching into the country are always very seriouslyaffected by it. Thousands of soldiers in such armies are sometimesdisabled from this cause, and many are made incurably blind. Now acountry which produces a disease in its worst form and degree, willproduce also, generally, the best physicians for that disease. At anyrate, this was supposed to be the case in ancient times; andaccordingly, when any powerful potentate in those days was afflictedhimself with ophthalmia, or had such a case in his family, Egypt wasthe country to send to for a physician. 

Now it happened that Cyrus himself, at one time in the course of hislife, was attacked with this disease, and he dispatched an embassadorto Amasis, who was then king of Egypt, asking him to send him aphysician. Amasis, who, like all the other absolute sovereigns ofthose days, regarded his subjects as slaves that were in all respectsentirely at his disposal, selected a physician of distinction fromamong the attendants about his court, and ordered him to repair toPersia. The physician was extremely reluctant to go. He had a wife andfamily, from whom he was very unwilling to be separated; but theorders were imperative, and he must obey. He set out on the journey, therefore, but he secretly resolved to devise some mode of revenginghimself on the king for the cruelty of sending him. 

He was well received by Cyrus, and, either by his skill as aphysician, or from other causes, he acquired great influence at thePersian court. At last he contrived a mode of revenging himself on theEgyptian king for having exiled him from his native land. The king hada daughter, who was a lady of great beauty. Her father was verystrongly attached to her. The physician recommended to Cyrus to sendto Amasis and demand this daughter in marriage. As, however, Cyrus wasalready married, the Egyptian princess would, if she came, be hisconcubine rather than his wife, or, if considered a wife, it couldonly be a secondary and subordinate place that she could occupy. Thephysician knew that, under these circumstances, the King of Egyptwould be extremely unwilling to send her to Cyrus, while he would yetscarcely dare to refuse; and the hope of plunging him into extremeembarrassment and distress, by means of such a demand from so powerfula sovereign, was the motive which led the physician to recommend themeasure. 

Cyrus was pleased with the proposal, and sent, accordingly, to makethe demand. The king, as the physician had anticipated, could notendure to part with his daughter in such a way, nor did he, on theother hand, dare to incur the displeasure of so powerful a monarch bya direct and open refusal. He finally resolved upon escaping from thedifficulty by a stratagem. 

There was a young and beautiful captive princess in his court namedNitetis. Her father, whose name was Apries, had been formerly the Kingof Egypt, but he had been dethroned and killed by Amasis. Since thedownfall of her family, Nitetis had been a captive; but, as she wasvery beautiful and very accomplished, Amasis conceived the design ofsending her to Cyrus, under the pretense that she was the daughterwhom Cyrus had demanded. He accordingly brought her forth, providedher with the most costly and splendid dresses, loaded her withpresents, ordered a large retinue to attend her, and sent her forth toPersia. 

Cyrus was at first very much pleased with his new bride. Nitetisbecame, in fact, his principal favorite; though, of course, his otherwife, whose name was Cassandane, and her children, Cambyses andSmerdis, were jealous of her, and hated her. One day, a Persian ladywas visiting at the court, and as she was standing near Cassandane, and saw her two sons, who were then tall and handsome young men, sheexpressed her admiration of them, and said to Cassandane, "How proudand happy you must be!" "No, " said Cassandane; "on the contrary, I amvery miserable; for, though I am the mother of these children, theking neglects and despises me. All his kindness is bestowed on thisEgyptian woman. " Cambyses, who heard this conversation, sympathizeddeeply with Cassandane in her resentment. "Mother, " said he, "bepatient, and I will avenge you. As soon as I am king, I will go toEgypt and turn the whole country upside down. "

In fact, the tendency which there was in the mind of Cambyses to lookupon Egypt as the first field of war and conquest for him, so soon ashe should succeed to the throne, was encouraged by the influence ofhis father; for Cyrus, although he was much captivated by the charmsof the lady whom the King of Egypt had sent him, was greatly incensedagainst the king for having practiced upon him such a deception. Besides, all the important countries in Asia were already includedwithin the Persian dominions. It was plain that if any future progresswere to be made in extending the empire, the regions of Europe andAfrica must be the theatre of it. Egypt seemed the most accessible andvulnerable point beyond the confines of Asia; and thus, though Cyrushimself, being advanced somewhat in years, and interested, moreover, in other projects, was not prepared to undertake an enterprise intoAfrica himself, he was very willing that such plans should becherished by his son. 

Cambyses was an ardent, impetuous, and self-willed boy, such as thesons of rich and powerful men are very apt to become. They imbibe, bya sort of sympathy, the ambitious and aspiring spirit of theirfathers; and as all their childish caprices and passions are generallyindulged, they never learn to submit to control. They become vain, self-conceited, reckless, and cruel. The conqueror who founds anempire, although even his character generally deteriorates veryseriously toward the close of his career, still usually knowssomething of moderation and generosity. His son, however, who inheritshis father's power, seldom inherits the virtues by which the powerwas acquired. These truths, which we see continually exemplified allaround us, on a small scale, in the families of the wealthy and thepowerful, were illustrated most conspicuously, in the view of allmankind, in the case of Cyrus and Cambyses. The father was prudent, cautious, wise, and often generous and forbearing. The son grew upheadstrong, impetuous, uncontrolled, and uncontrollable. He had themost lofty ideas of his own greatness and power, and he felt a supremecontempt for the rights, and indifference to the happiness of all theworld besides. His history gives us an illustration of the worst whichthe principle of hereditary sovereignty can do, as the best isexemplified in the case of Alfred of England. 

Cambyses, immediately after his father's death, began to makearrangements for the Egyptian invasion. The first thing to bedetermined was the mode of transporting his armies thither. Egypt is along and narrow valley, with the rocks and deserts of Arabia on oneside, and those of Sahara on the other. There is no convenient mode ofaccess to it except by sea, and Cambyses had no naval force sufficientfor a maritime expedition. 

While he was revolving the subject in his mind, there arrived in hiscapital of Susa, where he was then residing, a deserter from the armyof Amasis in Egypt. The name of this deserter was Phanes. He was aGreek, having been the commander of a body of Greek troops who wereemployed by Amasis as auxiliaries in his army. He had had a quarrelwith Amasis, and had fled to Persia, intending to join Cambyses in theexpedition which he was contemplating, in order to revenge himself onthe Egyptian king. Phanes said, in telling his story, that he had hada very narrow escape from Egypt; for, as soon as Amasis had heard thathe had fled, he dispatched one of his swiftest vessels, a galley ofthree banks of oars, in hot pursuit of the fugitive. The galleyovertook the vessel in which Phanes had taken passage just as it waslanding in Asia Minor. The Egyptian officers seized it and made Phanesprisoner. They immediately began to make their preparations for thereturn voyage, putting Phanes, in the mean time, under the charge ofguards, who were instructed to keep him very safely. Phanes, however, cultivated a good understanding with his guards, and presently invitedthem to drink wine with him. In the end, he got them intoxicated, andwhile they were in that state he made his escape from them, and then, traveling with great secrecy and caution until he was beyond theirreach, he succeeded in making his way to Cambyses in Susa. 

Phanes gave Cambyses a great deal of information in respect to thegeography of Egypt, the proper points of attack, the character andresources of the king, and communicated, likewise, a great many otherparticulars which it was very important that Cambyses should know. Herecommended that Cambyses should proceed to Egypt by land, throughArabia; and that, in order to secure a safe passage, he should sendfirst to the King of the Arabs, by a formal embassy, asking permissionto cross his territories with an army, and engaging the Arabians toaid him, if possible, in the transit. Cambyses did this. The Arabswere very willing to join in any projected hostilities against theEgyptians; they offered Cambyses a free passage, and agreed to aid hisarmy on their march. To the faithful fulfillment of these stipulationsthe Arab chief bound himself by a treaty, executed with the mostsolemn forms and ceremonies. 

The great difficulty to be encountered in traversing the deserts whichCambyses would have to cross on his way to Egypt was the want ofwater. To provide for this necessity, the king of the Arabs sent avast number of camels into the desert, laden with great sacks or bagsfull of water. These camels were sent forward just before the army ofCambyses came on, and they deposited their supplies along the route atthe points where they would be most needed. Herodotus, the Greektraveler, who made a journey into Egypt not a great many years afterthese transactions, and who wrote subsequently a full description ofwhat he saw and heard there, gives an account of another method bywhich the Arab king was said to have conveyed water into the desert, and that was by a canal or pipe, made of the skins of oxen, which helaid along the ground, from a certain river of his dominions, to adistance of twelve days' journey over the sands! This story Herodotussays he did not believe, though elsewhere in the course of his historyhe gravely relates, as true history, a thousand tales infinitely moreimprobable than the idea of a leathern pipe or hose like this to servefor a conduit of water. 

By some means or other, at all events, the Arab chief providedsupplies of water in the desert for Cambyses's army, and the troopsmade the passage safely. They arrived, at length, on the frontiers ofEgypt. [A] Here they found that Amasis, the king, was dead, andPsammenitus, his son, had succeeded him. Psammenitus came forward tomeet the invaders. A great battle was fought. The Egyptians wererouted. Psammenitus fled up the Nile to the city of Memphis, takingwith him such broken remnants of his army as he could get togetherafter the battle, and feeling extremely incensed and exasperatedagainst the invader. In fact, Cambyses had now no excuse or pretextwhatever for waging such a war against Egypt. The monarch who haddeceived his father was dead, and there had never been any cause ofcomplaint against his son or against the Egyptian people. Psammenitus, therefore, regarded the invasion of Egypt by Cambyses as a wanton andwholly unjustifiable aggression, and he determined, in his own mind, that such invaders deserved no mercy, and that he would show themnone. Soon after this, a galley on the river, belonging to Cambyses, containing a crew of two hundred men, fell into his hands. TheEgyptians, in their rage, tore these Persians all to pieces. Thisexasperated Cambyses in his turn, and the war went on, attended by themost atrocious cruelties on both sides. 

[Footnote A: For the places mentioned in this chapter, and the trackof Cambyses on his expedition, see the map at the commencement of thisvolume. ]

In fact, Cambyses, in this Egyptian campaign, pursued such a career ofinhuman and reckless folly, that people at last considered him insane. He began with some small semblance of moderation, but he proceeded, inthe end, to the perpetration of the most terrible excesses of violenceand wrong. 

As to his moderation, his treatment of Psammenitus personally isalmost the only instance that we can record. In the course of the war, Psammenitus and all his family fell into Cambyses's hands as captives. A few days afterward, Cambyses conducted the unhappy king without thegates of the city to exhibit a spectacle to him. The spectacle wasthat of his beloved daughter, clothed in the garments of a slave, andattended by a company of other maidens, the daughters of the noblesand other persons of distinction belonging to his court, all goingdown to the river, with heavy jugs, to draw water. The fathers of allthese hapless maidens had been brought out with Psammenitus towitness the degradation and misery of their children. The maidenscried and sobbed aloud as they went along, overwhelmed with shame andterror. Their fathers manifested the utmost agitation and distress. Cambyses stood smiling by, highly enjoying the spectacle. Psammenitusalone appeared unmoved. He gazed on the scene silent, motionless, andwith a countenance which indicated no active suffering; he seemed tobe in a state of stupefaction and despair. Cambyses was disappointed, and his pleasure was marred at finding that his victim did not feelmore acutely the sting of the torment with which he was endeavoring togoad him. 

When this train had gone by, another came. It was a company of youngmen, with halters about their necks, going to execution. Cambyses hadordered that for every one of the crew of his galley that theEgyptians had killed, ten Egyptians should be executed. Thisproportion would require two thousand victims, as there had been twohundred in the crew. These victims were to be selected from among thesons of the leading families; and their parents, after having seentheir delicate and gentle daughters go to their servile toil, were nownext to behold their sons march in a long and terrible array toexecution. The son of Psammenitus was at the head of the column. TheEgyptian parents who stood around Psammenitus wept and lamented aloud, as one after another saw his own child in the train. Psammenitushimself, however, remained as silent and motionless, and with acountenance as vacant as before. Cambyses was again disappointed. Thepleasure which the exhibition afforded him was incomplete withoutvisible manifestations of suffering in the victim for whose torture itwas principally designed. 

After this train of captives had passed, there came a mixed collectionof wretched and miserable men, such as the siege and sacking of a cityalways produces in countless numbers. Among these was a venerable manwhom Psammenitus recognized as one of his friends. He had been a manof wealth and high station; he had often been at the court of theking, and had been entertained at his table. He was now, however, reduced to the last extremity of distress, and was begging of thepeople something to keep him from starving. The sight of this man insuch a condition seemed to awaken the king from his blank anddeath-like despair. He called his old friend by name in a tone ofastonishment and pity, and burst into tears. 

Cambyses, observing this, sent a messenger to Psammenitus to inquirewhat it meant. "He wishes to know, " said the messenger, "how ithappens that you could see your own daughter set at work as a slave, and your son led away to execution unmoved, and yet feel so muchcommiseration for the misfortunes of a stranger. " We might supposethat any one possessing the ordinary susceptibilities of the humansoul would have understood without an explanation the meaning of this, though it is not surprising that such a heartless monster as Cambysesdid not comprehend it. Psammenitus sent him word that he could nothelp weeping for his friend, but that his distress and anguish onaccount of his children were too great for tears. 

The Persians who were around Cambyses began now to feel a strongsentiment of compassion for the unhappy king, and to intercede withCambyses in his favor. They begged him, too, to spare Psammenitus'sson. It will interest those of our readers who have perused ourhistory of Cyrus to know that Croesus, the captive king of Lydia, whom they will recollect to have been committed to Cambyses's chargeby his father, just before the close of his life, when he was settingforth on his last fatal expedition, and who accompanied Cambyses onthis invasion of Egypt, was present on this occasion, and was one ofthe most earnest interceders in Psammenitus's favor. Cambyses allowedhimself to be persuaded. They sent off a messenger to order theexecution of the king's son to be stayed; but he arrived too late. Theunhappy prince had already fallen. Cambyses was so far appeased by theinfluence of these facts, that he abstained from doing Psammenitus orhis family any further injury. 

He, however, advanced up the Nile, ravaging and plundering the countryas he went on, and at length, in the course of his conquests, hegained possession of the tomb in which the embalmed body of Amasis wasdeposited. He ordered this body to be taken out of its sarcophagus, and treated with every mark of ignominy. His soldiers, by his orders, beat it with rods, as if it could still feel, and goaded it, and cutit with swords. They pulled the hair out of the head by the roots, andloaded the lifeless form with every conceivable mark of insult andignominy. Finally, Cambyses ordered the mutilated remains that wereleft to be burned, which was a procedure as abhorrent to the ideas andfeelings of the Egyptians as could possibly be devised. 

Cambyses took every opportunity to insult the religious, or as, perhaps, we ought to call them, the superstitious feelings of theEgyptians. He broke into their temples, desecrated their altars, andsubjected every thing which they held most sacred to insult andignominy. Among their objects of religious veneration was the sacredbull called Apis. This animal was selected from time to time, from thecountry at large, by the priests, by means of certain marks which theypretended to discover upon its body, and which indicated a divine andsacred character. The sacred bull thus found was kept in a magnificenttemple, and attended and fed in a most sumptuous manner. In servinghim, the attendants used vessels of gold. 

Cambyses arrived at the city where Apis was kept at a time when thepriests were celebrating some sacred occasion with festivities andrejoicings. He was himself then returning from an unsuccessfulexpedition which he had made, and, as he entered the town, stung withvexation and anger at his defeat, the gladness and joy which theEgyptians manifested in their ceremonies served only to irritate him, and to make him more angry than ever. He killed the priests who wereofficiating. He then demanded to be taken into the edifice to see thesacred animal, and there, after insulting the feelings of theworshipers in every possible way by ridicule and scornful words, hestabbed the innocent bull with his dagger. The animal died of thewound, and the whole country was filled with horror and indignation. The people believed that this deed would most assuredly bring downupon the impious perpetrator of it the judgments of heaven. 

Cambyses organized, while he was in Egypt, several mad expeditionsinto the surrounding countries. In a fit of passion, produced by anunsatisfactory answer to an embassage, he set off suddenly, andwithout any proper preparation, to march into Ethiopia. The provisionsof his army were exhausted before he had performed a fifth part of themarch. Still, in his infatuation, he determined to go on. The soldierssubsisted for a time on such vegetables as they could find by the way;when these failed, they slaughtered and ate their beasts of burden;and finally, in the extremity of their famine, they began to kill anddevour one another; then, at length, Cambyses concluded to return. Hesent off, too, at one time, a large army across the desert toward theTemple of Jupiter Ammon, without any of the necessary precautions forsuch a march. This army never reached their destination, and theynever returned. The people of the Oasis said that they were overtakenby a sand storm in the desert, and were all overwhelmed. 

[Illustration: THE ARMY OF CAMBYSES OVERWHELMED IN THE DESERT. ]

There was a certain officer in attendance on Cambyses namedPrexaspes. He was a sort of confidential friend and companion of theking; and his son, who was a fair, and graceful, and accomplishedyouth, was the king's cup-bearer, which was an office of greatconsideration and honor. One day Cambyses asked Prexaspes what thePersians generally thought of him. Prexaspes replied that theythought and spoke well of him in all respects but one. The kingwished to know what the exception was. Prexaspes rejoined, that itwas the general opinion that he was too much addicted to wine. Cambyses was offended at this reply; and, under the influence of thefeeling, so wholly unreasonable and absurd, which so often leads mento be angry with the innocent medium through which there comes tothem any communication which they do not like, he determined topunish Prexaspes for his freedom. He ordered his son, therefore, thecup-bearer, to take his place against the wall on the other side ofthe room. "Now, " said he, "I will put what the Persians say to thetest. " As he said this, he took up a bow and arrow which were at hisside, and began to fit the arrow to the string. "If, " said he, "I donot shoot him exactly through the heart, it shall prove that thePersians are right. If I do, then they are wrong, as it will showthat I do not drink so much as to make my hand unsteady. " So saying, he drew the bow, the arrow flew through the air and pierced the poorboy's breast. He fell, and Cambyses coolly ordered the attendants toopen the body, and let Prexaspes see whether the arrow had not gonethrough the heart. 

These, and a constant succession of similar acts of atrocious andreckless cruelty and folly, led the world to say that Cambyses wasinsane. 

CHAPTER II. 

THE END OF CAMBYSES. 

B. C. 523-522

Cambyses's profligate conduct. --He marries his ownsisters. --Consultation of the Persian judges. --Theiropinion. --Smerdis. --Jealousy of Cambyses. --The two magi. --Cambysessuspicious. --He plans an invasion of Ethiopia. --Island ofElephantine. --The Icthyophagi. --Classes of savage nations. --Embassadorssent to Ethiopia. --The presents. --The Ethiopian king detects theimposture. --The Ethiopian king's opinion of Cambyses's presents. --TheEthiopian bow. --Return of the Icthyophagi. --Jealousy of Cambyses. --Heorders Smerdis to be murdered. --Cambyses grows more cruel. --Twelvenoblemen buried alive. --Cambyses's cruelty to his sister. --Herdeath. --The venerable Croesus. --His advice to Cambyses. --Cambyses'srage at Croesus. --He attempts to kill him. --The declaration of theoracle. --Ecbatane, Susa, and Babylon. --Cambyses returnsnorthward. --He enters Syria. --A herald proclaims Smerdis. --The heraldseized. --Probable explanation. --Rage of Cambyses. --Cambyses mortallywounded. --His remorse and despair. --Cambyses calls his nobles abouthim. --His dying declaration. --Death of Cambyses. --His dying declarationdiscredited. 

Among the other acts of profligate wickedness which have blackenedindelibly and forever Cambyses's name, he married two of his ownsisters, and brought one of them with him to Egypt as his wife. Thenatural instincts of all men, except those whose early life has beengiven up to the most shameless and dissolute habits of vice, aresufficient to preserve them from such crimes as these. Cambyseshimself felt, it seems, some misgivings when contemplating the firstof these marriages; and he sent to a certain council of judges, whoseprovince it was to interpret the laws, asking them their opinion ofthe rightfulness of such a marriage. Kings ask the opinion of theirlegal advisers in such cases, not because they really wish to knowwhether the act in question is right or wrong, but because, havingthemselves determined upon the performance of it, they wish theircounselors to give it a sort of legal sanction, in order to justifythe deed, and diminish the popular odium which it might otherwiseincur. 

The Persian judges whom Cambyses consulted on this occasion understoodvery well what was expected of them. After a grave deliberation, theyreturned answer to the king that, though they could find no lawallowing a man to marry his sister, they found many which authorized aking of Persia to do whatever he thought best. Cambyses accordinglycarried his plan into execution. He married first the older sister, whose name was Atossa. Atossa became subsequently a personage of greathistorical distinction. The daughter of Cyrus, the wife of Darius, andthe mother of Xerxes, she was the link that bound together the threemost magnificent potentates of the whole Eastern world. How far thesesisters were willing participators in the guilt of their incestuousmarriages we can not now know. The one who went with Cambyses intoEgypt was of a humane, and gentle, and timid disposition, being inthese respects wholly unlike her brother; and it may be that shemerely yielded, in the transaction of her marriage, to her brother'sarbitrary and imperious will. 

Besides this sister, Cambyses had brought his brother Smerdis withhim into Egypt. Smerdis was younger than Cambyses, but he was superiorto him in strength and personal accomplishments. Cambyses was veryjealous of this superiority. He did not dare to leave his brother inPersia, to manage the government in his stead during his absence, lesthe should take advantage of the temporary power thus committed to hishands, and usurp the throne altogether. He decided, therefore, tobring Smerdis with him into Egypt, and to leave the government of thestate in the hands of a regency composed of two _magi_. These magiwere public officers of distinction, but, having no hereditary claimsto the crown, Cambyses thought there would be little danger of theirattempting to usurp it. It happened, however, that the name of one ofthese magi was Smerdis. This coincidence between the magian's name andthat of the prince led, in the end, as will presently be seen, to veryimportant consequences. 

The uneasiness and jealousy which Cambyses felt in respect to hisbrother was not wholly allayed by the arrangement which he thus madefor keeping him in his army, and so under his own personal observationand command. Smerdis evinced, on various occasions, so much strengthand skill, that Cambyses feared his influence among the officers andsoldiers, and was rendered continually watchful, suspicious, andafraid. A circumstance at last occurred which excited his jealousymore than ever, and he determined to send Smerdis home again toPersia. The circumstance was this:

After Cambyses had succeeded in obtaining full possession of Egypt, heformed, among his other wild and desperate schemes, the design ofinvading the territories of a nation of Ethiopians who lived in theinterior of Africa, around and beyond the sources of the Nile. TheEthiopians were celebrated for their savage strength and bravery. Cambyses wished to obtain information respecting them and theircountry before setting out on his expedition against them, and hedetermined to send spies into their country to obtain it. But, asEthiopia was a territory so remote, and as its institutions andcustoms, and the language, the dress, and the manners of itsinhabitants were totally different from those of all the other nationsof the earth, and were almost wholly unknown to the Persian army, itwas impossible to send Persians in disguise, with any hope that theycould enter and explore the country without being discovered. It wasvery doubtful, in fact, whether, if such spies were to be sent, theycould succeed in reaching Ethiopia at all. 

Now there was, far up the Nile, near the cataracts, at a place wherethe river widens and forms a sort of bay, a large and fertile islandcalled Elephantine, which was inhabited by a half-savage tribe calledthe Icthyophagi. They lived mainly by fishing on the river, and, consequently, they had many boats, and were accustomed to make longexcursions up and down the stream. Their name was, in fact, derivedfrom their occupation. It was a Greek word, and might be translated"Fishermen. "[B] The manners and customs of half-civilized or savagenations depend entirely, of course, upon the modes in which theyprocure their subsistence. Some depend on hunting wild beasts, some onrearing flocks and herds of tame animals, some on cultivating theground, and some on fishing in rivers or in the sea. These fourdifferent modes of procuring food result in as many totally diversemodes of life: it is a curious fact, however, that while a nation ofhunters differs very essentially from a nation of herdsmen or offishermen, though they may live, perhaps, in the same neighborhoodwith them, still, all nations of hunters, however widely they may beseparated in geographical position, very strongly resemble one anotherin character, in customs, in institutions, and in all the usages oflife. It is so, moreover, with all the other types of nationalconstitution mentioned above. The Greeks observed thesecharacteristics of the various savage tribes with which they becameacquainted, and whenever they met with a tribe that lived by fishing, they called them Icthyophagi. 

[Footnote B: Literally, _fish-eaters_. ]

Cambyses sent to the Icthyophagi of the island of Elephantine, requiring them to furnish him with a number of persons acquainted withthe route to Ethiopia and with the Ethiopian language, that he mightsend them as an embassy. He also provided some presents to be sent asa token of friendship to the Ethiopian king. The presents were, however, only a pretext, to enable the embassadors, who were, in fact, spies, to go to the capital and court of the Ethiopian monarch insafety, and bring back to Cambyses all the information which theyshould be able to obtain. 

The presents consisted of such toys and ornaments as they thoughtwould most please the fancy of a savage king. There were some purplevestments of a very rich and splendid dye, and a golden chain for theneck, golden bracelets for the wrists, an alabaster box of veryprecious perfumes, and other similar trinkets and toys. There was alsoa large vessel filled with wine. 

The Icthyophagi took these presents, and set out on their expedition. After a long and toilsome voyage and journey, they came to the countryof the Ethiopians, and delivered their presents, together with themessage which Cambyses had intrusted to them. The presents, they said, had been sent by Cambyses as a token of his desire to become thefriend and ally of the Ethiopian king. 

The king, instead of being deceived by this hypocrisy, detected theimposture at once. He knew very well, he said, what was the motive ofCambyses in sending such an embassage to him, and he should adviseCambyses to be content with his own dominions, instead of planningaggressions of violence, and schemes and stratagems of deceit againsthis neighbors, in order to get possession of theirs. He then began tolook at the presents which the embassadors had brought, which, however, he appeared very soon to despise. The purple vest firstattracted his attention. He asked whether that was the true, naturalcolor of the stuff, or a false one. The messengers told him that thelinen was dyed, and began to explain the process to him. The mind ofthe savage potentate, however, instead of being impressed, as themessengers supposed he would have been through their description, witha high idea of the excellence and superiority of Persian art, onlydespised the false show of what he considered an artificial andfictitious beauty. "The beauty of Cambyses's dresses, " said he, "is asdeceitful, it seems, as the fair show of his professions offriendship. " As to the golden bracelets and necklaces, the king lookedupon them with contempt. He thought that they were intended forfetters and chains, and said that, however well they might answeramong the effeminate Persians, they were wholly insufficient toconfine such sinews as he had to deal with. The wine, however, heliked. He drank it with great pleasure, and told the Icthyophagi thatit was the only article among all their presents that was worthreceiving. 

In return for the presents which Cambyses had sent him, the King ofthe Ethiopians, who was a man of prodigious size and strength, tookdown his bow and gave it to the Icthyophagi, telling them to carry itto Cambyses as a token of his defiance, and to ask him to see if hecould find a man in all his army who could bend it. "Tell Cambyses, "he added, "that when his soldiers are able to bend such bows as that, it will be time for him to think of invading the territories of theEthiopians; and that, in the mean time, he ought to consider himselfvery fortunate that the Ethiopians were not grasping and ambitiousenough to attempt the invasion of his. "

When the Icthyophagi returned to Cambyses with this message, thestrongest men in the Persian camp were of course greatly interested inexamining and trying the bow. Smerdis was the only one that could befound who was strong enough to bend it; and he, by the superiority tothe others which he thus evinced, gained great renown. Cambyses wasfilled with jealousy and anger. He determined to send Smerdis backagain to Persia. "It will be better, " thought he to himself, "to incurwhatever danger there may be of his exciting revolt at home, than tohave him present in my court, subjecting me to continual mortificationand chagrin by the perpetual parade of his superiority. "

His mind was, however, not at ease after his brother had gone. Jealousy and suspicion in respect to Smerdis perplexed his wakingthoughts and troubled his dreams. At length, one night, he thought hesaw Smerdis seated on a royal throne in Persia, his form expandedsupernaturally to such a prodigious size that he touched the heavenswith his head. The next day, Cambyses, supposing that the dreamportended danger that Smerdis would be one day in possession of thethrone, determined to put a final and perpetual end to all thesetroubles and fears, and he sent for an officer of his court, Prexaspes--the same whose son he shot through the heart with an arrow, as described in the last chapter--and commanded him to proceedimmediately to Persia, and there to find Smerdis, and kill him. Themurder of Prexaspes's son, though related in the last chapter as anillustration of Cambyses's character, did not actually take place tillafter Prexaspes returned from this expedition. 

Prexaspes went to Persia, and executed the orders of the king by theassassination of Smerdis. There are different accounts of the modewhich he adopted for accomplishing his purpose. One is, that hecontrived some way to drown him in the sea; another, that he poisonedhim; and a third, that he killed him in the forests, when he was outon a hunting excursion. At all events, the deed was done, andPrexaspes went back to Cambyses, and reported to him that he hadnothing further to fear from his brother's ambition. 

In the mean time, Cambyses went on from bad to worse in hisgovernment, growing every day more despotic and tyrannical, andabandoning himself to fits of cruelty and passion which became moreand more excessive and insane. At one time, on some slightprovocation, he ordered twelve distinguished noblemen of his court tobe buried alive. It is astonishing that there can be institutions andarrangements in the social state which will give one man such anascendency over others that such commands can be obeyed. On anotheroccasion, Cambyses's sister and wife, who had mourned the death of herbrother Smerdis, ventured a reproach to Cambyses for having destroyedhim. She was sitting at table, with some plant or flower in her hand, which she slowly picked to pieces, putting the fragments on the table. She asked Cambyses whether he thought the flower looked fairest andbest in fragments, or in its original and natural integrity. "Itlooked best, certainly, " Cambyses said, "when it was whole. " "Andyet, " said she, "you have begun to take to pieces and destroy ourfamily, as I have destroyed this flower. " Cambyses sprang upon hisunhappy sister, on hearing this reproof, with the ferocity of a tiger. He threw her down and leaped upon her. The attendants succeeded inrescuing her and bearing her away; but she had received a fatalinjury. She fell immediately into a premature and unnatural sickness, and died. 

These fits of sudden and terrible passion to which Cambyses wassubject, were often followed, when they had passed by, as is usual insuch cases, with remorse and misery; and sometimes the officers ofCambyses, anticipating a change in their master's feelings, did notexecute his cruel orders, but concealed the object of his blind andinsensate vengeance until the paroxysm was over. They did this once inthe case of Croesus. Croesus, who was now a venerable man, advanced in years, had been for a long time the friend and faithfulcounselor of Cambyses's father. He had known Cambyses himself fromhis boyhood, and had been charged by his father to watch over him andcounsel him, and aid him, on all occasions which might require it, with his experience and wisdom. Cambyses, too, had been solemnlycharged by his father Cyrus, at the last interview that he had withhim before his death, to guard and protect Croesus, as his father'sancient and faithful friend, and to treat him, as long as he lived, with the highest consideration and honor. 

Under these circumstances, Croesus considered himself justified inremonstrating one day with Cambyses against his excesses and hiscruelty. He told him that he ought not to give himself up to thecontrol of such violent and impetuous passions; that, though hisPersian soldiers and subjects had borne with him thus far, he might, by excessive oppression and cruelty, exhaust their forbearance andprovoke them to revolt against him, and that thus he might suddenlylose his power, through his intemperate and inconsiderate use of it. Croesus apologized for offering these counsels, saying that he feltbound to warn Cambyses of his danger, in obedience to the injunctionsof Cyrus, his father. 

Cambyses fell into a violent passion at hearing these words. He toldCroesus that he was amazed at his presumption in daring to offer himadvice, and then began to load his venerable counselor with thebitterest invectives and reproaches. He taunted him with his ownmisfortunes, in losing, as he had done, years before, his own kingdomof Lydia, and then accused him of having been the means, through hisfoolish counsels, of leading his father, Cyrus, into the worst of thedifficulties which befell him toward the close of his life. At last, becoming more and more enraged by the reaction upon himself of his ownangry utterance, he told Croesus that he had hated him for a longtime, and for a long time had wished to punish him; "and now, " saidhe, "you have given me an opportunity. " So saying, he seized his bow, and began to fit an arrow to the string. Croesus fled. Cambysesordered his attendants to pursue him, and when they had taken him, tokill him. The officers knew that Cambyses would regret his rash andreckless command as soon as his anger should have subsided, and so, instead of slaying Croesus, they concealed him. A few days after, when the tyrant began to express his remorse and sorrow at havingdestroyed his venerable friend in the heat of passion, and to mournhis death, they told him that Croesus was still alive. They hadventured, they said, to save him, till they could ascertain whether itwas the king's real and deliberate determination that he must die. Theking was overjoyed to find Croesus still alive, but he would notforgive those who had been instrumental in saving him. He orderedevery one of them to be executed. 

Cambyses was the more reckless and desperate in these tyrannicalcruelties because he believed that he possessed a sort of charmedlife. He had consulted an oracle, it seems, in Media, in respect tohis prospects of life, and the oracle had informed him that he woulddie at Ecbatane. Now Ecbatane was one of the three great capitals ofhis empire, Susa and Babylon being the others. Ecbatane was the mostnortherly of these cities, and the most remote from danger. Babylonand Susa were the points where the great transactions of governmentchiefly centered, while Ecbatane was more particularly the privateresidence of the kings. It was their refuge in danger, their retreatin sickness and age. In a word, Susa was their seat of government, Babylon their great commercial emporium, but Ecbatane was their home. 

And thus as the oracle, when Cambyses inquired in respect to thecircumstances of his death, had said that it was decreed by the fatesthat he should die at Ecbatane, it meant, as he supposed, that heshould die in peace, in his bed, at the close of the usual periodallotted to the life of man. Considering thus that the fates hadremoved all danger of a sudden and violent death from his path, heabandoned himself to his career of vice and folly, remembering onlythe substance of the oracle, while the particular form of words inwhich it was expressed passed from his mind. 

At length Cambyses, after completing his conquests in Egypt, returnedto the northward along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, until hecame into Syria. The province of Galilee, so often mentioned in thesacred Scriptures, was a part of Syria. In traversing Galilee at thehead of the detachment of troops that was accompanying him, Cambysescame, one day, to a small town, and encamped there. The town itselfwas of so little importance that Cambyses did not, at the time of hisarriving at it, even know its name. His encampment at the place, however, was marked by a very memorable event, namely, he met with aherald here, who was traveling through Syria, saying that he had beensent from Susa to proclaim to the people of Syria that Smerdis, theson of Cyrus, had assumed the throne, and to enjoin upon them all toobey no orders except such as should come from him!

Cambyses had supposed that Smerdis was dead. Prexaspes, when he hadreturned from Susa, had reported that he had killed him. He now, however, sent for Prexaspes, and demanded of him what thisproclamation could mean. Prexaspes renewed, and insisted upon, hisdeclaration that Smerdis was dead. He had destroyed him with his ownhands, and had seen him buried. "If the dead can rise from the grave, "added Prexaspes, "then Smerdis may perhaps, raise a revolt and appearagainst you; but not otherwise. "

Prexaspes then recommended that the king should send and seize theherald, and inquire particularly of him in respect to the governmentin whose name he was acting. Cambyses did so. The herald was taken andbrought before the king. On being questioned whether it was true thatSmerdis had really assumed the government and commissioned him to makeproclamation of the fact, he replied that it was so. He had not seenSmerdis himself, he said, for he kept himself shut up very closely inhis palace; but he was informed of his accession by one of the magianswhom Cambyses had left in command. It was by him, he said, that he hadbeen commissioned to proclaim Smerdis as king. 

Prexaspes then said that he had no doubt that the two magians whomCambyses had left in charge of the government had contrived to seizethe throne. He reminded Cambyses that the name of one of them wasSmerdis, and that probably that was the Smerdis who was usurping thesupreme command. Cambyses said that he was convinced that thissupposition was true. His dream, in which he had seen a vision ofSmerdis, with his head reaching to the heavens, referred, he had nodoubt, to the magian Smerdis, and not to his brother. He beganbitterly to reproach himself for having caused his innocent brother tobe put to death; but the remorse which he thus felt for his crime, inassassinating an imaginary rival, soon gave way to rage and resentmentagainst the real usurper. He called for his horse, and began to mounthim in hot haste, to give immediate orders, and make immediatepreparations for marching to Susa. 

As he bounded into the saddle, with his mind in this state ofreckless desperation, the sheath, by some accident or by somecarelessness caused by his headlong haste, fell from his sword, andthe naked point of the weapon pierced his thigh. The attendants tookhim from his horse, and conveyed him again to his tent. The wound, onexamination, proved to be a very dangerous one, and the strongpassions, the vexation, the disappointment, the impotent rage, whichwere agitating the mind of the patient, exerted an influence extremelyunfavorable to recovery. Cambyses, terrified at the prospect of death, asked what was the name of the town where he was lying. They told himit was Ecbatane. 

He had never thought before of the possibility that there might besome other Ecbatane besides his splendid royal retreat in Media; butnow, when he learned that was the name of the place where he was thenencamped, he felt sure that his hour was come, and he was overwhelmedwith remorse and despair. 

He suffered, too, inconceivable pain and anguish from his wound. Thesword had pierced to the bone, and the inflammation which hadsupervened was of the worst character. After some days, the acutenessof the agony which he at first endured passed gradually away, thoughthe extent of the injury resulting from the wound was growing everyday greater and more hopeless. The sufferer lay, pale, emaciated, andwretched, on his couch, his mind, in every interval of bodily agony, filling up the void with the more dreadful sufferings of horror anddespair. 

At length, on the twentieth day after his wound had been received, hecalled the leading nobles of his court and officers of his army abouthis bedside, and said to them that he was about to die, and that hewas compelled, by the calamity which had befallen him, to declare tothem what he would otherwise have continued to keep concealed. Theperson who had usurped the throne under the name of Smerdis, he nowsaid, was not, and could not be, his brother Smerdis, the son ofCyrus. He then proceeded to give them an account of the manner inwhich his fears in respect to his brother had been excited by hisdream, and of the desperate remedy that he had resorted to in orderinghim to be killed. He believed, he said, that the usurper was Smerdisthe magian, whom he had left as one of the regents when he set out onhis Egyptian campaign. He urged them, therefore, not to submit to hissway, but to go back to Media, and if they could not conquer him andput him down by open war, to destroy him by deceit and stratagem, orin any way whatever by which the end could be accomplished. Cambysesurged this with so much of the spirit of hatred and revenge beaming inhis hollow and glassy eye as to show that sickness, pain, and theapproach of death, which had made so total a change in the wretchedsufferer's outward condition, had altered nothing within. 

Very soon after making this communication to his nobles, Cambysesexpired. 

It will well illustrate the estimate which those who knew him best, formed of this great hero's character, to state, that those who heardthis solemn declaration did not believe one word of it from beginningto end. They supposed that the whole story which the dying tyrant hadtold them, although he had scarcely breath enough left to tell it, wasa fabrication, dictated by his fraternal jealousy and hate. Theybelieved that it was really the true Smerdis who had been proclaimedking, and that Cambyses had invented, in his dying moments, the storyof his having killed him, in order to prevent the Persians fromsubmitting peaceably to his reign. 

CHAPTER III. 

SMERDIS THE MAGIAN. 

B. C. 520

Usurpation of the magians. --Circumstances favoring it. --Murder ofSmerdis not known. --He is supposed to be alive. --Precautions takenby Smerdis. --Effect of Cambyses's measures. --Opinion in regard toSmerdis. --Acquiescence of the people. --Dangerous situation ofSmerdis. --Arrangement with Patizithes. --Smerdis lives inretirement. --Special grounds of apprehension. --Cambyses'swives. --Smerdis appropriates them. --Phędyma. --Measures ofOtanes. --Otanes's communications with his daughter. --Herreplies. --Phędyma discovers the deception. --Otanes and the sixnobles. --Arrival of Darius. --Secret consultations. --Variousopinions. --Views of Darius. --Apology for a falsehood. --Opinion ofGobryas. --Uneasiness of the magi. --Situation of Prexaspes. --Measuresof the magi. --An assembly of the people. --Decision of Prexaspes. --Hisspeech from the tower. --Death of Prexaspes. --The conspirators. --Theomen. --The conspirators enter the palace. --Combat with themagi. --Flight of Smerdis. --Smerdis is killed. --Exultation of theconspirators. --General massacre of the magians. 

Cambyses and his friends had been right in their conjectures that itwas Smerdis the magian who had usurped the Persian throne. ThisSmerdis resembled, it was said, the son of Cyrus in his personalappearance as well as in name. The other magian who had beenassociated with him in the regency when Cambyses set out from Persiaon his Egyptian campaign was his brother. His name was Patizithes. When Cyrus had been some time absent, these magians, having in themean time, perhaps, heard unfavorable accounts of his conduct andcharacter, and knowing the effect which such wanton tyranny must havein alienating from him the allegiance of his subjects, conceived thedesign of taking possession of the empire in their own name. The greatdistance of Cambyses and his army from home, and his long-continuedabsence, favored this plan. Their own position, too, as they werealready in possession of the capitals and the fortresses of thecountry, aided them; and then the name of Smerdis, being the samewith that of the brother of Cambyses, was a circumstance that greatlypromoted the success of the undertaking. In addition to all thesegeneral advantages, the cruelty of Cambyses was the means offurnishing them with a most opportune occasion for putting their plansinto execution. 

The reader will recollect that, as was related in the last chapter, Cambyses first sent his brother Smerdis home, and afterward, whenalarmed by his dream, he sent Prexaspes to murder him. Now the returnof Smerdis was publicly and generally known, while his assassinationby Prexaspes was kept a profound secret. Even the Persians connectedwith Cambyses's court in Egypt had not heard of the perpetration ofthis crime, until Cambyses confessed it on his dying bed, and eventhen, as was stated in the last chapter, they did not believe it. Itis not probable that it was known in Media and Persia; so that, afterPrexaspes accomplished his work, and returned to Cambyses with thereport of it, it was probably generally supposed that his brother wasstill alive, and was residing somewhere in one or another of the royalpalaces. 

Such royal personages were often accustomed to live thus, in a stateof great seclusion, spending their time in effeminate pleasures withinthe walls of their palaces, parks, and gardens. When the royalSmerdis, therefore, secretly and suddenly disappeared, it would bevery easy for the magian Smerdis, with the collusion of a moderatenumber of courtiers and attendants, to take his place, especially ifhe continued to live in retirement, and exhibited himself as little aspossible to public view. Thus it was that Cambyses himself, by thevery crimes which he committed to shield himself from all danger of arevolt, opened the way which specially invited it, and almost insuredits success. Every particular step that he took, too, helped topromote the end. His sending Smerdis home; his waiting an interval, and then sending Prexaspes to destroy him; his ordering hisassassination to be secret--these, and all the other attendantcircumstances, were only so many preliminary steps, preparing the wayfor the success of the revolution which was to accomplish his ruin. Hewas, in a word, his own destroyer. Like other wicked men, he found, inthe end, that the schemes of wickedness which he had malignantly aimedat the destruction of others, had been all the time slowly and surelyworking out his own. 

The people of Persia, therefore, were prepared by Cambyses's own actsto believe that the usurper Smerdis was really Cyrus's son, and, nextto Cambyses, the heir to the throne. The army of Cambyses, too, inEgypt, believed the same. It was natural that they should do so forthey placed no confidence whatever in Cambyses's dying declarations;and since intelligence, which seemed to be official, came from Susadeclaring that Smerdis was still alive, and that he had actually takenpossession of the throne, there was no apparent reason for doubtingthe fact. Besides, Prexaspes, as soon as Cambyses was dead, consideredit safer for him to deny than to confess having murdered the prince. He therefore declared that Cambyses's story was false, and that he hadno doubt that Smerdis, the monarch in whose name the government wasadministered at Susa, was the son of Cyrus, the true and rightful heirto the throne. Thus all parties throughout the empire acquiescedpeaceably in what they supposed to be the legitimate succession. 

In the mean time, the usurper had placed himself in an exceedinglydizzy and precarious situation, and one which it would require agreat deal of address and skillful management to sustain. The planarranged between himself and his brother for a division of theadvantages which they had secured by their joint and common cunningwas, that Smerdis was to enjoy the ease and pleasure, and Patizithesthe substantial power of the royalty which they had so stealthilyseized. This was the safest plan. Smerdis, by living secluded, anddevoting himself to retired and private pleasures, was the more likelyto escape public observation; while Patizithes, acting as his primeminister of state, could attend councils, issue orders, review troops, dispatch embassies, and perform all the other outward functions ofsupreme command, with safety as well as pleasure. Patizithes seems tohave been, in fact, the soul of the whole plan. He was ambitious andaspiring in character, and if he could only himself enjoy the actualexercise of royal power, he was willing that his brother should enjoythe honor of possessing it. Patizithes, therefore, governed the realm, acting, however, in all that he did, in Smerdis's name. 

Smerdis, on his part, was content to take possession of the palaces, the parks, and the gardens of Media and Persia, and to live in themin retired and quiet luxury and splendor. He appeared seldom inpublic, and then only under such circumstances as should not exposehim to any close observation on the part of the spectators. Hisfigure, air, and manner, and the general cast of his countenance, werevery much like those of the prince whom he was attempting topersonate. There was one mark, however, by which he thought that therewas danger that he might be betrayed, and that was, his ears had beencut off. This had been done many years before, by command of Cyrus, onaccount of some offense of which he had been guilty. The marks of themutilation could, indeed, on public occasions, be concealed by theturban, or helmet, or other head-dress which he wore; but in privatethere was great danger either that the loss of the ears, or thestudied effort to conceal it, should be observed. Smerdis was, therefore, very careful to avoid being seen in private, by keepinghimself closely secluded. He shut himself up in the apartments of hispalace at Susa, within the citadel, and never invited the Persiannobles to visit him there. 

Among the other means of luxury and pleasure which Smerdis found inthe royal palaces, and which he appropriated to his own enjoyment, were Cambyses's wives. In those times, Oriental princes andpotentates--as is, in fact, the case at the present day, in manyOriental countries--possessed a great number of wives, who were boundto them by different sorts of matrimonial ties, more or lesspermanent, and bringing them into relations more or less intimate withtheir husband and sovereign. These wives were in many respects in thecondition of slaves: in one particular they were especially so, namely, that on the death of a sovereign they descended, like anyother property, to the heir, who added as many of them as he pleasedto his own seraglio. Until this was done, the unfortunate women wereshut up in close seclusion on the death of their lord, like mournerswho retire from the world when suffering any great and severebereavement. 

The wives of Cambyses were appropriated by Smerdis to himself on histaking possession of the throne and hearing of Cambyses's death. Amongthem was Atossa, who has already been mentioned as the daughter ofCyrus, and, of course, the sister of Cambyses as well as his wife. Inorder to prevent these court ladies from being the means, in any way, of discovering the imposture which he was practicing, the magiancontinued to keep them all closely shut up in their several separateapartments, only allowing a favored few to visit him, one by one, inturn, while he prevented their having any communication with oneanother. 

The name of one of these ladies was Phędyma. She was the daughter of aPersian noble of the highest rank and influence, named Otanes. Otanes, as well as some other nobles of the court, had observed and reflectedupon the extraordinary circumstances connected with the accession ofSmerdis to the throne, and the singular mode of life that he led insecluding himself, in a manner so extraordinary for a Persian monarch, from all intercourse with his nobles and his people. The suspicions ofOtanes and his associates were excited, but no one dared tocommunicate his thoughts to the others. At length, however, Otanes, who was a man of great energy as well as sagacity and discretion, resolved that he would take some measures to ascertain the truth. 

He first sent a messenger to Phędyma, his daughter, asking of herwhether it was really Smerdis, the son of Cyrus, who received her whenshe went to visit the king. Phędyma, in return, sent her father wordthat she did not know, for she had never seen Smerdis, the son ofCyrus, before the death of Cambyses. She therefore could not say, ofher own personal knowledge, whether the king was the genuine Smerdisor not. Otanes then sent to Phędyma a second time, requesting her toask the queen Atossa. Atossa was the sister of Smerdis the prince, andhad known him from his childhood. Phędyma sent back word to her fatherthat she could not speak to Atossa, for she was kept closely shut upin her own apartments, without the opportunity to communicate with anyone. Otanes then sent a third time to his daughter, telling her thatthere was one remaining mode by which she might ascertain the truth, and that was, the next time that she visited the king, to feel for hisears when he was asleep. If it was Smerdis the magian, she would findthat he had none. He urged his daughter to do this by saying that, ifthe pretended king was really an impostor, the imposture ought to bemade known, and that she, being of noble birth, ought to have thecourage and energy to assist in discovering it. To this Phędymareplied that she would do as her father desired, though she knew thatshe hazarded her life in the attempt. "If he has no ears, " said she, "and if I awaken him in attempting to feel for them, he will kill me;I am sure that he will kill me on the spot. "

The next time that it came to Phędyma's turn to visit the king, shedid as her father had requested. She passed her hand very cautiouslybeneath the king's turban, and found that his ears had been cut offclose to his head. Early in the morning she communicated the knowledgeof the fact to her father. 

[Illustration: PHĘDYMA FEELING FOR SMERDIS'S EARS. ]

Otanes immediately made the case known to two of his friends, Persiannobles, who had, with him, suspected the imposture, and had consultedtogether before in respect to the means of detecting it. The questionwas, what was now to be done. After some deliberation, it was agreedthat each of them should communicate the discovery which they hadmade to one other person, such as each should select from among thecircle of his friends as the one on whose resolution, prudence, andfidelity he could most implicitly rely. This was done, and the numberadmitted to the secret was thus increased to six. At this juncture ithappened that Darius, the son of Hystaspes, the young man who hasalready been mentioned as the subject of Cyrus's dream, came toSusa. Darius was a man of great prominence and popularity. Hisfather, Hystaspes, was at that time the governor of the province ofPersia, and Darius had been residing with him in that country. Assoon as the six conspirators heard of his arrival, they admitted himto their councils, and thus their number was increased to seven. 

They immediately began to hold secret consultations for the purpose ofdetermining how it was best to proceed, first binding themselves bythe most solemn oaths never to betray one another, however theirundertaking might end. Darius told them that he had himself discoveredthe imposture and usurpation of Smerdis, and that he had come fromPersia for the purpose of slaying him; and that now, since it appearedthat the secret was known to so many, he was of opinion that theyought to act at once with the utmost decision. He thought there wouldbe great danger in delay. 

Otanes, on the other hand, thought that they were not yet ready foraction. They must first increase their numbers. Seven persons were toofew to attempt to revolutionize an empire. He commended the courageand resolution which Darius displayed, but he thought that a morecautious and deliberate policy would be far more likely to conductthem to a safe result. 

Darius replied that the course which Otanes recommended wouldcertainly ruin them. "If we make many other persons acquainted withour plans, " said he, "there will be some, notwithstanding all ourprecautions, who will betray us, for the sake of the immense rewardswhich they well know they would receive in that case from the king. No, " he added, "we must act ourselves, and alone. We must do nothingto excite suspicion, but must go at once into the palace, penetrateboldly into Smerdis's presence, and slay him before he has time tosuspect our designs. "

"But we can not get into his presence, " replied Otanes. "There areguards stationed at every gate and door, who will not allow us topass. If we attempt to kill them, a tumult will be immediately raised, and the alarm given, and all our designs will thus be baffled. "

"There will be little difficulty about the guards, " said Darius. "Theyknow us all, and, from deference to our rank and station, they willlet us pass without suspicion, especially if we act boldly andpromptly, and do not give them time to stop and consider what to do. Besides, I can say that I have just arrived from Persia withimportant dispatches for the king, and that I must be admittedimmediately into his presence. If a falsehood must be told, so let itbe. The urgency of the crisis demands and sanctions it. "

It may seem strange to the reader, considering the ideas and habits ofthe times, that Darius should have even thought it necessary toapologize to his confederates for his proposal of employing falsehoodin the accomplishment of their plans; and it is, in fact, altogetherprobable that the apology which he is made to utter is hishistorian's, and not his own. 

The other conspirators had remained silent during this discussionbetween Darius and Otanes; but now a third, whose name was Gobryas, expressed his opinion in favor of the course which Darius recommended. He was aware, he said, that, in attempting to force their way into theking's presence and kill him by a sudden assault, they exposedthemselves to the most imminent danger; but it was better for them todie in the manly attempt to bring back the imperial power again intoPersian hands, where it properly belonged, than to acquiesce anyfurther in its continuance in the possession of the ignoble Medianpriests who had so treacherously usurped it. 

To this counsel they all finally agreed, and began to makearrangements for carrying their desperate enterprise into execution. 

In the mean time, very extraordinary events were transpiring inanother part of the city. The two magi, Smerdis the king andPatizithes his brother, had some cause, it seems, to fear that thenobles about the court, and the officers of the Persian army, were notwithout suspicions that the reigning monarch was not the real son ofCyrus. Rumors that Smerdis had been killed by Prexaspes, at thecommand of Cambyses, were in circulation. These rumors werecontradicted, it is true, in private, by Prexaspes, whenever he wasforced to speak of the subject; but he generally avoided it; and hespoke, when he spoke at all, in that timid and undecided tone whichmen usually assume when they are persisting in a lie. In the meantime, the gloomy recollections of his past life, the memory of hismurdered son, remorse for his own crime in the assassination ofSmerdis, and anxiety on account of the extremely dangerous position inwhich he had placed himself by his false denial of it, all conspiredto harass his mind with perpetual restlessness and misery, and tomake life a burden. 

In order to do something to quiet the suspicions which the magi fearedwere prevailing, they did not know how extensively, they conceived theplan of inducing Prexaspes to declare in a more public and formalmanner what he had been asserting timidly in private, namely, thatSmerdis had not been killed. They accordingly convened an assembly ofthe people in a court-yard of the palace, or perhaps took advantage ofsome gathering casually convened, and proposed that Prexaspes shouldaddress them from a neighboring tower. Prexaspes was a man of highrank and of great influence, and the magi thought that his publicespousal of their cause, and his open and decided contradiction of therumor that he had killed Cambyses's brother, would fully convince thePersians that it was really the rightful monarch that had takenpossession of the throne. 

But the strength even of a strong man, when he has a lie to carry, soon becomes very small. That of Prexaspes was already almostexhausted and gone. He had been wavering and hesitating before, andthis proposal, that he should commit himself so formally and solemnly, and in so public a manner, to statements wholly and absolutelyuntrue, brought him to a stand. He decided, desperately, in his ownmind, that he would go on in his course of falsehood, remorse, andwretchedness no longer. He, however, pretended to accede to thepropositions of the magi. He ascended the tower, and began to addressthe people. Instead, however, of denying that he had murdered Smerdis, he fully confessed to the astonished audience that he had reallycommitted that crime; he openly denounced the reigning Smerdis as animpostor, and called upon all who heard him to rise at once, destroythe treacherous usurper, and vindicate the rights of the true Persianline. As he went on, with vehement voice and gestures, in this speech, the utterance of which he knew sealed his own destruction, he becamemore and more excited and reckless. He denounced his hearers in theseverest language if they failed to obey his injunctions, andimprecated upon them, in that event, all the curses of Heaven. Thepeople listened to this strange and sudden phrensy of eloquence inutter amazement, motionless and silent; and before they or theofficers of the king's household who were present had time even toconsider what to do, Prexaspes, coming abruptly to the conclusion ofhis harangue, threw himself headlong from the parapet of the tower, and came down among them, lifeless and mangled, on the pavement below. 

Of course, all was now tumult and commotion in the court-yard, and ithappened to be just at this juncture that the seven conspirators camefrom the place of their consultation to the palace, with a view ofexecuting their plans. They were soon informed of what had takenplace. Otanes was now again disposed to postpone their attempt uponthe life of the king. The event which had occurred changed, he said, the aspect of the subject, and they must wait until the tumult andexcitement should have somewhat subsided. But Darius was more eagerthan ever in favor of instantaneous action. He said that there was nota moment to be lost; for the magi, so soon as they should be informedof the declarations and of the death of Prexaspes, would be alarmed, and would take at once the most effectual precautions to guard againstany sudden assault or surprise. 

These arguments, at the very time in which Darius was offering themwith so much vehemence and earnestness, were strengthened by a verysingular sort of confirmation; for while the conspirators stoodundetermined, they saw a flock of birds moving across the sky, which, on their more attentively regarding them, proved to be seven hawkspursuing two vultures. This they regarded an omen, intended to signifyto them, by a divine intimation, that they ought to proceed. Theyhesitated, therefore, no longer. 

They went together to the outer gates of the palace. The action of theguards who were stationed there was just what Darius had predictedthat it would be. Awed by the imposing spectacle of the approach ofseven nobles of the highest distinction, who were advancing, too, withan earnest and confident air, as if expecting no obstacle to theiradmission, they gave way at once, and allowed them to enter. Theconspirators went on until they came to the inner apartments, wherethey found eunuchs in attendance at the doors. The eunuchs resisted, and demanded angrily why the guards had let the strangers in. "Killthem, " said the conspirators, and immediately began to cut them down. The magi were within, already in consternation at the disclosures ofPrexaspes, of which they had just been informed. They heard the tumultand the outcries of the eunuchs at the doors, and seized their arms, the one a bow and the other a spear. The conspirators rushed in. Thebow was useless in the close combat which ensued, and the magian whohad taken it turned and fled. The other defended himself with hisspear for a moment, and wounded severely two of his assailants. Thewounded conspirators fell. Three others of the number continued theunequal combat with the armed magian, while Darius and Gobryas rushedin pursuit of the other. 

The flying magian ran from one apartment to another until he reached adark room, into which the blind instinct of fear prompted him to rush, in the vain hope of concealment. Gobryas was foremost; he seized thewretched fugitive by the waist, and struggled to hold him, while themagian struggled to get free. Gobryas called upon Darius, who wasclose behind him, to strike. Darius, brandishing his sword, lookedearnestly into the obscure retreat, that he might see where to strike. 

"Strike!" exclaimed Gobryas. "Why do you not strike?"

"I can not see, " said Darius, "and I am afraid of wounding you. "

"No matter, " said Gobryas, struggling desperately all the time withhis frantic victim. "Strike quick, if you kill us both. "

Darius struck. Gobryas loosened his hold, and the magian fell upon thefloor, and there, stabbed again through the heart by Darius's sword, almost immediately ceased to breathe. 

They dragged the body to the light, and cut off the head. They did thesame with the other magian, whom they found that their confederateshad killed when they returned to the apartments where they had leftthem contending. The whole body of the conspirators then, except thetwo who were wounded, exulting in their success, and wild with theexcitement which such deeds always awaken, went forth into the streetsof the city, bearing the heads upon pikes as the trophies of theirvictory. They summoned the Persian soldiers to arms, and announcedevery where that they had ascertained that the king was a priest andan impostor, and not their legitimate sovereign, and that they hadconsequently killed him. They called upon the people to kill themagians wherever they could find them, as if the whole class wereimplicated in the guilt of the usurping brothers. 

The populace in all countries are easily excited by such denunciationsand appeals as these. The Persians armed themselves, and ran to andfro every where in pursuit of the unhappy magians, and before nightvast numbers of them were slain. 

CHAPTER IV. 

THE ACCESSION OF DARIUS. 

B. C. 520

Confusion at Susa. --No heir to the throne. --Five days'interregnum. --Provisional government. --Consultation of theconfederates. --Otanes in favor of a republic. --Otanes'srepublic. --Principles of representation. --Large assemblies. --Natureof ancient republics. --Nature of a representativerepublic. --Megabyzus. --He opposes the plan of Otanes. --Speech ofMegabyzus. --He proposes an oligarchy. --Speech of Darius. --He advocatesa monarchy. --Four of the seven confederates concur with Darius. --Otaneswithdraws. --Agreement made by the rest. --Singular mode of decidingwhich should be the king. --The groom Oebases. --His method of makingDarius's horse neigh. --Probable truth or falsehood of thisaccount. --Ancient statesmen. --Their character and position. --Theconspirators governed, in their decision, by superstitiousfeelings. --The conspirators do homage to Darius. --The equestrianstatue. 

For several days after the assassination of the magi the city wasfilled with excitement, tumults, and confusion. There was no heir, ofthe family of Cyrus, entitled to succeed to the vacant throne, forneither Cambyses, nor Smerdis his brother, had left any sons. Therewas, indeed, a daughter of Smerdis, named Parmys, and there were alsostill living two daughters of Cyrus. One was Atossa, whom we havealready mentioned as having been married to Cambyses, her brother, andas having been afterward taken by Smerdis the magian as one of hiswives. These princesses, though of royal lineage, seem neither of themto have been disposed to assert any claims to the throne at such acrisis. The mass of the community were stupefied with astonishment atthe sudden revolution which had occurred. No movement was made towarddetermining the succession. For five days nothing was done. 

During this period, all the subordinate functions of government inthe provinces, cities, and towns, and among the various garrisons andencampments of the army, went on, of course, as usual, but the generaladministration of the government had no head. The seven confederateshad been regarded, for the time being, as a sort of provisionalgovernment, the army and the country in general, so far as appears, looking to them for the means of extrication from the politicaldifficulties in which this sudden revolution had involved them, andsubmitting, in the mean time, to their direction and control. Such astate of things, it was obvious, could not long last; and after fivedays, when the commotion had somewhat subsided, they began to considerit necessary to make some arrangements of a more permanent character, the power to make such arrangements as they thought best resting withthem alone. They accordingly met for consultation. 

Herodotus the historian, [C] on whose narrative of these events we havemainly to rely for all the information respecting them which is nowto be attained, gives a very minute and dramatic account of thedeliberations of the conspirators on this occasion. The account is, infact, too dramatic to be probably true. 

[Footnote C: An account of Herodotus, and of the circumstances underwhich he wrote his history, which will aid the reader very much informing an opinion in respect to the kind and degree of confidencewhich it is proper to place in his statements, will be found in thefirst chapter of our history of Cyrus the Great. ]

Otanes, in this discussion, was in favor of establishing a republic. He did not think it safe or wise to intrust the supreme power again toany single individual. It was proved, he said, by universalexperience, that when any one person was raised to such an elevationabove his fellow-men, he became suspicious, jealous, insolent, andcruel. He lost all regard for the welfare and happiness of others, andbecame supremely devoted to the preservation of his own greatness andpower by any means, however tyrannical, and to the accomplishment ofthe purposes of his own despotic will. The best and most valuablecitizens were as likely to become the victims of his oppression as theworst. In fact, tyrants generally chose their favorites, he said, fromamong the most abandoned men and women in their realms, suchcharacters being the readiest instruments of their guilty pleasuresand their crimes. Otanes referred very particularly to the case ofCambyses as an example of the extreme lengths to which the despoticinsolence and cruelty of a tyrant could go. He reminded his colleaguesof the sufferings and terrors which they had endured while under hissway, and urged them very strongly not to expose themselves to suchterrible evils and dangers again. He proposed, therefore, that theyshould establish a republic, under which the officers of governmentshould be elected, and questions of public policy be determined, inassemblies of the people. 

It must be understood, however, by the reader, that a republic, ascontemplated and intended by Otanes in this speech, was entirelydifferent from the mode of government which that word denotes at thepresent day. They had little idea, in those times, of the principle ofrepresentation, by which the thousand separate and detachedcommunities of a great empire can choose _delegates_, who are todeliberate, speak, and act for them in the assemblies where the greatgovernmental decisions are ultimately made. By this principle ofrepresentation, the people can really all share in the exercise ofpower. Without it they can not, for it is impossible that the peopleof a great state can ever be brought together in one assembly; nor, even if it were practicable to bring them thus together, would it bepossible for such a concourse to deliberate or act. The action of anyassembly which goes beyond a very few hundred in numbers, is always, in fact, the action exclusively of the small knot of leaders who calland manage it. Otanes, therefore, as well as all other advocates ofrepublican government in ancient times, meant that the supreme powershould be exercised, not by the great mass of the people includedwithin the jurisdiction in question, but by such a portion of certainprivileged classes as could be brought together in the capital. It wassuch a sort of republic as would be formed in this country if theaffairs of the country at large, and the municipal and domesticinstitutions of all the states, were regulated and controlled by lawsenacted, and by governors appointed, at great municipal meetings heldin the city of New York. 

This was, in fact, the nature of all the republics of ancient times. They were generally small, and the city in whose free citizens thesupreme power resided, constituted by far the most important portionof the body politic. The Roman republic, however, became at one periodvery large. It overspread almost the whole of Europe; but, widelyextended as it was in territory, and comprising innumerable statesand kingdoms within its jurisdiction, the vast concentration of powerby which the whole was governed, vested entirely and exclusively innoisy and tumultuous assemblies convened in the Roman forum. 

Even if the idea of a representative system of government, such as isadopted in modern times, and by means of which the people of a greatand extended empire can exercise, conveniently and efficiently, ageneral sovereignty held in common by them all, had been understood inancient times, it is very doubtful whether it could, in those times, have been carried into effect, for want of certain facilities whichare enjoyed in the present age, and which seem essential for the safeand easy action of so vast and complicated a system as a greatrepresentative government must necessarily be. The regular transactionof business at public meetings, and the orderly and successfulmanagement of any extended system of elections, requires a great dealof writing; and the general circulation of newspapers, or somethingexercising the great function which it is the object of newspapers tofulfill, that of keeping the people at large in some degree informedin respect to the progress of public affairs, seems essential to thesuccessful working of a system of representative government comprisingany considerable extent of territory. 

However this may be, whether a great representative system would orwould not have been practicable in ancient times if it had been tried, it is certain that it was never tried. In all ancient republics, thesovereignty resided, essentially, in a privileged class of the peopleof the capital. The territories governed were provinces, held insubjection as dependencies, and compelled to pay tribute; and this wasthe plan which Otanes meant to advocate when recommending a republic, in the Persian council. 

The name of the second speaker in this celebrated consultation wasMegabyzus. He opposed the plan of Otanes. He concurred fully, he said, in all that Otanes had advanced in respect to the evils of a monarchy, and to the oppression and tyranny to which a people were exposed whoseliberties and lives were subject to the despotic control of a singlehuman will. But in order to avoid one extreme, it was not necessary torun into the evils of the other. The disadvantages and dangers ofpopular control in the management of the affairs of state werescarcely less than those of a despotism. Popular assemblies werealways, he said, turbulent, passionate, capricious. Their decisionswere controlled by artful and designing demagogues. It was notpossible that masses of the common people could have either thesagacity to form wise counsels, or the energy and steadiness toexecute them. There could be no deliberation, no calmness, no secrecyin their consultations. A populace was always governed by excitements, which spread among them by a common sympathy; and they would give wayimpetuously to the most senseless impulses, as they were urged bytheir fear, their resentment, their exultation, their hate, or by anyother passing emotion of the hour. 

Megabyzus therefore disapproved of both a monarchy and a republic. Herecommended an oligarchy. "We are now, " said he, "already seven. Letus select from the leading nobles in the court and officers of thearmy a small number of men, eminent for talents and virtue, and thusform a select and competent body of men, which shall be the depositoryof the supreme power. Such a plan avoids the evils and inconveniencesof both the other systems. There can be no tyranny or oppressionunder such a system; for, if any one of so large a number should beinclined to abuse his power, he will be restrained by the rest. On theother hand, the number will not be so large as to preclude prudenceand deliberation in counsel, and the highest efficiency and energy incarrying counsels into effect. "

When Megabyzus had completed his speech, Darius expressed his opinion. He said that the arguments of those who had already spoken appearedplausible, but that the speakers had not dealt quite fairly by thedifferent systems whose merits they had discussed, since they hadcompared a good administration of one form of government with a badadministration of another. Every thing human was, he admitted, subjectto imperfection and liable to abuse; but on the supposition that eachof the three forms which had been proposed were equally welladministered, the advantage, he thought, would be strongly on the sideof monarchy. Control exercised by a single mind and will was far moreconcentrated and efficient than that proceeding from any conceivablecombination. The forming of plans could be, in that case, more secretand wary, and the execution of them more immediate and prompt. Wherepower was lodged in many hands, all energetic exercise of it wasparalyzed by the dissensions, the animosities and the contendingstruggles of envious and jealous rivals. These struggles, in fact, usually resulted in the predominance of some one, more energetic ormore successful than the rest, the aristocracy or the democracyrunning thus, of its own accord, to a despotism in the end, showingthat there were natural causes always tending to the subjection ofnations of men to the control of one single will. 

Besides all this, Darius added, in conclusion, that the Persians hadalways been accustomed to a monarchy, and it would be a very dangerousexperiment to attempt to introduce a new system, which would requireso great a change in all the habits and usages of the people. 

Thus the consultation went on. At the end of it, it appeared that fourout of the seven agreed with Darius in preferring a monarchy. This wasa majority, and thus the question seemed to be settled. Otanes saidthat he would make no opposition to any measures which they mightadopt to carry their decision into effect, but that he would nothimself be subject to the monarchy which they might establish. "I donot wish, " he added, "either to govern others or to have othersgovern me. You may establish a kingdom, therefore, if you choose, anddesignate the monarch in any mode that you see fit to adopt, but hemust not consider me as one of his subjects. I myself, and all myfamily and dependents, must be wholly free from his control. "

This was a very unreasonable proposition, unless, indeed, Otanes waswilling to withdraw altogether from the community to which he thusrefused to be subject; for, by residing within it, he necessarilyenjoyed its protection, and ought, therefore, to bear his portion ofits burdens, and to be amenable to its laws. Notwithstanding this, however, the conspirators acceded to the proposal, and Otaneswithdrew. 

The remaining six of the confederates then proceeded with theirarrangements for the establishment of a monarchy. They first agreedthat one of their own number should be the king, and that onwhomsoever the choice should fall, the other five, while theysubmitted to his dominion, should always enjoy peculiar privileges andhonors at his court. They were at all times to have free access to thepalaces and to the presence of the king, and it was from among theirdaughters alone that the king was to choose his wives. These and someother similar points having been arranged, the manner of decidingwhich of the six should be the king remained to be determined. Theplan which they adopted, and the circumstances connected with theexecution of it, constitute, certainly, one of the most extraordinaryof all the strange transactions recorded in ancient times. It isgravely related by Herodotus as sober truth. How far it is to beconsidered as by any possibility credible, the reader must judge, after knowing what the story is. 

They agreed, then, that on the following morning they would all meeton horseback at a place agreed upon beyond the walls of the city, andthat the one whose horse should neigh first should be the king! Thetime when this ridiculous ceremony was to be performed was sunrise. 

As soon as this arrangement was made the parties separated, and eachwent to his own home. Darius called his groom, whose name wasOEbases, and ordered him to have his horse ready at sunrise on thenext morning, explaining to him, at the same time, the plan which hadbeen formed for electing the king. "If that is the mode which is to beadopted, " said Oebases, "you need have no concern, for I canarrange it very easily so as to have the lot fall upon you. " Dariusexpressed a strong desire to have this accomplished, if it werepossible, and Oebases went away. 

The method which Oebases adopted was to lead Darius's horse out tothe ground that evening, in company with another, the favoritecompanion, it seems, of the animal. Now the attachment of the horse tohis companion is very strong, and his recollection of localities veryvivid, and Oebases expected that when the horse should approach theground on the following morning, he would be reminded of the companywhich he enjoyed there the night before, and neigh. The result was ashe anticipated. As the horsemen rode up to the appointed place, thehorse of Darius neighed the first, and Darius was unanimouslyacknowledged king. 

In respect to the credibility of this famous story, the first thoughtwhich arises in the mind is, that it is utterly impossible that sanemen, acting in so momentous a crisis, and where interests so vast andextended were at stake, could have resorted to a plan so childish andridiculous as this. Such a mode of designating a leader, seriouslyadopted, would have done discredit to a troop of boys makingarrangements for a holiday; and yet here was an empire extending forthousands of miles through the heart of a vast continent, comprising, probably, fifty nations and many millions of people, with capitals, palaces, armies, fleets, and all the other appointments and machineryof an immense dominion, to be appropriated and disposed of absolutely, and, so far as they could see, forever. It seems incredible that menpossessing such intelligence, and information, and extent of view aswe should suppose that officers of their rank and station wouldnecessarily acquire, could have attempted to decide such a momentousquestion in so ridiculous and trivial a manner. And yet the account isseriously recorded by Herodotus as sober history, and the story hasbeen related again and again, from that day to this, by everysuccessive generation of historians, without any particular questionof its truth. 

And it may possibly be that it is true. It is a case in which theapparent improbability is far greater than the real. In the firstplace, it would seem that, in all ages of the world, the acts anddecisions of men occupying positions of the most absolute and exaltedpower have been controlled, to a much greater degree, by caprice andby momentary impulse, than mankind have generally supposed. Looking upas we do to these vast elevations from below, they seem invested witha certain sublimity and grandeur which we imagine must continuallyimpress the minds of those who occupy them, and expand and strengthentheir powers, and lead them to act, in all respects, with thecircumspection, the deliberation, and the far-reaching sagacity whichthe emergencies continually arising seem to require. And this is, infact, in some degree the case with the statesmen and political leadersraised to power under the constitutional governments of modern times. Such statesmen are clothed with their high authority, in one way oranother, by the combined and deliberate action of vast masses of men, and every step which they take is watched, in reference to itsinfluence on the condition and welfare of these masses, by manymillions; so that such men live and act under a continual sense ofresponsibility, and they appreciate, in some degree, the momentousimportance of their doings. But the absolute and independentsovereigns of the Old World, who held their power by conquest or byinheritance, though raised sometimes to very vast and giddyelevations, seem to have been unconscious, in many instances, of thedignity and grandeur of their standing, and to have considered theiracts only as they affected their own personal and temporary interests. Thus, though placed on a great elevation, they took only very narrowand circumscribed views; they saw nothing but the objects immediatelyaround them; and they often acted, accordingly, in the most frivolousand capricious manner. 

It was so, undoubtedly, with these six conspirators. In deciding whichof their number should be king, they thought nothing of the interestsof the vast realms, and of the countless millions of people whosegovernment was to be provided for. The question, as they consideredit, was doubtless merely which of them should have possession of theroyal palaces, and be the center and the object of royal pomp andparade in the festivities and celebrations of the capital. 

And in the mode of decision which they adopted, it may be that somedegree of superstitious feeling mingled. The action and the voices ofanimals were considered, in those days, as supernatural omens, indicating the will of heaven. These conspirators may have expected, accordingly, in the neighing of the horse, a sort of divineintimation in respect to the disposition of the crown. This idea isconfirmed by the statement which the account of this transactioncontains, that immediately after the neighing of Darius's horse, itthundered, although there were no clouds in the sky from which thethunder could be supposed naturally to come. The conspirators, at allevents, considered it solemnly decided that Darius was to be king. They all dismounted from their horses and knelt around him, inacknowledgment of their allegiance and subjection. 

It seems that Darius, after he became established on his throne, considered the contrivance by which, through the assistance of hisgroom, he had obtained the prize, not as an act of fraud which it wasincumbent on him to conceal, but as one of brilliant sagacity which hewas to avow and glory in. He caused a magnificent equestrian statue tobe sculptured, representing himself mounted on his neighing horse. This statue he set up in a public place with this inscription:

 DARIUS, SON OF HYSTASPES, OBTAINED THE SOVEREIGNTY OF PERSIA BY THE SAGACITY OF HIS HORSE AND THE INGENIOUS CONTRIVANCE OF OEBASES HIS GROOM. 

CHAPTER V. 

THE PROVINCES. 

B. C. 520

Intaphernes. --He is denied admittance to Darius. --Intaphernes's crueltyto the two guards. --Darius's apprehensions. --Intaphernes and familyarrested. --They are condemned to die. --Alternative offered toIntaphernes's wife. --Her strange decision. --Death of Intaphernes. --Theprovinces. --The governors. --Their independence. --Power of thegovernors. --Oretes, governor of Sardis. --Conversation between Oretesand Mitrobates. --Polycrates. --Dominion of Polycrates. --Letter ofAmasis. --Suggestion of Amasis. --Adopted by Polycrates. --Polycratesthrows away his ring. --Its singular recovery. --Predictions ofAmasis. --Their fulfillment. --Letter of Oretes. --His hypocrisy. --Thepretended treasure. --Fears of Polycrates's daughter. --Oretes murdersPolycrates. --He commits other murders. --Oretes destroys Darius'smessenger. --Darius is incensed. --Plan of Darius for punishingOretes. --His proposal. --Commission of Bagęus. --His plan. --Oretesbeheaded. --Divisions of Darius's empire. --Tribute of the satrapies. --Thewhite horses. --The gold of India. --Mode of gathering it. --The wonderfulants. --Their prodigious size. 

Several of the events and incidents which occurred immediately afterthe accession of Darius to the throne, illustrate in a striking mannerthe degree in which the princes and potentates of ancient days weregoverned by caprice and passionate impulse even in their public acts. One of the most remarkable of these was the case of Intaphernes. 

Intaphernes was one of the seven conspirators who combined to deposethe magian and place Darius on the throne. By the agreement which theymade with each other before it was decided which should be the king, each of them was to have free access to the king's presence at alltimes. One evening, soon after Darius became established on histhrone, Intaphernes went to the palace, and was proceeding to enterthe apartment of the king without ceremony, when he was stopped by twoofficers, who told him that the king had retired. Intaphernes wasincensed at the officers' insolence, as he called it. He drew hissword, and cut off their noses and their ears. Then he took the bridleoff from his horse at the palace gate, and tied the officers together;and then, leaving them in this helpless and miserable condition, hewent away. 

The officers immediately repaired to the king, and presentedthemselves to him, a frightful spectacle, wounded and bleeding, andcomplaining bitterly of Intaphernes as the author of the injurieswhich they had received. The king was at first alarmed for his ownsafety. He feared that the conspirators had all combined together torebel against his authority, and that this daring insult offered tohis personal attendants, in his very palace, was the first outbreak ofit. He accordingly sent for the conspirators one by one, to ask ofthem whether they approved of what Intaphernes had done. They promptlydisavowed all connection with Intaphernes in the act, and all approvalof it, and declared their determination to adhere to the decision thatthey had made, by which Darius had been placed on the throne. 

Darius then, after taking proper precautions to guard against anypossible attempts at resistance, sent soldiers to seize Intaphernes, and also his son, and all of his family, relatives, and friends whowere capable of bearing arms; for he suspected that Intaphernes hadmeditated a rebellion, and he thought that, if so, these men wouldmost probably be his accomplices. The prisoners were brought beforehim. There was, indeed, no proof that they were engaged in any plan ofrebellion, nor even that any plan of rebellion whatever had beenformed; but this circumstance afforded them no protection. Theliberties and the lives of all subjects were at the supreme andabsolute disposal of these ancient kings. Darius thought it possiblethat the prisoners had entertained, or might entertain, sometreasonable designs, and he conceived that he should, accordingly, feel safer if they were removed out of the way. He decreed, therefore, that they must all die. 

While the preparations were making for the execution, the wife ofIntaphernes came continually to the palace of Darius, begging for anaudience, that she might intercede for the lives of her friends. Darius was informed of this, and at last, pretending to be moved withcompassion for her distress, he sent her word that he would pardon oneof the criminals for her sake, and that she might decide which one itshould be. His real motive in making this proposal seems to have beento enjoy the perplexity and anguish which the heart of a woman mustsuffer in being compelled thus to decide, in a question of life anddeath, between a husband and a son. 

The wife of Intaphernes did not decide in favor of either of these. She gave the preference, on the other hand, to a brother. Darius wasvery much surprised at this result, and sent a messenger to her toinquire how it happened that she could pass over and abandon to theirfate her husband and her son, in order to save the life of herbrother, who was certainly to be presumed less near and dear to her. To which she gave this extraordinary reply, that the loss of herhusband and her son might perhaps be repaired, since it was notimpossible that she might be married again, and that she might haveanother son; but that, inasmuch as both her father and mother weredead, she could never have another brother. The death of her presentbrother would, therefore, be an irreparable loss. 

The king was so much pleased with the novelty and unexpectedness ofthis turn of thought, that he gave her the life of her son in additionto that of her brother. All the rest of the family circle ofrelatives and friends, together with Intaphernes himself, he orderedto be slain. 

Darius had occasion to be so much displeased, too, shortly after hisaccession to the throne, with the governor of one of his provinces, that he was induced to order him to be put to death. The circumstancesconnected with this governor's crime, and the manner of his execution, illustrate very forcibly the kind of government which was administeredby these military despots in ancient times. It must be premised thatgreat empires, like that over which Darius had been called to rule, were generally divided into provinces. The inhabitants of theseprovinces, each community within its own borders, went on, from yearto year, in their various pursuits of peaceful industry, governedmainly, in their relations to each other, by the natural sense ofjustice instinctive in man, and by those thousand local institutionsand usages which are always springing up in all human communitiesunder the influence of this principle. There were governors stationedover these provinces, whose main duty it was to collect and remit tothe king the tribute which the province was required to furnish him. These governors were, of course, also to suppress any domesticoutbreak of violence, and to repel any foreign invasion which mightoccur. A sufficient military force was placed at their disposal toenable them to fulfill these functions. They paid these troops, ofcourse, from sums which they collected in their provinces under thesame system by which they collected the tribute. This made them, in agreat measure, independent of the king in the maintenance of theirarmies. They thus intrenched themselves in their various capitals atthe head of these troops, and reigned over their respective dominionsalmost as if they were kings themselves. They had, in fact, verylittle connection with the supreme monarch, except to send him theannual tribute which they had collected from their people, and tofurnish, also, their quota of troops in case of a national war. In thetime of our Savior, Pilate was such a governor, intrusted by theRomans with the charge of Judea, and Matthew was one of the taxgatherers employed to collect the tribute. 

Of course, the governors of such provinces, as we have already said, were, in a great measure, independent of the king. He had, ordinarily, no officers of justice whose jurisdiction could control, peacefully, such powerful vassals. The only remedy in most cases, when they weredisobedient and rebellious, was to raise an army and go forth to makewar upon them, as in the case of any foreign state. This was attendedwith great expense, and trouble, and hazard. The governors, whenambitious and aspiring, sometimes managed their resources with so muchenergy and military skill as to get the victory over their sovereignin the contests in which they engaged with them, and then they wouldgain vast accessions to the privileges and powers which they exercisedin their own departments; and they would sometimes overthrow theirdiscomfited sovereign entirely, and take possession of his thronethemselves in his stead. 

Oretes was the name of one of these governors in the time of Darius. He had been placed by Cyrus, some years before, in charge of one ofthe provinces into which the kingdom of Lydia had been divided. Theseat of government was Sardis. [D] He was a capricious and crueltyrant, as, in fact, almost all such governors were. We will relatean account of one of the deeds which he performed some time beforeDarius ascended the throne, and which sufficiently illustrates hischaracter. 

[Footnote D: For the position of Sardis, and of other places mentionedin this chapter, see the map at the commencement of the volume, andalso that at the commencement of chapter xi. ]

He was one day sitting at the gates of his palace in Sardis, inconversation with the governor of a neighboring territory who had cometo visit him. The name of this guest was Mitrobates. As the twofriends were boasting to one another, as such warriors are accustomedto do, of the deeds of valor and prowess which they had respectivelyperformed, Mitrobates said that Oretes could not make any greatpretensions to enterprise and bravery so long as he allowed the Greekisland of Samos, which was situate at a short distance from the Lydiancoast, to remain independent, when it would be so easy to annex it tothe Persian empire. "You are afraid of Polycrates, I suppose, " saidhe. Polycrates was the king of Samos. 

Oretes was stung by this taunt, but, instead of revenging himself onMitrobates, the author of it, he resolved on destroying Polycrates, though he had no reason other than this for any feeling of enmitytoward him. 

Polycrates, although the seat of his dominion was a small island inthe Ęgean Sea, was a very wealthy, and powerful, and prosperousprince. All his plans and enterprises had been remarkably successful. He had built and equipped a powerful fleet, and had conquered manyislands in the neighborhood of his own. He was projecting still widerschemes of conquests, and hoped, in fact, to make himself the masterof all the seas. 

A very curious incident is related of Polycrates, which illustratesvery strikingly the childish superstition which governed the minds ofmen in those ancient days. It seems that in the midst of hisprosperity, his friend and ally, the King of Egypt--for these events, though narrated here, occurred before the invasion of Egypt byCambyses--sent to him a letter, of which the following is the purport. 

 "_Amasis, king of Egypt, to Polycrates. _

 "It always gives me great satisfaction and pleasure to hear of the prosperity of a friend and ally, unless it is too absolutely continuous and uninterrupted. Something like an alternation of good and ill fortune is best for man; I have never known an instance of a very long-continued course of unmingled and uninterrupted success that did not end, at last, in overwhelming and terrible calamity. I am anxious, therefore, for you, and my anxiety will greatly increase if this extraordinary and unbroken prosperity should continue much longer. I counsel you, therefore, to break the current yourself, if fortune will not break it. Bring upon yourself some calamity, or loss, or suffering, as a means of averting the heavier evils which will otherwise inevitably befall you. It is a general and substantial welfare only that can be permanent and final. "

Polycrates seemed to think there was good sense in this suggestion. Hebegan to look around him to see in what way he could bring uponhimself some moderate calamity or loss, and at length decided on thedestruction of a very valuable signet ring which he kept among histreasures. The ring was made with very costly jewels set in gold, andwas much celebrated both for its exquisite workmanship and also forits intrinsic value. The loss of this ring would be, he thought, asufficient calamity to break the evil charm of an excessive andunvaried current of good fortune. Polycrates, therefore, ordered oneof the largest vessels in his navy, a fifty-oared galley, to beequipped and manned, and, embarking in it with a large company ofattendants, he put to sea. When he was at some distance from theisland, he took the ring, and in the presence of all his attendants, he threw it forth into the water, and saw it sink, to rise, as hesupposed, no more. 

But Fortune, it seems, was not to be thus outgeneraled. A few daysafter Polycrates had returned, a certain fisherman on the coast took, in his nets, a fish of very extraordinary size and beauty; soextraordinary, in fact, that he felt it incumbent on him to make apresent of it to the king. The servants of Polycrates, on opening thefish for the purpose of preparing it for the table, to their greatastonishment and gratification, found the ring within. The king wasoverjoyed at thus recovering his lost treasure; he had, in fact, repented of his rashness in throwing it away, and had been bitterlylamenting its loss. His satisfaction and pleasure were, therefore, very great in regaining it; and he immediately sent to Amasis anaccount of the whole transaction, expecting that Amasis would share inhis joy. 

Amasis, however, sent word back to him in reply, that he consideredthe return of the ring in that almost miraculous manner as anextremely unfavorable omen. "I fear, " said he, "that it is decreed bythe Fates that you must be overwhelmed, at last, by some dreadfulcalamity, and that no measures of precaution which you can adopt willavail to avert it. It seems to me, too, " he added, "that it isincumbent on me to withdraw from all alliance and connection with you, lest I should also, at last, be involved in your destineddestruction. "

Whether this extraordinary story was true, or whether it was allfabricated after the fall of Polycrates, as a dramatic embellishmentof his history, we can not now know. The result, however, correspondedwith these predictions of Amasis, if they were really made; for it wassoon after these events that the conversation took place at Sardisbetween Oretes and Mitrobates, at the gates of the palace, which ledOretes to determine on effecting Polycrates's destruction. 

In executing the plans which he thus formed, Oretes had not thecourage and energy necessary for an open attack on Polycrates, and heconsequently resolved on attempting to accomplish his end by treacheryand stratagem. 

The plan which he devised was this: He sent a messenger to Polycrateswith a letter of the following purport:

 "_Oretes, governor of Sardis, to Polycrates of Samos. _

 "I am aware, sire, of the plans which you have long been entertaining for extending your power among the islands and over the waters of the Mediterranean, until you shall have acquired the supreme and absolute dominion of the seas. I should like to join you in this enterprise. You have ships and men, and I have money. Let us enter into an alliance with each other. I have accumulated in my treasuries a large supply of gold and silver, which I will furnish for the expenses of the undertaking. If you have any doubt of my sincerity in making these offers, and of my ability to fulfill them, send some messenger in whom you have confidence, and I will lay the evidence before him. "

Polycrates was much pleased at the prospect of a large accession tohis funds, and he sent the messenger, as Oretes had proposed. Oretesprepared to receive him by filling a large number of boxes nearly fullwith heavy stones, and then placing a shallow layer of gold or silvercoin at the top. These boxes were then suitably covered and secured, with the fastenings usually adopted in those days, and placed away inthe royal treasuries. When the messenger arrived, the boxes werebrought out and opened, and were seen by the messenger to be full, ashe supposed, of gold and silver treasure. The messenger went back toPolycrates, and reported that all which Oretes had said was true; andPolycrates then determined to go to the main land himself to payOretes a visit, that they might mature together their plans for theintended campaigns. He ordered a fifty-oared galley to be prepared toconvey him. 

His daughter felt a presentiment, it seems, that some calamity wasimpending. She earnestly entreated her father not to go. She had had adream, she said, about him, which had frightened her excessively, andwhich she was convinced portended some terrible danger. Polycratespaid no attention to his daughter's warnings. She urged them more andmore earnestly, until, at last, she made her father angry, and thenshe desisted. Polycrates then embarked on board his splendid galley, and sailed away. As soon as he landed in the dominions of Oretes, themonster seized him and put him to death, and then ordered his body tobe nailed to a cross, for exhibition to all passers by, as a publicspectacle. The train of attendants and servants that accompaniedPolycrates on this expedition were all made slaves, except a fewpersons of distinction, who were sent home in a shameful anddisgraceful manner. Among the attendants who were detained incaptivity by Oretes was a celebrated family physician, namedDemocedes, whose remarkable and romantic adventures will be thesubject of the next chapter. 

Oretes committed several other murders and assassinations in thistreacherous manner, without any just ground for provocation. In thesedeeds of violence and cruelty, he seems to have acted purely under theinfluence of that wanton and capricious malignity which the possessionof absolute and irresponsible power so often engenders in the minds ofbad men. It is doubtful, however, whether these cruelties and crimeswould have particularly attracted the attention of Darius, so long ashe was not himself directly affected by them. The central government, in these ancient empires, generally interested itself very little inthe contentions and quarrels of the governors of the provinces, provided that the tribute was efficiently collected and regularlypaid. 

A case, however, soon occurred, in Oretes's treacherous and bloodycareer, which arrested the attention of Darius and aroused his ire. Darius had sent a messenger to Oretes, with certain orders, which, itseems, Oretes did not like to obey. After delivering his dispatchesthe bearer set out on his return, and was never afterward heard of. Darius ascertained, to his own satisfaction at least, that Oretes hadcaused his messenger to be waylaid and killed, and that the bodiesboth of horse and rider had been buried, secretly, in the solitudes ofthe mountains, in order to conceal the evidences of the deed. 

Darius determined on punishing this crime. Some consideration was, however, required, in order to determine in what way his object couldbest be effected. The province of Oretes was at a great distance fromSusa, and Oretes was strongly established there, at the head of agreat force. His guards were bound, it is true, to obey the orders ofDarius, but it was questionable whether they would do so. To raise anarmy and march against the rebellious governor would be an expensiveand hazardous undertaking, and perhaps, too, it would prove that sucha measure was not necessary. All things considered, Darius determinedto try the experiment of acting, by his own direct orders, upon thetroops and guards in Oretes's capital, with the intention of resortingsubsequently to an armed force of his own, if that should be at lastrequired. 

He accordingly called together a number of his officers and nobles, selecting those on whose resolution and fidelity he could mostconfidently rely, and made the following address to them:

"I have an enterprise which I wish to commit to the charge of some oneof your number who is willing to undertake it, which requires nomilitary force, and no violent measures of any kind, but only wisdom, sagacity, and courage. I wish to have Oretes, the governor of Sardis, brought to me, dead or alive. He has perpetrated innumerable crimes, and now, in addition to all his other deeds of treacherous violence, he has had the intolerable insolence to put to death one of mymessengers. Which of you will volunteer to bring him, dead or alive, to me?"

This proposal awakened a great enthusiasm among the nobles to whom itwas addressed. Nearly thirty of them volunteered their services toexecute the order. Darius concluded to decide between thesecompetitors by lot. The lot fell upon a certain man named Bagęus, andhe immediately began to form his plans and make his arrangements forthe expedition. 

He caused a number of different orders to be prepared, beginning withdirections of little moment, and proceeding to commands of more andmore weighty importance, all addressed to the officers of Oretes'sarmy and to his guards. These orders were all drawn up in writing withgreat formality, and were signed by the name of Darius, and sealedwith his seal; they, moreover, named Bagęus as the officer selected bythe king to superintend the execution of them. Provided with thesedocuments, Bagęus proceeded to Sardis, and presented himself at thecourt of Oretes. He presented his own personal credentials, and withthem some of his most insignificant orders. Neither Oretes nor hisguards felt any disposition to disobey them. Bagęus, being thusreceived and recognized as the envoy of the king, continued to presentnew decrees and edicts, from time to time, as occasions occurred inwhich he thought the guards would be ready to obey them, until hefound the habit, on their part, of looking to him as therepresentative of the supreme power sufficiently established; fortheir disposition to obey him was not merely tested, it wasstrengthened by every new act of obedience. When he found, at length, that his hold upon the guards was sufficiently strong, he produced histwo final decrees, one ordering the guards to depose Oretes from hispower, and the other to behead him. Both the commands were obeyed. 

The events and incidents which have been described in this chapterwere of no great importance in themselves, but they illustrate, moreforcibly than any general description would do the nature and theoperation of the government exercised by Darius throughout the vastempire over which he found himself presiding. 

Such personal and individual contests and transactions were not allthat occupied his attention. He devoted a great deal of thought and oftime to the work of arranging, in a distinct and systematic manner, the division of his dominions into provinces, and to regulatingprecisely the amount of tribute to be required of each, and the modesof collecting it. He divided his empire into twenty great districts, each of which was governed by a ruler called a _satrap_. He fixed theamount of tribute which each of these districts was to pay, making itgreater or less as the soil and the productions of the country variedin fertility and abundance. In some cases this tribute was to be paidin gold, in others in silver, and in others in peculiar commodities, natural to the country of which they were required. For example, onesatrapy, which comprised a country famous for its horses, was obligedto furnish one white horse for every day in the year. This made threehundred and sixty annually, that being the number of days in thePersian year. Such a supply, furnished yearly, enabled the king soonto have a very large troop of white horses; and as the horses werebeautifully caparisoned, and the riders magnificently armed, the bodyof cavalry thus formed was one of the most splendid in the world. 

The satrapies were numbered from the west toward the east. The westernportion of Asia Minor constituted the first, and the East Indiannations the twelfth and last. The East Indians had to pay theirtribute in ingots of gold. Their country produced gold. 

As it is now forever too late to separate the facts from the fictionof ancient history, and determine what is to be rejected as false andwhat received as true, our only resource is to tell the whole storyjust as it comes down to us, leaving it to each reader to decide forhimself what he will believe. In this view of the subject, we willconclude this chapter by relating the manner in which it was said inancient times that these Indian nations obtained their gold. 

The gold country was situated in remote and dreary deserts, inhabitedonly by wild beasts and vermin, among which last there was, it seems, a species of ants, which were of enormous size, and wonderfulfierceness and voracity, and which could run faster than the fleetesthorse or camel. These ants, in making their excavations, would bringup from beneath the surface of the ground all the particles of goldwhich came in their way, and throw them out around their hills. TheIndians then would penetrate into these deserts, mounted on thefleetest camels that they could procure, and leading other camels, notso fleet, by their sides. They were provided, also, with bags forcontaining the golden sands. When they arrived at the ant hills, theywould dismount, and, gathering up the gold which the ants haddiscarded, would fill their bags with the utmost possible dispatch, and then mount their camels and ride away. The ants, in the mean time, would take the alarm, and begin to assemble to attack them; but astheir instinct prompted them to wait until considerable numbers werecollected before they commenced their attack, the Indians had time tofill their bags and begin their flight before their enemies wereready. Then commenced the chase, the camels running at their fullspeed, and the swarms of ants following, and gradually drawing nearerand nearer. At length, when nearly overtaken, the Indians wouldabandon the camels that they were leading, and fly on, more swiftly, upon those which they rode. While the ants were busy in devouring thevictims thus given up to them, the authors of all the mischief wouldmake good their escape, and thus carry off their gold to a place ofsafety. These famous ants were bigger than foxes!

[Illustration: THE INDIAN GOLD HUNTER. ]

CHAPTER VI. 

THE RECONNOITERING OF GREECE. 

B. C. 519

The reconnoitering party. --The physician Democedes. --Story ofDemocedes. --His boyhood. --Democedes at Ęgina. --At Athens. --At the courtof Polycrates. --Democedes a captive. --He is sent to Darius. --Democedesis cast into prison. --His wretched condition. --Darius sprains hisankle. --The Egyptian physicians baffled. --Sufferings of Darius. --Hesends for Democedes. --Democedes's denial. --He treats the sprainsuccessfully. --Darius's recovery. --The golden fetters. --Democedesreleased. --Honors conferred on him. --Atossa cured by Democedes. --Hisconditions. --Atossa with Darius. --She suggests the invasion ofGreece. --The exploring party. --Democedes appointed guide. --Designs ofDemocedes. --Darius baffled. --The expedition sets out. --City ofSidon. --The sea voyage. --The Grecian coasts examined. --Arrival atTarentum. --Suspicions of the authorities. --The Persians seized. --Escapeof Democedes. --Release of the Persians. --Tumult at Crotona. --Conductof Democedes. --The expedition returns. --Misfortunes. --Cillus. --Arrivalat Susa. --Reception by Darius. 

The great event in the history of Darius--the one, in fact, on accountof which it was, mainly, that his name and his career have been sowidely celebrated among mankind, was an attempt which he made, on avery magnificent scale, for the invasion and conquest of Greece. Before commencing active operations in this grand undertaking, he senta reconnoitering party to examine and explore the ground. Thisreconnoitering party met with a variety of extraordinary adventures inthe course of its progress, and the history of it will accordinglyform the subject of this chapter. 

The guide to this celebrated reconnoitering party was a certain Greekphysician named Democedes. Though Democedes was called a Greek, hewas, really, an Italian by birth. His native town was Crotona, whichmay be found exactly at the ball of the foot on the map of Italy. Itwas by a very singular series of adventures that he passed from thisremote village in the west, over thousands of miles by land and sea, to Susa, Darius's capital. He began by running away from his fatherwhile he was still a boy. He said that he was driven to this step bythe intolerable strictness and cruelty of his father's government. This, however, is always the pretext of turbulent and ungovernableyoung men, who abandon their parents and their homes when the favorsand the protection necessary during their long and helpless infancyhave been all received, and the time is beginning to arrive for makingsome return. 

Democedes was ingenious and cunning, and fond of roving adventure. Inrunning away from home, he embarked on board a ship, as suchcharacters generally do at the present day, and went to sea. Aftermeeting with various adventures, he established himself in the islandof Ęgina, in the Ęgean sea, where he began to practice as a physician, though he had had no regular education in that art. In his practice heevinced so much medical skill, or, at least, exercised so muchadroitness in leading people to believe that he possessed it, as togive him very soon a wide and exalted reputation. The people of Ęginaappointed him their physician, and assigned him a large salary forhis services in attending upon the sick throughout the island. Thiswas the usual practice in those days. A town, or an island, or anycircumscribed district of country, would appoint a physician as apublic officer, who was to devote his attention, at a fixed annualsalary, to any cases of sickness which might arise in the community, wherever his services were needed, precisely as physicians serve inhospitals and public institutions in modern times. 

Democedes remained at Ęgina two years, during which time his celebrityincreased and extended more and more, until, at length, he received anappointment from the city of Athens, with the offer of a greatlyincreased salary. He accepted the appointment, and remained in Athensone year, when he received still more advantageous offers fromPolycrates, the king of Samos, whose history was given so fully in thelast chapter. 

Democedes remained for some time in the court of Polycrates, where hewas raised to the highest distinction, and loaded with many honors. Hewas a member of the household of the king, enjoyed his confidence in ahigh degree, and attended him, personally, on all his expeditions. Atlast, when Polycrates went to Sardis, as is related in the lastchapter, to receive the treasures of Oretes, and concert with him theplans for their proposed campaigns, Democedes accompanied him asusual; and when Polycrates was slain, and his attendants and followerswere made captive by Oretes, the unfortunate physician was among thenumber. By this reverse, he found that he had suddenly fallen fromaffluence, ease, and honor, to the condition of a neglected andwretched captive in the hands of a malignant and merciless tyrant. 

Democedes pined in this confinement for a long time; when, at length, Oretes himself was killed by the order of Darius, it might have beenexpected that the hour of his deliverance had arrived. But it was notso; his condition was, in fact, made worse, and not better by it; forBagęus, the commissioner of Darius, instead of inquiring into thecircumstances relating to the various members of Oretes's family, andredressing the wrongs which any of them might be suffering, simplyseized the whole company, and brought them all to Darius in Susa, astrophies of his triumph, and tokens of the faithfulness and efficiencywith which he had executed the work that Darius had committed to hischarge. Thus Democedes was borne away, in hopeless bondage, thousandsof miles farther from his native land than before, and with verylittle prospect of being ever able to return. He arrived at Susa, destitute, squalid, and miserable. His language was foreign, his rankand his professional skill unknown, and all the marks which mightindicate the refinement and delicacy of the modes of life to which hehad been accustomed were wholly disguised by his present destitutionand wretchedness. He was sent with the other captives to the prisons, where he was secured, like them, with fetters and chains, and was soonalmost entirely forgotten. 

He might have taken some measures for making his character, and hispast celebrity and fame as a physician known; but he did not dare todo this, for fear that Darius might learn to value his medical skill, and so detain him as a slave for the sake of his services. He thoughtthat the chance was greater that some turn of fortune, or someaccidental change in the arrangements of government might take place, by which he might be set at liberty, as an insignificant and worthlesscaptive, whom there was no particular motive for detaining, than ifhe were transferred to the king's household as a slave, and his valueas an artisan--for medical practice was, in those days, simply anart--were once known. He made no effort, therefore, to bring his truecharacter to light, but pined silently in his dungeon, in rags andwretchedness, and in a mental despondency which was gradually sinkinginto despair. 

About this time, it happened that Darius was one day riding furiouslyin a chase, and coming upon some sudden danger, he attempted to leapfrom his horse. He fell and sprained his ankle. He was taken up by theattendants, and carried home. His physicians were immediately calledto attend to the case. They were Egyptians. Egypt was, in fact, considered the great seat and centre of learning and of the arts inthose days, and no royal household was complete without Egyptianphysicians. 

The learning and skill, however, of the Egyptians in Darius's courtwere entirely baffled by the sprain. They thought that the joint wasdislocated, and they turned and twisted the foot with so muchviolence, in their attempts to restore the bones to their properposition, as greatly to increase the pain and the inflammation. Darius spent a week in extreme and excruciating suffering. He couldnot sleep day nor night, but tossed in continual restlessness andanguish on his couch, made constantly worse instead of better by everyeffort of his physicians to relieve him. 

At length somebody informed him that there was a Greek physician amongthe captives that came from Sardis, and recommended that Darius shouldsend for him. The king, in his impatience and pain, was ready for anyexperiment which promised the least hope of relief, and he orderedthat Democedes should be immediately summoned. The officersaccordingly went to the prison and brought out the astonished captive, without any notice or preparation, and conducted him, just as he was, ragged and wretched, and shackled with iron fetters upon his feet, into the presence of the king. The fetters which such captives worewere intended to allow them to walk, slowly and with difficulty, whilethey impeded the movements of the feet so as effectually to preventany long or rapid flight, or any escape at all from free pursuers. 

Democedes, when questioned by Darius, denied at first that hepossessed any medical knowledge or skill. Darius was, however, notdeceived by these protestations. It was very customary, in those daysof royal tyranny, for those who possessed any thing valuable toconceal the possession of it: concealment was often their onlyprotection. Darius, who was well aware of this tendency, did notbelieve the assurances of Democedes, and in the irritation andimpatience caused by his pain, he ordered the captive to be taken outand put to the torture, in order to make him confess that he wasreally a physician. 

Democedes yielded without waiting to be actually put to the test. Heacknowledged at once, for fear of the torture, that he had had someexperience in medical practice, and the sprained ankle was immediatelycommitted to his charge. On examining the case, he thought that theharsh and violent operations which the Egyptian physicians hadattempted were not required. He treated the inflamed and swollen jointin the gentlest manner. He made fomenting and emollient applications, which soothed the pain, subdued the inflammation, and allayed therestlessness and the fever. The royal sufferer became quiet and calm, and in a short time fell asleep. 

In a word, the king rapidly recovered; and, overwhelmed with gratitudetoward the benefactor whose skill had saved him from such suffering, he ordered that, in place of his single pair of iron fetters, heshould have two pairs of fetters of gold!

It might at first be imagined that such a strange token of regard asthis could be intended only as a jest and an insult; but there is nodoubt that Darius meant it seriously as a compliment and an honor. Hesupposed that Democedes, of course, considered his condition ofcaptivity as a fixed and permanent one; and that his fetters were not, in themselves, an injustice or disgrace, but the necessary andunavoidable concomitant of his lot, so that the sending of goldenfetters to a slave was very naturally, in his view, like presenting agolden crutch to a cripple. Democedes received the equivocal donationwith great good nature. He even ventured upon a joke on the subject tothe convalescent king. "It seems, sire, " said he "that in return formy saving your limb and your life, you double my servitude. You havegiven me two chains instead of one. "

The king, who was now in a much better humor to be pleased than when, writhing in anguish, he had ordered Democedes to be put to thetorture, laughed at this reply, and released the captive from thebonds entirely. He ordered him to be conducted by the attendants tothe apartments of the palace, where the wives of Darius and the otherladies of the court resided, that they might see him and express theirgratitude. "This is the physician, " said the eunuchs, who introducedhim, "that cured the king. " The ladies welcomed him with the utmostcordiality, and loaded him with presents of gold and silver as hepassed through their apartments. The king made arrangements, too, immediately, for providing him with a magnificent house in Susa, andestablished him there in great luxury and splendor, with costlyfurniture and many attendants, and all other marks of distinction andhonor. In a word, Democedes found himself, by means of anotherunexpected change of fortune, suddenly elevated to a height as loftyas his misery and degradation had been low. He was, however, a captivestill. 

The Queen Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus, who has already beenmentioned as the wife of Cambyses and of Smerdis the magian, was oneof the wives of Darius. Her sister Antystone was another. A third wasPhędyma, the daughter of Otanes, the lady who had been soinstrumental, in connection with Atossa, in the discovery of themagian imposture. It happened that, some time after the curing ofDarius's sprain, Atossa herself was sick. Her malady was of such anature, that for some time she kept it concealed, from a feeling ofdelicacy. [E] At length, terrified by the danger which threatened her, she sent for Democedes, and made her case known to him. He said thathe could cure her, but she must first promise to grant him, if he didso, a certain favor which he should ask. She must promise beforehandto grant it, whatever it might be. It was nothing, he said, thatshould in any way compromise her honor. 

[Footnote E: It was a tumor of the breast, which became, at length, anopen ulcer, and began to spread and enlarge in a very formidablemanner. ]

Atossa agreed to these conditions, and Democedes undertook her case. Her malady was soon cured; and when she asked him what was the favorwhich he wished to demand, he replied, "Persuade Darius to form a plan for the invasion of Greece, and tosend me, with a small company of attendants, to explore the country, and obtain for him all the necessary preliminary information. In thisway I shall see my native land once more. "

Atossa was faithful in her promise. She availed herself of the firstfavorable opportunity, when it became her turn to visit the king, todirect his mind, by a dexterous conversation, toward the subject ofthe enlargement of his empire. He had vast forces and resources, shesaid, at his command, and might easily enter upon a career of conquestwhich would attract the admiration of the world. Darius replied thathe had been entertaining some views of that nature. He had thought, hesaid, of attacking the Scythians: these Scythians were a group ofsemi-savage nations on the north of his dominions. Atossa representedto him that subduing the Scythians would be too easy a conquest, andthat it would be a far nobler enterprise, and more worthy of histalents and his vast resources, to undertake an expedition intoEurope, and attempt the conquest of Greece. "You have all the means atyour command essential for the success of such an undertaking, and youhave in your court a man who can give you, or can obtain for you, allthe necessary information in respect to the country, to enable you toform the plan of your campaigns. "

The ambition of Darius was fired by these suggestions. He beganimmediately to form projects and schemes. In a day or two he organizeda small party of Persian officers of distinction, in whom he had greatconfidence, to go on an exploring tour into Greece. They were providedwith a suitable company of attendants, and with every thing necessaryfor their journey, and Democedes was directed to prepare to go withthem as their guide. They were to travel simply as a party of Persiannoblemen, on an excursion of curiosity and pleasure, concealing theirtrue design; and as Democedes their guide, though born in Italy, wasin all important points a Greek, and was well acquainted with thecountries through which they were to pass, they supposed that theycould travel every where without suspicion. Darius charged thePersians to keep a diligent watch over Democedes, and not to allowhim, on any account to leave them, but to bring him back to Susasafely with them on their return. 

As for Democedes, he had no intention whatever of returning to Persia, though he kept his designs of making his escape entirely concealed. Darius, with seeming generosity, said to him, while he was making hispreparations, "I recommend to you to take with you all your privatewealth and treasures, to distribute, for presents, among your friendsin Greece and Italy. I will bestow more upon you here on your return. "Democedes regarded this counsel with great suspicion. He imagined thatthe king, in giving him this permission, wished to ascertain, byobserving whether he would really take with him all his possessions, the existence of any secret determination in his mind not to come backto Susa. If this were Darius's plan, it was defeated by the sagaciousvigilance and cunning of the physician. He told the king, in reply, that he preferred to leave his effects in Persia, that they might beready for his use on his return. The king then ordered a variety ofcostly articles to be provided and given to Democedes, to be takenwith him and presented to his friends in Greece and Italy. Theyconsisted of vessels of gold and silver, pieces of Persian armor ofbeautiful workmanship, and articles of dress, expensive and splendid. These were all carefully packed, and the various other necessarypreparations were made for the long journey. 

At length the expedition set out. They traveled by land westward, across the continent, till they reached the eastern shores of theMediterranean Sea. The port at which they arrived was Sidon, the cityso often mentioned in the Scriptures as a great pagan emporium ofcommerce. The city of Sidon was in the height of its glory at thistime, being one of the most important ports of the Mediterranean forall the western part of Asia. Caravans of travelers came to it byland, bringing on the backs of camels the productions of Arabia, Persia, and all the East; and fleets of ships by sea, loaded with thecorn, and wine, and oil of the Western nations. 

At Sidon the land journey of the expedition was ended. Here theybought two large and splendid ships, galleys of three banks of oars, to convey them to Greece. These galleys were for their own personalaccommodation. There was a third vessel, called a transport, for theconveyance of their baggage, which consisted mainly of the packages ofrich and costly presents which Darius had prepared. Some of thesepresents were for the friends of Democedes, as has been alreadyexplained, and others had been provided as gifts and offerings fromthe king himself to such distinguished personages as the travelersmight visit on their route. When the vessels were ready, and thecostly cargo was on board, the company of travelers embarked, and thelittle fleet put to sea. 

The Grecian territories are endlessly divided and indented by theseas, whose irregular and winding shores form promontories, peninsulas, and islands without number, which are accessible in everypart by water. The Persian explorers cruised about among these coastsunder Democedes's guidance, examining every thing, and notingcarefully all the information which they could obtain, either bypersonal observation or by inquiring of others, which might be ofservice to Darius in his intended invasion. Democedes allowed them totake their own time, directing their course, however, steadily, thoughslowly, toward his own native town of Crotona. The expedition landedin various places, and were every where well received. It was not forthe interest of Democedes that they should yet be intercepted. Infact, the name and power of Darius were very much feared, or, atleast, very highly respected in all the Grecian territory, and thepeople were little inclined to molest a peaceful party of Persianstraveling like ordinary tourists, and under the guidance, too, of adistinguished countryman of their own, whose name was, in some degree, a guarantee for the honesty and innocence of their intentions. Atlength, however, after spending some time in the Grecian seas, thelittle squadron moved still farther west, toward the coast of Italy, and arrived finally at Tarentum. Tarentum was the great port on theGrecian side of Italy. It was at the head of the spacious bay whichsets up between the heel and the ball of the foot of the boot-shapedpeninsula. Crotona, Democedes's native town, to which he was nowdesirous to return, was southwest of Tarentum, about two hundred milesalong the shore. [F]

[Footnote F: For the situation of these places, see the map at thecommencement of chapter xi. ]

It was a very curious and extraordinary circumstance that, though theexpedition had been thus far allowed to go and come as its leaderspleased, without any hinderance or suspicion, yet now, the moment thatthey touched a point from which Democedes could easily reach his home, the authorities on shore, in some way or other, obtained someintimation of the true character of their enterprise. The Prince ofTarentum seized the ships. He made the Persians themselves prisonersalso, and shut them up; and, in order effectually to confine theships, he took away the helms from them, so that they could not besteered, and were thus entirely disabled. The expedition being thus, for the time at least, broken up, Democedes said, coolly, that hewould take the opportunity to make a little excursion along the coast, and visit his friends at Crotona!

It was another equally suspicious circumstance in respect to theprobability that this seizure was the result of Democedes'smanagement, that, as soon as he was safely away, the Prince ofTarentum set his prisoners at liberty, releasing, at the same time, the ships from the seizure, and sending the helms on board. ThePersians were indignant at the treatment which they had received, andset sail immediately along the coast toward Crotona in pursuit ofDemocedes. They found him in the market-place in Crotona, haranguingthe people, and exciting, by his appearance and his discourse, a greatand general curiosity. They attempted to seize him as a fugitive, andcalled upon the people of Crotona to aid them, threatening them withthe vengeance of Darius if they refused. A part of the people weredisposed to comply with this demand, while others rallied to defendtheir townsman. A great tumult ensued; but, in the end, the party ofDemocedes was victorious. He was not only thus personally rescued, but, as he informed the people that the transport vessel whichaccompanied the expedition contained property that belonged to him, they seized that too, and gave it up to Democedes, saying to thePersians that, though they must give up the transport, the galleysremained at their service to convey them back to their own countrywhenever they wished to go. 

The Persians had now no other alternative but to return home. Theyhad, it is true, pretty nearly accomplished the object of theirundertaking; but, if any thing remained to be done, they could not nowattempt it with any advantage, as they had lost their guide, and agreat portion of the effects which had been provided by Darius toenable them to propitiate the favor of the princes and potentates intowhose power they might fall. They accordingly began to makepreparations for sailing back again to Sidon, while Democedesestablished himself in great magnificence and splendor in Crotona. When, at length, the Persians were ready to sail, Democedes wishedthem a very pleasant voyage, and desired them to give his bestrespects to Darius, and inform him that he could not return at presentto Persia, as he was making arrangements to be married!

The disasters which had befallen these Persian reconnoiterers thus farwere only the beginning of their troubles. Their ships were driven bycontrary winds out of their course, and they were thrown at last uponthe coast of Iapygia, a country occupying the heel of Italy. Here theywere seized by the inhabitants and made slaves. It happened that therewas living in this wild country at that time a man of wealth and ofcultivation, who had been exiled from Tarentum on account of somepolitical offenses. His name was Cillus. He heard the story of theseunhappy foreigners, and interested himself in their fate. He thoughtthat, by rescuing them from their captivity and sending them home, heshould make Darius his friend, and secure, perhaps, his aid ineffecting his own restoration to his native land. He accordingly paidthe ransom which was demanded for the captives, and set them free. Hethen aided them in making arrangements for their return to Persia, andthe unfortunate messengers found their way back at last to the courtof Darius, without their guide, without any of the splendidappointments with which they had gone forth, but stripped of everything, and glad to escape with their lives. 

They had some cause to fear, too, the anger of Darius, for theinsensate wrath of a tyrant is awakened as often by calamity as bycrime. Darius, however, was in this instance graciously disposed. Hereceived the unfortunate commissioners in a favorable manner. He tookimmediate measures for rewarding Cillus for having ransomed them. Hetreasured up, too, the information which they had obtained respectingGreece, though he was prevented by circumstances, which we willproceed to describe, from immediately putting into execution his plansof invasion and conquest there. 

CHAPTER VII. 

THE REVOLT OF BABYLON. 

B. C. 516-514

City of Babylon. --The captive Jews. --Wickedness of theBabylonians. --Causes of discontent. --Preparations of the Babyloniansfor revolt. --Their secrecy. --Time chosen for revolt. --Story ofSyloson. --Syloson's red cloak. --He gives it to Darius. --Syloson goesto Susa. --Interview with Darius. --Request of Syloson. --Darius grantsit. --Citadel of Samos. --Measures of Męandrius. --Hypocrisyof Męandrius. --His brother Charilaus. --Reproaches ofCharilaus. --Character of Męandrius. --Attack of Charilaus. --Slaughterof the Samians. --Revolt of Babylon. --Insults and jeers of theBabylonians. --Ancient mode of warfare. --Modern warfare. --Taunt of theBabylonians. --Fabricating prodigies. --The mule of Zopyrus. --Interviewwith Darius. --Desperate plan of Zopyrus. --He mutilateshimself. --Darius's astonishment. --Final arrangements. --Zopyrusleaves the Persian camp. --Success of Zopyrus's stratagem. --Hispiteous story. --The three victories. --Zopyrus intrusted with powerin Babylon. --Zopyrus admits the Persians. --Fall of Babylon. 

The city of Babylon, originally the capital of the Assyrian empire, was conquered by Cyrus, the founder of the Persian monarchy, when heannexed the Assyrian empire to his dominions. It was a vast and a verymagnificent and wealthy city; and Cyrus made it, for a time, one ofhis capitals. 

When Cyrus made this conquest of Babylon, he found the Jews incaptivity there. They had been made captive by Nebuchadnezzar, aprevious king of Babylon, as is related in the Scriptures. The holyprophets of Judea had predicted that after seventy years the captivesshould return, and that Babylon itself should afterward be destroyed. The first prediction was fulfilled by the victory of Cyrus. Itdevolved on Darius to execute the second of these solemn andretributive decrees of heaven. 

Although Darius was thus the instrument of divine Providence in thedestruction of Babylon, he was unintentionally and unconsciously so. In the terrible scenes connected with the siege and the storming ofthe ill-fated city, it was the impulse of his own hatred and revengethat he was directly obeying; he was not at all aware that he was, atthe same time, the messenger of the divine displeasure. The wretchedBabylonians, in the storming and destruction of their city, wereexpiating a double criminality. Their pride, their wickedness, theirwanton cruelty toward the Jews, had brought upon them the condemnationof God, while their political treason and rebellion, or, at least, what was considered treason and rebellion aroused the implacableresentment of their king. 

The Babylonians had been disposed to revolt even in the days of Cyrus. They had been accustomed to consider their city as the most noble andmagnificent capital in the world, and they were displeased that Cyrusdid not make it the seat and center of his empire. Cyrus preferredSusa; and Babylon, accordingly, though he called it one of hiscapitals, soon fell to the rank of a provincial city. The nobles andprovincial leaders that remained there began accordingly to form plansfor revolting from the Persian dominion, with a view of restoringtheir city to its ancient position and renown. 

They had a very favorable opportunity for maturing their plans, andmaking their preparations for the execution of them during the time ofthe magian usurpation; for while the false Smerdis was on the throne, being shut up and concealed in his palace at Susa, the affairs of theprovinces were neglected; and when Darius and his accomplicesdiscovered the imposture and put Smerdis to death, there wasnecessarily required, after so violent a revolution, a considerabletime before the affairs of the empire demanding attention at thecapital could be settled, so as to allow the government to turn theirthoughts at all toward the distant dependencies. The Babyloniansavailed themselves of all these opportunities to put their city in thebest condition for resisting the Persian power. They strengthenedtheir defenses, and accumulated great stores of provisions, and tookmeasures for diminishing that part of the population which would beuseless in war. These measures were all concerted and carried intoeffect in the most covert and secret manner; and the tidings came atlast to Susa that Babylon had openly revolted, before the governmentof Darius was aware even of the existence of any disaffection. 

The time which the Babylonians chose for their rebellion at last wasone when the movable forces which Darius had at command were at thewest, engaged in a campaign on the shores of Asia Minor. Darius hadsent them there for the purpose of restoring a certain exile andwanderer named Syloson to Samos, and making him the monarch of it. Darius had been induced thus to interpose in Syloson's behalf by thefollowing very extraordinary circumstances. 

Syloson was the brother of Polycrates, whose unhappy history hasalready been given. He was exiled from Samos some time before Dariusascended the throne, and he became, consequently, a sort of soldier offortune, serving, like other such adventurers, wherever there was thegreatest prospect of glory and pay. In this capacity he followed thearmy of Cambyses into Egypt in the memorable campaign described in thefirst chapter of this volume. It happened, also, that Darius himself, who was then a young noble in the Persian court, and yet of noparticular distinction, as there was then no reason to imagine that hewould ever be elevated to the throne, was also in Cambyses's army, andthe two young men became acquainted with one another there. 

While the army was at Memphis, an incident occurred in which these twopersonages were actors, which, though it seemed unimportant at thetime, led, in the end, to vast and momentous results. The incident wasthis:

Syloson had a very handsome red cloak, which, as he appeared in it oneday, walking in the great square at Memphis, strongly attracted theadmiration of Darius. Darius asked Syloson if he would sell him thecloak. Syloson said that he would not sell it, but would give it tohim. He thought, probably, that Darius would decline receiving it as apresent. If he did entertain that idea, it seems he was mistaken. Darius praised him for his generosity, and accepted the gift. 

Syloson was then sorry that he had made so inconsiderate an offer, andregretted very much the loss of his cloak. In process of time, thecampaign of Cambyses in Egypt was ended, and Darius returned toPersia, leaving Syloson in the west. At length the conspiracy wasformed for dethroning Smerdis the magian, as has already beendescribed, and Darius was designated to reign in his stead. As thenews of the young noble's elevation spread into the western world, itreached Syloson. He was much pleased at receiving the intelligence, and he saw immediately that there was a prospect of his being able toderive some advantage, himself, from the accession of his oldfellow-soldier to the throne. 

He immediately proceeded to Susa. He applied at the gates of thepalace for admission to the presence of the king. The porter asked himwho he was. He replied that he was a Greek who had formerly doneDarius a service, and he wished to see him. The porter carried themessage to the king. The king could not imagine who the strangershould be. He endeavored in vain to recall to mind any instance inwhich he had received a favor from a Greek. At length he ordered theattendant to call the visitor in. 

Syloson was accordingly conducted into the king's presence. Dariuslooked upon him, but did not know him. He directed the interpreters toinquire what the service was which he had rendered the king, and whenhe had rendered it. The Greek replied by relating the circumstance ofthe cloak. Darius recollected the cloak, though he had forgotten thegiver. "Are you, indeed, " said he, "the man who made me that present?I thought then that you were very generous to me, and you shall seethat I do not undervalue the obligation now. I am at length, fortunately, in a situation to requite the favor, and I will give yousuch an abundance of gold and silver as shall effectually prevent yourbeing sorry for having shown a kindness to Darius Hystaspes. "

Syloson thanked the king in reply, but said that he did not wish forgold and silver. Darius asked him what reward he did desire. Hereplied that he wished Samos to be restored to him: "Samos, " said he, "was the possession of my brother. When he went away from the island, he left it temporarily in the hands of Męandrius, an officer of hishousehold. It still remains in the possession of this family, while I, the rightful heir, am a homeless wanderer and exile, excluded from mybrother's dominions by one of his slaves. "

Darius immediately determined to accede to Syloson's request. Heraised an army and put it under the command of Otanes, who, it will berecollected, was one of the seven conspirators that combined todethrone Smerdis the magian. He directed Otanes to accompany Sylosonto Samos, and to put him in possession of the island. Syloson wasparticularly earnest in his request that no unnecessary violenceshould be used, and no blood shed, or vindictive measures of any kindadopted. Darius promised to comply with these desires, and gave hisorders to Otanes accordingly. 

Notwithstanding this, however, the expedition resulted in the almosttotal destruction of the Samian population, in the following manner. There was a citadel at Samos, to which the inhabitants retired whenthey learned that Otanes had embarked his troops in ships on thecoast, and was advancing toward the island. Męandrius was vexed andangry at the prospect of being deprived of his possessions and hispower; and, as the people hated him on account of his extortion andtyranny, he hated them in return, and cared not how much suffering hismeasures might be the means of bringing upon them. He had asubterranean and secret passage from the citadel to the shore of thesea, where, in a secluded cove, were boats or vessels ready to takehim away. Having made these arrangements to secure his own safety, heproceeded to take such a course and adopt such measures as should tendmost effectually to exasperate and offend the Persians, intending toescape, himself, at the last moment, by this subterranean retreat, and to leave the inhabitants of the island at the mercy of theirinfuriated enemies. 

He had a brother whom he had shut up in a dungeon, and whose mind, naturally depraved, and irritated by his injuries, was in a state ofmalignant and furious despair. Męandrius had pretended to be willingto give up the island to the Persians. He had entered intonegotiations with them for this purpose, and the Persians consideredthe treaty as in fact concluded. The leaders and officers of the armyhad assembled, accordingly, before the citadel in a peaceful attitude, waiting merely for the completion of the forms of surrender, whenCharilaus, Męandrius's captive brother, saw them, by looking outbetween the bars of his window, in the tower in which he was confined. He sent an urgent message to Męandrius, requesting to speak to him. Męandrius ordered the prisoner to be brought before him. The haggardand wretched-looking captive, rendered half insane by the combinedinfluence of the confinement he had endured, and of the wildexcitement produced by the universal panic and confusion which reignedaround him, broke forth against his brother in the boldest and mostviolent invectives. He reproached him in the most bitter terms forbeing willing to yield so ingloriously, and without a struggle, to aninvading foe, whom he might easily repel. "You have courage and energyenough, it seems, " said he, "to make war upon an innocent anddefenseless brother, and to keep him for years in chains and in adungeon, but when an actual enemy appears, though he comes to despoilyou of all your possessions, and to send you into hopeless exile, andthough, if you had the ordinary courage and spirit of a man, you couldeasily drive him away, yet you dare not face him. If you are toocowardly and mean to do your duty yourself, give me your soldiers, andI will do it for you. I will drive these Persians back into the seawith as much pleasure as it would give me to drive you there!"

Such a nature as that of Męandrius can not be stung into a propersense of duty by reproaches like these. There seem to have been in hisheart no moral sensibilities of any kind, and there could be, ofcourse, no compunctions for the past, and no awakening of new andbetter desires for the future. All the effect which was produced uponhis mind by these bitter denunciations was to convince him that tocomply with his brother's request would be to do the best thing now inhis power for widening, and extending, and making sure the misery andmischief which were impending. He placed his troops, therefore, underhis brother's orders; and while the infuriated madman sallied forth atthe head of them to attack the astonished Persians on one side of thecitadel, Męandrius made his escape through the under-ground passage onthe other. The Persians were so exasperated at what appeared to themthe basest treachery, that, as soon as they could recover their armsand get once more into battle array, they commenced a universalslaughter of the Samians. They spared neither age, sex, nor condition;and when, at last, their vengeance was satisfied, and they put theisland into Syloson's hands, and withdrew, he found himself inpossession of an almost absolute solitude. 

[Illustration: THE BABYLONIANS DERIDING DARIUS. ]

It was while Otanes was absent on this enterprise, having with him alarge part of the disposable forces of the king, that the Babyloniansrevolted. Darius was greatly incensed at hearing the tidings. Sovereigns are always greatly incensed at a revolt on the part oftheir subjects. The circumstances of the case, whatever they may be, always seem to them to constitute a peculiar aggravation of theoffense. Darius was indignant that the Babylonians had attempted totake advantage of his weakness by rebelling when his armies wereaway. If they had risen when his armies were around him, he wouldhave been equally indignant with them for having dared to brave hispower. 

He assembled all the forces at his disposal, and advanced to Babylon. The people of the city shut their gates against him, and derided him. They danced and capered on the walls, making all sorts of gesturesexpressive of contempt and defiance, accompanied with shouts andoutcries of ridicule and scorn. They had great confidence in thestrength of their defenses, and then, besides this, they probablyregarded Darius as a sort of usurper, who had no legitimate title tothe throne, and who would never be able to subdue any seriousresistance which might be offered to the establishment of his power. It was from these considerations that they were emboldened to beguilty of the folly of taunting and insulting their foes from the citywalls. 

Such incidents as this, of personal communications between masses ofenemies on the eve of a battle, were very common in ancient warfare, though impossible in modern times. In those days, when the missilesemployed were thrown chiefly by the strength of the human arm alone, the combatants could safely draw near enough together for each side tohear the voices and to see the gesticulations of the other. Besiegerscould advance sufficiently close to a castle or citadel to parleyinsultingly with the garrison upon the walls, and yet be safe from theshowers of darts and arrows which were projected toward them inreturn. But all this is now changed. The reach of cannon, and even ofmusketry, is so long, that combatants, approaching a conflict, arekept at a very respectful distance apart, until the time arrives inwhich the actual engagement is to begin. They reconnoiter each otherwith spy-glasses from watch-towers on the walls, or from eminences inthe field, but they can hold no communication except by a formalembassy, protected by a flag of truce, which, with its white anddistant fluttering, as it slowly advances over the green fields, warnsthe gunners at the battery or on the bastion to point their artilleryanother way. 

The Babylonians, on the walls of their city, reproached and tauntedtheir foes incessantly. "Take our advice, " said they, "and go backwhere you came from. You will only lose your time in besiegingBabylon. When mules have foals, you will take the city, and not tillthen. "

The expression "when mules have foals" was equivalent in those days toour proverbial phrase, "when the sky falls, " being used to denote anything impossible or absurd, inasmuch as mules, like other hybridanimals, do not produce young. It was thought in those timesabsolutely impossible that they should do so; but it is now well knownthat the case is not impossible, though very rare. 

It seems to have added very much to the interest of an historicalnarrative in the minds of the ancient Greeks, to have some prodigyconnected with every great event; and, in order to gratify thisfeeling, the writers appear in some instances to have fabricated aprodigy for the occasion, and in others to have elevated some unusual, though by no means supernatural circumstance, to the rank andimportance of one. The prodigy connected with this siege of Babylonwas the foaling of a mule. The mule belonged to a general in the armyof Darius, named Zopyrus. It was after Darius had been prosecuting thesiege of the city for a year and a half, without any progresswhatever toward the accomplishment of his end. The army began todespair of success. Zopyrus, with the rest, was expecting that thesiege would be indefinitely prolonged, or, perhaps, absolutelyabandoned, when his attention was strongly attracted to the phenomenonwhich had happened in respect to the mule. He remembered the taunt ofthe Babylonian on the wall, and it seemed to him that the wholeoccurrence portended that the time had now arrived when some way mightbe devised for the capture of the city. 

Portents and prophecies are often the causes of their own fulfillment, and this portent led Zopyrus to endeavor to devise some means toaccomplish the end in view. He went first, however, to Darius, toconverse with him upon the subject, with a view of ascertaining howfar he was really desirous of bringing the siege to a termination. Hewished to know whether the object was of sufficient importance inDarius's mind to warrant any great sacrifice on his own part to effectit. 

He found that it was so. Darius was extremely impatient to end thesiege and to capture the city; and Zopyrus saw at once that, if hecould in any way be the means of accomplishing the work, he shouldentitle himself, in the highest possible degree, to the gratitude ofthe king. 

He determined to go himself into Babylon as a pretended deserter fromDarius, with a view to obtaining an influence and a command within thecity, which should enable him afterward to deliver it up to thebesiegers; and, in order to convince the Babylonians that hisdesertion was real, he resolved to mutilate himself in a manner sodreadful as would effectually prevent their imagining that theinjuries which he suffered were inflicted by any contrivance of hisown. He accordingly cut off his hair and his ears, and mutilated hisface in a manner too shocking to be here detailed, inflicting injurieswhich could never be repaired. He caused himself to be scourged, also, until his whole body was covered with cuts and contusions. He thenwent, wounded and bleeding as he was, into the presence of Darius, tomake known his plans. 

Darius expressed amazement and consternation at the terriblespectacle. He leaped from his throne and rushed toward Zopyrus, demanding who had dared to maltreat one of his generals in such amanner. When Zopyrus replied that he had himself done the deed, theking's astonishment was greater than before. He told Zopyrus that hewas insane. Some sudden paroxysm of madness had come over him. Zopyrusreplied that he was not insane; and he explained his design. His plan, he said, was deliberately and calmly formed, and it should be steadilyand faithfully executed. "I did not make known my design to you, " saidhe, "before I had taken the preliminary steps, for I knew that youwould prevent my taking them. It is now too late for that, and nothingremains but to reap, if possible, the advantage which may be derivedfrom what I have done. "

He then arranged with Darius the plans which he had formed, so far ashe needed the co-operation of the king in the execution of them. If hecould gain a partial command in the Babylonian army, he was to make asally from the city gates on a certain day, and attack a portion ofthe Persian army, which Darius was to leave purposely exposed, inorder that he might gain credit with the Babylonians by destroyingthem. From this he supposed that the confidence which the Babylonianswould repose in him would increase, and he might consequently receivea greater command. Thus he might, by acting in concert with Dariuswithout, gradually gain such an ascendency within the city as finallyto have power to open the gates and let the besiegers in. Darius wasto station a detachment of a thousand men near a certain gate, leavingthem imperfectly armed, on the tenth day after Zopyrus entered thecity. These Zopyrus was to destroy. Seven days afterward, two thousandmore were to be stationed in a similar manner at another point; andthese were also to be destroyed by a second sally. Twenty days afterthis, four thousand more were to be similarly exposed. Thus seventhousand innocent and defenseless men would be slaughtered, but that, as Zopyrus said, would be "of no consequence. " The lives of men wereestimated by heroes and conquerors in those days only at theirnumerical value in swelling the army roll. 

These things being all arranged, Zopyrus took leave of the King to goto Babylon. As he left the Persian camp, he began to run, lookinground behind him continually, as if in flight. Some men, too, pretended to pursue him. He fled toward one of the gates of the city. The sentinels on the walls saw him coming. When he reached the gate, the porter inside of it talked with him through a small opening, andheard his story. The porter then reported the case to the superiorofficers, and they commanded that the fugitive should be admitted. When conducted into the presence of the magistrates, he related apiteous story of the cruel treatment which he had received fromDarius, and of the difficulty which he had experienced in making hisescape from the tyrant's hands. He uttered, too, dreadful imprecationsagainst Darius, and expressed the most eager determination to berevenged. He informed the Babylonians, moreover, that he was wellacquainted with all Darius's plans and designs, and with thedisposition which he had made of his army; and that, if they would, ina few days, when his wounds should have in some measure healed, givehim a small command, he would show them, by actual trial, what hecould do to aid their cause. 

They acceded to this proposition, and furnished Zopyrus, at the end often days, with a moderate force. Zopyrus, at the head of this force, sallied forth from the gate which had been previously agreed uponbetween him and Darius, and fell upon the unfortunate thousand thathad been stationed there for the purpose of being destroyed. They werenearly defenseless, and Zopyrus, though his force was inferior, cutthem all to pieces before they could be re-enforced or protected, andthen retreated safely into the city again. He was received by theBabylonians with the utmost exultation and joy. He had no difficultyin obtaining, seven days afterward, the command of a larger force, when, sallying forth from another gate, as had been agreed upon byDarius, he gained another victory, destroying, on this occasion, twiceas many Persians as before. These exploits gained the pretendeddeserter unbounded fame and honor within the city. The populaceapplauded him with continual acclamations; and the magistrates invitedhim to their councils, offered him high command, and governed theirown plans and measures by his advice. At length, on the twentieth day, he made his third sally, at which time he destroyed and captured astill greater number than before. This gave him such an influence andposition within the city, in respect to its defense, that he had nodifficulty in getting intrusted with the keys of certain gates--those, namely, by which he had agreed that the army of Darius should beadmitted. 

When the time arrived, the Persians advanced to the attack of the cityin that quarter, and the Babylonians rallied as usual on the walls torepel them. The contest had scarcely begun before they found that thegates were open, and that the columns of the enemy were pouring in. The city was thus soon wholly at the mercy of the conqueror. Dariusdismantled the walls, carried off the brazen gates, and crucifiedthree thousand of the most distinguished inhabitants; thenestablishing over the rest a government of his own, he withdrew histroops and returned to Susa. He bestowed upon Zopyrus, at Susa, allpossible rewards and honors. The marks of his wounds and mutilationscould never be effaced, but Darius often said that he would gladlygive up twenty Babylons to be able to efface them. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

THE INVASION OF SCYTHIA. 

B. C. 513

Darius's authority fully established throughout hisdominions. --The Scythians. --Ancient account of them. --Pictures ofsavage life. --Their diversity. --Social instincts of man. --Theiruniversality. --Moral sentiments of mankind. --Religiousdepravity. --Advice of Artabanus. --Emissaries sent forward. --Thepetition of Oebazus. --Darius's wanton cruelty. --Place ofrendezvous. --The fleet of galleys. --Darius's march through AsiaMinor. --Monuments. --Arrival at the Bosporus. --The bridge ofboats. --Reward of Mandrocles. --The group of statuary. --The CyaneanIslands. --Darius makes an excursion to them. --The twomonuments. --Inscriptions on them. --The troops cross thebridge. --Movements of the fleet. --The River Tearus. --Its wonderfulsources. --The cairn. --Primitive mode of census-taking. --Instinctivefeeling of dependence on a supernatural power. --Strange religiousobservance. --Arrival at the Danube. --Orders to destroy thebridge. --Counsel of the Grecian general. --The bridge ispreserved. --Guard left to protect it. --Singular mode ofreckoning. --Probable reason for employing it. --Darius's determinationto return before the knots should be all untied. 

In the reigns of ancient monarchs and conquerors, it often happenedthat the first great transaction which called forth their energies wasthe suppression of a rebellion within their dominions, and the second, an expedition against some ferocious and half-savage nations beyondtheir frontiers. Darius followed this general example. The suppressionof the Babylonian revolt established his authority throughout thewhole interior of his empire. If that vast, and populous, and wealthycity was found unable to resist his power, no other smaller provinceor capital could hope to succeed in the attempt. The whole empire ofAsia, therefore, from the capital at Susa, out to the extreme limitsand bounds to which Cyrus had extended it, yielded without any furtheropposition to his sway. He felt strong in his position, and beingyoung and ardent in temperament, he experienced a desire to exercisehis strength. For some reason or other, he seems to have been notquite prepared yet to grapple with the Greeks, and he concluded, accordingly, first to test his powers in respect to foreign invasionby a war upon the Scythians. This was an undertaking which requiredsome courage and resolution; for it was while making an incursion intothe country of the Scythians that Cyrus, his renowned predecessor, andthe founder of the Persian empire, had fallen. 

The term Scythians seems to have been a generic designation, appliedindiscriminately to vast hordes of half-savage tribes occupying thosewild and inhospitable regions of the north, that extended along theshores of the Black and Caspian Seas, and the banks of the Danube. Theaccounts which are given by the ancient historians of the manners andcustoms of these people, are very inconsistent and contradictory; as, in fact, the accounts of the characters of savages, and of the habitsand usages of savage life, have always been in every age. It is verylittle that any one cultivated observer can really know, in respect tothe phases of character, the thoughts and feelings, the sentiments, the principles and the faith, and even the modes of life, that prevailamong uncivilized aborigines living in forests, or roaming wildly overuninclosed and trackless plains. Of those who have the opportunity toobserve them, accordingly, some extol, in the highest degree, theirrude but charming simplicity, their truth and faithfulness, thestrength of their filial and conjugal affection, and their superiorityof spirit in rising above the sordid sentiments and gross vices ofcivilization. They are not the slaves, these writers say, of appetiteand passion. They have no inordinate love of gain; they are patient inenduring suffering, grateful for kindness received, and inflexiblyfirm in their adherence to the principles of honor and duty. Others, on the other hand, see in savage life nothing but treachery, cruelty, brutality, and crime. Man in his native state, as they imagine, is buta beast, with just intelligence enough to give effect to hisdepravity. Without natural affection, without truth, without a senseof justice, or the means of making law a substitute for it, he livesin a scene of continual conflict, in which the rights of the weak andthe defenseless are always overborne by brutal and tyrannical power. 

The explanation of this diversity is doubtless this, that in savagelife, as well as in every other state of human society, all thevarieties of human conduct and character are exhibited; and theattention of each observer is attracted to the one or to the otherclass of phenomena, according to the circumstances in which he isplaced when he makes his observations, or the mood of mind whichprevails within him when he records them. There must be the usualvirtues of social life, existing in a greater or less degree, in allhuman communities; for such principles as a knowledge of thedistinction of right and wrong, the idea of property and of individualrights, the obligation resting on every one to respect them, the senseof justice, and of the ill desert of violence and cruelty, are all_universal instincts of the human soul_, as universal and as essentialto humanity as maternal or filial affection, or the principle ofconjugal love. They were established by the great Author of nature asconstituent elements in the formation of man. Man could not continueto exist, as a gregarious animal, without them. It would accordinglybe as impossible to find a community of men without these moralsentiments generally prevalent among them, as to find vultures ortigers that did not like to pursue and take their prey, or deerwithout a propensity to fly from danger. The laws and usages ofcivilized society are the expression and the result of thesesentiments, not the origin and foundation of them; and violence, cruelty, and crime are the exceptions to their operation, very few, inall communities, savage or civilized, in comparison with the vastpreponderance of cases in which they are obeyed. 

This view of the native constitution of the human character, which itis obvious, on very slight reflection, must be true, is not at allopposed, as it might at first appear to be, by the doctrine of thetheological writers in the Christian Church in respect to the nativedepravity of man; for the depravity here referred to is a religiousdepravity, an alienation of the heart from God, and a rebellious andinsubmissive spirit in respect to his law. Neither the Scriptures northe theological writers who interpret them ever call in question theuniversal existence and prevalence of those instincts that areessential to the social welfare of man. 

But we must return to the Scythians. 

The tribes which Darius proposed to attack occupied the countriesnorth of the Danube. His route, therefore, for the invasion of theirterritories would lead him through Asia Minor, thence across theHellespont or the Bosporus into Thrace, and from Thrace across theDanube. It was a distant and dangerous expedition. 

Darius had a brother named Artabanus. Artabanus was of opinion thatthe enterprise which the king was contemplating was not only distantand dangerous, but that the country of the Scythians was of so littlevalue that the end to be obtained by success would be whollyinadequate to compensate for the exertions, the costs, and the hazardswhich he must necessarily incur in the prosecution of it. But Dariuswas not to be dissuaded. He thanked his brother for his advice, butordered the preparations for the expedition to go on. 

He sent emissaries forward, in advance, over the route that his armywas destined to take, transmitting orders to the several provinceswhich were situated on the line of his march to prepare the way forthe passage of his troops. Among other preparations, they were toconstruct a bridge of boats across the Bosporus at Chalcedon. Thiswork was intrusted to the charge and superintendence of an engineer ofSamos named Mandrocles. The people of the provinces were also tofurnish bodies of troops, both infantry and cavalry, to join the armyon its march. 

The soldiers that were enlisted to go on this remote and dangerousexpedition joined the army, as is usual in such cases, some willingly, from love of adventure, or the hope of opportunities for plunder, andfor that unbridled indulgence of appetite and passion which soldiersso often look forward to as a part of their reward; others from hardcompulsion, being required to leave friends and home, and all thatthey held dear, under the terror of a stern and despotic edict whichthey dared not disobey. It was even dangerous to ask for exemption. 

As an instance of this, it is said that there was a Persian namedOebazus, who had three sons that had been drafted into the army. Oebazus, desirous of not being left wholly alone in his old age, made a request to the king that he would allow one of the sons toremain at home with his father. Darius appeared to receive thispetition favorably. He told Oebazus that the request was so verymodest and considerate that he would grant more than he asked. Hewould allow all three of his sons to remain with him. Oebazusretired from the king's presence overjoyed at the thought that hisfamily was not to be separated at all. Darius ordered his guards tokill the three young men, and to send the dead bodies home, with amessage to their father that his sons were restored to him, releasedforever from all obligation to serve the king. 

The place of general rendezvous for the various forces which were tojoin in the expedition, consisting of the army which marched withDarius from Susa, and also of the troops and ships which the maritimeprovinces of Asia Minor were to supply on the way, was on the shoresof the Bosporus, at the point where Mandrocles had constructed thebridge. [G] The people of Ionia, a region situated in Asia Minor, onthe shores of the Ęgean Sea, had been ordered to furnish a fleet ofgalleys, which they were to build and equip, and then send to thebridge. The destination of this fleet was to the Danube. It was topass up the Bosporus into the Euxine Sea, now called the Black Sea, and thence into the mouth of the river. After ascending the Danube toa certain point, the men were to land and build a bridge across thatriver, using, very probably, their galleys for this purpose. In themean time, the army was to cross the Bosporus by the bridge which hadbeen erected there by Mandrocles, and pursue their way toward theDanube by land, through the kingdom of Thrace. By this arrangement, itwas supposed that the bridge across the Danube would be ready by thetime that the main body of the army arrived on the banks of the river. The idea of thus building in Asia Minor a bridge for the Danube, inthe form of a vast fleet of galleys, to be sent round through theBlack Sea to the mouths of the river, and thence up the river to itsplace of destination, was original and grand. It strikingly marks themilitary genius and skill which gave the Greeks so extended a fame, for it was by the Greeks that the exploit was to be performed. 

[Footnote G: For the track of Darius on this expedition, see the mapat the commencement of this volume. ]

Darius marched magnificently through Asia Minor, on his way to theBosporus, at the head of an army of seventy thousand men. He movedslowly, and the engineers and architects that accompanied him builtcolumns and monuments here and there, as he advanced, to commemoratehis progress. These structures were covered with inscriptions, whichascribed to Darius, as the leader of the enterprise, the mostextravagant praise. At length the splendid array arrived at the placeof rendezvous on the Bosporus, where there was soon presented to viewa very grand and imposing scene. 

The bridge of boats was completed, and the Ionian fleet, consisting ofsix hundred galleys, was at anchor near it in the stream. Long linesof tents were pitched upon the shore, and thousands of horsemen and offoot soldiers were drawn up in array, their banners flying, and theirarmor glittering in the sun, and all eager to see and to welcome theillustrious sovereign who had come, with so much pomp and splendor, totake them under his command. The banks of the Bosporus werepicturesque and high, and all the eminences were crowded withspectators, to witness the imposing magnificence of the spectacle. 

Darius encamped his army on the shore, and began to make thepreparations necessary for the final departure of the expedition. Hehad been thus far within his own dominions. He was now, however, topass into another quarter of the globe, to plunge into new and unknowndangers, among hostile, savage, and ferocious tribes. It was rightthat he should pause until he had considered well his plans, andsecured attention to every point which could influence success. 

He first examined the bridge of boats. He was very much pleased withthe construction of it. He commended Mandrocles for his skill andfidelity in the highest terms, and loaded him with rewards and honors. Mandrocles used the money which Darius thus gave him in employing anartist to form a piece of statuary which should at once commemoratethe building of the bridge and give to Darius the glory of it. Thegroup represented the Bosporus with the bridge thrown over it, and theking on his throne reviewing his troops as they passed over thestructure. This statuary was placed, when finished, in a temple inGreece, where it was universally admired. Darius was very much pleasedboth with the idea of this sculpture on the part of Mandrocles, andwith the execution of it by the artist. He gave the bridge builder newrewards; he recompensed the artist, also, with similar munificence. Hewas pleased that they had contrived so happy a way of at the same timecommemorating the bridging of the Bosporus and rendering exalted honorto him. 

The bridge was situated about the middle of the Bosporus; and as thestrait itself is about eighteen miles long, it was nine miles from thebridge to the Euxine Sea. There is a small group of islands near themouth of this strait, where it opens into the sea, which were calledin those days the Cyanean Islands. They were famed in the time ofDarius for having once been floating islands, and enchanted. Theirsupernatural properties had disappeared, but there was one attractionwhich still pertained to them. They were situated beyond the limits ofthe strait, and the visitor who landed upon them could take hisstation on some picturesque cliff or smiling hill, and extend his viewfar and wide over the blue waters of the Euxine Sea. 

Darius determined to make an excursion to these islands while thefleet and the army were completing their preparations at the bridge. He embarked, accordingly, on board a splendid galley, and, sailingalong the Bosporus till he reached the sea, he landed on one of theislands. There was a temple there, consecrated to one of the Greciandeities. Darius, accompanied by his attendants and followers, ascendedto this temple, and, taking a seat which had been provided for himthere, he surveyed the broad expanse of water which extended like anocean before him, and contemplated the grandeur of the scene with thegreatest admiration and delight. 

At length he returned to the bridge, where he found the preparationsfor the movement of the fleet and of the army nearly completed. Hedetermined, before leaving the Asiatic shores, to erect a monument tocommemorate his expedition, on the spot from which he was to take hisfinal departure. He accordingly directed two columns of white marbleto be reared, and inscriptions to be cut upon them, giving suchparticulars in respect to the expedition as it was desirable thus topreserve. These inscriptions contained his own name in veryconspicuous characters as the leader of the enterprise; also anenumeration of the various nations that had contributed to form hisarmy, with the numbers which each had furnished. There was a record ofcorresponding particulars, too, in respect to the fleet. Theinscriptions were the same upon the two columns, except that upon theone it was written in the Assyrian tongue, which was the generallanguage of the Persian empire, and upon the other in the Greek. Thusthe two monuments were intended, the one for the Asiatic, and theother for the European world. 

At length the day of departure arrived. The fleet set sail, and theimmense train of the army put itself in motion to cross thebridge. [H] The fleet went on through the Bosporus to the Euxine, andthence along the western coast of that sea till it reached the mouthsof the Danube. The ships entered the river by one of the brancheswhich form the delta of the stream, and ascended for two days. Thiscarried them above the ramifications into which the river dividesitself at its mouth, to a spot where the current was confined to asingle channel, and where the banks were firm. Here they landed, andwhile one part of the force which they had brought were occupied inorganizing guards and providing defenses to protect the ground, theremainder commenced the work of arranging the vessels of the fleet, side by side, across the stream, to form the bridge. 

[Footnote H: See Frontispiece. ]

In the mean time, Darius, leading the great body of the army, advancedfrom the Bosporus by land. The country which the troops thus traversedwas Thrace. They met with various adventures as they proceeded, andsaw, as the accounts of the expedition state, many strange andmarvelous phenomena. They came, for example, to the sources of a verywonderful river, which flows west and south toward the Ęgean Sea. Thename of the river was the Tearus. It came from thirty-eight springs, all issuing from the same rock, some hot and some cold. The waters ofthe stream which was produced by the mingling of these fountains werepure, limpid, and delicious, and were possessed of remarkablemedicinal properties, being efficacious for the cure of variousdiseases. Darius was so much pleased with this river, that his armyhalted to refresh themselves with its waters, and he caused one of hismonuments to be erected on the spot, the inscription of whichcontained not only the usual memorials of the march, but also atribute to the salubrity of the waters of this magical stream. 

At one point in the course of the march through Thrace, Dariusconceived the idea of varying the construction of his line ofmonuments by building a cairn. A cairn is a heap of stones, such as isreared in the mountains of Scotland and of Switzerland by thevoluntary additions of every passer by, to commemorate a spot markedas the scene of some accident or disaster. As each guide finishes thestory of the incident in the hearing of the party which he conducts, each tourist who has listened to it adds his stone to the heap, untilthe rude structure attains sometimes to a very considerable size. Darius, fixing upon a suitable spot near one of his encampments, commanded every soldier in the army to bring a stone and place it onthe pile. A vast mound rose rapidly from these contributions, which, when completed, not only commemorated the march of the army, butdenoted, also, by the immense number of the stones entering into thecomposition of the pile, the countless multitude of soldiers thatformed the expedition. 

There was a story told to Darius, as he was traversing these regions, of a certain king, reigning over some one of the nations that occupiedthem, who wished to make an enumeration of the inhabitants of hisrealm. The mode which he adopted was to require every man in hisdominions to send him an arrow head. When all the arrow heads were in, the vast collection was counted by the official arithmeticians, andthe total of the population was thus attained. The arrow heads werethen laid together in a sort of monumental pile. It was, perhaps, thisprimitive mode of census-taking which suggested to Darius the idea ofhis cairn. 

There was a tribe of barbarians through whose dominions Darius passedon his way from the Bosporus to the Danube, that observed a custom intheir religious worship, which, though in itself of a shockingcharacter, suggests reflections of salutary influence for our ownminds. There is a universal instinct in the human heart, leading itstrongly to feel the need of help from an unseen and supernaturalworld in its sorrows and trials; and it is almost always the case thatrude and savage nations, in their attempts to obtain this spiritualaid, connect the idea of personal privation and suffering on theirpart, self inflicted if necessary, as a means of seeking it. It seemsas if the instinctive conviction of personal guilt, which associatesitself so naturally and so strongly in the minds of men with allconceptions of the unseen world and of divine power, demands somethinglike an expiation as an essential prerequisite to obtaining audienceand acceptance with the King of Heaven. The tribe of savages abovereferred to manifested this feeling by a dreadful observance. Once inevery five years they were accustomed to choose by lot, with solemnceremonies, one of their number, to be sent as a legate or embassadorto their god. The victim, when chosen, was laid down upon the groundin the midst of the vast assembly convened to witness the rite, whileofficers designated for the purpose stood by, armed with javelins. Other men, selected for their great personal strength, then took theman from the ground by the hands and feet, and swinging him to and frothree times to gain momentum, they threw him with all their force intothe air, and the armed men, when he came down, caught him on thepoints of their javelins. If he was killed by this dreadfulimpalement, all was right. He would bear the message of the wants andnecessities of the tribe to their god, and they might reasonablyexpect a favorable reception. If, on the other hand, he did not die, he was thought to be rejected by the god as a wicked man and anunsuitable messenger. The unfortunate convalescent was, in such cases, dismissed in disgrace, and another messenger chosen. 

The army of Darius reached the banks of the Danube at last, and theyfound that the fleet of the Ionians had attained the point agreed uponbefore them, and were awaiting their arrival. The vessels were soonarranged in the form of a bridge across the stream, and as there wasno enemy at hand to embarrass them, the army soon accomplished thepassage. They were now fairly in the Scythian country, andimmediately began their preparations to advance and meet the foe. Darius gave orders to have the bridge broken up, and the galleysabandoned and destroyed, as he chose rather to take with him the wholeof his force, than to leave a guard behind sufficient to protect thisshipping. These orders were about to be executed, when a Greciangeneral, who was attached to one of the bodies of troops which werefurnished from the provinces of Asia Minor, asked leave to speak tothe king. The king granted him an audience, when he expressed hisopinion as follows:

"It seems to me to be more prudent, sire, to leave the bridge as itis, under the care of those who have constructed it, as it may be thatwe shall have occasion to use it on our return. I do not recommend thepreservation of it as a means of securing a retreat, for, in case wemeet the Scythians at all, I am confident of victory; but our enemyconsists of wandering hordes who have no fixed habitation, and theircountry is entirely without cities or posts of any kind which theywill feel any strong interest in defending, and thus it is possiblethat we may not be able to find any enemy to combat. Besides, if wesucceed in our enterprise as completely as we can desire, it will beimportant, on many accounts, to preserve an open and freecommunication with the countries behind us. "

The king approved of this counsel, and countermanded his orders forthe destruction of the bridge. He directed that the Ionian forces thathad accompanied the fleet should remain at the river to guard thebridge. They were to remain thus on guard for two months, and then, ifDarius did not return, and if they heard no tidings of him, they wereat liberty to leave their post, and to go back, with their galleys, totheir own land again. 

Two months would seem to be a very short time to await the return ofan army going on such an expedition into boundless and tracklesswilds. There can, however, scarcely be any accidental error in thestatement of the time, as the mode which Darius adopted to enable theguard thus left at the bridge to keep their reckoning was a verysingular one, and it is very particularly described. He took a cord, it is said, and tied sixty knots in it. This cord he delivered to theIonian chiefs who were to be left in charge of the bridge, directingthem to untie one of the knots every day. When the cord shouldbecome, by this process, wholly free, the detachment were also atliberty. They might thereafter, at any time, abandon the postintrusted to them, and return to their homes. 

We can not suppose that military men, capable of organizing a force ofseventy thousand troops for so distant an expedition, and possessed ofsufficient science and skill to bridge the Bosporus and the Danube, could have been under any necessity of adopting so childish a methodas this as a real reliance in regulating their operations. It must berecollected, however, that, though the commanders in these ancientdays were intelligent and strong-minded men, the common soldiers werebut children both in intellect and in ideas; and it was the custom ofall great commanders to employ outward and visible symbols toinfluence and govern them. The sense of loneliness and desertion whichsuch soldiers would naturally feel in being left in solitude on thebanks of the river, would be much diminished by seeing before them amarked and definite termination to the period of their stay, and tohave, in the cord hanging up in their camp, a visible token that theremnant of time that remained was steadily diminishing day by day;while, in the mean time, Darius was fully determined that, long beforethe knots should be all untied, he would return to the river. 

CHAPTER IX. 

THE RETREAT FROM SCYTHIA. 

B. C. 513

Motive for Darius's invasion. --The foundation of government. --Dariuswithout justification in invading Scythia. --Alarm of theScythians. --Condition of the tribes. --Men metamorphosed intowolves. --Story of the Amazons. --Adventures of the Amazons. --Two ofthem captured. --The corps of cavaliers. --Their maneuvers. --Successof the cavaliers. --Matrimonial alliances. --The Amazons rule theirhusbands. --They establish a separate tribe. --The Scythians send anembassy to the neighboring tribes. --Habits of the Scythians. --Theirmode of warfare. --Message to Indathyrsus. --His reply. --The Scythiancavalry. --Their attacks on the Persians. --Braying of the Persianasses. --Scythians sent to the bridge. --Agreement with theIonians. --The Scythians change their policy. --The Scythians' strangepresents. --Various interpretations. --Opinions of the Persianofficers. --The Scythians draw up their forces. --The armies preparefor battle. --Hunting the hare. --The Persians resolve toretreat. --Stratagem and secret flight. --Surrender of thecamp. --Difficulties of the retreat. --The bridge partiallydestroyed. --Darius arrives at the Danube. --The bridge repaired. --Thearmy returns to Asia. 

The motive which dictated Darius's invasion of Scythia seems to havebeen purely a selfish and domineering love of power. The attempts of astronger and more highly civilized state to extend its dominion over aweaker and more lawless one, are not, however, necessarily and alwaysof this character. Divine Providence, in making men gregarious innature, has given them an instinct of organization, which is asintrinsic and as essential a characteristic of the human soul asmaternal love or the principle of self-preservation. The right, therefore, of organizations of men to establish law and order amongthemselves, and to extend these principles to other communities aroundthem, so far as such interpositions are really promotive of theinterests and welfare of those affected by them, rests on preciselythe same foundation as the right of the father to govern the child. This foundation is the existence and universality of an instinctiveprinciple implanted by the Creator in the human heart; a principlewhich we are bound to submit to, both because it is a fundamental andconstituent element in the very structure of man, and because itsrecognition and the acknowledgment of its authority are absolutelyessential to his continued existence. Wherever law and order, therefore, among men do not exist, it may be properly established andenforced by any neighboring organization that has power to do it, justas wherever there is a group of children they may be justly controlledand governed by their father. It seems equally unnecessary to invent afictitious and wholly imaginary _compact_ to justify the jurisdictionin the one case as in the other. 

If the Scythians, therefore, had been in a state of confusion andanarchy, Darius might justly have extended his own well-regulated andsettled government over them, and, in so doing, would have promotedthe general good of mankind. But he had no such design. It was adesire for personal aggrandizement, and a love of fame and power, which prompted him. He offered it as a pretext to justify hisinvasion, that the Scythians, in former years, had made incursionsinto the Persian dominions; but this was only a pretext. Theexpedition was a wanton attack upon neighbors whom he supposed unableto resist him, simply for the purpose of adding to his own alreadygigantic power. 

When Darius commenced his march from the river, the Scythians hadheard rumors of his approach. They sent, as soon as they were aware ofthe impending danger, to all the nations and tribes around them, inorder to secure their alliance and aid. These people were allwandering and half-savage tribes, like the Scythians themselves, though each seems to have possessed its own special and distinctivemark of barbarity. One tribe were accustomed to carry home the headsof the enemies which they had slain in battle, and each one, impalinghis own dreadful trophy upon a stake, would set it up upon hishouse-top, over the chimney, where they imagined that it would havethe effect of a charm, and serve as a protection for the family. Another tribe lived in habits of promiscuous intercourse, like thelower orders of animals; and so, as the historian absurdly states, being, in consequence of this mode of life, all connected together bythe ties of consanguinity, they lived in perpetual peace and goodwill, without any envy, or jealousy, or other evil passion. A thirdoccupied a region so infested with serpents that they were once drivenwholly out of the country by them. It was said of these people that, once in every year, they were all metamorphosed into wolves, and, after remaining for a few days in this form, they were transformedagain into men. A fourth tribe painted their bodies blue and red, anda fifth were cannibals. 

The most remarkable, however, of all the tales related about thesenorthern savages was the story of the Sauromateans and their Amazonianwives. The Amazons were a nation of masculine and ferocious women, whooften figure in ancient histories and legends. They rode on horsebackastride like men, and their courage and strength in battle were suchthat scarcely any troops could subdue them. It happened, however, uponone time, that some Greeks conquered a body of them somewhere upon theshores of the Euxine Sea, and took a large number of them prisoners. They placed these prisoners on board of three ships, and put to sea. The Amazons rose upon their captors and threw them overboard, and thusobtained possession of the ships. They immediately proceeded towardthe shore, and landed, not knowing where they were. It happened to beon the northwestern coast of the sea that they landed. Here theyroamed up and down the country, until presently they fell in with atroop of horses. These they seized and mounted, arming themselves, atthe same time, either with the weapons which they had procured onboard the ships, or fabricated, themselves, on the shore. Thusorganized and equipped, they began to make excursions for plunder, andsoon became a most formidable band of marauders. The Scythians of thecountry supposed that they were men, but they could learn nothingcertain respecting them. Their language, their appearance, theirmanners, and their dress were totally new, and the inhabitants wereutterly unable to conceive who they were, and from what place theycould so suddenly and mysteriously have come. 

At last, in one of the encounters which took place, the Scythians tooktwo of these strange invaders prisoners. To their utter amazement, they found that they were women. On making this discovery, theychanged their mode of dealing with them, and resolved upon a planbased on the supposed universality of the instincts of their sex. They enlisted a corps of the most handsome and vigorous young men thatcould be obtained, and after giving them instructions, the nature ofwhich will be learned by the result, they sent them forth to meet theAmazons. 

The corps of Scythian cavaliers went out to seek their femaleantagonists with designs any thing but belligerent. They advanced tothe encampment of the Amazons, and hovered about for some time intheir vicinity, without, however, making any warlike demonstrations. They had been instructed to show themselves as much as possible to theenemy, but by no means to fight them. They would, accordingly, draw asnear to the Amazons as was safe, and linger there, gazing upon them, as if under the influence of some sort of fascination. If the Amazonsadvanced toward them, they would fall back, and if the advancecontinued, they would retreat fast enough to keep effectually out ofthe way. Then, when the Amazons turned, they would turn too, followthem back, and linger near them, around their encampment, as before. 

The Amazonians were for a time puzzled with this strange demeanor, andthey gradually learned to look upon the handsome horsemen at firstwithout fear, and finally even without hostility. At length, one day, one of the young horsemen, observing an Amazon who had strayed awayfrom the rest, followed and joined her. She did not repel him. Theywere not able to converse together, as neither knew the language ofthe other. They established a friendly intercourse, however, by looksand signs, and after a time they separated, each agreeing to bring oneof their companions to the place of rendezvous on the following day. 

A friendly intercommunication being thus commenced, the example spreadvery rapidly; matrimonial alliances began to be formed, and, in aword, a short time only elapsed before the two camps were united andintermingled, the Scythians and the Amazons being all paired togetherin the most intimate relations of domestic life. Thus, true to theinstincts of their sex, the rude and terrible maidens decided, whenthe alternative was fairly presented to them, in favor of husbands andhomes, rather than continuing the life they had led, of independence, conflict, and plunder. It is curious to observe that the means bywhich they were won, namely, a persevering display of admiration andattentions, steadily continued, but not too eagerly and impatientlypressed, and varied with an adroit and artful alternation of advancesand retreats, were precisely the same as those by which, in every age, the attempt is usually made to win the heart of woman from hatred andhostility to love. 

We speak of the Amazonians as having been won; but they were, in fact, themselves the conquerors of their captors, after all; for itappeared, in the end, that in the future plans and arrangements of theunited body, they ruled their Scythian husbands, and not the Scythiansthem. The husbands wished to return home with their wives, whom, theysaid, they would protect and maintain in the midst of their countrymenin honor and in peace. The Amazons, however, were in favor of anotherplan. Their habits and manners were such, they said, that they shouldnot be respected and beloved among any other people. They wished thattheir husbands, therefore, would go home and settle their affairs, andafterward return and join their wives again, and then that alltogether should move to the eastward, until they should find asuitable place to settle in by themselves. This plan was acceded to bythe husbands, and was carried into execution; and the result was theplanting of a new nation, called the Sauromateans, who thenceforthtook their place among the other barbarous tribes that dwelt upon thenorthern shores of the Euxine Sea. 

Such was the character of the tribes and nations that dwelt in theneighborhood of the Scythian country. As soon as Darius had passed theriver, the Scythians sent embassadors to all their people, proposingto them to form a general alliance against the invader. "We ought tomake common cause against him, " said they; "for if he subdues onenation, it will only open the way for an attack upon the rest. Some ofus are, it is true, more remote than others from the immediate danger, but it threatens us all equally in the end. "

The embassadors delivered their message, and some of the tribesacceded to the Scythian proposals. Others, however, refused. Thequarrel, they said, was a quarrel between Darius and the Scythiansalone, and they were not inclined to bring upon themselves thehostility of so powerful a sovereign by interfering. The Scythianswere very indignant at this refusal; but there was no remedy, and theyaccordingly began to prepare to defend themselves as well as theycould, with the help of those nations that had expressed a willingnessto join them. 

The habits of the Scythians were nomadic and wandering, and theircountry was one vast region of verdant and beautiful, and yet, in agreat measure, of uncultivated and trackless wilds. They had few townsand villages, and those few were of little value. They adopted, therefore, the mode of warfare which, in such a country and for such apeople, is always the wisest to be pursued. They retreated slowlybefore Darius's advancing army, carrying off or destroying all suchproperty as might aid the king in respect to his supplies. Theyorganized and equipped a body of swift horsemen, who were ordered tohover around Darius's camp, and bring intelligence to the Scythiangenerals of every movement. These horsemen, too, were to harass theflanks and the rear of the army, and to capture or destroy every manwhom they should find straying away from the camp. By this means theykept the invading army continually on the alert, allowing them nopeace and no repose, while yet they thwarted and counteracted all theplans and efforts which the enemy made to bring on a general battle. 

As the Persians advanced in pursuit of the enemy, the Scythiansretreated, and in this retreat they directed their course toward thecountries occupied by those nations that had refused to join in thealliance. By this artful management they transferred the calamity andthe burden of the war to the territories of their neighbors. Dariussoon found that he was making no progress toward gaining his end. Atlength he concluded to try the effect of a direct and open challenge. 

He accordingly sent embassadors to the Scythian chief, whose name wasIndathyrsus, with a message somewhat as follows:

"Foolish man! how long will you continue to act in this absurd andpreposterous manner? It is incumbent on you to make a decision infavor of one thing or the other. If you think that you are able tocontend with me, stop, and let us engage. If not, then acknowledge meas your superior, and submit to my authority. "

The Scythian chief sent back the following reply:

"We have no inducement to contend with you in open battle on thefield, because you are not doing us any injury, nor is it at presentin your power to do us any. We have no cities and no cultivated fieldsthat you can seize or plunder. Your roaming about our country, therefore, does us no harm, and you are at liberty to continue it aslong as it gives you any pleasure. There is nothing on our soil thatyou can injure, except one spot, and that is the place where thesepulchres of our fathers lie. If you were to attack that spot--whichyou may perhaps do, if you can find it--you may rely upon a battle. Inthe mean time, you may go elsewhere, wherever you please. As toacknowledging your superiority, we shall do nothing of the kind. Wedefy you. "

Notwithstanding the refusal of the Scythians to give the Persiansbattle, they yet made, from time to time, partial and unexpectedonsets upon their camp, seizing occasions when they hoped to findtheir enemies off their guard. The Scythians had troops of cavalrywhich were very efficient and successful in these attacks. Thesehorsemen were, however, sometimes thrown into confusion and drivenback by a very singular means of defense. It seems that the Persianshad brought with them from Europe, in their train, a great number ofasses, as beasts of burden, to transport the tents and the baggage ofthe army. These asses were accustomed, in times of excitement anddanger, to set up a very terrific braying. It was, in fact, all thatthey could do. Braying at a danger seems to be a very ridiculous modeof attempting to avert it, but it was a tolerably effectual mode, nevertheless, in this case at least; for the Scythian horses, whowould have faced spears and javelins, and the loudest shouts andvociferations of human adversaries without any fear, were appalled andput to flight at hearing the unearthly noises which issued from thePersian camp whenever they approached it. Thus the mighty monarch ofthe whole Asiatic world seemed to depend for protection against theonsets of these rude and savage troops on the braying of his asses!

 * * * * *

While these things were going on in the interior of the country, theScythians sent down a detachment of their forces to the banks of theDanube, to see if they could not, in some way or other, obtainpossession of the bridge. They learned here what the orders were whichDarius had given to the Ionians who had been left in charge, inrespect to the time of their remaining at their post. The Scythianstold them that if they would govern themselves strictly by thoseorders, and so break up the bridge and go down the river with theirboats as soon as the two months should have expired, they should notbe molested in the mean time. The Ionians agreed to this. The time wasthen already nearly gone, and they promised that, so soon as it shouldbe fully expired, they would withdraw. 

The Scythian detachment sent back word to the main army acquaintingthem with these facts, and the army accordingly resolved on a changein their policy. Instead of harassing and distressing the Persians asthey had done, to hasten their departure, they now determined toimprove the situation of their enemies, and encourage them in theirhopes, so as to protract their stay. They accordingly allowed thePersians to gain the advantage over them in small skirmishes, and theymanaged, also, to have droves of cattle fall into their hands, fromtime to time, so as to supply them with food. The Persians were quiteelated with these indications that the tide of fortune was about toturn in their favor. 

While things were in this state, there appeared one day at the Persiancamp a messenger from the Scythians, who said that he had somepresents from the Scythian chief for Darius. The messenger wasadmitted, and allowed to deliver his gifts. The gifts proved to be abird, a mouse, a frog, and five arrows. The Persians asked the bearerof these strange offerings what the Scythians meant by them. Hereplied that he had no explanations to give. His orders were, he said, to deliver the presents and then return; and that they must, accordingly, find out the meaning intended by the exercise of theirown ingenuity. 

When the messenger had retired, Darius and the Persians consultedtogether, to determine what so strange a communication could mean. They could not, however, come to any satisfactory decision. Dariussaid that he thought the three animals might probably be intended todenote the three kingdoms of nature to which the said animalsrespectively belonged, viz. , the earth, the air, and the water; and asthe giving up of weapons was a token of submission, the whole mightmean that the Scythians were now ready to give up the contest, andacknowledge the right of the Persians to supreme and universaldominion. 

The officers, however, did not generally concur in this opinion. Theysaw no indications, they said, of any disposition on the part of theScythians to surrender. They thought it quite as probable that thecommunication was meant to announce to those who received it threatsand defiance, as to express conciliation and submission. "It maymean, " said one of them, "that, unless you can fly like a bird intothe air, or hide like a mouse in the ground, or bury yourselves, likethe frog, in morasses and fens, you can not escape our arrows. "

There was no means of deciding positively between these contradictoryinterpretations, but it soon became evident that the former of the twowas very far from being correct; for, soon after the present wasreceived, the Scythians were seen to be drawing up their forces inarray, as if preparing for battle. The two months had expired, andthey had reason to suppose that the party at the bridge had withdrawn, as they had promised to do. Darius had been so far weakened by hisharassing marches, and the manifold privations and sufferings of hismen, that he felt some solicitude in respect to the result of abattle, now that it seemed to be drawing near, although such a trialof strength had been the object which he had been, from the beginning, most eager to secure. 

The two armies were encamped at a moderate distance from each other, with a plain, partly wooded, between them. While in this position, andbefore any hostile action was commenced by either party, it wasobserved from the camp of Darius that suddenly a great tumult arosefrom the Scythian lines. Men were seen rushing in dense crowds thisway and that over the plain, with shouts and outcries, which, however, had in them no expression of anger or fear, but rather one of gayetyand pleasure. Darius demanded what the strange tumult meant. Somemessengers were sent out to ascertain the cause, and on their returnthey reported that the Scythians were hunting a hare, which hadsuddenly made its appearance. The hare had issued from a thicket, anda considerable portion of the army, officers and soldiers, hadabandoned their ranks to enjoy the sport of pursuing it, and wererunning impetuously, here and there, across the plain, filling the airwith shouts of hilarity. 

"They do indeed despise us, " said Darius, "since, on the eve of abattle, they can lose all thoughts of us and of their danger, andabandon their posts to hunt a hare!"

That evening a council of war was held. It was concluded that theScythians must be very confident and strong in their position, andthat, if a general battle were to be hazarded, it would be verydoubtful what would be the result. The Persians concluded unanimously, therefore, that the wisest plan would be for them to give up theintended conquest, and retire from the country. Darius accordinglyproceeded to make his preparations for a secret retreat. 

He separated all the infirm and feeble portion of the army from therest, and informed them that he was going that night on a shortexpedition with the main body of the troops, and that, while he wasgone, they were to remain and defend the camp. He ordered the men tobuild the camp fires, and to make them larger and more numerous thancommon, and then had the asses tied together in an unusual situation, so that they should keep up a continual braying. These sounds, heardall the night, and the light of the camp fires, were to lead theScythians to believe that the whole body of the Persians remained, asusual, at the encampment, and thus to prevent all suspicion of theirflight. 

Toward midnight, Darius marched forth in silence and secrecy, with allthe vigorous and able-bodied forces under his command, leaving theweary, the sick, and the infirm to the mercy of their enemies. Thelong column succeeded in making good their retreat, without excitingthe suspicions of the Scythians. They took the route which theysupposed would conduct them most directly to the river. 

When the troops which remained in the camp found, on the followingmorning, that they had been deceived and abandoned, they made signalsto the Scythians to come to them, and, when they came, the invalidssurrendered themselves and the camp to their possession. The Scythiansthen, immediately, leaving a proper guard to defend the camp, set outto follow the Persian army. Instead, however, of keeping directly upontheir track, they took a shorter course, which would lead them morespeedily to the river. The Persians, being unacquainted with thecountry, got involved in fens and morasses, and other difficulties ofthe way, and their progress was thus so much impeded that theScythians reached the river before them. 

They found the Ionians still there, although the two months had fullyexpired. It is possible that the chiefs had received secret ordersfrom Darius not to hasten their departure, even after the knots hadall been untied; or perhaps they chose, of their own accord, to awaittheir sovereign's return. The Scythians immediately urged them to begone. "The time has expired, " they said, "and you are no longer underany obligation to wait. Return to your own country, and assert yourown independence and freedom, which you can safely do if you leaveDarius and his armies here. "

The Ionians consulted together on the subject, doubtful, at first, what to do. They concluded that they would not comply with theScythian proposals, while yet they determined to pretend to complywith them, in order to avoid the danger of being attacked. Theyaccordingly began to take the bridge to pieces, commencing on theScythian side of the stream. The Scythians, seeing the work thus goingon, left the ground, and marched back to meet the Persians. Thearmies, however, fortunately for Darius, missed each other, and thePersians arrived safely at the river, after the Scythians had left it. They arrived in the night, and the advanced guard, seeing noappearance of the bridge on the Scythian side, supposed that theIonians had gone. They shouted long and loud on the shore, and atlength an Egyptian, who was celebrated for the power of his voice, succeeded in making the Ionians hear. The boats were immediatelybrought back to their positions, the bridge was reconstructed, andDarius's army recrossed the stream. 

The Danube being thus safely crossed, the army made the best of itsway back through Thrace, and across the Bosporus into Asia, and thusended Darius's great expedition against the Scythians. 

CHAPTER X. 

THE STORY OF HISTIĘUS. 

B. C. 504

Histięus at the bridge on the Danube. --Darius's anxiety. --Darius'sgratitude. --Scythia abandoned. --Darius sends for Histięus. --Petitionof Histięus. --Histięus organizes a colony. --The Pęonians. --Basenessof the Pęonian chiefs. --Their stratagem. --The Pęonianmaiden. --Multiplicity of her avocations. --Darius and the maiden. --Hedetermines to make the Pęonians slaves. --Capture of thePęonians. --Megabyzus discovers Histięus's city. --Histięussent for. --Darius revokes his gift. --Histięus goes toSusa. --Artaphernes. --Island of Naxos. --Civil war there. --Action ofAristagoras. --Co-operation of Artaphernes. --Darius consulted. --Hisapproval. --Preparations. --Sailing of the expedition. --Plan of thecommander. --Difficulty in the fleet. --Cruel discipline. --Dissensionbetween the commanders. --The expedition fails. --Chagrin ofAristagoras. --He resolves to revolt. --Position of Histięus. --Hisuneasiness. --Singular mode of communication. --Its success. --Revoltof Aristagoras. --Feigned indignation of Histięus. --The Ionianrebellion. --Its failure. --Death of Histięus. 

The nature of the government which was exercised in ancient times by aroyal despot like Darius, and the character of the measures andmanagement to which he was accustomed to resort to gain his politicalends, are, in many points, very strikingly illustrated by the story ofHistięus. 

Histięus was the Ionian chieftain who had been left in charge of thebridge of boats across the Danube when Darius made his incursion intoScythia. When, on the failure of the expedition, Darius returned tothe river, knowing, as he did, that the two months had expired, henaturally felt a considerable degree of solicitude lest he should findthe bridge broken up and the vessels gone, in which case his situationwould be very desperate, hemmed in, as he would have been, between theScythians and the river. His anxiety was changed into terror when hisadvanced guard arrived at the bank and found that no signs of thebridge were to be seen. It is easy to imagine what, under thesecircumstances, must have been the relief and joy of all the army, whenthey heard friendly answers to their shouts, coming, through thedarkness of the night, over the waters of the river, assuring themthat their faithful allies were still at their posts, and that theythemselves would soon be in safety. 

Darius, though he was governed by no firm and steady principles ofjustice, was still a man of many generous impulses. He was gratefulfor favors, though somewhat capricious in his modes of requiting them. He declared to Histięus that he felt under infinite obligations to himfor his persevering fidelity, and that, as soon as the army shouldhave safely arrived in Asia, he would confer upon him such rewards aswould evince the reality of his gratitude. 

On his return from Scythia, Darius brought back the whole of his armyover the Danube, thus abandoning entirely the country of theScythians; but he did not transport the whole body across theBosporus. He left a considerable detachment of troops, under thecommand of one of his generals, named Megabyzus, in Thrace, on theEuropean side, ordering Megabyzus to establish himself there, and toreduce all the countries in that neighborhood to his sway. Dariusthen proceeded to Sardis, which was the most powerful and wealthy ofhis capitals in that quarter of the world. At Sardis, he was, as itwere, at home again, and he accordingly took an early opportunity tosend for Histięus, as well as some others who had rendered him specialservices in his late campaign, in order that he might agree with themin respect to their reward. He asked Histięus what favor he wished toreceive. 

Histięus replied that he was satisfied, on the whole, with theposition which he already enjoyed, which was that of king or governorof Miletus, an Ionian city, south of Sardis, and on the shores of theĘgean Sea. [I] He should be pleased, however, he said, if the kingwould assign him a certain small territory in Thrace, or, rather, onthe borders between Thrace and Macedonia, near the mouth of the RiverStrymon. He wished to build a city there. The king immediately grantedthis request, which was obviously very moderate and reasonable. He didnot, perhaps, consider that this territory, being in Thrace, or in itsimmediate vicinity, came within the jurisdiction of Megabyzus, whomhe had left in command there, and that the grant might lead to someconflict between the two generals. There was special danger ofjealousy and disagreement between them, for Megabyzus was a Persian, and Histięus was a Greek. 

[Footnote I: For these places, see the map at the commencement of thenext chapter. ]

Histięus organized a colony, and, leaving a temporary and provisionalgovernment at Miletus, he proceeded along the shores of the Ęgean Seato the spot assigned him, and began to build his city. As the localitywas beyond the Thracian frontier, and at a considerable distance fromthe head-quarters of Megabyzus, it is very probable that theoperations of Histięus would not have attracted the Persian general'sattention for a considerable time, had it not been for a veryextraordinary and peculiar train of circumstances, which led him todiscover them. The circumstances were these:

There was a nation or tribe called the Pęonians, who inhabited thevalley of the Strymon, which river came down from the interior of thecountry, and fell into the sea near the place where Histięus wasbuilding his city. Among the Pęonian chieftains there were two whowished to obtain the government of the country, but they were notquite strong enough to effect their object. In order to weaken theforce which was opposed to them, they conceived the base design ofbetraying their tribe to Darius, and inducing him to make themcaptives. If their plan should succeed, a considerable portion of thepopulation would be taken away, and they could easily, they supposed, obtain ascendency over the rest. In order to call the attention ofDarius to the subject, and induce him to act as they desired, theyresorted to the following stratagem. Their object seems to have beento lead Darius to undertake a campaign against their countrymen, byshowing him what excellent and valuable slaves they would make. 

These two chieftains were brothers, and they had a very beautifulsister; her form was graceful and elegant, and her countenance lovely. They brought this sister with them to Sardis when Darius was there. They dressed and decorated her in a very careful manner, but yet in astyle appropriate to the condition of a servant; and then, one day, when the king was sitting in some public place in the city, as wascustomary with Oriental sovereigns, they sent her to pass along thestreet before him, equipped in such a manner as to show that she wasengaged in servile occupations. She had a jar, such as was then usedfor carrying water, poised upon her head, and she was leading a horseby means of a bridle hung over her arm. Her hands, being thus notrequired either for the horse or for the vessel, were employed inspinning, as she walked along, by means of a distaff and spindle. 

The attention of Darius was strongly attracted to the spectacle. Thebeauty of the maiden, the novelty and strangeness of her costume, themultiplicity of her avocations, and the ease and grace with which sheperformed them, all conspired to awaken the monarch's curiosity. Hedirected one of his attendants to follow her and see where she shouldgo. The attendant did so. The girl went to the river. She watered herhorse, filled her jar and placed it on her head, and then, hanging thebridle on her arm again, she returned through the same streets, andpassed the king's palace as before, spinning as she walked along. 

The interest and curiosity of the king was excited more than ever bythe reappearance of the girl and by the report of his messenger. Hedirected that she should be stopped and brought into his presence. Shecame; and her brothers, who had been watching the whole scene from aconvenient spot near at hand, joined her and came too. The king askedthem who they were. They replied that they were Pęonians. He wished toknow where they lived. "On the banks of the River Strymon, " theyreplied, "near the confines of Thrace. " He next asked whether all thewomen of their country were accustomed to labor, and were asingenious, and dexterous, and beautiful as their sister. The brothersreplied that they were. 

Darius immediately determined to make the whole people slaves. Heaccordingly dispatched a courier with the orders. The courier crossedthe Hellespont, and proceeded to the encampment of Megabyzus inThrace. He delivered his dispatches to the Persian general, commandinghim to proceed immediately to Pęonia, and there to take the wholecommunity prisoners, and bring them to Darius in Sardis. Megabyzus, until this time, had known nothing of the people whom he was thuscommanded to seize. He, however, found some Thracian guides whoundertook to conduct him to their territory; and then, taking with hima sufficient force, he set out on the expedition. The Pęonians heardof his approach. Some prepared to defend themselves; others fled tothe mountains. The fugitives escaped, but those who attempted toresist were taken. Megabyzus collected the unfortunate captives, together with their wives and children, and brought them down to thecoast to embark them for Sardis. In doing this, he had occasion topass by the spot where Histięus was building his city, and it wasthen, for the first time, that Megabyzus became acquainted with theplan. Histięus was building a wall to defend his little territory onthe side of the land. Ships and galleys were going and coming on theside of the sea. Every thing indicated that the work was rapidly andprosperously advancing. 

Megabyzus did not interfere with the work; but, as soon as he arrivedat Sardis with his captives, and had delivered them to the king, heintroduced the subject of Histięus's city, and represented to Dariusthat it would be dangerous to the Persian interests to allow such anenterprise to go on. "He will establish a strong post there, " saidMegabyzus, "by means of which he will exercise a great ascendency overall the neighboring seas. The place is admirably situated for a navalstation, as the country in the vicinity abounds with all the materialsfor building and equipping ships. There are also mines of silver inthe mountains near, from which he will obtain a great supply oftreasure. By these means he will become so strong in a short period oftime, that, after you have returned to Asia, he will revolt from yourauthority, carrying with him, perhaps, in his rebellion, all theGreeks of Asia Minor. "

The king said that he was sorry that he had made the grant, and thathe would revoke it without delay. 

Megabyzus recommended that the king should not do this in an open orviolent manner, but that he should contrive some way to arrest theprogress of the undertaking without any appearance of suspicion ordispleasure. 

Darius accordingly sent for Histięus to come to him at Sardis, sayingthat there was a service of great importance on which he wished toemploy him. Histięus, of course, obeyed such a summons with eageralacrity. When he arrived, Darius expressed great pleasure at seeinghim once more, and said that he had constant need of his presence andhis counsels. He valued, above all price, the services of so faithfula friend, and so sagacious and trusty an adviser. He was now, he said, going to Susa, and he wished Histięus to accompany him as his privycounselor and confidential friend. It would be necessary, Dariusadded, that he should give up his government of Miletus, and also thecity in Thrace which he had begun to build; but he should be exaltedto higher honors and dignities at Susa in their stead. He should haveapartments in the king's palace, and live in great luxury andsplendor. 

Histięus was extremely disappointed and chagrined at thisannouncement. He was obliged, however, to conceal his vexation andsubmit to his fate. In a few days after this, he set out, with therest of Darius's court, for the Persian capital, leaving a nephew, whose name was Aristagoras, as governor of Miletus in his stead. Darius, on the other hand, committed the general charge of the wholecoast of Asia Minor to Artaphernes, one of his generals. Artapherneswas to make Sardis his capital. He had not only the general command ofall the provinces extending along the shore, but also of all theships, and galleys, and other naval armaments which belonged to Dariuson the neighboring seas. Aristagoras, as governor of Miletus, wasunder his general jurisdiction. The two officers were, moreover, excellent friends. Aristagoras was, of course, a Greek, andArtaphernes a Persian. 

Among the Greek islands situated in the Ęgean Sea, one of the mostwealthy, important, and powerful at that time, was Naxos. It wassituated in the southern part of the sea, and about midway between theshores of Asia Minor and Greece. It happened that, soon after Dariushad returned from Asia Minor to Persia, a civil war broke out in thatisland, in which the common people were on one side and the nobles onthe other. The nobles were overcome in the contest, and fled from theisland. A party of them landed at Miletus, and called upon Aristagorasto aid them in regaining possession of the island. 

Aristagoras replied that he would very gladly do it if he had thepower, but that the Persian forces on the whole coast, both naval andmilitary, were under the command of Artaphernes at Sardis. He said, however, that he was on very friendly terms with Artaphernes, and thathe would, if the Naxians desired it, apply to him for his aid. TheNaxians seemed very grateful for the interest which Aristagoras tookin their cause, and said that they would commit the whole affair tohis charge. 

There was, however, much less occasion for gratitude than thereseemed, for Aristagoras was very far from being honest and sincere inhis offers of aid. He perceived, immediately on hearing the fugitives'story, that a very favorable opportunity was opening for him to addNaxos, and perhaps even the neighboring islands, to his owngovernment. It is always a favorable opportunity to subjugate a peoplewhen their power of defense and of resistance is neutralized bydissensions with one another. It is a device as old as the history ofmankind, and one resorted to now as often as ever, for ambitiousneighbors to interpose in behalf of the weaker party, in a civil warwaged in a country which they wish to make their own, and, beginningwith a war against a part, to end by subjugating the whole. This wasAristagoras's plan. He proposed it to Artaphernes, representing to himthat a very favorable occasion had occurred for bringing the Greekislands of the Ęgean Sea under the Persian dominion. Naxos oncepossessed, all the other islands around it would follow, he said, anda hundred ships would make the conquest sure. 

Artaphernes entered very readily and very warmly into the plan. Hesaid that he would furnish two hundred instead of one hundredgalleys. He thought it was necessary, however, first to consultDarius, since the affair was one of such importance; and besides, itwas not best to commence the undertaking until the spring. He wouldimmediately send a messenger to Darius to ascertain his pleasure, and, in the mean time, as he did not doubt that Darius would fully approveof the plan, he would have all necessary preparations made, so thatevery thing should be in readiness as soon as the proper season foractive operations should arrive. 

Artaphernes was right in anticipating his brother's approval of thedesign. The messenger returned from Susa with full authority from theking for the execution of the project. The ships were built andequipped, and every thing was made ready for the expedition. Theintended destination of the armament was, however, kept a profoundsecret, as the invaders wished to surprise the people of Naxos whenoff their guard. Aristagoras was to accompany the expedition as itsgeneral leader, while an officer named Megabates, appointed byArtaphernes for this purpose, was to take command of the fleet as asort of admiral. Thus there were two commanders--an arrangement whichalmost always, in such cases, leads to a quarrel. It is a maxim in warthat _one_ bad general is better than two good ones. 

The expedition sailed from Miletus; and, in order to prevent thepeople of Naxos from being apprised of their danger, the report hadbeen circulated that its destination was to be the Hellespont. Accordingly, when the fleet sailed, it turned its course to thenorthward, as if it were really going to the Hellespont. The plan ofthe commander was to stop after proceeding a short distance, and thento seize the first opportunity afforded by a wind from the north tocome down suddenly upon Naxos, before the population should have timeto prepare for defense. Accordingly, when they arrived opposite theisland of Chios, the whole fleet came to anchor near the land. Theships were all ordered to be ready, at a moment's warning, for settingsail; and, thus situated, the commanders were waiting for the wind tochange. 

Megabates, in going his rounds among the fleet while things were inthis condition, found one vessel entirely abandoned. The captain andcrew had all left it, and had gone ashore. They were not aware, probably, how urgent was the necessity that they should be everymoment at their posts. The captain of this galley was a native of asmall town called Cnydus, and, as it happened, was a particular friendof Aristagoras. His name was Syclax. Megabates, as the commander ofthe fleet, was very much incensed at finding one of his subordinateofficers so derelict in duty. He sent his guards in pursuit of him;and when Syclax was brought to his ship, Megabates ordered his head tobe thrust out through one of the small port-holes intended for theoars, in the side of the ship, and then bound him in thatposition--his head appearing thus to view, in the sight of all thefleet, while his body remained within the vessel. "I am going to keephim at his post, " said Megabates, "and in such a way that every onecan _see_ that he is there. "

Aristagoras was much distressed at seeing his friend suffering sosevere and disgraceful a punishment. He went to Megabates andrequested the release of the prisoner, giving, at the same time, whathe considered satisfactory reasons for his having been absent from hisvessel. Megabates, however, was not satisfied, and refused to setSyclax at liberty. Aristagoras then told Megabates that he mistook hisposition in supposing that he was master of the expedition, and couldtyrannize over the men in that manner, as he pleased. "I will have youunderstand, " said he, "that I am the commander in this campaign, andthat Artaphernes, in making you the sailing-master of the fleet, hadno intention that you should set up your authority over mine. " Sosaying, he went away in a rage, and released Syclax from his durancewith his own hands. 

It was now the turn of Megabates to be enraged. He determined todefeat the expedition. He sent immediately a secret messenger to warnthe Naxians of their enemies' approach. The Naxians immediately madeeffectual preparations to defend themselves. The end of it was, thatwhen the fleet arrived, the island was prepared to receive it, andnothing could be done. Aristagoras continued the siege four months;but inasmuch as, during all this time, Megabates did every thing inhis power to circumvent and thwart every plan that Aristagoras formed, nothing was accomplished. Finally, the expedition was broken up, andAristagoras returned home, disappointed and chagrined, all his hopesblasted, and his own private finances thrown into confusion by thegreat pecuniary losses which he himself had sustained. He hadcontributed very largely, from his own private funds, in fitting outthe expedition, fully confident of success, and of ample reimbursementfor his expenses as the consequence of it. 

He was angry with himself, and angry with Megabates, and angry withArtaphernes. He presumed, too, that Megabates would denounce him toArtaphernes, and, through him, to Darius, as the cause of the failureof the expedition. A sudden order might come at any moment, directingthat he should be beheaded. He began to consider the expediency ofrevolting from the Persian power, and making common cause with theGreeks against Darius. The danger of such a step was scarcely lessthan that of remaining as he was. While he was pondering thesemomentous questions in his mind, he was led suddenly to a decision bya very singular circumstance, the proper explaining of which requiresthe story to return, for a time, to Histięus at Susa. 

Histięus was very ill at ease in the possession of his forcedelevation and grandeur at Susa. He enjoyed great distinction there, itis true, and a life of ease and luxury, but he wished for independenceand authority. He was, accordingly, very desirous to get back to hisformer sphere of activity and power in Asia Minor. After revolving inhis mind the various plans which occurred to him for accomplishingthis purpose, he at last decided on inducing Aristagoras to revolt inIonia, and then attempting to persuade Darius to send him on to quellthe revolt. When once in Asia Minor, he would join the rebellion, andbid Darius defiance. 

The first thing to be done was to contrive some safe and secret way tocommunicate with Aristagoras. This he effected in the followingmanner: There was a man in his court who was afflicted with somemalady of the eyes. Histięus told him that if he would put himselfunder _his_ charge he could effect a cure. It would be necessary, hesaid, that the man should have his head shaved and scarified; that is, punctured with a sharp instrument, previously dipped in some medicinalcompound. Then, after some further applications should have been made, it would be necessary for the patient to go to Ionia, in Asia Minor, where there was a physician who would complete the cure. 

The patient consented to this proposal. The head was shaved, andHistięus, while pretending to scarify it, pricked into the skin--assailors tattoo anchors on their arms--by means of a needle and aspecies of ink which had probably no great medicinal virtue, the wordsof a letter to Aristagoras, in which he communicated to him fully, though very concisely, the particulars of his plan. He urgedAristagoras to revolt, and promised that, if he would do so, he wouldcome on, himself, as soon as possible, and, under pretense of marchingto suppress the rebellion, he would really join and aid it. 

As soon as he had finished pricking this treasonable communicationinto the patient's skin, he carefully enveloped the head in bandages, which, he said, must on no account be disturbed. He kept the man shutup, besides, in the palace, until the hair had grown, so aseffectually to conceal the writing, and then sent him to Ionia to havethe cure perfected. On his arrival at Ionia he was to findAristagoras, who would do what further was necessary. Histięuscontrived, in the mean time, to send word to Aristagoras by anothermessenger, that, as soon as such a patient should present himself, Aristagoras was to shave his head. He did so, and the communicationappeared. We must suppose that the operations on the part ofAristagoras for the purpose of completing the cure consisted, probably, in pricking in more ink, so as to confuse and obliterate thewriting. 

Aristagoras was on the eve of throwing off the Persian authority whenhe received this communication. It at once decided him to proceed. Heorganized his forces and commenced his revolt. As soon as the news ofthis rebellion reached Susa, Histięus feigned great indignation, andearnestly entreated Darius to commission him to go and suppress it. Hewas confident, he said, that he could do it in a very prompt andeffectual manner. Darius was at first inclined to suspect thatHistięus was in some way or other implicated in the movement; butthese suspicions were removed by the protestations which Histięusmade, and at length he gave him leave to proceed to Miletus, commanding him, however, to return to Susa again as soon as he shouldhave suppressed the revolt. 

When Histięus arrived in Ionia he joined Aristagoras, and the twogenerals, leaguing with them various princes and states of Greece, organized a very extended and dangerous rebellion, which it gave thetroops of Darius infinite trouble to subdue. We can not here give anaccount of the incidents and particulars of this war. For a time therebels prospered, and their cause seemed likely to succeed; but atlength the tide turned against them. Their towns were captured, theirships were taken and destroyed, their armies cut to pieces. Histięusretreated from place to place, a wretched fugitive, growing more andmore distressed and destitute every day. At length, as he was flyingfrom a battle field, he arrested the arm of a Persian, who waspursuing him with his weapon upraised, by crying out that he wasHistięus the Milesian. The Persian, hearing this, spared his life, buttook him prisoner, and delivered him to Artaphernes. Histięus beggedvery earnestly that Artaphernes would send him to Darius alive, inhopes that Darius would pardon him in consideration of his formerservices at the bridge of the Danube. This was, however, exactly whatArtaphernes wished to prevent; so he crucified the wretched Histięusat Sardis, and then packed his head in salt and sent it to Darius. 

[Illustration: GRECIAN EMPIRE. ]

CHAPTER XI. 

THE INVASION OF GREECE AND THE BATTLE OF MARATHON. 

B. C. 512-490

Great battles. --Progress of the Persian empire. --Condition ofthe Persian empire. --Plans of Darius. --Persian power inThrace. --Attempted negotiation with Macedon. --The sevencommissioners. --Their rudeness at the feast. --Stratagem ofAmyntas's son. --The commissioners killed. --Artifice of theprince. --Darius's anger against the Athenians. --Civil dissensionsin Greece. --The tyrants. --Periander. --His message to a neighboringpotentate. --Periander's intolerable tyranny. --His wifeMelissa. --The ghost of Melissa. --A great sacrifice. --The reasonof Periander's rudeness to the assembly of females. --Labda thecripple. --Prediction in respect to her progeny. --Conspiracyto destroy Labda's child. --Its failure. --The childsecreted. --Fulfillment of the oracle. --Hippias of Athens. --Hisbarbarous cruelty. --Hippias among the Persians. --Wars between theGrecian states. --Quarrel between Athens and Ęgina. --The two woodenstatues. --Incursion of the Ęginetans. --They carry off thestatues. --Attempt to recover the statues. --They fall upon theirknees. --The Athenian fugitive. --He is murdered by the women. --ThePersian army. --Its commander, Datis. --Sailing of thefleet. --Various conquests. --Landing of the Persians. --State ofAthens. --The Greek army. --Miltiades and his colleagues. --Positionof the armies. --Miltiades's plan of attack. --Onset of theGreeks. --Rout of the Persians. --Results of the battle. --Numbersslain. --The field of Marathon. --The mound. --Song of the Greek. 

In the history of a great military conqueror, there seems to be oftensome one great battle which in importance and renown eclipses all therest. In the case of Hannibal it was the battle of Cannę, in that ofAlexander the battle of Arbela. Cęsar's great conflict was atPharsalia, Napoleon's at Waterloo. Marathon was, in some respects, Darius's Waterloo. The place is a beautiful plain, about twelve milesnorth of the great city of Athens. The battle was the great finalcontest between Darius and the Greeks, which, both on account of theawful magnitude of the conflict, and the very extraordinarycircumstances which attended it, has always been greatly celebratedamong mankind. 

The whole progress of the Persian empire, from the time of the firstaccession of Cyrus to the throne, was toward the westward, till itreached the confines of Asia on the shores of the Ęgean Sea. All theshores and islands of this sea were occupied by the states and thecities of Greece. The population of the whole region, both on theEuropean and Asiatic shores, spoke the same language, and possessedthe same vigorous, intellectual, and elevated character. Those on theAsiatic side had been conquered by Cyrus, and their countries had beenannexed to the Persian empire. Darius had wished very strongly, at thecommencement of his reign, to go on in this work of annexation, andhad sent his party of commissioners to explore the ground, as isrelated in a preceding chapter. He had, however, postponed theexecution of his plans, in order first to conquer the Scythiancountries north of Greece, thinking, probably, that this would makethe subsequent conquest of Greece itself more easy. By getting a firmfoothold in Scythia, he would, as it were, turn the flank of theGrecian territories, which would tend to make his final descent uponthem more effectual and sure. 

This plan, however, failed; and yet, on his retreat from Scythia, Darius did not withdraw his armies wholly from the European side ofthe water. He kept a large force in Thrace, and his generals therewere gradually extending and strengthening their power, and preparingfor still greater conquests. They attempted to extend their dominion, sometimes by negotiations, and sometimes by force, and they weresuccessful and unsuccessful by turns, whichever mode they employed. 

One very extraordinary story is told of an attempted negotiation withMacedon, made with a view of bringing that kingdom, if possible, underthe Persian dominion, without the necessity of a resort to force. Thecommanding general of Darius's armies in Thrace, whose name, as wasstated in the last chapter, was Megabyzus, sent seven Persian officersinto Macedon, not exactly to summon the Macedonians, in a peremptorymanner, to surrender to the Persians, nor, on the other hand, topropose a voluntary alliance, but for something between the two. Thecommunication was to be in the form of a proposal, and yet it was tobe made in the domineering and overbearing manner with which thetyrannical and the strong often make proposals to the weak anddefenseless. 

The seven Persians went to Macedon, which, as will be seen from themap, was west of Thrace, and to the northward of the other Greciancountries. Amyntas, the king of Macedon, gave them a very honorablereception. At length, one day, at a feast to which they were invitedin the palace of Amyntas, they became somewhat excited with wine, andasked to have the ladies of the court brought into the apartment. Theywished "to see them, " they said. Amyntas replied that such a procedurewas entirely contrary to the usages and customs of their court; butstill, as he stood somewhat in awe of his visitors, or, rather, of theterrible power which the delegation represented, and wished by everypossible means to avoid provoking a quarrel with them, he consented tocomply with their request. The ladies were sent for. They came in, reluctant and blushing, their minds excited by mingled feelings ofindignation and shame. 

The Persians, becoming more and more excited and imperious under theincreasing influence of the wine, soon began to praise the beauty ofthese new guests in a coarse and free manner, which overwhelmed theladies with confusion, and then to accost them familiarly and rudely, and to behave toward them, in other respects, with so much improprietyas to produce great alarm and indignation among all the king'shousehold. The king himself was much distressed, but he was afraid toact decidedly. His son, a young man of great energy and spirit, approached his father with a countenance and manner expressive of highexcitement, and begged him to retire from the feast, and leave him, the son, to manage the affair. Amyntas reluctantly allowed himself tobe persuaded to go, giving his son many charges, as he went away, todo nothing rashly or violently. As soon as the king was gone, theprince made an excuse for having the ladies retire for a short time, saying that they should soon return. The prince conducted them totheir apartment, and then selecting an equal number of tall andsmooth-faced boys, he disguised them to represent the ladies, and gaveeach one a dagger, directing him to conceal it beneath his robe. Thesecounterfeit females were then introduced to the assembly in the placeof those who had retired. The Persians did not detect the deception. It was evening, and, besides, their faculties were confused with theeffects of the wine. They approached the supposed ladies as they haddone before, with rude familiarity; and the boys, at a signal made bythe prince when the Persians were wholly off their guard, stabbed andkilled every one of them on the spot. 

Megabyzus sent an embassador to inquire what became of his sevenmessengers; but the Macedonian prince contrived to buy this messengeroff by large rewards, and to induce him to send back some false butplausible story to satisfy Megabyzus. Perhaps Megabyzus would not havebeen so easily satisfied had it not been that the great Ionianrebellion, under Aristagoras and Histięus, as described in the lastchapter, broke out soon after, and demanded his attention in anotherquarter of the realm. 

The Ionian rebellion postponed, for a time, Darius's designs onGreece, but the effect of it was to make the invasion more certain andmore terrible in the end; for Athens, which was at that time one ofthe most important and powerful of the Grecian cities, took a part inthat rebellion against the Persians. The Athenians sent forces to aidthose of Aristagoras and Histięus, and, in the course of the war, thecombined army took and burned the city of Sardis. When this newsreached Darius, he was excited to a perfect phrensy of resentment andindignation against the Athenians for coming thus into his owndominions to assist rebels, and there destroying one of his mostimportant capitals. He uttered the most violent and terrible threatsagainst them, and, to prevent his anger from getting cool before thepreparations should be completed for vindicating it, he made anarrangement, it was said, for having a slave call out to him every dayat table, "Remember the Athenians!"

It was a circumstance favorable to Darius's designs against the statesof Greece that they were not united among themselves. There was nogeneral government under which the whole naval and military force ofthat country could be efficiently combined, so as to be directed, in aconcentrated and energetic form, against a common enemy. On the otherhand, the several cities formed, with the territories adjoining them, so many separate states, more or less connected, it is true, byconfederations and alliances, but still virtually independent, andoften hostile to each other. Then, besides these external andinternational quarrels, there was a great deal of internal dissension. The monarchical and the democratic principle were all the timestruggling for the mastery. Military despots were continually risingto power in the various cities, and after they had ruled, for a time, over their subjects with a rod of iron, the people would rise inrebellion and expel them from their thrones. These revolutions werecontinually taking place, attended, often, by the strangest and mostromantic incidents, which evinced, on the part of the actors in them, that extraordinary combination of mental sagacity and acumen withchildish and senseless superstition so characteristic of the times. 

It is not surprising that the populace often rebelled against thepower of these royal despots, for they seem to have exercised theirpower, when their interests or their passions excited them to do it, in the most tyrannical and cruel manner. One of them, it was said, aking of Corinth, whose name was Periander, sent a messenger, on oneoccasion, to a neighboring potentate--with whom he had gradually cometo entertain very friendly relations--to inquire by what means hecould most certainly and permanently secure the continuance of hispower. The king thus applied to gave no direct reply, but took themessenger out into his garden, talking with him by the way about theincidents of his journey, and other indifferent topics. He came, atlength, to a field where grain was growing, and as he walked along, heoccupied himself in cutting off, with his sword, every head of thegrain which raised itself above the level of the rest. After a shorttime he returned to the house, and finally dismissed the messengerwithout giving him any answer whatever to the application that he hadmade. The messenger returned to Periander, and related what hadoccurred. "I understand his meaning, " said Periander. "I must contrivesome way to remove all those who, by their talents, their influence, or their power, rise above the general level of the citizens. "Periander began immediately to act on this recommendation. Whoever, among the people of Corinth, distinguished himself above the rest, wasmarked for destruction. Some were banished, some were slain, and somewere deprived of their influence, and so reduced to the ordinarylevel, by the confiscation of their property, the lives and fortunesof all the citizens of the state being wholly in the despot's hands. 

This same Periander had a wife whose name was Melissa. A veryextraordinary tale is related respecting her, which, though mainlyfictitious, had a foundation, doubtless, in fact, and illustrates veryremarkably the despotic tyranny and the dark superstition of thetimes. Melissa died and was buried; but her garments, for some reasonor other, were not burned, as was usual in such cases. Now, among theother oracles of Greece, there was one where departed spirits could beconsulted. It was called the oracle of the dead. Periander, havingoccasion to consult an oracle in order to find the means of recoveringa certain article of value which was lost, sent to this place to callup and consult the ghost of Melissa. The ghost appeared, but refusedto answer the question put to her, saying, with frightful solemnity, "I am cold; I am cold; I am naked and cold. My clothes were notburned; I am naked and cold. "

When this answer was reported to Periander, he determined to make agreat sacrifice and offering, such as should at once appease therestless spirit. He invited, therefore, a general assembly of thewomen of Corinth to witness some spectacle in a temple, and when theywere convened, he surrounded them with his guards, seized them, stripped them of most of their clothing, and then let them go free. The clothes thus taken were then all solemnly burned, as an expiatoryoffering, with invocations to the shade of Melissa. 

The account adds, that when this was done, a second messenger wasdispatched to the oracle of the dead, and the spirit, now clothed andcomfortable in its grave, answered the inquiry, informing Perianderwhere the lost article might be found. 

The rude violence which Periander resorted to in this case seems notto have been dictated by any particular desire to insult or injure thewomen of Corinth, but was resorted to simply as the easiest and mostconvenient way of obtaining what he needed. He wanted a supply ofvaluable and costly female apparel, and the readiest mode of obtainingit was to bring together an assembly of females dressed for a publicoccasion, and then disrobe them. The case only shows to what anextreme and absolute supremacy the lofty and domineering spirit ofancient despotism attained. 

It ought, however, to be related, in justice to these abominabletyrants, that they often evinced feelings of commiseration andkindness; sometimes, in fact, in very singular ways. There was, forexample, in one of the cities, a certain family that had obtained theascendency over the rest of the people, and had held it for some timeas an established aristocracy, taking care to preserve their rank andpower from generation to generation, by intermarrying only with oneanother. At length, in one branch of the family, there grew up a younggirl named Labda, who had been a cripple from her birth, and, onaccount of her deformity, none of the nobles would marry her. A man ofobscure birth, however, one of the common people, at length took herfor his wife. His name was Eetion. One day, Eetion went to Delphi toconsult an oracle, and as he was entering the temple, the Pythian[J]called out to him, saying that a stone should proceed from Labda whichshould overwhelm tyrants and usurpers, and free the state. The nobles, when they heard of this, understood the prediction to mean that thedestruction of their power was, in some way or other, to be effectedby means of Labda's child, and they determined to prevent thefulfillment of the prophecy by destroying the babe itself so soon asit should be born. 

[Footnote J: For a full account of these oracles, see the history ofCyrus the Great. ]

They accordingly appointed ten of their number to go to the placewhere Eetion lived and kill the child. The method which they were toadopt was this: They were to ask to see the infant on their arrival atthe house, and then it was agreed that whichever of the ten it was towhom the babe was handed, he should dash it down upon the stone floorwith all his force, by which means it would, as they supposed, certainly be killed. 

This plan being arranged, the men went to the house, inquired, withhypocritical civility, after the health of the mother, and desired tosee the child. It was accordingly brought to them. The mother put itinto the hands of one of the conspirators, and the babe looked up intohis face and smiled. This mute expression of defenseless and confidinginnocence touched the murderer's heart. He could not be such a monsteras to dash such an image of trusting and happy helplessness upon thestones. He looked upon the child, and then gave it into the hands ofthe one next to him, and he gave it to the next, and thus it passedthrough the hands of all the ten. No one was found stern anddetermined enough to murder it, and at last they gave the babe back toits mother and went away. 

The sequel of this story was, that the conspirators, when they reachedthe gate, stopped to consult together, and after many mutualcriminations and recriminations, each impugning the courage andresolution of the rest, and all joining in special condemnation of theman to whom the child had at first been given, they went back again, determined, in some way or other, to accomplish their purpose. ButLabda had, in the mean time, been alarmed at their extraordinarybehavior, and had listened, when they stopped at the gate, to heartheir conversation. She hastily hid the babe in a corn measure; andthe conspirators, after looking in every part of the house in vain, gave up the search, supposing that their intended victim had beenhastily sent away. They went home, and not being willing toacknowledge that their resolution had failed at the time of trial, they agreed to say that their undertaking had succeeded, and that thechild had been destroyed. The babe lived, however, and grew up tomanhood, and then, in fulfillment of the prediction announced by theoracle, he headed a rebellion against the nobles, deposed them fromtheir power, and reigned in their stead. 

One of the worst and most reckless of the Greek tyrants of whom wehave been speaking was Hippias of Athens. His father, Pisistratus, hadbeen hated all his life for his cruelties and his crimes; and when hedied, leaving two sons, Hippias and Hipparchus, a conspiracy wasformed to kill the sons, and thus put an end to the dynasty. Hipparchus was killed, but Hippias escaped the danger, and seized thegovernment himself alone. He began to exercise his power in the mostcruel and wanton manner, partly under the influence of resentment andpassion, and partly because he thought his proper policy was to striketerror into the hearts of the people as a means of retaining hisdominion. One of the conspirators by whom his brother had been slain, accused Hippias's warmest and best friends as his accomplices in thatdeed, in order to revenge himself on Hippias by inducing him todestroy his own adherents and supporters. Hippias fell into the snare;he condemned to death all whom the conspirator accused, and hisreckless soldiers executed his friends and foes together. When anyprotested their innocence, he put them to the torture to make themconfess their guilt. Such indiscriminate cruelty only had the effectto league the whole population of Athens against the perpetrator ofit. There was at length a general insurrection against him, and he wasdethroned. He made his escape to Sardis, and there tendered hisservices to Artaphernes, offering to conduct the Persian armies toGreece, and aid them in getting possession of the country, oncondition that, if they succeeded, the Persians would make him thegovernor of Athens. Artaphernes made known these offers to Darius, andthey were eagerly accepted. It was, however, very impolitic to acceptthem. The aid which the invaders could derive from the services ofsuch a guide, were far more than counterbalanced by the influencewhich his defection and the espousal of his cause by the Persianswould produce in Greece. It banded the Athenians and their alliestogether in the most enthusiastic and determined spirit of resistance, against a man who had now added the baseness of treason to the wantonwickedness of tyranny. 

Besides these internal dissensions between the people of the severalGrecian states and their kings, there were contests between one stateand another, which Darius proposed to take advantage of in hisattempts to conquer the country. There was one such war in particular, between Athens and the island of Ęgina, on the effects of which, inaiding him in his operations against the Athenians, Darius placedgreat reliance. Ęgina was a large and populous island not far fromAthens. In accounting for the origin of the quarrel between the twostates, the Greek historians relate the following marvelous story:

Ęgina, as will be seen from the map, was situated in the middle of abay, southwest from Athens. On the other side of the bay, oppositefrom Athens, there was a city, near the shore, called Epidaurus. Ithappened that the people of Epidaurus were at one time suffering fromfamine, and they sent a messenger to the oracle at Delphi to inquirewhat they should do to obtain relief. The Pythian answered that theymust erect two statues to certain goddesses, named Damia and Auxesia, and that then the famine would abate. They asked whether they were tomake the statues of brass or of marble. The priestess replied, "Ofneither, but of wood. " They were, she said, to use for the purpose thewood of the garden olive. 

This species of olive was a sacred tree, and it happened that, at thistime, there were no trees of the kind that were of sufficient size forthe purpose intended except at Athens; and the Epidaurians, accordingly, sent to Athens to obtain leave to supply themselves withwood for the sculptor by cutting down one of the trees from the sacredgrove. The Athenians consented to this, on condition that theEpidaurians would offer a certain yearly sacrifice at two temples inAthens, which they named. This sacrifice, they seemed to imagine, would make good to the city whatever of injury their religiousinterests might suffer from the loss of the sacred tree. TheEpidaurians agreed to the condition; the tree was felled; blocks fromit, of proper size, were taken to Epidaurus, and the statues werecarved. They were set up in the city with the usual solemnities, andthe famine soon after disappeared. 

Not many years after this, a war, for some cause or other, broke outbetween Epidaurus and Ęgina. The people of Ęgina crossed the water ina fleet of galleys, landed at Epidaurus, and, after committing variousravages, they seized these images, and bore them away in triumph astrophies of their victory. They set them up in a public place in themiddle of their own island, and instituted games and spectacles aroundthem, which they celebrated with great festivity and parade. TheEpidaurians, having thus lost their statues, ceased to make the annualoffering at Athens which they had stipulated for, in return forreceiving the wood from which the statues were carved. The Athenianscomplained. The Epidaurians replied that they had continued to makethe offering as long as they had kept the statues; but that now, thestatues being in other hands, they were absolved from the obligation. The Athenians next demanded the statues themselves of the people ofĘgina. They refused to surrender them. The Athenians then invaded theisland, and proceeded to the spot where the statues had been erected. They had been set up on massive and heavy pedestals. The Atheniansattempted to get them down, but could not separate them from theirfastenings. They then changed their plan, and undertook to move thepedestals too, by dragging them with ropes. They were arrested in thisundertaking by an earthquake, accompanied by a solemn and terriblesound of thunder, which warned them that they were provoking the angerof Heaven. 

The statues, too, miraculously fell on their knees, and remained fixedin that posture!

The Athenians, terrified at these portentous signs, abandoned theirundertaking and fled toward the shore. They were, however, interceptedby the people of Ęgina, and some allies whom they had hastily summonedto their aid, and the whole party was destroyed except one single man. He escaped. 

This single fugitive, however, met with a worse fate than that of hiscomrades. He went to Athens, and there the wives and sisters of themen who had been killed thronged around him to hear his story. Theywere incensed that he alone had escaped, as if his flight had been asort of betrayal and desertion of his companions. They fell upon him, therefore, with one accord, and pierced and wounded him on all sideswith a sort of pin, or clasp, which they used as a fastening for theirdress. They finally killed him. 

The Athenian magistrates were unable to bring any of the perpetratorsof this crime to conviction and punishment; but a law was made, inconsequence of the occurrence, forbidding the use of that sort offastening for the dress to all the Athenian women forever after. Thepeople of Ęgina, on the other hand, rejoiced and gloried in the deedof the Athenian women, and they made the clasps which were worn upontheir island of double size, in honor of it. 

The war, thus commenced between Athens and Ęgina, went on for a longtime, increasing in bitterness and cruelty as the injuries increasedin number and magnitude which the belligerent parties inflicted oneach other. 

Such was the state of things in Greece when Darius organized his greatexpedition for the invasion of the country. He assembled an immensearmament, though he did not go forth himself to command it. He placedthe whole force under the charge of a Persian general named Datis. Aconsiderable part of the army which Datis was to command was raised inPersia; but orders had been sent on that large accessions to the army, consisting of cavalry, foot soldiers, ships, and seamen, and everyother species of military force, should be raised in all the provincesof Asia Minor, and be ready to join it at various places ofrendezvous. 

Darius commenced his march at Susa with the troops which had beencollected there, and proceeded westward till he reached theMediterranean at Cilicia, which is at the northeast corner of thatsea. Here large re-enforcements joined him; and there was alsoassembled at this point an immense fleet of galleys, which had beenprovided to convey the troops to the Grecian seas. The troopsembarked, and the fleet advanced along the southern shores of AsiaMinor to the Ęgean Sea, where they turned to the northward toward theisland of Samos, which had been appointed as a rendezvous. At Samosthey were joined by still greater numbers coming from Ionia, and thevarious provinces and islands on that coast that were already underthe Persian dominion. When they were ready for their final departure, the immense fleet, probably one of the greatest and most powerfulwhich had then ever been assembled, set sail, and steered their courseto the northwest, among the islands of the Ęgean Sea. As they movedslowly on, they stopped to take possession of such islands as came intheir way. The islanders, in some cases, submitted to them without astruggle. In others, they made vigorous but perfectly futile attemptsto resist. In others still, the terrified inhabitants abandoned theirhomes, and fled in dismay to the fastnesses of the mountains. ThePersians destroyed the cities and towns whose inhabitants they couldnot conquer, and took the children from the most influential familiesof the islands which they did subdue, as hostages to hold theirparents to their promises when their conquerors should have gone. 

[Illustration: THE INVASION OF GREECE. ]

The mighty fleet advanced thus, by slow degrees, from conquest toconquest, toward the Athenian shores. The vast multitude of galleyscovered the whole surface of the water, and as they advanced, propelled each by a triple row of oars, they exhibited to thefugitives who had gained the summits of the mountains the appearanceof an immense swarm of insects, creeping, by an almost imperceptibleadvance, over the smooth expanse of the sea. 

The fleet, guided all the time by Hippias, passed on, and finallyentered the strait between the island of Euboea and the main land tothe northward of Athens. Here, after some operations on the island, the Persians finally brought their ships into a port on the Athenianside, and landed. Hippias made all the arrangements, and superintendedthe disembarkation. 

In the mean time, all was confusion and dismay in the city of Athens. The government, as soon as they heard of the approach of this terribledanger, had sent an express to the city of Sparta, asking for aid. Theaid had been promised, but it had not yet arrived. The Atheniansgathered together all the forces at their command on the northern sideof the city, and were debating the question, with great anxiety andearnestness, whether they should shut themselves up within the walls, and await the onset of their enemies there, or go forth to meet themon the way. The whole force which the Greeks could muster consistedof but about ten thousand men, while the Persian host contained over ahundred thousand. It seemed madness to engage in a contest on an openfield against such an overwhelming disparity of numbers. A majority ofvoices were, accordingly, in favor of remaining within thefortifications of the city, and awaiting an attack. 

The command of the army had been intrusted, not to one man, but to acommission of three generals, a sort of triumvirate, on whose jointaction the decision of such a question devolved. Two of the three werein favor of taking a defensive position; but the third, the celebratedMiltiades, was so earnest and so decided in favor of attacking theenemy themselves, instead of waiting to be attacked, that his opinionfinally carried the day, and the other generals resigned their portionof authority into his hands, consenting that he should lead the Greekarmy into battle, if he dared to take the responsibility of doing so. 

The two armies were at this time encamped in sight of each other onthe plain of Marathon, between the mountain and the sea. They werenearly a mile apart. The countless multitude of the Persians extendedas far as the eye could reach, with long lines of tents in thedistance, and thousands of horsemen on the plain, all ready for thecharge. The Greeks, on the other hand, occupied a small and isolatedspot, in a compact form, without cavalry, without archers, without, infact, any weapons suitable either for attack or defense, except in aclose encounter hand to hand. Their only hope of success depended onthe desperate violence of the onset they were to make upon the vastmasses of men spread out before them. On the one side were immensenumbers, whose force, vast as it was, must necessarily be more or lessimpeded in its operations, and slow. It was to be overpowered, therefore, if overpowered at all, by the utmost fierceness andrapidity of action--by sudden onsets, unexpected and furious assaults, and heavy, vigorous, and rapid blows. Miltiades, therefore, made allhis arrangements with reference to that mode of warfare. Such soldiersas the Greeks, too, were admirably adapted to execute such designs, and the immense and heterogeneous mass of Asiatic nations whichcovered the plain before them was exactly the body for such anexperiment to be made upon. Glorying in their numbers and confident ofvictory, they were slowly advancing, without the least idea that thelittle band before them could possibly do them any serious harm. Theyhad actually brought with them, in the train of the army, some blocksof marble, with which they were going to erect a monument of theirvictory, on the field of battle, as soon as the conflict was over!

At length the Greeks began to put themselves in motion. As theyadvanced, they accelerated their march more and more, until justbefore reaching the Persian lines, when they began to run. Theastonishment of the Persians at this unexpected and daring onset soongave place, first to the excitement of personal conflict, and then touniversal terror and dismay; for the headlong impetuosity of theGreeks bore down all opposition, and the desperate swordsmen cut theirway through the vast masses of the enemy with a fierce and desperatefury that nothing could withstand. Something like a contest continuedfor some hours; but, at the end of that time, the Persians were flyingin all directions, every one endeavoring, by the track which he foundmost practicable for himself, to make his way to the ships on theshore. Vast multitudes were killed in this headlong flight; othersbecame entangled in the morasses and fens, and others still strayedaway, and sought, in their terror, a hopeless refuge in the defiles ofthe mountains. Those who escaped crowded in confusion on board theirships, and pushed off from the shore, leaving the whole plain coveredwith their dead and dying companions. 

The Greeks captured an immense amount of stores and baggage, whichwere of great cost and value. They took possession, too, of the marbleblocks which the Persians had brought to immortalize their victory, and built with them a monument, instead, to commemorate their defeat. They counted the dead. Six thousand Persians, and only two hundredGreeks, were found. The bodies of the Greeks were collected together, and buried on the field, and an immense mound was raised over thegrave. This mound has continued to stand at Marathon to the presentday. 

The battle of Marathon was one of those great events in the history ofthe human race which continue to attract, from age to age, theadmiration of mankind. They who look upon war, in all its forms, asonly the perpetration of an unnatural and atrocious crime, which risesto dignity and grandeur only by the very enormity of its guilt, cannot but respect the courage, the energy, and the cool and determinedresolution with which the little band of Greeks went forth to stop thetorrent of foes which all the nations of a whole continent hadcombined to pour upon them. The field has been visited in every age bythousands of travelers, who have upon the spot offered their tributeof admiration to the ancient heroes that triumphed there. The plain isfound now, as of old, overlooking the sea, and the mountains inland, towering above the plain. The mound, too, still remains, which wasreared to consecrate the memory of the Greeks who fell. They who visitit stand and survey the now silent and solitary scene, and derive fromthe influence and spirit of the spot new strength and energy to meetthe great difficulties and dangers of life which they themselves haveto encounter. The Greeks themselves, of the present day, notwithstanding the many sources of discouragement and depression withwhich they have to contend, must feel at Marathon some rising spiritof emulation in contemplating the lofty mental powers and theundaunted spirit of their sires. Byron makes one of them sing, "The mountains look on Marathon, And Marathon looks on the sea; And musing there an hour alone, I dreamed that Greece might still be free; For, standing on the Persians' grave, I could not deem myself a slave. "

CHAPTER XII. 

THE DEATH OF DARIUS. 

B. C. 490-485

The Persian fleet sails southward. --Fate of Hippias. --Omens. --Thedream and the sneeze. --Hippias falls in battle. --Movements of thePersian fleet. --The Persian fleet returns to Asia. --Anxiety ofDatis. --Datis finds a stolen statue. --Island of Delos. --Account ofthe sacred island. --Its present condition. --Disposition of thearmy. --Darius's reception of Datis. --Subsequent history ofMiltiades. --His great popularity. --Miltiades's influenceat Athens. --His ambitious designs. --Island and city ofParos. --Appearance of the modern town. --Miltiades's proposition tothe Athenians. --They accept it. --Miltiades marches againstParos. --Its resistance. --Miltiades is discouraged. --The captivepriestess. --Miltiades's interview with the priestess. --Herinstructions. --Miltiades attempts to enter the temple of Ceres. --Hedislocates a limb. --Miltiades returns to Athens. --He isimpeached. --Miltiades is condemned. --He dies of his wound. --The finepaid. --Proposed punishment of Timo. --Timo saved by the Delphicoracle. --Another expedition against Greece. --Preparations. --Necessityfor settling the succession. --Darius's two sons. --Their claims to thethrone. --Xerxes declared heir. --Death of Darius. --Character ofDarius. --Ground of his renown. 

The city of Athens and the plain of Marathon are situated upon apeninsula. The principal port by which the city was ordinarilyapproached was on the southern shore of the peninsula, though thePersians had landed on the northern side. Of course, in their retreatfrom the field of battle, they fled to the north. When they werebeyond the reach of their enemies and fairly at sea, they were atfirst somewhat perplexed to determine what to do. Datis was extremelyunwilling to return to Darius with the news of such a defeat. On theother hand, there seemed but little hope of any other result if hewere to attempt a second landing. 

Hippias, their Greek guide, was killed in the battle. He expected tobe killed, for his mind, on the morning of the battle, was in a stateof great despondency and dejection. Until that time he had felt astrong and confident expectation of success, but his feelings had thenbeen very suddenly changed. His confidence had arisen from theinfluence of a dream, his dejection from a cause more frivolous still;so that he was equally irrational in his hope and in his despair. 

The omen which seemed to him to portend success to the enterprise inwhich he had undertaken to act as guide, was merely that he dreamedone night that he saw, and spent some time in company with, hismother. In attempting to interpret this dream in the morning, itseemed to him that Athens, his native city, was represented by hismother, and that the vision denoted that he was about to be restoredto Athens again. He was extremely elated at this supernaturalconfirmation of his hopes, and would have gone into the battle certainof victory, had it not been that another circumstance occurred at thetime of the landing to blast his hopes. He had, himself, the generalcharge of the disembarkation. He stationed the ships at their properplaces near the shore, and formed the men upon the beach as theylanded. While he was thus engaged, standing on the sand, he suddenlysneezed. He was an old man, and his teeth--those that remained--wereloose. One of them was thrown out in the act of sneezing, and it fellinto the sand. Hippias was alarmed at this occurrence, considering ita bad omen. He looked a long time for the tooth in vain, and thenexclaimed that all was over. The joining of his tooth to his motherearth was the event to which his dream referred, and there was now nohope of any further fulfillment of it. He went on mechanically, afterthis, in marshaling his men and preparing for battle, but his mind wasoppressed with gloomy forebodings. He acted, in consequence, feeblyand with indecision; and when the Greeks explored the field on themorning after the battle, his body was found among the other mutilatedand ghastly remains which covered the ground. 

As the Persian fleet moved, therefore, along the coast of Attica, theyhad no longer their former guide. They were still, however, veryreluctant to leave the country. They followed the shore of thepeninsula until they came to the promontory of Sunium, which forms thesoutheastern extremity of it. They doubled this cape, and thenfollowed the southern shore of the peninsula until they arrived at thepoint opposite to Athens on that side. In the mean time, however, theSpartan troops which had been sent for to aid the Athenians in thecontest, but which had not arrived in time to take part in thebattle, reached the ground; and the indications which the Persiansobserved, from the decks of their galleys, that the country wasthoroughly aroused, and was every where ready to receive them, deterred them from making any further attempts to land. Afterlingering, therefore, a short time near the shore, the fleet directedits course again toward the coasts of Asia. 

The mind of Datis was necessarily very ill at ease. He dreaded thewrath of Darius; for despots are very prone to consider militaryfailures as the worst of crimes. The expedition had not, however, beenentirely a failure. Datis had conquered many of the Greek islands, andhe had with him, on board his galleys, great numbers of prisoners, anda vast amount of plunder which he had obtained from them. Still, thegreatest and most important of the objects which Darius hadcommissioned him to accomplish had been entirely defeated, and hefelt, accordingly, no little anxiety in respect to the reception whichhe was to expect at Susa. 

One night he had a dream which greatly disturbed him. He awoke in themorning with an impression upon his mind, which he had derived fromthe dream, that some temple had been robbed by his soldiers in thecourse of his expedition, and that the sacrilegious booty which hadbeen obtained was concealed somewhere in the fleet. He immediatelyordered a careful search to be instituted, in which every ship wasexamined. At length they found, concealed in one of the galleys, agolden statue of Apollo. Datis inquired what city it had been takenfrom. They answered from Delium. Delium was on the coast of Attica, near the place where the Persians had landed, at the time of theiradvance on Marathon. Datis could not safely or conveniently go backthere to restore it to its place. He determined, therefore, to depositit at Delos for safe keeping, until it could be returned to its properhome. 

Delos was a small but very celebrated island near the center of theĘgean Sea, and but a short distance from the spot where the Persianfleet was lying when Datis made this discovery. It was a sacredisland, devoted to religious rites, and all contention, and violence, and, so far as was possible, all suffering and death, were excludedfrom it. The sick were removed from it; the dead were not buriedthere; armed ships and armed men laid aside their hostility to eachother when they approached it. Belligerent fleets rode at anchor, side by side, in peace, upon the smooth waters of its little port, andan enchanting picture of peace, tranquillity, and happiness was seenupon its shores. A large natural fountain, or spring, thirty feet indiameter, and inclosed partly by natural rocks and partly by anartificial wall, issued from the ground in the center of the island, and sent forth a beautiful and fertilizing rill into a rich and happyvalley, through which it meandered, deviously, for several miles, seeking the sea. There was a large and populous city near the port, and the whole island was adorned with temples, palaces, colonnades, and other splendid architectural structures, which made it theadmiration of all mankind. All this magnificence and beauty have, however, long since passed away. The island is now silent, deserted, and desolate, a dreary pasture, where cattle browse and feed, withstupid indifference, among the ancient ruins. Nothing living remainsof the ancient scene of grandeur and beauty but the fountain. Thatstill continues to pour up its clear and pellucid waters with aceaseless and eternal flow. 

It was to this Delos that Datis determined to restore the goldenstatue. He took it on board his own galley, and proceeded with it, himself, to the sacred island. He deposited it in the great temple ofApollo, charging the priests to convey it, as soon as a convenientopportunity should occur, to its proper destination at Delium. 

The Persian fleet, after this business was disposed of, set sailagain, and pursued its course toward the coasts of Asia, where atlength the expedition landed in safety. 

The various divisions of the army were then distributed in thedifferent provinces where they respectively belonged, and Datiscommenced his march with the Persian portion of the troops, and withhis prisoners and plunder, for Susa, feeling, however, very uncertainhow he should be received on his arrival there. Despotic power isalways capricious; and the character of Darius, which seems to havebeen naturally generous and kind, and was rendered cruel andtyrannical only through the influence of the position in which he hadbeen placed, was continually presenting the most opposite andcontradictory phases. The generous elements of it, fortunately forDatis, seemed to be in the ascendency when the remnant of the Persianarmy arrived at Susa. Darius received the returning general withoutanger, and even treated the prisoners with humanity. 

Before finally leaving the subject of this celebrated invasion, whichwas brought to an end in so remarkable a manner by the great battle ofMarathon, it may be well to relate the extraordinary circumstanceswhich attended the subsequent history of Miltiades, the greatcommander in that battle on the Greek side. Before the conflict, heseems to have had no official superiority over the other generals, but, by the resolute decision with which he urged the plan of givingthe Persians battle, and the confidence and courage which hemanifested in expressing his readiness to take the responsibility ofthe measure, he placed himself virtually at the head of the Greekcommand. The rest of the officers acquiesced in his pre-eminence, and, waiving their claims to an equal share of the authority, they allowedhim to go forward and direct the operations of the day. If the day hadbeen lost, Miltiades, even though he had escaped death upon the field, would have been totally and irretrievably ruined; but as it was won, the result of the transaction was that he was raised to the highestpinnacle of glory and renown. 

And yet in this, as in all similar cases, the question of success orof failure depended upon causes wholly beyond the reach of humanforesight or control. The military commander who acts in suchcontingencies is compelled to stake every thing dear to him on resultswhich are often as purely hazardous as the casting of a die. 

The influence of Miltiades in Athens after the Persian troops werewithdrawn was paramount and supreme. Finding himself in possession ofthis ascendency, he began to form plans for other militaryundertakings. It proved, in the end, that it would have been farbetter for him to have been satisfied with the fame which he hadalready acquired. 

Some of the islands in the Ęgean Sea he considered as having takenpart with the Persians in the invasion, to such an extent, at least, as to furnish him with a pretext for making war upon them. The onewhich he had specially in view, in the first instance, was Paros. Paros is a large and important island situated near the center of thesouthern portion of the Ęgean Sea. It is of an oval form, and is abouttwelve miles long. The surface of the land is beautifully diversifiedand very picturesque, while, at the same time, the soil is veryfertile. In the days of Miltiades, it was very wealthy and populous, and there was a large city, called also Paros, on the western coast ofthe island, near the sea. There is a modern town built upon the siteof the former city, which presents a very extraordinary appearance, asthe dwellings are formed, in a great measure, of materials obtainedfrom the ancient ruins. Marble columns, sculptured capitals, andfragments of what were once magnificent entablatures, have been usedto construct plain walls, or laid in obscure and neglectedpavements--all, however, still retaining, notwithstanding theirpresent degradation, unequivocal marks of the nobleness of theirorigin. The quarries where the ancient Parian marble was obtained weresituated on this island, not very far from the town. They remain tothe present day in the same state in which the ancient workmen leftthem. 

In the time of Miltiades the island and the city of Paros were bothvery wealthy and very powerful. Miltiades conceived the design ofmaking a descent upon the island, and levying an immense contributionupon the people, in the form of a fine, for what he considered theirtreason in taking part with the enemies of their countrymen. In orderto prevent the people of Paros from preparing for defense, Miltiadesintended to keep the object of his expedition secret for a time. Hetherefore simply proposed to the Athenians that they should equip afleet and put it under his command. He had an enterprise in view, hesaid, the nature of which he could not particularly explain, but hewas very confident of its success, and, if successful, he shouldreturn, in a short time, laden with spoils which would enrich thecity, and amply reimburse the people for the expenses they would haveincurred. The force which he asked for was a fleet of seventy vessels. 

So great was the popularity and influence which Miltiades had acquiredby his victory at Marathon, that this somewhat extraordinaryproposition was readily complied with. The fleet was equipped, andcrews were provided, and the whole armament was placed underMiltiades's command. The men themselves who were embarked on board ofthe galleys did not know whither they were going. Miltiades promisedthem victory and an abundance of gold as their reward; for the rest, they must trust, he said, to him, as he could not explain the actualdestination of the enterprise without endangering its success. Themen were all satisfied with these conditions, and the fleet set sail. 

When it arrived on the coast of Paros, the Parians were, of course, taken by surprise, but they made immediate preparations for a veryvigorous resistance. Miltiades commenced a siege, and sent a herald tothe city, demanding of them, as the price of their ransom, an immensesum of money, saying, at the same time, that, unless they delivered upthat sum, or, at least, gave security for the payment of it, he wouldnot leave the place until the city was captured, and, when captured, it should be wholly destroyed. The Parians rejected the demand, andengaged energetically in the work of completing and strengtheningtheir defenses. They organized companies of workmen to labor duringthe night, when their operations would not be observed, in buildingnew walls, and re-enforcing every weak or unguarded point in the lineof the fortifications. It soon appeared that the Parians were makingfar more rapid progress in securing their position than Miltiades wasin his assaults upon it. Miltiades found that an attack upon afortified island in the Ęgean Sea was a different thing fromencountering the undisciplined hordes of Persians on the open plainsof Marathon. There it was a contest between concentrated courage anddiscipline on the one hand, and a vast expansion of pomp and parade onthe other; whereas now he found that the courage and discipline on hispart were met by an equally indomitable resolution on the part of hisopponents, guided, too, by an equally well-trained experience andskill. In a word, it was Greek against Greek at Paros, and Miltiadesbegan at length to perceive that his prospect of success was growingvery doubtful and dim. 

This state of things, of course, filled the mind of Miltiades withgreat anxiety and distress; for, after the promises which he had madeto the Athenians, and the blind confidence which he had asked of themin proposing that they should commit the fleet so unconditionally tohis command, he could not return discomfited to Athens withoutinvolving himself in the most absolute disgrace. While he was in thisperplexity, it happened that some of his soldiers took captive aParian female, one day, among other prisoners. She proved to be apriestess, from one of the Parian temples. Her name was Timo. Thethought occurred to Miltiades that, since all human means at hiscommand had proved inadequate to accomplish his end, he might, perhaps, through this captive priestess, obtain some superhuman aid. As she had been in the service of a Parian temple, she would naturallyhave an influence with the divinities of the place, or, at least, shewould be acquainted with the proper means of propitiating their favor. 

Miltiades, accordingly, held a private interview with Timo, and askedher what he should do to propitiate the divinities of Paros so far asto enable him to gain possession of the city. She replied that shecould easily point out the way, if he would but follow herinstructions. Miltiades, overjoyed, promised readily that he would doso. She then gave him her instructions secretly. What they were is notknown, except so far as they were revealed by the occurrences thatfollowed. 

There was a temple consecrated to the goddess Ceres near to the city, and so connected with it, it seems, as to be in some measure includedwithin the defenses. The approach to this temple was guarded by apalisade. There were, however, gates which afforded access, exceptwhen they were fastened from within. Miltiades, in obedience to Timo'sinstructions, went privately, in the night, perhaps, and with veryfew attendants, to this temple. He attempted to enter by the gates, which he had expected, it seems, to find open. They were, however, fastened against him. He then undertook to scale the palisade. Hesucceeded in doing this, not, however, without difficulty, and thenadvanced toward the temple, in obedience to the instructions which hehad received from Timo. The account states that the act, whatever itwas, that Timo had directed him to perform, instead of being, as hesupposed, a means of propitiating the favor of the divinity, wassacrilegious and impious; and Miltiades, as he approached the temple, was struck suddenly with a mysterious and dreadful horror of mind, which wholly overwhelmed him. Rendered almost insane by thissupernatural remorse and terror, he turned to fly. He reached thepalisade, and, in endeavoring to climb over it, his precipitation andhaste caused him to fall. His attendants ran to take him up. He washelpless and in great pain. They found he had dislocated a joint inone of his limbs. He received, of course, every possible attention;but, instead of recovering from the injury, he found that theconsequences of it became more and more serious every day. In a word, the great conqueror of the Persians was now wholly overthrown, and laymoaning on his couch as helpless as a child. 

He soon determined to abandon the siege of Paros and return to Athens. He had been about a month upon the island, and had laid waste therural districts, but, as the city had made good its defense againsthim, he returned without any of the rich spoil which he had promised. The disappointment which the people of Athens experienced on hisarrival, turned soon into a feeling of hostility against the author ofthe calamity. Miltiades found that the fame and honor which he hadgained at Marathon were gone. They had been lost almost as suddenly asthey had been acquired. The rivals and enemies who had been silencedby his former success were now brought out and made clamorous againsthim by his present failure. They attributed the failure to his ownmismanagement of the expedition, and one orator, at length, advancedarticles of impeachment against him, on a charge of having been bribedby the Persians to make his siege of Paros only a feint. Miltiadescould not defend himself from these criminations, for he was lying, atthe time, in utter helplessness, upon his couch of pain. Thedislocation of the limb had ended in an open wound, which at length, having resisted all the attempts of the physicians to stop itsprogress, had begun to mortify, and the life of the sufferer was fastebbing away. His son Cimon did all in his power to save his fatherfrom both the dangers that threatened him. He defended his characterin the public tribunals, and he watched over his person in the cell inthe prison. These filial efforts were, however, in both casesunavailing. Miltiades was condemned by the tribunal, and he died ofhis wound. 

The penalty exacted of him by the sentence was a very heavy fine. Thesum demanded was the amount which the expedition to Paros had cost thecity, and which, as it had been lost through the agency of Miltiades, it was adjudged that he should refund. This sentence, as well as thetreatment in general which Miltiades received from his countrymen, hasbeen since considered by mankind as very unjust and cruel. It was, however, only following out, somewhat rigidly, it is true, theessential terms and conditions of a military career. It results fromprinciples inherent in the very nature of war, that we are never tolook for the ascendency of justice and humanity in any thingpertaining to it. It is always power, and not right, that determinespossession; it is success, not merit, that gains honors and rewards;and they who assent to the genius and spirit of military rule thusfar, must not complain if they find that, on the same principle, it isfailure and not crime which brings condemnation and destruction. 

When Miltiades was dead, Cimon found that he could not receive hisfather's body for honorable interment unless he paid the fine. He hadno means, himself, of doing this. He succeeded, however, at length, inraising the amount, by soliciting contributions from the familyfriends of his father. He paid the fine into the city treasury, andthen the body of the hero was deposited in its long home. 

The Parians were at first greatly incensed against the priestess Timo, as it seemed to them that she had intended to betray the city toMiltiades. They wished to put her to death, but they did not dare todo it. It might be considered an impious sacrilege to punish apriestess. They accordingly sent to the oracle at Delphi to state thecircumstances of the case, and to inquire if they might lawfully putthe priestess to death. She had been guilty, they said, of pointingout to an enemy the mode by which he might gain possession of theircity; and, what was worse, she had, in doing so, attempted to admithim to those solemn scenes and mysteries in the temple which it wasnot lawful for any man to behold. The oracle replied that thepriestess must not be punished, for she had done no wrong. It had beendecreed by the gods that Miltiades should be destroyed, and Timo hadbeen employed by them as the involuntary instrument of conducting himto his fate. The people of Paros acquiesced in this decision, and Timowas set free. 

 * * * * *

But to return to Darius. His desire to subdue the Greeks and to addtheir country to his dominions, and his determination to accomplishhis purpose, were increased and strengthened, not diminished, by therepulse which his army had met with at the first invasion. He wasgreatly incensed against the Athenians, as if he considered theircourage and energy in defending their country an audacious outrageagainst himself, and a crime. He resolved to organize a newexpedition, still greater and more powerful than the other. Of thisarmament he determined to take the command himself in person, and tomake the preparations for it on a scale of such magnitude as that theexpedition should be worthy to be led by the great sovereign of halfthe world. He accordingly transmitted orders to all the peoples, nations, languages, and realms, in all his dominions, to raise theirrespective quotas of troops, horses, ships, and munitions of war, andprepare to assemble at such place of rendezvous as he should designatewhen all should be ready. 

Some years elapsed before these arrangements were matured, and when atlast the time seemed to have arrived for carrying his plans intoeffect, he deemed it necessary, before he commenced his march, tosettle the succession of his kingdom; for he had several sons, whomight each claim the throne, and involve the empire in disastrouscivil wars in attempting to enforce their claims, in case he shouldnever return. The historians say that there was a law of Persiaforbidding the sovereign to leave the realm without previously fixingupon a successor. It is difficult to see, however, by what power orauthority such a law could have been enacted, or to believe thatmonarchs like Darius would recognize an abstract obligation to law ofany kind, in respect to their own political action. There is aspecies of law regulating the ordinary dealings between man and man, that springs up in all communities, whether savage or civilized, fromcustom, and from the action of judicial tribunals, which the mostdespotic and absolute sovereigns feel themselves bound, so far asrelates to the private affairs of their subjects, to respect anduphold; but, in regard to their own personal and governmental acts andmeasures, they very seldom know any other authority than the impulsesof their own sovereign will. 

Darius had several sons, among whom there were two who claimed theright to succeed their father on the throne. One was the oldest son ofa wife whom Darius had married before he became king. His name wasArtobazanes. The other was the son of Atossa, the daughter of Cyrus, whom Darius had married _after_ his accession to the throne. His namewas Xerxes. Artobazanes claimed that he was entitled to be hisfather's heir, since he was his oldest son. Xerxes, on the other hand, maintained that, at the period of the birth of Artobazanes, Darius wasnot a king. He was then in a private station, and sons could properlyinherit only what their fathers possessed at the time when they wereborn. He himself, on the other hand, was the oldest son which hisfather had had, _being a king_, and he was, consequently, the trueinheritor of the kingdom. Besides, being the son of Atossa, he was thegrandson of Cyrus, and the hereditary rights, therefore, of that greatfounder of the empire had descended to him. 

Darius decided the question in favor of Xerxes, and then madearrangements for commencing his march, with a mind full of the elationand pride which were awakened by the grandeur of his position and themagnificence of his schemes. These schemes, however, he did not liveto execute. He suddenly fell sick and died, just as he was ready toset out upon his expedition, and Xerxes, his son, reigned in hisstead. 

Xerxes immediately took command of the vast preparations which hisfather had made, and went on with the prosecution of the enterprise. The expedition which followed deserves, probably, in respect to thenumbers engaged in it, the distance which it traversed, theimmenseness of the expenses involved, and the magnitude of itsresults, to be considered the greatest military undertaking whichhuman ambition and power have ever attempted to effect. The narrative, however, both of its splendid adventures and of its ultimate fate, belongs to the history of Xerxes. 

The greatness of Darius was the greatness of position and not ofcharacter. He was the absolute sovereign of nearly half the world, and, as such, was held up very conspicuously to the attention ofmankind, who gaze with a strong feeling of admiration and awe uponthese vast elevations of power, as they do upon the summits ofmountains, simply because they are high. Darius performed no greatexploit, and he accomplished no great object while he lived; and hedid not even leave behind him any strong impressions of personalcharacter. There is in his history, and in the position which heoccupies in the minds of men, greatness without dignity, successwithout merit, vast and long-continued power without effectsaccomplished or objects gained, and universal and perpetual renownwithout honor or applause. The world admire Cęsar, Hannibal, Alexander, Alfred, and Napoleon for the deeds which they performed. They admire Darius only on account of the elevation on which he stood. In the same lofty position, they would have admired, probably, just asmuch, the very horse whose neighing placed him there. 

 THE END. 

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES

1. Minor changes have been made to correct typesetters' errors, and toensure consistent spelling and punctuation in this etext; otherwise, every effort has been made to remain true to the original book. 

2. The chapter summaries in this text were originally published asbanners in the page headers, and have been moved to beginning of thechapter for the reader's convenience.