.
Artaxerxes
II (Artkhshatra)
Ardashir-e Derz-Dast
By:
Plutarch (d. 359 BCE)
Translated
by John Dryden
The
first Artaxerxes, among all the kings of Persia the most remarkable
for
a gentle and noble spirit, was surnamed the Long-handed, his right
hand
being longer than his left, and was the son of Xerxes. The second,
whose
story I am now writing, who had the surname of the Mindful,
was
the grandson of the former, by his daughter Parysatis, who brought
Darius
four sons, the eldest Artaxerxes, the next Cyrus, and two younger
than
these, Ostanes and Oxathres. Cyrus took his name of the ancient
Cyrus,
as he, they say, had his from the sun, which, in the Persian
language,
is called Cyrus. Artaxerxes was at first called Arsicas;
Dinon
says Oarses; but it is utterly improbable that Ctesias (however
otherwise
he may have filled his books with a perfect farrago of incredible
and
senseless fables) should be ignorant of the name of the king with
whom
he lived as his physician, attending upon himself, his wife,
his
mother, and his children.
Cyrus,
from his earliest youth, showed something of a headstrong and
vehement
character; Artaxerxes, on the other side, was gentler in
everything,
and of a nature more yielding and soft in its action.
He
married a beautiful and virtuous wife, at the desire of his parents,
but
kept her as expressly against their wishes. For King Darius, having
put
her brother to death, was purposing likewise to destroy her. But
Arsicas,
throwing himself at his mother's feet, by many tears, at
last,
with much ado, persuaded her that they should neither put her
to
death nor divorce her from him. However, Cyrus, was his mother's
favourite,
and the son whom she most desired to settle in the throne.
And
therefore, his father Darius now lying ill, he, being sent for
from
the sea to the court, set out thence with full hopes that by
her
means he was to be declared the successor to the kingdom. For
Parysatis
had the specious plea in his behalf, which Xerxes on the
advice
of Demaratus had of old made use of, that she had borne him
Arsicas
when he was a subject, but Cyrus, when a king. Notwithstanding,
she
prevailed not with Darius, but the eldest son, Arsicas, was proclaimed
king,
his name being changed into Artaxerxes; and Cyrus remained satrap
of
Lydia, and commander in the maritime provinces.
It
was not long after the decease of Darius that the king, his successor,
went
to Pasargadae, to have the ceremony of his inauguration consummated
by
the Persian priests. There is a temple dedicated to a warlike goddess,
whom
one might liken to Minerva, into which when the royal person
to
be initiated has passed, he must strip himself of his own robe,
and
put on that which Cyrus the first wore before he was king; then,
having
devoured a frail of figs, he must eat turpentine, and drink
a
cup of sour milk. To which if they superadd any other rites, it
is
unknown to any but those that are present at them. Now Artaxerxes
being
about to address himself to this solemnity, Tisaphernes came
to
him, bringing a certain priest, who, having trained up Cyrus in
his
youth in the established discipline of Persia, and having taught
him
the Magian philosophy, was likely to be as much disappointed as
any
man that his pupil did not succeed to the throne. And for that
reason
his veracity was the less questioned when he charged Cyrus
as
though he had been about to lie in wait for the king in the temple,
and
to assault and assassinate him as he was putting off his garment.
Some
affirm that he was apprehended upon this impeachment, others
that
he had entered the temple and was pointed out there, as he lay
lurking
by the priest. But as he was on the point of being put to
death,
his mother clasped him in her arms, and, entwining him with
the
tresses of her hair, joined his neck close to her own, and by
her
bitter lamentation and intercession to Artaxerxes for him, succeeded
in
saving his life; and sent him away again to the sea and to his
former
province. This, however, could no longer content him; nor did
he
so well remember his delivery as his arrest, his resentment for
which
made him more eagerly desirous of the kingdom than before.
Some
say that he revolted from his brother, because he had not a revenue
allowed
him sufficient for his daily meals; but this is on the face
of
it absurd. For had he had nothing else, yet he had a mother ready
to
supply him with whatever he could desire out of her own means.
But
the great number of soldiers who were hired from all quarters
and
maintained, as Xenophon informs us, for his service, by his friends
and
connections, is in itself a sufficient proof of his riches. He
did
not assemble them together in a body, desiring as yet to conceal
his
enterprise; but he had agents everywhere, enlisting foreign soldiers
upon
various pretences; and, in the meantime, Parysatis, who was with
the
king, did her best to put aside all suspicions, and Cyrus himself
always
wrote in a humble and dutiful manner to him, sometimes soliciting
favour,
and sometimes making countercharges against Tisaphernes, as
if
his jealousy and contest had been wholly with him. Moreover, there
was
a certain natural dilatoriness in the king, which was taken by
many
for clemency. And, indeed, in the beginning of his reign, he
did
seem really to emulate the gentleness of the first Artaxerxes,
being
very accessible in his person, and liberal to a fault in the
distribution
of honours and favours. Even in his punishments, no contumely
or
vindictive pleasure could be seen; and those who offered him presents
were
as much pleased with his manner of accepting, as were those who
received
gifts from him with his graciousness and amiability in giving
them.
Nor truly was there anything, however inconsiderable, given
him,
which he did not deign kindly to accept of; insomuch that when
one
Omises had presented him with a very large pomegranate, "By city
Mithras,"
said he, "this man, were he intrusted with it, would turn
a
small city into a great one."
Once
when some were offering him one thing, some another, as he was
on
a progress, a certain poor labourer, having got nothing at hand
to
bring him, ran to the river side, and, taking up water in his hands,
offered
it to him; with which Artaxerxes was so well pleased that
he
sent him a goblet of gold and a thousand darics. To Euclidas, the
Lacedaemonian,
who had made a number of bold and arrogant speeches
to
him, he sent word by one of his officers. "You have leave to say
what
you please to me, and I, you should remember, may both say and
do
what I please to you." Teribazus once, when they were hunting,
came
up and pointed out to the king that his royal robe was torn;
the
king asked him what he wished him to do; and when Teribazus replied,
"May
it please you to put on another and give me that," the king did
so,
saying withal, "I give it you, Teribazus, but I charge you not
to
wear it." He, little regarding the injunction, being not a bad,
but
a lightheaded, thoughtless man, immediately the king took it off,
put
it on, and bedecked himself further with royal golden necklaces
and
women's ornaments, to the great scandal of everybody, the thing
being
quite unlawful. But the king laughed and told him, "You have
my
leave to wear the trinkets as a woman, and the robe of state as
a
fool." And whereas none usually sat down to eat with the king besides
his
mother and his wedded wife, the former being placed above, the
other
below him, Artaxerxes invited also to his table his two younger
brothers,
Ostanes and Oxathres. But what was the most popular thing
of
all among the Persians was the sight of his wife Statira's chariot,
which
always appeared with its curtains down, allowing her country-women
to
salute and approach her, which made the queen a great favourite
with
the people.
Yet
busy, factious men, that delighted in change, professed it to
be
their opinion that the times needed Cyrus, a man of great spirit,
an
excellent warrior, and a lover of his friends, and that the largeness
of
their empire absolutely required a bold and enterprising prince.
Cyrus,
then, not only relying upon those of his own province near
the
sea, but upon many of those in the upper countries near the king,
commenced
the war against him. He wrote to the Lacedaemonians, bidding
them
come to his assistance and supply him with men, assuring them
that
to those who came to him on foot he would give horses, and to
the
horsemen chariots; that upon those who had farms he would bestow
villages,
and those who were lords of villages he would make so of
cities;
and that those who would be his soldiers should receive their
pay,
not by count, but by weight. And among many other high praises
of
himself, he said he had the stronger soul; was more a philosopher
and
a better Magian; and could drink and bear more wine than his brother,
who,
as he averred, was such a coward and so little like a man, that
he
could neither sit his horse in hunting nor his throne in time of
danger.
The Lacedaemonians, his letter being read, sent a staff to
Clearchus,
commanding him to obey Cyrus in all things. So Cyrus marched
towards
the king, having under his conduct a numerous host of non-Greeks,
and
but little less than thirteen thousand stipendiary Grecians; alleging
first
one cause, then another, for his expedition. Yet the true reason
lay
not long concealed, but Tisaphernes went to the king in person
to
declare it. Thereupon, the court was all in an uproar and tumult,
the
queen-mother bearing almost the whole blame of the enterprise,
and
her retainers being suspected and accused. Above all, Statira
angered
her by bewailing the war and passionately demanding where
were
now the pledges and the intercession which saved the life of
him
that conspired against his brother; "to the end," she said,
"that
he
might plunge us all into war and trouble." For which words Parysatis
hating
Statira, and being naturally implacable and savage in her anger and
revenge, consulted how she might destroy her. But since Dinon
tells
us that her purpose took effect in the time of the war, and
Ctesias
says it was after it, I shall keep the story for the place
to
which the latter assigns it, as it is very unlikely that he, who
was
actually present, should not know the time when it happened, and
there
was no motive to induce him designedly to misplace its date
in
his narrative of it, though it is not infrequent with him in his
history
to make excursions from truth into mere fiction and romance.
As
Cyrus was upon the march, rumours and reports were brought him,
as
though the king still deliberated, and were not minded to fight
and
presently to join battle with him; but to wait in the heart of
his
kingdom until his forces should have come in thither from all
parts
of his dominions. He had cut a trench through the plain ten
fathoms
in breadth, and as many in depth the length of it being no
less
than four hundred furlongs, he be allowed Cyrus to pass across
it,
and to advance almost to the city of Babylon. Then Teribazus,
as
the report goes, was the first that had the boldness to tell the
king
that he ought not to avoid the conflict, nor to abandon Media,
Babylon,
and even Susa, and hide himself in Persis, when all the while
he
had an army many times over more numerous than his enemies, and
an
infinite company of governors and captains that were better soldiers
and
politicians than Cyrus. So at last he resolved to fight, as soon
as
it was possible for him. Making, therefore, his first appearance,
all
on a sudden, at the head of nine hundred thousand well-marshalled
men,
he so startled and surprised the enemy, who with the confidence of
contempt were marching on their way in no order, and with their
arms
not ready for use, that Cyrus, in the midst of such noise and
tumult,
was scarcely able to form them for battle. Moreover, the very
manner
in which he led on his men, silently and slowly, made the Grecians
stand
amazed at his good discipline; who had expected irregular shouting
and
leaping, much confusion and separation between one body of men
and
another, in so vast a multitude of troops. He also placed the
choicest
of his armed chariots in the front of his own phalanx over
against
the Grecian troops, that a violent charge with these might
cut
open their ranks before they closed with them.
But
as this battle is described by many historians, and Xenophon in
particular
as good as shows it us by eyesight, not as a past event,
but
as a present action, and by his vivid account makes his hearers
feel
all the passions and join in all the dangers of it, it would
be
folly in me to give any larger account of it than barely to mention
any
things omitted by him which yet deserve to be recorded. The place,
then,
in which the two armies were drawn out is called Cunaxa, being
about
five hundred furlongs distant from Babylon. And here Clearchus
beseeching
Cyrus before the fight to retire behind the combatants,
and
not expose himself to hazard, they say he replied, "What is this,
Clearchus?
Would you have me, who aspire to empire, show myself unworthy
of
it?" But if Cyrus committed a great fault in entering headlong
into
the midst of danger, and not paying any regard to his own safety,
Clearchus
was as much to blame, if not more, in refusing to lead the
Greeks
against the main body of the enemy, where the king stood, and
in
keeping his right wing close to the river, for fear of being surrounded.
For
if he wanted, above all other things, to be safe, and considered
it
his first object to sleep in a whole skin, it had been his best
way
not to have stirred from home. But, after marching in arms ten
thousand
furlongs from the sea-coast, simply on his choosing, for
the
purpose of placing Cyrus on the throne, to look about and select
a
position which would enable him, not to preserve him under whose
pay
and conduct he was, but himself to engage with more ease and security,
seemed
much like one that through fear of present dangers had abandoned
the
purpose of his actions, and been false to the design of his expedition.
For
it is evident from the very event of the battle that none of those
who
were in array around the king's person could have stood the shock
of
the Grecian charge; and had they been beaten out of the field,
and
Artaxerxes either fled or fallen, Cyrus would have gained by the
victory,
not only safety, but a crown. And, therefore, Clearchus by
his
caution must be considered more to blame for the result in the
destruction
of the life and fortune of Cyrus, than he by his heat
and
rashness. For had the king made it his business to discover a
place,
where having posted the Grecians, he might encounter them with
the
least hazard, he would never have found out any other but that
which
was most remote from himself and those near him; of his defeat
in
which he was insensible, and, though Clearchus had the victory,
yet
Cyrus could not know of it, and could take no advantage of it
before
his fall. Cyrus knew well enough what was expedient to be done,
and
commanded Clearchus with his men to take their place in the centre.
Clearchus
replied that he would take care to have all arranged as
was
best, and then spoiled all.
For
the Grecians, where they were, defeated the enemies till they
were
weary, and chased them successfully a very great way. But Cyrus
being
mounted upon a noble but a headstrong and hard-mouthed horse,
bearing
the name, as Ctesias tells us, of Pasacas, Artagerses, the
leader
of the Cadusians, galloped up to him, crying aloud, "O most
unjust
and senseless of men, who are the disgrace of the honoured
name
of Cyrus, are you come here leading the wicked Greeks on a wicked
journey,
to plunder the good things of the Persians, and this with
the
intent of slaying your lord and brother, the master of ten thousand
times
ten thousand servants that are better men than you? as you shall
see
this instant; for you shall lose your head here, before you look
upon
the face of the king." Which when he had said, he cast his javelin
at
him. But his coat of mail stoutly repelled it, and Cyrus was not
wounded;
yet the stroke falling heavy upon him, he reeled under it.
Then
Artagerses turning his horse, Cyrus threw his weapon, and sent
the
head of it through his neck near the shoulder bone. So that it
is
almost universally agreed to by all the authors that Artagerses
was
slain by him.
But
as to the death of Cyrus, since Xenophon, as being himself no
eyewitness
of it, has stated it simply and in few words, it may not
be
amiss perhaps to run over on the one hand what Dinon, and on the
other,
what Ctesias has said of it.
Dinon
then affirms that, after the death of Artagerses, Cyrus, furiously
attacking
the guard of Artaxerxes, wounded the king's horse, and so
dismounted
him, and when Teribazus had quickly lifted him up upon
another,
and said to him, "O king, remember this day, which is not
one
to be forgotten," Cyrus, again spurring up his horse, struck down
Artaxerxes.
But at the third assault the king being enraged, and saying
to
those near him that death was more eligible, made up to Cyrus,
who
furiously and blindly rushed in the face of the weapons opposed
to
him. So the king struck him with a javelin, as likewise did those
that
were about him. And thus Cyrus falls, as some say, by the hand
of
the king; as others by the dart of a Carian, to whom Artaxerxes
for
a reward of his achievement gave the privilege of carrying ever
after
a golden cock upon his spear before the first ranks of the army
in
all expeditions. For the Persians call the men of Caria cocks,
because
of the crests with which they adorn their helmets.
But
the account of Ctesias, to put it shortly, omitting many details,
is
as follows: Cyrus, after the death of Artagerses, rode up against
the
king, as he did against him, neither exchanging a word with the
other.
But Ariaeus, Cyrus's friend, was beforehand with him, and darted
first
at the king, yet wounded him not. Then the king cast his lance
at
his brother, but missed him, though he both hit and slew Satiphernes,
a
noble man and a faithful friend to Cyrus. Then Cyrus directed his
lance
against the king, and pierced his breast with it quite through
his
armour, two inches deep, so that he fell from his horse with the
stroke.
At which those that attended him being put to flight and disorder,
he,
rising with a few, among whom was Ctesias, and making his way
to
a little hill not far off, rested himself. But Cyrus, who was in
the
thick enemy, was carried off a great way by the wildness of his
horse,
the darkness which was now coming on making it hard for them
to
know him, and for his followers to find him. However, being made
elate
with victory, and full of confidence and force, he passed through
them,
crying out, and that more than once, in the Persian language,
"Clear
the way, villains, clear the way;" which they indeed did, throwing
themselves
down at his feet. But his tiara dropped off his head, and
a
young Persian, by name Mithridates, running by, struck a dart into
one
of his temples near his eye, not knowing who he was; out of which
wound
much blood gushed, so that Cyrus, swooning and senseless, fell
off
his horse. The horse escaped, and ran about the field; but the
companion
of Mithridates took the trappings which fell off, soaked
with
blood. And as Cyrus slowly began to come to himself, some eunuchs
who
were there tried to put him on another horse, and so convey him
safe
away. And when he was not able to ride, and desired to walk on
his
feet, they led and supported him, being indeed dizzy in the head
and
reeling, but convinced of his being victorious, hearing, as he
went,
the fugitives saluting Cyrus as king, and praying for grace
and
mercy. In the meantime, some wretched, poverty-stricken Caunians,
who
in some pitiful employment as camp followers had accompanied the
king's
army, by chance joined these attendants of Cyrus, supposing
them
to be of their own party. But when, after a while, they made
out
that their coats over their breastplates were red, whereas all
the
king's people wore white ones, they knew that they were enemies.
One
of them, therefore, not dreaming that it was Cyrus, ventured to
strike
him behind with a dart. The vein under the knee was cut open,
and
Cyrus fell, and at the same time struck his wounded temple against
a
stone, and so died. Thus runs Ctesias's account, tardily, with the
slowness
of a blunt weapon effecting the victim's death.
When
he was now dead, Artasyras, the king's eye, passed by on horseback,
and,
having observed the eunuchs lamenting, he asked the most trusty
of
them, "Who is this, Pariscas, whom you sit here deploring?" He
replied,
"Do not you see, O Artasyras, that it is my master, Cyrus?"
Then
Artasyras wondering, bade the eunuch be of good cheer, and keep
the
dead body safe. And going in all haste to Artaxerxes, who had
now
given up all hope of his affairs, and was in great suffering also
with
his thirst and his wound, he with much joy assured him that he
had
seen Cyrus dead. Upon this, at first, he set out to go in person
to
the place, and commanded Artasyras to conduct him where he lay.
But
when there was a great noise made about the Greeks, who were said
to
be in full pursuit, conquering and carrying all before them, he
thought
it best to send a number of persons to see; and accordingly
thirty
men went with torches in their hands. Meantime, as he seemed
to
be almost at the point of dying from thirst, his eunuch Satibarzanes
ran
about seeking drink for him; for the place had no water in it
and
he was at a good distance from his camp. After a long search he
at
last met one of those poor Caunian camp-followers, who had in a
wretched
skin about four pints of foul and stinking water, which he
took
and gave to the king; and when he had drunk all off, he asked
him
if he did not dislike the water; but he declared by all the gods
that
he never so much relished either wine, or water out of the lightest
or
purest stream. "And therefore," said he, "if I fail myself
to discover
and
reward him who gave it to you, I beg of heaven to make him rich
and
prosperous."
Just
after this, came back the thirty messengers, with joy and triumph
in
their looks, bringing him the tidings of his unexpected fortune.
And
now he was also encouraged by the number of soldiers that again
began
to flock in and gather about him; so that he presently descended
into
the plain with many lights and flambeaux round about him. And
when
he had come near the dead body, and, according to a certain law
of
the Persians, the right hand and head had been lopped off from
the
trunk, he gave orders that the latter should be brought to him,
and,
grasping the hair of it, which was long and bushy, he showed
it
to those who were still uncertain and disposed to fly. They were
amazed
at it, and did him homage; so that there were presently seventy
thousand
of them got about him, and entered the camp again with him.
He
had led out to the fight, as Ctesias affirms, four hundred thousand
men.
But Dinon and Xenophon aver that there were many more than forty
myriads
actually engaged. As to the number of the slain, as the catalogue
of
them was given up to Artaxerxes, Ctesias says, they were nine thousand,
but
that they appeared to him no fewer than twenty thousand. Thus
far
there is something to be said on both sides. But it is a flagrant
untruth
on the part of Ctesias to say that he was sent along with
Phalinus
the Zacynthian and some others to the Grecians. For Xenophon
knew
well enough that Ctesias was resident at court; for he makes
mention
of him, and had evidently met with his writings. And, therefore,
had
he come, and been deputed the interpreter of such momentous words,
Xenophon
surely would not have struck his name out of the embassy
to
mention only Phalinus. But Ctesias, as is evident, being excessively
vainglorious
and no less a favourer of the Lacedaemonians and Clearchus,
never
fails to assume to himself some province in his narrative, taking
opportunity,
in these situations, to introduce abundant high praise
of
Clearchus and Sparta.
When
the battle was over, Artaxerxes sent goodly and magnificent gifts
to
the son of Artagerses, whom Cyrus slew. He conferred likewise high
honours
upon Ctesias and others, and, having found out the Caunian
who
gave him the bottle of water, he made him- a poor, obscure man-
a
rich and an honourable person. As for the punishments he inflicted
upon
delinquents, there was a kind of harmony betwixt them and the
crimes.
He gave order that one Arbaces, a Mede, that had fled in the
fight
to Cyrus and again at his fall had come back, should, as a mark
that
he was considered a dastardly and effeminate, not a dangerous
or
treasonable man, have a common harlot set upon his back, and carry
her
about for a whole day in the market-place. Another, besides that
he
had deserted to them, having falsely vaunted that he had killed
two
of the rebels, he decreed that three needles should be struck
through
his tongue. And both supposing that with his own hand he had
cut
off Cyrus, and being willing that all men should think and say
so,
he sent rich presents to Mithridates, who first wounded him, and
charged
those by whom he conveyed the gifts to him to tell him, that
"the
king has honoured you with these his favours, because you found
and
brought him the horse-trappings of Cyrus."
The
Carian, also, from whose wound in the ham Cyrus died, suing for
his
reward, he commanded those that brought it him to say that "the
king
presents you with this as a second remuneration of the good news
told
him; for first Artasyras, and, next to him, you assured him of
the
decease of Cyrus." Mithridates retired without complaint, though
not
without resentment. But the unfortunate Carian was fool enough
to
give way to a natural infirmity. For being ravished with the sight
of
the princely gifts that were before him, and being tempted thereupon
to
challenge and aspire to things above him, he deigned not to accept
the
king's present as a reward for good news, but indignantly crying
out
and appealing to witnesses, he protested that he, and none but
he,
had killed Cyrus, and that he was unjustly deprived of the glory.
These
words, when they came to his ear, much offended the king, so
that
forthwith he sentenced him to be beheaded. But the queen mother,
being
in the king's presence, said, "Let not the king so lightly discharge
this
pernicious Carian; let him receive from me the fitting punishment
of
what he dares to say." So when the king had consigned him over
to
Parysatis, she charged the executioners to take up the man, and
stretch
him upon the rack for ten days, then, tearing out his eyes,
to
drop molten brass into his ears till he expired.
Mithridates,
also, within a short time after, miserably perished by
the
like folly; for being invited to a feast where were the eunuchs
both
of the king and of the queen mother, he came arrayed in the dress
and
the golden ornaments which he had received from the king. After
they
began to drink, the eunuch that was the greatest in power with
Parysatis
thus speaks to him: "A magnificent dress, indeed, O Mithridates,
is
this which the king has given you; the chains and bracelets are
glorious,
and your scymetar of invaluable worth; how happy has he
made
you, the object of every eye!" To whom he, being a little overcome
with
the wine, replied, "What are these things, Sparamizes? Sure I
am,
I showed myself to the king in that day of trial to be one deserving
greater
and costlier gifts than these." At which Sparamizes smiling,
said,
"I do not grudge them to you, Mithridates; but since the Grecians
tell
us that wine and truth go together, let me hear now, my friend,
what
glorious or mighty matter was it to find some trappings that
had
slipped off a horse, and to bring them to the king?" And this
he
spoke, not as ignorant of the truth, but desiring to unbosom him
to
the company, irritating the vanity of the man, whom drink had now
made
eager to talk and incapable of controlling himself. So he forbore
nothing,
but said out, "Talk you what you please ofhorse-trappings
and
such trifles; I tell you plainly, that this hand was the death
of
Cyrus. For I threw not my darts as Artagerses did, in vain and
to
no purpose, but only just missing his eye, and hitting him right
on
the temple, and piercing him through. I brought him to the ground;
and
of that wound he died." The rest of the company, who saw the end
and
the hapless fate of Mithridates as if it were already completed,
bowed
their heads to the ground; and he who entertained them said,
"Mithridates,
my friend, let us eat and drink now, revering the fortune
of
our prince, and let us waive discourse which is too weighty for
us."
Presently
after, Sparamizes told Parysatis what he said, and she told
the
king, who was greatly enraged at it, as having the lie given him,
and
being in danger to forfeit the most glorious and most pleasant
circumstance
of his victory. For it was his desire that every one,
whether
Greek or Non-Greeks, should believe that in the mutual assaults
and
conflicts between him and his brother, he, giving and receiving
a
blow, was himself indeed wounded, but that the other lost his life.
And,
therefore, he decreed that Mithridates should be put to death
in
boats; which execution is after the following manner: Taking two
boats
framed exactly to fit and answer each other, they lay down in
one
of them the malefactor that suffers, upon his back; then, covering
it
with the other, and so setting them together that the head, hands,
and
feet of him are left outside, and the rest of his body lies shut
up
within, they offer him food, and if he refuse to eat it, they force
him
to do it by pricking his eyes; then, after he has eaten, they
drench
him with a mixture of milk and honey, pouring it not only into
his
mouth, but all over his face. They then keep his face continually
turned
towards the sun: and it becomes completely covered up and hidden
by
the multitude of flies that settle on it. And as within the boats
he
does what those that eat and drink must needs do, creeping things
and
vermin spring out of the corruption and rottenness of the excrement,
and
these entering into the bowels of him, his body is consumed. When
the
man is manifestly dead, the uppermost boat being taken off, they
find
his flesh devoured, and swarms of such noisome creatures preying
upon
and, as it were, growing to his inwards. In this way Mithridates,
after
suffering for seventeen days, at last expired.
Masabates,
the king's eunuch, who had cut off the hand and head of
Cyrus,
remained still as a mark for Parysatis's vengeance. Whereas,
therefore,
he was so circumspect, that he gave her no advantage against
him,
she framed this kind of snare for him. She was a very ingenious
woman
in other ways, and was an excellent player at dice, and, before
the
war, had often played with the king. After the war, too, when
she
had been reconciled to him, she joined readily in all amusements
with
him, played at dice with him, was his confidant in his love matters,
and
in every way did her best to leave him as little as possible in
the
company of Statira, both because she hated her more than any other
person,
and because she wished to have no one so powerful as herself.
And
so once when Artaxerxes was at leisure, and inclined to divert
himself,
she challenged him to play at dice with her for a thousand
darics,
and purposely let him win them, and paid him down in gold.
Yet,
pretending to be concerned for her loss, and that she would gladly
have
her revenge for it, she pressed him to begin a new game for a
eunuch;
to which he consented. But first they agreed that each of
them
might except five of their most trusty eunuchs, and that out
of
the rest of them the loser should yield up any the winner should
make
choice of. Upon these conditions they played. Thus being bent
upon
her design, and thoroughly in earnest with her game, and the
dice
also running luckily for her, when she had got the game, she
demanded
Masabates, who was not in the number of the five excepted.
And
before the king could suspect the matter, having delivered him
up
to the tormentors, she enjoined them to flay him alive, to set
his
body upon three stakes, and to stretch his skin upon stakes separately
from
it.
These
things being done, and the king taking them ill, and being incensed
against
her, she with raillery and laughter told him, "You are a comfortable
and
happy man indeed, if you are so much disturbed for the sake of
an
old rascally eunuch, when I, though I have thrown away a thousand
darics,
hold my peace and acquiesce in my fortune." So the king, vexed
with
himself for having been thus deluded, hushed up all. But Statira
both
in other matters openly opposed her, and was angry with her for
thus,
against all law and humanity, sacrificing to the memory of Cyrus
the
king's faithful friend and eunuch.
Now
after that Tisaphernes had circumvented and by a false oath had
betrayed
Clearchus and the other commanders, and, taking them, had
sent
them bound in chains to the king, Ctesias says that he was asked
by
Clearchus to supply him with a comb; and that when he had it, and
had
combed his head with it, he was much pleased with this good office,
and
gave him a ring, which might be a token of the obligation to his
relatives
and friends in Sparta; and that the engraving upon this
signet
was a set of Caryatides dancing. He tells us that the soldiers,
his
fellow-captives, used to purloin a part of the allowance of food
sent
to Clearchus, giving him but little of it; which thing Ctesias
says
he rectified, causing a better allowance to be conveyed to him,
and
that a separate share should be distributed to the soldiers by
themselves;
adding that he ministered to and supplied him thus by
the
interest and at the instance of Parysatis. And there being a portion
of
ham sent daily with his other food to Clearchus, she, he says,
advised
and instructed him, that he ought to bury a small knife in
the
meat, and thus send it to his friend, and not leave his fate to
be
determined by the king's cruelty; which he, however, he says, was
afraid
to do. However, Artaxerxes consented to the entreaties of his
mother,
and promised her with an oath that he would spare Clearchus;
but
afterwards, at the instigation of Statira, he put every one of
them
to death except Menon. And thenceforward, he says, Parysatis
watched
her advantage against Statira and made up poison for her;
not
a very probable story, or a very likely motive to account for
her
conduct, if indeed he means that out of respect to Clearchus she
dared
to attempt the life of the lawful queen, that was mother of
those
who were heirs of the empire. But it is evident enough, that
this
part of his history is a sort of funeral exhibition in honour
of
Clearchus. For he would have us believe that, when the generals
were
executed, the rest of them were torn in pieces by dogs and birds;
but
as for the remains of Clearchus, that a violent gust of wind,
bearing
before it a vast heap of earth, raised a mound to cover his
body,
upon which, after a short time, some dates having fallen there,
a
beautiful grove of trees grew up and overshadowed the place, so
that
the king himself declared his sorrow, concluding that in Clearchus
he
put to death a man beloved of the gods.
Parysatis,
therefore, having from the first entertained a secret hatred
and
jealousy against Statira, seeing that the power she herself had
with
Artaxerxes was founded upon feelings of honour and respect for
her,
but that Statira's influence was firmly and strongly based upon
love
and confidence, was resolved to contrive her ruin, playing at
hazard,
as she thought, for the greatest stake in the world. Among
her
attendant women there was one that was trusty and in the highest
esteem
with her, whose name was Gigis; who, as Dinon avers, assisted
in
making up the poison. Ctesias allows her only to have been conscious
of
it, and that against her will; charging Belitaras with actually
giving
the drug, whereas Dinon says it was Melantas. The two women
had
begun again to visit each other and to eat together; but though
they
had thus far relaxed their former habits of jealousy and variance,
still,
out of fear and as a matter of caution, they always ate of
the
same dishes and of the same parts of them. Now there is a small
Persian
bird, in the inside of which no excrement is found, only a
mass
of fat, so that they suppose the little creatures lives upon
air
and dew. It is called rhyntaces. Ctesias affirms, that Parysatis,
cutting
a bird of this kind into two pieces with a knife one side
of
which had been smeared with the drug, the other side being clear
of
it, ate the untouched and wholesome part herself, and gave Statira
that
which was thus infected; but Dinon will not have it to be Parysatis,
but
Melantas, that cut up the bird and presented the envenomed part
of
it to Statira; who, dying with dreadful agonies and convulsions,
was
herself sensible of what had happened to her, and aroused in the
king's
mind suspicion of his mother, whose savage and implacable temper
he
knew. And therefore proceeding instantly to an inquest, he seized
upon
his mother's domestic servants that attended at her table and
put
them upon the rack. Parysatis kept Gigis at home with her a long
time,
and though the king commanded her, she would not produce her.
But
she, at last herself desiring that she might be dismissed to her
own
home by night, Artaxerxes had intimation of it, and lying in wait
for
her, hurried her away, and adjudged her to death. Now poisoners
in
Persia suffer thus by law. There is a broad stone, on which they
place
the head of the culprit, and then with another stone beat and
press
it, until the face and the head itself are all pounded to pieces;
which
was the punishment Gigis lost her life by. But to his mother,
Artaxerxes
neither said nor did any other hurt, save that he banished
and
confined her, not much against her will, to Babylon, protesting
that
while she lived he would not come near that city. Such was the
condition
of the king's affairs in his own house.
But
when all his attempts to capture the Greeks that had come with
Cyrus,
though he desired to do so no less than he had desired to overcome
Cyrus
and maintain his throne, proved unlucky, and they, though they
had
lost both Cyrus and their own generals, nevertheless escaped,
as
it were, out of his very palace, making it plain to all men that
the
Persian king and his empire were mighty indeed in gold and luxury
and
women, but otherwise were a mere show and vain display, upon this
all
Greece took courage and despised the Non-Greeks; and especially
the
Lacedaemonians thought it strange if they should not now deliver
their
countrymen that dwelt in Asia from their subjection to the Persians,
nor
put an end to the contumelious usage of them. And first having
an
army under the conduct of Thimbron, then under Dercyllidas, but
doing
nothing memorable, they at last committed the war to the management
of
their King Agesilaus, who, when he had arrived with his men in
Asia,
as soon as he had landed them, fell actively to work, and got
himself
great renown. He defeated Tisaphernes in a pitched battle,
and
set many cities in revolt. Upon this, Artaxerxes, perceiving what
was
his wisest way of waging the war, sent Timocrates the Rhodian
into
Greece, with large sums of gold, commanding him by a free distribution
of
it to corrupt the leading men in the cities, and to excite a Greek
war
against Sparta. So Timocrates following his instructions, the
most
considerable cities conspiring together, and Peloponnesus being
in
disorder, the ephors remanded Agesilaus from Asia. At which time,
they
gay, as he was upon his return, he told his friends that Artaxerxes
had
driven him out of Asia with thirty thousand archers; the Persian
coin
having an archer stamped upon it.
Artaxerxes
scoured the seas, too, of the Lacedaemonians, Conon the
Athenian
and Pharnabazus being his admirals. For Conon, after the
battle
of Aegospotami, resided in Cyprus; not that he consulted his
own
mere security, but looking for a vicissitude of affairs with no
less
hope than men wait for a change of wind at sea. And perceiving
that
his skill wanted power, and that the king's power wanted a wise
man
to guide it, he sent him an account of his projects, and charged
the
bearer to hand it to the king, if possible, by the mediation of
Zeno
the Cretan or Polycritus the Mendaean (the former being a dancing-master,
the
latter a physician), or, in the absence of them both, by Ctesias;
who
is said to have taken Conon's letter, and foisted into the contents
of
it a request, that the king would also be pleased to send over
Ctesias
to him, who was likely to be of use on the sea-coast. Ctesias,
however,
declares that the king, of his accord, deputed him to his
service.
Artaxerxes, however, defeating the Lacedaemonians in a sea-fight
at
Cnidos, under the conduct of Pharnabazus and Conon, after he had
stripped
them of their sovereignty by sea, at the same time brought,
so
to say, the whole of Greece over to him, so that upon his own terms
he
dictated the celebrated peace among them, styled the peace of Antalcidas.
This
Antalcidas was a Spartan, the son of one Leon, who, acting for
the
king's interest, induced the Lacadaemonians to covenant to let
all
the Greek cities in Asia and the islands adjacent to it become
subject
and tributary to him, peace being upon these conditions established
among
the Greeks, if indeed the honourable name of peace can fairly
be
given to what was in fact the disgrace and betrayal of Greece,
a
treaty more inglorious than had ever been the result of any war
to
those defeated in it.
And
therefore Artaxerxes, though always abominating other Spartans,
and
looking upon them, as Dinon says, to be the most impudent men
living,
gave wonderful honour to Antalcidas when he came to him into
Persia;
so much so that one day, taking a garland of flowers and dipping
it
in the most precious ointment, he sent it to him after supper,
a
favour which all were amazed at. Indeed he was a person fit to be
thus
delicately treated, and to have such a crown, who had among the
Persians
thus made fools of Leonidas and Callicratidas. Agesilaus,
it
seems, on some one having said, "O the deplorable fate of Greece,
now
that the Spartans turn Medes!" replied, "Nay, rather it is the
Medes
who become Spartans." But the subtlety of the repartee did not
wipe
off the infamy of the action. The Lacedaemonians soon after lost
their
sovereignty in Greece by their defeat at Leuctra; but they had
already
lost their honour by this treaty. So long then as Sparta continued
to
be the first state in Greece, Artaxerxes continued to Antalcidas
the
honour of being called his friend and his guest; but when, routed
and
humbled at the battle of Leuctra, being under great distress for
money,
they had despatched Agesilaus into Egypt, and Antalcidas went
up
to Artaxerxes, beseeching him to supply their necessities, he so
despised,
slighted, and rejected him, that finding himself, on his
return,
mocked and insulted by his enemies, and fearing also the ephors,
he
starved himself to death. Ismenias, also, the Theban, and Pelopidas,
who
had already gained the victory at Leuctra, arrived at the Persian
court;
where the latter did nothing unworthy of himself. But Ismenias,
being
commanded to do obeisance to the king, dropped his ring before
him
upon the ground, and so, stooping to take it up, made a show of
doing
him homage. He was so gratified with some secret intelligence
which
Timagoras the Athenian sent in to him by the hand of his secretary
Beluris,
that he bestowed upon him ten thousand darics, and because
he
was ordered, on account of some sickness, to drink cow's milk,
there
were fourscore milch kine driven after him; also, he sent him
a
bed, furniture, and servants for it, the Grecians not having skill
enough
to make it, as also chairmen to carry him, being infirm in
body,
to the seaside. Not to mention the feast made for him at court,
which
was so princely and splendid that Ostanes, the king's brother,
said
to him, "O Timagoras, do not forget the sumptuous table you have
sat
at here; it was not put before you for nothing;" was indeed rather
a
reflection upon his treason than to remind him of the king's bounty.
And
indeed the Athenians condemned Timagoras to death for taking bribes.
But
Artaxerxes gratified the Grecians in one thing in lieu of the
many
wherewith he plagued them, and that was by taking off Tisaphernes,
their
most hated and malicious enemy, whom he put to death; Parysatis
adding
her influence to the charges made against him. For the king
did
not persist long in his wrath with his mother, but was reconciled
to
her, and sent for her, being assured that she had wisdom and courage
fit
for royal power, and there being now no cause discernible but
that
they might converse together without suspicion or offence. And
from
thenceforward humouring the king in all things according to his
heart's
desire, and finding fault with nothing that he did, she obtained
great
power with him, and was gratified in all her requests. She perceived
he
was desperately in love with Atossa, one of his own two daughters,
and
that he concealed and checked his passion chiefly for fear of
herself,
though, if we may believe some writers, he had privately
given
way to it with the young girl already. As soon as Parysatis
suspected
it, she displayed a greater fondness for the young girl
than
before, and extolled both her virtue and beauty to him, as being
truly
imperial and majestic. In fine she persuaded him to marry her
and
declare her to be his lawful wife, overriding all the principles
and
the laws by which the Greeks hold themselves bound, and regarding
himself
as divinely appointed for a law to the Persians, and the supreme
arbitrator
of good and evil. Some historians further affirm, in which
number
is Heraclides of Cuma, that Artaxerxes married not only this
one,
but a second daughter also, Amestris, of whom we shall speak
by
and by. But he so loved Atossa when she became his consort, that
when
leprosy had run through her whole body, he was not in the least
offended
at it; but putting up his prayers to Juno for her, to this
one
alone of all the deities he made obeisance, by laying his hands
upon
the earth; and his satraps and favourites made such offerings
to
the goddess by his direction, that all along for sixteen furlongs,
betwixt
the court and her temple, the road was filled up with gold
and
silver, purple and horses, devoted to her.
He
waged war out of his own kingdom with the Egyptians, under the
conduct
of Pharnabazus and Iphicrates, but was unsuccessful by reason
of
their dissensions. In his expedition against the Cadusians, he
went
himself in person with three hundred thousand footmen and ten
thousand
horse, and making an incursion into their country, which
was
so mountainous as scarcely to be passable, and withal very misty,
producing
no sort of harvest of corn or the like, but with pears,
apples,
and other tree-fruits feeding a war-like and valiant breed
of
men, he unawares fell into great distresses and dangers. For there
was
nothing to be got, fit for his men to eat, of the growth of that
place,
nor could anything be imported from any other. All they could
do
was to kill their beasts of burden, and thus an ass's head could
scarcely
be bought for sixty drachmas. In short, the king's own table
failed;
and there were but few horses left; the rest they had spent
for
food. Then Teribazus, a man often in great favour with his prince
for
his valour and as often out of it for his buffoonery, and particularly
at
that time in humble estate and neglected, was the deliverer of
the
king and his army. There being two kings amongst the Cadusians,
and
each of them encamping separately, Teribazus, after he had made
his
application to Artaxerxes and imparted his design to him, went
to
one of the princes, and sent away his son privately to the other.
So
each of them deceived his man, assuring him that the other prince
had
deputed an ambassador to Artaxerxes, suing for friendship and
alliance
for himself alone; and, therefore, if he were wise, he told
him,
he must apply himself to his master before he had decreed anything,
and
he, he said, would lend him his assistance in all things. Both
of
them gave credit to these words, and because they supposed they
were
each intrigued against by the other, they both sent their envoys,
one
along with Teribazus, and the other with his son. All this taking
some
time to transact, fresh surmises and suspicions of Teribazus
were
expressed to the king, who began to be out of heart, sorry that
he
had confided in him, and ready to give ear to his rivals who impeached
him.
But at last he came, and so did his son, bringing the Cadusian
agents
along with them, and so there was a cessation of arms and a
peace
signed with both the princes. And Teribazus, in great honour
and
distinction, set out homewards in the company of the king; who,
indeed,
upon this journey made it appear plainly that cowardice and
effeminacy
are the effects, not of delicate and sumptuous living,
as
many suppose, but of a base and vicious nature, actuated by false
and
bad opinions. For notwithstanding his golden ornaments, his robe
of
state, and the rest of that costly attire, worth no less than twelve
thousand
talents, with which the royal person was constantly clad,
his
labours and toils were not a whit inferior to those of the meanest
persons
in his army. With his quiver by his side and his shield on
his
arm, he led them on foot, quitting his horse, through craggy and
steep
ways, insomuch that the sight of his cheerfulness and unwearied
strength
gave wings to the soldiers, and so lightened the journey,
that
they made daily marches of above two hundred furlongs.
After
they had arrived at one of his own mansions, which had beautiful
ornamented
parks in the midst of a region naked and without trees,
the
weather being very cold, he gave full commission to his soldiers
to
provide themselves with wood by cutting down any, without exception,
even
the pine and cypress. And when they hesitated and were for sparing
them,
being large and goodly trees, he, taking up an axe himself,
felled
the greatest and most beautiful of them. After which his men
used
their hatchets, and piling up many fires, passed away the night
at
their ease. Nevertheless, he returned not without the loss of many
and
valiant subjects, and of almost all his horses. And supposing
that
his misfortunes and the ill-success of his expedition made him
despised
in the eyes of his people, he looked jealously on his nobles,
many
of whom he slew in anger, and yet more out of fear. As, indeed,
fear
is the bloodiest passion in princes; confidence, on the other
hand,
being merciful, gentle, and unsuspicious. So we see among wild
beasts,
the intractable and least tamable are the most timorous and
most
easily startled; the nobler creatures, whose courage makes them
trustful,
are ready to respond to the advances of men.
Artaxerxes,
now being an old man, perceived that his sons were in
controversy
about his kingdom, and that they made parties among his
favourites
and peers. Those that were equitable among them thought
it
fit, that as he had received it, so he should bequeath it, by right
of
age, to Darius. The younger brother, Ochus, who was hot and violent,
had
indeed a considerable number of the courtiers that espoused his
interest,
but his chief hope was that by Atossa's means he should
win
his father. For he flattered her with the thoughts of being his
wife
and partner in the kingdom after the death of Artaxerxes. And
truly
it was rumoured that already Ochus maintained a too intimate
correspondence
with her. This, however, was quite unknown to the king;
who,
being willing to put down in good time his son Ochus's hopes,
lest,
by his attempting the same things his uncle Cyrus did, wars
and
contentions might again afflict his kingdom, proclaimed Darius,
then
twenty-five years old, his successor, and gave him leave to wear
the
upright hat, as they called it. It was a rule and usage of Persia,
that
the heir apparent to the crown should beg a boon, and that he
that
declared him so should give whatever he asked, provided it were
within
the sphere of his power. Darius therefore requested Aspasia,
in
former time the most prized of the concubines of Cyrus, and now
belonging
to the king. She was by birth a Phocaean, of Ionia, born
of
free parents, and well educated. Once when Cyrus was at supper,
she
was led in to him with other women, who, when they were sat down
by
him, and he began to sport and dally and talk jestingly with them,
gave
way freely to his advances. But she stood by in silence, refusing
to
come when Cyrus called her, and when his chamberlains were going
to
force her towards him, said, "Whosoever lays hands on me shall
rue.
it;" so that she seemed to the company a sullen and rude-mannered
person.
However, Cyrus was well pleased, and laughed, saying to the
man
that brought the women, "Do you not see to a certainty that this
woman
alone of all that came with you is truly noble and pure in
character?"
After
which time he began to regard her, and loved her, above all
of
her sex, and called her the Wise. But Cyrus being slain in the
fight,
she was taken among the spoils of his camp.
Darius,
in demanding her, no doubt much offended his father, for the
Non-Greek people keep a very jealous and watchful eye over their carnal
pleasures,
so that it is death for a man not only to come near and
touch
any concubine of his prince, but likewise on a journey to ride
forward
and pass by the carriages in which they are conveyed. And
though,
to gratify his passion, he had against all law married his
daughter
Atossa, and had besides her no less than three hundred and
sixty
concubines selected for their beauty, yet being importuned for
that
one by Darius, he urged that she was a free-woman, and allowed
him
to take her, if she had an inclination to go with him, but by
no
means to force her away against it. Aspasia, therefore, being sent
for,
and, contrary to the king's expectation, making choice of Darius,
he
gave him her indeed, being constrained by law, but when he had
done
so, a little after he took her from him. For he consecrated her
priestess
to Diana of Ecbatana, whom they name Anaitis, that she might
spend
the remainder of her days in strict chastity, thinking thus
to
punish his son, not rigorously, but with moderation, by a revenge
checkered
with jest and earnest. But he took it heinously, either
that
he was passionately fond of Aspasia, or because he looked upon
himself
as affronted and scorned by his father. Teribazus, perceiving
him
thus minded, did his best to exasperate him yet further, seeing
in
his injuries a representation of his own, of which the following
is
the account: Artaxerxes, having many daughters, promised to give
Apama
to Pharnabazus to wife, Rhodogune to Orontes, and Amestris to
Teribazus;
whom alone of the three he disappointed, by marrying Amestris
himself.
However, to make him amends, he betrothed his youngest daughter
Atossa
to him. But after he had, being enamoured of her too, as has
been
said, married her, Teribazus entertained an irreconcilable enmity
against
him. As indeed he was seldom at any other time steady in his
temper,
but uneven and inconsiderate; so that whether he were in the
number
of the choicest favourites of his prince, or whether he were
offensive
and odious to him, he demeaned himself in neither condition
with
moderation, but if he was advanced he was intolerably insolent,
and
in his degradation not submissive and peaceable in his deportment,
but
fierce and haughty.
And
therefore Teribazus was to the young prince flame added upon flame,
ever
urging him, and saying, that in vain those wear their hats upright
who
consult not the real success of their affairs, and that he was
ill-befriended
of reason if he imagined, whilst he had a brother,
who,
through the women's apartments, was seeking a way to the supremacy,
and
a father of so rash and fickle a humour, that he should by succession
infallibly
step up into the throne. For he that out of fondness to
an
Ionian girl has eluded a law sacred and inviolable among the Persians
is
not likely to be faithful in the performance of the most important
promises.
He added, too, that it was not all one for Ochus not to
attain
to, and for him to be put by his crown; since Ochus as a subject
might
live happily, and nobody could hinder him; but he, being proclaimed
king,
must either take up his sceptre or lay down his life. These
words
presently inflamed Darius: what Sophocles says being indeed
generally
true:-
"Quick
travels the persuasion to what's wrong." For the path is smooth,
and
upon an easy descent, that leads us to our own will; and the most
part
of us desire what is evil through our strangeness to and ignorance
of
good. And in this case, no doubt, the greatness of the empire and
the
jealousy Darius had of Ochus furnished Teribazus with material
for
his persuasions. Nor was Venus wholly unconcerned in the matter,
in
regard, namely, of his loss of Aspasia.
Darius,
therefore, resigned himself up to the dictates of Teribazus;
and
many now conspiring with them, a eunuch gave information to the
king
of their plot and the way how it was to be managed, having discovered
the
certainty of it, that they had resolved to break into his bed-chamber
by
night, and there to kill him as he lay. After Artaxerxes had been
thus
advertised, he did not think fit, by disregarding the discovery,
to
despise so great a danger, nor to believe it when there was little
or
no proof of it. Thus then he did: he charged the eunuch constantly
to
attend and accompany the conspirators wherever they were; in the
meanwhile,
he broke down the party-wall of the chamber behind his
bed,
and placed a door in it to open and shut, which he covered up
with
tapestry; so the hour approaching, and the eunuch having told
him
the precise time in which the traitors designed to assassinate
him,
he waited for them in his bed, and rose not up till he had seen
the
faces of his assailants and recognized every man of them. But
as
soon as he saw them with their swords drawn and coming up to him,
throwing
up the hanging, he made his retreat into the inner chamber,
and,
bolting the door, raised a cry. Thus when the murderers had been
seen
by him, and had attempted him in vain, they with speed went back
through
the same doors they came in by, enjoining Teribazus and his
friends
to fly, as their plot had been certainly detected. They, therefore,
made
their escape different ways; but Teribazus was seized by the
king's
guards, and after slaying many, while they were laying hold
on
him, at length being struck through with a dart at a distance,
fell.
As for Darius, who was brought to trial with his children, the
king
appointed the royal judges to sit over him, and because he was
not
himself present, but accused Darius by proxy, he commanded his
scribes
to write down the opinion of every one of the judges, and
show
it to him. And after they had given their sentences, all as one
man,
and condemned Darius to death, the officers seized on him, and
hurried
him to a chamber not far off. To which place the executioner,
when
summoned, came with a razor in his hand, with which men of his
employment
cut off the heads of offenders. But when he saw that Darius
was
the person thus to be punished he was appalled and started back,
offering
to go out, as one that had neither power nor courage enough
to
behead a king; yet at the threats and commands of the judges who
stood
at the prison door, he returned and grasping the hair of his
head
and bringing his face to the ground with one hand, he cut through
his
neck with the razor he had in the other. Some affirm that sentence
was
passed in the presence of Artaxerxes; that Darius, after he had
been
convicted by clear evidence, falling prostrate before him, did
humbly
beg his pardon; that instead of giving it, he rising up in
rage
and drawing his scymetar, smote him till he had killed him; and
then,
going forth into the court, he worshipped the sun, and said,
"Depart
in peace, ye Persians, and declare to your fellow-subjects
how
the mighty Oromasdes hath dealt out vengeance to the contrivers
of
unjust and unlawful things."
Such,
then, was the issue of this conspiracy. And now Ochus was high
in
his hopes, being confident in the influence of Atossa; but yet
was
afraid of Ariaspes, the only male surviving, besides himself,
of
the legitimate offspring of his father, and of Arsames, one of
his
natural sons. For indeed Ariaspes was already claimed as their
prince
by the wishes of the Persians, not because he was the elder
brother,
but because he excelled Ochus in gentleness, plain dealing,
and
good-nature; and on the other hand Arsames appeared, by his wisdom,
fitted
for the throne, and that he was dear to his father Ochus well
knew.
So he laid snares for them both, and being no less treacherous
than
bloody, he made use of the cruelty of his nature against Arsames,
and
of his craft and wiliness against Ariaspes. For he suborned the
king's
eunuchs and favourites to convey to him menacing and harsh
expressions
from his father, as though he had decreed to put him to
a
cruel and ignominious death. When they daily communicated these
things
as secrets, and told him at one time that the king would do
so
to him ere long, and at another, that the blow was actually close
impending,
they so alarmed the young man, struck such a terror into
him,
and cast such a confusion and anxiety upon his thoughts, that,
having
prepared some poisonous drugs, he drank them, that he might
be
delivered from his life. The king, on hearing what kind of death
he
died, heartily lamented him, and was not without a suspicion of
the
cause of it. But being disabled by his age to search into and
prove
it, he was, after the loss of this son, more affectionate than
before
to Arsames, did manifestly place his greatest confidence in
him,
and made him privy to his counsels. Whereupon Ochus had no longer
patience
to defer the execution of his purpose, but having procured
Arpates,
Teribazus's son, for the undertaking, he killed Arsames by
his
hand. Artaxerxes at that time had but a little hold on life, by
reason
of his extreme age, and so, when he heard of the fate of Arsames,
he
could not sustain it at all, but sinking at once under the weight
of
his grief and distress, expired, after a life of ninety-four years,
and
a reign of sixty-two. And then he seemed a moderate and gracious
governor,
more especially as compared to his son Ochus, who outdid
all
his predecessors in blood-thirstiness and cruelty.
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Keywords: Aryans, Achaemenian, Achaemenids, Hakhamanesh,
Hakhamaneshian, Persians