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The History of Herodotus, parallel English/Greek, tr. G. C. Macaulay, [1890], at sacred-texts.com

Herodotus Book 3: Thaleia

BOOK III

THE THIRD BOOK OF THE HISTORIES, CALLED THALEIA

Ἱ σ τ ο ρ ι ῶ ν Γ

Θ ά λ ε ι α

1. Against this Amasis then Cambyses the son of Cyrus was making his march, taking with him not only other nations of which he was ruler, but also Hellenes, both Ionians and Aiolians: and the cause of the expedition was as follows:--Cambyses sent an envoy to Egypt and asked Amasis to give him his daughter; and he made the request by counsel of an Egyptian, who brought this upon Amasis having a quarrel with him for the following reason:--at the time when Cyrus sent to Amasis and asked him for a physician of the eyes, whosoever was the best of those in Egypt, Amasis had selected him from all the physicians in Egypt and had torn him away from his wife and children and delivered him up to Persia. Having, I say, this cause of quarrel, the Egyptian urged Cambyses on by his counsel bidding him ask Amasis for his daughter, in order that he might either be grieved if he gave her, or if he refused to give her, might offend Cambyses. So Amasis, who was vexed by the power of the Persians and afraid of it, knew neither how to give nor how to refuse: for he was well assured that Cambyses did not intend to have her as his wife but as a concubine. So making account of the matter thus, he did as follows:--there was a daughter of Apries the former king, very tall and comely of form and the only person left of his house, and her name was Nitetis. This girl Amasis adorned with raiment and with gold, and sent her away to Persia as his own daughter: but after a time, when Cambyses saluted her calling her by the name of her father, the girl said to him: "O king, thou dost not perceive how thou hast been deceived by Amasis; for he adorned me with ornaments and sent me away giving me to thee as his own daughter, whereas in truth I am the daughter of Apries against whom Amasis rose up with the Egyptians and murdered him, who was his lord and master." These words uttered and this occasion having arisen, led Cambyses the son of Cyrus against Egypt, moved to very great anger.

1. [1] ἐπὶ τοῦτον δὴ τὸν Ἄμασιν Καμβύσης ὁ Κύρου ἐστρατεύετο, ἄγων καί ἄλλους τῶν ἦρχε καὶ Ἑλλήνων Ἴωνάς τε καὶ Αἰολέας, δι᾽ αἰτίην τοιήνδε. πέμψας Καμβύσης ἐς Αἴγυπτον κήρυκα αἴτεε Ἄμασιν θυγατέρα, αἴτεε δὲ ἐκ βουλῆς ἀνδρὸς Αἰγυπτίου, ὃς μεμφόμενος Ἄμασιν ἔπρηξε ταῦτα ὅτι μιν ἐξ ἁπάντων τῶν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ἰητρῶν ἀποσπάσας ἀπὸ γυναικός τε καὶ τέκνων ἔκδοτον ἐποίησε ἐς Πέρσας, ὅτε Κῦρος πέμψας παρὰ Ἄμασιν αἴτεε ἰητρὸν ὀφθαλμῶν ὃς εἴη ἄριστος τῶν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ. [2] ταῦτα δὴ ἐπιμεμφόμενος ὁ Αἰγύπτιος ἐνῆγε τῇ συμβουλῇ κελεύων αἰτέειν τὸν Καμβύσεα Ἄμασιν θυγατέρα, ἵνα ἢ δοὺς ἀνιῷτο ἢ μὴ δοὺς Καμβύσῃ ἀπέχθοιτο. ὁ δὲ Ἄμασις τῇ δυνάμι τῶν Περσέων ἀχθόμενος καὶ ἀρρωδέων οὐκ εἶχε οὔτε δοῦναι οὔτε ἀρνήσασθαι· εὖ γὰρ ἠπίστατο ὅτι οὐκ ὡς γυναῖκά μιν ἔμελλε Καμβύσης ἕξειν ἀλλ᾽ ὡς παλλακήν. [3] ταῦτα δὴ ἐκλογιζόμενος ἐποίησε τάδε. ἦν Ἀπρίεω τοῦ προτέρου βασιλέος θυγάτηρ κάρτα μεγάλη τε καὶ εὐειδὴς μούνη τοῦ οἴκου λελειμμένη, οὔνομα δέ οἱ ἦν Νίτητις· ταύτην δὴ τὴν παῖδα ὁ Ἄμασις κοσμήσας ἐσθῆτί τε καὶ χρυσῷ ἀποπέμπει ἐς Πέρσας ὡς ἑωυτοῦ θυγατέρα. [4] μετὰ δὲ χρόνον ὥς μιν ἠσπάζετο πατρόθεν ὀνομάζων, λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ παῖς «ὦ βασιλεῦ, διαβεβλημένος ὑπὸ Ἀμάσιος οὐ μανθάνεις. ὃς ἐμὲ σοὶ κόσμῳ ἀσκήσας ἀπέπεμψε ὡς ἑωυτοῦ θυγατέρα διδούς, ἐοῦσαν τῇ ἀληθείῃ Ἀπρίεω, τὸν ἐκεῖνος ἐόντα ἑωυτοῦ δεσπότεα μετ᾽ Αἰγυπτίων ἐπαναστὰς ἐφόνευσε.» [5] τοῦτο δὴ τὸ ἔπος καὶ αὕτη ἡ αἰτίη ἐγγενομένη ἤγαγε Καμβύσεα τὸν Κύρου μεγάλως θυμωθέντα ἐπ᾽ Αἴγυπτον. οὕτω μέν νυν λέγουσι Πέρσαι.

2. Such is the report made by the Persians; but as for the Egyptians they claim Cambyses as one of themselves, saying that he was born of this very daughter of Apries; for they say that Cyrus was he who sent to Amasis for his daughter, and not Cambyses. In saying this however they say not rightly; nor can they have failed to observe (for the Egyptians fully as well as any other people are acquainted with the laws and customs of the Persians), first that it is not customary among them for a bastard to become king, when there is a son born of a true marriage, and secondly that Cambyses was the son of Cassandane the daughter of Pharnaspes, a man of the Achaimenid family, and not the son of the Egyptian woman: but they pervert the truth of history, claiming to be kindred with the house of Cyrus. Thus it is with these matters;

2. [1] Αἰγύπτιοι δὲ οἰκηιοῦνται Καμβύσεα, φάμενοί μιν ἐκ ταύτης δὴ τῆς Ἀπρίεω θυγατρὸς γενέσθαι· Κῦρον γὰρ εἶναι τὸν πέμψαντα παρὰ Ἄμασιν ἐπὶ τὴν θυγατέρα, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ Καμβύσεα. λέγοντες δὲ ταῦτα οὐκ ὀρθῶς λέγουσι. [2] οὐ μὲν οὐδὲ λέληθε αὐτούς (εἰ γὰρ τινὲς καὶ ἄλλοι, τὰ Περσέων νόμιμα ἐπιστέαται καὶ Αἰγύπτιοι) ὅτι πρῶτα μὲν νόθον οὔ σφι νόμος ἐστὶ βασιλεῦσαι γνησίου παρεόντος, αὖτις δὲ ὅτι Κασσανδάνης τῆς Φαρνάσπεω θυγατρὸς ἦν παῖς Καμβύσης, ἀνδρὸς Ἀχαιμενίδεω, ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἐκ τῆς Αἰγυπτίης. ἀλλὰ παρατρέπουσι τὸν λόγον προσποιεύμενοι τῇ Κύρου οἰκίῃ συγγενέες εἶναι. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ὧδε ἔχει.

3. and the following story is also told, which for my part I do not believe, namely that one of the Persian women came in to the wives of Cyrus, and when she saw standing by the side of Cassandane children comely of form and tall, she was loud in her praises of them, expressing great admiration; and Cassandane, who was the wife of Cyrus, spoke as follows: "Nevertheless, though I am the mother of such children of these, Cyrus treats me with dishonour and holds in honour her whom he has brought in from Egypt." Thus she spoke, they say, being vexed by Nitetis, and upon that Cambyses the elder of her sons said: "For this cause, mother, when I am grown to be a man, I will make that which is above in Egypt to be below, and that which is below above." This he is reported to have said when he was perhaps about ten years old, and the women were astonished by it: and he, they say, kept it ever in mind, and so at last when he had become a man and had obtained the royal power, he made the expedition against Egypt.

3. [1] λέγεται δὲ καὶ ὅδε λόγος, ἐμοὶ μὲν οὐ πιθανός, ὡς τῶν Περσίδων γυναικῶν ἐσελθοῦσά τις παρὰ τὰς Κύρου γυναῖκας, ὡς εἶδε τῇ Κασσανδάνῃ παρεστεῶτα τέκνα εὐειδέα τε καὶ μεγάλα, πολλῷ ἐχρᾶτο τῷ ἐπαίνῳ ὑπερθωμάζουσα, ἡ δὲ Κασσανδάνη ἐοῦσα τοῦ Κύρου γυνὴ εἶπε τάδε· [2] «τοιῶνδε μέντοι ἐμὲ παίδων μητέρα ἐοῦσαν Κῦρος ἐν ἀτιμίῃ ἔχει, τὴν δὲ ἀπ᾽ Αἰγύπτου ἐπίκτητον ἐν τιμῇ τίθεται.» τὴν μὲν ἀχθομένην τῇ Νιτήτι εἰπεῖν ταῦτα, τῶν δέ οἱ παίδων τὸν πρεσβύτερον εἰπεῖν Καμβύσεα· [3] «τοιγάρ τοι ὦ μῆτερ, ἐπεὰν ἐγὼ γένωμαι ἀνήρ, Αἰγύπτου τὰ μὲν ἄνω κάτω θήσω, τὰ δὲ κάτω ἄνω.» ταῦτα εἰπεῖν αὐτὸν ἔτεα ὡς δέκα κου γεγονότα, καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας ἐν θώματι γενέσθαι· τὸν δὲ διαμνημονεύοντα οὕτω δή, ἐπείτε ἀνδρώθη καὶ ἔσχε τὴν βασιληίην, ποιήσασθαι τὴν ἐπ᾽ Αἴγυπτον στρατηίην.

4. Another thing also contributed to this expedition, which was as follows:--There was among the foreign mercenaries of Amasis a man who was by race of Halicarnassos, and his name was Phanes, one who was both capable in judgment and valiant in that which pertained to war. This Phanes, having (as we may suppose) some quarrel with Amasis, fled away from Egypt in a ship, desiring to come to speech with Cambyses: and as he was of no small repute among the mercenaries and was very closely acquainted with all the affairs of Egypt, Amasis pursued him and considered it a matter of some moment to capture him: and he pursued by sending after him the most trusted of his eunuchs with a trireme, who captured him in Lykia; but having captured him he did not bring him back to Egypt, since Phanes got the better of him by cunning; for he made his guards drunk and escaped to Persia. So when Cambyses had made his resolve to march upon Egypt, and was in difficulty about the march, as to how he should get safely through the waterless region, this man came to him and besides informing of the other matters of Amasis, he instructed him also as to the march, advising him to send to the king of the Arabians and ask that he would give him safety of passage through this region.

4. [1] συνήνεικε δὲ καὶ ἄλλο τι τοιόνδε πρῆγμα γενέσθαι ἐς τὴν ἐπιστράτευσιν ταύτην. ἦν τῶν ἐπικούρων Ἀμάσιος ἀνὴρ γένος μὲν Ἁλικαρνησσεύς, οὔνομα δέ οἱ Φάνης, καὶ γνώμην ἱκανὸς καὶ τὰ πολεμικὰ ἄλκιμος. [2] οὗτος ὁ Φάνης μεμφόμενός κού τι Ἀμάσι ἐκδιδρήσκει πλοίῳ ἐξ Αἰγύπτου, βουλόμενος Καμβύσῃ ἐλθεῖν ἐς λόγους. οἷα δὲ ἐόντα αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖσι ἐπικούροισι λόγου οὐ σμικροῦ ἐπιστάμενόν τε τὰ περὶ Αἴγυπτον ἀτρεκέστατα, μεταδιώκει ὁ Ἄμασις σπουδὴν ποιεύμενος ἑλεῖν, μεταδιώκει δὲ τῶν εὐνούχων τὸν πιστότατον ἀποστείλας τριήρεϊ κατ᾽ αὐτόν, ὃς αἱρέει μιν ἐν Λυκίῃ, ἑλὼν δὲ οὐκ ἀνήγαγε ἐς Αἴγυπτον· σοφίῃ γάρ μιν περιῆλθε ὁ Φάνης· [3] καταμεθύσας γὰρ τοὺς φυλάκους ἀπαλλάσσετο ἐς Πέρσας. ὁρμημένῳ δὲ στρατεύεσθαι Καμβύσῃ ἐπ᾽ Αἴγυπτον καὶ ἀπορέοντι τὴν ἔλασιν, ὅκως τὴν ἄνυδρον διεκπερᾷ, ἐπελθὼν φράζει μὲν καὶ τὰ ἄλλα τὰ Ἀμάσιος πρήγματα, ἐξηγέεται δὲ καὶ τὴν ἔλασιν, ὧδε παραινέων, πέμψαντα παρὰ τὸν Ἀραβίων βασιλέα δέεσθαι τὴν διέξοδόν οἱ ἀσφαλέα παρασχεῖν.

5. Now by this way only is there a known entrance to Egypt: for from Phenicia to the borders of the city of Cadytis belongs to the Syrians who are called of Palestine, and from Cadytis, which is a city I suppose not much less than Sardis, from this city the trading stations on the sea- coast as far as the city of Ienysos belong to the king of Arabia, and then from Ienysos again the country belongs to the Syrians as far as the Serbonian lake, along the side of which Mount Casion extends towards the Sea. After that, from the Serbonian lake, in which the story goes that Typhon is concealed, from this point onwards the land is Egypt. Now the region which lies between the city of Ienysos on the one hand and Mount Casion and the Serbonian lake on the other, which is of no small extent but as much as a three days' journey, is grievously destitute of water.

5. [1] μούνῃ δὲ ταύτῃ εἰσὶ φανεραὶ ἐσβολαὶ ἐς Αἴγυπτον. ἀπὸ γὰρ Φοινίκης μέχρι οὔρων τῶν Καδύτιος πόλιος ἐστὶ Σύρων τῶν Παλαιστίνων καλεομένων· [2] ἀπὸ δὲ Καδύτιος ἐούσης πόλιος, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκέει, Σαρδίων οὐ πολλῷ ἐλάσσονος, ἀπὸ ταύτης τὰ ἐμπόρια τὰ ἐπὶ θαλάσσης μέχρι Ἰηνύσου πόλιος ἐστὶ τοῦ Ἀραβίου, ἀπὸ δὲ Ἰηνύσου αὖτις Σύρων μέχρι Σερβωνίδος λίμνης, παρ᾽ ἣν δὴ τὸ Κάσιον ὄρος τείνει ἐς θάλασσαν· [3] ἀπὸ δὲ Σερβωνίδος λίμνης, ἐν τῇ δὴ λόγος τὸν Τυφῶ κεκρύφθαι, ἀπὸ ταύτης ἤδη Αἴγυπτος. τὸ δὴ μεταξὺ Ἰηνύσου πόλιος καὶ Κασίου τε ὄρεος καὶ τῆς Σερβωνίδος λίμνης, ἐὸν τοῦτο οὐκ ὀλίγον χωρίον ἀλλὰ ὅσον τε ἐπὶ τρεῖς ἡμέρας ὁδόν, ἄνυδρον ἐστὶ δεινῶς.

6. And one thing I shall tell of, which few of those who go in ships to Egypt have observed, and it is this:-- into Egypt from all parts of Hellas and also from Phenicia are brought twice every year earthenware jars full of wine, and yet it may almost be said that you cannot see there one single empty wine-jar. In what manner, then, it will be asked, are they used up? This also I will tell. The head-man of each place must collect all the earthenware jars from his own town and convey them to Memphis, and those at Memphis must fill them with water and convey them to these same waterless regions of Syria: this the jars which come regularly to Egypt and are emptied there, are carried to Syria to be added to that which has come before.

6. [1] τὸ δὲ ὀλίγοι τῶν ἐς Αἴγυπτον ναυτιλλομένων ἐννενώκασι, τοῦτο ἔρχομαι φράσων. ἐς Αἴγυπτον ἐκ τῆς Ἑλλάδος πάσης καὶ πρὸς ἐκ Φοινίκης κέραμος ἐσάγεται πλήρης οἴνου δὶς τοῦ ἔτεος ἑκάστου, καὶ ἓν κεράμιον οἰνηρὸν ἀριθμῷ κεινὸν οὐκ ἔστι ὡς λόγῳ εἰπεῖν ἰδέσθαι. [2] κοῦ δῆτα, εἴποι τις ἄν, ταῦτα ἀναισιμοῦται; ἐγὼ καὶ τοῦτο φράσω· δεῖ τὸν μὲν δήμαρχον ἕκαστον ἐκ τῆς ἑωυτοῦ πόλιος συλλέξαντα πάντα τὸν κέραμον ἄγειν ἐς Μέμφιν, τοὺς δὲ ἐκ Μέμφιος ἐς ταῦτα δὴ τὰ ἄνυδρα τῆς Συρίης κομίζειν πλήσαντας ὕδατος. οὕτω ὁ ἐπιφοιτέων κέραμος καὶ ἐξαιρεόμενος ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ἐπὶ τὸν παλαιὸν κομίζεται ἐς Συρίην.

7. It was the Persians who thus prepared this approach to Egypt, furnishing it with water in the manner which has been said, from the time when they first took possession of Egypt: but at the time of which I speak, seeing that water was not yet provided, Cambyses, in accordance with what he was told by his Halicarnassian guest, sent envoys to the Arabian king and from him asked and obtained the safe passage, having given him pledges of friendship and received them from him in return.

7. [1] οὕτω μέν νυν Πέρσαι εἰσὶ οἱ τὴν ἐσβολὴν ταύτην παρασκευάσαντες ἐς Αἴγυπτον, κατὰ δὴ τὰ εἰρημένα σάξαντες ὕδατι, ἐπείτε τάχιστα παρέλαβον Αἴγυπτον. [2] τότε δὲ οὐκ ἐόντος κω ὕδατος ἑτοίμου, Καμβύσης πυθόμενος τοῦ Ἁλικαρνησσέος ξείνου, πέμψας παρὰ τὸν Ἀράβιον ἀγγέλους καὶ δεηθεὶς τῆς ἀσφαλείης ἔτυχε, πίστις δούς τε καὶ δεξάμενος παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ.

8. Now the Arabians have respect for pledges of friendship as much as those men in all the world who regard them most; and they give them in the following manner:--A man different from those who desire to give the pledges to one another, standing in the midst between the two, cuts with a sharp stone the inner parts of the hands, along by the thumbs, of those who are giving the pledges to one another, and then he takes a thread from the cloak of each one and smears with the blood seven stones laid in the midst between them; and as he does this he calls upon Dionysos and Urania. When the man has completed these ceremonies, he who has given the pledges commends to the care of his friends the stranger (or the fellow-tribesman, if he is giving the pledges to one who is a member of his tribe), and the friends think it right that they also should have regard for the pledges given. Of gods they believe in Dionysos and Urania alone: moreover they say that the cutting of their hair is done after the same fashion as that of Dionysos himself; and they cut their hair in a circle round, shaving away the hair of the temples. Now they call Dionysos Orotalt and Urania they call Alilat.

8. [1] σέβονται δὲ Ἀράβιοι πίστις ἀνθρώπων ὅμοια τοῖσι μάλιστα, ποιεῦνται δὲ αὐτὰς τρόπῳ τοιῷδε· τῶν βουλομένων τὰ πιστὰ ποιέεσθαι ἄλλος ἀνήρ, ἀμφοτέρων αὐτῶν ἐν μέσῳ ἑστεώς, λίθῳ ὀξέι τὸ ἔσω τῶν χειρῶν παρὰ τοὺς δακτύλους τοὺς μεγάλους ἐπιτάμνει τῶν ποιευμένων τὰς πίστις, καὶ ἔπειτα λαβὼν ἐκ τοῦ ἱματίου ἑκατέρου κροκύδα ἀλείφει τῷ αἵματι ἐν μέσῳ κειμένους λίθους ἑπτά· τοῦτο δὲ ποιέων ἐπικαλέει τε τὸν Διόνυσον καὶ τὴν Οὐρανίην. [2] ἐπιτελέσαντος δὲ τούτου ταῦτα, ὁ τὰς πίστις ποιησάμενος τοῖσι φίλοισι παρεγγυᾷ τὸν ξεῖνον ἢ καὶ τὸν ἀστόν, ἢν πρὸς ἀστὸν ποιέηται· οἱ δὲ φίλοι καὶ αὐτοὶ τὰς πίστις δικαιεῦσι σέβεσθαι. [3] Διόνυσον δὲ θεῶν μοῦνον καὶ τὴν Οὐρανίην ἡγέονται εἶναι, καὶ τῶν τριχῶν τὴν κουρὴν κείρεσθαι φασὶ κατά περ αὐτὸν τὸν Διόνυσον κεκάρθαι· κείρονται δὲ περιτρόχαλα, ὑποξυρῶντες τοὺς κροτάφους. ὀνομάζουσι δὲ τὸν μὲν Διόνυσον Ὀροτάλτ, τὴν δὲ Οὐρανίην Ἀλιλάτ.

9. So then when the Arabian king had given the pledge of friendship to the men who had come to him from Cambyses, he contrived as follows:-- he took skins of camels and filled them with water and loaded them upon the backs of all the living camels that he had; and having so done he drove them to the waterless region and there awaited the army of Cambyses. This which has been related is the more credible of the accounts given, but the less credible must also be related, since it is a current account. There is a great river in Arabia called Corys, and this runs out into the Sea which is called Erythraian. From this river then it is said that the king of the Arabians, having got a conduit pipe made by sewing together raw ox-hides and other skins, of such a length as to reach to the waterless region, conducted the water through these forsooth, and had great cisterns dug in the waterless region, that they might receive the water and preserve it. Now it is a journey of twelve days from the river to this waterless region; and moreover the story says that he conducted the water by three conduit-pipes to three different parts of it.

9. [1] ἐπεὶ ὦν τὴν πίστιν τοῖσι ἀγγέλοισι τοῖσι παρὰ Καμβύσεω ἀπιγμένοισι ἐποιήσατο ὁ Ἀράβιος, ἐμηχανᾶτο τοιάδε· ἀσκοὺς καμήλων πλήσας, ὕδατος ἐπέσαξε ἐπὶ τὰς ζωὰς τῶν καμήλων πάσας, τοῦτο δὲ ποιήσας ἤλασε ἐς τὴν ἄνυδρον καὶ ὑπέμενε ἐνθαῦτα τὸν Καμβύσεω στρατόν. [2] οὗτος μὲν ὁ πιθανώτερος τῶν λόγων εἴρηται, δεῖ δὲ καὶ τὸν ἧσσον πιθανόν, ἐπεί γε δὴ λέγεται, ῥηθῆναι. ποταμός ἐστι μέγας ἐν τῇ Ἀραβίῃ τῷ οὔνομα Κόρυς, ἐκδιδοῖ δὲ οὗτος ἐς τὴν Ἐρυθρὴν καλεομένην θάλασσαν· [3] ἀπὸ τούτου δὴ ὦν τοῦ ποταμοῦ λέγεται τὸν βασιλέα τῶν Ἀραβίων, ῥαψάμενον τῶν ὠμοβοέων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων δερμάτων ὀχετὸν μήκεϊ ἐξικνεύμενον ἐς τὴν ἄνυδρον, ἀγαγεῖν διὰ δὴ τούτων τὸ ὕδωρ, ἐν δὲ τῇ, ἀνύδρῳ μεγάλας δεξαμενὰς ὀρύξασθαι, ἵνα δεκόμεναι τὸ ὕδωρ σώζωσι. [4] ὁδὸς δ᾽ ἐστὶ δυώδεκα ἡμερέων ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἐς ταύτην τὴν ἄνυδρον. ἄγειν δέ μιν δι᾽ ὀχετῶν τριῶν ἐς τριξὰ χωρία.

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