CTESIAS
FRAGMENTS
OF THE
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SCIENTIA VERITAS
THE FRAGMENTS
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Ctesias
WITH THE PUBL M
COMPLIMEN
THE FRAGMENTS
OF THE
PERSIKA OF KTESIAS
EDITED
WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
BY
JOHN GILMORE, M. A.
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MACMILLAN AND CO.
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1888
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PREFACE.
In the following pages I have endeavoured to arrange
the remains of the Persika of Ktesias in an intelligible
form, and at the same time to bring the light of modern
discoveries to bear upon his statements.
That no
edition exists in which these objects are aimed at must
serve as my apology for the present attempt. Doubts
have been expressed as to whether what I have desig-
nated the "Epitome of Diodorus" is really drawn from
Ktesias. These doubts I cannot share, in view of
the express statements of Diodorus, and what we
know of his practice of wholesale borrowing from other
authors (e.g. Megasthenes, in ii. 35-42, immediately
after the extracts from Ktesias; and Agatharkides, in
iii. 18-48). In any case, it seems better to print the
doubtful matter, and leave the reader to reject it if
he thinks fit. In some cases of greater uncertainty I
have given passages which may have been derived from
Ktesias in the Notes (see pp. 79, 111, 131).
vi
PREFACE.
I cannot conclude without expressing my obliga-
tions to Mr. Thomas V. Keenan, of the Library, Trinity
College, Dublin, for his most valuable assistance in the
correction of the proofs.
October, 1888.
J. G.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION,
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTION TO BOOKS I.-III.,
BOOKS I.-III.,
INTRODUCTION TO BOOKS IV.-VI.,
BOOKS IV.-VI.,
•
INTRODUCTION TO BOOKS VII.-XXIII.,
BOOKS VII.-XXIII.,
FRAGMENTA SEDIS INCERTAE,
FRAGMENTS OF MINOR WORKS,
ADNOTATIO CRITICA,
CORRIGENDA ET ADDENDA,
LIST OF AUTHORITIES,
INDEX,
PAGE
1
9
15
92
97
120
122
•
195
198
202
•
205
206
211
GENERAL
INTRODUCTION.
KTESIAS, the Son of Ktesiochus (Lucian, Tzetzes, Suidas, Eudokia),
or Ktesiarchus (Suidas, Eudokia) was an Asklepiad (Galen, tom. v.
p. 652), and therefore one of a family of hereditary physicians, of
Knidus in Karia. He was taken prisoner in battle about B. c. 417,
under circumstances of which we are ignorant (Tzetzes, Hist., i.
82 sq., is of course wrong in saying it was at Kunaxa), and
became, like Demokedes and Apollonides before him, physician to
the Persian court (Diod. ii. 32), especially to Parysatis and her
son Artaxerxes II. From his own narrative we learn that he
attended Artaxerxes at the Battle of Kunaxa (Persika, frag. 34),
and cured him of the wound he there received (id. frag. 35). He
was sent after the battle with Phalinus to urge the Greeks to
surrender (id. frag. 35), and subsequently used his influence with
Parysatis to procure the alleviation of the captivity of the Greek
generals (id. frag. 41). He subsequently took part in certain
negotiations with Evagoras of Salamis (Epit. § 94, frag. 44). He
returned to Knidus and Sparta about B. c. 398 (Epit. § 95), the
year to which he brought down his Persika (Diod. xiv. 46). At
Sparta he seems to have been put on trial, on what charge we are
not informed, and was acquitted (Persika, § 95).
None of the works of Ktesias have come down to us in a com-
plete state.
The most important was the Persika in twenty-three books, the
first six of which were devoted to a "history" of the Assyrian and
Median empires down to the fall of Astyages; the other seventeen
B
2
GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
comprising the history of the Persian empire from its foundation to
B. c. 398. The sources and value of the several portions of this
work are discussed in the separate Introductions prefixed to the
three main divisions. Pamphila, according to Suidas, wrote an
epitome of it in three books; but this, like the original work, has
perished. We are now indebted for our knowledge of it to (1) an
epitome of the first six (or five) books preserved by Diodorus, in
the beginning of his second book; (2) an epitome of the last
seventeen books, which is included in codex 72 of the Bibliotheka
of Photius, this is more avowedly an epitome of Ktesias than the
work of Diodorus, and avoids the introduction of extraneous
matter, but it is much more condensed, occupying only about the
same space as Diodorus' epitome of one-third as much of the
original; (3) Numerous fragments preserved by various authors.
We have thus a very fair general idea of the substance of the
Persika, but scarcely a sentence of Ktesias' text has come down to
us verbatim.
The following are the authors who quote the Persika, with the
portions preserved by each, and their dates:
XENOPHON (B. C. 401), frag. 34b.
DEMETRIUS PHALEREUS (B. c. 317), frag. 20 b, 21b, 36.
ANTIGONUS OF Karystus (B. c. 250), frag. 9 b, 56.
ERATOSTHENES (B. c. 240), frag. 2 a.
STRABO (B. C. 24), frag. 2d, 9 a.
NIKOLAUS (B. C. 14), frag. 19 a, 21 a.
DIODORUS (B. c. 8), Epitome, Books i.-vi.; frag. 8.
HYGINUS (A. D. 4), frag. 2b.
PLUTARCHUS (A. D. 80), frag. 32, 33, 34 a, 35, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43,
44, 53 b.
PLINIUS (A. D. 100), frag. 9 d.
KEPHALION (A. D. 120), frag. 4 a, 13.
THEON (A. D. 130 ?), frag. 24 b.
POLYAENUS (A. D. 163), frag. 24 a.
ANONYMOUS, On Women famous in War, frag. 2 c, 20 a.
AELIANUS (A. D. 150), frag. 53 a, 54.
ATHENAGORAS (A. D. 177), frag. 11.
POLLUX (A. D. 180), frag. 15 b.
APOLLONIUS (2nd century A. D.), frag. 28.
GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
3
TERTULLIANUS (A. D. 145), frag. 22.
SOTION, frag. 9 c.
CLEMENS ALEXANDRINUS (A. D. 200), frag. 14.
ATHENAEUS (A. D. 228), frag. 10, 12, 15 a, 16, 19 b, 30, 45, 50, 51
52, 55 a.
LONGINUS (A. D. 250), frag. 37.
ARNOBIUS (a. d. 297), frag. 3.
EUSEBIUS (A. D. 315), frag. 46 a.
HARPOKRATION (A. D. 350 ?), frag. 17.
MOSES OF CHORENE (A. D. 431), frag. 46 c.
STEPHANUS (A, D. 500), frag. 5, 7, 26, 27, 29, 31.
HESYCHIUS (A. D. 550), frag. 38.
AGATHIAS (A. D. 570), frag. 18 a.
GEORGIUS SYNKELLUS (A. D. 808), frag. 6, 18 b, 46 b.
PHOTIUS (A. D. 850), Epitome, Books vii.-xxiii.
TZETZES (A. D. 1150), frag. 1, 4 b, 20 c, 23, 24 c, 25, 49.
Eustathius (a. D. 1160), frag. 50 b, 55 b.
In the above list it is assumed that the works in which Ktesias
is quoted are the genuine productions of the writers to whom they
are attributed, though this is not of course always true.
The divisions of the Persika into books cannot always be indi-
cated with certainty, as our information on this point is defective,
and sometimes contradictory.
To Ktesias are also attributed the following works:-
De Asiaticis Tributis (περὶ τῶν κατὰ τὴν ᾿Ασίαν φόρων)-pro-
bably a part of the Persika. He may have treated of this sub-
ject in connexion with the organization of the provinces under
Dareius I.
De Montibus (ɛpì òρwv), and De Fluminibus (Пɛρì πотaμwv).
These works may possibly have been portions of the Persika. It
is not certain that they were really by our author.
Periplus (Пlεpíπλovs 'Aoías). Of this, as of the three preceding
works, we have only a few fragments.
Indika. The best preserved of Ktesias' works. It was only
in one book, but Photius' epitome of it (codex 72) is equal in
length to half his epitome of the last seventeen books of the
Persika, and there are 33 fragments, mostly of considerable length.
B 2
4
GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
The work contains an account of the natural phenomena of the
portions of India known to the Persians (probably Kashmir and
the Punjab), and the manners and customs of its inhabitants, but
no historical information. Modern commentators have pointed
out that some of the most surprising statements contained in it
are either misconceptions of actual facts, or are derived from
genuine Indian legends (see the notes of Baehr and Müller;
Tychsen, in Heeren's Asiatic Researches, vol. ii.; V. Ball, in Pro-
ceedings of the Royal Dublin Society, vol. iv., and in the Academy,
vol. xxiii. p. 277, vol. xxv. p. 280, vol. xxvii. p. 155; see also
Academy, vol. xxix. p. 160).
The present edition does not include the Indika, as there is little
to add to the works of previous commentators.
Commentarii Medici. Of this work we know very little.
The extant remains of Ktesias do not give us much opportunity
of forming an opinion as to his style, but it was admired by
ancient critics.
Demetrius, De Elocut. § 218 :--
Οπερ δὲ τῷ Κτησίᾳ ἐγκαλοῦσιν ὡς ἀδολεσχοτέρῳ διὰ τὰς διλογίας
πολλαχῇ μὲν ἴσως ἐγκαλοῦσιν ὀρθῶς· πολλαχῇ δὲ οὐκ αἰσθάνονται τῆς
ἐναργείας τοῦ ἀνδρός.
§ 221:
καὶ ὅλως δὲ ὁ ποιητὴς οὗτος (scil. Ctesias), ποιητὴν γὰρ αὐτὸν καλοίη
τις εἰκότως, ἐναργείας δημιουργός ἐστιν ἐν τῇ γραφῇ συμπάσῃ.
Dionysius Hal. ii. p. 9, Sylb. :
Ἡ δέ γε (λέξις) τοῦ Κνιδίου συγγραφέως Κτησίου καὶ ἡ τοῦ Σωκρατικοῦ
Ξενοφῶντος, ἡδέως μὲν ὡς ἔνι μάλιστα, οὐ μὴν καλῶς γε ἐφ᾿ ὅσον ἔδει.
λέγω δὲ κοινότερον, ἀλλ᾽ οὐχὶ καθάπαξ· ἐπεὶ καὶ παρ' ἐκείνοις (apud Thucy-
didem et Antiphontem) ήρμοσταί τινα ἡδέως, καὶ παρὰ τούτοις καλῶς.
tive.
Plutarch says he gave a dramatic, or tragic, turn to his narra-
Photius (at the end of his epitome of the Persika) :-
Ἔστι δὲ οὗτος ὁ συγγραφεὺς σαφής τε καὶ ἀφελὴς λίαν· διὸ καὶ ἡδονῃ
αὐτῷ συγκρατός ἐστιν ὁ λόγος· κέχρηται δὲ τῇ Ἰωνικῇ διαλέκτῳ, εἰ καὶ μὴ
δι᾿ ὅλου, καθάπερ Ηρόδοτος, ἀλλὰ κατ' ἐνίας τινὰς λέξεις.
οὐδὲ πρὸς
GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
5
ἐκτροπὰς δέ τινας ἀκαίρους ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνος, ἀπάγει τὸν λόγον. Τῶν μέντοι
γε μύθων, ἐν οἷς ἐκείνῳ λοιδορεῖται, οὐδ᾽ οὗτος ἀφίσταται, καὶ μάλιστα ἐν
τοῖς ἐπιγραφομένοις αὐτῷ Ἰνδικα. Ἡ δὲ ἡδονὴ τῆς ἱστορίας αὐτοῦ τὸ
πλεῖστον ἐν τῇ τῶν διηγημάτων αὐτοῦ γίνεται κατασκευῇ, τὸ παθητικὸν καὶ
ἀπροσδόκητον ἐχούσῃ πολὺ καὶ τὸ ἐγγὺς τοῦ μυθώδους αὐτὴν διαποικίλ-
λειν. καὶ διαλελυμένος δέ ἐστι πλεόν τι τοῦ δεόντος αὐτῷ ὁ λόγος, ὡς
καὶ εἰς ἰδιωτισμὸν ἐκπίπτειν· ὁ δὲ τοῦ Ηροδότου λόγος ταύτῃ τε καὶ τῇ
ἄλλῃ τοῦ ἔπους δυνάμει καὶ τέχνῃ κανών ἐστιν Ιωνικῆς διαλέκτου.
Id. p. 144:
Τὰ Ἰνδικά . . . ἐν οἷς μᾶλλον ἰωνίζει.
The portions of the Persika which afford us the best oppor-
tunities of judging of Ktesias' style are frag. 13, 19, 20, 21,
32-37, 39-42.
There are not many Ionicisms in the extant remains of this
work. Among these may be mentioned:-
Αρβάκεω (frag. 19); Τανυοξάρκεω (Epit. 42); Υστάσπεω (Epit. 44);
Σκυθάρχει (Epit. 48); Σπαρτιήτας (Epit. 56); ἔτεα (Epit. 74); Ἰδέρνεω
(Epit. 84); Τεριτούχμεω (Epit. 86); δοκέοντα (Epit. 90).
But the readings of the MSS., in cases like this, cannot be de-
pended upon.
Persian words occurring in the Persika are:—
κρισκράνοι (Epit. 33); πισάγας (Epit. 72); ἀζαβαρίτης (Epit. 77);
κίταρις (Epit. 78); σάραπις (frag. 38); ἀκινάκης (frag. 40); ῥυνδάκης οι
ρυντάκης (Epit. 92, frag. 42).
The question of the credibility of Ktesias' Assyrian, Mediau,
and Persian history is fully discussed in the separate introductions
and the notes. The progress of Oriental discovery has made the
dissertations of Baehr, Müller, and the older commentators on these
points almost useless.
Though the ancients generally adopted Ktesias' chronological
scheme, they had a low opinion of his veracity, as appears from
the long string of unfavourable testimonies cited by Müller from
Aristotle, Strabo, Plutarch, Lucian, Arrian, Aelian, Gellius, and
Tzetzes. These mostly relate to the Indika; but in that work we
have less cause to complain of Ktesias than in his Assyrian
6
GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
history, as he appears to have really related what he was told,
though he often exaggerated and made mistakes.
As it is impossible for us to arrive at the exact words used by
Ktesias, and immaterial to determine the precise expressions used
by other authors in quoting him, I have confined myself in the
critical notes to citing various readings which affect the sense or
the spelling of proper names. They are mostly taken from
Baehr's edition.
is as follows:
Baehr's notation of the authorities for the text
Max. Marg.
- Maximus Murgunius.
H. St.
=
D. H.
- Henricus Stephanus.
David Hoeschelius (editor of Photius' Biblio-
theka).
Cod. Mon. (or Mon.) = Codex Monacensis, No. 30 (a MS. of Pho-
tius of the 15th century).
The editio princeps of Ktesias was that of H. Stephanus (1566),
almost reproduced at the end of his edition of Herodotus (1570).
This contains only the epitome of Photius and a few of the frag-
ments.
The best modern editions are those of Baehr (Frankfurt, 1824)
and K. Müller (Paris, Firmin-Didot). Neither of these incorpo-
rates the great results obtained by Oriental scholars during the
last half century, and they are therefore of little value for the
earlier books of the Persika. Baehr's edition is characterized by a
confusion of arrangement which is perfectly marvellous: for in-
stance, the first six books of the Persika are placed at the end of
the volume, and there are two distinct numberings of the frag-
ments, one or two of which appear twice. The typography, too, is
not all that could be desired, and a great deal of space is taken up
by matter which is out of place in an edition not intended for
school use; moreover, the book is now, I believe, out of print.
Müller's edition is superior in printing and arrangement, though
even it is far from perfect in the latter respect. The notes are
little more than a series of meagre extracts from those of Baehr,
and the work cannot be obtained separately from Dindorf's edition
1
GENERAL INTRODUCTION.
7
of Herodotus, the whole forming an expensive and unwieldy
volume.
My aim in the present edition has been two-fold—(1) to im-
prove the arrangement of the text, by bringing the fragments and
epitome into their proper connexion; (2) to incorporate in the
notes the results of modern discoveries, so far as they bear directly
or indirectly on the narrative of Ktesias. I have not included the
Indika, as our knowledge respecting its subject-matter has not
increased much in recent years.
In the orthography of proper names I have paid more atten-
tion to the general usage of modern scholars than to strict consis-
tency.
}
INTRODUCTION
TO BOOKS I, II, III.
In these books, which are known to us chiefly from the epitome in
Diodorus, ii. 1-29, Ktesias gave his version of Assyro-Babylonian history
down to the capture of Nineveh by the Medes.
Both the chronological scheme and the details of this portion of his
work are almost altogether fabulous; but the legends he relates are not,
as a rule, in their outline, his own invention, but are derived from
Oriental, or occasionally Hellenic sources, and in the selection of his
"facts" he was apparently guided by a definite system. The sources
alleged by himself for the statements contained in these books, as for
those in the other parts of his history, were the διφθέραι βασιλικαίthe
Royal Chronicles of Persia (§ 23, Diod. ii. 22, 5: IIepì µèv oûv Toû
Μέμνονος τοιαῦτ' ἐν ταῖς βασιλικαῖς ἀναγραφαῖς ἱστορεῖσθαί φασιν οἱ βάρ
Bapou: this is an extract from Book ii. or iii.). We have abundant
independent evidence of the existence of these chronicles, and he no
doubt made use of them in the seventh and following books of the
Persika, but they could scarcely have contained an account of events
before the time of Kyrus. For an earlier period the only Persian works
he could have had access to were collections of Iranian legends, either in
prose or verse. Such, doubtless, was the nature of the 'chronicles and
historics' of Persia from which Firdusi derived the materials of the
Shahnameh, and of the work which Chorobutus translated into Greek in
the fourth century A. D. (Moses Chor., IIist. ii. 67), and Ktesias may have
intended to include them under the term by which he designates his
authority. It is very probable, as we shall presently see, that he used
Persian legends for his Median history; but even the high authority of
such writers as Dr. Duncker, Prof. Sayce, and M. Lenormant' is in-
1 Duncker repeatedly sponks of Ktesias' narrativo as the "Medo-Persian Epos,"
and even attempts to distinguish the Median and Persian elements; Sayce (Herodotos,
Introduction, p. xxxiii) says of Ktesias :---"The greater part of his Assyrian history
10
INTRODUCTION.
sufficient to convince me that Ktesias' Assyrian history had the same
origin.
The evidence in favour of this view, though now generally received,
seems to be far from conclusive. Apart from the statement of Ktesias him-
self, which is demonstrably false to a certain extent (since the avaypapar
he used for his Assyrian history were certainly not ẞaoiλikai), the only
strong argument is that stated by Lenormant in the passage quoted in
the note: others, such as that deduced by Duncker (vi. pp. 20, 21, and
45, English translation), from the importance assigned to Baktria,
relate at most only to particular incidents, and of course I do not contend
that Ktesias may not have worked particular Persian legends into a
narrative, the general framework of which was due to other sources.
We have no reason to believe that the Persians ever rationalized the
mythology of foreign nations to any appreciable extent, and such a
proceeding is utterly contrary to the customs of Oriental nations. As
for the example cited by Sayce, Rawlinson's explanation of the passage
of Herodotus (i. 1) is much more probable, and disposes of all connexion
between the Persian story told to the Halikarnassian historian and the
Greek myth.¹
My own view of the materials from which Ktesias concocted the
Assyrian portion of his history is this:-During the frequent residences
of the Persian court at Babylon, Ktesias must have had abundant oppor-
tunities of conversing with prominent Babylonians (even if he did not
know Babylonian, both he and they must have been acquainted with.
Persian) about the history of their country. Probably his researches
consists of Assyro-Babylonian myths rationalized and transformed in the manner pecu-
liar to the Persians, of which Herodotos gives us an illustration in the legend of Iô.”
In his review of Duncker, however (Academy, xxii. p. 427), he apparently regards
Duncker's view on the subject as exaggerated. Lenormant (Histoire Anc., 9º edition,
vol. iv., p. 117):-Ktesias "s'est fait l'écho de fables narrées à la cour de Suse, en
écrivant l'histoire de Ninus et de Sémiramis," the Persian empire consisting of hetero-
geneous elements, "il fallait donc essayer de rapprocher et de rattacher les uns aux
autres les différents peuples en confondant leur souvenirs et leur traditions nationales, et
en leur faisant croire que la domination universelle qu'ils subissaient remontait au com-
mencement de toutes choses, en un mot que la grande monarchie perse . . . était cent
fois séculaire et avait une divine origine."
..
1 Stronger instances might, perhaps, be found in the legends of Perseus as the
ancestor of the Persians (Herod. vi. 54, and vii. 150, two distinct accounts); and of
Medeia as giving name to the Medes (id. vii. 62). Both these stories were probably
invented by Medizing Greeks at the time of the Persian war, which is indeed suggested
by Herodotus vii. 150. Compare Hekataeus fr. 171; Hellanikos fr. 159; Deinias,
fr. 21; Apollodorus ii. 4.5.1, &c.; Strabo xi. 13, p. 455; Nikolaus, fr. 13.
BOOKS I, II, III.
11
2
would not be very deep; all he wanted was to compose a plausible and
interesting narrative. One of the objects he aimed at in his work was
to discredit the work of Herodotus, and as Semiramis had been specially
named by the latter, he would probably make special inquiries in regard
to her. He would hear, as Herodotus' had done, of Sammuramat, the
wife of Rimmon Nirari III., King of Assyria B. c. 812-783, who is
reasonably supposed to have been a Babylonian princess. That she was
more than a mere queen-consort is almost certain, from the occurrence of
her name along with that of her husband in a dedicatory inscription on a
statue of Nebo, erected in a temple at Kalah by Bel-khassi-ilum, the
governor, and now in the British Museum. The monumental evidence
for the history of this period is scanty, and it is quite possible she may
have occupied the position of regent of Babylon, under her husband's
weak successors; and if she were a Babylonian princess, her countrymen
would naturally exaggerate her importance. But from this to the ex-
travagant romance of Ktesias is a long step. Having selected the Baby-
lonian queen as his heroine, he proceeded to look out for materials to fill
in his romance. Ishtar, the goddess of love, was, as we learn from the
sixth book of the Epic of Izdubar, regarded by the Babylonians as
having at one time reigned as an earthly queen, and many legends
relating to her, both Babylonian and Syrian, were accordingly worked by
Ktesias into hiş “history" of Semiramis.
1 Herodotus i. 184, ἡ μὲν πρότερον ἄρξασα, τῆς ὕστερον (viz., Nitokris, wife of one
of the kings of the eighth Babylonian dynasty in the sixth century, B. C.) TéνTE πPÓTE-
ρον γενομένη τῇ οὔνομα ἦν Σεμίραμις. He then proceeds to attribute to her certain
embankments at Babylon. Five generations (about 170 years) from the time of
Nebuchadrezzar, brings us to about the date of Sammuramat, especially if she survived
her husband, and acted as regent under his successors; but Mr. Sayce, who is ever eager
to depreciate Herodotus, proposes to adopt Scaliger's conjecture of TEVTÝKоvтα for
Tévre, though unsupported by any MS. authority, as far as I know. It is contrary to
all sound principles of criticism thus to go out of one's way to substitute a false state-
ment for a true one in an author's text, especially in a case like the present, where a
scribe, being more likely to be familiar with the legendary date of Ktesias than with
Herodotus' correct one, would be more likely to substitute "fifty" for "five" than the
contrary; so that, even if Scaliger's reading was supported by some MSS., we should
be justified in disregarding it. In an author later than Ktesias we might expect to find
his date; but his legend of Ninus and Semiramis (under that name) is unknown to any
earlier writer. The name Semiramis occurs in the fragments of Berosus; but the text
is so corrupt, it is impossible to say where he really placed her (Berosus, ii. fr. 11;
iii. fr. 14).
2 See, amongst other authorities, Lenormant (Hist. Anc. iv., p. 212). Nebo
is styled in the inscription, "le protecteur de Raman Nirar, roi du pays d'Assur;
le protecteur de Sammuramat l'épouse du palais la souveraine.”
Lenormant says
12
INTRODUCTION.
Next we have a Persian legend (preserved to us by Hellanikos')
relating to a. Persian (not an Assyrian or Babylonian) queen named
Atossa, and from this Ktesias derived some of the military achievements
of his heroine. The limits of her conquests were evidently fixed with
reference to those of the Persian empire in his own time.
The peculiar colouring given to the whole narrative seems, however,
to be Greek, due either to Ktesias himself or to Greeks residing at Babylon,
rather than Persian. The Persian legend of Atossa may have furnished
some materials; but that the rationalization of the exploits of Ishtar,
which forms much of Ktesias' story of Semiramis, was due to a Persian
epos, seems highly improbable. The nature of the Iranian legends of
his time may best be judged by those still preserved by Firdusi and other
Raman Nirar "confia le gouvernement de la Chaldéo à sa femme la reine Sammu-
ramat qui résidait à Babylone." There is no direct monumental evidence for this
statement (see Rawlinson, Herodotus, i., p. 511, “there is no satisfactory evidence that
she had any special connexion with Babylon"), which rests on the testimony of Hero-
dotus, whoso veracity is corroborated by the approximate correctness of his datos.
Sayce altogether rejects the connexion of Sammuramat with Babylon, and her identity
with the Semiramis of Herodotus, from whom Ktesias' Semiramis was evolved. Tho
correctness of the reading, Sammuramat,' is almost certain, though it has been dis-
puted, but its meaning is obscure. Lenormant (iv., p. 128) suggests "shem ram"
nomen excelsum. The Syriac (Semir amis Columbarum mater); Arabic (Seri MONS
and Mamin = Columba); or Sanskrit (Sami-Ramesi quae sami arborem colit) etymo-
logies suggested in Bachr, p. 415, and Muller, are unlikely or impossible. The
explanation given by Ktesias (§ 5) favours the explanations which introduce a word
meaning “dove." Sayce, in 1868 (sec Journal of Sacred Literature, n. s., iv., p. 166),
spoke of Khamurabi as tho "prototypo of Semiramis." Robert Brown (Academy,
xxix., p. 257), who is a follower of Sayce, suggests a connexion between Semiramis
(whom he identifies with the Hittite Lovo goddess) and sûmmatu dove in Assyrian
and also compares Simi a Hittito (?) goddess, rendering the name Simi, daughter of
Aramis," the supreme god of Carchemish.
C
Professor Robertson Smith, in an interesting paper in the English Historical
Review for April, 1887, compares Shemiramoth, a personal name occurring in the Old
Testament. The present introduction was written before Prof. Smith's l'aper appeared.
With most of his conclusions I am unfortunately unable to agree; they are very unfavour-
able to Ktesias' veracity. He assumes (on rather insufficient evidence) that Shemiram was
a name of the Love goddess. This, if true, was an additional roason why Ktosias should
attributo some of her legends and attributes to Semiramis.
* Hellanikos, fr. 163α: Πρώτην ἐπιστολὰς συντάξαι ῎Ατυσσαν τὴν Περσῶν βασιλεύ
σασαν, φησὶν Ελλανίκος. Fr. 1630 : "Ατοσσα, ταύτην ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς ᾿Αριάσπου ὡς
άρρενα τραφείσαν διαδέξασθαι τὴν βασιλείαν, Κρυβοῦσαν δὲ τὴν τῶν γυναίων ἐπίνοιαν
τιάραν πρώτην φορέσαι πρώτην δὲ καὶ ἀναξυρίδας καὶ τὴν τῶν εὐνούχων ὑπουργίαν
εὑρεῖν, καὶ διὰ βίβλων τὰς ἀποκρίσεις ποιεῖσθαι. Πολλὰ δὲ ὑποτάξασα ἔθνη πολεμικωτάτη
καὶ ἀνδρειοτάτη ἐν πᾶντι ἔργῳ ἐγένετο. Under Bolochos, the sixteenth successor of
Ktesias' Semiramis, Eusebius (Chronicon in version of S. Jerome, fo. 32) notes "Hujus
filia Actosa quae et Semiramis regnat cum patre an. 7."
BOOKS I, II, III.
13
medieval Persian writers, of which traces may be found in the Zenda-
vesta, and the writings of the early Sassanian period, quoted by Moses
of Chorene. These celebrate the exploits of Iranian kings, not of foreign
empires, or Semitic goddesses.¹
2
Ninus is perhaps to be identified with the god Nin, who is sometimes
regarded as the husband of Beltis, a goddess often confused with Ishtar:
his character as a god of war and of the chase agrees well with that assigned
to the husband of Semiramis. If, with Lenormant and some others, we re-
ject the reading Nin, or Ninip, for the name of this deity, which is by no
means certain, we may regard him merely as the eponymous hero of
Nineveh.3 The true derivation of the name of the city is uncertain: in
Greek it is spelt in the same way as the name of the husband of Semira-
mis; in the Assyrian records it is Ninâ, or Ninua, which is variously
explained, either as "fish-town" (from the ideogram with which it is
written), or "town of the god Nin,"5 or
repose of the gods,"
resting place of the god (goddess ?) Nana." It should be noticed
that one of Nin's attributes is that of god of the sea, and that he is
sometimes confused with Hea, one of whose titles is "the intelligent
fish"; while Semiramis is the daughter of a fish goddess, and her first
husband is Onnes, or Oannes," the name by which Berosus (i. frag. 1)
designates Hea.
(L
or
The duration which Ktesias assigned to the Assyro-Babylonian em-
piro, variously given as 1360 (Diod. ii. 21), 1306 (Synkellus, p. 359, and
Agathias ii. 25, p. 120), 1305 (Augustinus, Civ. Dei, xviii. 4), 1240
(Eusebius, Chron. fo. 52) years, was perhaps based on data supplied to
him by the Babylonian priests. Iis fall of Nineveh really corresponds
to the event represented by the end of the sixth dynasty of Berosus, and
1 The view taken by Lenormant (Hist. Ane. iv., pp. 125-6) is not very different
from that here stated, though he gives much more prominence to the Persian element
in the legend.
2 Lenormant adopts the reading Adar (and in the Appendix, Sandan) in vol. i. of his
Origines de l'histoire, Delitsch, Guyard, and others adhere to Ninib.
3 The conception of heroes eponymi is peculiarly Greek, and altogether foreign to
the Persians. Perseus or Perses and Medoia are unknown to the genuine Persian
monuments and traditions.
4 Sayco, Herodotos, p. 358.
Soo Rawlinson, Herodotus, vol. i., p. 646.
• Lonormant adopts this interpretation in his Origines.
7 Budge in Transactions of Victoria Institute. Ho interprets it as dwelling-place
of the god Ninua " in his Babylonian Life and History, p. 26.
8 Rawlinson, Herodotus i., p. 621.
9 Explained by Lenormant as === Ea Khan, Ea, the fish."
14
INTRODUCTION-BOOKS I, II, III.
the era of Nabonassar of Ptolemy, about B. c. 745; but his exaggeration
of the duration of the Median empire causes him to antedate it about
B. C. 850: the real date of the final fall of Nineveh was in the last decade
of the seventh century B. C. The obscurity of the terminal date of
Ktesias' Assyrian history makes its initial date also incapable of ascer-
tainment: his own figures lead us to some time about the twenty-second
century B. C., about the date fixed by Berosus for the beginning of his
third dynasty (compare Rawlinson's Herodotus, i. pp. 420-423).
Ktesias had, however, no knowledge of the true history of the
thirteen or fourteen centuries which he assigned as the duration of the
Assyrian empire; hence the list of kings from Semiramis to Sardanapalus
seems to be purely his own invention. Had he drawn from Persian
sources, we should expect to find that each king, as in the Shahnameh of
Firdusi, reigned, not tens, but hundreds of years: the length actually
assigned to each reign in the list is beyond ordinary probability, but at
the same time is not impossible, so as to suggest that, having to invent
names to cover a certain period, he saved himself trouble by giving as
few as possible. The names themselves are of the most heterogeneous
character-a few, e. g. Baleus, Belochus, and Balatores, are those of
Babylonian or Assyrian deities or kings of whom he chanced to hear;
others are ordinary Persian names; others, e. g. Amyntes, are Greek.
Sardanapalus, as far as his name is concerned, represents Asshur-
bani-pal, the last great king of Assyria. His existence and his character
for luxury were well known to the Greeks, quite independently of the
Persians, long before Ktesias' time. At the same time what is related
of the luxury and effeminacy of himself and his predecessors may come
from a traditional recollection of the weak princes who reigned shortly
before B. c. 745, as Lenormant suggests.'
That Ktesias' details of the destruction of Nineveh are probably
founded on fact may be deduced from the authentic account of the siege
in the seventh century B. C., preserved by Berosus (ii. frag. 13), and
perhaps from the prophecy of Nahum.
¹ Hist. Anc. iv., p. 213, "Aussi la mémoire des princes fainéants qui se succé-
dèrent alors sur le trône de Ninive fut elle maudite par les Assyriens et l'écho de cette
réprobation est arrivé jusq'aux Grecs sous la forme d'une légende accréditée par Ctésias,
et aussi historiquement fausse que la légende de Ninus et de Sémiramis; Assur-Nirar
est le Sardanapale des Grecs.'
CTESIAE CNIDII
DE REBUS PERSICIS.
LIBER PRIMUS.
EPITOME DIODORI.
§ 1 (Diod. ii. 1-4). Τὸ παλαιὸν τοίνυν κατὰ τὴν Ασίαν
ὑπῆρχον ἐγχώριοι βασιλεῖς, ὧν οὔτε πρᾶξις ἐπίσημος οὔτε
ὄνομα μνημονεύεται. Πρῶτος δὲ τῶν εἰς ἱστορίαν καὶ
μνήμην παραδεδομένων Νῖνος ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν ᾿Ασσυρίων,
Πρῶτος δε . . . Nivos] So Jus-
tin, i. 1; Eusebius, Chron. (Latin
version), fo. 11 and 15,¹ and per-
haps Apollodorus (fr. 68, Chron.
Pasch. p. 29A). Abydenus (fr. 11)
gives Ninus five predecessors-
Belus, Babius, Anebis, 'Arbelus,
Chaelus; Kephalion and Kastor,
one-Belus; Eusebius in the Ar-
menian version, one-Nebrod (=
Nimrod); Moses of Chorene (Hist.
i. 4), six-Nebroth, whom he iden-
tifies with Bel, Anebis, Arbel,
Chaial, Arbel II.; Synkellus, one
-Belos. The introduction of these
names was due to various causes;
the usual scheme of Babylonian
mythology made Ninip or Sandan
son of Bel; Nimrod is of course
due to the Bible; three of the
other four names are geographical,
representing Babylon, Arbela, and
Kalah, and probably Anebis is so
also. To account for the paucity
of early records a story was in-
vented that Ninus caused all the
records of his predecessors to be
collected and burnt (Moses Chor. i.
13. 12). A similar story is told of
Nabonassar (Berosus, ii. 11A), and
of other princes, e.g. Shi-Hwang-
Ti, emperor of China, B.C. 212.
The only Greek writer earlier
than Ktesias who mentions Ninus
is Herodotus, in whom Nivos occurs
once only, or at most twice, as a
personal name: the passages are
i. 7, Κανδαύλης . . . . . . ἀπόγονος δὲ
dè
1 But at fo. 10 he makes Belus precede him-"quem Assyrii deum nominavere
Saturnum."
16
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
μεγάλας πράξεις ἐπετελέσατο· περὶ οὗ τὰ κατὰ μέρος
ἀναγράφειν πειρασόμεθα. Γενόμενος γὰρ φύσει πολεμικὸς
καὶ ζηλωτὴς ἀρετῆς, καθώπλισε τῶν νέων τοὺς κρατίστους
γυμνάσας δ᾽ αὐτοὺς πλείονα χρόνον, συνήθεις ἐποίησε
πάσῃ κακοπαθείᾳ καὶ πολεμικοῖς κινδύνοις. Συστησάμενος
οὖν στρατόπεδον ἀξιόλογον, συμμαχίαν ἐποιήσατο πρὸς
᾿Αλκαίου τοῦ Ἡρακλέος. Αγρων μὲν
γὰρ ὁ Νίνου, τοῦ Βήλου, του Αλκαίου,
πρῶτος Ἡρακλειδέων βασιλεὺς ἐγέ-
νετο Σαρδέων, and iii. 155, κατὰ
τὰς Νινίων καλεομένας πύλας (of
Babylon). In the latter passage
Νινίων almost certainly
certainly means
Ninevite (as Κισσίας just below
means Kissian), and we may there-
fore leave it out of consideration.
In the former passage many
scholars see evidence for an As-
syrian, or at least Semitic descent
of the Lydians, a view which
Rawlinson (Herodotus, vol. i. p.
345, seq.) altogether rejects.¹ Sayce
(note on Herodotus i. 7) as usual
finds the Hittites in the legend, in
which he is perhaps right.
The probable explanation of the
genealogy is that the Lydians,
after they came in contact with
the Assyrians (or if we adopt
Sayce's view, at an earlier period
even), invented a genealogy for
their kings which made them de-
scendants of Nin, the great As-
syrian god of war and hunting,
and the equivalent of the Greek
Herakles; hence they told the
Greeks that their kings were
Herakleids; but they, not per-
ceiving the identity of Herakles
and Nin, the son of Bel, were
obliged to introduce him, with a
son whose name is one of his own
epithets, at the top of the genea-
logy, no other place being available
for him.
Hence the mention of Ninus in
Herodotus gives us no ground for
regarding him as anything but a
god or demi-god, and we cannot,
by counting up generations or
otherwise, arrive at any precise
date to which Herodotus may have
intended to assign him.
The hero of Ktesias also (so far
as he is a person at all, and not
merely the eponym of the Assyrian
capital) derives his attributes and
character from those ordinarily
assigned to the god Nin, Bar, or
Sandan, the Assyrian Herakles,
which Ktesias could easily have
ascertained from the Babylonian
priests. By treating the materials
thus supplied much as Diodorus,
for instance, has treated Hellenic
mythology, and by attributing to
1 4 On the whole it must be concluded that the remarkable genealogy-Hercules,
Alcaeus, Belus, Ninus, Agron--contains no atom of truth or meaning, and was the
clumsy invention of a Lydian, bent on glorifying the ancient kings of his country, by
claiming for them a connection with the mightiest of the heroes both of Asia and of
Greece.”-Rawlinson, op. cit., p. 347.
1.]
17
CTESIAE PERSICA.
᾿Αριαῖον τὸν βασιλέα τῆς ᾿Αραβίας, ἣ κατ᾽ ἐκείνους τοὺς
χρόνους ἐδόκει πληθύειν ἀλκίμων ἀνδρῶν. Ἔστυ δὲ καὶ
καθόλου τοῦτο τὸ ἔθνος φιλελεύθερον, καὶ κατ᾿ οὐδένα
τρόπον προσδεχόμενον ἔπηλυν ἡγεμόνα. Ο δ᾽ οὖν Ασσυ
ρίων βασιλεὺς Νῖνος τὸν δυναστεύοντα τῶν ᾿Αράβων παρα-
λαβών, ἐστράτευσε μετὰ πολλῆς δυνάμεως ἐπὶ Βαβυλωνίους,
κατοικοῦντας ὅμορον χώραν. Κατ᾽ ἐκείνους δὲ τοὺς χρόνους
ἡ μὲν νῦν οὖσα Βαβυλὼν οὐκ ἦν ἐκτισμένη, κατὰ δὲ τὴν
Βαβυλωνίαν ὑπῆρχον ἄλλαι πόλεις ἀξιόλογοι. Ρᾳδίως δὲ
χειρωσάμενος τοὺς ἐγχωρίους, διὰ τὸ τῶν ἐν τοῖς πολέμοις
κινδύνων ἀπείρως ἔχειν, τούτοις μὲν ἔταξε τελεῖν κατ' ἐνιαυ-
τὸν ὡρισμένους φόρους, τὸν δὲ βασιλέα τῶν καταπολεμη
θέντων λαβὼν μετὰ τῶν τέκνων αἰχμάλωτον ἀπέκτεινε.
Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα πολλοῖς πλήθεσιν εἰς τὴν ᾿Αρμενίαν ἐμβαλών,
the reign of Ninus almost all the
conquests and exploits he had heard
of of all the Assyrian kings, with
many more, he has constructed the
first part of the romance to which he
gave the name of Assyrian history.
For another portion he worked into
the history of a Babylonian queen
the legends of the Asiatic Love
goddess. The whole treatment is
similar to that of the history of
Kyrus by Xenophon, but while
the Kyropaedia was generally re-
cognised among the ancients as a
romance, the similar work of
Ktesias was unfortunately treated
as if it were authentic history.
Both used oriental materials, and
both have preserved valuable frag-
ments of history; but to separate
truth from fiction in either is not
always an easy task.
Αριαῖον τὸν βασιλέα τῆς Αραβίας.]
Müller compares the later Arabian
royal name Haret (or Hareth),
Haret (or Hareth),
C
ע:
Aretas in Greek. The Assyrian
kings of the seventh dynasty (B.c.
745-640) had frequent wars in
Arabia, and apparently met with
an obstinate resistance.
Βαβυλὼν οὐκ ἦν ἐκτισμένη.] Our
author is probably correct in making
Babylon of later origin than many
other Babylonian cities. Erech, Ur,
Zergul, and Agadé (Sippara) seem
to have been capitals before it. It
is just possible that the Assyrian
conquest of Babylonia here nar-
rated may represent the Semitic
conquest of the country which
took place at an early (at present
uncertain) period of its history.
Εἰς τὴν ᾿Αρμενίαν] The Arme-
nian historians, with their usual
national vanity, while adopting
the general outline of the history
of Ktesias, give a different colour
to these transactions. Belus is
killed by the Armenians under
Haig (Mos. Chor. i. 10); Aramus,
18
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
καί τινας τῶν πόλεων ἀναστάτους ποιήσας, κατεπλήξατο
τοὺς ἐγχωρίους. Διόπερ ὁ βασιλεὺς αὐτῶν Βαρζάνης,
ὁρῶν ἑαυτὸν οὐκ ἀξιόμαχον ὄντα, μετὰ πολλῶν δώρων
ἀπήντησε, καὶ πᾶν ἔφησε ποιήσειν τὸ προσταττόμενον.
Ὁ δὲ Νῖνος μεγαλοψύχως αὐτῷ χρησάμενος, τῆς τε ᾿Αρμενίας
συνεχώρησεν ἄρχειν, καὶ φίλον ὄντα, πέμπειν στρατιὰν καὶ
τὴν χορηγίαν τῷ σφετέρῳ στρατοπέδῳ. Αεὶ δὲ μᾶλλον
αὐξόμενος, ἐστράτευσεν εἰς τὴν Μηδίαν, Ὁ δὲ ταύτης
βασιλεὺς Φάρνος παραταξάμενος ἀξιολόγῳ δυνάμει, καὶ
λειφθείς, τῶν τε στρατιωτῶν τοὺς πλείστους ἀπέβαλε, καὶ
αὐτὸς μετὰ τέκνων ἑπτὰ καὶ γυναικὸς αἰχμάλωτος ληφθεὶς,
ἀνεσταυρώθη.
§ 2 (Diod. ii. 2, 1). Οὕτω δὲ τῶν πραγμάτων τῷ Νίνῳ
προχωρούντων, δεινὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἔσχε τοῦ καταστρέψασθαι
τὴν ᾿Ασίαν ἅπασαν τὴν ἐντὸς Τανάϊδος καὶ Νειλου· ὡς ἐπίπαν
γὰρ τοῖς εὐτυχοῦσιν ἡ τῶν πραγμάτων ἐπίῤῥοια τὴν τοῦ
πλείονος ἐπιθυμίαν παρίστησι. Διόπερ τῆς μὲν Μηδίας
σατράπην ἕνα τῶν περὶ αὑτὸν φίλων κατέστησεν αὐτὸς δ'
ἐπῄει τὰ κατὰ τὴν ᾿Ασίαν ἔθνη καταστρεφόμενος, καὶ χρόνον
ἑπτακαιδεκαετῆ καταναλώσας, πλὴν Ἰνδῶν καὶ Βακτριανῶν,
king of Armenia, defeats, in As-
syria, Bar-sam-"quem Barsamum
ob fortissimas res gestas in deos
ascriptum ad longum tempus Syri
coluere.”1 As Rawlinson and
others have pointed out, Bar-sam
(= “Bar by name”) is merely Nin
under another name, although
Moses distinguishes him from Ninus,
whom he makes his contemporary.
Armenia, however, appears as a
vassal state of Assyria at the death
of Ninus.2
εἰς τὴν Μηδίαν] Media was pro-
bably not occupied by the Aryans
1 Moses i. 13.
till about the eighth century B. C.
Pharnus is an Aryan name. Sargon
mentions a Median chief, Pharnes,
about B.c. 713. The Assyrians first
invaded Media about B.C. 840,
when the population was chiefly
Turanian.
ἀνεσταυρώθη] The cruel punish-
ments ascribed by Ktesias to Ninus
and Semiramis were fully in ac-
cordance with Assyrian customs.
The word here used designates im-
palement rather than crucifixion.
(Compare Layard, Nineveh and
Babylon, p. 355.)
2 Moses i. 14, 1.
1.]
19
CTESIAE PERSICA.
τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων κύριος ἐγένετο. [Τὰς μὲν οὖν καθ᾽
ἕκαστα μάχας, ἢ τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἁπάντων τῶν καταπολεμηθέν
των, οὐδεὶς τῶν συγγραφέων ἀνέγραψε τὰ δ᾽ ἐπισημότατα
τῶν ἐθνῶν ἀκολούθως Κτησίᾳ τῷ Κνιδίῳ πειρασόμεθα συντόμ
ως ἐπιδραμείν.] Κατεστρέψατο μὲν γὰρ τῆς παραθαλατ
τίου καὶ τῆς συνεχους χώρας τήν τε Αἴγυπτον καὶ Φοινίκην,
ἔτι δὲ κοίλην Συρίαν, καὶ Κιλικίαν, καὶ Παμφυλίαν, καὶ
Λυκίαν· πρὸς δὲ ταύταις, τήν τε Καρίαν, καὶ Φρυγίαν, καὶ
Μυσίαν, καὶ Λυδίαν. προσηγάγετο δὲ τήν τε Τρωάδα καὶ
τὴν ἐφ᾽ Ἑλλησπόντῳ Φρυγίαν, καὶ Προποντίδα, καὶ Βι-
θυνίαν, καὶ Καππαδοκίαν, καὶ τὰ κατὰ τὸν Πόντον ἔθνη
βάρβαρα κατοικοῦντα μέχρι Τανάϊδος· ἐκυρίευσε δὲ τῆς τε
Καδουσίων χώρας καὶ Ταπύρων· ἔτι δ᾽ Ὑρκανίων καὶ
§ 2. τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων] The
extent of dominions assigned to
Ninus coincides with the empire
of Artaxerxes II. Many of the
countries named never came under
Assyrian rule at all.
Αἴγυπτον] Conquered by the
Assyrians under Esarhaddon I. and
Asshu-bani-pal (Β.c. 672-660).
Φοινίκην, ἔτι δὲ κοίλην] The
"land of the Khatti," or Akharu,
of the Assyrian monuments, re-
peatedly conquered by the Assyri-
ans from, at least, the time of
Tiglathpileser I. (twelfth century
B.c.) onwards. The country of the
Khatti, Phoenicia, Bethkhumri
(Samaria), Edom, Palasta, and
Damascus are enumerated amongst
the conquests of Riman Nirari,
husband of the historical Semi-
ramis.
Κιλικίαν] Conquered by Senna-
cherib, and perhaps earlier.
Παμφυλίαν—Μυσίαν] None of
these countries were probably ever
included in the Assyrian Empire.
Λυδίαν] Submitted to Assbur-
bani-pal, B.c. 660. Of the other
countries west of Assyria enume-
rated, Kappadokia was inhabited
by the Khatti (Hittites) and people
of Meshech and Tubal, who were
repeatedly conquered by the As-
syrians. Of the eastern nations,
Elam (Σουσιανή) had prolonged
wars with Assyria, and was finally
subdued by Asshur-bani-pal. It is
mentioned amongst the conquests
of Rimannirari.
Καδουσίων] Α tribe near the
Caspian, who figure prominently
in Books iv.-vi. See Strabo xi. 7,
p. 425.
Υρκανίων] An Aryan tribe;
their country appears as Vehr-
kana in the Zendavesta, and Var-
kána in the inscriptions of Darcius I.
Probably Βορκανίων is merely a
different way of writing the same
name. In §39 we have the name
spelt Βαρκανίων. It is impossible
C 2
20
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Δραγγῶν πρὸς δὲ τούτοις Δερβίκων, καὶ Καρμανίων, καὶ
Χωρομναίων· ἔτι δὲ Βορκανίων καὶ Παρθυαίων· ἐπῆλθε δὲ
καὶ τὴν Περσίδα, καὶ Σουσιανήν, καὶ τὴν καλουμένην Κασ
πιανήν εἰς ἦν εἰσιν εἰσβολαὶ στεναὶ παντελῶς, διὸ καὶ
προσαγορεύονται Κασπίαι πύλαι. Πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἄλλα τῶν
ἐλαττόνων ἐθνῶν προσηγάγετο, περὶ ὧν μακρὸν ἂν εἴη
λέγειν. Τῆς δὲ Βακτριανῆς οὔσης δυσεισβόλου, καὶ πλήθη
μαχίμων ἀνδρῶν ἐχούσης, ἐπειδὴ πολλὰ πονήσας ἄπρακτος
ἐγένετο, τὸν μὲν πρὸς Βακτριανοὺς πόλεμον εἰς ἕτερον
ἀνεβάλετο καιρόν, τὰς δὲ δυνάμεις ἀπαγαγὼν εἰς τὴν
Συρίαν, ἐξελέξατο τόπον εὔθετον εἰς πόλεως μεγάλης κτίσιν.
to determine which is the correct
reading. The latter is nearer the
Persian form.
Apayyŵv. Perhaps the Sarangians
of Herodotus iv. 67, Old Persian
Zaraka (Rawlinson, Herodotus iv.
p. 205; Duncker Hist. iv. p. 7).
Δερβίκων] See § 37, fr. 29.
Καρμανίων] Τhe Germanians of
Herodotus, who makes them a tribo
of the Persians: see Rawlinson,
Herodotus, i. p. 698.
Χωρομναίων] Χωραμναῖοι, fr. 27;
Χοραμνίων, § 39.
Παρθυαίων] Παρθίων, § 39.
Τῆς δὲ Βακτριανῆς οὔσης δυσεισ-
βόλου] Duncker regards the im-
portance assigned to Baktria in
the first three books of Ktesins, as
evidence of the Iranian origin of
his Assyrian history; it, however,
plays an equally important part in
similar Greek narratives of fabulous
conquests by Egyptian kings (e. g.
Diodorus i. 47, p. 83), where no
Iranian element can be suspected.
Probably the Baktrians, like the
Indians and the Arabs, were so-
lected as a nation of whom the
Greeks knew but little, on the
1
principle,
principle, "Ommo ignotum pro
magnifico." Besides, from its fer-
tility and position, it was really
one of the wealthiest and most im-
portant regions in Asia. Geiger
(Civilization of the Tastern Iranians,
ii. p. 19) believes that the military
skill and capacity of the Baktrians
is referred to in the epithet applied
to Baktria in the Avesta credhwo-
drafsha, "with lofty banners."
Συρίαν] 2.6. Assyria, by the
confusion usual in Greek writers,
except Herodotus.2
¹ Soo Hoeron, As. Nations, vol. i. pp. 165-167; Rawlinson, vol. iv. p. 195, § 9.
2 Strabo, xvi. 1, p. 533 : Δοκεῖ δὲ τὸ τῶν Σύρων ὄνομα διατεῖναι, ἀπὸ μὲν τῆς Βαβυ-
λωνίας μέχρι τοῦ Ἰσσικοῦ κόλπου, ἀπὸ δὲ τούτου μέχρι τοῦ Εὐξείνου τὸ παλαιόν. . . . Οἱ
δ' ἱστοροῦντες τὴν Σύρων ἀρχὴν, ὅταν φῶσι, Μήδους μὲν ὑπὸ Περσῶν καταλυθῆναι,
Σύρους δὲ ὑπὸ Μήδων, οὐκ ἄλλους τινὰς τοὺς Σύρους λέγουσιν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἐν Βαβυλῶνι
καὶ Νίνῳ κατασκευασμένους τὸ βασίλειον' ὧν ὁ μὲν Νίνος ἦν, ὁ τὴν Νῖνον ἐν τῇ ᾿Ατουρία
κτίσας.
1.]
21
CTESIAE PERSICA.
FRAGMENTUM I.
Tzetzes, Histor. iii. 83. Ὁ Ασσυρίων βασιλεὺς ὁ Σέσωσ-
τρις ἐκεῖνος . . . τῶν ᾿Ασσυρίων μοναρχῶν, ἦρχε τῆς γῆς
ἁπάσης, ζευγνύων ἐν τῷ ἅρματι τούτους τοὺς βασιλέας, καὶ
ὑπ' αὐτῶν συρόμενος, ὥσπερ ὑφ᾽ ἵππων ἄλλοι, καὶ κοσμοκρά
τωρ καὶ θεὸς ἐκέκλητο τοῖς τότε. Τούτου ποτέ τις βασιλεὺς
κατέστειλε τὸν τύφον, τῆς τύχης τὸ ἀσύστατον δι' αἰνιγμῶν
προδείξας, Ελκων τὸ ἅρμα γὰρ αὐτὸς, τὰς τροχιὰς ἑώρα.
βραδείαν δὲ τὴν βάδισιν, οὕτως ὁρῶν, ἐποίει. Ὡς δὲ πρὸς
τοῦτον ἔλεξεν ὁ Σέσωστρις ἐκεῖνος, Τί καταργεῖς πρὸς τὴν ὁδὸν
ἄνθρωπε; τάχει λέγε, ὁ δὲ, Τροχῶν τὰς συστροφὰς βλέπων
φησὶν, οὐ τρέχω. Γνοὺς τοιγαροῦν ὁ Σέσωστρις, ὅπερ αὐτὸς
ἐδήλου, συστέλλει τὸ ἀγέρωχον, ἀποζευγνύει τούτους· καὶ τοῦ
λοιποῦ τοῖς σύμπασιν ἦν πρᾷός τε καὶ σώφρων· [Κτησίας
καὶ . . . ἄλλοι τῆς ἱστορίας μέμηνται . . .]
ΕΡΙΤΟΜΕ DIODORI.
§ 3 (Diod. ii. 3). Επιφανεστάτας γὰρ πράξεις τῶν πρὸ
αὑτοῦ κατειργασμένος, ἔσπευδε τηλικαύτην κτίσαι τὸ μέ
γεθος πόλιν, ὥστε μὴ μόνον αὐτὴν εἶναι μεγίστην τῶν τότε
οὐσῶν κατὰ πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην, ἀλλὰ μηδὲ τῶν με-
ταγενεστέρων ἕτερον ἐπιβαλλόμενον ῥᾳδίως ἂν ὑπερθέσθαι.
Τὸν μὲν οὖν τῶν ᾿Αράβων βασιλέα τιμήσας δώροις καὶ
λαφύροις μεγαλοπρεπέσιν, ἀπέλυσε μετὰ τῆς ἰδίας στρατιᾶς
εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν· αὐτὸς δὲ τὰς πανταχόθεν δυνάμεις καὶ
παρασκευὰς πάντων τῶν ἐπιτηδείων ἀθροίσας ἐπὶ τὸν
Εὐφράτην ποταμόν, ἔκτισε πόλιν εὖ τετειχισμένην, έτε-
Frag. 1. Ο Ασσυρίων βασιλεὺς ὁ
Σέσωστρις] Perhaps Tzetzes lus
mixed up Ninus and Sesostris.
“Num recto fragmentum huic loco
assignaverim, nescio. Apte tamen
Ctesias postquam Aegyptum ab
Assyriis subactam dixerat, lectori
in memoriam rovocarΟ poterat
Sesostrin Assyriorum quondam do-
minum, fortunacque inconstantiam."
Miller.
§ 3 Ἐπὶ τὸν Εὐφράτην ποταμόν.
22
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ρόμηκες αὐτῆς ὑποστησάμενος τὸ σχῆμα. Εἶχε δὲ τῶν
μὲν μακροτέρων πλευρῶν ἑκατέραν ἡ πόλις ἑκατὸν καὶ
πεντήκοντα σταδίων, τῶν δὲ βραχυτέρων, ἐνενήκοντα. Διὸ
καὶ τοῦ σύμπαντος περιβόλου συσταθέντος ἐκ σταδίων
τετρακοσίων καὶ ὀγδοήκοντα, τῆς ἐλπίδος οὐ διεψεύσθη.
Τηλικαύτην γὰρ πόλιν οὐδεὶς ὕστερον ἔκτισε κατά τε τὸ
μέγεθος τοῦ περιβόλου, καὶ τὴν περὶ τὸ τεῖχος μεγαλοπρέ-
Ktesias could hardly have made such
a mistake as to place Nineveh on
the Euphrates. In Nikolaus of
Damascus, fr. 9, which is doubtless
derived from him, Nineveh is cor-
rectly placed on the Tigris. The
city was in ruins in Herodotus'
time (i. 193, τὸν Τίγρην παρ' ὃν
Νίνος πόλις οἴκητο was built), and
continued SO in the time of
Artaxerxes II.1 In the first cen-
tury of our era a city was in exist-
ence bearing its name, coins of
which (of Trajan and Maximinus)
bearing the inscriptions NINI. CLAU.
and COL. NINIVA CLAUD [IOPOLIS]
have been found in Assyria (Layard,
Nineveh and Babylon, pp. 390-91).
This city is mentioned by Tacitus
(Ann. xii. 13, "Ninos vetustiss-
ima sedes Assyriae."). Philostra-
tus, Vit. Apoll. Tyan. i. 19, speaks
of Ninus west of the Euphrates.
Ammianus mentions a city called
Nineveh more than once (xiv. p. 22,
"Comagena. . . Hierapoli, vetere
Nino et Samosates civitatibus am-
plis illustris"; xviii. p. 137,
"Nineve Adiabene"; xxii. p. 270,
"In hac Adiabena Ninus est civitas
quae olim Persidis regna possederat
nomen Nini potentissimi regis . . .
declarans"). Eusebius applies the
name to Nisibis, and according to
ἐντεῦθεν
1 Xenophon, Anab. iii. 4, 6–12: ἀφίκοντο ἐπὶ τὸν Τίγρητα ποταμόν. ἐνταῦθα
πόλις ἦν ἐρήμη μεγάλη, ὄνομα δ' αὐτῇ ἦν Λάρισσα· ᾤκουν δ᾽ αὐτὴν τὸ παλαιὸν Μῆδοι.
τοῦ δὲ τείχους ἦν αὐτῆς τὸ εὖρος πέντε καὶ εἴκοσι πόδες, ὕψος δ᾽ ἑκατόν, τοῦ δὲ κύκλου
ἡ περίοδος δύο παρασάγγαι. ᾠκοδόμητο δὲ πλίνθοις κεραμίναις· κρηπὶς δ᾽ ὑπῆν λιθίνη
τὸ ὕψος εἴκοσι ποδῶν. ταύτην βασιλεὺς ὁ Περσῶν, ὅτε παρὰ Μήδων τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐλάμ
βανον Πέρσαι, πολιορκῶν οὐδενὶ τρόπῳ ἐδύνατο ἑλεῖν· ἥλιον δὲ νεφέλη προκαλύψασα
ἠφάνισε μέχρι ἐξέλιπον οἱ ἄνθρωποι, καὶ οὕτως ἑάλω. παρὰ ταύτην τὴν πόλιν ἦν
πυραμὶς λιθίνη, τὸ μὲν εὖρος ἑνὸς πλέθρου, τὸ δὲ ὕψος δύο πλέθρων .
ἐπορεύθησαν σταθμὸν ἕνα παρασάγγας ἕξ, πρὸς τεῖχος ἔρημον μέγα πρὸς τῇ πόλει
κείμενον· ὄνομα δὲ ἦν τῇ πόλει Μέσπιλα. Μῆδοι δ' αὐτήν ποτε ᾤκουν. ἦν δὲ ἡ μὲν
κρηπὶς λίθου ξεστοῦ κογχυλιάτου, τὸ εὖρος πεντήκοντα ποδῶν καὶ τὸ ὕψος πεντήκοντα.
Ἐπὶ δὲ ταύτῃ ἐπῳκόδομητο πλίνθινον τείχος, τὸ μὲν εὖρος πεντήκοντα ποδῶν, τὸ δὲ
ὕψος ἑκατόν· τοῦ δὲ κύκλου ἡ περίοδος ἓξ παρασάγγαι. ἐνταῦθα λέγεται Μήδεια γυνὴ
βασιλέως καταφυγεῖν, ὅτε ἀπώλεσαν τὴν ἀρχὴν ὑπὸ Περσῶν Μῆδοι. ταύτην δὲ τὴν
πόλιν πολιορκῶν ὁ Περσῶν βασιλεὺς οὐκ ἐδύνατο οὔτε χρόνῳ ἑλεῖν οὔτε βίᾳ· Ζεὺς δ᾽
ἐμβροντήτους ποιεῖ τοὺς ἐνοικοῦντας καὶ οὕτως ἑάλω.
Larissa represents the city usually called Kalah (now Nimroud); Mespila probably
represents Nineveh, properly so called (now Kouyunjik and Nebbi Yunus. Sayce, how-
ever, Herdot, p. 359, rejects both these identifications). From existing remains, and
I.
23
1.]
CTESIAE PERSICA.
πειαν. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ ὕψος εἶχε τὸ τεῖχος ποδῶν ἑκατόν, τὸ δὲ
πλάτος τρισὶν ἅρμασιν ἱππάσιμον ἦν. Οἱ δὲ σύμπαντες
πύργοι τὸν μὲν ἀριθμὸν ἦσαν χίλιοι καὶ πεντακόσιοι, τὸ δ᾽
ὕψος εἶχον ποδῶν διακοσίων. Κατῴκισε δ᾽ εἰς αὐτὴν τῶν μὲν
Ασσυρίων τοὺς πλείστους καὶ δυνατωτάτους, ἀπὸ δέ τῶν
ἄλλων ἐθνῶν τοὺς βουλομένους· καὶ τὴν μὲν πόλιν ἐκάλεσεν
ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ Νίνον, τοῖς δὲ κατοικισθεῖσι πολλὴν τῆς ὁμόρου
χώρας προσώρισεν.
Moses of Chorene (i. 8, 5) the work
from which his authority Maribas
Catina compiled his history was
found in the Parthian Royal
Library at Nineveh, which is dis-
tinguished from Nisibis. It is
evident, therefore, that in the
Roman period the name of Ninus,
or Niniva, was applied to several
different places, and Diodorus may
have heard the name applied to
Hierapolis, or some other place
near the Euphrates, and changed
the statements of Ktesias accord-
ingly.
Asshur, not Nineveh, was the
oldest capital of Assyria, and was
succeeded by Kalah. This latter
place is, however, included in
Ktesias' Nineveh, Nineveh is
probably mentioned by name in
the records of the 18th Egyptian
dynasty.
The dimensions assigned to
Nineveh by Ktesias (about sixty
miles in circumference) can only
be approached by including several
adjacent towns, with the thickly
peopled districts between them;
and the dimensions of the walls
apply only to those of the several
fortified quarters, or towns of
Nineveh, Kalah, &c.¹
from descriptions left us by the Assyrians, we know that these cities were fortified
much as described (compare Layard, Nineveh and Babylon, pp. 120-122, 638-641).
Probably in the most flourishing period of the Assyrian empire the space between these
two cities and Dur Sargina (Khorsabad), was occupied by almost continuous buildings,
the whole bearing the general name of Nineveh, which was thus brought up to
dimensions not much short of those given by Ktesias. The passage of Xenophon gives
a date at which the fortified quarters of Kalah and Nineveh proper still continued to
be inhabited (circ. B. c. 550).
According to Apollodorus (ii. 4, 54) Teutamus, King of Assyria, held his court at
Larissa.
¹ According to Rawlinson (Five Monarchies, vol. i.), the outer wall of Dur Sargina
(Khorsabad) was about forty-five feet wide; its basement, to the height of three feet,
was of stone; the angles were of squared stone, the blocks being about three feet long
and one foot high. The rest of the masonry consisted of small polygonal stones,
merely smoothed over the outer face, and uncemented. Above the stone basement was
a massive structure of unfaced crude brick.
The fortified quarter at Kouyunjik (Nineveh proper), which is the largest, is only
about seven or eight miles in circumference.
24
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
EV
§ 4 (Diod. ii. 4). Ἐπεὶ δὲ μετὰ τὴν κτίσιν ταύτην ὁ Νίνος
ἐστράτευσεν ἐπὶ τὴν Βακτριανήν, ἐν ᾗ Σεμίραμιν ἔγημεν,
τὴν ἐπιφανεστάτην ἁπασῶν τῶν γυναικῶν ὧν παρειλήφαμεν,
ἀναγκαῖόν ἐστιν ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς προειπεῖν, πῶς ἐκ ταπεινῆς
§ 4. Σεμίραμιν] See introduc-
tion to Books i.-iii. Semiramis,
unlike Ninus, partly represents a
real personage, and hence is men-
tioned by writers like Berosus, who
ignore her supposed husband. The
legend in the present section is,
however, derived from the myths
relating to Ishtar or Ashtoreth. It
occurs in several different forms.
Part of the narrative of Ktosias
is preserved not only in the epitome,
but also in a fragment (2) reported
by no less than five authors. All
these versions give the substance
of what Ktesias said in a very
general way. Diodorus and Eratos-
thenes, who alone fix the locality
of the myth of Derketo, differ as to
it, Diodorus placing it at Askalon in
Philistia, Eratosthenes at Bambyke,
or Hierapolis, near Carchemish, on
the Euphrates. We cannot cer-
tainly ascertain which, if either,
Ktesias really specified.
In Diodorus, Aphrodite is distin-
guished from Derketo, but both the
latter and Semiramis, as her daugh-
ter, are merely the Asiatic god-
dess of love and war under
different aspects. Doves were
consecrated to her, and, according
to Ktesias, Semiramis was both
nurtured by doves, and eventually
changed into a dove (§ 21, fr. 11),
and the dove was the bird of Aphro-
dite. Derketo was the same god-
dess as Atargatis, the Dea Syra of
Hierapolis (Plin. v. 23; Strabo.
xvi. 1, pp. 357 and 412), and may
have been originally the Hittite
form of the Babylonian Ishtar,
Nana, and Beltis,' and in different
aspects she corresponded to the
Greek goddesses Aphrodite, Hera,
Rhea, and Artemis.
Lenormant (Hist. Anc. i. p. 126,
seq.) observes that the fable of
Semiramis having been brought up
by doves is the poetic version of an
old Asiatic myth, which other
writers have preserved in a simpler
form: an egg, say they, fell from
heaven into the Euphrates, fish
brought it to the bank, doves
hatched it, and from the shell came
out Aphrodite. "Il faut rapprocher
de ce mythe la tradition d'après ² la-
quelle la sagesse créatrice planait
sous la forme d'une colombe au-
dessus des eaux qui portaient la
terre. Là encore, la colombe pré-
sente le caractère de la force créa-
trice qui couve d'oeuf du monde, à
2
1 See especially Rawlinson's Herodotus, Essay i. to Book iii.; Sayce, Herodotos,
pp. 429 sq. R. Brown's letter in Academy, xxiv. 257, may also be referred to.
2 A rationalization of this story is found in Mnaseas' Asia, ii. fr. 32 (ap. Athen. 7. c.)———
Ἐμοὶ μὲν ἡ ᾿Ατεργάτις δοκεῖ χαλεπὴ βασίλισσα γεγονέναι, καὶ τῶν λαῶν σκληρῶς ἐπεστα
τηκέναι, ὥστε καὶ ἀπονομίσαι αὐτοῖς ἰχθὺν μὴ ἐσθίειν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς αὐτὴν ἀναφέρειν διὰ τὸ
1.25
I
]
CTESIAE PERSICA.
τύχης εἰς τηλικαύτην προήχθη δόξαν. Κατὰ τὴν Συρίαν
eis
τοίνυν ἐστὶ πόλις Ασκάλων, καὶ ταύτης οὐκ ἄποθεν λίμνη
μεγάλη και βαθεῖα, πλήρης ἰχθύων. Παρὰ δὲ ταύτην
ὑπάρχει τέμενος θεᾶς ἐπιφανοῦς, ἣν ὀνομάζουσιν οἱ Σύροι
la façon d'un oiseau; c'est l'enfant
amoureux de ses propres principes '
de la cosmogonie de Sanconiathon."
The dove and the fish, which are
found together in this legend, play
a great part in the religion of Asia,
and are connected with the various
forms of the female deity.
Xanthus (fr. 11, ap. Athen. viii.
cap. 37, Ἡ δέ γε 'Ατεργάτις, ὑπὸ
Μόψου τοῦ Λυδοῦ ἁλοῦσα κατεποντα
ίσθη μετὰ Ἰχθύος τοῦ υἱοῦ ἐν τῇ περὶ
Ασκάλωνα λίμνῃ διὰ τὴν ὕβριν,
καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ἰχθύων κατεβρώθη) gives
a variation of a part of the Ktesian
legend. With this may be com-
pared the story in the Etymologi-
cum Magnum, s. v. Kávoтpos, that
the Lydian hero, Kaystrus, went
to Syria, and there had Semiramis
by Derketo. Sayce (Transactions of
the Society of Biblical Archæology,
vii. p. 273) cites these stories to il-
lustrate the connection between the
Hittites (= Syrians) and Asia
Minor, but regards the reading.
Askalon as erroneous, without
assigning any special reason for
doing so.
In Ktesias, as reported by Dio-
dorus, Derketo changes into a fish,
while Eratosthenes and Hyginus
make him say that she was saved
by a fish. Possibly he gave con-
flicting accounts; otherwise we
must suppose that either Diodorus
or Eratosthenes misunderstood him.
The account of Ktesias, as reported
by Diodorus, is more consistent than
either that of the same writer, as
reported by Eratosthenes, or the
legend given by Xanthus with
the fact that the goddess Derketo
is represented as half woman, half
fish, on the coins of Askalon. I am
not aware that there is any such
representation on the Hittite sculp-
tures of Carchemish, or on the coins
of Hierapolis, the city which suc-
ceeded it.
There are plenty of Assyrian,
Phoenician, and Greek representa-
tions of the dove, with or without
the goddess.
But Semiramis in Ktesias is not
only the daughter of a goddess who
was either changed into a fish, or
saved by a fish: her first husband,
Onnes, bears nearly the same name
as that given by Berosus to his fish
god, meaning, according to Lenor-
mant, "Ea the fish," and, at all
events, connected with the Baby-
lonian god, Ea, or Hea, who had
the epithet, as already mentioned,
of "The intelligent fish"; while
her second husband probably bears
the name of a god-Nin-who had
ἀρέσαι αὐτῇ τὸ βρῶμα. Καὶ διὰ τόδε νόμιμον ἔτι διαμένειν, ἐπὴν εὔξωνται τῇ θεῷ, ἰχθὺς
ἀργυροῦς ἢ χρυσοῦς ἀνατιθέναι, τοὺς δὲ ἱερεῖς πᾶσαν ἡμέραν τῇ θεῷ ἀλήθινους ἰχθύς . . .
παρατιθέναι οὓς δὴ αὐτοὶ καταναλίσκουσιν οἱ τῆς θεοῦ ἱερεῖς. He then quotes
Xanthus, fr. 11.
•
•
26
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Δερκετοῦν· αὕτη δὲ τὸ μὲν πρόσωπον ἔχει γυναικός, τὸ
δ' ἄλλο σῶμα πᾶν ἰχθύος, διά τινας τοιαύτας αἰτίας. Μυθο-
λογοῦσιν οἱ λογιώτατοι τῶν ἐγχωρίων, τὴν ᾿Αφροδίτην
προσκόψασαν τῇ προειρημένῃ θεᾷ, δεινὸν ἐμβαλεῖν ἔρωτα
νεανίσκου τινος τῶν θυόντων οὐκ ἀειδοῦς· τὴν δὲ Δερκετοῦν
μιγεῖσαν τῷ Σύρῳ, γεννῆσαι μὲν θυγατέρα, καταισχυνθεῖσαν
δὲ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἡμαρτημένοις, τὸν μὲν νεανίσκον ἀφανίσαι, τὸ
δὲ παιδίον εἴς τινας ἐρήμους καὶ πετρώδεις τόπους ἐκθεῖναι,
ἐν οἷς πολλοῦ πλήθους περιστερῶν ἐννοσσεύειν εἰωθότος,
παραδόξως τροφῆς καὶ σωτηρίας τυχεῖν τὸ βρέφος ἑαυτὴν
δὲ διὰ τὴν αἰσχύνην καὶ λύπην ῥίψασαν εἰς τὴν λίμνην,
μετασχηματισθῆναι τὸν τοῦ σώματος τύπον εἰς ἰχθύν· διὸ
καὶ τοὺς Σύρους μέχρι τοῦ νῦν ἀπέχεσθαι τούτου τοῦ ζώου,
καὶ τιμὴν τοὺς ἰχθὺς ὡς θεούς· περὶ δὲ τὸν τόπον, ὅπου τὸ
βρέφος ἐξετέθη, πλήθους περιστερῶν ἐννοσσεύοντος, παρα-
δόξως και δαιμονίως ὑπὸ τούτων τὸ παιδίον διατρέφεσθαι
τὰς μὲν γὰρ ταῖς πτέρυξι περιεχούσας τὸ σῶμα τοῦ βρέφους
πανταχόθεν θάλπειν· τὰς δ᾽ ἐκ τῶν σύνεγγυς ἐπαύλεων, ὁπότε
τηρήσαιεν τούς τε βουκόλους καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους νομεῖς λιπόν-
τας, ἐν τῷ στόματι φερούσας γάλα, διατρέφειν, παρα-
σταζούσας ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν χειλέων. Ενιαυσιαίου δὲ τοῦ
παιδίου γενομένου, καὶ στερεωτέρας τροφῆς προσδεομένου,
τὰς περιστερὰς ἀποκνιζούσας ἀπὸ τῶν τυρῶν παρέχεσθαι
τροφὴν ἀρκοῦσαν· τοὺς δὲ νομεῖς ἐπανιόντας, καὶ θεωροῦν.
τας περιβεβρωμένους τοὺς τυρούς, θαυμάσαι τὸ παράδοξον.
παρατηρήσαντας οὖν καὶ μαθόντας τὴν αἰτίαν, εὑρεῖν τὸ
βρέφος διαφέρον τῷ κάλλει. Εὐθὺς οὖν αὐτὸ κομίσαντας
also the character of a fish god,
and is one of those represented by
a figure half human, half that of a
fish, on the Assyrian monuments.
(Rawlinson, Herodotus, i. pp. 621-
624, 641–650.
Deinon (fr. 1, ap. Aelian, Var.
Hist. vii. 1, and Diod., ii. 20), prob-
ably the first writer who adopted
the general scheme of Ktesias'
history, eliminated the miraculous
elements in the birth of Semiramis,
representing her as a courtesan
whose beauty attracted the notice
of Ninus, and who eventually
became his queen.
1.I.
27
CTESIAE PERSICA.
]
εἰς τὴν ἔπαυλιν, δωρήσασθαι τῷ προεστῶτι τῶν βασιλικῶν
κτηνῶν, ὄνομα Σίμμα· καὶ τοῦτον δὲ ἄτεκνον ὄντα, τὸ παιδίον
τρέφειν ὡς θυγάτριον μετὰ πάσης ἐπιμελείας, ὄνομα θέμενον
Σεμίραμιν· ὅπερ ἐστὶ κατὰ τὴν τῶν Σύρων διάλεκτον παρ-
ωνομασμένον ἀπὸ τῶν περιστερῶν, ἃς ἀπ᾿ ἐκείνων τῶν
χρόνων οἱ κατὰ Συρίαν ἅπαντες διετέλεσαν ὡς θεάς
τιμώντες.
(Diod. ii. 5). Τὰ μὲν οὖν κατὰ τὴν γένεσιν τῆς Σεμιρά
μιδος μυθολογούμενα σχεδὸν τοῦτ᾽ ἐστίν· Ἤδη δ' αὐτῆς
ἡλικίαν ἐχούσης γάμου, καὶ τῷ κάλλει πολὺ τὰς ἄλλας
παρθένους διαφερούσης, ἀπεστάλη παρὰ βασιλέως ὕπαρχος
ἐπισκεψόμενος τὰ βασιλικὰ κτήνη. Οὗτος δ᾽ ἐκαλεῖτο μὲν
Ὄννης, πρῶτος δ᾽ ἦν τῶν ἐκ τοῦ βασιλικοῦ συνεδρίου, καὶ
τῆς Συρίας ἁπάσης ἀποδεδειγμένος ὕπαρχος· ὃς καταλύσας
παρὰ τῷ Σίμμᾳ, καὶ θεωρήσας τὴν Σεμίραμιν, ἐθηρεύθη τῷ
κάλλει· διὸ καὶ τοῦ Σίμμα καταδεηθεὶς αὑτῷ δοῦναι τὴν
παρθένον εἰς γάμον ἔννομον, ἀπήγαγεν αὐτὴν εἰς Νῖνον, καὶ
γήμας ἐγέννησε δύο παῖδας, Ὑαπάτην καὶ Ὑδάσπην. Τῆς
δὲ Σεμιράμιδος ἐχούσης καὶ τἄλλα ἀκόλουθα τῇ περὶ τὴν
ὄψιν εὐπρεπείᾳ, συνέβαινε, τὸν ἄνδρα τελέως ὑπ᾽ αὐτῆς
δεδουλῶσθαι, καὶ μηδὲν ἄνευ τῆς ἐκείνης γνώμης πράττοντα,
κατευστοχεῖν ἐν πᾶσι. Καθ' ὃν δὴ χρόνον ὁ βασιλεύς, ἐπειδὴ
τὰ περὶ τὴν κτίσιν τῆς ὁμωνύμου πόλεως συνετέλεσε, στρα-
τεύειν ἐπὶ Βακτριανοὺς ἐνεχείρησεν. Εἰδὼς δὲ τά τε πλήθη
καὶ τὴν ἀλκὴν τῶν ἀνδρῶν, ἔτι δὲ τὴν χώραν ἔχουσαν τόπους
πολλοὺς ἀπροσίτους διὰ τὴν ὀχυρότητα, κατέλεξεν ἐξ ἁπάν
των τῶν ὑπ᾽ αὐτὸν ἐθνῶν στρατιωτῶν πλῆθος. Ἐπεὶ γὰρ
κατὰ τὴν πρότερον στρατείαν ἀποτετευχὼς ἦν, ἔσπευδε πολ-
λαπλασίονι παραγενέσθαι δυνάμει πρὸς τὴν Βακτριανήν.
Συναχθείσης δὲ τῆς στρατιᾶς πανταχόθεν, ἠριθμήθησαν,
[ὡς Κτησίας ἐν ταῖς ἱστορίαις ἀναγέγραφε] πεζῶν μὲν
ἑκατὸν ἑβδομήκοντα μυριάδες, ἱππέων δὲ μιᾷ πλείους τῶν
εἴκοσι μυριάδων, ἅρματα δὲ δρεπανηφόρα μικρὸν ἀπολεί
ποντα τῶν μυρίων ἑξακοσίων.
28
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
FRAGMENT 2.
(a)
(Eratosthenes Catasterism,
cap. 38).
(6)
(Hyginus, Poet. Astron.
ii. 41.)
[Piscis qui Notius appel-
latur. Hic videtur ore
aquam excipere a signo
Aquarii, qui laborantem
quondam Isim servasse ex-
istinatur : pro quo beneficio
simulacrum piscis, et ejus
filiarum de quibus antea
diximus, inter astra consti-
tuit. Itaque] Syri com-
[ΙΧΘΥΣ. οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ
μέγας καλούμενος ἰχθὺς ὃν
καὶ πιεῖν λέγουσι τὸ τῆς
ὑδρόχοον ἐκχύσεως.] ἱστο-
ρεῖται δὲ περὶ τούτου [ὥς
φησι Κτησίας] εἶναι πρότε-
ρον ἐν λίμνῃ τινὶ κατὰ τὴν
Βαμβύκην, ἐμπεσούσης δὲ
τῆς Δερκετοῦς νυκτός, σῶσαι
αὐτὴν ἣν οἱ περὶ τοὺς τό-
πους οἰκοῦντες Συρίας θεὸν | plures pisces non esitant et
ὠνόμασαν.
|
corum simulacra inaurata
pro diis Penatibus colunt.
[De hoc et Ctesias scribit.]
(ε)
(De Mulieribus quae bello
claruerunt, cap. 1.)
Σεμίραμις. θυγατὴρ μὲν
[ὥς φησι Κτησίας] Δερκε-
τοὺς τῆς Συρίας Θεοῦ καὶ
Σύρου τινός, ἥτις στράφη
ὑπὸ Σίμμα ὄντος ὑπηρέτου
τοῦ βασιλέως Νίνου. Γαμη
θεῖσα δὲ Οννέῳ, ὑπάρχῳ
τινι βασιλικῷ, εἶχεν υἱούς.
Ἑλοῦσα δὲ Βάκτρα μετὰ τοῦ
ἀνδρὸς, ἐπιγνοὺς Νίνος ἤδη
γηραιὸς ὤν, ἐγάμησεν. Ἡ δὲ
ἐτέκνωσεν ἐξ αὐτοῦ Νινύαν
παῖδα. Μετὰ δὲ τὸν Νίνου
θάνατον ετείχισε τὴν Βαβυ-
λῶνα ὀπτῇ πλίνθῳ καὶ ἀστ
φάλτῳ, καὶ τὸ τοῦ Βήλου
ἱερὸν κατασκέυασεν. Ἐπί-
βουλευθεῖσα δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ Νινύ-
ου ἐτελεύτησεν ἔτη βιώσασα
ξ', βασιλεύσασα ἔτη μβ'.
(d) (Strabo, xvi. 4, p. 1132, Almelov.; p. 412, Tauchnitz.) [Ai dè óvoµátw
μεταπτώσεις, καὶ μάλιστα τῶν βαρβαρικῶν, πολλαί· καθάπερ τον Δαρήκην Δαρείον
ἐκάλεσαν, Αταργατὴν δὲ τὴν ᾿Αθάραν· Δερκετὰ δ᾽ αὐτὴν Κτησίας καλεῖ.]
>
EPITOME D10 DORI.
§ 5 (Diod. ii. 6). Ὁ δ᾽ οὖν Νῖνος μετὰ τοσαύτης δυνά
μεως στρατεύσας εἰς τὴν Βακτριανήν, ἠναγκάζετο, δυσκόλων
τῶν τόπων καὶ στενῶν ὄντων, κατὰ μέρος ἄγειν τὴν δύναμιν.
Η γὰρ Βακτριανὴ χώρα πολλαῖς καὶ μεγάλαις οἰκουμένη
πόλεσι, μίαν μὲν εἶχεν ἐπιφανεστάτην, ἐν ᾗ συνέβαινεν
εἶναι τὰ βασίλεια· αὕτη δ᾽ ἐκαλεῖτο μὲν Βάκτρα, μεγέθει
δὲ καὶ τῇ κατὰ τὴν ἀκρόπολιν ὀχυρότητι πολὺ πασῶν
1.]
29
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Οι
διέφερε. Βασιλεύων δ' αὐτῆς Οξυάρτης, κατέγραψεν
ἅπαντας τοὺς ἐν ἡλικίᾳ στρατείας ὄντας, οἳ τὸν ἀριθμὸν
ἠθροίσθησαν εἰς τετταράκοντα μυριάδας. Αναλαβὼν
οὖν τὴν δύναμιν, καὶ τοῖς πολεμίοις ἀπαντήσας περὶ
τὰς εἰσβολάς, εἴασε μέρος τῆς τοῦ Νίνου στρατιᾶς
εἰσβαλεῖν. Ἐπεὶ δ᾽ ἔδοξεν ἱκανὸν ἀποβεβηκέναι των
§ 5. Οξυάρτης] The various
readings of the MSS. of Diodorus
are given in the critical note.
Οξυάρτης occurs as a Baktrian
name in Arrianus, Exped. Alex. iv.
19, p. 282, sq., and Diod., xviii. 3,
in both cases of the father of
Roxane, wife of Alexander the
Great (in Diodorus he is called
"The Baktrian King"; but this
was after Alexander's death),
Curtius, Exp. Alex., viii. 2, 25, calls
the same man Oxartes. Later
writers make Zoroaster the op-
ponent of Ninus (Justin, i. 1,
"Postremum illi bello cum Zoroastre
rege Bactrianorum, fuit, qui primus
dicitur artes magicas invenisse et
mundi principia, siderumque motus,
diligentissime spectasse." Eusebius,
Chrom., vers. lat. fo. 15, "Zoroastes
magnus rex Bactrianorum clarus
habetur adversus quem Ninus dimi-
cat), and Arnobius quotes Ktesias
with "Zoroastres," in place of
Oxyartes. (See fr. 3.)
The classical writers were well
acquainted with the existence of
Zoroaster and his writings. They
torture his name (Zaruthrustra, or
Zarathustra, in Zend, Zerdusht in
later Persian) into many strange
forms (for example, Zathraustes in
Diod. i. 94; Zarades and Zoroades
in Agathias, in addition to the
common form Ζωροαστρης), and it
is possible that Οξυάρτης, or
Ζαόρτης may represent it.
1
Both classical and Oriental
writers differ widely as to his
date, a point which is still very
uncertain, nor do we certainly
know in what country he lived,
if he was
if he was a real person at all,
though probability is in favour of
Baktria.
In Berosus (ii. fr. 11) he appears
as the leader of Median invaders of
Babylonia, who founded Berosus'
second dynasty about the twenty-
fifth century B.c. By Median we
are, perhaps, to understand Ela-
mite, the introduction of Zoroaster,
whose real date was probably much
1 Lib. ii. : Ζωροάστρου τοῦ Ὀρμάσδεως . · · οὗτος δὲ ὁ Ζωρόαδος, ήτοι Ζαράδης
(διττὴ γὰρ ἐπ' αὐτῷ ἡ ἐπωνυμία) ὁπηνίκα μὲν ἤκμασε τὴν ἀρχὴν, καὶ τοὺς νόμους ἔθετο,
οὐκ ἔνεστι σαφῶς διαγνώναι. Πέρσαι δὲ αὐτὸν οἱ νῦν ἐπὶ Ὑστάσπεω, οὕτω δή τι ἁπλῶς
φασὶ γεγονέναι, ὡς λίαν ἀμφιγνοεῖσθαι, καὶ οὐκ εἶναι μαθεῖν, πότερον Δαρείου πατὴρ εἴτε
καὶ ἄλλος οὗτος ὑπῆρχεν Ὑστασπῆς, ἐφ᾽ ὅτῳ δ᾽ ἂν καὶ ἄνθησε χρόνῳ, ὑφηγητὴς αὐτοῖς
ἐκεῖνος, καὶ καθηγεμὼν τῆς μαγικῆς γέγονεν ἁγιστείας, καὶ αὐτὰς δὴ τὰς προτέρας
ἱερουργίας ἀμείψας, παμμιγείς τινας καὶ ποικίλας ἀνέθηκε δόξας. This is one of the
clearest Greek statements on the subject.
30
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
oi
πολεμίων πλῆθος εἰς τὸ πεδίον, ἐξέταξε τὴν ἰδίαν δύναμιν.
Γενομένης δὲ μάχης ἰσχυρᾶς, οἱ Βακτριανοὶ τοὺς ᾿Ασσυρίους
τρεψάμενοι, καὶ τὸν διωγμὸν μέχρι τῶν ὑπερκειμένων ὀρῶν
ποιησάμενοι, διέφθειραν τῶν πολεμίων εἰς δέκα μυριάδας.
later, being due to an inference of
the historian. In Moses of Chorene
i. 16, his war with the Assyrians
appears in a totally different con-
nexion.
Xanthus (or Pseudo-Xanthus),
fr. 29, placed Zoroaster 600 years
before the time of Xerxes I. (other
readings are 6000, 500, and 5000);
Hermippus (fr. 79), Theopompus,
and Hermodorus placed him 5000
years before the Trojan war;
Eudoxus 6000 years before the
death of Plato.
Ammianus (xxiii. p. 272) says
"Cui scientiam seculis priscis multa
ex Chaldacorum arcanis Bactrianus
addidit Zoroastres: deinde Hystaspes
rex prudentissimus Darii pater.
The Zendavesta, alike in its
carliest and its latest parts, speaks
of Spitama Zarathustra (or Zara-
thrustra) as a religious teacher
contemporary with King Vishtáspa,
and residing in Baktria (Berekhdha
in Yasna, xliv. 7, li. 17, and many
later passages).
The mediaeval Persian traditions
(probably following those of Sassa-
nian times) confused Vishtâspa
under the name of Gushtasp with
Vishtaspa (Hystaspes), the father of
Darcius I., or rather with Dareius
himself, but maintain his connec-
tion with Baktria.
They relate that Arjasp, King
of Turan, took Balkh (Baktra), and
massacred the Zoroastrians, includ-
ing Lohrasp, father of King Gush-
tasp. (See Malcolm, History of
Persia, vol. i., and Duncker, History
of Antiquity, iv. p. 258.) We have
here, perhaps, a version of the same
legend which Ktesias has preserved
in this passage; and if so, we may
regard this as one of the instances
in which he has drawn on Iranian
traditions to embellish his narra-
tive.
In Firdusi, Zohak, King of
•
Ea igitur aestate semper in aquilonias partes profecta (Semiramis),
Assyriae Ninivesque praefecturam Zoroastri (Dzaradasht) Mago Medorum principi
dedit. Quumque id ita per longum tempus fecisset, universum tandem imperium
suum ejus fidei commisit. A filiis autem suis propter impuros et meretricios mores
saepe atque acriter reprehensa, cunctos interfecit praeter Ninyam natu minimum, atque
amicis et procis suis imperium atque thesauros dispertiens, filios nihili pendebat.
Quippe vir ejus Ninus, non ut fertur mortuus in Ninives regia ab ea sepultus erat,
sed ubi impudicitiam ejus ac mores flagitiosos perspexit relicto regno in Cretam con-
fugit. Quum vero filii ejus adoluissent atque intelligentia praediti essent, de omnibus
hisce rebus cam commonuerunt, eo animo ut diras ejus libidines coercerent atque
efficerent ut regnum et thesauros filiis suis traderet. Quod ea graviter ferens, uni-
versos, ut supra diximus, practer unum Ninyam trucidavit. Ceterum quum Zoroastres
in reginam deliquisset, et dissidium inde exoriretur, bello eum Semiramis (Shamiram)
lacessit; Medus enim dominari et rerum potiri per vim ipse cogitabat. Ingravescente
1.I.
31
CTESIAE PERSICA.
]
Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα πάσης τῆς δυνάμεως εἰσβαλούσης, κρατού
μενοι τοῖς πλήθεσι, κατὰ πόλεις ἀπεχώρησαν, ἕκαστοι ταῖς
ἰδίαις πατρίσι βοηθήσοντες. Τὰς μὲν οὖν ἄλλας ὁ Νίνος
ἐχειρώσατο ῥᾳδίως, τὰ δὲ Βάκτρα διά τε τὴν ὀχυρότητα
Tà dè
Babylon, overthrows Jemshid, and
cruelly oppresses the Iranians (this
is placed at a much earlier period
than the reign of Gushtasp); but
is at last overcome by Feridun.
Lenormant (v. p. 374) says this
appears to indicate a period when
the old Cushite monarchy of Baby-
lon subdued the Aryans, which
seems very doubtful.
Duncker (iv. p. 19, seq.) assumes,
from the two-humped camel on the
black obelisk, that Baktria was in-
cluded in the dominions of Shal-
maneser II. (B. c. 889–823); but of
this we cannot be certain and
though he first mentions the Medes
among the tribes he defeated, it is
doubtful if they were Aryans
rather than the Turanian inhabit-
ants of Media.
Of the true history of Zoroaster
and the nature of Iranian religion,
very various views have been held.
In Rawlinson's Herodotus, i.
p. 419, the following statement of
Sir H. Rawlinson is adopted :—
"To discriminate the respective
elements of this new faith" (a
blending of the Magian and Aryan
creeds) "is difficult, but not im-
possible. The worship of Mithra
and Homa, or of the sun and moon,
had been cherished by the Arian
colonists since their departure.
from Kurukhshetra; their religious
chants corresponded with the Vedic
hymns. The antagonism of
Oromazdes and Arimanes, or of
night and darkness, was their own
peculiar and independent institu-
tion. On the other hand, the
origin of all things from Zerwan
was essentially a Mayian doc-
trine." (The Magians are assumed
to have been the priests of the
Turanian races previously occupy-
ing Iran.) "The veneration paid
to fire and water came from the
same source; and the barsom of
•
autem bello, Semiramis a Zoroastre in Armeniam fugam cepit, atque poenas luit;
Ninyas enim occasionem nactus matrem necavit, . . (cap. 17) Cephalionem autem
[fr. 2, cf. fr. 1: 'Deinde addit Samiramidis genituram; itemque de Zaravaste Mago
Bactrianorum rege, et de bello quo hic a Semiramide superatus est: de annis denique
quibus Ninus regnavit'] in memoria habeo . . . Is enim ut alii multi primum Semiramidis
ortum tum ejus adversus Zoroastrem bellum, ubi ut refert Semiramis victoriam adepta
est ac deinde bellum Indicum exponit. Nobis autem id certius videtur quod Maribas
Catinensis ex Chaldaicis libris indagavit . . . Ad hace nostrae etiam regionis fabulae
Syro testimonium dant quae hic Semiramidis mortem narrantes, cam pedibus
fugisse tradunt, et siti accensam, aquam petiisse et potasse; ad armatos etiam appro-
pinquasse, torquesque in mare projecisse, unde dictum id nostrum est, Monilia Semi-
ramidis in mari." The last sentence suggests a reminiscence of Ktesias' version of
the legend of Derketo.
32
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
καὶ τὰς ἐν αὐτῇ παρασκευὰς ἠδυνάτει κατὰ κράτος ἑλεῖν.
Πολυχρονίου δὲ τῆς πολιορκίας γενομένης, ὁ τῆς Σεμιράμι
δος ἀνὴρ ἐρωτικῶς ἔχων πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα, καὶ συστρατευό
μενος τῷ βασιλεῖ, μετεπέμψατο τὴν ἄνθρωπον. 'H Sè
the Zendavesta is the Magian divin-
ing rod.
The most important
Magian modification, however, was
the personification of the old here-
sionym of the Scythic race, and
its immediate association with
Oromazdes. Under the disguise of
Zara-thustra, which was the nearest
practicable Arian form, Ziru-ishtar
(or the seed of Venus) became a
prophet and law-giver, receiving
inspiration from Ahuramazda, and
reforming the national religion.
The pretended synchronism of
this Zara-thushtra with Vishtaspa
clearly marks the epoch from which
it was designed that reformed
Magism should date, an epoch
selected doubtless out of deference
to the later Achaemenian kings."
We find a very different view in
Haug (Essays on the Parsis, pp.
286-310. Compare pp. 263-4).
According to him, Zarathustra
is a title equivalent to priest,
borne by successive teachers; but
the special appellation of the
original prophet was Spituma
Zarathustra, Zarathustra of the
Spitama family (Spitama is by
other European scholars translated
(
Holy'). The struggle with the ad-
herents of the Vedic creed may have
lasted for several centuries before he
appeared in Iran, and separated a
new community. "He has, there-
fore, many claims to be regarded as
the founder of the true Mazday-
asnian, or Parsi religion, which ab-
sorbed the old religion of the ancient
fire priests" (p. 295), or Saoshyantô,
of whom he was one. His home
seems to have been in Baktria,
called Berekhdha Armaiti in the
Gâthas, and Bâkhdhi in the Vendi-
dad, his age was not much later
than B. C. 1200 (p. 264), only the
Gâthas (Yasna, 28-35, 43-46,
47-50, 51, 53) can be attributed to
him and his immediate followers.
His doctrine, as ascertained from
these, was based chiefly on mono-
theism (p. 301), but with two
hostile spirits present everywhere,
even in the Supreme Being,
Ahuramazda. The remainder of
the older Yasna, written in the
Gâtha dialect, was composed soon
after the time of Zarathushtra, and
in it the religion has already be-
come slightly corrupted. Later
still are the Later Yasna, the Vis-
parad, and the Vendidad, dating
about B. c. 1000-700, and in some
parts as late as B. c. 500 (p. 264). In
these the Mazdayasnian religion is
still further corrupted. Dualism is
completed by the separation of the
Good and Bad spirits in Ahuramazda,
the former being identified with
him, the latter made into a hostile
power under the name of Angrômain-
yush (p. 305, Vendidad, farg. 1).
Each is provided with a council of
1.I
33
CTESIAE PERSICA.
]
συνέσει καὶ τόλμῃ καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις πρὸς ἐπιφάνειαν συντεί
νουσι κεχορηγημένη, καιρὸν ἔλαβεν ἐπιδείξασθαι τὴν ἰδίαν
ἀρετήν. Πρῶτον μὲν οὖν πολλῶν ἡμερῶν ὁδὸν μελλουσα
διαπορεύεσθαι στολὴν ἐπραγματεύσατο, δι᾿ ἧς οὐκ ἦτ
archangels or demons respectively.
But Dualism was very likely only
the innovation of an influential
sect. "A new and fresh proof of
the unity of the Supreme Being
was required. This was found in
the term Zarvan akarana, 'bound-
less time,' which we meet with
occasionally in the Zendavesta";
but the interpretation for proving
it means the Supreme Being rests
on a grammatical misunderstanding.
(p. 309). Moreover, the high
priests seem to have tried to con-
ciliate the men who were willing
to forsake the ancient polytheistic
religion and its rites. The Soma
rite was reintroduced in a modified
form (Haoma: see Yasna ix.-xi.
&c.). New invocations addressed to
those divine beings who occupied
the place of the ancient Devas were
composed, and form the substance
of the late Yasna (p. 259).
Still later are the Yashts.
"This
kind of literature grew up at a
time when the Zoroastrian religion
had already very much degenerated,
and its original monotheism had
partially given way to the old gods,
who had been stigmatized and
•
banished by Spitama Zarathustra,
but were afterwards transformed
into angels. The songs of the
bards" (Median bards, whose songs
are mentioned by the Greek histor-
ians, and were the primary sources
of the legends contained in the
Shahnameh, Haug, p. 194) have,
strictly speaking, very little con-
cern with the Zoroastrian religion.
The tendency of the authors of these
Yashts was to raise the dignity of
the angels to that of Ahuramazda.
Zarathustra is reported to have
paid them great reverence, of
which there is no trace in the
Gathas (Haug, pp. 262-3).
They may be ascribed to between
B. C. 450 and 350, as Gaotema is
mentioned in Fravadin Yasht, 16,
and is to be identified
identified with
Gautama Buddha, who died B. C.
543 (Haug, p. 263). The worship
of Mithra and Anahita by Arta-
xerxes II. is also alluded to in
his inscription,' but never by
Dareius I. (p. 263). Haug con-
sidered the word Magava, which
is applied to Zoroastrians in the
Gâthas (Yasna, li. 15), and Vendi-
dad (iv. 47) as Magus.
=
1 At Susa, see Loftus, Chaldaea and Susiana, p. 372: "Says Artaxerxes, the great
king. by the aid of Ormazd I placed the images of Tanata and Mithra in the
temple. May Ormazd, Tanata, and Mithra protect me with the (other) gods (?).',
The form Tanata comes from the Turanian version of the inscription, and is supported
by Berosus and Strabo: the Persian has [A]nahata, the Babylonian Anakhitu (see
Norris, in Journal of Royal Asiatic Society, xv. p. 160). The deity intended seems to
D
34
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Εν
διαγνῶναι τὸν περιβεβλημένον πότερον ἀνήρ ἐστιν ἢ γυνή.
Αὕτη δ᾽ ἦν εὔχρηστος αὐτῇ πρός τε τὰς ἐν τοῖς καύμασιν
ὁδοιπορίας, εἰς τὸ διατηρῆσαι τὸν τοῦ σώματος χρῶτα, καὶ
πρὸς τὰς ἐν τῷ πράττειν ὃ βούλοιτο χρείας, εὐκίνητος οὖσα
καὶ νεανική· καὶ τὸ σύνολον τοσαύτη τις ἐπῆν αὐτῇ χάρις
ὥσθ᾽ ὕστερον Μήδους ἡγησαμένους τῆς ᾿Ασίας, φορεῖν τὴν
Σεμιράμιδος στολήν, καὶ μετὰ ταῦθ᾽ ὁμοίως Πέρσας. Παρα-
γενομένη δ᾽ εἰς τὴν Βακτριανήν, καὶ κατασκεψαμένη τὰ
περὶ τὴν πολιορκίαν, ἑώρα κατὰ μὲν τὰ πεδία καὶ τοὺς
εὐεφόδους τῶν τόπων προσβολὰς γινομένας, πρὸς δὲ τὴν
In Duncker (History of Antiquity,
vol. iv. book vii.) we find a some-
what different view, not very in-
telligibly expressed. While re-
cognising the superior antiquity of
the Gâthas, he does not see much
conflict between the religious views
expressed there and in the later
portions of the Avesta, at p. 146
he says:
"We may, without hesi-
tation, draw the inference that
Auramazda and Angromainyu did
not belong to the original faith of
the Arians of Iran. .. These
names belong to a period of reflec-
tion. . . The wavering position
which Auramazda takes up in the
Avesta towards the old deities
shows that he is of later origin. . . .
He sacrifices to Tistrya . . . to
Ardviçura and to other gods
of the old period." (All this is
related in the Yashts only).
"From the beginning the evil
one was ranged over against Aura-
mazda as his twin brother " (p.
159). "It is a late speculation,
diverging from the Avesta, which
formed the good and evil spirits into
simple forces, and ranged them
against each other with equal
powers." His view as to Zarvan-
akarana is like Haug's (p. 160).
"In the Gathas we have the
nucleus of the conceptions from
which the reform of the ancient
faith of Iran arose but . . . they
have been systematised in the
circles of the priests. Hence the
contents and prescripts of other
parts of the Avesta, which do not
present a speculative tendency, are
not on that account to be regarded
as of later origin than the Gathas-
least of all the invocations to the
ancient deities" (p. 161).
He explains the statements of
the Greeks, that Zoroaster lived
have been the Ardviçura of the Avesta, but her worship at Susa resembled that of
Ishtar; the Greeks identified her with Artemis (see Polyb. xxxi. 11, where Antiochus,'
attempt to plunder this temple is described). Compare Berosus, iii. 16. Classical
writers mention several successive Zoroastrian writers, one of whom, Osthanes, was,
according to Pliny, a contemporary of Xerxes.
1.35
I.
]
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ἀκρόπολιν οὐδένα προσιόντα, διὰ τὴν ὀχυρότητα· καὶ τοὺς
ἔνδον ἀπολελοιπότας τὰς ἐνταυθοῖ φυλακάς, καὶ παρεπι-
βοηθοῦντας τοῖς ἐπὶ τῶν κάτω τειχῶν κινδυνεύουσι. Διόπερ
παραλαβοῦσα τῶν στρατιωτῶν τοὺς πετροβατεῖν εἰωθότας,
καὶ μετὰ τούτων διά τινος χαλεπῆς φάραγγος προσαναβασα,
κατελάβετο μέρος τῆς ἀκροπόλεως, καὶ τοῖς πολιορκοῦσι τὸ
κατὰ τὸ πεδίον τεῖχος ἐσήμηνεν. Οἱ δ᾽ ἔνδον ἐπὶ τῇ κατα-
λήψει τῆς ἄκρας καταπλαγέντες, ἐξέλιπον τὰ τείχη, καὶ τῆς
σωτηρίας ἀπέγνωσαν. Τοῦτον δὲ τὸν τρόπον ἁλούσης τῆς
πόλεως, ὁ βασιλεὺς θαυμάσας τὴν ἀρετὴν τῆς γυναικός,
6000 years before their time, by
the system of cycles of 3000 years
mentioned in the Mainyo-i-Khard,
and Bundehesh. He regards the
Magi¹ as the priests of the Aryans,
apparently from the first (p. 90
and p. 243 seq.), but he rejects the
identity of Maghava, in the Avesta,
with Magus, p. 191), and adds
(p. 91): "Let us hold firmly . . .
that the worship of Auramazda
was current among the Persians
about the middle of the sixth
century B. C.; that the same wor-
ship was in force among the Medes
about 650 B. C.," and must
have been so since, at least, B. C.
750, and that, therefore, the doc-
trine must have existed in East
Iran about B. c. 800, and earlier;
and he places the composition of the
Avesta in Baktria (p. 31 and p. 136).
As the chief Median and Persian
cities are not mentioned in the
Vendidad, he assigns it to a date
before Zoroastrianism reached them
(p. 95). He places the latest por-
•
tion of the Avesta before B. c. 600
(p. 104). (“All the various parts
were collected together before the
'Enlightened' [Gautama] began to
preach on the Ganges, i. e. about
the year 600 B.C.” He, therefore,
rejects Haug's recognition of Gau-
tama in the Fravardin Yasht, in
which he agrees with Geiger.)
Of these various theories, that of
Haug is probably on the whole to
be preferred. Though some of the
details are open to exception, it ac-
counts for all the phenomena better
than any other, and is clear and
consistent in itself.
Spiegel considers the Avesta to
belong to Western Iran, and as-
signs it to a comparatively late date.
De Harlez considers it to belong
to Northern Iran (Ragha), and
fixes its date as after в. c. 500.
Geiger regards it as East Iranian,
and wholly pre-Achaemenian, and
perhaps even earlier than the Median
Empire (Civilization of the Eastern
Iranians, ii. p. 111). The Achae-
¹ P. 191-he regards Athravas as the Eastern, Magush as the Western, name of
the priests.
D 2
36
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
τὸ μὲν πρῶτον αὐτὴν μεγάλαις δωρεαῖς ἐτίμησε, μετὰ
δὲ ταῦτα, διὰ τὸ κάλλος τῆς ἀνθρώπου ἔχων ἐρωτικῶς,
ἐπεχείρησε τὸν ἄνδρα πείθειν ἑκουσίως αὐτῷ παραχωρήσαι,
ἐπαγγειλάμενος ἀντὶ ταύτης τῆς χάριτος αὐτῷ συνοικιεῖν
τὴν ἰδίαν θυγατέρα Σωσάνην. Δυσχερῶς δ᾽ αὐτοῦ φέροντος,
ἠπείλησεν ἐκκόψειν τὰς ὁράσεις, μὴ προχείρως ὑπηρετοῦντος
τοῖς προστάγμασιν. Ὁ δὲ Ὄννης ἅμα μὲν τὰς τοῦ βασιλέως
ἀπειλὲς δείσας, ἅμα δὲ διὰ τὸν ἔρωτα περιπεσὼν λύσσῃ
τινὶ καὶ μανίᾳ, βρόχον ἑαυτῷ περιθεὶς ἀνεκρέμασε. Σεμί
ραμις μὲν οὖν διὰ τοιαύτας αἰτίας εἰς βασιλικόν ἦλθε
πρόσχημα.
FRAGMENTUM 3.
(Arnobius Adv. Gentes, i. 52). [Age nunc veniat qui
super igneam zonam, magis interiore ab orbe Zoroastres,
Hermippo ut assentiamur authori, Bactrianus et ille
conveniat, cujus Ctesias res gestas historiarum exponit
in primo].
(Cf. Id. I. cap. 5: Nos fuimus causa-ut inter
Assyrios et Bactrianos Nino quondam Zoroastreque ducto-
ribus non tantum ferro dimicaretur et viribus, verum
etiam magicis et Chaldaeorum ex reconditis disciplinis
invidia nostra haec fuit ?)
ΕΡΙΤΟΜΕ DIODORI.
§ 6 (Diod. ii. 7). Ὁ δὲ Νίνος τούς τε ἐν Βάκτροις παρ-
έλαβε θησαυρούς, ἔχοντας πολὺν ἄργυρόν τε καὶ χρυσὸν, καὶ
τὰ κατὰ τὴν Βακτριανὴν καταστήσας ἀπέλυσε τὰς δυνάμεις.
Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα γεννήσας ἐκ Σεμιράμιδος υἱὸν Νινύαν ἐτε-
menidae, and most of the Persians
in their time, were, according to
him, non-Zoroastrians (ii. p. 148).
αὐτῷ συνοικιεῖν τὴν ἰδίαν θυγατέρα
Σωσάνην] Compare the case of
Xerxes and Masistes (Herodotus,
iv. 111).
§ 6. ἐτελεύτησε] The account
I.]
37
CTESIAE PERSICA.
λεύτησε, τὴν γυναῖκα ἀπολιπών βασίλισσαν. Τὸν δὲ Νῖνον
ἡ Σεμίραμις ἔθαψεν ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις, καὶ κατεσκεύασεν
ἐπ' αὐτῷ χῶμα παμμέγεθες, οὗ τὸ μὲν ὕψος ἐννέα ἦν σταδίων,
τὸ δ' εὖρος, [ὥς φησι Κτησίας], δέκα. Διὸ καὶ τῆς πόλεως
παρὰ τὸν Εὐφράτην ἐν πεδίῳ κειμένης, ἀπὸ πολλῶν στα-
δίων ἐφαίνετο τὸ χῶμα, καθαπερεί τις ἀκρόπολις· ὃ καὶ
μέχρι τοῦ νῦν φασὶ διαμένειν, καίπερ τῆς Νίνου κατεσκαμ-
μένης ὑπὸ Μήδων, ὅτε κατέλυσαν τὴν Ασσυρίων βασιλείαν.
Ἡ δὲ Σεμίραμις, οὖσα φύσει μεγαλεπίβολος, καὶ φιλοτιμου
μένη τῇ δόξῃ τὸν βεβασιλευκότα πρότερον ὑπερθέσθαι,
πόλιν μὲν ἐπεβάλετο κτίζειν ἐν τῇ Βαβυλωνίᾳ· ἐπιλεξαμένη
of Moses of Chorene has been
already quoted. Deinon (fr. 1)
says that Semiramis, having per-
suaded her husband to entrust the
royal power to her for five days,
used it to gain over the magnates
and then deposed and imprisoned
him.
χώμα παμμεγέθες] By this is
probably meant the Ziggurat, or
sacred tower, at Kalah, adjoin-
ing a temple, supposed by Rawlin-
son (Herodotus, i. p. 647) to have
been Bit-zira, one of the temples
known to have been dedicated to
Nin in that place. The remains of
the Ziggurat are still a conspicuous
object in all views of the mound of
Nimroud. It is mentioned by
Xenophon (Anab. iii. 4), in a pas-
sage already quoted, and the ad-
joining temple is, perhaps, the
temple of 'Hercules,' mentioned by
Tacitus, Ann. xii. 13, as near
Ninos vetustissima sedes Assy
riae." G. Smith (Assyrian Dis-
coveries, pp. 75-6) describes the
Nimroud Ziggurat as a solid mass of
brickwork, with probably a flight
of steps leading up to it on the
south side, and with a stone base-
ment, about twenty feet high, and
above it a facing of fine kiln-burnt
bricks. Ktesias, as usual, exag-
gerates the dimensions of the
'mound.'
πόλιν κτίζειν] Other classical
writers attributed the foundation of
Babylon to Belus (Q. Curtius, Exp.
Alex. v. i., "Semiramis eam condi-
derat; vel, ut plerique credidere,
Belus, cujus regia ostenditur ").
Philo Byblius, fr. 17 (ap. Stephanum
Βαβυλών, et Eustathium ad Dionys.
1005). Βαβυλὼν Περσική πόλις
κτίσμα Βαβυλῶνος ἀνδρὸς σοφοῦ,
παιδος Βήλου (al. Μήδου) σοφω-
τάτου, οὐχ ὡς. Ἡρόδοτος, ὑπὸ Σεμι
ράμιδος Ταύτης γὰρ ἀρχαιοτέρα
ἔτεσι χιλίοις δύο (χιλίοις ὀκτακοσίοις
in Eustathius) ὡς Ερέννιος (scil.
Philo). From Philo's Phoenikike
Historia, fr. 1, § 2, συγγράψας ἐπὶ
Σεμιράμεως γέγονε τῆς ᾿Ασσυρίων
βασιλίδος, ἢ πρὸ τῶν Ἰλιακών, ἢ
κατ' αὐτούς γε τοὺς χρόνους γενέσθαι
38
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
δὲ τοὺς πανταχόθεν ἀρχιτέκτονας καὶ τεχνίτας, ἔτι δὲ τὴν
ἄλλην χορηγίαν παρασκευασαμένη, συνήγαγεν ἐξ ἁπάσης
τῆς βασιλείας, πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἔργων συντέλειαν, ἀνδρῶν
μυριάδας διακοσίας. Απολαβοῦσα δὲ τὸν Εὐφράτην που
ταμὸν εἰς μέσον, περιεβάλετο τεῖχος τῇ πόλει σταδίων
τριακοσίων ἑξήκοντα, διειλημμένον πύργοις πυκνοῖς καὶ
μεγάλοις, τηλικοῦτον δ᾽ ἦν τὸ βάρος τῶν ἔργων, ὥστε τὸ
μὲν πλάτος εἶναι τῶν τειχῶν ἓξ ἅρμασιν ἱππάσιμον, τὸ
δ᾽ ὕψος ἄπιστον τοῖς ἀκούουσιν [ὥς φησι Κτησίας ὁ Κνίδιος].
Οπτὰς δὲ πλίνθους εἰς ἄσφαλτον ἐνδησαμένη, τεῖχος κατ
εσκεύασε, τὸ μὲν ὕψος, [ὡς μὲν Κτησίας φησί, πεντήκοντα
ἀναγέγραπται, it has been assumed
that he placed Semiramis at the
time of the Trojan war, i. e. about
i.e.
B. C. 1200; but he only says she
did not live later. Ammianus, xxiii.
p. 270, endeavours to reconcile
the two versions, assigning the
citadel to Belus, the walls to
Semiramis. The buildings of the
city were really the work of a long
succession of princes. Most of those
which Ktesias assigns to Semiramis
were either erected or improved by
Nebuchadrezzar.¹
συνήγαγεν ἐξ ἁπάσης τῆς βασι-
λείας] This was in accordance
with Assyrian custom: see, for
instance, the inscription of Esar-
haddon, translated in Records of
the Past, vol. iii. pp. 109, sq.,
col. v.
τεῖχος] Herodotus (i. 178) gives
the city a circumference of 480
stadia, Ktesias of 360, Kleitarchus
365, Strabo (xvi. 1, p. 335) of 385,
Curtius (v. 1, 27) of 368. The
height is given by Herodotus as
200 cubits, by Ktesias as 50 orguiai
(= 200 cubits), Strabo 50 cubits,
Curtius 50 or 100 cubits. All
traces of this outer wall, which
must have enclosed a large tract of
open country, seem to have disap-
peared; Oppert assumes that it
included Borsippa. (For a descrip-
tion of Babylon generally, see
Rawlinson's and Sayce's notes on
Herodotus, i. 178-183, and Raw-
linson's Herodotus, vol. ii. pp. 570,
seq.)
seq.) Sayce identifies the outer
wall of Herodotus, which is that
here described by Ktesias, with the
Nimitti-Bilu of the inscription of
Nebuchadrezzar, who claims to
have 'finished' it, as well as the
inner wall. Sir H. Rawlinson
believes the height of the wall not
to have exceeded 70 feet.
Οπτὰς δὲ πλίνθους εἰς ἄσφαλτον
ἐνδησαμένη] The use of this mode
¹ Berosus, iii. fr. 14 (Ap. Joseph. c. Ap. cap. 20), censures the Greek writers who
thought that Babylon was founded by "Semiramis, the Assyrian," and who ascribed
to her the wonderful works erected there by Nebuchadrezzar.
1.]
39
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ὀργυιῶν, [ὡς δ᾽ ἔνιοι τῶν νεωτέρων ἔγραψαν, πηχῶν πεντή
κοντα·] τὸ δὲ πλάτος, πλεῖον ἢ δυσὶν ἅρμασιν ἱππάσιμον,
πύργους δὲ τὸν μὲν ἀριθμὸν διακοσίους καὶ πεντήκοντα, τὸ
δ᾽ ὕψος καὶ πλάτος ἐξ ἀναλόγου τῷ βάρει τῶν κατὰ τὸ τεῖχος
ἔργων. Οὐ χρὴ δὲ θαυμάζειν, εἰ τηλικούτου τὸ μέγεθος τοῦ
περιβόλου καθεστῶτος ὀλίγους πύργους κατεσκεύασεν. Ἐπὶ
πολὺν γὰρ τόπον τῆς πόλεως ἕλεσι περιεχομένης, κατὰ τοῦ
τον τόπον οὐκ ἔδοξεν αὐτῇ πύργους οἰκοδομεῖν, τῆς φύσεως
τῶν ἑλῶν ἱκανὴν παρεχομένης ὀχυρότητα· ἀνὰ μέσον δὲ τῶν
οἰκιῶν καὶ τῶν τειχῶν ὁδὸς πάντῃ κατελέλειπτο δίπλεθρος.
FRAGMENTUM 4.
(α). (Cephalion, fr. ap. Syncell., p. 167). [μεθ' ὃν Βα-
βυλῶνα, φησὶν (Cephalion) ἡ Σεμίραμις ἐτείχισε τρόπον
ὡς πολλοῖσι λέλεκται Κτησίᾳ, Ζήνων
καὶ τοῖς μετ'
αὐτούς.]
(6). Tzetzes, Hist. ix. 568). [Ἡ πᾶσα δὲ περίμετρος
ὑπῆρχε Βαβυλῶνος στάδια τριακόσια ἑξήκοντα, Κτησίᾳ .
Ὕψος πεντηκοντόργυιον τειχῶν κατὰ Κτησίαν . . . φαίνεται
δὲ Κτησίας . ἀληθέστερα συγγράφειν τῶν ἑτέρων τέως εἰς
ἅπερ ἔγραψε περὶ τοῦ Βαβυλῶνος. τριακοσίων γὰρ αὐτὸς
ἑξήκοντα σταδίων πᾶσαν αὐτῆς περίμετρον ὑπάρχειν δια-
γράφει . . . ὁ περὶ τὴν περίμετρον γοῦν ἐλαττῶν τὸ μῆκος,
οὐκ ἂν μακρὸν τοῦ δεόντος παρηύξανε τὰ ὕψη. Αλλ' ὅτε
ταῦτα ἴσως μὲν κατεῖδεν ὁ Κτησίας, ἦσαν ἑξηκοντόργυια
τότε τειχῶν τὰ ὕψη]
of building by the Babylonians is
well known; but it is not likely
that the outer walls of the city
were constructed of any more sub-
stantial material than sun-dried
brick or earth. Berosus (ii. 14)
apparently says that the inner
rampart was of burnt brick and
asphalt, the outer of brick only;
but the passage is obscure.
ἕλεσι περιεχομένης] See Lagard,
Nineveh and Babylon, p. 495;
Loftus, Chaldea and Susiana, pp. 41,
45, as to the present condition of
these marshes.
40
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
EPITOME DIODORI.
§ 7 (Diod. ii. 8). Πρὸς δὲ τὴν ὀξύτητα τῆς τούτων οἶκο-
δομίας, ἑκάστῳ τῶν φίλων στάδιον διεμέτρησε, δοῦσα τὴν
ἱκανὴν εἰς τοῦτο χορηγίαν, καὶ διακελευσαμένη τέλος ἐπι-
θεῖναι τοῖς ἔργοις ἐν ἐνιαυτῷ· ὧν ποιησάντων τὸ προσταχθὲν
μετὰ πολλῆς σπουδῆς, τούτων μὲν ἀπεδέξατο τὴν φιλοτιμίαν,
αὐτὴ δὲ κατὰ τὸ στενότατον μέρος τοῦ ποταμοῦ γέφυραν
σταδίων πέντε τὸ μῆκος κατεσκεύασεν, εἰς βυθὸν φιλοτέχνως
καθίσασα τοὺς κίονας· οἱ δὲ διεστήκεισαν ἀπ' ἀλλήλων
πόδας δώδεκα· τοὺς δὲ συνερειδομένους λίθους τόρνοις σιδη-
ροῖς διελάμβανε, καὶ τὰς τούτων ἁρμονίας ἐπλήρου μόλιβδον
ἐντήκουσα· τοῖς δὲ κίοσι πρὸ τῶν τὸ ῥεῦμα δεχομένων πλευ
ρῶν γωνίας προκατεσκεύασεν, ἐχούσας τὴν ἀποῤῥοὴν περι-
φερῆ, καὶ συνδεδεμένην κατ' ὀλίγον ἕως τοῦ κατὰ τὴν κίονα
πλάτους· ὅπως αἱ μὲν περὶ τὰς γωνίας ὀξύτητες τέμνωσι τὴν
καταφορὰν τοῦ ῥεύματος, αἱ δὲ περιφέρειαι τῇ τούτου βίᾳ
συνείκουσαι πραΰνωσι τὴν σφοδρότητα τοῦ ποταμοῦ. Ἡ
μὲν οὖν γέφυρα κεδρίναις καὶ κυπαριττίναις δοκοῖς, ἔτι δὲ
φοινίκων στελέχεσιν ὑπερμεγέθεσι κατεστεγασμένη, καὶ
τριάκοντα ποδῶν οὖσα τὸ πλάτος, οὐδενὸς ἐδόκει τῶν Σεμι
ράμιδος ἔργων τῇ φιλοτεχνίᾳ λείπεσθαι· ἐξ ἑκατέρου δὲ
μέρους τοῦ ποταμοῦ κρηπίδα πολυτελή κατεσκεύασε, παρα-
πλησίαν κατὰ τὸ πλάτος τοῖς τείχεσιν, ἐπὶ στάδια ἑκατὸν
ἑξήκοντα. Ωικοδόμησε δὲ καὶ βασίλεια διπλᾶ παρὰ τὸν
§ 7. γέφυραν] Ascribed by
Herodotus to Nitokris (i. 186).
If Rawlinson's version is correct,
Nebuchadrezzar attributes it, in
his standard inscription, to his
father.
βασίλεια διπλᾶ] The same con-
nection between the palaces and
some of the inner fortifications
of Babylon is found in the de-
scriptions given by Herodotus (i.
181, ἐν δὲ φάρσει ἑκατέρῳ τῆς
πόλιος ἐτετείχιστο ἐν μέσῳ ἐν τῷ
μὲν τὰ βασιλήια περιβόλῳ τε μεγάλῳ
καὶ ἰσχυρῷ κ.τ.λ.); Berosus (iii.
14, καὶ τειχισας ἀξιολογως τὴν
πόλιν
προσκατεσκέυασεν τοῖς
πατρικοῖς βασιλείοις ἕτερα βασίλεια
•
I.]
41
CTESIAE PERSICA.
âv
ποταμὸν ἐξ ἑκατέρου μέρους τῆς γεφύρας, ἐξ ὧν ἅμα μὲν
ἔμελλε τήν τε πόλιν ἅπασαν κατοπτεύειν, καὶ καθαπερεί
τὰς κλεῖς ἕξειν τῶν ἐπικαιροτάτων τῆς πόλεως τόπων. Τοῦ
δ᾽ Εὐφράτου διὰ μέσης τῆς Βαβυλῶνος ῥέοντος καὶ πρὸς
μεσημβρίαν καταφερομένου, τῶν βασιλείων τὰ μὲν πρὸς
ἀνατολὴν ἔνευε, τὰ δὲ πρὸς δύσιν· ἀμφότερα δὲ πολυτελῶς
κατεσκεύαστο. Τοῦ μὲν γὰρ εἰς τὸ πρὸς ἑσπέραν κειμένου
μέρους ἐποίησε τὸν πρῶτον περίβολον ἑξήκοντα σταδίων,
ἐχόμενα αὐτῶν, . . . συνετελέσθη
ἡμεραῖς πεντεκαίδεκα, as compared
with the Standard inscription of
Nebuchadrezzar, which calls the
edifice constructed in fifteen days
a fort); Curtius (Exp. Alex., V. 1,
32, Super arce
pensiles
horti sunt. The gardens were a
part of the palace); and in the
Standard inscription of Nebuchad-
rezzar (ap. Rawlinson, Herodotus,
ii. p. 588, "The great palace cal-
led Tapratinisi. . . the high place
of royalty in the land of Babylon,
and in the middle of Babylon,
stretching from the Ingur-Bel [the
inner wall of the city] to the bed
of the Shebil, the eastern canal,
and from the bank of the Sippara
river to the water of the Yapur-
Shapu, which Nabopolassar, my
father, built with brick, and raised
up; when the reservoir of Baby-
lon was full, the gates of this
palace were flooded. I raised the
I raised the
mound of brick on which it was
built, and made smooth its plat-
form. . . . The foundations I pro-
tected against the water with bricks
and mortar; and I finished it com-
pletely. Long beams I set up to
support it. With pillars and beams.
plated with copper and strength-
ened with iron I built up its gates.
. . . As a further defence in war,
at the Ingur-Bel, the impregnable
outer wall, . . . with two strong
lines of brick and mortar. I made
a strong fort, 400 ammas square,
inside the Nimiti-Bel, the inner
defence of the Babylonians.
Masonry of brick within them I
constructed with the palace of my
father I connected it.
In fif-
teen days I completed it").
•
This last extract gives the real
date of the greater of the two
palaces attributed in the text to
Semiramis. It is now represented
by the Kasr mound, on the east
bank of the Euphrates. The lesser
palace was erected by Nergal-shar-
ezer (B. c. 559-556); its remains
are now divided by the river, which
has altered its course.
κατοπτεύειν] Because the palaces,
according to the usual Assyrian,
Babylonian, and Persian custom,
stood on raised platforms.
τὸν πρῶτον περίβολον ξ' σταδίων
K.T.λ.] Also a work of Nebuchad-
(Standard Inscription-
"Besides the Ingur-Bel, . . I
constructed, inside Babylon, on the
rezzar
42
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Ο
ὑψηλοῖς καὶ πολυτελέσι τείχεσιν ὠχυρωμένον, ἐξ ὀπτῆς πλίν
θου· ἕτερον δ᾽ ἐντὸς τούτου κυκλοτερῆ κατεσκεύασε, καθ᾽
ὃν ἐν ὠμαῖς ἔτι ταῖς πλίνθοις διετετύπωτο θηρία παντοδαπά,
τῇ τῶν χρωμάτων φιλοτεχνίᾳ, τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἀπομιμούμενα.
Οὗτος δ᾽ ὁ περίβολος ἦν τὸ μὲν μῆκος, σταδίων τεσσαρά
κοντα· τὸ δὲ πλάτος, ἐπὶ τριακοσίους πλίνθους· τὸ δ᾽ ὕψος,
[ὡς Κτησίας φησίν,] ὀργυιῶν πεντήκοντα. Τῶν δὲ πύργων
ὑπῆρχε τὸ ὕψος ὀργυιῶν ἑβδομήκοντα. Κατεσκεύασε δὲ
τρίτον ἐνδοτέρω περίβολον, ὃς περιείχεν ἀκρόπολιν, ἧς ἡ
μὲν περίμετρος ἦν σταδίων εἴκοσι, τὸ δὲ μῆκος καὶ πλάτος
τῆς οἰκοδομίας ὑπεραῖρον τοῦ μέσου τείχους τὴν κατασκευήν.
Ενῆσαν δ᾽ ἔν τε τοῖς πύργοις καὶ τείχεσι ζῶα παντοδαπὰ
φιλοτέχνως τοῖς τε χρώμασι καὶ τοῖς τῶν τύπων ἀπομιμή
μασι κατεσκευασμένα. Τὸ δ᾽ ὅλον ἐπεποίητο κυνήγιον
παντοίων θηρίων ὕπαρχον πλῆρες, ὧν ἦσαν τὰ μεγέθη πλεῖον
eastern side of the river, a fortifica-
tion
a long rampart, 4000
ammas square [2. e. about 5 miles,
or 44 stadia], as an extra defence.
I excavated the ditch: with brick
and mortar I bound its bed. . . . I
adorned its gates. The folding-
doors and the pillars I plated with
copper." This description may
refer more especially to the inner
περίβολος of Ktesias, forty stadia
square.)
ἐν ὠμαῖς ἔτι ταῖς πλίνθοις] Α
description of the enamelled bricks,
of which several specimens used for
wall decoration have been found
in Assyria. (Sec Smith, Assyrian
Discoveries, p. 79, etc.) In Baby-
lom, where stone slabs for panel-
ling were little used (a fragment of
one from the Kasr at Babylon is
figured in Layard, Nineveh and
Babylon, p. 508), their employ-
ment was probably even more exten-
sive. Layard found some fragments
in the ruins of this very palace
(Layard, op. cit., p. 507). Loftus
found similar fragments at Susa
(Chaldaea and Susiana, p. 396).
θηρία παντοδαπά] Probably fg-
ures of monsters, such as we see in
the Assyrian bas-reliefs, and on
Babylonian and Assyrian cylinders.
Nebuchadrezzar, in a cylinder in-
scription (see Budge, Babylonian
Life and History, p. 17), says he
placed images of mighty birds and
poisonous snakes on the threshold
of the great gates of one of the
fortresses at Babylon.
τρίτον ἐνδοτέρω περίβολον ...
σταδίων κ'] Possibly the fort 400
ammas (about 4 stadia) square of
Nebuchadrezzar.
A
κυνήγιον] " Α hunting scene,”
such as are represented in Assyrian
I.]
43
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Ο
ἢ πηχῶν τεττάρων. Κατεσκεύαστο δ᾽ ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἡ Σεμί-
ραμις, ἀφ᾽ ἵππου πάρδαλιν ἀκοντίζουσα, καὶ πλησίον αὐτῆς
ὁ ἀνὴρ Νῖνος παίων ἐκ χειρὸς λέοντα λόγχῃ. Ἐπέστησε δὲ
καὶ πύλας τρισσάς, ὑφ᾽ ὧν ὑπῆρχον δίαιται χάλκεαι διὰ
μηχανῆς ἀνοιγόμεναι. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν τὰ βασίλεια καὶ τῷ
μεγέθει καὶ ταῖς κατασκευαῖς πολὺ προεῖχε τῶν ὄντων ἐπὶ
θάτερα μέρη τοῦ ποταμοῦ. Ἐκεῖνα γὰρ εἶχε τὸν μὲν περί-
βολον τοῦ τείχους τριάκοντα σταδίων ἐξ ὀπτῆς πλίνθου
ἀντὶ δὲ τῆς περὶ τὰ ζῶα φιλοτεχνίας, χαλκᾶς εἰκόνας Νίνου
καὶ Σεμιράμιδος καὶ τῶν ὑπάρχων, ἔτι δὲ Διός, ὃν καλοῦσιν
οἱ Βαβυλώνιοι Βῆλον. Ενῆσαν δὲ καὶ παρατάξεις καὶ
κυνήγια παντοδαπά, ποικίλην ψυχαγωγίαν παρεχόμενα
τοῖς θεωμένοις.
§ 8 (Diod. ii. 9). Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τῆς Βαβυλωνίας
ἐκλεξαμένη τὸν ταπεινότατον τόπον, ἐποίησε δεξαμενὴν
τετράγωνον, ἧς ἦν ἑκάστη πλευρὰ σταδίων τριακοσίων,
ἐξ ὀπτῆς πλίνθου καὶ ἀσφάλτου κατεσκευασμένην, καὶ τὸ
βάθος ἔχουσαν ποδῶν τριάκοντα καὶ πέντε. Εἰς ταύτην δ'
ἀποστρέψασα τὸν ποταμόν, κατεσκεύασεν ἐκ τῶν ἐπὶ τάδε
βασιλείων εἰς θάτερα διώρυγα· ἐξ ὀπτῆς δὲ πλίνθου συνοικο-
reliefs, but in this instance repre-
sented by painting or on enamelled
bricks.
δίαιται χάλκεαι] Compare Nebu-
chadrezzar's description of the
gates.
§ 8. δεξαμενὴν τετράγωνον] The
Báhr-í-Nedjef, according to Loftus
(Chald. and Sus., p. 41). He
describes it as a great sheet of
water, forty miles long, connected
with the Euphrates marshes.
Herodotus (i. 184, sq.) attributes
the works here described partly to
the historical Semiramis and partly
to Nitokris, who was perhaps the
wife of Nebuchadrezzar. The
reservoir plays an important part
in his account of the first Persian
capture of Babylon. According to
him, Nitokris built the bridge
when the river was turned out of
its course; and he has no mention
of the tunnel here ascribed to
Semiramis. The inscriptions of
Nebuchadrezzar give long, but not
very intelligible, accounts of the
embankments, or quays, of bitumen
and brick, and the reservoirs con-
structed by himself and his father
at Babylon.
44
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ΠΤ
δομήσασα τὰς καμάρας, ἐξ ἑκατέρου μέρους ασφάλτῳ κατ-
έχρισεν ἡψημένῃ, μέχρις ὅτου τὸ πάχος τοῦ χρίσματος ἐποίησε
πηχῶν τεσσάρων. Τῆς δὲ διώρυγος ὑπῆρχον οἱ μὲν τοῖχοι
τὸ πλάτος ἐπὶ πλίνθους εἴκοσι· τὸ δ᾽ ὕψος, χωρὶς τῆς καμφ-
θείσης ψαλίδας, ποδῶν δώδεκα, τὸ δὲ πλάτος ποδῶν δεκα-
πέντε. Ἐν ἡμέραις δὲ ἑπτὰ κατασκευασθείσης αὐτῆς,
ἀποκατέστησε τὸν ποταμὸν ἐπὶ τὴν προϋπάρχουσαν ῥύσιν,
ὥστε τοῦ ῥεύματος ἐπάνω τῆς διώρυγος φερομένου, δύνασθαι
τὴν Σεμίραμιν ἐκ τῶν πέραν βασιλείων ἐπὶ θάτερα διαπορεύ
εσθαι, μὴ διαβαίνουσαν τὸν ποταμόν. Επέστησε δὲ καὶ
πύλας τῇ διώρυγι χαλκᾶς ἐφ' ἑκάτερον μέρος, αἳ διέμειναν
μέχρι τῆς τῶν Περσῶν βασιλείας. Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἐν μέσῃ
τῇ πόλει κατεσκεύασεν ἱερὸν Διός, ὃν καλοῦσιν οἱ Βαβυλώ
νιοι, καθάπερ εἰρήκαμεν, Βῆλον. [Περὶ δὲ τούτου τῶν
συγγραφέων διαφωνούντων, κ. τ. λ.]. Τῆς δ' ὅλης οικοδο-
μίας ἐξ ἀσφάλτου καὶ πλίνθου πεφιλοτεχνημένης πολυτελῶς,
ἐπ᾿ ἄκρας τῆς ἀναβάσεως τρία κατεσκεύασεν ἀγάλματα
χρυσά σφυρήλατα, Διός, Ηρας, Ῥέας. Τούτων δὲ τὸ μὲν
τοῦ Διός, ἑστηκὸς ἦν καὶ διαβεβηκός, υπαρχον ποδῶν
τεσσαράκοντα τὸ μῆκος, σταθμὸν δ᾽ εἶχε χιλίων ταλάντων
Βαβυλωνίων· τὸ δὲ τῆς Ῥέας, ἐπὶ δίφρου καθήμενον χρυσοῦ,
τὸν ἶσον σταθμὸν εἶχε τῷ προειρημένῳ· ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν γονάτων
αὐτῆς εἱστήκεισαν λέοντες δύο, καὶ πλησίον ὄφεις ὑπερμεγέ
θεις ἀργυροι, τριάκοντα ταλάντων ἕκαστος ἔχων τὸ βάρος.
ἱερὸν Διός, ὃν καλοῦσιν
Βῆλον] It is still doubtful whether
the temple of Belus described by
classical writers (Herodotus, i.
181; Strabo, xvi. 1, p. 335;
Berosus, iii. 14; Curtius, v. 1, 24,
&c.) was identical with tho
66
Temple of the Seven Lights" at
Borsippa, the restoration of which,
by Nebuchadrezzar, is described in
his inscription, and which is now
the ruin styled Birs-Nimrud, or
with the ruin at Babylon called
Babil. The latter view is now
generally accepted.
generally accepted. Both build-
ings were originally Ziggurats, and
the description of the classical
writers might apply to cither.
The position assigned by Herodotus
(i. 181) to the temple of Belus is,
however, inconsistent with the
edifice intended by him being that
represented by the mound of Babil.
Ἥρας] Probably Beltis, who,
1.]
45
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Τὸ δὲ τῆς Ἥρας ἑστηκὸς ἦν ἄγαλμα, σταθμὸν ἔχον ταλάν
των ὀκτακοσίων· καὶ τῇ μὲν δεξιᾷ χειρὶ κατεῖχε τῆς κεφαλῆς
ὄφιν, τῇ δὲ ἀριστερᾷ σκήπτρον λιθοκόλλητον. Τούτοις δ'
ἅπασι κοινὴ παρέκειτο τράπεζα χρυσή σφυρήλατος, τὸ μὲν
μῆκος ποδῶν τεσσαράκοντα, τὸ δ' εὖρος δεκαπέντε, σταθμὸν
ἕλκουσα ταλάντων πεντακοσίων. Ἐπὶ δὲ ταύτης ἐπέκειντο
δύο καρχήσια, σταθμὸν ἔχοντα τριάκοντα ταλάντων. Ἦσαν
δὲ καὶ θυμιατήρια, τὸν μὲν ἀριθμὸν ἴσα, τὸν δὲ σταθμὸν
ἑκάτερον ταλάντων τριακοσίων. Ὑπῆρχον δὲ καὶ κρατῆρες
χρυσοῖ τρεῖς, ὧν ὁ μὲν τοῦ Διὸς εἷλκε τάλαντα Βαβυλώνια
χίλια καὶ διακόσια, τῶν δ᾽ ἄλλων ἑκάτερος ἑξακόσια. ᾿Αλλὰ
ταῦτα μὲν οἱ τῶν Περσῶν βασιλεῖς ὕστερον ἐσύλησαν· τῶν
δὲ βασιλείων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων κατασκευασμάτων ὁ χρόνος
τὰ μὲν ὁλοσχερῶς ἠφάνισε, τὰ δ᾽ ἐλυμήνατο. Καὶ γὰρ
αὐτῆς τῆς Βαβυλῶνος νῦν βραχύ τι μέρος οἰκεῖται, τὸ δὲ
πλεῖστον ἐντὸς τείχους γεωργεῖται.
Ο
§ 9 (Diod. ii. 10). Ὑπῆρχε δὲ καὶ ὁ κρεμαστὸς καλού-
μενος κῆπος παρὰ τὴν ἀκρόπολιν, οὐ Σεμιράμιδος, αλλά τι
νος ὕστερον Σύρου βασιλέως κατασκευάσαντος χάριν
γυναικὸς παλλακῆς. Ταύτην γάρ φασιν οὖσαν τὸ γένος
however, is also generally meant by forming a portion of the Kasr
Rhea.
βραχύ τι μέρος οἰκεῖται τὸ δὲ πλεῖ-
στον ἐντὸς τείχους γεωργείται] This
appears to have been always the
case: compare Curtius, v. 1, 27.
Strabo speaks of it as mostly
desert' in his time (xvi. 1,
p. 336).
§ 9. τινος ὕστερον Σύρου βασι-
λέως] Viz. Nebuchadrezzar, who
constructed them for his Median
wife (Berosus, iii. 14). They
formed a part of the palace, and
are, perhaps, represented by the
shapeless masses of brickwork
mound. Gardens such as are here
described are represented in Assy-
rian reliefs (Layard, Nineveh and
Babylon, p. 232); and the Babylo-
nian gardens are, perhaps, referred
to in a passage of the standard
inscription of Nebuchadrezzar,
where, after describing his works.
on the palace, he says:-"Inside
the brick fortifications another
great fortification of long stones
(Berosus mentions stone struc-
tures,' which were very unusual
at Babylon, in connection with the
hanging gardens; Curtius speaks
46
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Περσίδα, καὶ τοὺς ἐν τοῖς ὄρεσι λειμῶνας ἐπιζητοῦσαν
ἀξιῶσαι τὸν βασιλέα μιμήσασθαι διὰ τῆς τοῦ φυτουργίου
φιλοτεχνίας τὴν τῆς Περσίδος χώρας ἰδιότητα. Ἔστι δ᾽ ὁ
παράδεισος τὴν μὲν πλευρὰν ἑκάστην παρεκτείνων εἰς τέτταρα
πλέθρα, τὴν δὲ πρόσβασιν ὀρεινὴν καὶ τὰς οἰκοδομίας ἄλλας
ἐξ ἄλλων ἔχων, ὥστε τὴν πρόσοψιν εἶναι θεατροειδή. Ὑπὸ
δὲ ταῖς κατεσκευασμέναις ἀναβάσεσιν ᾠκοδόμηντο σύριγγες,
ἅπαν μὲν ἀναδεχόμεναι τὸ τοῦ φυτουργίου βάρος, ἀλλήλων
δ᾽ ἐκ τοῦ κατ᾽ ὀλίγον ἀεὶ μικρὸν ὑπερέχουσαι κατὰ τὴν
πρόσβασιν. ἡ δ᾽ ἀνωτάτη σύριγξ οὖσα πεντήκοντα πηχῶν
τὸ ὕψος, εἶχεν ἐπ᾿ αὐτῇ τοῦ παραδείσου τὴν ἀνωτάτην
ἐπιφάνειαν, συνεξισουμένην τῷ περιβόλῳ τῶν ἐπάλξεων.
Ἔπειθ᾽ οἱ μὲν τοῖχοι πολυτελῶς ἠσφαλισμένοι τὸ πάχος
εἶχον ποδῶν εἰκοσιδύο, τῶν δ᾽ ἐξόδων ἑκάστη τὸ πλάτος
δέκα· τὰς δ᾽ ὀροφὰς κατεστέγαζον λίθιναι δοκοί, τὸ μὲν
μῆκος σὺν ταῖς ἐπιβολαῖς ἔχουσαι ποδῶν ἓξ καὶ δέκα, τὸ δὲ
πλάτος τεσσάρων. Τὸ δ᾽ ἐπὶ ταῖς δοκοῖς ὀρόφωμα πρῶτον
μὲν εἶχεν ὑπεστρωμένον κάλαμον μετὰ πολλῆς ἀσφάλτου,
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα πλίνθον ὀπτὴν διπλῆν ἐν γύψῳ δεδεμένην.
Τρίτην δ᾽ ἐπιβολὴν ἐπεδέχετο μολιβᾶς στέγας, πρὸς τὸ μὴ
διϊκνεῖσθαι κατά βάθος τὴν ἐκ τοῦ χώματος νοτίδα. Επι
δὲ τούτοις ἐσεσώρευτο γῆς ἱκανὸν βάθος, ἀρκούμενον ταῖς
τῶν μεγίστων δένδρων ῥίζαις· τὸ δ᾽ ἔδαφος ἐξωμαλισμένον,
πλῆρες ἦν παντοδαπῶν δένδρων τῶν δυναμένων κατά τε τὸ
μέγεθος καὶ τὴν ἄλλην χάριν τοὺς θεωμένους ψυχαγωγῆσαι.
Λἱ δὲ σύριγγες τὰ φῶτα δεχόμεναι ταῖς δι᾿ ἀλλήλων ὑπερ-
οχαῖς, πολλὰς καὶ παντοδαπὰς εἶχον διαίτας βασιλικάς. Μία
δ᾽ ἦν ἐκ τῆς ἀνωτάτης ἐπιφανείας διατομὰς ἔχουσα, καὶ
πρὸς τὰς ἐπαντλήσεις τῶν ὑδάτων ὄργανα, δι᾽ ὧν ἀνεσπᾶτο
πλῆθος ὕδατος ἐκ τοῦ ποταμοῦ, μηδενὸς τῶν ἔξωθεν τὸ
K
of them as 'super arce'), of the
size of great mountains I made,
like Shedim I raised its head."
of
Περσίδα] Really Median, Amu-
hia,
hia, or Amyitis, daughter
Kyaxaros.
I.]
47
CTESIAE PERSICA.
γινόμενον συνιδεῖν δυναμένου. Οὗτος μὲν οὖν ὁ παράδεισος,
ὡς προεῖπον, ὕστερον κατεσκευάσθη.
§ 10 (Diod. ii. 11). Η δὲ Σεμίραμις ἔκτισε καὶ ἄλλας
πόλεις παρὰ τὸν ποταμὸν τόν τε Εὐφράτην καὶ τὸν Τίγριν,
ἐν αἷς ἐμπόρια κατεσκεύασε τοῖς φορτία διακομίζουσιν ἐκ
τῆς Μηδίας καὶ Παραιτακηνῆς, καὶ πάσης τῆς σύνεγγυς
χώρας. Μετὰ γὰρ τὸν Νεῖλον καὶ Γάγγην ὄντες ἐπισημότα
τοι σχεδὸν κατὰ τὴν ᾿Ασίαν ποταμῶν Εὐφράτης καὶ Τίγρις,
τὰς μὲν πηγὰς ἔχουσιν ἐκ τῶν ᾿Αρμενίων ὀρῶν, διεστήκασι δ'
ἀπ' ἀλλήλων σταδίους δισχιλίους καὶ πεντακοσίους· ἐνεχ-
θέντες δὲ διὰ Μηδίας καὶ Παραιτακηνῆς, ἐμβάλλουσιν εἰς
τὴν Μεσοποταμίαν· ἣν ἀπολαμβάνοντες εἰς μέσον, αἴτιοι
κατέστησαν τῇ χώρᾳ ταύτης τῆς προσηγορίας μετὰ δὲ
ταῦτα τὴν Βαβυλωνίαν διελόντες, εἰς τὴν ἐρυθρὰν ἐξερεύγον-
ται θάλασσαν μεγάλοι δ᾽ ὄντες καὶ συχνὴν χώραν δια-
πορευόμενοι, πολλὰς ἀφορμὰς παρέχονται τοῖς ἐμπορικῇ
χρωμένοις ἐργασία. Διὸ καὶ συμβαίνει τοὺς παραποτα
μίους τόπους πλήρεις υπάρχειν ἐμπορίων εὐδαιμόνων, καὶ
μεγάλα συμβαλλομένων πρὸς τὴν τῆς Βαβυλωνίας ἐπιφά
νειαν. ῾Η δὲ Σεμίραμις ἐκ τῶν ᾿Αρμενίων ὀρῶν λίθον ἔτεμε,
τὸ μὲν μῆκος ποδῶν ἑκατὸν καὶ τριάκοντα, τὸ πλάτος δὲ καὶ
πάχος εἰκοσιπέντε· τοῦτον δὲ πολλοῖς πλήθεσι ζευγῶν ὀρι-
κῶν τε καὶ βοϊκῶν καταγαγοῦσα πρὸς τὸν ποταμόν, ἐπεβί-
βασε πρὸς τὴν σχεδίαν· ἐπὶ ταύτης δὲ κατακομίσασα κατὰ
τοῦ ῥεύματος μέχρι τῆς Βαβυλῶνος, ἔστησεν αὐτὸν παρὰ
τὴν ἐπισημοτάτην ὁδόν, παράδοξον θέαμα τοῖς παριοῦσιν.
ὅν τινες ὀνομάζουσιν ἀπὸ τοῦ σχήματος ὀβελίσκον, ὃν ἐν
τοῖς ἑπτὰ τοῖς κατονομαζομένοις ἔργοις καταριθμοῦσι.
§ 11 (Diod. ii. 12). Πολλῶν δὲ καὶ παραδόξων ὄντων
ΤΟ
§ 10. οβελίσκον] Several As-
syrian obelisks have been found,
but none of very large size. Some
slabs of Sennacherib represent co-
lossal bulls (far inferior in size,
however, to the monolith herc
described) being removed; but
they are dragged by captives, not
by animals.
48
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
θεαμάτων κατὰ τὴν Βαβυλωνίαν οὐχ ἥκιστα θαυμάζεται καὶ
τὸ πλῆθος τῆς ἐν αὐτῇ γεννωμένης ασφάλτου. Τοσοῦτον
γάρ ἐστιν, ὥστε μὴ μόνον ταῖς τοσαύταις καὶ τηλικαύταις
οἰκοδομίαις διαρκεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ συλλεγόμενον τὸν λαὸν
ἀφειδῶς ἀρύεσθαι, καὶ ξηραίνοντα καίεν ἀντὶ ξύλων.
Αναριθμήτων δὲ τὸ πλῆθος ἀνθρώπων ἀρυομένων, καθάπερ
ἔκ τινος πηγῆς μεγάλης, ἀκέραιον διαμένει τὸ πλήρωμα.
Ἔστι δὲ καὶ πλησίον τῆς πηγῆς ταύτης ἀνάδοσις τῷ μὲν
μεγέθει βραχεία, δύναμιν δὲ θαυμάσιον ἔχουσα. προσβάλ
λει γὰρ ἀτμόν θειώδη καὶ βαρύν, ᾧ τὸ προσελθὸν ζῶον
ἅπαν ἀποθνήσκει, περιπίπτον ὀξείᾳ καὶ παραδόξῳ τελευτῇ.
Πνεύματος γὰρ κατοχῇ χρόνον ὑπομεῖναν διαφθείρεται,
καθάπερ κωλυομένης τῆς τοῦ πνεύματος ἐκφορᾶς ὑπὸ τῆς
προσπεσούσης ταῖς ἀναπνοαῖς δυνάμεως· εὐθὺς δὲ διοιδεῖ
καὶ πίμπραται τὸ σῶμα, μάλιστα τοὺς περὶ τὸν πνεύμονα
τόπους. Ἔστι δὲ καὶ πέραν τοῦ ποταμοῦ λίμνη στερεόν
ἔχουσα τὸν περὶ αὐτὴν τόπον, εἰς ἣν ὅταν τις ἐμβῇ τῶν
ἀπείρων, ὀλίγον μὲν νήχεται χρόνον προϊὼν δ᾽ εἰς τὸ μέσον,
καθάπερ ὑπό τινος βίας κατασπαται· ἑαυτῷ δὲ βοηθῶν καὶ
πάλιν ἀναστρέψαι προαιρούμενος, ἀντέχεται μὲν τῆς ἐκβάσ
εως, ἀντισπωμένῳ δ᾽ ὑπό τινος ἔοικε. Καὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον
ἀπονεκροῦται τοὺς πόδας, εἶτα τὰ σκέλη, μέχρι τῆς ὀσφύος
τὸ δὲ τελευταῖον ὅλον τὸ σῶμα νάρκῃ κρατηθείς, φέρεται
πρὸς βυθόν, καὶ μετ᾿ ὀλίγον τετελευτηκὼς ἀναβάλλεται.
Περὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν ἐν τῇ Βαβυλωνίᾳ θαυμαζομένων ἀρκείσθω
τὰ ῥηθέντα.
ΤΟ
§ 12 (Diod. ii. 13). Ἡ δὲ Σεμίραμις, ἐπειδὴ τοῖς ἔργοις
ἐπέθηκε πέρας, ἀνέζευξεν ἐπὶ Μηδίας μετὰ πολλῆς δυνά-
§ 11. ἀσφάλτου] Compare Hero
dotus, i. 179, with the notes of
Rawlinson and Sayce; Strabo, xvi.
i. p. 343; Ammianus, xxiii. p. 269.
The deadly fountain (hiatus terræ
in Ammianus) in its properties re-
sembled the Grotto del Canc in
Italy, Ammianus (Ζ. c.), mentions
other instances. The deadly lake
was, perhaps, merely a bog or
quicksand, Ktesias here displaying
his usual tendency to exaggerate
marvels.
1.]
49
CTESIAE PERSICA.
T
Εν
μεως· καταντήσασα δὲ πρὸς ὄρος τὸ καλούμενον Βαγίστα-
νον, πλησίον αὐτοῦ κατεστρατοπέδευσε, καὶ κατεσκεύασε
παράδεισον, ὃς τὴν μὲν περίμετρον ἦν δώδεκα σταδίων, ἐν
πεδίῳ δὲ κείμενος εἶχε πηγὴν μεγάλην, ἐξ ἧς ἀρδεύεσθαι
συνέβαινε τὸ φυτούργιον. Τὸ δὲ Βαγίστανον ὄρος, ἔστι
μὲν ἱερὸν Διός, ἐκ δὲ τοῦ παρὰ τὸν παράδεισον μέρους ἀπο-
τομάδας ἔχει πέτρας εἰς ὕψος ἀνατεινούσας στάδια ἑπτα-
καίδεκα· οὗ τὸ κατώτατον μέρος καταξύσασα, τὴν ἰδίαν
ἐνεχάραξεν εἰκόνα, δορυφόρους αὑτῇ παραστήσασα ἑκατόν.
Ἐπέγραψε δὲ καὶ Συρίοις γράμμασιν εἰς τὴν πέτραν, ὅτι
Σεμίραμις τοῖς σάγμασι τοῖς τῶν ἀκολουθούντων ὑποζυγίων
ἀπὸ τοῦ πεδίου χώσασα τὸν προειρημένον κρημνόν, διὰ
τούτων εἰς τὴν ἀκρώρειαν προσανέβη. Ἐντεῦθεν δ᾽ ἀναζεύξ
ασα, καὶ παραγενομένη πρὸς Χαύονα πόλιν τῆς Μηδίας,
κατενόησεν ἔν τινι μετεώρῳ πεδίῳ πέτραν τῷ τε ὕψει καὶ τῷ
μεγέθει καταπληκτικήν. Ἐνταῦθα οὖν ἕτερον παράδεισον
ὑπερμεγέθη κατεσκεύασεν, ἐν μέσῳ τὴν πέτραν ἀπολαβ
οὖσα καθ᾽ ἣν οἰκοδομήματα πολυτελῆ πρὸς τρυφὴν ἐπ-
έθηκεν, ἐξ ὧν τά τε κατὰ τὸν παράδεισον ἀπεθεώρει φυτούρ-
για, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν στρατιὰν παρεμβεβληκυῖαν ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ.
Ἐν τούτῳ δὲ τῷ τόπῳ συχνὸν ἐνδιατρίψασα χρόνον, καὶ
πάντων τῶν εἰς τρυφὴν ἀνηκόντων ἀπολαύσασα, γῆμαι μὲν
νομίμως οὐκ ἠθέλησεν, εὐλαβουμένη μήποτε στερηθῇ τῆς
ἀρχῆς ἐπιλεγομένη δὲ τῶν στρατιωτῶν τοὺς εὐπρεπείᾳ
§ 12, and frs. 5 and 6. Βαγίστανον
ὄρος, ἔστι μὲν ἱερὸν Διός] Now
Behistun, celebrated for the tri-
lingual inscription of Dareius I.,
with the relief accompanying it.
There are also some later inscrip-
tions. It is impossible that the
mcaning of that of Darcius could
have been unknown to Ktesias.
We must suppose that he is here
alluding to some earlier-probably
Assyrian-sculptures and inscrip-
E
tion now destroyed. His de-
scription points to a stela, with
a figure of the king, accompanied
by an inscription (such as the
Assyrian kings were in the habit
of erecting, or sculpturing on rocks,
in countries they conquered), with
other sculptures, beside it. Bagis-
tan is in Persian "Place of God,"
so its name is here correctly inter-
preted.
γῆμαι μὲν νομίμως οὐκ ἠθέλησεν]
50
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
διαφέροντας, τούτοις ἐμίσγετο· καὶ πάντας τοὺς αὐτῇ πλη-
σιάσαντας ἠφάνιζε.
FRAGMENTUM 5.
(Stephanus Byz.). [Χαύων χώρα τῆς Μηδίας, Κτησίας
ἐν πρώτῳ Περσικῶν] Ἡ δὲ Σεμίραμις ἐντεῦθεν ἐξελαύνει,
'H dè
αὐτή τε καὶ στρατιὰ, καὶ ἀφικνεῖται εἰς Χαύονα τῆς Μηδίας.
FRAGMENTUM 6.
•
(Syncellus, Chronograph. p. 64, B, forte hic pertinet,
sed confer Epit. § 14, infra). [Toûrov (Ninum) dɩedéğαto
This is one of the portions of the
narrative of Ktesias most clearly
derived from the Babylonian
legends of Ishtar. In the sixth
book of the Epic of Izdubar, the
goddess proposes to take Izdubar
as her husband. He refuses, and
recites the fate which had befallen
her previous lovers. She wronged
Dumuzi (Tammuz or Adonis).
66
Country after country mourn his
love. The wild eagle also thou
didst love, and then didst strike
him, and his wings thou didst
break. . . . Thou didst love also a
ruler of the country, and continu-
ally thou didst break his weapons.
Every day he propitiated thee with
offerings; thou didst strike him,
and to a leopard thou didst change
him; his own city drove him away,
and his dogs tore his wounds.
Thou didst love also Isullanu, thə
husbandman of thy father; in
thy taking him also thou didst
turn cruel.
Isullanu thy cruelty
•
resisted:
•
. thou didst strike
him, and to a pillar (?) thou didst
turn him; thou didst place him in
the midst of the ground. . . . He
riseth not up, he goeth not
and me thou dost love, and like to
them thou wilt serve me (G.
Smith, Chaldaean Genesis, pp. 219–
221). The fate of Isullanu suggests
the xúμara which appears in the
rationalized version of Ktesias.
Moses of Chorene works an Ar-
menian legend into his account of
one of the amours of Semiramis
(Hist. i. 14). Arai, son of Aram,
king of Armenia, was remarkable
for his beauty. Semiramis, there-
fore, proposed to him to become her
husband, and, on his refusal, in-
vaded Armenia, to compel him to
do so.
Her sons, however, slew
him in battle; but she preserved
his body, and gave out that the
gods had been induced by her
magical arts to restore Arai to life
for the gratification of her passion.
LIBER SECUNDUS.
EPITOME DIODORI.
§ 14 (Diod. ii. 14). Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἐπῆλθε τήν τε
Περσίδα καὶ τὴν ἄλλην χώραν ἅπασαν, ἧς ἐπῆρχε κατὰ τὴν
Ασίαν. Πανταχοῦ δὲ τὰ μὲν ὄρη καὶ τὰς ἀποῤῥῶγας
πέτρας διακόπτουσα, κατεσκεύασεν ὁδοὺς πολυτελεῖς. Ἐν
δὲ τοῖς πεδίοις ἐποίει χώματα, ποτὲ μὲν τάφους κατασκευά-
ζουσα τοῖς τελευτῶσι τῶν ἡγεμόνων, ποτὲ δὲ πόλεις ἐν τοῖς
ἀναστήμασι κατοικίζουσα. Εἰώθει δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὰς στρα-
τοπεδείας μακρὰ χώματα κατασκευάζειν, ἐφ᾽ ὧν καθιστᾶσα
τὴν ἰδίαν σκηνήν, ἅπασαν κατώπτευε τὴν παρεμβολήν.
Διὸ καὶ πολλὰ κατὰ τὴν ᾿Ασίαν μέχρι τοῦ νῦν διαμένει
τῶν ὑπ᾽ ἐκείνης κατασκευασθέντων, καὶ καλεῖται Σεμιράμι-
δος ἔργα.
FRAGMENTUM 7.
(Stephanus Byzant.) [Τίριζα πόλις Παφλαγονίας· τὸ
ἐθνικὸν Τίριζοι. Κτησίας Τιριζιφανοὺς αὐτούς φησιν ἐν τῷ
δευτέρῳ] Ἐκ δὲ τῶν Ὀδρυσσῶν εἰς Τιριζιβανοὺς οἰκοῦν-
τας ἐν Παφλαγονία.
§ 14. Χώματα] Compare frag.
6, where another account is given
of the origin of these mounds.
They were probably either sepul-
chral tumuli, or mounds marking
the sites of ruined cities. Compare
Strabo, xii. 2, p. 8, Τὰ δὲ Τύανα
ἐπίκειται χώματι Σεμιράμιδος τες
τειχισμένῳ καλῶς.
Fr. 7. Τίριζα] " Alia forma est
nominis Τυρεδίζα vel Τυροδίζα quae
est Thraciae urbs ad Perinthi di-
tionem pertinens hodieque audit
Feredschick . . . Memoratur Tyre-
diza ap Herodot. vii. 25, et ex
Persicis Hellanici (fr. 162).”
Müller.
54
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
EPITOME DIODORI.
§ 15 (Diod. ii. 14. 3). Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τήν τε Αἴγυπτον
πᾶσαν ἐπῆλθε, καὶ τῆς Λιβύης τὰ πλεῖστα καταστρεψαμένη,
παρῆλθεν εἰς Αμμωνα, χρησομένη τῷ θεῷ περὶ τῆς ἰδίας
τελευτῆς. Λέγεται δ᾽ αὐτῇ γενέσθαι λόγιον, ἐξ ἀνθρώπων
ἀφανισθήσεσθαι, καὶ κατὰ τὴν ᾿Ασίαν παρ' ἐνίοις τῶν ἐθνῶν
ἀθανάτου τεύξεσθαι τιμῆς· ὅπερ ἔσεσθαι καθ' ὃν ἂν χρόνον
ὁ υἱὸς αὐτῇ Νινύας ἐπιβουλεύσῃ. ᾿Απὸ δὲ τούτων γενομένη,
τῆς Αἰθιοπίας ἐπῆλθε τὰ πλεῖστα καταστρεφομένη, καὶ τὰ
κατὰ τὴν χώραν θεωμένη παράδοξα. Εἶναι γὰρ ἐν αὐτῇ
φασὶ λίμνην τετράγωνον, τὴν μὲν περίμετρον ἔχουσαν
ποδῶν ὡς ἑκατὸν ἑξήκοντα, τὸ δ᾽ ὕδωρ τῇ μὲν χρόᾳ παραπλή-
σιον κινναβάρει, τὴν δ᾽ ὀσμὴν καθ᾽ ὑπερβολὴν ἡδεῖαν, οὐκ
ἀνόμοιον οἴνῳ παλαιῷ· δύναμιν δ' ἔχειν παράδοξον· τὸν γὰρ
πίοντά φασιν εἰς μανίαν ἐμπίπτειν, καὶ πάνθ', ἃ πρότερον
διέλαθεν ἁμαρτήσας, ἑαυτοῦ κατηγορεῖν. Τοῖς μὲν οὖν
ταῦτα λέγουσιν οὐκ ἄν τις ῥᾳδίως συγκατάθοιτο.
FRAGMENTUM 8.
(Diod. i. 56.) [Οὐκ ἀγνοῶ δ' ὅτι περὶ τῶν εἰρημένων πό-
λεων (Babylone et Troja in Aegypto) Κτησίας ὁ Κνίδιος
διαφόρως ἱστόρησε φήσας] τῶν μετὰ Σεμιράμιδος παρα-
βαλόντων εἰς Αἴγυπτόν τινας ἐκτικέναι ταύτας ἀπὸ τῶν ἰδίων
πατρίδων θεμένους τὴν προσηγορίαν.
§ 15. Αἴγυπτον] Klem. Alex.
Strom. i. p. 307, speaks of Semira-
mis, king of Egypt. Wilkinson
(Rawlinson's Herodotus, ii. p. 354)
mentions a suggestion, that by
Semiramis was intended Hatasu,
the great queen of the eighteenth
dynasty. Eusebius (Prof. in vers.
Hieron., fo. 5) makes Ninus and
Semiramis contemporary with the
sixteenth Egyptian dynasty.
τω
"Αμμωνα] The god worshipped in
the Oases seems to have been really
Khnum, not Amun. (Wilkinson
in Rawlinson's Herodotus, ii. p.
285.)
λίμνην ] We have, perhaps,
here (and in fr. 9) a distorted ac-
count of the use of a poisonous
liquid as an ordeal, like the tangena
of Madagascar. Compare Indika,
$ 14.
II.]
55
CTESIAE PERSICA.
FRAGMENTUM 9.
(a)
(Strabo xvi. 4, p.
1125 B. p. 402,
Tauchnitz).
[Κτησίαν δὲ τὸν
Κνίδιον] πηγὴν [ισα
τορεῖν] ἐκδιδοῦσαν
εἰς τὴν θάλατταν ἐρ-
ευθὲς καὶ μιλτώδες
ὕδωρ.
|
(5)
(Antigonus Caryst.
Hist. Mir. 160).
(c)
(Sotion cap. 17).
[Κτησίαν δὲ (λέξ
γειν)] τὴν ἐν Αἰθι-
οπία (κρήνην) τὸ μὲν
ὕδωρ ἔχειν ἐρυθρὸν
ὡσπερεί κιννάβαρι,
τοὺς δ᾽ ἀπ' αὐτῆς
πιόντας παράφρονας
γίγνεσθαι.
[Κτησίας δὲ] ἐν
Αιθιοπίᾳ κρήνην [ἱσ-
τορεῖ] τῷ χρώματι
κινναβάρει παραπλη-
σίαν. τοὺς δέ πίνον-
τας ἀπ' αὐτῆς παραλ.
λάττειν τὴν διάνοιαν
ὥστε καὶ τὰ κρυφίως
πεπραγμένα ὁμολο-
(d)
(Plin. H. N. xxxi.
2).
[Sed ibi in potan-
donecessarius modus
ne lymphatos agat,]
quod in Aethiopia
accidere his, qui
fonte rubro biberint,
[Ctesias scribit].
γεῖν.
EPITOME DIODORI.
§ 16 (Diod. ii. 15). Ταφὰς δὲ τῶν τελευτησάντων ἰδίως
οἱ κατὰ τὴν Αἰθιοπίαν ποιοῦνται. Ταριχεύσαντες γὰρ τὰ
σώματα, καὶ περιχεύσαντες αὐτοῖς πολλὴν ὕελον, ἱστᾶσιν
ἐπὶ στήλης, ὥστε τοῖς παριοῦσι φαίνεσθαι διὰ τῆς ὑέλου τὸ
τοῦ τετελευτηκότος σῶμα, καθάπερ ῾Ηρόδοτος εἴρηκε.
[Κτησίας δ᾽ ὁ Κνίδιος ἀποφαινόμενος τοῦτον σχεδιάζειν.
αὐτός φησι] τὸ μὲν σῶμα ταριχεύεσθαι, τὴν μέντοιγε ελον
μὴ περιχεῖσθαι γυμνοῖς τοῖς σώμασι. κατακαυθήσεσθαι
γὰρ ταῦτα, καὶ λυμανθέντα τελέως τὴν ὁμοιότητα μὴ δυνή
σεσθαι διατηρεῖν· διὸ καὶ χρυσὴν εἰκόνα κατασκευάζεσθαι
κοίλην, εἰς ἣν ἐντεθέντος τοῦ νεκροῦ, περὶ τὴν εἰκόνα χεῖσθαι
§ 16. ἀποφαινόμενος τοῦτον σχετ
διάζειν] σχεδιάζειν = " to be negli-
to be negli-
gent." Ktesias probably read
γυμνώσαντες for γυψώσαντες in his
copy of Herodotus (iii. 24). For
the meaning of ΰελος consult the
commentators on the passage of
Herodotus, and on this passage.
Ktesias evidently regarded it as a
transparent composition, which was
poured in a fluid state over the
case containing the remains, and
afterwards hardened. Burning the
dead was utterly abhorrent to the
customs of the Egyptians and
civilized Ethiopians, and Ktesias
must be mistaken on this point.
εἰκόνα] By this we are, perhaps,
to understand the mummy case,
which is often shaped in a rough
likeness of the body within; in
the case of distinguished persons it
50
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
τὴν ὕελον. τοῦ δὲ κατασκευάσματος τεθέντος ἐπὶ τὸν τάφον,
διὰ τῆς ὑέλου φανῆναι τὸν χρυσὸν ἀφωμοιωμένον τῷ τετε-
λευτηκότι. Τοὺς μὲν οὖν πλουσίους αὐτῶν οὕτω θάπτεσθαί
[φησι·] τοὺς δ᾽ ἐλάττονας καταλιπόντας οὐσίας, ἀργυρᾶς
τυγχάνειν εἰκόνος, τοὺς δὲ πένητας, κεραμίνης· τὴν δὲ
ὕελον πᾶσιν ἐξαρκεῖν, διὰ τὸ πλείστην γεννᾶσθαι κατὰ
τὴν Αἰθιοπίαν, καὶ τελέως παρὰ τοῖς ἐγχωρίοις ἐπιπολάζειν.
§ 17 (Diod. ii. 16). Η δὲ Σεμίραμις καταστήσασα τά
τε κατὰ τὴν Αἰθιοπίαν καὶ τὴν Αἴγυπτον, ἐπανῆλθε μετὰ τῆς
δυνάμεως εἰς Βάκτρα τῆς ᾿Ασίας. Ἔχουσα δὲ δυνάμεις
μεγάλας, καὶ πολυχρόνιον εἰρήνην ἄγουσα, φιλοτίμως ἔσχε
πρᾶξαί τι λαμπρὸν κατὰ πόλεμον. Πυνθανομένη δὲ τὸ τῶν
Ἰνδῶν ἔθνος μέγιστον εἶναι τῶν κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην, καὶ
πλείστην τε καὶ καλλίστην χώραν νέμεσθαι, διενοεῖτο
στρατεύειν εἰς τὴν Ἰνδικήν· ἧς ἐβασίλευε μὲν Σταβροβάτης
κατ᾽ ἐκείνους τοὺς χρόνους, στρατιωτῶν δ᾽ εἶχεν ἀναρίθμη
τον πλῆθος· ὑπῆρχον δ᾽ αὐτῷ καὶ ἐλέφαντες πολλοὶ καθ'
ὑπερβολὴν λαμπρῶς κεκοσμημένοι τοῖς εἰς τὸν πόλεμον
καταπληκτικοῖς. Η γὰρ Ινδική χώρα διάφορος οὖσα τῷ
was sometimes adorned with pre-
cious stones and other rich orna-
ments. The description, however,
rather suggests gold masks, re-
presenting the deceased, like those
found by Schliemann at Mykenae.
Something of the same kind seems
to have been found in the great
receptable of the Egyptian royal
dead at Deir-el-Bahari.
§ 17. τὸ τῶν Ἰνδῶν ἔθνος μέγιστον
· καὶ πλείστην
χώραν
νέμεσθαι] The Greeks, before the
time of Alexander, had very vague
ideas as to the size and proportion
of India, which they usually greatly
exaggerated, and had no correct
notion of its shape. (Compare
Herodotus, iii. 94). Arrianus
(Indika, p. 508) says of the tribes
on the western frontier of India :-
Πάλαι μεν 'Ασσυρίοις ὑπήκοοι
ἦσαν ἐπεὶ δὲ Μήδοι Περσέων
ἤκουον καὶ φόρους ἀπέφερον Κύρῳ.
But Megasthenes, fr. 21 (ap.
Arrian. Ind. 5, 7, and Strab. xv. 1,
p. 251), says the Indians properly
so called never waged war with
anyone-Σεμίραμιν δὲ τὴν Ασ
συρίην ἐπιχείρειν μὲν στέλλεσθαι
εἰς Ινδούς, ἀποθανεῖν δὲ πρὶν τέλος
ἐπιθεῖναι τοῖσι βουλεύμασιν. Ktesias
account of the proceedings of Semi-
ramis in India seems to be alto-
gether fabulous.
II.]
57
CTESIAE PERSICA.
κάλλει, καὶ πολλοῖς διειλημμένη ποταμοῖς ἀρδεύεταί τε πολ-
λαχοῦ, καὶ διττοὺς καθ᾽ ἕκαστον ἐνιαυτὸν ἐκφέρει καρπούς
Διὸ καὶ τῶν πρὸς τὸ ζῇν ἐπιτηδείων τοσοῦτον ἔχει πλῆθος,
ὥστε διὰ παντὸς ἄφθονον ἀπόλαυσιν τοῖς ἐγχωρίοις παρέχεσ-
θαι. Λέγεται δὲ μηδέποτε κατ' αὐτὴν γεγονέναι σιτοδείαν,
ἢ φθορὰν καρπῶν, διὰ τὴν εὐκρασίαν τῶν τόπων. Ἔχει δὲ καὶ
τῶν ἐλεφάντων ἄπιστον πλῆθος, οἳ ταῖς τε ἀλκαῖς καὶ ταῖς τοῦ
σώματος ῥώμαις πολὺ προέχουσι τῶν ἐν τῇ Λιβύῃ γινομένων
ὁμοίως δὲ χρυσόν, ἄργυρον, σίδηρον, χαλκόν· πρὸς δὲ τού-
τοις, λίθων παντοίων καὶ πολυτελῶν ἐν αὐτῇ ἐστὶ πλῆθος.
ἔτι δὲ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων σχεδὸν τῶν πρὸς τρυφήν καὶ
πλοῦτον διατεινόντων: Ὑπὲρ ὧν τὰ κατὰ μέρος ἡ Σεμί
ραμις ἀκούσασα, προήχθη, μηδὲν προαδικηθεῖσα, τὸν πρὸς
Ἰνδοὺς ἐξενεγκεῖν πόλεμον. Ὁρῶσα δ' αὐτὴν μεγάλων καθ'
ὑπερβολὴν προσδεομένην δυνάμεων, ἐξέπεμψεν ἀγγέλους εἰς
πάσας τὰς στρατοπεδείας, διακελευσαμένη τοῖς ἐπάρχοις
καταγράφειν τῶν νέων τοὺς ἀρίστους, δοῦσα τὸν ἀριθμὸν
κατὰ τὰ μεγέθη τῶν ἐθνῶν· προσέταξε δὲ πᾶσι κατασκευά-
ζειν καινὰς πανοπλίας, καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασι λαμπρῶς
παραγενέσθαι κεκοσμημένους μετὰ τρίτον ἔτος εἰς Βάκτρα.
Μετεπέμψατο δὲ καὶ ναυπηγοὺς ἔκ τε Φοινίκης και Συρίας
καὶ Κύπρου, καὶ τῆς ἄλλης τῆς παραθαλαττίου χώρας, οἷς
ἄφθονον ὕλην μεταγαγοῦσα, διεκελεύσατο κατασκευάζειν
ποτάμια πλοία διαιρετά. Ὁ γὰρ Ινδός ποταμός, μέγιστος
διττοὺς καθ᾽ ἕκαστον ἐνιαυτὸν,
κ. τ. λ.] So Megasthenes, fr. 9, and
Eratosthenes (ap. Strab. xv. 1,
p. 261). The statement is correct
for parts of India.
μηδέποτε γεγονέναι σιτο-
δείαν] This unfortunately is not
now the case, famine being almost
chronic in India.
•
χρυσόν] Compare Indika, §§ 4
and 12, and V. Ball in Proceedings
of the Royal Dublin Society, vol. iv.
(n. s.) p. 81.
åpyvpov] Ind., § 11, Ball, op.
cit., p. 82. Silver is found in
Ajmir and Upper Burmah, and also
in other places.
σίδηρον] Ind., § 4, Ball, op. cit.,
p. 82.
λίθων παντοίων] Ind., §§ 2 and
5, Ball, op. cit., p. 82, and p.
393, sq.
58
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ὢν τῶν περὶ τοὺς τόπους, καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτῆς ὁρίζων,
πολλῶν προσεδεῖτο πλοίων πρός τε τὴν διάβασιν, καὶ πρὸς τὸ
τοὺς Ἰνδοὺς ἀπὸ τούτων ἀμύνασθαι· παρὰ δὲ τὸν ποταμὸν οὐκ
οὔσης ὕλης, ἀναγκαῖον ἦν ἐκ τῆς Βακτριανῆς πεζῇ παρα-
κομίζεσθαι τὰ πλοῖα. Θεωροῦσα δὲ ἡ Σεμίραμις ἑαυτὴν ἐν
τῇ τῶν ἐλεφάντων χρείᾳ πολὺ λειπομένην, ἐπενοήσατό τι
κατασκευάζειν ἰδίωμα τούτων τῶν ζώων, ἐλπίζουσα κατα
πλήξεσθαι τοὺς Ἰνδούς, διὰ τὸ νομίζειν αὐτοῖς μηδ'
εἶναι τὸ σύνολον ἐλέφαντας ἐκτὸς τῶν κατὰ τὴν Ἰνδικήν.
Επιλέξασα δὲ βοῶν μελάνων τριάκοντα μυριάδας, τὰ μὲν
κρέα τοῖς τεχνίταις καὶ τοῖς πρὸς τὴν τῶν κατασκευασμάτων
ὑπηρεσίαν τεταγμένοις διένειμε, τὰς δὲ βύρσας συῤῥάπτουσα
καί χόρτου πληροῦσα, κατεσκεύασεν εἴδωλα, κατὰ πᾶν
ἀπομιμουμένη τὴν τῶν ζώων τούτων φύσιν. Εκαστον δὲ
τούτων εἶχεν ἐντὸς ἄνδρα τὸν ἐπιμελησόμενον, καὶ κάμηλον,
ὑφ' οὗ φερόμενον, φαντασίαν τοῖς πόῤῥωθεν ὁρῶσιν ἀληθι
νοῦ θηρίου παρείχετο. Οἱ δὲ ταῦτα κατασκευάζοντες αὐτῇ
τεχνίται, προσεκαρτέρουν τοῖς ἔργοις ἔν τινι περιβόλῳ
περιῳκοδομημένῳ, καὶ πύλας ἔχοντι τηρομένας ἐπιμελῶς,
ὥστε μηδένα μήτε τῶν ἔσωθεν ἐξιέναι τεχνιτῶν μήτε τῶν
ἔξωθεν εἰσιέναι πρὸς αὐτούς. Τοῦτο δ᾽ ἐποίησεν, ὅπως
μηδεὶς τῶν ἔξωθεν ἴδῃ τὸ γινόμενον, μηδὲ διαπέσῃ φήμη
πρὸς Ἰνδοὺς περὶ τούτων.
Ο
§ 18 (Diod. ii. 17). Ἐπεὶ δὲ αἵ τε ναῦς καὶ τὰ θηρία
aï
κατεσκευάσθησαν ἐν τοῖς δυσὶν ἔτεσι, τῷ τρίτῳ μετεπέμψατο
τὰς πανταχόθεν δυνάμεις εἰς τὴν Βακτριανήν. Τὸ δὲ πλῆ-
θος τῆς ἀθροισθείσης στρατιᾶς ἦν, [ὡς Κτησίας ὁ Κνίδιος
ἀνέγραψε,] πεζῶν μὲν τριακόσιαι μυριάδες, ἱππέων δὲ
πεντήκοντα μυριάδες, ἁρμάτων δὲ δέκα μυριάδες. Ὑπῆρχον
δὲ καὶ ἄνδρες ἐπὶ καμήλων ὀχούμενοι, μαχαίρας τετρα-
πήχεις ἔχοντες, τὸν ἀριθμὸν ἶσοι τοῖς ἅρμασι. Ναῦς δὲ
ποταμίας κατεσκεύασε διαιρετὰς δισχιλίας, αἷς παρεσκευά-
σατο καμήλους τὰς πεζῇ παρακομιζούσας τὰ σκάφη. Εφό-
ρουν δὲ καὶ τὰ τῶν ἐλεφάντων εἴδωλα κάμηλοι, καθότι
T
II.]
59
CTESIAE PERSICA.
προείρηται καὶ πρὸς αὐτοὺς τοὺς ἵππους οἱ στρατιῶται
συνάγοντες, συνήθεις ἐποίουν τοῦ μὴ φοβεῖσθαι τὴν ἀγριό-
τητα τῶν θηρίων. Ὁ δὲ τῶν Ἰνδῶν βασιλεὺς Σταβροβάτης
πυνθανόμενος τά τε μεγέθη τῶν ἑτοιμαζομένων δυνάμεων,
καὶ τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῆς εἰς τὸν πόλεμον παρασκευῆς, ἔσπευ-
δεν ἐν ἅπασιν ὑπερθέσθαι τὴν Σεμίραμιν. Καὶ πρῶτον μὲν
ἐκ τοῦ καλάμου κατεσκεύασε πλοῖα ποτάμια τετρακισχίλια
ἡ γὰρ Ινδικὴ παρά τε τοὺς ποταμοὺς καὶ τοὺς ἑλώδεις τόπους
φέρει καλάμου πλῆθος, οὗ τὸ πάχος οὐκ ἂν ῥᾳδίως ἄνθρωπος
περιλάβοι λέγεται δὲ καὶ τὰς ἐκ τούτων κατασκευαζομένας
ναῦς διαφόρους κατὰ τὴν χρείαν ὑπάρχειν, οὔσης ἀσήπτου
ταύτης τῆς ὕλης ποιησάμενος δὲ καὶ τῆς τῶν ὅπλων παρα-
σκευῆς πολλὴν ἐπιμέλειαν, καὶ πᾶσαν ἐπελθὼν τὴν Ινδικήν,
ἤθροισε δύναμιν πολὺ μείζονα τῆς Σεμιράμιδι συναχθείσης
Ποιησάμενος δὲ καὶ τῶν ἀγρίων ἐλεφάντων θήραν, καὶ
πολλαπλασιάσας τοὺς προϋπάρχοντας, ἐκόσμησεν ἅπαντας
τοῖς εἰς τὸν πόλεμον καταπληκτικοῖς λαμπρῶς. Διὸ καὶ
συνέβαινε κατὰ τὴν ἔφοδον αὐτῶν, διά τε τὸ πλῆθος καὶ τὴν
ἐπὶ τῶν θωρακίων κατασκευήν, ἀνυπόστατον ἀνθρωπίνῃ
φύσει φαίνεσθαι τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν.
§ 19 (Diod. ii. 18). Ἐπεὶ δ᾽ αὐτῷ πάντα πρὸς τὸν
πόλεμον κατεσκεύαστο, πρὸς τὴν Σεμίραμιν καθ᾽ ὁδὸν οὖ-
σαν ἀπέστειλεν ἀγγέλους, ἐγκαλῶν ὅτι προκατάρχεται τοῦ
πολέμου μηδὲν ἀδικηθεῖσα· πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἄῤῥητα κατ' αὐτῆς
εἰς ἑταιρείαν βλασφημήσας διὰ τῶν γραμμάτων, καὶ θεοὺς
ἐπιμαρτυράμενος, ἠπείλει, καταπολεμήσας αὐτὴν σταυρῷ
προσηλώσειν. Ἡ δὲ Σεμίραμις ἀναγνοῦσα τὴν ἐπιστολήν,
καὶ καταγελάσασα τῶν γεγραμμένων, διὰ τῶν ἔργων ἔφησε
τὸν Ἰνδὸν πειραθήσεσθαι τῆς περὶ αὐτὴν ἀρετῆς. Ἐπεὶ δὲ
προαγαγοῦσα μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰνδὸν ποταμὸν
§ 18. πρὸς αὐτοὺς τοὺς ἵππους ...
συνήθεις ἐποίουν] For the horses
dislike to camels compare Hero-
dotus, i. 80, and Rawlinson's note.
καλάμου πλῆθος] Compare In-
dika, § 6. The bamboo is probably
meant.
60
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ע:
παρεγένετο, κατέλαβε τὰ τῶν πολεμίων πλοῖα προς μάχην
ἕτοιμα· διόπερ καὶ αὐτὴ καταρτίσασα ταχέως τὰς ναῦς, καὶ
πληρώσασα τῶν κρατίστων ἐπιβατῶν, συνεστήσατο κατὰ
τὸν ποταμὸν ναυμαχίαν συμφιλοτιμουμένων καὶ τῶν παρεμ
βεβληκότων παρὰ τὸ ῥεῖθρον πεζῶν. Ἐπὶ πολὺν δὲ χρόνον τοῦ
κινδύνου παρατείνοντος, καὶ προθύμως ἑκατέρων ἀγωνισα-
μένων, τὸ τελευταῖον ἡ Σεμίραμις ἐνίκησε, καὶ διέφθειρε τῶν
πλοίων περὶ χίλια· συνέλαβε δ᾽ αἰχμαλώτους οὐκ ὀλίγους.
ἐπαρθεῖσα δὲ τῇ νίκῃ τὰς ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ νήσους καὶ πόλεις
ἐξηνδραποδίσατο, καὶ συνήθροισεν αἰχμαλώτων σωμάτων
ὑπὲρ τὰς δέκα μυριάδας. Μετὰ δὲ ταῦθ᾽ ὁ μὲν τῶν Ἰνδῶν
βασιλεὺς ἀπήγαγε την δύναμιν ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ, προσ-
ποιούμενος μὲν ἀναχωρεῖν διὰ φόβον, τῇ δ᾽ ἀληθείᾳ βουλό-
μενος τοὺς πολεμίους προτρέψασθαι διαβῆναι τὸν ποταμόν·
ἡ δὲ Σεμίραμις, κατὰ νοῦν αὐτῇ τῶν πραγμάτων χωρούντων,
ἔζευξε τον ποταμόν, κατασκευάσασα πολυτελῆ καὶ μεγάλην
γέφυραν, δι' ἧς ἅπασαν διακομίσασα τὴν δύναμιν, ἐπὶ μὲν
τοῦ ζεύγματος φυλακὴν κατέλιπεν ἀνδρῶν ἑξακισμυρίων, τῇ
δ᾽ ἄλλῃ στρατιᾷ προῆγεν ἐπιδιώκουσα τοὺς Ἰνδούς, προη-
γουμένων τῶν εἰδώλων, ὅπως οἱ τῶν πολεμίων κατάσκοποι
δηλώσωσι τῷ βασιλεῖ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν παρ' αὐτῇ θηρίων.
Οὐ διεψεύσθη δὲ κατά γε τοῦτο τῆς ἐλπίδος, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἐπὶ
κατασκοπὴν ἐκπεμφθέντων τοῖς Ἰνδοῖς, ἀπαγγελλόντων τὸ
πλῆθος τῶν παρὰ τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐλεφάντων, ἅπαντες διηπο-
ροῦντο, πόθεν αὐτῇ συνακολουθεῖ τοσοῦτο πλῆθος θηρίων.
Οὐ μὴν ἔμεινέ γε τὸ ψεῦδος πλείω χρόνον κρυπτόμενον.
Τῶν γὰρ παρὰ τῇ Σεμιράμιδι στρατευομένων κατελήφθησαν
τινες νυκτὸς ἐν τῇ στρατοπεδείᾳ ῥᾳθυμοῦντες τὰ περὶ τὰς
φυλακάς φοβηθέντες δὲ τὴν ἐπακολουθοῦσαν τιμωρίαν,
ηυτομόλησαν πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους, καὶ τὴν κατὰ τοὺς ἐλέ-
φαντας πλάνην ἀπήγγειλαν ἐφ᾽ οἷς θαῤῥήσας ὁ τῶν
Ἰνδῶν βασιλεύς, καὶ τῇ δυνάμει διαγγείλας τὰ περὶ τῶν
εἰδώλων, ἐπέστρεψεν ἐπὶ τοὺς ᾿Ασσυρίους, διατάξας τὴν
δύναμιν.
ΤΟ
T
I.]
51
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Σεμίραμις ἡ διαβόητος, ἢ πολλαχοῦ τῆς γῆς ἤγειρε χώματα
προφάσει μὲν διὰ τοὺς κατακλυσμοὺς, τὰ δ᾽ ἦν ἄρα τῶν
ἐρωμένων ζώντων κατορυσσομένων οἱ τάφοι ὡς Κτησίας
ἱστορεί.]
EPITOME DIODORI.
§ 13 (Diod. ii. 13. 5). Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἐπ᾽ ᾿Αγβατάνων
τὴν πορείαν ποιησαμένη, παρεγένετο πρὸς ὄρος τὸ Ζαρκαῖον
καλούμενον. Τοῦτο δ᾽ ἐπὶ πολλοὺς παρῆκον σταδίους, καὶ
πλῆρες ὂν κρημνῶν καὶ φαράγγων, μακρὰν εἶχε τὴν περί-
οδον. Ἐφιλοτιμεῖτο οὖν ἅμα μὲν μνημεῖον ἀθάνατον ἑαυτῆς
ἀπολιπεῖν, ἅμα δὲ σύντομον ποιήσασθαι τὴν ὁδόν. Διόπερ
τούς τε κρήμνους κατακόψασα, καὶ τοὺς κοίλους τόπους
Lenormant points out that this
story embodies the legend-prob-
ably Armenian, or at least Orien-
tal-of Er, son of Armenius the
Pamphylian, who was apparently
slain in battle, but whose body
did not corrupt, and who revived
on the funeral pyre (Plato, Rep. x.;'
Plutarch, Symp. xi. 7, where he is
son of Harmonius; Macrobius,
Somn. Scip. i. 1); Moses (i. 15)
also ascribes to Semiramis the
works at Van, really due to the
native kings of Biaina.
§ 13. ᾿Αγβατάνων] Diodorus and
Photius both use the form Ekba-
tana; but in consequence of the
statement of Stephanus I have
ventured to introduce the form
Agbatana into the text of Ktesias
throughout. The form in the old
Persian inscriptions is Hagmatana;
Babylonian, Agamatanu; Hebrew
or Aramaic, Achmetha (Ezra, vi. 2);
Modern Persian, Hamadan. The
Agbatana of Ktesias, and the
Ekbatana of most classical writers,
and the Hagmatana, Agamatanu, or
Agamtanu and Achmetha of the
Persian, Babylonian, and Jewish
records, were probably the modern
Hamadan; but the Agbatana of
Herodotus (i. 98, sq.), the Ekbatana
of Judith and of Moses of Chorene
(ii. 84), is supposed by Rawlinson
(Herodotus, i. p. 227) to have been
the Ganzaka of other Greek
writers, the modern Tahkti Soleï-
mán in Media Atropatené. Isidorus
of Charax uses the form 'Απο-
βάτανα.
ὄρος τὸ Ζαρκαῖον]
The same as
Zagrus according to Baehr and
Miller.
1 ἀπόλογον . . . Ἦρος τοῦ ᾿Αρμενίου, τὸ γένος Παμφύλου, ὅς ποτε ἐν πολέμῳ
τελευτήσας, ἀναιρεθέντων δεκαταίων τῶν νεκρῶν ἤδη διεφθαρμένων, ὑγιὴς μὲν ἀνῃρέθη
κομισθεὶς δὲ οἴκαδε, μέλλων θάπτεσθαι δωδεκαταῖος ἐπὶ τῇ πυρᾷ κείμενος ἀνεβίω.
Ε 2
52
[LIB. I.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
χώσασα, σύντομον καὶ πολυτελῆ κατεσκεύασεν ὁδόν, ἢ
μέχρι τοῦ νῦν ἀπ' ἐκείνης Σεμιράμιδος καλεῖται. Παραγενο-
μένη δ᾽ εἰς ᾿Αγβάτανα πόλιν ἐν πεδίῳ κειμένην, κατεσκεύ
ασεν ἐν αὐτῇ πολυτελῆ βασίλεια, καὶ τὴν ἄλλην ἐπιμέλειαν
ἐποιήσατο τοῦ τόπου περιττοτέραν. Ανύδρου γὰρ οὔσης
τῆς πόλεως, καὶ μηδαμοῦ σύνεγγυς ὑπαρχούσης πηγῆς, ἐποί-
ησεν αὐτὴν πᾶσαν κατάῤῥυτον, ἐπαγαγοῦσα πλεῖστον καὶ
κάλλιστον ὕδωρ μετὰ πολλῆς κακοπαθείας τε καὶ δαπάνης.
Τῶν γὰρ Αγβατάνων ὡς δώδεκα σταδίους ἀπέχον ἐστὶν ὄρος,
ὃ καλεῖται μὲν Ορόντης, τῇ δὲ τραχύτητι καὶ τῷ πρὸς ὕψος
ἀνατείνοντι μεγέθει διάφορον, ὡς ἂν τὴν πρόσβασιν ἔχον
ὄρθιον ἕως τῆς ἀκρωρείας σταδίων εἰκοσιπέντε. Ἐκ θατέρου
δὲ μέρους οὔσης λίμνης μεγάλης εἰς ποταμὸν ἐκβαλλούσης,
διέσκαψε τὸ προειρημένον ὄρος κατὰ τὴν ῥίζαν. Ἦν δὲ ἡ
διώρυξ τὸ μὲν πλάτος, ποδῶν δεκαπέντε, τὸ δ᾽ ὕψος, τεττα-
ράκοντα· δι' ἧς ἐπαγαγοῦσα τὸν ἐκ τῆς λίμνης ποταμὸν,
ἐπλήρωσε τὴν πόλιν ὕδατος. Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἐποίησεν ἐν τῇ
Μηδία.
Ο
"The
ἐν πεδίῳ κειμένον]
ancient city" (at Hamadan) "was
built on a steep eminence, from
which it descended on all sides to
•
a fruitful plain, abundantly watered
by the streams which poured down
from the lofty Orontes."
Ορόντης] Now Elvend.
II.]
61
CTESIAE PERSICA.
§ 20 (Diod. ii. 19). Τὸ δ᾽ αὐτὸ καὶ τῆς Σεμιράμιδος
ἐπιτελούσης, ὡς ἤγγισαν ἀλλήλοις τὰ στρατόπεδα, Στα
βροβάτης ὁ τῶν Ἰνδῶν βασιλεὺς προαπέστειλε πολὺ πρὸ
τῆς φάλαγγος τοὺς ἱππεῖς μετὰ τῶν ἁρμάτων. Δεξαμένης δὲ
τῆς βασιλίσσης εὐρώστως τὴν ἔφοδον τῶν ἱππέων, καὶ τῶν
κατεσκευασμένων ἐλεφάντων πρὸ τῆς φάλαγγος ἐν ἴσοις
διαστήμασι τεταγμένων, συνέβαινε πτύρεσθαι τοὺς τῶν
Ἰνδῶν ἵππους. Τὰ γὰρ εἴδωλα πόῤῥωθεν μὲν ὁμοίαν εἶχε
τὴν πρόσοψιν τοῖς ἀληθινοῖς θηρίοις, οἷς συνήθεις ὄντες οἱ
τῶν Ἰνδῶν ἵπποι τεθαῤῥηκότως προσίππευον· τοῖς δ᾽ ἐγγί-
σασιν ἥ τε ὀσμὴ προσέβαλλεν ἀσυνήθης, καὶ τἆλλα δια-
φορὰν ἔχοντα πάντα παμμεγέθη τοὺς ἵππους ὁλοσχερῶς
συνετάραττε. Διὸ καὶ τῶν Ἰνδῶν οἱ μὲν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἔπιπ-
τον, οἱ δέ, τῶν ζώων ἀπειθούντων τοῖς χαλινοῖς, ὡς ἐτύγ
χανον, εἰς τοὺς πολεμίους ἐξέπιπτον μετὰ τῶν κομιζόντων
αὐτοὺς ἵππων. Ἡ δὲ Σεμίραμις μετὰ στρατιωτῶν ἐπιλέκτων
μαχομένη, καὶ τῷ προτερήματι δεξιῶς χρησαμένη, τοὺς
Ἰνδοὺς ἐτρέψατο ὧν φυγόντων πρὸς τὴν φάλαγγα, Στα
βροβάτης ὁ βασιλεὺς οὐ καταπλαγείς επήγαγε τὰς τῶν
πεζῶν τάξεις, προηγουμένων τῶν ἐλεφάντων· αὐτὸς δ᾽ ἐπὶ
τοῦ δεξιοῦ κέρατος τεταγμένος καὶ τὴν μάχην ἐπὶ τοῦ
κρατίστου θηρίου ποιούμενος, ἐπήγαγε καταπληκτικῶς ἐπὶ
τὴν βασίλισσαν κατ᾿ αὐτὸν τυχικῶς τεταγμένην. Τὸ δ᾽
αὐτὸ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἐλεφάντων ποιησάντων, ἡ μετὰ τῆς
Σεμιράμιδος δύναμις βραχὺν ὑπέστη χρόνον τὴν τῶν θηρίων
ἔφοδον. Τὰ γὰρ ζῶα διάφορα ταῖς ἀλκαῖς ὄντα, καὶ ταῖς
ἰδίαις ῥώμαις πεποιθότα, πάντα τὸν ὑφιστάμενον ῥᾳδίως
ἀνῄρει. Διόπερ πολὺς καὶ παντοῖος ἐγίνετο φόνος, τῶν μὲν
ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας ὑποπιπτόντων, τῶν δὲ ταῖς ὀδοῦσιν ἀνασχι-
ζομένων, ἐνίων δὲ ταῖς προβοσκίσιν ἀναῤῥιπτουμένων.
Συχνοῦ δὲ πλήθους νεκρῶν σωρευομένου, καὶ τοῦ κινδύ-
νου τοῖς ὁρῶσι δεινὴν ἔκπληξιν καὶ φόβον παριστάντος,
οὐδεὶς ἔτι μένειν ἐπὶ τῆς τάξεως ἐτόλμα. Τραπέντος οὖν
τοῦ πλήθους ἅπαντος, ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰνδῶν ἐπ᾿ αὐτὴν
62
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
T
ἐβιάζετο τὴν Σεμίραμιν· καὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἐπ᾿ ἐκείνην
τοξεύσας, ἔτυχε τοῦ βραχίονος· ἔπειτ᾽ ἀκοντίσας, διήλασε
διὰ τοῦ νώτου τῆς βασιλίσσης, πλαγίας ἐνεχθείσης τῆς
πληγῆς· διόπερ οὐδὲν παθοῦσα δεινὸν ἡ Σεμίραμις ταχέως
ἀφίππευσε, πολὺ λειπομένου κατὰ τὸ τάχος τοῦ διώκοντος
θηρίου. Πάντων δὲ φευγόντων ἐπὶ τὴν σχεδίαν, καὶ τοσού
του πλήθους εἰς ἕνα καὶ στενὸν βιαζομένου τόπον, οἱ μὲν
τῆς βασιλίσσης ὑπ᾽ ἀλλήλων ἀπέθνησκον συμπατούμενοι
καὶ φυρόμενοι παρὰ φύσιν ἀναμὶξ ἱππεῖς τε καὶ πεζοί· τῶν
δὲ Ἰνδῶν ἐπικειμένων, ὠσμὸς ἐγένετο βίαιος ἐπὶ τῆς γεφύ
ρας διὰ τὸν φόβον, ὥστε πολλοὺς ἐξωθουμένους ἐφ' ἑκάτερα
μέρη της γεφύρας ἐμπίπτειν εἰς τὸν ποταμόν. Ἡ δὲ Σεμί-
ραμις, ἐπειδὴ τὸ πλεῖστον μέρος τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς μάχης διασω-
ζομένων διὰ τὸν ποταμὸν ἔτυχε τῆς ἀσφαλείας, ἀπέκοψε
τοὺς συνέχοντας δεσμοὺς τὴν γέφυραν ὧν λυθέντων, ἡ μὲν
σχεδία κατὰ πολλὰ διαιρεθεῖσα μέρη, καὶ συχνοὺς ἐφ'
ἑαυτῆς ἔχουσα τῶν διωκόντων Ἰνδῶν, ὑπὸ τῆς τοῦ ῥεύματος
σφοδρότητος, ὡς ἔτυχε, κατηνέχθη, καὶ πολλοὺς μὲν τῶν
Ἰνδῶν διέφθειρε, τῇ δὲ Σεμιράμιδι πολλὴν ἀσφάλειαν παρε-
σκεύασε, κωλύσασα τὴν τῶν πολεμίων ἐπ᾿ αὐτὴν διάβασιν.
Μετὰ δὲ ταῦθ᾽ ὁ μὲν τῶν Ἰνδῶν βασιλεύς, διοσημειῶν αὐτῷ
γενομένων, καὶ τῶν μάντεων ἀποφαινομένων σημαίνεσθαι
τὸν ποταμὸν μὴ διαβαίνειν, ἡσυχίαν ἔσχεν· ἡ δὲ Σεμίραμις
ἀλλαγὴν ποιησαμένη τῶν αἰχμαλώτων, ἐπανῆλθεν εἰς Βάκ-
τρα, δύο μέρη τῆς δυνάμεως ἀποβεβληκυία.
Ο
§ 20. δύο μέρη] Nearchus, (ap.
Strab. xv. 1, p. 250) says she
escaped with twenty men only.
Ὅτι μετὰ τὸν Ἰνδικὸν πόλεμον
Σεμίραμις ἐπεὶ ὁδοιποροῦσα ἐγένετο
ἐν Μήδοις, ἀναβᾶσα ἐπί τι ὑψηλὸν
ὄρος, πάντοθεν πλὴν καθ᾽ ἓν μέρος
περιερρωγὸς καὶ ἄβατον λισσάδι
καὶ ἀποτόμῳ πέτρᾳ, ἐθεᾶτο τὴν
στρατιὰν ἀπὸ τινος ἐξέδρας, ἣν
παραχρῆμα ᾠκοδομήσατο. Ἐνταῦθα
δὲ στρατοπεδευσαμένη Σατιβάρας ὁ
(Nicolaus, fr. 7, Exc. de Insid.) εὐνοῦχος ἐπεβούλευσε μετὰ τῶν
The following passage of Niko-
laus is almost certainly derived
from this portion of Ktesias' work
but I have not ventured to insert it
among his fragments in the absence
of direct evidence :-
II.]
63
CTESIAE PERSICA.
기
​§ 21 (Diod. ii. 20). Μετὰ δέ τινα χρόνον ὑπὸ Νινύου
τοῦ υἱοῦ δι᾽ εὐνούχου τινὸς ἐπιβουλευθεῖσα, καὶ τὸ παρ'
Αμμωνος λόγιον ἀνανεωσαμένη, τὸν ἐπιβουλεύσαντα κακὸν
Οννεω (cod. ὄννεων) παίδων, αὐτὸς
τὸ πᾶν συστήσας, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς
νεανίσκους λέγων, ὅτι κίνδυνος αὐτοῖς
εἴη ἐκ Νινύου βασιλέυσαντος ἀπο-
θανεῖσθαι· δεῖν οὖν ὑποφθήσαντας
ἐκεῖνόν τε καὶ τὴν μητέρα κτείναντας
βασιλεύειν. Καὶ ἄλλως δὲ αὔτοι
ἔφη αἴσχιστον εἶναι περιορᾶν
ἀκόλαστον μητέρα ἐν τοιᾷδε ἡλικία
ὁσήμεραι λιχνευομένην ἐφ᾽ ὧν ἐτύγ-
χανεν ἀνθρώπων τούς γε νεανίας
ὄντας, πυνθανομένων δ᾽ ἐκείνων καὶ
τις γενήσεται τρόπος, εἶπεν ὡς οὐδὲν
χρὴ κάμνειν ἀλλ' ἀναβάντας πρὸς
αὐτὴν ἐπὶ κορυφὴν του ὄρους, ἐπειδὰν
αὐτὸς κελεύσῃ (εἶχε δὲ ταύτην τὴν
ἐπιμέλειαν), ὠθεῖν αὐτὴν ἀπ᾿ ἄκρου
εἰς τὰ κάτω. Καὶ οἱ μὲν ταῦτα συνέ-
θεντο καὶ πίστεις ἔδοσαν ἀλλήλοις
ἐπί τινος ἱεροῦ. Ἔτυχε δὲ κατό-
πισθε τοῦ βωμοῦ ἔνθα συνετίθεντο
ἀνὴρ Μῆδος ἀναπεπτωκὼς καὶ πάντα
ἀκούων, ὃς ἐπεὶ ᾔσθετο, γράψας ἅπαν
εἰς διφθέραν Σεμιράμει πέμπει διά
τινος. Ἡ δὲ ἀναγνοῦσα τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ
ἐπ᾿ ἄκρου τοῦ ὄρους αναβιβασαμένη
καλεῖ τοὺς Οννεω παῖδας καὶ κελεύει
ὅ τι δήποτ' ἐννοουμένη ἥκειν ὡπλισ
μένους. καὶ ὁ Σατιβάρας χαίρων τοὺς
νεανίσκους μετῇει, ὡς ὑπὸ θεοῦ ὀρθου
μένης τῆς πράξεως, ἐπειδὴ ἁπλισ-
μένους αὐτοὺς ἡ μήτηρ ἐκάλει.
Αφικομένων δὲ, μεταστῆναι τὸν εὐ-
νοῦχον κελέυσασα Σεμίραμις λέγει
πρὸς τοὺς νεανίσκους Ὦ καλοῦ
κἀγαθοῦ πατρὸς κακοὶ παῖδες, οἳ
πεισθέντες ὑπὸ κακοῦ δούλου μητρὶ
τῇ ἑαυτῶν θάνατον ἐβουλέυσασθε, ὡς
ἐμὲ ἐνθένδε ὤσετε παρὰ θεῶν τὰ
κράτη ἔχουσαν· ἀλλ᾽ ἡδ' ὑμῖν ἐγώ·
καί με κατὰ κρημνοῦ τοῦδε ὠθεῖτε,
ὡς δὴ κλέος ἔχοιτε πρὸς ἀνθρώπων,
καὶ βασιλεύοιτε κτείναντες τήν τε
μητέρα Σεμίραμιν καὶ Νινύαν τὸν
ἀδελφόν. Εδημηγόρησε προς Ασ
συρίους. [Ζήτει ἐν τῷ περὶ δημηγο-
ριῶν.]
The narrative contained in this
passage is apparently referred to by
Kephalion (fr. 1, ap. Syncell, p.
167ἐπάγει γένεσιν Σεμιράμεως καὶ
Ζωροάστρου μάγου ἔτη τενβ' τῆς
Νίνου βασιλείας μεθ᾿ ὃν Βαβυλῶνα
φησὶν ἡ Σεμίραμις ἐτείχισε,
στρατείην τε αὐτῆς κατὰ τῶν Ἰνδῶν
καὶ ἧτταν καὶ ὅτι τοὺς ἰδίους ἀνεῖλεν
υἱοὺς καὶ ὑπὸ Νινύου τῶν παίδων
ἑνὸς ἀνῃρέθη, τοῦ διαδεξαμένου τὴν
ἀρχήν. The occurrence of the Ionic
form "Ovvew (Cod. Escur. övvewv) is,
as Müller points out, strong evi-
dence that the passage in Nikolaus
comes from Ktesias.
Polyaenus, viii. 26, has a passage,
apparently corrupt, alluding to a
revolt of the Sirakes against Semi-
ramis, and giving an inscription
set up by her on certain statues, the
style of which is not unlike that of
a genuine Assyrian inscription.
Valerius Maximus, ix. 3, 4, also tells
the first part of the story, but sub-
stitutes a revolt of Babylon for that
of the Sirakes.
§ 21, and fr. 11. ὑπὸ Νινύου .
ἐπιβουλευθεῖσα] Moses of Chorene's
64
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
οὐδὲν εἰργάσατο· τοὐναντίον δὲ τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτῷ παρα-
δοῦσα, καὶ τοῖς ὑπάρχοις ἀκούειν ἐκείνου προστάξασα,
ταχέως ἠφάνισεν ἑαυτήν, ὡς εἰς θεοὺς κατὰ τὸν χρησμὸν
μεταστησομένη. Ἔνιοι δὲ μυθολογοῦντές φασιν αὐτὴν
γενέσθαι περιστεράν, καὶ πολλῶν ὀρνέων εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν
καταπετασθέντων, μετ᾿ ἐκείνων ἐκπετασθῆναι· διὸ καὶ τοὺς
Ασσυρίους τὴν περιστερὰν τιμᾷν ὡς θεόν, ἀπαθανατίζοντας
τὴν Σεμίραμιν. Αὕτη μὲν οὖν βασιλεύσασα τῆς ᾿Ασίας
ἁπάσης πλὴν Ἰνδῶν, ἐτελεύτησε τὸν προειρημένον τρόπον,
βιώσασα μὲν ἔτη ἑξήκοντα καὶ δύο, βασιλεύσασα δὲ δύο
πρὸς τοῖς τεσσαράκοντα. [Κτησίας μὲν οὖν ὁ Κνίδιος
περὶ Σεμιράμιδος τοιαῦθ᾽ ἱστόρηκεν.]
FRAGMENTU M 10.
(Athenaeus, xiv., p. 639, C). [Βήρωσσος δ᾽ ἐν πρώτῳ
Βαβυλωνιακῶν τῷ Λώῳ φησὶ μηνὶ ἑκκαιδεκάτῃ ἄγεσθαι
ἑορτὴν Σακέαν προσαγορευομένην ἐν Βαβυλῶνι ἐπὶ ἡμέρας
πέντε, ἐν αἷς ἔθος εἶναι ἄρχεσθαι τοὺς δεσπότας ὑπὸ τῶν
οἰκετῶν, ἀφηγεῖσθαί τε τῆς οἰκίας ἕνα αὐτῶν ἐνδεδυκότα
version of the close of the reign of
Semiramis has been already cited on
§ 5. Justin, i. 2, says, "ad pos-
tremum cum concubitum filii pc-
tiisset ab eodem interfecta est xlii.
anos post Ninum regno potita,”
with which Rawlinson (Herodotus,
i. p. 648) compares the fact that
Beltis was regarded as both the
mother and wife of Nin.
Here
γενέσθαι περιστεράν]
Semiramis's character as Ishtar
again becomes prominent. S
notes on § 4.
Fr. 10. Σακέαν] Strabo, xi. 8,
p. 431-Επιθέμενοι δ' αὐτοῖς (Sacis)
πανηγυρίζουσιν ἀπὸ τῶν λαφύρων οἱ
τότε ταύτῃ τῶν Περσῶν στρατηγοὶ
νύκτωρ άρδην αὐτοὺς ἠφάνισαν
καὶ τὸ τῆς ᾿Αναίτιδος, καὶ τὸ τῶν
συμβώμων θεῶν ἱερὸν ἱδρύσαντο
Ωμανοῦ καὶ ᾿Ανανδάτου Περσικών
δαιμόνων· ἀπεδειξάν τε πανήγυριν
κατ᾽ ἔτος ἱερὰν τὰ Σάκαια. Hesy-
chius, s. v. Σάκαια, apparently refers
to the feast mentioned by Strabo.
Dion. Chrysost. Orat. iv., speaks of
ἡ τῶν Σακκῶν ἑορτὴ as a Persian
festival; but his account scems to
refer rather to the Babylonian
II.]
65
CTESIAE PERSICA.
στολὴν ὁμοίαν τῇ βασιλικῇ, ὃν καὶ καλεῖσθαι ζωγάνην·
μνημονεύει τῆς ἑορτῆς καὶ Κτησίας ἐν δευτέρῳ Περσικών.]
FRAGMENTUM 11.
(Athenagoras, Leg. pro Christian. 26). [Διὰ τὴν Δερκετὼ]
τὰς περιστερὰς καὶ τὴν Σεμίραμιν σέβουσι Σύροι· τὸ γὰρ
ἀδύνατον, εἰς περιστερὰν μετέβαλεν ἡ γυνή, [Ο μύθος
παρὰ Κτησία].
feast mentioned by Berosus, and
perhaps Ktesias. Probably, owing
to an accidental similarity in the
sound of their names, two quite
independent festivals-one Persian,
the other Babylonian—were con-
founded by the Greeks.
F
LIBER TERTIUS.
EPITOME DIODORI.
§ 22 (Diod. ii. 21). Μετὰ δὲ τὸν ταύτης θάνατον Νινύας
ὁ Νίνου και Σεμιράμιδος υἱὸς παραλαβὼν τὴν ἀρχὴν ἦρχεν
εἰρηνικῶς, τὸ φιλοπόλεμον καὶ κεκινδυνευμένον τῆς μητρὸς
οὐδαμῶς ζηλώσας. Πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις τὸν
ἅπαντα χρόνον διέτριβεν, ὑπ᾽ οὐδενὸς ὁρώμενος πλὴν τῶν
περὶ αὐτὸν εὐνούχων· ἐζήλου δὲ τρυφὴν καὶ ῥᾳθυμίαν, καὶ
τὸ μηδέποτε κακοπαθεῖν, μηδὲ μεριμνᾷν, ὑπολαμβάνων
βασιλείας εὐδαίμονος εἶναι τέλος τὸ πάσαις χρῆσθαι ταῖς
ἡδοναῖς ἀνεπικαλύπτως. Πρὸς δὲ τὴν ἀσφάλειαν τῆς ἀρχῆς
καὶ τὸν κατὰ τῶν ἀρχομένων γινόμενον φόβον, κατ᾽ ἐνιαυτὸν
μετεπέμπετο στρατιωτῶν ἀριθμὸν ὡρισμένον, καὶ στρατηγὸν
ἀπὸ ἔθνους ἑκάστου καὶ τὸ μὲν ἐκ πάντων ἀθροισθέν
στράτευμα ἐκτὸς τῆς πόλεως συνεῖχεν, ἑκάστου τῶν ἐθνῶν
τὸν εὐνούστατον τῶν περὶ αὑτὸν ἀποδεικνύων ἡγεμόνα τοῦ
δ᾽ ἐνιαυτοῦ διελθόντος, μετεπέμπετο πάλιν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐθνῶν
τοὺς ἴσους στρατιώτας, καὶ τοὺς προτέρους ἀπέλυεν εἰς τὰς
πατρίδας· οὗ συντελουμένου, συνέβαινε τοὺς ὑπὸ τὴν βασι-
λείαν τεταγμένους πάντας καταπεπλήχθαι, θεωροῦντας
ἀεὶ δυνάμεις μεγάλας ἐν ὑπαίθρῳ στρατοπεδευομένας,
§ 22. ἦρχεν εἰρηνικῶς] Ktesias
attributes to all the successors of
Semiramis the character which the
popular legends of the Grecks had
already assigned to Sardanapalus,
perhaps also with some reference to
the inactive character of the three
kings who preceded the close of the
sixth Assyrian dynasty, an event
which partly corresponds to his fall
T
of Nineveh. The entry
"Peace in
the land" is far commoner in the
Assyrian canon'
canon' under these
princes (Shalmanescr III., Asshur-
dayan-il III. and Asshur-nirari II.,
B. c. 783-745) than under their im-
mediate predecessors and succes-
sors (compare Lenormant, Iist.
Anc. i. p. 213).
Ir.
67
CTESIAE PERSICA.
καὶ τοῖς ἀφισταμένοις ἢ μὴ πειθαρχοῦσιν ἑτοίμην οὖσαν
τιμωρίαν. Τὰς δὲ κατ᾽ ἐνιαυτὸν καταλλαγὰς τῶν στρα
τιωτῶν ἐπενόησεν, ἵνα πρὶν ἢ καλῶς γνωσθῆναι τοὺς
στρατηγοὺς καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἅπαντας ὑπ᾽ ἀλλήλων, εἰς
τὴν ἰδίαν ἕκαστος χωρίζηται πατρίδα. Ὁ γὰρ πολὺς χρόνος
τῆς στρατείας ἐμπειρίαν τε τῶν κατὰ τὸν πόλεμον καὶ
φρόνημα τοῖς ἡγεμόσι περιτίθησι, καὶ τὸ πλεῖστον ἀφορμὰς
μεγάλας παρέχεται πρὸς ἀπόστασιν καὶ συνωμοσίαν κατὰ
τῶν ἡγουμένων. Τὸ δὲ μηδ᾽ ὑφ᾽ ἑνὸς τῶν ἔξωθεν θεω-
ρεῖσθαι, τῆς μὲν ἀληθοῦς περὶ αὐτὸν τρυφῆς ἄγνοιαν παρεί
χετο πᾶσι, καθάπερ δὲ θεὸν ἀόρατον διὰ τὸν φόβον ἕκαστος
οὐδὲ λόγῳ βλασφημεῖν ἐτόλμα. Στρατηγοὺς δὲ καὶ σατρά
πας καὶ διοικητάς, ἔτι δὲ δικαστὰς καθ᾽ ἕκαστον ἔθνος ἀπο-
δείξας, καὶ τἆλλα πάντα διατάξας ὥς ποτ᾽ ἔδοξεν αὐτῷ
συμφέρειν, τὸν τοῦ ζῆν χρόνον κατέμεινεν ἐν τῇ Νίνῳ.
FRAGMENTU M 12.
(Athenaeus, xii. 7, p. 528, F). [Κτησίας ἐν τρίτῃ
Περσικῶν] καὶ πάντας μὲν [φησι] τοὺς βασιλευσάντας τῆς
Ασίας περὶ τρυφὴν σπουδάσαι, μάλιστα δὲ Νινύαν τὸν
Νίνου και Σεμιράμιδος υἱόν· καὶ οὗτος οὖν ἔνδον μένων καὶ
τρυφῶν ὑπ᾽ οὐδενὸς ἑωρᾶτο, εἰ μὴ ὑπὸ τῶν εὐνούχων καὶ τῶν
ἰδίων γυναικῶν.
EPITOME DIODORI.
§ 23 (Diod. ii. 21, ad fin.). Παραπλησίως δὲ τούτῳ καὶ οἱ
λοιποὶ βασιλεῖς, παῖς παρὰ πατρὸς διαδεχόμενος τὴν ἀρχήν,
§ 23 and fr. 13. οἱ λοιποὶ βασι-
λεῖς] Ktesias' list of Assyrian
kings is still extant; but it is
more convenient to regard it as
representing the list which, ac-
cording to Photius, formed one
of the appendices to the Persika,
than to give the names here. As
their history, together with the
account of the destruction of Nine-
veh, only occupied one book, it
is not likely he gave many par-
ticulars about them. In addi-
tion to what Diodorus has prc-
served in regard to Teutamus, there
arc a few details in Kephalion
(fr. 1) which are apparently derived
from our author.
παῖς παρὰ πατρός] There were
really several cases in which the
F 2
68
LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ἐπὶ γενεὰς τριάκοντα ἐβασίλευσαν, μέχρι Σαρδαναπάλου.
Ἐπὶ τούτου γὰρ ἡ τῶν ᾿Ασσυρίων ἡγεμονία μετέπεσεν εἰς
Μήδους, ἔτη διαμείνασα πλείω τῶν χιλίων καὶ τριακοσίων,
ἔτι δ᾽ ἑξήκοντα [καθάπερ φησὶ Κτησίας ὁ Κνίδιος ἐν τῇ
line of descent of the Assyrian
kings was broken; but those we
know of belonged to the period
after B. c. 745, and were, therefore,
later than the close of Ktesias' list.
Agathias, ii. 25, says: Σεμίραμις
καὶ ἐξῆς ἅπαντες οἱ τούτων
ἀπόγονοι μέχρι καὶ ἐς Βελεοῦν τὸν
Δερκετάδου· ἐς τοῦτον γὰρ δὴ τὸν
Βελεοῦν τῆς τοῦ Σεμιραμείου φύλου
διαδοχῆς παυσαμένης, Βεληταράς
τις ὄνομα, φυτουργὸς ἀνὴρ καὶ τῶν
ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις κήπων μελεδωνὸς
·
καὶ ἐπιστάτης, ἐκαρπώσατο παρα-
λόγως τὴν βασιλείαν, καὶ τῷ οἰκείῳ
ἐνεφύτευσε γένει, ὥς που Βίωνι γέ-
γραπται καὶ 'Αλεξάνδρῳ τῷ Πολυίσ-
τορι. This, however, does not come
from Ktesias: the Beletaras here
mentioned is not the nineteenth
king of his list, who succeeded
Belochus, but corresponds, not only
in name, but in what is related of
him, to the usurper Tiglathpi-
leser II., B. C 745.¹
ἐπὶ γενεὰς τριάκοντα] The list,
however, includes thirty-six names,
counting Ninus and his two succes-
sors and Sardanapalus. In § 24
Sardanapalus is described as τρια-
κοστὸς ἀπὸ Νίνου. Kephalion
quotes twenty-three kings as the
number given by Ktesias, but he is
very careless and unreliable. Dio-
dorus' figures for the duration of
the empire are most probably cor-
rect.
From Athenaeus, xii. 7, p. 528
(quoting fr. 12), it would appear
that Diodorus' reference to Ktesias'
"Second Book" here is either a
mistake or a recapitulation.
Βέλιμος of fr. 13 is perhaps the
Bellothus, or Belochus II., of the
list, the eighteenth king, about
600 years after Ninus. Eusebius
makes him father of the Atossa
of Hellanikus. There were may
varieties of the legend connecting
Perseus with the East (Helanikus,
Persika, fr. 159; Herodotus ii. 91,
vi. 54, vii. 61, 150; Diod. i. 41;
Strabo, xvi. 4, pp. 402-3; Apollo-
dorus, ii. 4. 5. 1).
Πανύαν] The twenty-third king,
according to Eusebius.
Mithraeum] A name of Persian
derivation, the twenty-fifth king.
The legends connecting Medeia
with the Medes have as little
foundation as that connecting Per-
seus with the Persians (Hekataeus,
fr. 171 ; Herod. iii. 62; Strabo, xi.
13, p. 455).
Ταύτανος] Some of the earlier
inhabitants of Susiana, as well as
those of Aethiopia, in Africa, were
Cushites. In Assyro-Babylonian,
as in Hebrew records, both nations
are sometimes designated by terms
1 Oppert and some others, however, identify Agathias' Beletaras with Bel-Kap-
Kapu (?), a much earlier king.
III.]
69
CTESIAE PERSICA.
δευτέρα βίβλω]. Τὰ δ᾽ ὀνόματα πάντων τῶν βασιλέων, καὶ
τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἐτῶν, ὧν ἕκαστος ἐβασίλευσεν, οὐ κατεπείγει
γράφειν, διὰ τὸ μηδὲν ὑπ' αὐτῶν πεπράχθαι μνήμης ἄξιον·
Μόνη γὰρ τετύχηκεν ἀναγραφῆς ἡ πεμφθεῖσα συμμαχία
ΤΟ
derived from Cush (e. g. Tirhakah
is styled Sar mat Musur mat Kusi
by Asshur-banipal; and the Kassi
are mentioned amongst the tribes
of Susiana). Among the Greeks the
African nation were always styled
Aethiopians, while they called the
Asiatic nation Kissians, or Kos-
saeans, in addition to the more
usual appellations of Elymaeans
and Susians (Aeschyl. Pers. 119,
μέγ' ἄστυ Σουσίδος καὶ τὸ Κισσίον
Tóλioμa. Psychostasia, fr. 279, ap.
Strabon. xv. 3, p. 317, λέγονται δὲ
καὶ Κίσσιοι οἱ Σούσιοι. φησὶ δὲ
καὶ Αἰσχύλος τὴν μητέρα Μέμνονος
Kɩooíav, “a Kissian woman";
Herodotus, iii. 91, ἀπὸ Σούσων δὲ
καὶ τῆς ἄλλης Κισσίων χώρης, cf.
v. 49, vii. 62).
In the Odyssey (i. 24, Aidiomas
Αιθίοπας
τοὶ διχθὰ δεδαίαται, ἔσχατοι ἀνδρῶν,
Οἱ μὲν δυσομένου Ὑπερίονος οἱ δ'
ȧvióvTOS) Eastern Aethiopians are
mentioned. Herodotus, vii. 70,
identifies the Eastern Aethiopians
with a tribe living on the borders
of India in his time; Ephorus
(fr. 38) made Aethiopia the south-
ern division of the world; Strabo
(i. 2, pp. 47-59) discusses the
various views about the Aethiopians
at great length.
The earlier Greek writers who
mentioned Memnon, in connection
with the Trojan war, either did not
specify his country at all, or merely
described him in vague terms as
an Aethiopian (Odyss. xi. 521.
Hesiod. Theog. 985. Tilwvą 8 'Hòs
τέκε Μέμνονα χαλκοκορυστήν, Αιθιό
πων βασιλῆα καὶ Ημαθίωνα ἄνακτα.
This appears to be the earliest pas-
sage connecting Tithonus with
Memnon). One of the two epics.
attributed to Arktinus-the Ae-
thiopis-dealt with the exploits
of Memnon: Quintus Smyrnaeus.
(ii. 114, sq.), who probably fol
lowed Arktinus, merely makes
Memnon describe his journey from
the shores of the ocean, and his
defeat of the Solymi by the way,
and represents him (ii. 586) as
buried, Πὰρ ποταμοίο ῥέεθρα βαθυ-
ῥόου Αἰσήποιο (in the Troad), a tra-
dition which is also found in Strabo,
xiii. 1, p. 89. Nothing is here de-
termined as to the situation of the
Aethiopians whom he commanded.
Later writers were divided in
opinion between the African nation
and the Kissians of Susiana, whom
they rightly regarded as Cushites,
or Aethiopians. Memnon's being
son of the Dawn would seem to
favour his Eastern origin; but the
balance of opinion amongst the
Greeks was in favour of the African
Aethiopians.
Aeschylus, as we have seen,
made him a Kissian, Herodotus
also (v. 53-54, iv. 151) connects
him with Susa. Strabo mentious
70
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
τοῖς Τρωσὶν ὑπ᾽ ᾿Ασσυρίων, ἧς ἐστρατήγει Μέμνων ὁ Τιθω
νοῦ. Τευτάμου γὰρ βασιλεύοντος της Ασίας, ὃς ἦν εἰκοστὸς
ἀπὸ Νινύου τοῦ Σεμιράμιδος, φασὶ τοὺς μετ᾿ ᾿Αγαμέμνονος
Ελληνας ἐπὶ Τροίαν στρατεῦσαι, τὴν ἡγεμονίαν ἐχόντων
τῆς ᾿Ασίας τῶν ᾿Ασσυρίων ἔτη πλείω τῶν χιλίων· καὶ τὸν
μὲν Πρίαμον βαρυνόμενον τῷ πολέμῳ καὶ βασιλεύοντα τῆς
Τρωάδος, ὑπήκοον δ᾽ ὄντα τῷ βασιλεῖ τῶν Ασσυρίων, πέμψαι
πρὸς αὐτὸν πρεσβευτὰς περὶ βοηθείας· τὸν δὲ Τεύταμον
μυρίους μὲν Αἰθίοπας, ἄλλους δὲ τοσούτους Σουσιανοὺς σὺν
Memnoneia, or tombs of Memnon,
on the Asepus (xiii. 1, p. 89),
and at Paltus, in Syria (xv. 3, p.
317). He gives the legend connect-
ing him with Susa (xv. 3, p. 317-
Λέγεται γὰρ δὴ [τὰ Σούσα] καὶ
κτίσμα Τιθωνοῦ τοῦ Μέμνονος πατρὸς
ἡ δ᾽ ἀκρόπολις ἐκαλεῖτο Μεμνόν-
ειον), and that connecting him with
Africa (xvii. 1, p. 458-εἰ δ᾽ ὡς
φασὶν ὁ Μέμνων ὑπὸ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων
Ἰσμάνδης λέγεται καὶ ὁ λαβύρινθος
Μεμνόνειον ἂν εἴη καὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ
ἔργον, οὗπερ καὶ τὰ ἐν ᾿Αβύδῳ καὶ τὰ
ἐν Θήβαις. καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖ λέγεται τινα
Μεμνόνεια).
Ο
The Greeks regarded the African
origin of Memnon as confirmed by
the statues of Amunhotep III.
(whose name they corrupted into
Memnon), and of the palace-temple
of Rameses II., Miamun, at Thebes.
The former of these mistakes is
pointed out by Pausanias (i. 41, 3,
εἶδον καθήμενον ἄγαλμα . . . Μέμ-
νονα ὀνομάζουσιν οἱ πολλοί, τοῦτον
γάρ φασιν ἐξ Αἰθιοπίας ὀρμηθῆναι ἐς
Αἴγυπτον καὶ τὴν ἄχρι Σουσων
ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὐ Μέμνονα οἱ Θηβαῖοι
λέγουσι, Φαμένωφα δὲ εἶναι τῶν
ἐγχωρίων οὗ τοῦτο ἄγαλμα ἦν).
ĥv).
Synkellus, i. p. 286 (or perhaps
Manetho), identifies 'Auev@pois and
Memnon. Pausanias elsewhere
adopts the story of Memnon being
a Susian.
Aelianus (H. Anim. v. 1) ap-
parently adopts the Susian version,
a strange variation of which is
found in Hyginus, 223 (Domus
Cyri regis in Ecbatanis, quam fecit.
Memnon lapidibus variis et candidis
vinctis auro).
Ktesias, residing at the Persian
court, naturally preferred the ver-
sion of the legend which made
Memnon an Asiatic; and as he
had represented the Assyrians as
rulers of all Asia, he could scarcely
expect his readers to suppose that
they made no effort to relieve their
Trojan vassal. He turned the
legend to his purpose by making
Tithonus an Assyrian satrap, and
his son the commander of an As-
syrian army.
He placed these events in the
reign of Teutamus, probably be-
cause the date he assigned to him
corresponded with that which had
already been fixed approximately
for the siege of Troy. He, doubt-
III.]
71
CTESIAE PERSICA.
τε καὶ
ἅρμασι διακοσίοις ἐξαποστεῖλαι, στρατηγὸν καταστήσαντα
Μέμνονα τὸν Τιθωνοῦ· καὶ τὸν μὲν Τιθωνὸν κατ᾽ ἐκείνους
τοὺς χρόνους ὄντα στρατηγὸν τῆς Περσίδος εὐδοκιμεῖν
παρὰ τῷ βασιλεῖ μάλιστα τῶν καθεσταμένων ἐπάρχων, τὸν
δὲ Μέμνονα τὴν ἡλικίαν ἀκμάζοντα διαφέρειν ἀνδρείᾳ
ψυχῆς λαμπρότητι. Οἰκοδομῆσαι δ᾽ αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τῆς ἄκρας τὰ ἐν
Σούσοις βασίλεια, τὰ διαμείναντα μέχρι τῆς Περσῶν ἡγε-
μονίας, κληθέντα δ᾽ ἀπ᾽ ἐκείνου Μεμνόνεια κατασκευάσαι
δὲ καὶ διὰ τῆς χώρας λεωφόρον ὁδόν, τὴν μέχρι τοῦ νῦν
less, went into much greater details
than the epitome has preserved to
us, some of which still survive in
fr. 13.
=
In the epitome, Αιθίοπας Kis-
sian, or Cushite, inhabitants of
Elam; perhaps represented by the
modern Lurs.
=
Σουσιανούς Semites. The up-
per classes in Elam in the time of
Asshur-bani-pal seem to have been
of Semitic, the mass of the people
of Cushite race (cf. Genesis, x.
7, 22).
The palace at Susa was generally
called Memnonian by the Greeks.
Sayce (Records of the Past, vii.
p. 83) considers that this origi-
nated from Susa being styled Um-
man Amman (= "House of [the
God] Amman" in Elamite).
Susa
was the capital of Elam from an early
period. The palace ordinarily used
by the Persian kings was erected by
Dareius I. and Artaxerxes II. (see
Rawlinson's Herodotus, iii. pp. 247,
seq. ; Loftus, Chaldaea and Susiana,
pp. 335-431). Mediaeval Persian
traditions ascribed the foundation
of the city to Houshenk, grandson
of Kaiomurs, the second king of
the Peishdadian dynasty, who be-
longs to an altogether mythical
period.
λεωφόρον ὁδόν] See Pausanias,
x. 31, 6, who identifies it with the
Persian royal road. (See § 95.)
The
For the assertion ἐν ταῖς βασιλι-
καῖς ἀναγραφαῖς ἱστορεῖσθαι, κ. τ. λ.,
there appears to have been no
other foundation than the name
applied to the palace; and perhaps
the Persian legends regarding
Mithra, in whom Creuzer (Symb. i.
p. 453) recognizes a likeness to
Memnon, son of the Dawn. The
subject of Memnon is discussed at
great length in the Philological
Museum, ii. pp. 146-184.
writer regards Memnon as repre-
senting the first man, like Menu,
Menes, and the Phrygian Manis.
See also Rawlinson's Herodotus, ii.
p. 176, iii. p. 154, and Robertson
Smith in English Historical Review,
April, 1887. Moses of Chorene
(i. 18 and 31) gives a version of the
story in which, instead of Memnon,
Zarmair, king of Armenia, is sent
by Teutamus with a small force of
Aethiopians to assist Troy, and is
slain by the Greeks.
72
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
å
Εν
ὀνομαζομένην Μεμνόνειον. Αμφισβητοῦσι δὲ καὶ οἱ περὶ
τὴν Αἴγυπτον Αιθίοπες, λέγοντες ἐν ἐκείνοις τοῖς τόποις
γεγονέναι τὸν ἄνδρα τοῦτον, καὶ βασίλεια παλαιὰ δεικνύου
σιν, ἃ μέχρι τοῦ νῦν ὀνομάζεσθαί φασι Μεμνόνεια. Οὐ
μὴν ἀλλὰ τοῖς Τρωσι λέγεται βοηθήσαντα τὸν Μέμνονα
μετὰ δισμυρίων μὲν πεζῶν, ἁρμάτων δὲ διακοσίων, ὀνομασ
θῆναί τε δι' ἀνδρείαν, καὶ πολλοὺς ἐν ταῖς μάχαις ἀνελεῖν τῶν
῾Ελλήνων, τὸ δὲ τελευταῖον ὑπὸ Θετταλῶν ἐνεδρευθέντα
κατασφαγῆναι τοῦ δὲ σώματος τοὺς Αιθίοπας ἐγκρατεῖς γε-
νομένους, κατακαῦσαι τὸν νεκρὸν καὶ τὰ ὀστᾶ πρὸς Τιθωνὸν
ἀποκομίσαι. Περὶ μὲν οὖν τοῦ Μέμνονος τοιαῦτ᾽ ἐν ταῖς
βασιλικαῖς ἀναγραφαῖς ἱστορεῖσθαί φασιν οἱ βάρβαροι.
FRAGMENTUM
13.
K
Ο
(Cephalion I. Fr. 1, apud Syncell. p. 167 A et Euse-
bium Chron. Arm., p. 41, Mai). [Αρχομαι γράφειν ἀφ'
ὧν ἄλλοι τε ἐμνημόνευσαν καὶ . . . Κτησίης ὁ Κνίδιος .
καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν (regum Assyriorum) εἰς ἃ͵ ἐτῶν ἀριθμὸν
ἦρχον, παῖς παρὰ πατρὸς ἐκδεχόμενος τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ ἔχων
ἧττον αὐτῶν, οὐδὲ εἷς ἐτελεύτησεν ἐτῶν κ· (“ neminemque
corum minus xx annis sceptrum tenuisse," Euseb.). Tò
γὰρ ἀπόλεμον καὶ ἀφιλοκίνδυνον καὶ γυναικῶδες αὐτοῖς ἦν
ἀσφαλές. Ενδον γὰρ ἔμενον, οὐδέ τι αὐτοῖς ἓν ἔργον
ἐπρήσσετο, οὐδὲ ἑώρα τις αὐτοὺς πλὴν αἵ τε παλλακίδες
καὶ τῶν ἀνδρῶν οἱ γυναικώδεις. Τοὺς δὲ βασιλεῖς τούσδε
εἴ τις εἰδῆσαι βούλεται, Κτησίας ἐστὶν ὁ λέγων ὀνόματα
αὐτῶν κ' οἶμαι καὶ γ' . . . Ετέων δὲ ὄντων ἀπὸ Νίνου μ'
καὶ χ' Βέλιμος ἐβασίλευσεν Ασσυρίων, καὶ ἀφικνεῖται
Περσεὺς ὁ Δανάης εἰς τὴν χώρην αὐτοῦ, ναῦς ἄγων ρ'.
Εφευγε δὲ Περσεὺς Διόνυσον τὸν Σεμέλης υἱέα.
(σε de-
inde omisso Perseo Bacchique triumpho," Euseb.). Totépy dè
γενεῇ κατὰ Πανύαν ἄρχοντα ὁ τῶν ᾿Αργοναυτῶν στόλος ἔ-
πλευσεν ἐπί τε Φᾶσιν καὶ Μηδείην τὴν Κολχίδα, καὶ Ἡρακλέα
πλανηθέντα ἀπὸ τῆς νεὼς διὰ τὸν ἔρωτα τὸν Ὕλα λέγουσι περὶ
K
που
111.]
73
CTESIAE PERSICA.
.
τοὺς Καππαδόκας ἀληθῆναι. . . . α͵ δὲ ἐτέων ἀπὸ Σεμιράμεως
Sè åttò
εἰς Μητραῖον (Mithracum, Euseb.) βασιλέα ἂν ἀριθμοῖ τὸ
περιτελλόμενον· ἐφ' οὗ) Μήδεια Κολχὶς ἀνεχώρησεν Αιγέως,
ἧς υἱὸς Μῆδος, ἐξ οὗ Μῆδοι καὶ ἡ χώρα ἐκλήθη Μήδεια .
Μητραίου δὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν διαδέχεται Ταύτανος, ζῶν καὶ αὐτὸς
κατὰ ἔθη τὰ Ασσυρίων καὶ νόμους· καὶ ἄλλο μὲν οὐδὲν ἐγένε
το οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τούτου καινὸν ἔργον· ᾿Αγαμέμνων δὲ καὶ Μενέλαος
οἱ Μυκηναῖοι ἐστρατεύσαντο σὺν Αργείοισι καὶ τοῖσι ἄλλοι-
σιν ᾿Αχαιοὶς τῆς εἰς Ἴλιον πόλιν Πριάμου τοῦ Φρυγὸς στρα-
Tnyíns. (Subjungit Eusebius). Priami exemplar quoque
literarum ad Teutamum circumfertur ejusmodi. "Militari
vi," inquit, "in regione tua a Graecis irruentibus appe-
titus sum, belloque certatum est varia fortuna. Nunc
vero et filius meus Hector exstinctus est, et aliorum
multa proles ac strenua. Copiarum igitur valido sub
duce nobis suppetias mitte." Hinc diserte ait missum
esse a Teutamo auxilium ducemque exercitus Memnonem
Tithoni filium quem insidiis exceptum Thessali interem-
erunt.]
EPITOME DIODORI.
§ 24 (Diod. ii. 23). Σαρδανάπαλος δέ, τριακοστὸς μὲν
§ 24. Σαρδανάπαλος] In his ac-
count of Sardanapalus, Ktesias has
combined the stories already current
among the Greeks as to the luxury
of Asshur-bani-pal (B. c. 667-640)
with the events attending the fall
of Nineveh at the hands of the
Medes and Babylonians, under
Saracus (B. c. 606), and the faint
traditions circulating at Babylon of
the inactivity of the later kings of
the sixth Assyrian dynasty, and
their overthrow by Tiglathpileser II.
(B. c. 745), an event represented by
the era of Nabonassar, and the
change from the sixth to the
seventh dynasty of Berosus;
while his chronology assigns Sar-
danapalus to a date much earlier
than even the earliest of these
events. (Compare Lenormant, Hist.
Anc. iv. p. 213-216.)
Our history of the reign of
Asshur-nirari (B. C. 753-746) is
derived from the Assyrian canon,
which, for the first four years of
his reign, and also for the seventh,
has the entry "in the land," i. e.
no warlike expeditions. For the
fifth and sixth years two important
expeditions are mentioned.
In the eighth year the entry is
74
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ὢν ἀπὸ Νίνου τοῦ συστησαμένου τὴν ἡγεμονίαν, ἔσχατος δὲ
γενόμενος Ασσυρίων βασιλεὺς, ὑπερῇρεν ἅπαντας τοὺς πρὸ
"revolt at Kalah," and the entry
for the next year chronicles the
accession of Tiglathpileser II. in
the month Iyar. (Some of these
entries have been otherwise ex-
plained.) The annals of Asshur-
banpal are a record of conquests,
luxury, and magnificence, while
there seems little doubt (in spite of
the contrary opinion of Duncker
and some others) that some frag-
mentary tablets relating to a hos-
tile invasion of Assyria belong to
the reign of Asshur-akh-iddin II.
or Sarakus.¹
Hellanikus, Persika, fr. 158-Svo
φησὶ Σαρδαναπάλλους γεγονέναι
εἷς δὲ αὐτῶν Περσῶν βασιλεὺς, ὃς ἐν
τρυφῇ ὡρίζετο τὴν εὐδαιμονίαν,
λέγει δὲ περὶ αὐτοῦ ὁτὶ ἐν μιᾷ ἡμέρᾳ
β' πόλεις ἔκτισε τῆς Κιλικίας,
Ταρσόν καὶ ᾿Αγχιάλην. A good
authority (Berosus, ii. fr. 12) at-
tributes the foundation of Tarsus
to Sennacherib, who made some
campaigns in that region.
Herodotus (ii. 150) mentions the
treasures of Sardanapalus, "the
Ninivite king." He adopts the
true date for the destruction of
Nineveh, which he attributes al-
together to the Medes, under
Kyaxares (i. 103, 106, 185).
Aristophanes (Aves, 1021) also
mentions Sardanapalus.
The narrative of Berosus (ii. 13)
is our principal authority for the
true history of the fall of Nineveh,
but is unfortunately very corrupt.
He seems to nave stated that Nabo-
polassar, a Babylonian, and satrap
of Babylon, having been sent by
Sarakus against certain invaders
coming from
coming from the sea (Elamite
rebels?), resolved to revolt, and
accordingly persuaded the Median
king to give his daughter in mar-
riage to his son, and then, in alli-
ance with him, to march against
Nineveh; whereupon Sarakus burnt
himself and the palace called
Evorita, and Nabopolassar obtained
the government (apxỳ) of the Chal-
daeans and Babylou.
Kastor adopted the scheme of
Ktesias; but gave Sardanapalus a
successor, Ninus II. (fr. 2-KATA-
λήγομεν ἐπὶ Νίνον τὸν διαδεξάμενον
τὴν βασιλείαν παρὰ Σαρδαναπάλλου),
apparently because he was aware
that the Assyrian empire lasted
beyond the date assigned by Ktesias
for its destruction.
Strabo (xvi. 1, p. 334) adopts
Ktesias' scheme. At xiv. 5, p. 225,
he says:-Eir' 'Ayxiáλn
κτίσμα Σαρδαναπάλου φησὶν ᾿Αρισ
τόβουλος ἐνταῦθα δ᾽ εἶναι μνῆμα
τοῦ Σαρδαναπάλου καὶ τύπον λίθινον
συμβάλλοντα τοὺς τῆς δεξιᾶς χειρὸς
1 These tablets direct supplications to the gods for the deliverance of Assyria from
Kâstariti, lord of the city of Karkassi, and Mamitarsu, lord of the cities of the people
of the Medes, who had confederated to attack Asshur-akh-idin, King of Assyria (Brit.
Mus. S. 2005). Another tablet (S. 4668) names certain cities they had taken. Some
writers refer these tablets to a Kimmerian incursion in the reign of Esarhaddon
(Asshur-akh-idin I.), but without good ground.
III.]
75
CTESIAE PERSICA.
αὐτοῦ τρυφῇ καὶ ῥᾳθυμίᾳ. Χωρὶς γὰρ τοῦ μηδ᾽ ὑφ᾽ ἑνὸς
τῶν ἔξωθεν ὁρᾶσθαι, βίον ἔζησε γυναικώδη· καὶ διαιτώμενος
μὲν μετὰ τῶν παλλακίδων, πορφύραν δὲ καὶ τὰ μαλακώτατα
τῶν ἐρίων ταλασιουργῶν, στολὴν μὲν γυναικείαν ἐνεδεδύκει,
τὸ δὲ πρόσωπον καὶ πᾶν τὸ σῶμα ψιμυθίοις καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις
τοῖς τῶν ἑταιρῶν ἐπιτηδεύμασιν ἁπαλώτερον πάσης γυναικὸς
τρυφερᾶς κατεσκεύαστο. Ἐπετήδευσε δὲ καὶ τὴν φωνὴν
ἔχειν γυναικώδη, καὶ κατὰ τοὺς πότους οὐ μόνον βρωτῶν
καὶ ποτῶν τῶν δυναμένων μάλιστα τὰς ἡδονὰς παρέχεσθαι,
συνεχῶς ἀπολαύειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς ἀφροδισιακὰς τέρψεις
μεταδιώκειν ἀνδρὸς ἅμα καὶ γυναικός· ἐχρῆτο γὰρ ταῖς ἐπ'
ἀμφότερα συνουσίαις ἀναίδην, τῆς ἐκ τῆς πράξεως αἰσχύνης
οὐδὲν ὅλως φροντίζων. Ἐπὶ τοσοῦτο δὲ προήχθη τρυφῆς
καὶ τῆς αἰσχίστης ἡδονῆς καὶ ἀκρασίας, ὥστε ἐπικήδειον
εἰς αὑτὸν ποιῆσαι, καὶ παραγγείλαι τοῖς διαδόχοις τῆς
ἀρχῆς μετὰ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ τελευτὴν ἐπὶ τὸν τάφον ἐπιγράψαι
τὸ συγγραφὲν μὲν ὑπ᾽ ἐκείνου βαρβαρικῶς, μεθερμηνευθὲν
δὲ ὕστερον ὑπό τινος Ελληνος·
Εὖ εἰδὼς ὅτι θνητὸς ἔφυς, σὸν θυμὸν ἄεξε,
Τερπόμενος θαλίῃσι· θανόντι σοι οὔτις ὄνησις.
δακτύλους, ὡς ἂν ἀποκροτοῦντα· ἔνιοι
δὲ καὶ ἐπιγραφὴν εἶναί φασι Ασσυ-
ρίοις γράμμασι τοιάνδε Σαρδανά-
παλος ὁ ᾿Ανακυνδαράξεω παῖς,
Αγχιάλην καὶ Ταρσὸν ἐδείμεν ἡμέρῃ
μιῇ· ἐσθίε, πίνε, παῖζε ὡς τἄλλα
τούτου οὐκ ἄξια· τοῦ ἀποκροτήματος
εὖ εἰδὼς κ. τ. λ.,” as in Ktesias,
§ 24, with an additional line, "Hde
σοφὴ βιότοιο παραίνεσιν ἀνθρώ-
ποίσιν. Arrian., Exp. Alex., ii.
p. 91, gives nearly the same ac-
count of the monument at Anchialus.
The monument was probably in
reality an Assyrian stele, and the
account does not appear to come
from Ktesias, who adopted a modi-
fication of it fitting in better with
his own narrative.
""
ΕΠ
Velleius makes Sardanapalus a
king “ mollitiis fuentem et nimium
felicem modo suo (i. 6). He
places him 1070 years after the
foundation of the Assyrian empire,
and 770 years before his own time,
which agrees fairly well with the
era of Nabonassar.
Justin adopts the narrative of
Ktesias.
τριακοστός] The list makes
him the thirty-sixth king. Velleius
(i. 6) makes him the thirty-third;
Kephalion the twenty-third.
ὑπερῇρεν · τρυφῇ] Asshur-
bani-pal is perhaps the only As-
syrian king, who represents him-
self on his monuments feasting with
his queen.
76
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Καὶ γὰρ ἐγὼ σποδὸς εἰμι, Νίνου μεγάλης βασιλεύσας.
Ταῦτ᾽ ἔχω, ὅσσ᾽ ἔφαγον καὶ ἐφύβρισα, καὶ μετ' ἔρωτος
Τέρπν᾽ ἔπαθον τὰ δὲ πολλὰ καὶ ὄλβια κεῖνα λέλειπται.
Τοιοῦτος δ᾽ ἂν τὸν τρόπον, οὐ μόνον αὐτὸς αἰσχρῶς κατέ-
στρεψε τὸν βίον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ᾿Ασσυρίων ἡγεμονίαν ἄρδην
ἀνέτρεψε πολυχρονιωτάτην γενομένην τῶν μνημονευομένων.
FRAGMENTUM 14.
(Clemens Alex. Strom. I. 41). [Εἰ δὲ τὰ ᾿Ασσυρίων
πολλοῖς ἔτεσι πρεσβύτερα τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν, ἀφ᾽ ὧν Κτησίας
λέγει].
EPITOME DIODORI.
§ 25 (Diod. ii. 24). ᾿Αρβάκης γάρ τις, Μῆδος μὲν τὸ
γένος, ἀνδρείᾳ δὲ καὶ ψυχῆς λαμπρότητι διαφέρων, έστρα-
τήγει Μήδων, τῶν κατ᾽ ἐνιαυτὸν ἐκπεμπομένων εἰς τὴν
Νῖνον. Κατὰ δὲ τὴν στρατείαν γενόμενος συνήθης τῷ
στρατηγῷ τῶν Βαβυλωνίων, ὑπ᾽ ἐκείνου παρεκλήθη κατα-
λῦσαι τὴν τῶν ᾿Ασσυρίων ἡγεμονίαν. Ἦν δ᾽ οὗτος ὄνομα
μὲν Βέλεσης, τῶν δ᾽ ἱερέων ἐπισημότατος, οὓς Βαβυλώνιοι
καλοῦσι Χαλδαίους. Ἐμπειρίαν οὖν ἔχων μεγίστην ἀστρο-
λογίας τε καὶ μαντικῆς, προέλεγε τοῖς πολλοῖς τὸ ἀποβησό-
§ 25. ᾿Αρβάκης] Pharnaces in
Velleius, i. 6; Arbactas in Justin,
i. 3; Varbakes in Moses of Chorene;
Sayce in Journal of Sacred Litera-
ture, n. s., iv. p. 165 (1863);
compared Arphaxad, apparently
regarding the name as Semitic. In
Judith i. Arphaxad is a king of
Media, the builder of Ekbatana,
who is defeated and slain by Nabu-
chodonosor, king of Assyria.
Rawlinson makes the name to be a
corruption of Harpagus.
Arbaku occurs as the name of a
Median chief in an inscription of
Sargon (G. Smith, Assyrian Dis-
coveries, p. 289).
Βέλεσης] Lenormant explains
this name = Balazu, 'the terrible,'
adding that Balazu, son of Dakku,
was one of the Chaldean princes
conquered by Tiglath-Pileser II.;
but it seems preferable to regard it
as = Pulu, the name assigned to
Tiglath-Pileser II. in the Babylo-
nian Canon, and under which he
reigned for two years in Babylonia,
B. c. 729-727 (see Pinches in Proc.
of Soc. of Bibl. Arch., vol. vi.
p. 198). He is the Phulus of
Berosus (ii. 11),, the IIôpos of
Ptolemy, and the 7 of 2 Kings
xv. 19 (Φούλ, Φαλώχ, οι Φαλὼς in
the LXX.
III.]
77
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ΕΠ
μενον ἀδιαπτώτως. Διὸ καὶ θαυμαζόμενος ἐπὶ τούτοις, τῷ
στρατηγῷ τῶν Μήδων, ὄντι φίλῳ, προεῖπεν, ὅτι πάντως
αὐτὸν δεῖ βασιλεῦσαι πάσης τῆς χώρας, ἧς ἄρχει Σαρδανά
παλος. Ὁ δ᾽ ᾿Αρβάκης ἐπαινέσας τὸν ἄνδρα, τούτῳ μὲν
ἐπηγγείλατο δώσειν σατραπείαν τῆς Βαβυλωνίας, τῆς πράξε
εως ἐπὶ τέλος ἐλθούσης, αὐτὸς δὲ καθαπερεί τινος θεοῦ
φωνῇ μετεωρισθείς, τοῖς τε ἡγεμόσι τῶν ἄλλων ἐθνῶν συνί-
στατο, καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἑστιάσεις καὶ κοινὰς ὁμιλίας ἐκτενῶς
ἅπαντας παρελάμβανε, φιλίαν ἐγκατασκευάζων πρὸς ἕκα-
στον. Ἐφιλοτιμήθη δὲ καὶ τὸν βασιλέα κατ᾿ ὄψιν ἰδεῖν, καὶ
τὸν ὅλον τούτου βίον κατασκέψασθαι. Διόπερ δούς τινι
τῶν εὐνούχων χρυσῆν φιάλην, εἰσήχθη πρὸς τὸν Σαρδανά
παλον, καὶ τήν τε τρυφὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸν γυναικώδη τῶν
ἐπιτηδευμάτων ζῆλον ἀκριβῶς κατανοήσας, κατεφρόνησε
μὲν τοῦ βασιλέως ὡς οὐδενὸς ἀξίου, προήχθη δὲ πολὺ
μᾶλλον ἀντέχεσθαι τῶν δοθεισῶν ἐλπίδων ὑπὸ τοῦ Χαλδαίου.
Τέλος δὲ συνωμοσίαν ἐποιήσατο πρὸς τὸν Βέλεσυν, ὥστε
αὑτὸν μὲν Μήδους ἀποστῆσαι καὶ Πέρσας, ἐκεῖνον δὲ
πεῖσαι Βαβυλωνίους κοινωνῆσαι τῆς πράξεως, καὶ τὸν τῶν
Αράβων ἡγεμόνα φίλον ὄντα προσλαβέσθαι πρὸς τὴν τῶν
ὅλων ἐπίθεσιν. Ὡς δὲ ὁ ἐνιαύσιος τῆς στρατείας διεληλύθει
χρόνος, διαδοχῆς δ᾽ ἑτέρας ἐλθούσης, ἀπελύθησαν οἱ πρό-
τεροι κατὰ τὸ ἔθος εἰς τὰς πατρίδας, ἐνταῦθα ὁ ᾿Αρβάκης
ἔπεισε τοὺς μὲν Μήδους ἐπιθέσθαι τῇ βασιλείᾳ, Πέρσας δ'
ἐπ' ἐλευθερία κοινωνῆσαι τῆς ἡγεμονίας. Παραπλησίως δὲ
καὶ ὁ Βέλεσυς τούς τε Βαβυλωνίους ἔπεισεν ἀντέχεσθαι τῆς
ἐλευθερίας, καὶ πρεσβεύσας εἰς ᾿Αραβίαν, παρεστήσατο τὸν
Ο
ΤΟ
θεοῦ φωνῇ] This is explained by
the passage of Nikolaus, quoted on
frag. 15.
εἰς 'Αραβίαν] Arabia also ap-
pears as an independent state in
the account of Ninus' wars, and in
Diod. ii. 48.
fall of Nineveh (ii. 13), the text, as
it stands, only mentions Nabopo-
lassar of Babylon, and Astyages,'
satrap of Media, as entering into
an alliance against Sarakus, in ad-
dition to the "forces coming from
the sea (Elamites ? perhaps re-
""
In Berosus' account of the real presented by the Persians of Ktesias).
78
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ἡγούμενον τῶν ἐγχωρίων, ὄντα φίλον αὑτοῦ καὶ ξένον, μετ
τασχεῖν τῆς ἐπιθέσεως. Τοῦ δ᾽ ἐνιαυσιαίου χρόνου διελ-
θόντος, πάντες οὗτοι, πλῆθος στρατιωτῶν συναγαγόντες,
ἧκον πανδημεί πρὸς τὴν Νῖνον, τῷ μὲν λόγῳ διαδοχὴν
ἄγοντες, ὡς ἦν σύνηθες, τῇ δ᾽ ἀληθείᾳ καταλύσοντες τὴν
τῶν ᾿Ασσυρίων ἡγεμονίαν. ᾿Αθροισθέντων οὖν τῶν προειρη-
μένων τεττάρων ἐθνῶν εἰς ἕνα τόπον, ὁ μὲν σύμπας αὐτῶν
ἀριθμὸς ὑπῆρχεν εἰς τετταράκοντα μυριάδας· εἰς μίαν δὲ
παρεμβολὴν συναχθέντες, ἐβουλεύοντο κοινῇ περὶ τοῦ συμ-
φέροντος.
Ο
FRAGMENTU M 15.
(α) (Athenaeus, xii. 7, 38). Τοιοῦτος δ᾽ ἦν καὶ Σαρδα-
νάπαλλος, ὃν οἱ μὲν ᾿Ανακυνδαράξεω λέγουσιν υἱὸν, οἱ δὲ
Αναβαξάρου. ὅτε δὴ οὖν ᾿Αρβάκης, εἷς τῶν ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ
στρατηγῶν, Μῆδος γένος, διεπράξατο διά τινος τῶν εὐνού-
χων Σπαραμείζον θεάσασθαι Σαρδανάπαλλον, καὶ μόλις
αὐτῷ ἐπετράπη ἐκείνου ἐθελήσαντος· ὡς εἰσελθὼν εἶδεν αὐτὸν
ὁ Μῆδος, ἐψιμυθιωμένον καὶ κεκοσμημένον γυναικιστὶ καὶ
μετὰ τῶν παλλακίδων ξαίνοντα πορφύραν, ἀναβάδην τε μετ'
αὐτῶν καθήμενον, γυναικείαν δὲ στολὴν ἔχοντα, καὶ κατεξυ-
In Herodotus' account (i. 103) the
Medes alone attack Nineveh, and
their first siege of the place is in-
terrupted by the Scythians.
In Moses of Chorene's account
(i. 20), Varbakes, the Mede, is
assisted by Paruir, the Armenian.
In the Assyrian documents of
the reign of Asshur-akh-iddin II.,
already referred to, the forces allied
against Nineveh are those of Kâs-
tarti, lord of the city of Karkassai.
Mamitarsu, lord of the city of the
people of the Madai, with certain of
the Gimirrai and Mannai.
Fr. 15, Ανακυνδαράξεω] Prob-
ably this name does not come from
Ktesias, as that of Sardanapalus'
predecessor in the list is quite
different, but from the earlier
Greek traditions. Lenormant ex-
plains it as a misunderstanding of
the phrase "Anaku nadu sarru
Asshur ”_“I am the great king of
Assyria,” usual in Assyrian inscrip-
tions.
ἀναβάδην] Explained as = μετέ-
ωρος by Hesychius and Suidas. See
Baehr's note. Toupius, emend. in
Suidam, i. p. 42, takes it as
'upstairs.'
π.]
79
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ρημένον τὸν πώγωνα καὶ κατακεκισσηρισμένον· ἦν δὲ καὶ
γάλακτος λευκότερος, καὶ ὑπεγέγραπτο τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς καὶ
τὰς ὀφρυς· ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ προσεῖδε τὸν ᾿Αρβάκην, τὰ λευκὰ
ἐπαναλαβὼν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς [οἱ μὲν πολλοὶ, ὧν ἐστι Δοῦρις,
ὑπεγέγραπτο “Was painted βων, ὅπλων μὲν οὐχ ἁπτόμενος, οὐδ᾽
with kohl, or stibium," as eastern
women still are. Baehr compares
the description of Nanarus in
frag. 19.
Aristotle seems to have adopted
Duris view as to the manner of
Sardanapalus' death, Polit. viii.
(v.) 10, 22-αἱ δὲ διὰ καταφρόνησιν
ὥσπερ Σαρδανάπαλον ἰδών τις
ξαινόντα μετὰ τῶν γυναικῶν, εἰ
ἀληθῆ ταῦτα οἱ μυθολογοῦντες
λέγουσιν. He had just before
spoken of the assassination of
Xerxes. He also mentions Sarda-
napalus, Eth. Nik., i. 53. Klei-
tarchus made Sardanapalus survive
the loss of his kingdom. Semero-
nius, a Persian' (ap. Chron. Alex.
p. 38, see Müller, ad Castoris Re-
liquias, p. 166.), said that Perseus
slew Sardanapalus, and gave his
name to the Persians, having de-
stroyed the Assyrian empire.
•
The following passage of Niko-
laus is probably from Ktesias, and
belongs here. I have not ventured
to insert it among the fragments
in the text without stronger evi-
dence.
(Nicolaus, fr. 8, Exc. de Virtut.)
Οτι Σαρδανάπαλλος (Σαρδανάπαλος,
Codex Turon., hoc loco) 'Ασσυρίων
ἐβασίλευσεν, ἀπό τε Νίνου καὶ Σε
μιράμεως τὴν βασιλείαν παραδεξά-
μενος, οἴκησιν ἔχων ἐν Νίνῳ, ἔνδον
τὸ σύμπαν ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις διατρί-
ἐπὶ θήραν ἐξιών, ὥσπερ οἱ πάλαι
βασιλεῖς, ἐγχριόμενος δὲ τὸ πρόσω-
πον καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑπογραφό
μενος, πρὸς τε τὰς παλλακίδας
ἁμιλλώμενος περὶ κάλλους καὶ ἐμ-
πλοκῆς, τό τε σύμπαν γυναικείῳ
ἤθει χρώμενος. Κατὰ δὲ τὰ πρότερον
συντεταγμένα, ἐπὶ τὰς θύρας αὐτῷ
παρῆσαν οἵ τε ἐκ τῶν ἄλλων ἐθνῶν
σατράπαι, ἄγοντες τὰς εἰρημένας
δυνάμεις, καὶ δὴ ᾿Αρβάκης ὁ Μήδων
ὕπαρχος, ἀνὴρ τόν τε βίον σώφρων,
καὶ πραγμάτων, εἰ δή τις ἄλλος, ἔμ-
πειρος, τετριμμένος τε ἐν κυνηγεσίοις
καὶ πολέμοις, καὶ πολλὰ μὲν πάλαι
γενναῖα ἐξειργασμένος, πλείω δ' ἔτι
καὶ μείζω τότε διανοούμενος. Οὗτος
ἀκηκοώς τόν τε βίον καὶ τὰ ἤθη, οἷς
χρῆται ὁ βασιλεὺς, εἰς νοῦν ἐνεβά-
λετο καὶ ἐνεθυμήθη ἄρα, ὅτι ἀπόρια
γενναίου ἀνδρὸς οὗτος ἔχοι τὰ τῆς
Ασίας κράτη· καὶ βουλὴν συντίθεται
περὶ τῆς ὅλης ἀρχῆς.
(Nicolaus, fr. 9, Exc. de Insid.).
Ὅτι ἐπὶ Σαρδαναπάλλου, τοῦ βασι
λέως Ασσυρίων, ᾿Αρβάκης ὁ Μήδος
ἀκηκοὼς τὸν βίον καὶ τὰ ἤθη οἷς
χρῆται ὁ βασιλεὺς, εἰς νοῦν ἐνεβά-
λετο καὶ ἐνεθυμήθη ἄρα, ὅτι ἀπορία
γενναίου ἀνδρὸς οὗτος ἔχοι τὰ τῆς
Ασσυρίας κράτη. Ανδρειότατον δὲ
φῦλον τὸ Μηδικὸν ἐδόκει τότε μετὰ
τὸ ᾿Ασσύριον εἶναι. Οὗτος οὖν ὁ
Αρβάκης ἐν ὁμιλίᾳ γενόμενος Βελέ-
συι τῆς Βαβυλῶνος ἄρχοντι, ἅτε
συνεδρίτης ὤν αὐτῷ πρὸ τῶν βασι-
80
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ἱστοροῦσιν, ὑπὸ τούτου, ἀγανακτήσαντος
θέντα ἀποθανεῖν].
·
συγκεντη
(6) (Pollux, Onom. ii. 4). [Κτησίας δὲ φησὶν] ἀναβάλ
λειν τὰ λευκὰ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν καὶ Σαρδανάπαλον.
Αστρονο-
λειῶν θυρῶν, ἀνδρὶ τοῦ Χαλδαίων
γένους (ἱερεῖς δ᾽ οὗτοι ἦσαν καὶ πρώ-
την ἔφερον τιμὴν), συντίθεται αὐτῷ,
καὶ κοινῇ βουλεύουσιν ἐπιθέσθαι τῇ
ὅλῃ ἀρχῇ, τά τε Ασσυρίων κράτη
μεταστῆσαι εἰς Μήδους.
μώτατοι δὲ πάντων ἦσαν Βαβυλώνιοι,
καὶ σοφίᾳ καὶ μαντικῇ, τῇ τε δι'
ὀνειράτων καὶ τεράτων, προὔχοντες,
πάσῃ τε, ὡς εἰπεῖν, τῇ ἀμφὶ τὰ θεῖα
ἐπιστήμῃ. Καὶ δὴ καὶ τότε ὁ Βέ-
λεσὺς τῷ ᾿Αρβάκη διαλεγόμενος πρό
τῶν θυρῶν πλησίον τινὸς φάτνης, ἐν
ᾗ δύο ἵπποι ἐξεφατνίζοντο· καί πως
ἐν μεσημβρία κατέδαρθεν αὐτόθι,
καὶ ἐν τῷ ὕπνῳ ἔδοξεν ὁρᾶν τὸν
ἕτερον τῶν ἵππων ἐπιφορεῖν τῷ στό
ματι ἐπὶ τὸν ᾿Αρβάκην καθεύδοντα
καὶ αὐτὸν ἄχυρα, τὸν δὲ ἕτερον ἐρέσ-
θαι· “ τί τοῦτο ποιεῖς, ὦ δαιμόνιε,
καὶ τὰ ἄχυρα τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐπίφέρεις;”
τὸν δὲ ἀποκρίνασθαι· “ φθονῶ αὐτῷ·
μέλλει γὰρ βασιλεύειν ἁπάντων ὧν
νῦν ἄρχει Σαρδανάπαλλος.” Ταῦτ᾽
ἰδών τε καὶ ἀκούσας ὁ Βαβυλώνιος
τὸν Μῆδον ἐγείρει καθεύδοντα, καὶ δή
τι πλέον τὰ θεῖα εἰδὼς, συμβάλλει
τὴν τοῦ ὀνείρου φήμην, καὶ κελεύει
τὸν ᾿Αρβάκην ιένα ιπαρὰ τὸν Τίγριν
ποταμὸν ῥέοντα πλησίον τῆς Νίνου
καὶ προσκλύζοντα τὸ τεῖχος. Ἰόν-
των δὲ καὶ πολλὰ λεσχηνευομένων,
ὡς ἄν ἑταίρων, λέγει ὁ Βέλεσυς·
“Αγε δὴ ὦ Αρβάκη, εἰ σε θείη
σατράπην Κιλικίας (Codex Escorial,
εἰ σε θέλησα τράπη ἡλικίας) Σαρδα-
νάπαλλος ὁ δεσπότης, τί ἄν μοι δοίης
66
τῷ εὐαγγελιζομένῳ ;” ὁ δ᾽ ἀποκρίνε-
ται· “ Τί μου ὦ δαιμόνιε καταγελᾷς ;
διὰ τί δ᾽ ἄν με σατράπην Κιλικίας
θεῖτο, ἄλλους ἐμοῦ κρείττους παρελ-
θών;” καὶ ὅς· “Αλλ' εἴ γε δοίη,
πλέον γάρ τι εἰδὼς λέγω, τὶς ἐμοὶ
κείσεται χάρις παρὰ σοί;” κἀκεῖνος
“ οὔτε μέμψῃ, ἔφη, μεθέξεις γὰρ
τῆς ἀρχῆς οὐκ ἐλάχιστον μέρος.”
Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· “ εἰ δὲ Βαβυλῶνος σε
πάσης σατράπην ποιήσειε, πῶς ἐμοὶ
χρήσῃ;” Καὶ ὅς, “ παῦσαι πρὸς τοῦ
Διός, ἔφη, σφόδρα μου κατακερτο-
μῶν οὐ γὰρ οἶμαι ἐπιτήδειος εἶναι,
Μῆδος ὢν, ὑπὸ Βαβυλωνίου καταγε
λᾶσθαι.” κἀκεῖνος “ 'Αλλ' οὐ μὰ
τὸν μέγαν Βῆλον ἔγωγέ σου καταγε-
λῶν ταῦτα λέγω, ἀλλὰ πλέον τι τεκ-
μαιρόμενος.” καὶ ὃς ἔφη· “'Αλλ'
ἐάν γε Βαβυλῶνος σατραπεύσω, σὲ
ὕπαρχον καταστήσω τῆς ὅλης σατρα-
πείας.” Καὶ ὁ Βαβυλώνιος “Αλλ'
ἔγωγέ σοι οὐκ ἀπιστῶ· τόδε μοι
λέξον εἰ βασιλεὺς εἴης ἁπάσης ὁπό
σης νῦν Σαρδανάπαλλος ἄρχει, τί
ἐμὲ ποιήσειας;” Ὁ δ' Αρβάκης
εἶπεν· “ Εἰ σοῦ, ὦ τλῆμον ταῦτα
ἀκούσειε Σαρδανάπαλλος, εὖ ἴσθ᾽ ὅτι
καὶ σὺ κἀγὼ κακῶς ἀπολούμεθα.
᾿Αλλὰ τί σοι ἐπῆλθε ταῦτα ληρείν ;
οὐ παύῃ φλυαρῶν;" Καὶ ὃς τῆς
χειρὸς αὐτοῦ λαβόμενος εὐτόνως·
«᾿Αλλὰ μὰ τήνδε τὴν δεξιὰν τὴν ἐμοὶ
τιμίαν καὶ τὸν μέγαν Βῆλον, οὐ
παίζων λέγω, ἀλλὰ τὰ θεῖα κάλλιστα
εἰδώς.” Καὶ ὁ ᾿Αρβάκης εἶπεν.
“Δώσω σοι Βαβυλῶνα ἔχειν καὶ
σε
III81
1..
CTESIAE PERSICA.
]
μεις.
EPITOME DIODORI.
§ 26 (ii. 25). Σαρδανάπαλος δὲ γνοὺς τὴν ἀπόστασιν,
εὐθὺς ἐξήγαγεν ἐπ᾿ αὐτοὺς τὰς ἀπὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἐθνῶν δυνά-
Καὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον γενομένης ἐν τῷ πεδίῳ παρατάξε
έως, ἐλείφθησαν οἱ τὴν ἀπόστασιν ποιησάμενοι, καὶ
πολλοὺς ἀποβαλόντες, συνεδιώχθησαν εἰς ὄρος, ἀπέχον τῆς
Νίνου σταδίους ἑβδομήκοντα· μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα πάλιν κατα-
βάντων αὐτῶν εἰς τὸ πεδίον, καὶ πρὸς μάχην παρασκευαζο-
μένων ὁ μὲν Σαρδανάπαλος ἀντιτάξας τὴν ἰδίαν στρατιάν,
προαπέστειλε πρὸς τὸ τῶν πολεμίων στρατόπεδον τοὺς
κηρύξοντας, διότι Σαρδανάπαλος τοῖς μὲν ἀνελοῦσιν Αρβά
κην τὸν Μῆδον δώσει χρυσίου διακόσια τάλαντα, τοῖς δὲ
ζῶντα παραδοῦσι, χρήματα μὲν δωρήσεται δὶς τοσαῦτα,
τῆς δὲ Μηδίας ἔπαρχον καταστήσει παραπλησίως δὲ ἐπηγ
γείλατο δώσειν δωρεὰς τοῖς Βέλεσυν τὸν Βαβυλώνιον ἀνε-
λοῦσιν, ή ζωγρήσασιν. Οὐδενὸς δὲ προσέχοντος τοῖς
κηρύγμασι, συνῆψε μάχην καὶ πολλοὺς μὲν ἐφόνευσε τῶν
ἀποστάντων, τὸ δ᾽ ἄλλο πλῆθος συνεδίωξεν εἰς τὴν ἐν τοῖς
ὄρεσι παρεμβολήν. Οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν ᾿Αρβάκην διὰ τὰς ἥττας
ἀθυμοῦντες, συνήγαγον τῶν φίλων συνέδριον, καὶ προέθη-
ταῦτα ὑπὸ σεαυτῷ ἀτελῆ. Καὶ ἐπὶ
τούτοις δεξίαν αἰτοῦντος μάλα προθύ-
μως δίδωσι. καὶ ὃς εἶπε· “ Βασι-
λεύσεις τοίνυν εὖ ἴσθι ἀψευδῶς.”
Καὶ ἐπεὶ ταῦτα συνέθεντο, ἐπὶ θύρας
ᾤχοντο ὀπίσω θεραπεύσοντες τὰ εἰω-
θότα. Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα ἐν ὁμιλίᾳ
γενόμενος ἑνὶ τῶν πιστοτάτων εὖ-
νούχων ὁ ᾿Αρβάκης ἐδεήθη αὐτοῦ
δεῖξαι οἱ τὸν βασιλέα σφόδρα γὰρ
ἐπιθυμεῖν τὸν δεσπότην ὅστις εἴη
θεάσασθαι. Τοῦ δὲ εἰπόντος ἀδύνα
τον αὐτὸν ὁρᾷν, μηδένα γὰρ πώποτε
τυχεῖν τούτου, τότε μὲν ἡσύχασεν.
Αὖθις δὲ μικρὸν διαλιπών λιπαρέστ
Ꮐ
τερον αὐτοῦ ἐδεῖτο, φάσκων ἀντὶ
πολλοῦ χρυσοῦ καὶ ἀργύρου ταύτην
ἀλλάττεσθαι τὴν χάριν. Ὁ δὲ εὐ-
νοῦχος νικώμενος ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ, ἦν γὰρ
ἐς τὰ μάλιστα ἐπιτήδειος, καὶ οὐ
βουλόμενος αὐτῷ ἀχαριστεῖν, ὑπέστ
χετο εἰ καιρὸς εἴη μνησθήσεσθαι τῷ
δεσπότῃ ὤκει . . . [ἔνθα ἐτελεύτη-
σεν].
In this passage it is to be ob-
served that the river is correctly
given as the Tigris, not the Eu-
phrates, as in Diodorus.
The passage is also noticeable for
the accurate distinctions between
82
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Ο
καν βουλήν, τί δέοι πράττειν. Οἱ πλεῖστοι μὲν οὖν ἔφασαν
δεῖν εἰς τὰς πατρίδας ἀπιέναι, καὶ τόπους ὀχυροὺς καταλαμ-
βάνεσθαι, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν εἰς τὸν πόλεμον χρησίμων
τὴν ἐνδεχομένην παρασκευὴν ποιεῖσθαι· Βέλεσης δ᾽ ὁ
Βαβυλώνιος, φήσας τοὺς θεοὺς αὐτοῖς σημαίνειν, μετὰ πόνων
καὶ κακοπαθείας ἐπὶ τέλος ἄξειν τὴν προαίρεσιν, καὶ τἄλλα
παρακαλέσας ἐνδεχομένως, ἔπεισεν ἅπαντας ὑπομένειν τοὺς
κινδύνους. Γενομένης οὖν τρίτης παρατάξεως, πάλιν ὁ
βασιλεὺς ἐνίκησε, καὶ τῆς παρεμβολῆς τῶν ἀποστατῶν
ἐκυρίευσε, καὶ τοὺς ἡττηθέντας ἐδίωξε μέχρι τῶν ὅρων τῆς
Βαβυλωνίας συνέβη δὲ καὶ τὸν ᾿Αρβάκην αὐτόν, λαμπρό-
τατα κινδυνεύσαντα καὶ πολλοὺς ἀνελόντα τῶν ᾿Ασσυρίων,
γενέσθαι τραυματίαν. Τηλικούτων δ᾽ ἐλαττωμάτων κατὰ
τὸ συνεχὲς γενομένων τοῖς ἀφεστηκόσιν, οἱ τὰς ἡγεμονίας
ἔχοντες, ἀπελπίσαντες περὶ τῆς νίκης, παρεσκευάζοντο δια-
χωρίζεσθαι πρὸς τοὺς οἰκείους ἕκαστοι τόπους. Ὁ δὲ
Βέλεσις ἐν ὑπαίθρῳ τὴν νύκτα διηγρυπνηκώς, καὶ περὶ τὴν
τῶν ἄστρων παρατήρησιν φιλοτιμηθείς, ἔφησε τοῖς ἀπηλπι-
κόσι τὰ πράγματα, ἂν πένθ' ἡμέρας ἀναμείνωσιν, αυτομάτην
ἥξειν βοήθειαν, καὶ μεταβολὴν ἔσεσθαι τῶν ὅλων παμμε-
γέθη εἰς τοὐναντίον· ταῦτα γὰρ ὁρᾷν διὰ τῆς τῶν ἄστρων
ἐμπειρίας προσημαίνοντας αὐτοῖς τοὺς θεούς· καὶ παρεκάλει,
ταύτας τὰς ἡμέρας μείναντας πεῖραν λαβεῖν τῆς ἰδίας τέχνης
καὶ τῆς τῶν θεῶν εὐεργεσίας,
αν
§ 27 (Diod. ii. 26). Μετακληθέντων οὖν πάλιν ἁπάντων,
καὶ τὸν ὡρισμένον χρόνον ἀναμεινάντων, ἧκέ τις ἀπαγ
γέλλων, διότι δύναμις ἐκ τῆς Βακτριανῆς ἀπεσταλμένη τῷ
ὕπαρχος and σατράπης. Arbakes is
ύπαρχος of Molina (which the writer
looks on as one of the greatest pro-
vinces of the empire), but regards
the appointment of satrap of Ki-
likia as something too good to be
expected. He promises Belesys
thut if he is made satrup of Babylon
himself, he will make him ὕπαρχος
τῆς ὅλης σατραπείας, the distinction
between the two offices being looked
on as parallel to that between ruler
of the whole empire and ruler of a
single province, the position which
the two conspirators ultimately
arrive ut.
m.]
83
CTESIAE PERSICA.
α
ΤΟ
βασιλεῖ πλησίον ἐστὶ πορευομένη κατὰ σπουδήν. Έδοξεν
οὖν τοῖς περὶ τὸν ᾿Αρβάκην ἀπαντῆσαι τοῖς στρατηγοῖς τὴν
ταχίστην, ἀναλαβόντας τῶν στρατιωτῶν τοὺς κρατίστους
καὶ μάλιστα εὐζώνους, ὅπως, ἂν μὴ διὰ τῶν λόγων τοὺς
Βακτριανοὺς δύνωνται πεῖσαι συναποστῆναι, τοῖς ὅπλοις
βιάσωνται μετασχεῖν τῶν αὐτῶν ἐλπίδων. Τέλος δὲ πρὸς
τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἀσμένως ὑπακουσάντων τὸ μὲν πρῶτον τῶν
ἡγεμόνων, ἔπειτα καὶ τῆς ὅλης δυνάμεως, πάντες ἐν ταὐτῷ
κατεστρατοπέδευσαν. Ὅτε δὴ συνέβη τὸν βασιλέα τῶν
Ασσυρίων, τὴν μὲν ἀπόστασιν τῶν Βακτριανῶν ἀγνοοῦντα,
ταῖς δὲ προγεγενημέναις εὐημερίαις μετεωρισθέντα, τραπῆ-
ναι πρὸς ἄνεσιν, καὶ τοῖς στρατιώταις διαδοῦναι πρὸς
εὐωχίαν ἱερεῖα, καὶ πλῆθος οἴνου τε καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἐπιτη-
δείων. Διόπερ τῆς δυνάμεως ἁπάσης ἑστιωμένης, οἱ περὶ
τὸν ᾿Αρβάκην παρά τινων αὐτομόλων πυθόμενοι τὴν ἐν τῇ
παρεμβολῇ τῶν πολεμίων ῥᾳθυμίαν καὶ μέθην, νυκτὸς ἀπροσ-
δοκήτως τὴν ἐπίθεσιν ἐποιήσαντο. Προσπεσόντες δὲ συν-
τεταγμένοι μὲν ἀσυντάκτοις, ἕτοιμοι δὲ ἀπαρασκεύοις, τῆς
τε παρεμβολῆς ἐκράτησαν, καὶ τῶν στρατιωτῶν πολλοὺς
ἀνελόντες, τοὺς ἄλλους μέχρι τῆς πόλεως κατεδίωξαν. Μετὰ
δὲ ταῦτα ὁ μὲν βασιλεὺς Σαλαιμένην τὸν ἀδελφὸν τῆς
γυναικὸς ἀποδείξας στρατηγόν, αὐτὸς τῶν κατὰ τὴν πόλιν
ἐπιμέλειαν ἐποιεῖτο· οἱ δ᾽ ἀποστάται κατὰ τὸ πεδίον τὸ
πρὸ τῆς πόλεως παραταξάμενοι, δυσὶ μάχαις ἐνίκησαν
τοὺς ᾿Ασσυρίους, καὶ τόν τε Σαλαιμένην ἀνεῖλον, καὶ τῶν
ἀντιταξαμένων τοὺς μὲν ἐν τῇ φυγῇ κατέσφαξαν, τοὺς δ᾽
ἀποκλεισθέντας τῆς εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἐπανόδου, καὶ συναναγ-
κασθέντας ἑαυτοὺς ῥίπτειν εἰς τὸν Εὐφράτην ποταμόν, πλὴν
ὀλίγων πάντας ἀνεῖλον. Τοσοῦτο δὲ πλῆθος ἦν τῶν φονευ
θέντων, ὥστε τὸ φερόμενον ῥεῦμα κερασθέν αἵματι τὴν
§ 27. Σαλαμένην ] This appears
to be a genuine Semitic name, Sul-
manescru, or Shalmaneser, which is
contructed into Shulman (Σαλαμάν,
in LXX.) in Hosea x. 14, and per-
haps into Sulman, in an inscription
of Nabonidus (see Pinches, in Proc.
Soc. Bibl. Arch., November, 1882).
G 2
84
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
χρόαν ἐφ' ἱκανὸν τόπον μεταβαλεῖν. Ἔπειτα τοῦ βασιλέως
συγκλεισθέντος εἰς πολιορκίαν, πολλὰ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἀφίστατο,
ἑκάστου πρὸς τὴν ἐλευθερίαν αὐτομολοῦντος. Ὁ δὲ Σαρδα-
νάπαλος ὁρῶν τὴν ὅλην βασιλείαν ἐν τοῖς μεγίστοις οὖσαν
κινδύνοις, τοὺς μὲν υἱούς, τρεῖς ὄντας, καὶ θυγατέρας δύο,
μετὰ πολλῶν χρημάτων εἰς Παφλαγονίαν ἀπέστειλε πρὸς
Κότταν τὸν ἔπαρχον, ὄντα τῶν ἀρχομένων εὐνούστατον·
αὐτὸς δὲ βιβλιαφόρους ἀποστείλας πρὸς ἅπαντας τοὺς ὑπ᾽
αὐτὸν τεταγμένους, μετεπέμπετο δυνάμεις, καὶ τὰ πρὸς τὴν
πολιορκίαν παρεσκευάζετο. Ἦν δ᾽ αὐτῷ λόγιον παραδεδο-
μένον ἐκ προγόνων, ὅτι τὴν Νίνον οὐδεὶς ἑλεῖ κατὰ κράτος,
ἐὰν μὴ πρότερον ὁ ποταμὸς τῇ πόλει γένηται πολέμιος.
Ὑπολαμβάνων δὲ τοῦτο μηδέποτε ἔσεσθαι, ταῖς ἐλπίσιν
ἀντεῖχε, διανοούμενος ὑπομένειν τὴν πολιορκίαν, καὶ τὰ
παρὰ τῶν ὑποτεταγμένων ἀποσταλησόμενα στρατόπεδα
προσεδέχετο.
§ 28 (Diod. ii. 27). Οἱ δ᾽ ἀποστάται τοῖς προτερήμασιν
ἐπαρθέντες, προσέκειντο μὲν τῇ πολιορκίᾳ, διὰ δὲ τὴν
ὀχυρότητα τῶν τειχῶν οὐδὲν ἠδύναντο βλάψαι τοὺς ἐν τῇ
πόλει πετροβόλοι γὰρ ἢ χελῶναι χωστρίδες, ἢ κριοὶ πρὸς
ἀνατροπὴν μεμηχανημένοι τειχῶν, οὔπω κατ᾽ ἐκείνους τοὺς
καιροὺς ἐξεύρηντο. Τῶν δ᾽ ἐπιτηδείων ἁπάντων οἱ κατὰ
τὴν πόλιν πολλὴν εἶχον δαψίλειαν, προνενοημένου τοῦ
βασιλέως τούτου τοῦ μέρους. Διὸ καὶ χρονιζούσης τῆς
πολιορκίας, ἐπ᾽ ἔτη μὲν δύο προσέκειντο προσβολὰς ποιού-
μενοι τοῖς τείχεσι, καὶ τῆς ἐπὶ τὴν χώραν ἐξόδου τοὺς ἐκ
τῆς πόλεως εἴργοντες. Τῷ τρίτῳ δ᾽ ἔτει, συνεχῶς ὄμβρων
μεγάλων καταῤῥαγέντων, συνέβη τὸν Εὐφράτην μέγαν γε-
νόμενον κατακλύσαι τε μέρος τῆς πόλεως καὶ καταβαλεῖν τὸ
§ 28. πετροβόλοι, κ. τ. λ.] This
statement is refuted by the evi-
dence of the Assyrian sculptures,
which represent chelonae and bat-
tering rams in numberless instances,
K
and perhaps also catapults (see
Rawlinson's Five Monarchies, vol. ii.
passim).
κατακλύσαι] This may really
have happened at the final siege of
III.]
85
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Ο
τεῖχος ἐπὶ σταδίους εἴκοσιν. Ἐνταῦθα ὁ βασιλεὺς νομίσας
τετελέσθαι τὸν χρησμόν, καὶ τῇ πόλει τὸν ποταμὸν γεγονέ
ναι φανερώς πολέμιον, ἀπέγνω τὴν σωτηρίαν. Ἵνα δὲ μὴ
τοῖς πολεμίοις γένηται ὑποχείριος, πυρὰν ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις
κατεσκεύασεν ὑπερμεγέθη, καὶ τόν τε χρυσὸν καὶ τὸν ἄργυ-
ρον ἅπαντα, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις τὴν βασιλικὴν ἐσθῆτα πᾶσαν
ἐπὶ ταύτην ἐσώρευσε τὰς δὲ παλλακίδας καὶ τοὺς εὐνούχους
συγκλείσας εἰς τὸν ἐν μέσῃ πυρᾷ κατεσκευασμένον οἶκον,
ἅμα τούτοις ἅπασιν ἑαυτόν τε καὶ τὰ βασίλεια κατέκαυσεν.
Οἱ δ᾽ ἀποστάται, πυθόμενοι τὴν ἀπώλειαν Σαρδαναπάλου,
τῆς μὲν πόλεως ἐκράτησαν, εἰσπεσόντες κατὰ τὸ πεπτωκὸς
μέρος τοῦ τείχους τὸν δ᾽ ᾿Αρβάκην ἐνδύσαντες τὴν βασιλι-
κὴν στολήν, ἀνηγόρευσαν βασιλέα, καὶ τὴν τῶν ὅλων
ἐξουσίαν αὐτῷ ἐπέτρεψαν.
Τ
FRAGMENTU M 16.
(Athenaeus xii. 7). [Κτησίας δὲ λέγει] εἰς πολεμὸν
αὐτὸν καταστῆναι καὶ ἀθροίσαντα πολλὴν στρατιὰν καὶ
καταλυθέντα ὑπὸ τοῦ ᾿Αρβάκου τελευτῆσαι ἑαυτὸν ἐμπρή
σαντα ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις, πυρὰν νήσαντα ὕψος τεσσάρων
πλέθρων ἐφ᾿ ἧς ἐπέθηκε χρυσᾶς κλίνας ἑκατὸν καὶ πεντή
κοντα καὶ ἴσας τραπέζας, καὶ ταύτας χρυσᾶς. Ἐποίησε δὲ
ἐν τῇ πυρᾷ καὶ οἴκημα ἑκατόμπεδον ἐκ ξύλων, κἀνταῦθα
κλίνας ὑπεστόρεσε, καὶ κατεκλίθη ἐνταῦθα αὐτός τε μετὰ καὶ
Nineveh. The walls, if of sun-dried
brick, would of course offer no re-
sistance to the flood. A similar
disaster happened at Bagdad in
1831, and was with difficulty
averted in 1849 (Loftus, Chaldaea
and Susiana, p. 7). The parallel
suggested by the English A. V. of
Nahum ii. 6 is much less obvious
in the ancient versions.
πυρὰν] The statements of Be-
rosus make it probable that the
last king of Assyria really burnt
himself in his palace, but Ktesias'
details are doubtless imaginary.
That most of the Assyrian palaces
were burnt is evident from the
condition of the ruins, but this was
the usual fate of buildings in a
captured city.
86
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
τῆς γυναικὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ αἱ παλλακίδες ἐν ταῖς ἄλλαις κλίναις·
τοὺς γὰρ τρεῖς υἱοὺς καὶ δύο θυγατέρας ὁρῶν τὰ πράγματα
κακούμενα προπεπόμφει εἰς †Νίνον πρὸς τὸν ἐκεῖ
βασιλέα δοὺς αὐτοῖς τρισχίλια χρυσίου τάλαντα· ἐπεστέ-
γασε δὲ τὸ οἴκημα δοκοῖς μεγάλαις τε καὶ παχείαις, ἔπειτα
ἐν κύκλῳ περιέθηκε πολλὰ ξύλα καὶ παχέα, ὥστε μὴ εἶναι
ἔξοδον. Ἐνταῦθα ἐπέθηκε μὲν χρυσίου μυριάδας χιλίας,
ἀργυρίου δὲ μυρίας μυριάδας ταλάντων καὶ ἱμάτια καὶ
πορφύρας καὶ στολὰς παντοδαπάς. Ἔπειτα ὑφάψαι ἐκέλευε
τὴν πυράν· καὶ ἐκαίετο ιέ' ἡμέραις. Οἱ δὲ ἐθαύμαζον ὁρῶντες
τὸν καπνόν, καὶ ἐδόκουν αὐτὸν θυσίας ἐπιτελεῖν· ταῦτα δὲ
μόνοι ᾔδεσαν οἱ εὐνοῦχοι. Ὁ μὲν οὖν Σαρδανάπαλλος ἐκ-
τόπως ἡδυπαθήσας ὡς ἐνῆν γενναίως ἐτελεύτησε.
FRAGMENTUM 17.
(Harpocration). [Ὑποκύδης ἐστὶν ὁ δίϋγρος, ὡς ἐκ
τῆς τρίτης Κτησίου φανερόν ἐστιν.]
EPITOME DIODORI.
§ 29 (Diod. ii. 28). Ενθα δὴ τοῦ βασιλέως τοῖς συν-
αγωνισαμένοις δωρεάς τε διδόντος κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν, καὶ σα-
τράπας ἐθνῶν καθιστάντος, προσελθὼν αὐτῷ Βέλεσυς ὁ Βαβυ-
λώνιος, ὁ προειπών, ὅτι βασιλεὺς ἔσται τῆς ᾿Ασίας, τῆς τε
εὐεργεσίας υπέμνησε, καὶ τὴν Βαβυλωνίαν ἀρχὴν ἠξίου δοῦ-
ναι, καθάπερ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὑπέσχετο. Απεφαίνετο δὲ καὶ κατὰ
τοὺς κινδύνους ἑαυτὸν εὐχὴν πεποιῆσθαι τῷ Βήλῳ, Σαρ-
δαναπάλου κρατηθέντος, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων βασιλείων ἐμπυ-
ρισθέντων, ἀποκομιεῖν τὴν σποδὸν ἐκ τούτων εἰς Βαβυλῶνα,
καὶ πλησίον τοῦ τεμένους τοῦ θεοῦ καταθέμενον χῶμα
Fr. 16. Προϋπεπόμφει εἰς Νίνον]
Νίνον is evidently a mere copyist's
error, perhaps for the name of
Kottas' capital.
Fr. 17. Ὑποκύδης] Müller sup
poses that this fragment refers to
the inundations which led to the
capture of Nineveh.
III.]
87
CTESIAE PERSICA.
κατασκευάσειν, τὸ παρεξόμενον τοῖς κατὰ τὸν Εὐφράτην
πλέουσιν ἀθάνατον ὑπόμνημα τοῦ καταλύσαντος τὴν ᾿Ασ
συρίων ἀρχήν. Τοῦτο δ' ᾐτεῖτο, πυθόμενός τινος ευνούχου
τὰ περὶ τὸν ἄργυρον καὶ χρυσόν, ὃν διαδράντα καὶ πρὸς
αὐτὸν αὐτομολήσαντα κατέκρυψεν. Ὁ δ' Αρβάκης τούτων
οὐδὲν εἰδώς, διὰ τὸ πάντας τοὺς ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις συγκατα-
καῆναι τῷ βασιλεῖ, τήν τε σποδὸν ἀποκομίσαι, καὶ τὴν
Βαβυλῶνα ἔχειν ἀτελῆ συνεχώρησεν. Εἶθ᾽ ὁ μὲν Βέλεσης
§ 29. τὴν Βαβυλῶνα ἔχειν ἀτε-
λη] Ktesias represents the posi
tion of Babylon in reference to the
Median empire as that of a vassal
kingdom, with its hereditary mo-
narchs (fr. 19), and not liable to
tribute (§ 29), but, at the same
time, in a distinctly subject condi-
tion, the king (who is sometimes
called satrap, and even ύπαρχος)
being liable to be removed by the
Median sovereign (fr. 19). Is there
any foundation for the assertion
that Babylon occupied at any time
the position here assigned to it?
Down to the death of Nebuchad-
rezzar at least Babylon and Media
appear as allied, but independent,
states. Their alliance against Nine-
veh under Kyaxares and Nabopo-
lassar is cemented by the marriage
of Nebuchadrezzar with Amyitis,
daughter of the Median king (Be-
rosus, ii. 13; Ktesias, § 9). In
Herodotus, i. 74, we find Laby-
netus,' King of Babylon, as one of
the mediating powers between
Media and Lydia. In Polyhistor,
De Judaeis, fr. 24 (quoting Eupo-
lemus), we read: Εἶτα Ιωναχείμ
. . τῶν δὲ Βαβυλωνίων βασιλέα
ἀκούσαντα Ναβουχοδονόσορ τὰ ὑπὸ
τοῦ Ἱερεμίου προμαντευθέντα, παρα-
καλέσαι Αστιβαρην τὸν Μήδων
βασιλέα συστρατεύειν αὐτῷ. Παρα-
λαβόντα δὲ Βαβυλωνίους καὶ Μήδους,
καὶ συναγαγόντα πεζῶν μὲν ὀκτωκαί-
δεκα, ἱππέων δὲ μυριάδας δώδεκα, καὶ
[πεζῶν] ἅρματα μυρία, πρῶτον μὲν
τὴν Σαμαρεῖτιν καταστρέψασθαι . . .
αὖθις δὲ τὰ Ἱεροσόλυμα παραλαβεῖν.
In Herodotus, i. 185, certain of
the defensive works undertaken by
Nitokris are attributed to her fear
of a Median invasion.
In the cylinder of Nabonidus
found by Rassam at Sippara occurs
the following passage :-
"In the
beginning of my long reign Marduk
•
and Sin . . . showed me a
dream. Marduk spoke with me:
Nabonidus. . . come up with the
horses of thy chariot, build the
walls of E-khulkhul.'... Recently
I spoke to the lord of the gods
Marduk: I will build this house
of which thou speakest; the Tsab-
manda destroyed it, and strong was
1 Strabo, xvi. 1, p. 333, mentions The Syrians of Babylon” as subjects of the
Medes.
88
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
C
ó dè
πλοῖα παραστησάμενος, μετὰ τῆς σποδοῦ τὸ πλεῖστον τοῦ
τε ἀργύρου καὶ τοῦ χρυσοῦ συντόμως ἀπέστειλεν εἰς τὴν
Βαβυλῶνα ὁ δὲ βασιλεύς, μηνυθείσης αὐτῷ τῆς πράξεως
αὐτοφώρου, δικαστὰς ἀπέδειξε τοὺς συναγωνιζομένους
στρατηγούς. Τοῦ πράξαντος δ᾽ ὁμολογοῦντος ἀδικεῖν, τὸ
their might.' Marduk spoke with
me: 'The Tsabmanda, of which
thou speakest; they, their country,
and the kings going by their side
shall not exist.' In the third year
he caused Kyrus, King of Anzan,
his young servant, to go with his
little army; he overthrew the wide-
spreading Tsabmanda; he captured
Istuvegu, King of Tsabmanda, and
took his treasures to his own
land."1
We have here evidence of hostile
relations between Media and Baby-
lon, in which the latter country
was worsted.
No names in history have given
more trouble to critics than the Bel-
shazzar and 'Darius the Mede' of the
Book of Daniel. Since the discovery
of the fact that Nabonidus had a son
who bore the former name (Bilu-
shar-uzur), and acted as commander
of the army during the war with
Kyrus, the question seemed almost
settled, and, if it were not for the
statements in Daniel vi. respecting
'Darius the Mede,' the arguments
for the identity of Belshazzar’
with the son of Nabonidus might
be regarded as conclusive. As far
as chapters v., ix., and xi. of Daniel
are concerned, there is nothing
tò
against the identification, now
usual, of Darius the Mede with
Gobryas (Ugbaru or Gubaru), who
took Babylon as general of Kyrus,
and who may have acted as viceroy
before that dignity was bestowed
on Kambyses; but it seems impos-
sible to sustain this identification
if we accept the authenticity of the
sixth chapter, for how could a
mere viceroy have ventured to arro-
gate to himself divine honours?
The
following is a possible,
though only a possible, explanation.
of the statements in Daniel. Among
the royal names appearing in Baby-
lonian trade documents of the
period of the eighth dynasty is that
of Marduk-sar-uzur, which, accord-
ing to the well-known fact that at
that period the title Bel had been
appropriated to Marduk, is equiva-
lent to Belshar-uzur, or Belshazzar.
Boscawen (see Trans. Soc. Bibl.
Arch. vi. pp. 1-78, 106-112) at
first naturally identified this king
with the son of Nabonidus, but
afterwards, from the names of the
witnesses to the documents, by
which their chronology is deter-
mined, came to the conclusion that
he is the same as Nergal-shar-uzur
(B.c. 559-556). This therefore gives
1 See Pinches, in Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., November, 1882.
!
III.]
89
CTESIAE PERSICA.
μὲν δικαστήριον αὐτοῦ κατέγνω θάνατον· ὁ δὲ βασιλεύς,
μεγαλόψυχος ὤν, καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς ἡγεμονίας βουλόμενος
ἐπιεικῆ παρέχεσθαι, τῶν τε κινδύνων ἀπέλυσε τὸν Βέλεσυν,
καὶ τὸν ἀποκεκομισμένον ἄργυρον καὶ χρυσὸν ἔχειν συν-
εχώρησεν· ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τὴν δοθεῖσαν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐξουσίαν
us an earlier Belshazzar. Of Ner-
gal-shar-uzur (Neriglissoorus) Be-
rosus (iii. 14) tells us nothing,
except that he was son-in-law of
Nebuchadrezzar, and reigned four
years; but to his son and successor
Labasi-marduk (Laborosarchodus)
he ascribes an odious character. It
is far from improbable that the Me-
dian invasion, in which the temple
of Sin at Charran was destroyed,
took place under Nergal-shar-uzur,
and led to his deposition, or death,
his son, a child, being set up as a
Median vassal. Hence the odium
with which the latter was regarded.
The suppression by Berosus of a
conquest which made no permanent
impression need not cause us any
surprise, the Babylonian docu-
ments he followed probably did not
mention it. We have thus a tem-
porary interval of vassalage to
Media, such as Ktesias represents
as the normal condition of Babylon
during the period of the Median
empire, terminated by the murder
of the vassal king, and the usurpa-
tion of Nabonidus, whose bitter
hostility to the Medes is thus ac-
counted for. He seems to have
married his predecessor's widow,
the queen whose death is recorded
in the annals of Nabonidus and
Kyrus, in the ninth year of the
former (B. c. 546), and who is per-
haps the Nitokris of Herodotus
(the latter may, however, be the
wife of Nebuchadrezzar).
If we adopt this view of the
course of events, we must suppose
that Daniel, who was evidently out
of favour at Babylon, followed the
conqueror to his own country, and
dates his regnal years from the period
when he claimed the supremacy over
Babylon, though this supremacy
ceased on the murder of Labasi-
marduk, a few months after his
accession. In Theodotion's version
of Daniel xiii. 1 'Aσrváyηs appa-
rently represents Aapelos of the
other passages; but in the LXX.
the name is omitted. Ασσουήρος,
Daniel ix. 1 (Eépέns in LXX.) is
the name of the father of Darius
the Mede,' and in Tobit, xiv. 17, it
apparently represents Kyaxares.
All this, however, is exceedingly
hypothetical, and perhaps a simpler
alternative is to retain the usual
explanation of Belshazzar as the
son of Nabonidus, and Darius the
Mede' as Gobryas, rejecting the
narrative in chap. vi. as a late in-
vention founded on chap. xiii.,
since the Aramaic and LXX. re-
censions of what may be called the
'Life of Daniel,' as distinct from
his works, appear to be of about
90
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
τῆς Βαβυλωνίας οὐκ ἀφείλετο, φήσας μείζονας εἶναι τὰς ἐξ
αὐτοῦ προγεγενημένας εὐεργεσίας τῶν ὕστερον ἀδικημάτων.
Διαβοηθείσης δὲ τῆς ἐπιεικείας, οὐ τὴν τυχοῦσαν εὔνοιαν,
ἀλλὰ καὶ δόξαν παρὰ τῶν ἐθνῶν ἀπηνέγκατο, πάντων
κρινόντων ἄξιον εἶναι τῆς βασιλείας τὸν οὕτω προσενε-
χθέντα τοῖς ἀδικήσασιν. Ὁ δ᾽ οὖν Αρβάκης τοῖς κατὰ τὴν
πόλιν ἐπιεικώς προσενεχθείς, αὐτοὺς μὲν κατὰ κώμας διώ
κισε, τὰς ἰδίας κτήσεις ἑκάστοις ἀποδούς, τὴν δὲ πόλιν εἰς
ἔδαφος κατέσκαψεν. Ἔπειτα τόν τε· ἄργυρον καὶ χρυσὸν
τὸν ἐκ τῆς πυρᾶς ὑπολειφθέντα, πολλῶν ὄντα ταλάντων,
ἀπεκόμισε τῆς Μηδίας εἰς ᾿Αγβάτανα. Ἡ μὲν οὖν ἡγεμονία
τῶν ᾿Ασσυρίων ἀπὸ Νίνου διαμείνασα τριάκοντα μὲν γενεάς,
ἔτη δὲ πλείω τῶν χιλίων καὶ τριακοσίων, ὑπὸ Μήδων κατ
ελύθη τὸν προειρημένον τρόπον.
[FRAGMENTUM 18.
equal authority, being late and in-
dependent compilations from pre-
existent materials.
The view here suggested as pos-
sible is, I believe, one of the many
held by some before modern dis-
coveries, but the arguments for and
against are now of course quite
different.
τριάκοντα μὲν γενεάς] See notes
on §§ 23 and 24.
πλείω τῶν χιλίων καὶ τριακοσίων]
'Over 1306,' or 'over 1300' in § 23.
In fr. 18 we have 1306 given by
Agathias, and 1306 or 1360 by
Synkellus. In the list Synkellus
gives 1460 years (including reign
of Belus, 55 years); Eusebius, 1240
(or 1239, or 1237); Excerpta Bar-
bara, 1314; Kephalion (fr. 1),
1300; Velleius (i. 6) has 1070 (or
1230, or 1700); Justin, 1300.
From the beginning of the second
to the end of the sixth dynasty of
Berosus is probably 1711 years
(B. c. 2458-747).
The system by which these dates
were arrived at by Kastor and the
later chronographers is discussed
at great length by Müller, in his
notes on Kastor. Ktesias, how-
ever, probably derived his figures
from a Babylonian source, and they
were afterwards twisted by the
chronographers to suit their several
schemes.
III91
1..
CTESIAE PERSICA.
]
(a)
FRAGMENTUM 18.
(Agathias, ii. 25, p. 45). ᾿Αρβάκης &
Μῆδος καὶ Βέλεσυς ὁ Βαβυλώνιος ἀφῄρην-
ται αὐτὴν τοὺς ᾿Ασσυρίους, καθελόντες τὸν
βασιλέα καὶ ἐς τὸ Μηδικὸν μετέστησαν
ἔθνος, ἕξ τε καὶ τριακοσίων ἤδη πρὸς τοῖς
χιλίοις καὶ ὀλίγῳ πλείονων ἐτῶν παρῳ-
χηκότων ἀφ' οὗ τὰ πρῶτα ὁ Νίνος τῶν
ἐκείνῃ κατέσχε πραγμάτων [οὕτω γὰρ
Κτησίᾳ τῷ Κνιδίῳ τοὺς χρόνους αναγραψα
μένῳ καὶ Διόδωρος σύμφησιν].
(6)
(Syncellus, p. 359 c). [Εβασίλευσαν
Ασσυρίοι ἀπὸ Νίνου καὶ Σεμιράμεως μέχρι
Βελεοῦν τοῦ Δελκετάδου· εἰς τοῦτον γὰρ
τοῦ Σεμιράμεως γένους λήξαντος Βελεταρᾶν
κηπουρὸς ἐβασίλευσε καὶ τὸ ἐκείνου γένος
ἑξῆς μέχρι Σαρδαναπάλλου, καθὰ Βίωνι
καὶ ᾿Αλεξάνδρῳ δοκεῖ τῷ Πολυΐστορι. Σαρ-
δανάπαλλον δὲ ἀνεῖλεν ᾿Αρβάκης Μήδος
καὶ Βέλεσυς ὁ Βαβυλώνιος καὶ μετήγαγεν
εἰς Μήδους τὴν βασιλείαν. Εβασίλευσαν
οὖν οἱ ᾿Ασσυρίοι ατς' οὕτω γὰρ λέγοντι
Κτησίᾳ καὶ Διόδωρος . . . συμφθέγγε
ται.]
INTRODUCTION
TO BOOKS IV, V, VI.
KTESIAS professes to have drawn his Median, liko his Assyrian, history
from the Royal Chronicles (§ 30). His real sources appear to have been
two-fold-(1) for the general outline some kind of tradition of the real
history of the period; (2) for the details he partly used the legends of
the early history of the Iranians current in his time in Persia, tho
'Medo-Persian Epos,' from which Duncker and Sayce assume that the
whole narrative in his earlier books was derived.
The principal lists of Median kings found in classical writers are the
following:-
HERODOTUS
(i. 98–107).
KTESIAS (Epit.
Diod. §§ 30-32).
EUSEBIUS
(Chronic. Latin
version, fo. 12).
MOSES, Chor.
(Hist. i. 21).
SYNKELLUS,
p. 197 (ap.
Müller ad Cas-
torem, p. 162).
Years.
Years.
Years.
Years.
Arbakes, 28 Arbaces, 28
Varbakes.
Arbaces, 28
Doiokes, 53 Madaukes, 50
Mandaukes.
Mandauces, 20
Sosarmus, 30
Sosarmus, 30
Sosarmus.
Sosarmus, 30
Artykas, 50
Medidus, 40
Artukas.
Artycas, 30
Arbianes, 22
Cardiceas, 13
Kardikeas.
Artacus, 40
Deiocles,2 54
Phraortes, 22
Artynes, 22
Kyaxares, 40
Astyages, 35
Astibaras, 40
Aspadas, or
Astyigas,
Cyaxares,
Astyages,
Phraortes, 24
32 Kvachsatra.
38 Adzdahak.
Deiokes.
Artunes.
Dejoces,
54
Aphraates, 51
Cyaxares,
32
Astyages,
38
150
282+x
259
283
Two explanations of these lists have been given in modern times,
viz., that of Volney, adopted by Rawlinson (Herodotus, i. p. 394), which
looks on the list of Ktesias as a mere duplication of that of Herodotus
(suggested by the length of the reigns); and that held by Heeren and
¹ al. Bardyceas.
2 al. Dojocos.
BOOKS IV, V, VI.
93
•
Lenormant, which supposes Ktesias' list as made up by regarding contem-
porary dynasties as successive, a process with which we are familiar in
the Greek accounts of Egypt (sec Lenormant, Manuel de l'Histoire Anc.
ii. p. 341. The names in Ktesias' list "doivent être des noms de chefs
locaux qui commandaient à telle ou telle partie du pays et dont la
tradition avait conservé le souvenir
La liste des rois mèdes entre
Arbace et Déjocès, empruntée par Eusèbe à Céphalion a le même caractère
que celle de Ctésias .. elle comprend moins de noms et paraît être la
liste continue des chefs qui se succédèrent pendant cet intervalle de
temps sur une même partie du pays," probably that where Ekbatana was
afterwards situated, "les prédécesseurs directs et les ancêtres de Déjocès.
Leurs noms sont: Mandauces, Sosarmus et Artycas, les trois premiers de
la liste de Ctésias, qui doit contenir ensuite les chefs d'une autre pro-
vince." Comp. Hist. Anc. vol. v. p. 418, where Ellibi is mentioned as
the locality of this dynasty).
The date at which the Aryans entered Media is quite uncertain:
probably the immigration was a gradual one; both Aryans and Turanians
continued to live there down to a late period, but we have no certain
information as to the proportion of the two races, and their relativo
positions. Delattre regards the Medes as wholly Aryan, but in this he
is almost certainly wrong (see review of his work, Le Peuple et l'Empire
des Mèdes, by Sayce, in Academy, xxiv. p. 418). Sayce regards the
house of Kyaxares as Turanian, and the success of Kyrus as partly due
to a revolt of the Aryan Medes (Herod. pp. 62, 437-9); while Rawlinson,
on the other hand, apparently regards Kyaxares as the leader of an
Aryan immigration (Herod. i. p. 397). The inscription of Sargon trans-
lated by Smith, Assyr. Disc. p. 289, gives Median chiefs with Aryan,
along with others with Turanian, names (B. c. 713). There is no chief of
Ellibi amongst them; but in B. c. 709 Sargon made Rita king of that
district. Sennacherib, in his second expedition (B. c. 701), conquered
Ispabara, king of Ellibi, and took thirty-six cities belonging to him
(G. Smith, p. 301).
If Rawlinson is right in distinguishing two Agbatanas, we may
perhaps regard Agbatana, or Ganzaka, in Media Atropatene as identical
with the Bit-Daiukku taken by Sargon, and Agbatana in Media Magna,
near Mount Elvend, as a city founded by Kyaxares (in Ellibi ?).
We may perhaps, with Lenormant, take Madaukes, or Mandaukes,
Sosarmus, Artykas, and Deiokes as representing a series of chiefs of one
of the Median states (Ellibi according to him, but perhaps rather of the
94
INTRODUCTION.
district of which Bit-Daiukku became the capital); Arbianes and Artaeus,
and Medidus and Kardikeas (both of which names are very suspicious,
and rest on bad authority) as chiefs of other tribes; and Phraortes, or
Artynes, as the author of an attempt to unite the Medes and neigh-
bouring tribes against the Assyrians (B. c. 655-633), which resulted in
his death at the hands of the latter, his successors being Kyaxares, or
Astibaras, who succeeded where his father had failed, and Astyages, or
Aspadas.
It would seem that each of the last two kings at least had both an
Aryan and a Turanian name. As regards those given by Ktesias,
Arbakes is evidently the same in name as the Arbaku chief of Arnasia
in Sargon's list of chiefs, a name which is perhaps Turanian; Rawlinson,
however, makes it a form of Harpagus (Herod. iii. 539). With
Madaukes Baehr compares Deiokes, which is also Turanian.
"
Artykas, Artaeus, Artynes, and perhaps Arbianes, are all Aryan
containing the intensive prefix arta. Kyaxares occurs in the tablets of
Asshur-akh-idin II., relating to the fall of the Assyrian monarchy, as
Kastariti. Rawlinson identifies it with old Persian 'Uvakhshatara, Tu-
ranian Vakistarra, Babylonian Uvakuistar, which occurs in Behistun
Inscrip. par. 24, where Fravartish (Turanian Pirru-vartis), a Median
rebel, claimed to be "Khshathrita (so old Persian, Turanian Sattaritta,
Babylonian Khasatrita), son of 'Uvakhshatara," and explains 'Uvakhsha-
tara as an Aryan name = more beautiful eyed.' Sayce (Herod. p. 63;
Academy, xx. p. 142), however, rightly regards Khshathrita, and not
'Uvakhshatara, as representing Kyaxares, a view which Oppert seems to
adopt in his notes to his translation of the Turanian version of the Be-
histun Inscriptions in Records of the Past, vol. vii., where he also gives
Sattaritta the meaning of 'lance-bearer' in the Turanian dialect of the
Achaemenid inscriptions (spoken probably by the Elamites and the
Turanian Medes), equivalent to Astibaras = Arsti bara in Persian (and
Aryan Median).
The only early Oriental form of Astyages known to us is the Baby-
lonian Istuvegu, occurring in texts of Nabonidus and Kyrus, and
probably indicating that the name is Turanian; Aspadas probably repre-
sents the Aryan equivalent. Moses Chor. i. 29, 5, says: "Vox Azhdahak
in nostra lingua draconem significat.'
The adding together of kings of several distinct contemporary dynasties
by Ktesias, and his treating them all as supreme rulers of Asia, forced
him greatly to ante-date the fall of Nineveh.
BOOKS IV, V, VI.
95
We must now consider the source of the details which he gives of
Median history. But little of them has survived-merely the legend of
Parsondas and Nannarus under Artaeus (§ 30, fr. 19); that of Zarina
and Stryangaeus (§ 31, fr. 20, 21); and part of his account of the over-
throw of Astyages (§§ 32, 33).
Except as regards the fall of Astyages, the true history of Media
seems to have been forgotten in his time, though still remembered in
that of Herodotus, and he supplied its place by assigning to his Median
period those popular Iranian legends which, so far as they had any
historical basis at all, related to the history of the Iranians in their
earlier settlements, especially in Baktria.'
The Zendavesta (especially the Yashts, its latest portion) contains
the legendary exploits of a series of Eastern Iranian heroes, ending with
Viçtaçpa (Gushtasp, in Firdusi, and Mirkhond). We find them turned
into kings of Iran in general, and at the same time, owing to the identi-
fication of Victaçpa with Dareius, son of Hystaspes, several of them are
partly identified with historical kings of Media and Persia (e.g. Kava
Huçrava with Kyrus), and the later Achaemenidae are tacked on to
them. An intermediate stage is represented by the use made of the
legends by Ktesias, and we can trace other stages also.
Hence we may expect the stories told by our author to have the
same general character as those told by Firdusi, but we must not expect
to find minute resemblances, as in the course of ages the legends became
altered and misplaced.
Ktesias' statements as to Baktria in § 5, fr. 3, are also, perhaps,
derived in part from current Iranian legends.
2
The Zendavesta, which contains the germs of the stock of Iranian
legends used in the Shah-Nameh, was certainly in existence, at least as to
its principal portions, as early as the time of Ktesias, and current in
Persia (but see Rawlinson, Herod. i. pp. 414 sq.; Sayce, Herod. pp. 448 sq.).
Distinct mention of the sacred books of Zoroastrianism is not found in
1 In spite of some high authorities, probability seems to be in favour of the opinion
that the Avesta was mainly of Eastern Iranian (Baktrian) origin, in accordance with
the testimony of classical authors, who connect Zoroaster with Baktria. Except
perhaps the latest parts, there seems no doubt also that it belongs to a period earlier
than that of the Achaemenidae, or even the Median empire.
Darmesteter makes the Mazdaean religion to have originated in Media Atropatene,
De Harlez at Rhaga and Merv.
2 Haug, however, assigns the Yashts, in which these legends are chiefly found, to
about B. c. 450-350, and therefore contemporary with Ktesias: see note on § 5.
96
INTRODUCTION. BOOKS IV, V, VI.
classical authors till a later period, but Zoroaster is mentioned by Plato,
Deinon, and perhaps by Ktesias himself.
The existence of Persian poems or legends similar to that from which
the Shah-Nameh was compiled is testified to by Herodotus (i. 1-5, 95,
214); Xenophon (Kyrop. i. p. 5: ô Kôpos. . . . ᾄδεται ἔτι καὶ νῦν ὑπὸ
Tŵv ẞapßáρwv eidos µèv káddiσTOS, K. T. λ.); Deinon (Pers. fr. 7); Strabo
(xv. 3, p. 327; xvi. 1, p. 343); and Moses of Chorene (Hist. i. 1, 1;
i. 32; ii. 7, 18; ii. 67). In the last writer (fifth century A. D.) we find
(ii. 7) the earliest allusion to the exploits of Rustem (Rostem Sazik,
i.e. Rustem of Segestan in Moses), the great hero of mediæval Persian
legends.
6
The legends are further developed in Pehlevi works belonging to the
last days of the Sassanian dynasty, and, finally, in the Shah-Nameh of Fir-
dusi (tenth century A. D.), professedly compiled from ancient chronicles',
which corresponded to one of the classes of works comprehended by
Ktesias under the title of βασιλικαὶ διφθέραι.
LIBRI IV-VI.
EPITOME DIODORI.
§ 30 (Diod. ii. 32). ['Ἐπεὶ δὲ διαφωνοῦσιν οἱ μέγιστοι
τῶν συγγραφέων περὶ τῆς μεγίστης τῶν Μήδων ἡγεμονίας,
οἰκεῖον εἶναι διαλαμβάνομεν τοῖς φιλαλήθως τὰς πράξεις
ἱστορεῖν βουλομένοις, τὴν διαφορὰν τῶν ἱστοριογράφων
παράλληλα θεῖναι. Ἡρόδοτος μὲν οὖν κατὰ Ξέρξην γεγο-
νὼς τοῖς χρόνοις, φησὶν Ασσυρίους ἔτη πεντακόσια πρό
τερον τῆς ᾿Ασίας ἄρξαντας, ὑπὸ Μήδων καταλυθῆναι
ἔπειτα βασιλέα μὲν μηδένα γενέσθαι τὸν ἀμφισβητήσοντα
τῶν ὅλων ἐπὶ πολλὰς γενεάς, τὰς δὲ πόλεις καθ᾿ ἑαυτὰς τατ-
τομένας διοικεῖσθαι δημοκρατικῶς· τὸ δὲ τελευταῖον, πολλῶν
ἐτῶν διελθόντων, αἱρεθῆναι βασιλέα παρὰ τοῖς Μήδοις
ἄνδρα δικαιοσύνῃ διάφορον, ὄνομα Κυαξάρην. Τοῦτον δὲ
πρῶτον ἐπιχειρῆσαι προσάγεσθαι τοὺς πλησιοχώρους τοῖς
Μήδοις, καὶ ἀρχηγὸν γενέσθαι τῆς τῶν ὅλων ἡγεμονίας· ἔπειτα
τοὺς ἐγγόνους, ἀεὶ προσκατακτωμένους πολλὴν τῆς ὁμόρου
χώρας, αὐξῆσαι τὴν βασιλείαν, μέχρις Αστυάγους τοῦ
καταπολεμηθέντος ὑπὸ Κύρου καὶ Περσῶν. Περὶ ὧν νῦν
ἡμεῖς τὰ κεφάλαια προειρηκότες, τὰ κατὰ μέρος ὕστερον
ἀκριβῶς ἀναγράψομεν, ἐπειδὰν ἐπὶ τοὺς οἰκείους χρόνους
ἐπιβάλωμεν. Κατὰ γὰρ τὸ δεύτερον ἔτος τῆς ἑπτακαιδεκά-
της Ολυμπιάδος ᾑρέθη βασιλεὺς ὑπὸ Μήδων Κυαξάρης,
§ 30 and fr. 19. 'Hpódoтos] Mül-
ler regards the reference to Hero-
dotus as derived by Diodorus from
Ktesias.
a lacuna, as Herodotus (i. 98) makes
Deiokes, and not Kyaxares, to be
the king chosen by the Medes;
probably 'Kyaxares' is a mere
ὄνομα Κυαξάρην] Müller marks copyist's error for Deiokes.
H
98
LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA
T
K
καθ' Ηρόδοτον. Κτησίας δὲ ὁ Κνίδιος τοῖς μὲν χρόνοις
ὑπῆρξε κατὰ τὴν Κύρου στρατείαν ἐπὶ ᾿Αρταξέρξην τὸν
ἀδελφόν, γενόμενος δὲ αἰχμάλωτος, καὶ διὰ τὴν ἰατρικὴν
ἐπιστήμην ἀναληφθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως, ἑπτακαίδεκα ἔτη
διετέλεσε τιμώμενος ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ. Οὗτος οὖν φησὶν ἐκ τῶν
βασιλικῶν διφθερῶν, ἐν αἷς οἱ Πέρσαι τὰς παλαιὰς πράξεις
κατά τινα νόμον εἶχον συντεταγμένας, πολυπραγμονῆσαι
τὰ καθ᾽ ἕκαστα καὶ συνταξάμενος τὴν ἱστορίαν εἰς τοὺς
Ελληνας ἐξενεγκεῖν. Φησὶν οὖν], μετὰ τὴν κατάλυσιν τῆς
Ασσυρίων ἡγεμονίας Μήδους προστῆναι τῆς ᾿Ασίας, Αρ-
βάκου βασιλεύοντος, τοῦ Σαρδανάπαλον καταπολεμήσαν-
τος, καθότι προείρηται. Τούτου δ᾽ ἄρξαντος ἔτη δυσὶ
λείποντα τῶν τριάκοντα, διαδέξασθαι τὴν βασιλείαν τὸν
υἱὸν Μαδαύκην, ὃν ἄρξαι τῆς ᾿Ασίας ἔτη πεντήκοντα. Μετὰ
δὴ τοῦτον τριάκοντα μὲν ἔτη βασιλεῦσαι Σώσαρμον, πεντή
κοντα δὲ ᾿Αρτύκαν, δύο δὲ πρὸς τοῖς εἴκοσι τὸν προσαγο-
ρευόμενον ᾿Αρβιάνην, τεσσαράκοντα δὲ Αρταῖον.
Ἐπὶ δὲ τούτου συστῆναι μέγαν πόλεμον τοῖς Μήδοις
πρὸς Καδουσίους, διὰ τοιαύτας αἰτίας. Παρσώδην τον
Πέρσην, θαυμαζόμενον ἐπ᾽ ἀνδρείᾳ καὶ συνέσει καὶ ταῖς
ἄλλαις ἀρεταῖς, φίλον τε ὑπάρξαι τῷ βασιλεῖ, καὶ μέγιστον
ἰσχύσαι τῶν μετεχόντων τοῦ βασιλικοῦ συνεδρίου· τοῦτον
δ᾽ ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως ἔν τινι κρίσει λυπηθέντα, φυγείν μετὰ
πεζῶν μὲν τρισχιλίων, ἱππέων δὲ χιλίων εἰς Καδουσίους·
διφθερῶν] ‘Skins. Spiegel pro-
poses to connect this word with
dipis, which occurs in the sense of
'tablet' in an inscription of Da-
reius, and is itself of Semitic origin,
but there appears no good reason
for doing so.
Καδουσίους] A nation on the
shores of the Caspian, according to
Strabo, xi. 7, p. 425, where they
are apparently classed among the
ἔθνη ληστρικὰ καὶ μάχιμα μᾶλλον ἢ
γεωργικά. The legend of Parsondas
consists of two parts-the main
statement, that he was a valiant
Iranian hero, who deserted from
his own people, and became chief
of their Kadusian enemies, related
in the epitome; and the subordi-
nate narrative of the causes which
led to his doing so, which we have
at much greater length, owing to
the accident of this portion of
Nikolaus' extract from Ktesias
IV.VI.]
99
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ΕΠ
παρ᾽ οἷς ἦν ἐκδεδομένος τὴν ἰδίαν ἀδελφὴν τῷ μάλιστα δυ
ναστεύοντι κατὰ τούτους τοὺς τόπους. Γενόμενον δὲ ἀποστ
τάτην, καὶ πείσαντα τὸ σύμπαν ἔθνος ἀντέχεσθαι τῆς
ἐλευθερίας, αἱρεθῆναι στρατηγὸν διὰ τὴν ἀνδρείαν. Ἔπειτα
πυνθανόμενον ἀθροιζομένην ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸν μεγάλην δύναμιν,
καθοπλίσαι τοὺς Καδουσίους πανδημεί, καὶ καταστρατοπε-
δεῦσαι πρὸς ταῖς εἰς τὴν χώραν εἰσβολαῖς, ἔχοντα τοὺς
σύμπαντας οὐκ ἐλάττους εἴκοσι μυριάδων. Τοῦ δὲ βασιλέως
Αρταίου στρατεύσαντος ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸν μυριάσιν ὀγδοήκοντα
μάχῃ κρατῆσαι, καὶ πλείους μὲν τῶν πεντακισμυρίων ἀνε-
λεῖν, τὴν δ᾽ ἄλλην δύναμιν ἐκβαλεῖν ἐκ τῆς Καδουσίων
χώρας. Διό καὶ παρὰ τοῖς ἐγχωρίοις θαυμαζόμενον, αἱρε-
θῆναι βασιλέα, καὶ τὴν Μηδίαν συνεχῶς λεηλατεῖν, καὶ
πάντα τόπον καταφθείρειν. Μεγάλης δὲ δόξης τυχόντα,
καὶ γήρᾳ μέλλοντα καταστρέφειν τὸν βίον, ἀρὰν θέσθαι
παραστησάμενον τὸν διαδεχόμενον τὴν ἀρχήν, ὅπως μηδέ-
ποτε διαλύσωνται ἔχθραν Καδούσιοι πρὸς Μήδους· εἰ δὲ
συνθοῖντο ὁμολογίας, ἐξώλεις γενέσθαι τούς τε ἀπὸ τοῦ
γένους αὐτοῦ καὶ Καδουσίους ἅπαντας. Διὰ δὲ ταύτας τὰς
αἰτίας ἀεὶ πολεμικῶς ἐσχηκέναι Καδουσίους πρὸς Μήδους,
καὶ μηδέποτε τοῖς τούτων βασιλεῦσιν ὑπηκόους γεγονέναι,
μέχρις ὅτου Κῦρος εἰς Πέρσας περιέστησε τὴν ἡγεμονίαν.
having survived. Though Niko-
laus, fr. 10, does not mention
Ktesias as his authority, the source
of his narrative is evident from the
epitome, and from the reference in
Athenaeus, though he perhaps
added embellishments of his own.
Lenormant regards the main
statement, the hostility between.
Parsondas and Artaeus, as a tradi-
tion of the existence of several
independent states in Media (look-
ing on the Kadusians as Medes),
while he looks on the account of
the dispute of Parsondas and Nan-
narus (which, in spite of the testi-
mony of Athenaeus, he apparently
regards as not coming from Ktesias)
as a pure myth, of which he gives
2
far-fetched explanation (Les
Origines de l'histoire, i. pp. 163-4;
Hist. Anc. v. p. 261). He makes
Nannarus Nannar, the illumi-
nator,' an epithet of Sin in Baby-
lonian, and Parsondas Sandes
(Berosus, i. 2), or Sandan, one of
the names of Nin, or Herakles,
whom he identifies with the Sun-
ΤΙ 2
100
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
FRAGMENTUM
I 9.
(α) (Nicolaus Damascenus, fr. 10, Excerpt. de vir-
tutibus et vitiis). Ὅτι ἐπὶ ᾿Αρταίου τοῦ βασιλέως Μήδων
[τοῦ διαδόχου Σαρδαναπάλλου τοῦ ᾿Ασσυρίων βασιλέως],
ἦν ἐν Μήδοις τότε κατά τε ἀνδρείαν καὶ ῥώμην δοκιμώτατος
Παρσώνης, παρά τε βασιλεῖ μάλιστα ἐπαινούμενος καὶ ἐν
Πέρσαις, ὅθεν ἦν γένος, ἐπί τε εὐβουλίᾳ καὶ κάλλει σώματος.
Δεινὸς δὲ καὶ θῆρας αἱρεῖν, ἐν σταδίᾳ τε μάχῃ καὶ ἀπὸ
ἅρματος καὶ ἵππου μάχεσθαι. Οὗτος ὁρῶν Νάναρον τὸν
Βαβυλώνιον διαπρεπεί κόσμῳ χρώμενον ἀμφὶ τὸ σῶμα, καὶ
ἐλλόβια ἔχοντα καὶ κατεξυρημένον εὖ μάλα, γυναικώδη τε
καὶ ἄναλκιν, ἔπειθεν ᾿Αρταῖον ἀφελέσθαι αὐτὸν τὴν ἀρχὴν
καὶ ἑαυτῷ δοῦναι δυσχεραίνων σφόδρα τὸν ἄνθρωπον· ὁ δὲ
ὤκνει συγχέας τὰ συγκείμενα ὑπ᾽ Αρβάκεω ἀδικεῖν τὸν
Βαβυλώνιον. Ἐπεὶ δὲ δὶς καὶ τρὶς ὁ Παρσώνδης ἐνέτυχεν
Αρταίῳ, καὶ ταὐτὸν ἤκουσεν, ἡσύχαζεν· οὐ μὴν τὸν Νάναρον
"Adar-Parsondas tombe chaque
soir au pouvoir de son frère rival
Sin-Nannarus": Sin and Nin were
both sons of Bel. He considers it a
variety of the periodical death of the
Sun-god at evening, and in winter,
and compares the strife between
the two brothers in Genesis iv. and
the legend of Herakles and Om-
phale.
To me it seems better to regard
the legend as an earlier form of one
which appears under several forms
in Firdusi, none exactly similar to
Ktesias' version, in which an Ira-
nian hero, having received some
indignity or ill-usage from his own
sovereign, deserts to the Turanians,
and leads them to victory. The
constant struggle between Iran and
Turan, which really existed, ap-
pears in the Zendavesta, and forms
the staple of the legends told in the
Shah-Nameh, and of both those
which have survived from Ktesias'
Median history,' for, from the de-
scription of Strabo, it is evident
that we should regard the Ka-
dusians as a half-savage Turanian
tribe, and the ethnic character of
the Sakans and Parthians who
figure in the account of Astibaras'
1 The early Iranian 'history' of Ktesias and Firdusi relates almost entirely to the
wars in the East; Herodotus' history of the Medes relates chiefly to their affairs in the
West.
•
IV.-VI.]
101
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ἔλαθεν. Αισθόμενος δ᾽ ἐκεῖνος τὴν γνώμην τἀνδρὸς, μεγάλα
δῶρα τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ ὑπέσχετο καπήλοις, εἴ τις αὐτῷ Παρσών-
δην συλλαβὼν ἀγοι· ἕπονται δ᾽ οὗτοι πολλοὶ τῷ βασιλέως
στρατῷ. Καί ποτε κατὰ δαίμονα κυνηγετῶν ὁ Παρσώνης
ἐλαύνει πόρρω ἀπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως εἰς τὸ πεδίον οὐχ ἑκὰς Βα-
βυλῶνος. Τοὺς δὲ θεράποντας εἰς τὴν πλησίον ὕλην τρέψας,
ἐκέλευσε βοῇ τε καὶ ἀλαλητῷ χρῆσθαι, ὡς δὴ τὰ θηρία
σοβήσων εἰς τὰ πεδία· καὶ πολλοὺς μὲν ἧς ἀγρίους, πολλοὺς
δ᾽ ἐλάφους αἱρεῖ. Τέλος δ', ὄνον ἄγριον διώκων, ἐπὶ πλεῖσ-
τον ἀποσπᾶται τῶν ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ μόνος ἐλαύνων ἧκεν εἰς τὴν
Βαβυλωνίαν, ἔνθα ἦσαν οἱ κάπηλοι ἀγορὰς εὐτρεπίζοντες
τῷ βασιλεῖ· οὓς θεασάμενος ὑπὸ δίψους πιεῖν ᾔτει. Οἱ δ'
ἄσμενοι ἰδόντες Παρσώνδην, προσίασιν αὐτῷ πιεῖν τε
ἐνέχεον, καὶ, τὸν ἵππον δεξάμενοι, ἀριστᾷν ἐκέλευσαν. Ὁ
δὲ, οἷα πανημέριος θηρῶν, οὐκ ἀηδῶς ἤκουσεν, ἐκέλευσέ τε
ἀποπέμψαι βασιλεῖ τὸν ὄνον ὃν κατέλαβε, καὶ τοῖς ἀνὰ
τὸν δρυμὸν οἰκέταις φράσαι ἔνθα εἴη, οἱ δὲ πάντα ποιήσειν
ὑποσχόμενοι, κατακλίνουσι τὸν Παρσώνδην. Καὶ δαῖτα
reign was similar. The same struggle
continued under the Sassanians, and
was perpetuated in the Turkoman
inroads into Persia down to our
own times.
The stories in Firdusi which
most closely resemble that of Par-
sondas are those of Sohrab¹ and
Siawush.2 Siawush (Syavarshana
in the Yashts) having been slighted
by Kaikaus, king of Iran, flies to
Afrasiab, king of Turan, forms a
connexion with him by marriage,
and, like Parsondas, causes him to
vow perpetual hostility against
Iran. Siawush is eventually mur-
dered by Afrasiab, and his son Kai
1
Malcolm, History of Persia, i. p. 237.
Khosru (Kava Huçrava of the
Avesta) returns to his allegiance to
Iran, just as Onaphernes, in Niko-
laus, fr. 66 (probably from Ktesias),
who is apparently to be regarded as
a descendant of Parsondas (Ktesias,
§ 30), reconciles himself with As-
tyages and Kyrus. Kai Khosru in
Firdusi is identified with the latter.
The details relating to Nannarus
so much resemble those relating to
Sardanapalus, that we are tempted
to attribute them to a Greek origin.
Babylon (Bawri) is one of the
few places in the West mentioned
in the Zendavesta.
2 Malcolm, i. pp. 39-42.
102
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
παρέθεσαν παντοίαν, οἶνον τε ἥδιστον πίνειν ἐκέχεον
ἀκρατέστερον ἐπίτηδες, ὡς μεθυσθείη, καὶ ἐπεὶ ἄδην εἶχεν,
ὁ μὲν ᾔτει τὸν ἵππον, ὡς ἀπίοι ἐπὶ τὸ βασιλέως στράτευμα
οἱ δὲ γυναῖκας εὐπρεπεῖς παραγαγόντες, ἐδείκνυόν τε αὐτῷ
καὶ ἐκέλευον κοιμηθέντα αὐτόθι, καὶ εἰς νύκτα χρησάμενον
αὐτοῖς, ἕωθεν ἀπιέναι. Ὁ δὲ, εὐπρεπεῖς γυναῖκας ὁρῶν,
ἔμεινέ τε καὶ ηὐλίσατο. Καὶ τὰ μὲν διὰ τὴν συνουσίαν τὰ
δὲ διὰ τὸν κόπον ὕπνος αὐτὸν ἔλαβεν. Οἱ δ' ἀναστήσαντες
τὴν παρακοιμωμένην γυναῖκα, πολλοὶ ἅμα ἐπιπεσόντες,
συνέδησαν τὸν ἄνθρωπον, καὶ ἐπὶ Νάναρον ἐκόμισαν. Ὁ
δ᾽, ὡς εἶδεν αὐτὸν (ἤδη δὲ ἀνένηψεν ἐκ τοῦ οἶνου, καὶ ἔγνω
ἵνα ἦν κακοῦ), ἤρετο, “Αρα ὦ Παρσώνδη, κακόν τι ὑπ᾽
ἐμοῦ πάλαι ἔπαθες, ἢ αὐτὸς ἢ τῶν σῶν τις ;
» Ὁ δ᾽ οὐκ ἔφη.
“Τι δὲ πείσεσθαι προσεδόκησας;” “ Οὐκ ἔγωγε,” εἶπεν.
“Τὶ οὖν αὐτὸς ἀδικίας ἦρξας εἰς ἐμὲ, ἀνδρόγυνόν τε καλῶν,
καὶ βασιλείαν τὴν ἐμὴν αἰτῶν παρὰ ᾿Αρταίου, ὡς δῆτα
οὐδενὸς ἀξίου αὐτὸς γενναῖος ὤν; πολλὴ δὲ χάρις ᾿Αρταίῳ
οὐ πεισθέντι τὴν ὑπ᾽ ᾿Αρβάκεω δεδομένην ἡμῖν ἀρχὴν ἀφε-
λέσθαι. Διὰ τὶ δὴ ταῦτ᾽ ἐποίεις ὦ κακή κεφαλή;” Ὁ δὲ
οὐδὲν ὑποθωπεύσας εἶπεν “Ωμην αὐτὸς ἀξιώτερος εἶναι
τοῦτο τὸ γέρας ἔχειν, ἀνδρειότερός τε ὢν καὶ ὠφελιμώτερος
βασιλεί ή συ ὁ κατεξυρημένος τε καὶ καθυπεστιμμισμένος
τὰ ὀφθαλμώ, ψιμυθίῳ δὲ τὸ χρῶμα ἐναλειφόμενος.” Καὶ
ὃς “Εἶτ᾽ οὐκ αἰσχύνῃ” ἔφη, “σὺ ὁ τηλικοῦτος ὑπὸ τοῦ
χείρονος συνειλημμένος ἐπειδὴ γαστρὸς ἥττων καὶ αἰδοίων
ἐγένου; ᾿Αλλ᾽ ἐγώ σε,” ἔφη, “ θήσω γυναικῶν ἁπαλώτερον
καὶ λευκότερον τὴν χροιὰν οὐ πολλοῦ χρόνου.” Καὶ ἐπώ-
μοσε τὸν τε Βῆλον καὶ τὴν Μύλιττα· οὕτως γὰρ τὴν ᾿Αφροδί
την καλοῦσι Βαβυλώνιοι. Καὶ ἅμα καλέσας τὸν εὐνοῦχον,
τὸν τὰς μουσουργοὺς πεπιστευμένον. «Τοῦτον, ἔφη,
ἅπαγε, καὶ ξυρήσας τὸ ὅλον σῶμα, καὶ κισηρίσας πλὴν
Μύλιττα, οὕτως γὰρ τὴν Αφροδίτην
καλοῦσι Βαβυλώνιοι] Mulitta, tho
Babylonian equivalent of the As-
Ο
""
syrian Boltis, often confused with
Ishtar (Rawlinson, Herodotus, i.
p. 625).
IV.VI.]
103
CTESIAE PERSICA.
αν
ΤΟ
κεφαλῆς, δὶς τῆς ἡμέρας λούε, καὶ σμῆχε ἀπὸ λεκίθου, καὶ
τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑπογραφέσθω, καὶ τὰς κόμας ἐμπλεκέσθω,
ὥσπερ αἱ γυναῖκες, μανθανέτω δὲ ᾄδειν καὶ κιθαρίζειν καὶ
ψάλλειν, ἵνα μοι μετὰ τῶν μουσουργῶν λειτουργῇ, γυναικὶ
ὡμοιωμένος, μεθ' ὧν καὶ δίαιταν ἕξει, λεῖος ὢν τὸ σῶμα, καὶ
τὴν ἐσθῆτα τὴν αὐτὴν καὶ τὴν τέχνην ἔχων.” Τα τα
εἰπόντος, ὁ εὐνοῦχος παραδεξάμενος τὸν Παρσώνδην, κατε-
ξύρησέ τε ὅλον πλὴν κεφαλῆς, καὶ τὰ προσταχθέντα ἐδί-
δασκε, καὶ ἐσκιατραφει λούων ἑκάστης ἡμέρας δὶς, καὶ
λεαίνων, ὁμοδίαιτόν τε ποιῶν ταῖς γυναιξὶν, ὥσπερ ὁ δεσπό-
της προσέταξεν. Καὶ οὐ πολλοῦ χρόνου γίνεται ἄνθρωπός
τε λευκὸς καὶ ἁπαλὸς καὶ γυναικώδης, ᾔδε τε καὶ ἐκιθάριζε
πολὺ κάλλιον τῶν μουσουργῶν· οὐδείς τε ἂν ἰδὼν αὐτὸν
λειτουργοῦντα ἐν συμποσίῳ Νανάρῳ οὐχὶ γυναῖκα ὑπέλαβε,
καὶ πολύ γε ἐκείνων εὐπρεπέστερον, μεθ᾽ ὧν ἑκάστοτε ἐλει-
τούργει. Βασιλεὺς δὲ ὁ Μήδων ᾿Αρταῖος, ἐπειδὴ πάντη
μαστεύων Παρσώνδην ἐξέκαμε, καὶ δῶρα προτείνων εἴ τις
αὐτὸν ἀνεύροι ἢ ζῶντα ἢ τεθνεῶτα, ὑπελάμβανέ που ἐν
κυνηγεσίῳ ὑπὸ λεόντος ἢ ἄλλου του θηρίου καταβεβρωσ
θαι, καὶ μεγάλως ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ ἠνιᾶτο, ἅτε ἀνδρειοτάτῳ ὄντι.
Ὡς δ᾽ ἑπτὰ ἔτη ἐγένετο αὐτῷ τοιαύτην δίαιτην ἔχοντι ἐν
Βαβυλῶνι, τῶν εὐνούχων τινα ὁ Νάναρος μαστιγοῖ τε χαλε-
πῶς, καὶ τὸ σῶμα αἰκίζεται. Καὶ αὐτὸν ὁ Παρσώνδης,
μέγαλαις ἐλπίσιν ἐπάρας, ἀναπείθει παρὰ τὸν ᾿Αρταῖον εἰς
Μήδους ἀποδρᾶναι, καὶ πάντα φρᾶσαι τὰ περὶ αὐτὸν
βασιλεῖ, ὡς ζῇ τε καὶ λελώβηται, μετὰ μουσουργῶν δίαιταν
ἔχων, Παρσώνης ὁ σὸς φίλος ἐκεῖνος ὁ πολεμιστήριος. Καὶ
ἐπειδὴ ταῦτ᾽ ἔφρασεν ὁ εὐνοῦχος βασιλεῖ, ἦσθη τε ἅμα καὶ
μέγα στενάξας εἶπε, “φεῦ λώβης ἀνδρὸς ἀγαθοῦ πῶς
ἠνέσχετο ὁ Παρσώνδης, ὃν ἐγὼ οἶδα, θηλυνόμενος τὸ σῶμα
ὑπὸ ἐχθροῦ ;” καὶ ἅμα πέμπει τινα τῶν πιστοτάτων ἄγγαρον
ΕΠ
ον
ἄγγαρον] See Herodotus, viii.
98; but the functions discharged
by the ayyapos in this passage are
rather those assumed by Bagaeus
in Herod. iii. 128.
104
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
παρὰ τὸν Βαβυλώνιον (οὕτω γὰρ ἐκάλουν τοὺς βασιλέως
ἀγγέλους). Ὁ δὲ Νάναρος ἀφικομένῳ τῷ ἀγγάρῳ, καὶ
ἀπαιτοῦντι Παρσώνδην ἔξαρνος γενόμενος, οὐδαμοῦ ἔφη
ἐκεῖνον ἑωρακέναι ἐξ ὅτου ἀφανὴς ἐγένετο. Ὡς δὲ ταῦτα
ἤκουσεν Αρταῖος, ἕτερον ἔπεμψεν ἄγγαρον πολὺ μείζω τοῦ
προτέρου και δυνατώτερον· ἐπέστειλέ τε ἐν διφθέρα,
ῥίψαντα τὴν Βαβυλωνίαν ἀπάτην, ὀπίσω ἀποπέμπειν τὸν
ἄνδρα παρ' ἑαυτὸν, ὃν ταῖς μουσουργοῖς τε καὶ εὐνούχοις
παρέδωκεν, ἢ ὅτι τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτὸς οὐχ ἕξει. Ταῦτα
ἔγραψε, καὶ ἅμα ἐκέλευσε τῷ ἀνδρὶ, εἰ μὴ παραδῷ Νάναρος
τὸν Παρσώνδην, λαβόμενον τῆς ζώνης ἄγειν ἐπὶ θανάτῳ.
Αφικομένου δὲ τοῦ δευτέρου ἀγγάρου εἰς Βαβυλῶνα, καὶ
ταῦτα ἀπαγγείλαντος, ὁ Νάναρος δείσας περὶ τῆς ψυχῆς,
παραδώσειν τε ὑπέσχετο τὸν ἄνθρωπον, καὶ προσέτι, ἀπο-
λογούμενος τῷ ἀγγάρῳ, πείσειν ἔφη βασιλέα, ὡς δικαίως
μετῆλθεν ἄνδρα ἄρξαντα μεγάλης ἀδικίας εἰς ἑαυτόν πε-
πονθέναι γὰρ ἂν αὐτὸς ὑπ᾽ ἐκείνου χαλεπώτερα, εἰ μὴ
βασιλεὺς ὁ δεσπότης αὐτοῦ ὑπερέσχε τὴν δεξιάν. Ἐκ
τούτου ἐπὶ πότον ἐτράπετο καὶ συνουσίαν ἑστιῶν τὸν ἄγγα-
ρον. Καὶ τοῦ δείπνου παρακειμένου, εἰσεληλύθεσαν αἱ
μουσουργοί, ἑκατὸν καὶ πεντήκοντα γυναῖκες μεθ' ὧν ἦν
καὶ Παρσώνης. Καὶ αἱ μὲν ἐκιθάριζον, αἱ δ' ηὔλουν, αἱ
δὲ ἔψαλλον, ἐν πάσαις δὲ διέπρεπε μάλιστα Παρσώδης και
κάλλει καὶ τέχνῃ, γυνὴ καὶ αὐτὸς νομιζόμενος. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ
δείπνου ἄδην εἶχον, ἤρετο ὁ Νάναρος τὸν ἄγγαρον, ἥτις
αὐτῷ δοκεῖ πασῶν προφέρειν εὐμορφίᾳ τε καὶ εὐμουσίᾳ.
Ὁ δ', οὐδὲν μελλήσας, ἔφη ἐκείνην, Παρσώνδην δεικνύς.
Καὶ ὁ Νάναρος, κροτήσας τω χεῖρε, ἐγέλα ἐπὶ πολὺν
χρόνον, καὶ εἶπε, “Ταύτην ἆρα καὶ βούλει ἔχων εἰς νύκτα
ἀναπαύεσθαι ;” Ὁ δὲ, “ Πάνυ μὲν οὖν,” ἔφη. Αλλ' οὐ
δώσω,” εἶπεν ὁ Νάναρος. “Τί οὖν,” ἔφη ὁ ἄγγαρος,
· ἐμοῦ πυνθάνῃ;” Μικρὸν δὲ διαλιπών, “ Οὗτος ἐστιν,”
ἔφη, “Παρσώνδης, ἐφ᾿ ὃν ἥκεις.” Απιστοῦντος δ᾽ ἐκείνου,
ὤμοσεν. Καὶ ὁ ἄγγαρος, “ θαῦμα μ' ἔχει,” ἔφη, “ ὅπως ζῆν
"
Ο
IV.-VI.]
105
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Ο
« πως
ὑπέμεινε γυναικιζόμενος ἀνὴρ ἄλκιμος, καὶ οὐ διεχρήσατο
ἑαυτὸν, εἰ μὴ καὶ ἄλλους ἐδύνατο· πῶς δὲ ταῦτ᾽ ἀνέξεται ὁ
δεσπότης ἀκούσας;” Ὁ δὲ Νάναρος εἶπεν, “ ἔγω ῥᾳδίως
αὐτὸν ἀναδιδάξω ὡς οὐδὲν ἀδικῶ.” Τότε μὲν δὴ τοιαῦτα
διελέγοντο, καὶ ἐκοιμήθησαν. Τῇ δὲ ὑστεραίᾳ ἐνθεὶς ὁ
Βαβυλώνιος, εἰς ἁρμάμαξαν Παρσώνδην ἀποπέμπεται σὺν
τῷ ἀγγάρῳ. Ἐπεὶ δ᾽ ἧκον εἰς Σοῦσα, ἔνθα ἦν ὁ βασιλεὺς,
δείκνυσιν αὐτῷ ὁ ἄγγαρος τὸν ἄνδρα. Καὶ ἐπὶ πολὺν
χρόνον ὁ Αρταῖος ἐν ἀγνοίᾳ γενόμενος, ἐπειδὴ ἑώρα ἀντ᾿
ἄνδρος γυναῖκα γεγονότα, “Ω ταλαίπωρε,” ἔφη,
ὑπέμεινας ὧδε λωβηθῆναι, καὶ οὐ πρότερον ἀπέθανες;” Ὁ
δὲ ἀπεκρίνατο, “Η τοι ἀνάγκη, ὦ δέσποτα, καὶ θεῶν
λέγεται κρείττων ὑπάρχειν. Ἐγὼ δὲ ἔτλην καὶ ἐκ τοιῶνδε
παθημάτων ζῆν, ἵνα ἅμα μέν σε ἐγγένοιτό μοι θεωρῆσαι,
ἔπειτα δὲ Νάναρον τιμωρήσασθαι διὰ σοῦ, ἅπερ ἐμοὶ οὐκ
ἂν ὑπῆρξε τετελευτηκότι· ἀλλὰ μή μοι,” ἔφη, “δέσποτα
ψεύσῃ τῆς ἑτέρας ἐλπίδος, ἀλλά μοι τὴν δίκην ἀπόδος παρ'
ἀνδρὸς κακοῦ.” Καὶ ὁ ᾿Αρταῖος ὑπέσχετο, ἐπειδὰν εἰς
Βαβυλῶνα ἀφίκηται. οὐ πολλοῦ δὲ χρόνου ὅ τε Παρσώνδης
ἀπέλαβεν τὴν ἀνδρείαν φύσιν, καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀφίκετο εἰς
Βαβυλώνα κατεβοᾶτό τε ὁσσημέραι ὑπ' αὐτοῦ, ὅπως τιμωρ-
ήσεται τὸν Νάναρον. Καὶ ὃς ἧκε παρὰ βασιλέα, καὶ ἔφη
δίκαια ποιῆσαι.
“Πρότερος γὰρ ἐκεῖνος, οὐδὲν κακὸν
παθὼν ἐμὲ διέβαλεν,” ἔφη, " παρά σοι, ὥς με κτείνειάς τε,
καὶ τὴν Βαβυλῶνος ἀρχὴν αὐτῷ δοίης. Αρταῖος δὲ ἔφη
δικαιότερα Παρσώνδην αἰτεῖσθαι· χρῆναι γὰρ μὴ σαυτῷ
δικάζειν, μηδὲ τοιαύτας ἐξευρίσκειν δίκας, ἀλλὰ ἐμοὶ
ἐπιτρέπειν τὴν κρίσιν τέλος δέ σοι ἐς δεκάτην ἐξοίσω
ἡμέραν τό σοι πρέπον. Ὁ δὲ Νάναρος, ταῦτα ἀκούσας, ἐν
δεινῷ φόβῳ ἦν καὶ ἐπὶ Μιτραφέρνην καταφεύγει ὃς ἦν τῶν
εὐνούχων δυνατώτατος, καὶ ὑπισχνεῖτο αὐτῷ χρυσίου τά-
αν
B
εὐνούχων δυνατώτατος] In Ktesias
each king, from Semiramis to Arta-
xerxes II., whose history is related
""
Ο
at any length, has a eunuch, or
eunuchs, holding a position of
special influence. In Herodotus
106
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Ο
Ο
λαντα δέκα, καὶ φιάλας χρυσᾶς δέκα, καὶ ἀργυρᾶς δια-
κοσίας, καὶ Παρσώνδῃ ἀργυρίου νομίσματος τάλαντα ἑκατὸν,
καὶ ἄλλας ἐσθῆτας πολυτελεῖς, βασιλεῖ δὲ χρυσοῦ μὲν
τάλαντα ἑκατὸν, καὶ φιάλας χρυσᾶς ἑκατὸν, ἀργυρᾶς δὲ
τριακοσίας, ἀργυροῦ δὲ νομίσματος τάλαντα χίλια ἐσθῆτάς
τε παμπληθεῖς, καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ καὶ καλὰ δῶρα, εἰ τὴν
ψυχὴν αὐτῷ ἐξαιτήσει καὶ τὴν Βαβυλῶνος βασιλείαν παρὰ
Αρταίου. Καὶ ὁ εὐνοῦχος ᾤχετο παρὰ βασιλέα, καὶ πολλὰ
δεηθεὶς, ἅτε ὤν τιμῆς τῆς πρώτης, εἶπεν ὅτι οὐκ εἴη θανάτου
ἄξιος ὁ ἀνὴρ οὐ γὰρ κτείνειε Παρσώνδην, ἀλλὰ ὑβρισθεὶς
καὶ δεινὰ παθὼν ἀνθυβρίσειεν. “ Εἰ δὲ καὶ θανάτου εἴη
ἄξιος, ἐμοὶ, ὦ δέσποτα, δὸς,” ἔφη, “ τὴν χάριν ταύτην καὶ
τὴν παραίτησιν ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ. Δώσει δὲ ὁ ἀνὴρ σοὶ μὲν τῷ
δεσπότῃ πολὺν χρυσόν τε καὶ ἄργυρον Παρσώνδῃ δὲ, ποινὴν
ὧν ἔδρασεν, ἑκατὸν τάλαντα ἀργυρίου.” Πείθεται τούτοις
ὁ βασιλεὺς, καὶ τοῦτο τὸ τέλος ἐκπέμπει Νανάρῳ. Και
μὲν προσεκύνησεν· Παρσώνδης δὲ κινῶν τὴν κεφαλὴν,
«Ολοιτο,” ἔφη, “ ὁ πρῶτος χρυσὸν ἐξευρὼν εἰς ἀνθρώπων
γένος, διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ ἐγὼ νῦν γέλως γέγονα ἀνδρὶ Βαβυ-
λωνίῳ.” Καὶ ὁ εὐνοῦχος αἰσθόμενος αὐτὸν βαρέως φέροντα,
«Ω γαθέ,” ἔφη,
ἔφη, “ παῦσαι ὀργιζόμενος, καί μοι πείθου,
φίλος τε γίνου Νανάρῳ, ταῦτα γὰρ ὁ δεσπότης βούλεται.”
Ὁ δὲ Παρσώνδης καιρὸν ἐτήρει ἀμύνασθαι, εἰ δύναιτο, τόν
τε εὐνοῦχον καὶ Νάναρον, καὶ εὗρεν, καὶ ἠμύνατο. [Ζήτει ἐν
τῷ περὶ Στρατηγημάτων] . (Nicolaus, fr. 11, Suidas v.
ἐξεκεκλήκει) [ἐξεκεκλήκει, ἐκ τοῦ δείπνου ἀνίστη· ] Νυκτὸς
δὲ γενομένης τοὺς οἰκέτας ἐξεκεκλήκει τοὺς Νανάρου.
Ο
Ο
Ο
(Suidas v. Σφοδρον) [Σφοδρού, λαμπρού, πολυδαπάνου]
Σφοδροῦ τε πότου γενομένου, ἐνεδρεύων ὁ Παρσώνδης αὐτὸς
μὲν ὀλίγον ἔπινεν, ἐκείνοις δὲ πολὺν ἐγχεῖν τῷ θεράποντι
ἐκέλευε.
eunuchs play a much less promi-
nent part, and Ktesias may have
exaggerated their power under the
earlier Persian kings, owing to
their undoubted influence in his
own time.
IV.VI.]
107
CTESIAE PERSICA.
(3) Athenaeus, xii. p. 530 D.) [Κτησίας δ᾽ ἱστορεῖ]
Νάνναρον τὸν βασιλέως ὕπαρχον καὶ τῆς Βαβυλωνίας δυνα-
στεύσαντα στολῇ χρῆσθαι γυναικείᾳ καὶ κόσμῳ, καὶ ὅτι
βασιλέως δούλῳ ὄντι αὐτῷ εἰς τὸ δεῖπνον εἰσῄεσαν πεντή
κοντα καὶ ἑκατὸν ψάλλουσαι καὶ ᾅδουσαι γυναῖκες· ἔψαλλον
δὲ αὗται καὶ ἦδον ἐκείνου δειπνοῦντος.
EPITOME DIODORI.
§ 31 (Diod. ii. 34). Τῶν δὲ Μήδων βασιλεῦσαι μετὰ
τὴν ᾿Αρταίου τελευτὴν ᾿Αρτύνην μὲν ἔτη δύο πρὸς τοῖς
εἴκοσι, Αστιβάραν δὲ τεσσαράκοντα. Ἐπὶ δὲ τούτου
Πάρθους ἀποστάντας Μήδων, Σάκαις τήν τε χώραν καὶ τὴν
πόλιν ἐγχειρίσαι. Διόπερ συστάντος πολέμου τοῖς Σάκαις
πρὸς Μήδους ἐπ᾽ ἔτη πλείω, γενέσθαι τε μάχας οὐκ ὀλίγας,
§ 31, fr. 20 and 21. Συστάντος
πολέμου τοῖς Σάκαις πρὸς Μήδους]
As Astibaras Kyaxares, the war
=
here narrated perhaps corresponds
to the Skythian war of Kyaxares
related by Herodotus, i. 103-106,
Rawlinson regards it as 'just pos-
sible' that the Skythian war of the
latter represents nothing but the
struggle between the Aryan immi-
grants led by Kyaxares and the
Skythic races, who before his time
occupied Media and the chain of
Zagrus (Herod. i. pp. 398-9). The
nature of the legend of Zarina has
been already discussed ; it is pre-
served in a very fragmentary con-
dition.
The order of the narrative
appears to have been—(1) death of
Kydnaeus, and marriage of his
widow Zarina to Mermerus, the
soner.
Parthian (fr. 20 α); (2) she en-
gages in battle, and is unhorsed by
Stryaglius, who spares her (fr.
20, a, b, c); (3) he is taken pri-
Mermerus refuses to spare
him, and is accordingly murdered
by Zarina (fr. 20 a); (4) Zarina
makes peace with the Persian
(Median ?) king (fr. 20 α, 21 α, 1);
(5) Zarina civilises her subjects
(Epit. § 31); (6) visit of Stryaglius
to Zarina; she refuses his proposals,
and he writes to her, and kills him-
self (fr. 21 a, b). With this narra-
tive we may compare Diod. ii. 44. It
is useless to try and determine the
true reading of the proper names.
A comparison of the quotations of
fr. 21, by Demetrius and Nikolaus,
enables us to see how the latter
amplified Ktesias.
108
[1.IB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
K
T
καὶ συχνῶν παρ' ἀμφοτέροις ἀναιρεθέντων, τὸ τελευταῖον
εἰρήνην αὐτοὺς ἐπὶ τοῖσδε συνθέσθαι Πάρθους μὲν ὑπὸ
Μήδους τετάχθαι, τῶν δὲ προϋπαρχόντων ἑκατέρους κυριεύ
σαντας, φίλους εἶναι καὶ συμμάχους ἀλλήλοις εἰς τὸν
ἅπαντα χρόνον. Βασιλεῦσαι δὲ τότε τῶν Σακῶν γυναῖκα
τὰ κατὰ πόλεμον ἐζηλωκυίαν, καὶ τόλμῃ τε καὶ πράξει πολὺ
διαφέρουσαν τῶν ἄλλων γυναικῶν τῶν ἐν Σάκαις, ὄνομα
Ζαρίναν. Καθόλου μὲν οὖν τὸ ἔθνος τοῦτο γυναῖκας ἀλκί-
μους ἔχει, καὶ κοινωνούσας τοῖς ἀνδράσι τῶν ἐν τοῖς πολέ-
μοις κινδύνων ταῦτην δὲ λέγεται τῷ τε κάλλει γενέσθαι
πασῶν εὐπρεπεστάτην, καὶ ταῖς ἐπιβολαῖς καὶ τοῖς κατὰ
μέρος ἐγχειρήμασι θαυμαστήν. Τῶν μὲν γὰρ πλησιοχώρων
βαρβάρων τοὺς ἐπῃρμένους τῷ θρασεῖ καὶ καταδουλουμέ
νους τὸ ἔθνος τῶν Σακῶν καταπολεμῆσαι, τῆς δὲ χώρας
πολλὴν ἐξημερώσαι, καὶ πόλεις οὐκ ὀλίγας κτίσαι, καὶ τὸ
σύνολον εὐδαιμονέστερον τὸν βίον τῶν ὁμοεθνῶν ποιῆσαι.
Διὸ καὶ τοὺς ἐγχωρίους μετὰ τὴν τελευτὴν αὐτῆς χάριν
ἀποδιδόντας τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν, καὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς μνημονεύοντας,
τάφον οἰκοδομῆσαι πολὺ τῶν ὄντων παρ' αὐτοῖς ὑπερέχοντα.
Ὑποστησαμένους γὰρ πυραμίδα τρίγωνον, τριῶν μὲν στα-
δίων ἑκάστην πλευρὰν αὐτῆς κατασκευάσαι τὸ μῆκος, τὸ δ'
ὕψος σταδιαῖον, εἰς ὀξὺ συνηγμένης τῆς κορυφῆς. Ἐπι-
στῆσαι δὲ τῷ τάφῳ καὶ χρυσῆν εἰκόνα κολοσσικήν, καὶ τιμὰς
ἡρωικὰς ἀπονείμαι, καὶ τἄλλα πάντα μεγαλοπρεπέστερα
ποιεῖν τῶν τοῖς προγεγονόσιν αὐτῆς συγχωρηθέντων.
ΤΟ
v. vi.
109
CTESIAE PERSICA.
(α)
(De Mulier. quae bello claru-
erunt, cap. 2.)
Ζαριναία. Αὕτη, τελευ-
τήσαντος τοῦ προτέρου ἀν-
δρὸς αὐτῆς καὶ ἀδελφοῦ
Κυδραίου Σακῶν βασιλέως,
ἐγαμήθη Μερμέρῳ τῆς
Παρθυαίων χώρας δυνάσ
τῇ.
Τοῦ δὲ Περσῶν βα-
FRAGMENTUM 20.
(b)
(DEMETRIUS, de Eloc.
§ 218 sq.)
[Οπερ δὲ τῷ Κτησίᾳ ἐγ-
καλοῦσιν ὡς ἀδολεσχοτέρῳ
διὰ τὰς διλογίας πολλαχῆ
μὲν ἴσως ἐγκαλοῦσιν ὀρθῶς·
πολλαχῆ δὲ οὐκ αἰσθάνονται
τῆς ἐνεργείας τοῦ ἀνδρός.
Τίθεται γὰρ τοῦτο, διὰ τὸ
σιλέως ἐπιστρατεύσαντος πολλάκις ποιεῖν ἔμφασιν
πλείονα· οἷα τὰ τοιάδε].
Στρυάγλιός τις ἀνὴρ Μῆ.
δος, γυναῖκα Σακίδα κατα-
τοῦ ἵππου,
βαλὼν ἀπὸ
μάχονται γὰρ δὴ αἱ γυναῖκες
ἐν Σάκαις ὥσπερ αἱ ᾿Αμα
ζόνες, θεασάμενος δὴ τὴν
Σακίδα εὐπρεπῆ καὶ ὡραίαν,
μεθῆκεν ἀποσώζεσθαι.
πολεμοῦσα καὶ τρωθεῖσα
ἔφυγε, διωχθεῖσα δὲ ὑπὸ
Στρυαγγαίου ἱκετεύσασα
διεσώθη. Μετ᾽ οὐ πολὺ δὲ
ὑποχείριον αὐτὸν ὁ ἀνὴρ
αὐτῆς λαβὼν ἐβούλετο ἀνε
λεῖν, ἡ δὲ δεομένη σώζειν
καὶ μὴ πείθουσα, λύσασά
τινας τῶν ἑαλωκότων, σὺν
αὐτοῖς τὸν Μέρμερον ἀνεῖλε
καὶ παραδοῦσα τῷ Πέρσῃ
τὴν χώραν φιλίαν ἐποιήσατο
πρὸς αὐτὸν ὡς ἱστορεῖ
Κτησίας].
(c)
(TZETZES, Hist. xii.
894.)
[Τοὺς Σάκας ἔθνος γί-
νωσκε, ὧν εὕρεμα τὸ σάκος,
καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες τούτων δὲ
συμμάχονται ἀνδράσιν, ὡς
καὶ Κτησίας εἴρηκε καὶ ἕτε
ροι μυρίοι· αἱ τῶν Σακών
γυναῖκες δὲ μάχονται δὴ
ἀφ᾽ ἵππων· καὶ πάλιν δὲ
Στρυάλιος, ἀνήρ τις ἐκ τῶν
Μήδων, γυναῖκα τῶν Σακί
δων μὲν καταβαλὼν ἐξ
ἵππου.]
FRAGMENTUM 21.
(α) (Nicolaus Dam. fr. 12, Exc. de Virtut.) Ο Στρυ-
αγγαίος μετὰ τὴν ἀναίρεσιν Μαρμάρεω τοῦ Σακῶν βασι-
λέως εἴχετο ἔρωτι Ζαριναίας σιγῇ πάλαι κἀκείνη δὲ αὐτοῦ.
Καὶ ἐπεὶ πλησίον γίνεται ὁ ἀνὴρ Ῥωξανάκης τῆς πόλεως,
ἔνθα Σάκαις τὸ βασίλειον ἦν, ὑπήντησεν αὐτῷ Ζαριναία,
καὶ θεασαμένη σὺν πολλῇ χαρᾷ ἐδεξιοῦτο τε αὐτὸν. Και
ἐφίλησε πάντων ὁρώντων, εἴς τε τὸ ἅρμα αὐτοῦ μετενέστη,
καὶ διαλεγόμενοι ἧκον εἰς τὸ βασίλειον. Ὑποδέχεται δὲ ἡ
Ζαριναία καὶ τὴν ἑπομένην αὐτῷ στρατιάν λαμπρότατα.
Ῥωξανάκης] Steph. Βyz. : Ροξο-
νοκαία πόλις· τὸ ἐθνικὸν Ροξονοκαῖος
καὶ Ροξονοκαιάτης καὶ Ροξονοκαιο-
νός. Otherwise unknown.
110
LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Οι
Ἐκ τούτου ἐπὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ καταγωγὴν Στρυαγγαῖος ἀπελύετο,
ὑποστενάζων διὰ τὸν Ζαριναίας ἔρωτα. Οὐ καρτερῶν δὲ
κοινοῦται τῷ πιστοτάτῳ τῶν εὐνούχων, οἳ συνείποντό οἱ ὁ
δὲ θαρρύνας αὐτὸν παρῄνει τὴν πολλὴν ἀτολμίαν ρίψαντα,
αὐτῇ εἰπεῖν Ζαριναίᾳ. Καὶ ὃς πεισθεὶς, ἀναπηδήσας ᾤχετο
παρ' αὐτήν· ἀσμενῶς δὲ ἐκείνης παραδεξαμένης αὐτὸν,
πολλὰ διαμελλήσας καὶ στέναξας καὶ μεταβαλὼν τὸ χρῶμα
ἐτόλμησεν ὅμως, καὶ εἶπε πρὸς αὐτὴν, ὡς δι᾽ ἔρωτος εἴη
σφοδρού καιόμενος τῷ πόθῳ αὐτῆς. Ἡ δὲ πράως μάλα
αναινομένη, καὶ ἑαυτῇ, ἔφη τὸ πρᾶγμα ἐπαισχὲς εἶναι καὶ
βλαβερόν, κακείνῳ πολὺ αἴσχιον καὶ βλαβερώτερον, γυναῖκα
ἔχοντι Ῥοιταίαν τὴν ᾿Αστιβάρα θυγατέρα, ἣν ἀκούειν πολὺ
καλλίω καὶ αὐτῆς εἶναι καὶ ἄλλων πολλῶν γυναικῶν. Δεῖν
οὖν αὐτὸν μὴ πρὸς πολεμίους μόνον ἀνδρίζεσθαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ
πρὸς τὰ τοιαῦτα, ἐπειδάν τι προσπέσῃ τῇ ψυχῇ, καὶ μὴ βρα-
χείας τέρψεως χάριν, ἣν καὶ ἐκ παλλακίδων οἷον τ᾽ ἔχειν, τὸν
πολὺν ἀνιᾶσθαι χρόνον, εἰ αἴσθοιτο Ροιταία. Τοῦτ᾽ οὖν
μεθέντι ἔφη ἄλλο τι αἰτεῖσθαι· οὐδενὸς γὰρ ἀτυχήσειν παρ'
αὐτῆς. Ὁ μὲν δὴ, τοιαῦτα εἰπούσης, ἐπὶ πολὺ ἤσυχος ἦν,
αὖθις δ᾽ ἀσπασάμενος αὐτὴν ἀπέρχεται καὶ ἐν πλέονι ἀθυμίᾳ
ἦν, πρός τε τὸν εὐνοῦχον ὠδύρετο. Τέλος δὲ γράψας εἰς
διφθέραν ἐξώρκωσε τὸν εὐνοῦχον, ἐπειδὰν αὑτὸν διαχρήσε
ται, μηδὲν προκατειπόντα, τὴν διφθέραν ἀποδοῦναι Ζαρι-
ναίᾳ. Εγέγραπτο δὲ, “Στρυαγγαῖος Ζαριναίᾳ λέγει τάδε·
Ἐγὼ μέν σε έσωσά τε καὶ τῶν νῦν παρόντων ἀγαθῶν αἴτιος
γέγονα· σὺ δέ με ἀπέκτεινας καὶ πάντων ἀνόνητον πεποίηκας.
Εἰ μὲν οὖν σοι ταῦτα πέπρακται δικαίως, σύ τε πάντων
τύχοις τῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ εἴης μακαρία· εἰ δὲ ἀδίκως, σύ τε
τοῦ αὐτοῦ πάθους ἐμοὶ πεῖραν λάβοις· σὺ γάρ μοι παρήνεσας
τοιοῦτον γενέσθαι.” Ταῦτα γράψας ὑπὸ τῷ προσκεφαλαίῳ
τίθησι, καὶ εἰς ᾅδου ἀπιὼν ἀνδρείως το ξίφος ᾔτει. Ὁ δὲ
εὐνοῦχος . (Suidas v. ὠμή): “Δέδοικα μὴ δόξης ὠμή
τις εἶναι δεινῶς οὕτω τιμωρουμένη” [Νικόλαος Δαμ. φησι].
(4) (Demetrius de elocut. $ 219). Μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο
IV. --VI.]
111
CTESIAE PERSICA.
σπονδῶν γενομένων ἐρασθεὶς τῆς γυναικός (Stryaglius)
ἀπετύγχανεν· ἐδέδοκτο μὲν αὐτῷ (Stryaglio) ἀποκαρτερεῖν,
γράφει δὲ πρότερον ἐπιστολὴν τῇ γυναικὶ μεμφόμενος
τοιάνδε, “ἐγὼ μὲν σὲ ἔσωσα, καὶ σὺ μὲν δι᾿ ἐμὲ ἐσώθης
ἐγὼ δὲ διὰ σὲ ἀπωλόμην.”
ΕΡΙΤΟΜΕ
DIODORI.
§ 32 (Diod. ii. 34, 6). Αστιβάρα δὲ τοῦ βασιλέως τῶν
Μήδων γήρα τελευτήσαντος ἐν ᾿Αγβατάνοις, τὴν ἀρχὴν
Ασπάδαν τὸν υἱὸν διαδέξασθαι, τὸν ὑπὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων
Αστυάγην καλούμενον. Τούτου δ' ὑπὸ Κύρου τοῦ Πέρσου
καταπολεμηθέντος, μεταπεσεῖν τὴν βασιλείαν εἰς Πέρσας.
§ 32. Αστυάγην] I have usually other indications we have of the
substituted Αστυΐγας for Αστυάγης, latter's narrative. It is as fol-
owing to the statement of Photius
lows:-
(cod. 72, § 2: seo Ktesins, Epit.,
§ 33), on the same principle on
which I read 'Αγβάτανα του Εκβά-
τανα.
Here I retain 'Αστυάγην, ας
the statement is that he was so
called by the Greeks. Αστυΐγας
may have been intended by Ktosias
to represent the Persian form of the
namo. Probably the sixth book of
Ktesius contained the greater purt
of his history of Astyages, but Dio-
dorus has given no epitome of it.
Io
Horo-
Πo seems to have followed Mονο-
Πο
dotus' account, at least in part
(Diod. ix. pp. 27-28). Photius'
epitomo begins with Book vii.
Nikolaus, however (vii. fr. 66, pp.
397-406, Exc. do insidiis), has
n long account of the reign of As-
tyages, which is probably based to
a large extent on Ktesias, and is,
with the exception of a passago at
the end, consistent with whatevοι
Κ
Ὅτι ἐν τῇ ᾿Ασίᾳ τελευτήσαντος
τοῦ Μήδων βασιλέως ἐκδέχεται τὴν
ἀρχὴν ᾿Αστυάγης, ὁ παῖς, ὅντινα
μετὰ ᾿Αρβάκην λόγος έχει γενναιό
τατον γεγονέναι. Ἐπὶ τούτου βασι-
λεύοντος ἡ μεγάλη γίνεται μεταβολὴ,
καθ᾽ ἣν εἰς Πέρσας ἐκ Μήδων πε-
ριῆλθεν ἡ ἀρχὴ, δι᾿ αἰτίαν τοιανδε.
Νόμος ἐγένετο ἐν Μήδοις, ὅστις
πένης τροφῆς ἕνεκα προσίῃ ἀνδρὶ
εὐπόρῳ, ἑαυτὸν διδοὺς ὅπως τρέφοιτά
τε καὶ ἀμπέχοιτο, ἴσα καὶ δοῦλον
νομίζεσθαι ἐκείνου· ἂν δὲ μὴ παρέχοι
ταῦτα ὁ λαβὼν, ἐξεῖναι παρ᾽ ἄλλον
ἀποχωρεῖν. Προσέρχεται δή τις
μειρακίσκος, ὄνομα Κῦρος Μάρδος
γένος, θεράποντι βασιλείῳ, ὃς ἂν
ἐπὶ τοῖς καλλύνουσι τὰ βασιλεία.
Ην δὲ ὁ Κῦρος τοῦ ᾿Ατραδάτου
(Codex Escor. Τοσατραδάτου) παῖς
ὅστις ἐλῄστευεν ὑπὸ πενίας. Ἡ δὲ
γυνὴ αὐτοῦ ᾿Αργάστη ὄνομα, ὁ Κύρου
μήτηρ, αἰπολοῦσα ἔξη. Εκδίδωσιν
112
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
οὖν αὐτὸν ὁ Κῦρος ἐπὶ τὸ τρέφεσθαι
τῷ ἀνδρὶ, καὶ ἐκάλλυνε τὰ βασιλεία,
καὶ ἦν ἐπιμελητής. Βελτίω οὖν
αὐτῷ στολὴν ὁ ἐπιστάτης δίδωσι, καὶ
ἐκ τῶν ἔξω εἰσήγαγεν εἰς τοὺς ἔσω
καλλύνοντας παρὰ βασιλεῖ, καὶ τῷ
τούτων ἐπιστάτῃ συνίστησι, χαλεπὸς
δ᾽ ἦν οὗτος καὶ ἐμαστίγου πολλάκις
Κῦρον· καὶ ὃς ἀφίσταται παρὰ τὸν
λυχνοφόρον κἀκεῖνος αὐτὸν ἀγαπᾷ,
καὶ προσάγεται πλησίον βασιλέως,
ἵν᾿ ἐν τοῖς λυχνοφοροῦσιν αὐτῷ εἴη·
Εὐδοκιμῶν δὲ καὶ ἐν τούτοις μετῆλθε
παρὰ ᾿Αρτεμβάρην, ὅστις τῶν οἶνο-
χόων ἐπεστάτει, καὶ αὐτὸς βασιλεῖ
ὤρεγε πιεῖν τὴν φιάλην. Ὁ δὲ
αὐτὸν προθύμως δέχεται, καὶ οἶνο-
χοεῖν κελεύει τοῖς ὁμοτραπέζοις βα-
σιλέως. Οὐ πολλοῦ δὲ χρόνου ἐκεῖ
ἕωρα αὐτὸν ᾿Αρτεμβάρης εὖ καὶ ἐπιστ
τρεφῶς διακονοῦντα καὶ τὴν φιάλην
ευσχημόνως ἐπιδιδόντα, πυνθάνεται
βασιλεὺς ᾿Αρτεμβάρου ὁπόθεν εἴη ὁ
νεανίσκος. « Ὡς καλῶς οἶνοχοεί.”
Ὁ δ᾽ εἶπεν· “Ω δέσποτα, σὸς
Ο
δοῦλος, Πέρσης γένος ἐκ Μάρδων,
τροφῆς δὲ χάριν ἑαυτὸν δεδωκώς μοι.
Ἦν δὲ ὁ ᾿Αρτεμβάρης πρεσβυτής
καί ποτε δεῖται βασιλέως, ἐπεὶ ἐπύ-
ρεξε, μεθεῖναι αὐτὸν εἰς οἶκον ἔστ᾽ ἂν
ὑγιάνῃ. “Αντὶ δ᾽ ἐμαυτοῦ,” ἔφη, “ὁ
νεανίσκος δε Κύρον λέγων), ὃν
σὺ ἐπαινεῖς, οἰνοχοήσει· υἱὸν δ᾽ αὐτὸν
κἀγὼ ποιήσομαι, εὐνοῦχος ὤν εἰ σοι
τῷ δεσπότῃ οἰνοχοῶν καταθύμιος
γένοιτο.” Ταῦτα ἐπῄνει ὁ ᾿Αστυάγης.
καὶ ὁ μὲν ἀπελύετο, πολλὰ ἐντειλά-
μενος Κύρῳ, καὶ φιλοφρονησάμενος
ὡς ἂν υἱῷ. Ὁ δὲ παρεστὼς βασιλεῖ
τὴν τε φιάλην ἐδίδου καὶ ᾠνοχόει
νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν, ὑπέφαινε τε
πολλὴν σωφροσύνην καὶ ἀνδρείαν.
Ὁ δ' Αρτεμβάρης ἐκ τῆς νόσου
ταύτης θνήσκει υἱοποιησάμενος τὸν
66
αν
Κύρον. Δίδωσιν οὖν αὐτῷ ὁ ᾿Ασ
τυάγης, ὡς ἂν υἱεῖ, τὸν σύμπαντα
βίον ᾿Αρτεμβάρεω (-εως, Cod.), καὶ
ἄλλα πολλὰ δῶρα μέγας τε ἦν καὶ
ὄνομα αὐτοῦ πάντη διεφέρετο. Ἦν
δὲ Αστυάγῃ θυγατὴρ πάνυ γε γενναία
καὶ εὐειδὴς ἥντινα Σπιτάμα (Επισ
τάμα, Cod.) δίδωσι τῷ Μήδῳ ἐπὶ
προικὶ πάση Μηδία. Κύρος δὲ
μεταπέμπεται τόν τε πατέρα ᾿Ατρα-
δάτην καὶ ᾿Αργοστὴν τὴν μητέρα ἐκ
Μάρδων. Οἱ δὲ ἧκον ἐπ' αὐτῷ μετ
γάλῳ ὄντι. Ἐξηγήσατο δ' αὐτῷ καὶ
ἡ μήτηρ ὄνειρον, ὡς κύουσα αὐτὸν
δόξαι κοιμηθεῖσα ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ, ἡνίκα
ἐν Μάρδοις ἦν αὐπολοῦσα. “Ἔδοξα
γὰρ,” ἔφη, “ ουρῆσαι τοσοῦτον
κύουσα, ὦ Κῦρε, σὲ ὥστε ποταμοῦ
μεγάλου ρεύματα ὅμοιον γενέσθαι τὸ
πλῆθος τοῦ οὔρου, καὶ κατακλύσαι
πᾶσαν τὴν ᾿Ασίαν· ῥυῆναι δὲ αὐτὸ
ἄχρι θαλάττης.”
Καὶ ὁ πατὴρ
ἀκούσας κελεύει τοῖς ἐν Βαβυλώνι
Χαλδαίοις ὑπερθεῖναι. Κῦρος δὲ τὸν
λογιώτατον αὐτῶν καλέσας ἐξηγή-
σατο· καὶ ὃς ἀποκρίνεται μέγα τε
εἶναι τὸ προφαινόμενον ἀγαθὸν καὶ
τὴν πρώτην αὐτῷ τιμὴν φέρον ἐν
Ἀσίᾳ δεῖν δὲ κρύπτειν, ὡς μὴ
Αστυάγης ἀκούσῃ·
᾿Αστυάγης ἀκούσῃ· “ κάκιστα γὰρ
σέ τε ἀποκτενεῖ, καμὲ τὸν κριτῆρα
αὐτοῦ.” Ὤμοσαν δὲ ἀλλήλοις μη-
δενὶ κατερεῖν τὴν ὄψιν μεγάλην τε
οὖσαν καὶ οἵαν οὐκ ἄλλην. Ἐκ
τούτου πολὺ μείζων ὁ Κῦρος γενό-
μενος σατράπην τὸν αὐτοῦ πατέρα
Περσῶν ἐποίησε, καὶ τὴν μητέρα
πλούτῳ τε καὶ δυναμει Περσίδων
πρώτην.
Καδούσιοι δὲ τότε πολέμιοι ἦσαν
βασιλεῖ, ἄρχοντα ἔχοντες αναφέρ-
νην, ὅστις προδιδοὺς τὸ ἔθνος τὰ
βασιλέως ἐφρόνει, καὶ πέμψας ἄγ
γελον παρὰ ᾿Αστυάγην ᾐτεῖτο ἄνδρα
IV.-VI.]
113
CTESIAE PERSICA.
πιστὸν ὡς σὺν αὐτῷ βουλεύσειε τὰ
περὶ τῆς προδοσίας. Καὶ ὃς ἐκπέμ.
πει Κῦρον, ὡς ἂν πάντα συμπράξειεν
ἡμέρᾳ δὲ τεσσαρακοστῇ ὥρισεν αὐτῷ
παρ' αὐτὸν εἰς Εκβάτανα ἀνελθεῖν.
Καὶ ὁ τοῦ ὀνείρου κριτὴς παρεθάρ-
ρυνεν αὐτὸν εἰς Καδουσίους ἀπελθεῖν,
καὶ φρονήματος ἐνεπίμπλα. Εἰσῄει
δὲ Κῦρον ἅτε φύσει γενναῖον καὶ
μεγαλόφρονα, ὡς χρὴ, θεοῦ συλλαμ-
βανομένου, Πέρσας ἀποστῆσαι, καὶ
Αστυάγην πειρᾶσθαι τῆς ἀρχῆς παύ-
ειν, πιστεύειν τε τῷ Βαβυλωνίῳ
τὰ θεῖα κάλλιστα ἐξεπισταμένῳ.
Εθάρρυνον δὲ ἀλλήλους· ὁ μὲν
Βαβυλώνιος Κῦρον ὅτι εἱμαρμένον
εἴη αὐτὸν καταλῦσαι ᾿Αστυάγην καὶ
τὴν ἐκείνου βασιλείαν ἑλεῖν, καὶ
τοῦτ᾽ αὐτὸς ἄριστα γινώσκειν· ὁ δ᾽
αὖ Κῦρος τὸν Βαβυλώνιον, ὅτι μεγά-
λων αὐτὸν καταξιώσει, γενομένων
τούτων, ἐὰν αὐτὸς βασιλεὺς γένηται·
ἐνεθυμεῖτο δὲ ὡς καὶ ᾿Αρβάκης
παύσας Σαρδανάπαλλον πρότερον τὴν
ἐκείνου τιμὴν ἀφέλοιτο. “Καίτοι οὔτε
Μῆδοι κρείσσους Περσῶν, οἷς ἐκεῖνος
ἐπίστευσεν, οὔτε ᾿Αρβάκης φρονιμώ-
τερος ἐμοῦ· τύχη δὲ καὶ μοῖρα καμοί
προδείκνυσι ὥσπερ ἄρα κἀκείνῳ.”
Ταῦτα ἐνθυμουμένῳ ὑπήντησε μεμασ-
τιγωμένος ἀνὴρ κόπρον ἐν κοφίνῳ
ἐκφέρων, ἐπειδὴ ἐν τοῖς ὅροις γίνεται
Καδουσίων· οἰωνισάμενος καθυπερ-
τίθεται τῷ Βαβυλωνίῳ. Ὁ δὲ
ἐκέλευσε πυθέσθαι, τίς τε εἴη ὁ ἀνὴρ,
καὶ ποδαπὸς γένος. Πυθομένῳ δὲ
Κύρῳ ἀποκρίνεται ἐκεῖνος, ὅτι Πέρσης
εἴη, Οἰβάρας ὄνομα. Καὶ ὅς ἥσθη
πάνυ ὁ γὰρ Οἰβάρας δύναται Ἑλλάδι
γλώσσῃ ἀγαθάγγελος. Ἔφη δ' ὁ
Βαβυλώνιος πρὸς Κῦρον, καὶ τἄλλα
σύμβολα εἶναι ἄριστα, ὅτι τε Πέρσης
ἐστί σοι πολίτης καὶ ὅτι κόπρον
ἱππίαν φέρει, ἥτις πλοῦτον καὶ δύνα-
Ι
μιν προσημαίνει ὥσπερ καὶ τοὔνομα
λέγει. Ταχὺ δὲ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὁ
Κῦρος παραλαμβάνει, συνεῖναί τε
ἐκέλευεν αὐτῷ· ὁ δὲ πείθεται. Ἐκ
τούτου παρὰ ἀναφέρνην εἰς Κα
δουσίους ἧκε, καὶ πίστεις λαμβάνει
τε καὶ δίδωσι περὶ τῆς προδοσίας
ἐπανῄει τε εἰς Μηδίαν· τὸν δὲ Οἰβά-
ραν ἵππῳ τε καὶ στολῇ Περσίδι καὶ
θεραπείᾳ ἐτίμησεν, εἶχε τε πέλας
τὴν γνώμην ὁρῶν ἀγαθὸν καὶ ἅμα τοῦ
Βαβυλωνίου κελευόντος διαλεγέσθαι
αὐτῷ. Ἐκ δὲ τοῦ κατ᾽ ὀλίγον έται-
ριζόμενος ἐποιεῖτο καὶ σύμβουλον.
Καί ποτ᾽ εἰς λόγους ἦλθε τοιούτους,
ὡς ἄχθος τὸ ὁρᾶν Πέρσας ὑπὸ
Μήδων κακουμένους, καὶ ταῦτα οὐδὲν
χείρους ὄντας τὰς φύσεις. Καὶ ὁ
Οἰβάρας εἶπεν· “Ω Κῦρε, οὐ γὰρ
ἔστιν ἀνὴρ τὰ νῦν μεγαλόφρων τε
καὶ μεγαλογνώμων, ὃς παῦσαι Μήδους
ἐθελήσει τῶν κρειττόνων ἄρχειν ἀξι-
οῦντας. Καὶ Κῦρος ἔφη· “ πῶς οὐκ
ἔστιν, ὦ Οἰβάρα;” “Εστιν μὲν
ἴσως, ἀλλὰ πολλῇ καὶ κακῇ ἀτολμίᾳ
χρῆται δι' ἣν οὐδὲν δρᾷ δυνάμενος.”
Καὶ ὁ Κῦρος ἐκπειρώμενος· “ Εἰ δὲ
φανείη τολμητὴς ἀνὴρ πῶς ἂν δύναιτο
τοῦτο κατεργάζεσθαι;” Ὁ δὲ ἀπο-
κρίνεται· “ Πρῶτον μὲν Καδουσίους
προσαγόμενος ἐθέλοντας Πέρσας
μὲν φιλοῦσι, Μήδους δὲ πάνυ μισοῦσι·
ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ Πέρσας θαῤῥύνας τε
καὶ ὁπλίσας περὶ μ' ὄντας μυριάδας,
καὶ ἀσμένως ἂν ἐθελήσαντας δι᾽ ἃ
πάσχουσιν ὑπὸ Μήδων· ἐπιτηδειοτάτη
δ' αὐτοῖς πρὸς τοῦτο καὶ ἡ χώρα
πετρώδης τε καὶ ὀρεινὴ οὖσα, ἐφ᾿ ἣν
εἰ στρατεύειν Μήδοι θέλοιεν, κακῶς
ἀπαλλάξουσι.” Κῦρος δὲ ἠρώτα
“ Εἰ ἀνὴρ φανείη ταῦτα δρῶν, συν-
ανακινδυνεύσεις αὐτῷ;” Καὶ ὃς· “Εἰ
γάρ, ὦ Ζεῦ, ἔφη, " μάλιστα μὲν σὺ
εἴης ὁ τοῖς ἐγχειρῶν, ἐπειδὴ καὶ ὁ
""
σε
""
اد
αν
66
66
114
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ει
,
σὺς πατὴρ ἄρχει Περσῶν, καὶ σὺ
ενασυλότατος εἶ καὶ δυνατώτατος εἰ
δὲ μὴ ὅστις οὖν ἂν εἴη.” Ἐκ τούτου τὸ
ὅλον βούλευμα ἐκκαλύπτει τε αὐτῷ
ὁ Κῦρος, καὶ συμβούλῳ χρῆται ὁρῶν
ἄνδρα φρόνιμον καὶ ἀνδρεῖον, καὶ ἐν
αὐτῷ πάσας ἔχοντα τὰς ἐλπίδας. Καὶ
ὃς συνεπῄνει τε καὶ συνεξώτρυνε,
γνώμας τε ἀγαθὰς ὑφηγεῖτο, καὶ ὡς
χρὴ πέμψαντα παρὰ ᾿Ατραδάτην τὸν
πατέρα κελεύειν ὁπλίζειν Πέρσας,
τῷ λόγῳ μὲν ὡς ἕτοιμοι εἶεν βασιλεῖ
ἐπὶ Καδουσίους, τῷ ἔργῳ δ' εἰς ἀπόστ
τασιν· ἔπειτα ὡς χρὴ παρὰ Αστυάγου
αἰτησάμενον ἡμέρας ἐλθεῖν αὐτὸν εἰς
τὴν Περσίδα, ὡς ἱερὰ εὐκταῖα θύσειεν
ὑπὲρ βασιλέως καὶ τῆς ἐκείνου σω
τήριας ἅμα δὲ καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς, ἐπειδὴ
φαύλως ἔχει ὑπὸ νόσου. “ Εἰ δὲ
“Εἰ δὲ
ταῦτα πράξει, ἐγχειρητέον ἔσται τῷ
σύμπαντι ἀνδρείως. Οὔ τοι δεινόν,
ὦ Κῦρε, καὶ ἀποκινδυνεύειν τῇ ψυχῇ
μεγάλοις ἐγχειροῦντα ἔργοις, καὶ
παθεῖν, εἰ δέοι, τοῦτο ὃ καὶ μηδὲν
δρῶντας ἀναμένει παθεῖν.” Ὥσθη τε
οὖν ὁ Κῦρος ἐπὶ τῇ γενναιότητι τοῦ
ἀνδρὸς καὶ ἅμα θαῤῥύνων αὐτὸν καὶ
τὸν ὄνειρον ἐξηγήσατο τῆς μητρὸς
καὶ τὴν τοῦ Βαβυλωνίου γνώμην, ἣν
εἶπε περὶ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ὁ Οἰβάρας ἅτε
ἀγχίνους πολὺ μᾶλλον αὐτὸν ἐξώ-
τρυνε, καὶ διεκελεύσατο φυλάττειν τὸν
Βαβυλώνιον ὡς μὴ ἐξάγγελος εἴη
βασιλεῖ τοῦ ὀνείρου, “ εἰ ἄρα κτεί-
νειν αὐτὸν οὐχ ὑπομένοις, ὅπερ ἦν
ἄριστον.” Καὶ ὁ Κῦρος· “ Αποτρό-
παιον [ἂν] εἴη τοῦτό γ,” εἶπεν.
Συνεσιτοῦντο δὴ καὶ συνῄεσαν Κύρῳ
τὸ ἀπὸ τοῦδε ὅ τε Οἰβάρας καὶ ὁ
Βαβυλώνιος. Ἐν δέει δὲ ὢν ὁ
Πέρσης, μὴ κατείποι πρὸς Αστυάγην
ὁ Βαβυλώνιος περὶ τοῦ ὀνείρου, προσ-
εποιήσατο ἱερὰ πάτρια νύκτωρ ἐπι-
τελεῖν τῇ σελήνῃ, καὶ τὸν Κῦρον
ᾔτησε θύματά τε καὶ οἶνον καὶ οἰκέτας
καὶ στρώματα καὶ τἄλλα ὧν ἔδει.
Ηξίου δὲ Κῦρον προστάξαι τοῖς
θεραπεύουσι πείθεσθαι αὐτῷ. Καὶ ὃς
προσέταξέ τε καὶ τῆς θυσίας οὐ
μετεῖχεν, Οἰβάρα τεχνήσαντος, [ὃς]
παρασκευάζεται τά τε ἄλλα νύκτα καὶ
στιβάδας βαθείας, ἐφ᾽ ὧν εὐωχήσον-
ται, καὶ βόθρον ὤρυξεν ἐν τῇ αὐτοῦ
σκηνῇ βαθύτατον. Ἐπεὶ δὲ πάντα
ἔπραξε, καὶ εὐώχησε τὸν Βαβυλώνιον
καὶ ἐμέθυσεν, ὑπέρ τε τὸν βόθρον
αὐτῷ κοίτην στορέσας, ὡς κατακλίνει
ἐς ταύτην, ὦσεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν βόθρον
κάτω. Συνενέβαλε δ' αὐτῷ καὶ τὸν
οἰκέτην. Καὶ ἅμα ὄρθρῳ Κύρου
ἀπάραντος συνωδοιπόρει. Οὐ πολὺ
δὲ προελθόντα ἐπεζήτει τὸν ἄνθρωπον
ὁ Κῦρος, ὁ δὲ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἔφη
καταλελοιπέναι αὐτὸν ἔτι καθεύδοντα
ὑπὸ μέθης. ᾿Αγανακτοῦντος δὲ τοῦ
Κύρου, τελευταῖον ἐξέφηνε ταληθές,
ὅτι αὐτὸν κτείνειεν, ἐπειδὴ μόνην
σωτηρίαν ταύτην ἑώρα Κύρῳ τε καὶ
τοῖς Κύρου παισὶν οὖσαν. Λυπηθείς
δὲ πάνυ ἐπὶ τοῖς πραχθεῖσι καὶ ἔτι
μᾶλλον ὀργισθεὶς, ὥστε μηκέτι προσ-
ίεσθαι τὸν Οἰβάραν, αὖθις μετέγνω
καὶ προσίετο αὐτὸν, συμβούλῳ τε
ἐχρῆτο περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν. Τῇ δὲ τοῦ
Βαβυλωνίου γυναικὶ πυνθανομένῃ περὶ
τοῦ ἀνδρὸς εἶπεν, ὅτι ὑπὸ λῃστῶν
ἀποθάνοι και ταφείη ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ.
Μετὰ ταῦτα παρά βασιλέα Κῦρον
ἀφικόμενον ὁ Οἰβάρας ἀνεδίδασκε
καὶ ἐξώτρυνε τὰ βεβουλευμένα σφίσι
ὁρᾶν καὶ πέμπειν τε εἰς Πέρσας καὶ
ὁπλίζειν τοὺς ἐν ἥβῃ καὶ ᾿Αστυάγην
αἰτεῖσθαι δοῦναι οἱ ἡμέρας ὥστε τὰ
ἱερὰ θύσειε καὶ τὸν πατέρα νοσηλεύ
σειε φαύλως ἔχοντα. Καὶ ὃς ἐπείσθη,
τά τε ἄλλα ὅπλα ἤδη ἦν ἕτοιμα, καὶ
ὁ Κῦρος ᾐτήσατο βασιλέα τὴν εἰς
Πέρσας πορείαν, ὡς ἂν θύσειεν ὑπὲρ
IV.-VI.]
115
CTESIAE PERSICA.
αὐτοῦ καὶ ἅμα τὸν πατέρα ἴδοι κακῶς
διακείμενον. Ὁ δ᾽ οὐ δίδωσιν αὐτῷ,
ὑπ᾽ εὐνοίας συνεῖναι θέλων· καὶ ὁ
Κῦρος ἐν ἀθυμίᾳ ἦν, Οἰβάρᾳ δήλωσας
ὡς ἀποτύχοι. Καὶ ὃς ἐθαρρύνετο
αὐτὸν, καὶ αὖθις ἐκέλευε διαλιπόντα
ἡμέρας δεῖσθαι αὐτοῦ περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν,
καὶ τεύξεσθαι· δεῖν δὲ αὐτὸν θεραπεύ-
ειν προθύμως ἔτι μᾶλλον ἢ πρότερον·
καὶ ἐπειδὰν δέηται, δι' ἑτέρου τοῦτο
ποιεῖν καὶ μὴ δι᾽ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ὁ μὲν
ᾤχετο παρὰ βασιλέα, καὶ τοῦ πιστο-
τάτου τῶν εὐνούχων ἔχρηζεν, ὅταν ᾖ
καιρός, αιτήσασθαι αὐτῷ τὴν ἄφοδον
παρὰ βασιλέως. Ἐπεὶ οὖν ΠΟΤΕ
ἑώρα βασιλέα ἐν πολλῇ ὄντα παιδιᾷ
τε καὶ μέθῃ, νεύει τῷ εὐνούχῳ λέγειν
βασιλεῖ, ὅτι Κῦρος ὁ σὸς δοῦλος
αἰτεῖται δοῦναι αὐτῷ ἅ ποτε εὔξατο
ἱερὰ ὑπὲρ σοῦ, ὅπως ἂν αὐτῷ εὐμενὴς
εἴης θῦσαι, καὶ ἅμα τὸν αὐτοῦ πατέρα
ἀσθενῶς ἔχοντα θεραπεῦσαι. Καὶ ὁ
Αστυάγης καλέσας Κῦρον καὶ μειδιῶν
δίδωσι αὐτῷ έ' μῆνας ὁρίσας, τῷ δὲ ἕκ-
τω ὅπως ἐπανίοι διεκελεύσατο. Προσ-
κυνήσας δὲ καθίστησιν ἀνθ' ἑαυτοῦ
Τιριδάτην οινοχόον βασιλεῖ ἄχρι
αὐτὸς ἐπανιοι. Καὶ ἐπὶ Οἰβάραν
ἦλθε γεγηθώς. Ὁ δ᾽ αὐτὸν ἐκέλευσε
παραχρῆμα τοὺς οἰκέτας συλλαβόντα
ἀπαίρειν· καὶ, ἦν γὰρ αὐτὸς ἐπιμελη-
τής, νύκτωρ πάντα ευτρεπίζει, καὶ
ἕωθεν εἰς Πέρσας ὁδοιπόρουν.
Ε
Ἡ δὲ τοῦ Βαβυλωνίου γυνὴ ὃς τὸν
ὄνειρον ἔφρασε Κύρῳ, προακηκοντα
ἄρα παρὰ τοῦ ἑαυτῆς ἀνδρὸς, ἡνίκα
ἔζη, τὴν ὄψιν, ἥντινα ἔφρασεν αὐτῷ
ὁ Κῦρος, τελευτήσαντος αὐτῇ τοῦ
ἀνδρὸς, συνοικοῦσα τῷ ἐκείνου ἀδελ-
φῷ, ἐκείνης τῆς νυκτὸς συναναπαυο-
μένη ἤκουσε παρ' αὐτοῦ, ὅτι μέγας
γενόμενος οἴχοιτο εἰς Πέρσας.
δὲ αὐτῷ διηγεῖτο τὸν ὄνειρον καὶ τὴν
τούτου κρίσιν, ὥσπερ ἤκουσε παρὰ
Ἡ
τοῦ ἀνδρὸς, ὅτι βασιλεύσει Περσῶν.
Εωθεν δὲ ὁ ἀνὴρ ἀτρέμας ἧκε παρὰ
᾿Αστυάγην, καὶ δι᾽ εὐνούχου ἐρόμενος
τὴν εἴσοδον πάντα ἀπήγγειλεν, ὡς
ἀκούσειε παρὰ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ γυναικός,
ὅτι Κύρῳ ἐφράσθη ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀποθα
νόντος ἀνδρὸς θεολόγου πρὸς τὴν
γενομένην ὄψιν βασιλεῦσαι, καὶ
τοῦδ᾽ ἕνεκα ἄρα οἴχοιτο νῦν εἰς
Πέρσας· οὐ πάλαι δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς
ταῦτα ἀκηκοέναι παρὰ τῆς γυναικός
ἕκαστά τε σαφῶς διηγήσατο τοῦ τε
ὀνείρου καὶ τῆς κρίσεως.
(
Ἐν πολλῇ δὲ συννοίᾳ γενόμενος
Αστυάγης πυνθάνεται τοῦ Βαβυλω
νίου, τί οὖν χρὴ ποιεῖν. Καὶ ὃς ἔφη·
κτείνειν αὐτὸν ἐπανελθόντα ὡς τά-
χιστα μόνη γὰρ αὕτη ἀσφάλεια ἂν
εἴη. Καὶ ὁ ᾿Αστυάγης ἀποπεμψά
μενος τὸν Βαβυλώνιον μαλλόν τι
ἐνθυμεῖτο τοὺς λόγους αὐτοῦ. Εἰς
ἑσπέραν δὲ πίνων ἐκάλεσε τὰς παλ-
λακίδας ὀρχηστρίδας οὖσας καὶ κιθα
ριστρίδας. Καί τις αὐτῶν ᾄδουσα
τοιαῦτ᾽ ἔλεγεν· “ ὁ λέων τὸν κάπρον
ὑποχείριον ἔχων μεθῆκεν εἰς τὰς
λόχμας τὰς ἑαυτοῦ, ἐν αἷς κρείττων
γενόμενος πολὺν πόνον αὐτῷ παρέξει,
καὶ τελευτῶν ἀσθενέστερος ὢν τὸν
ἰσχυρότερον χειρώσεται.” Ταῦτα
ᾀδούσης ἐνθύμια ποιεῖται 'Αστυάγης
ὡς τείνοντα εἰς αὐτόν. Παραχρῆμα
δὴ πέμπει τ' ἱππεῖς ἐπὶ Κῦρον, οἷς
ἐκέλευσεν αὐτὸν καλεῖν ὀπίσω ἐὰν
δὲ μὴ ἕπηται, τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀποτε-
μόντας φέρειν. Οἱ δὲ ᾤχοντο, καὶ
ἐπεὶ ἧκον παρὰ Κῦρον, ἔφρασαν τὰ
παρ' Αστυάγους. Κἀκεῖνος οἷα ἀγ
χίνους, εἴτε καὶ Οἰβάρα παραινοῦν
τος, εἶπε· “ Πῶς δ᾽ οὐ μέλλω ἰέναι,
καλοῦντός με τοῦ δεσπότου; ἀλλὰ
νῦν δειπνήσατε, πρωΐ δὲ χωρῶμεν
παρ' αὐτόν.” Οἱ δὲ ταῦτ᾽ ἐπῄνουν.
Ὁ δὲ Περσικῶς ὀπτὰ κατακόψα
I 2
116
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ἱερεῖα πολλὰ καὶ βοῦς, εἱστία τε τους
ἱππέας καὶ μεθύσκει· προαπέσταλτο
δ' αὐτῷ ἄγγελος ἐπὶ τὸν πατέρα
χιλίους ἱππεῖς κελεύων καὶ πεντακισ-
χιλίους πεζοὺς ἐπὶ Ὕρβαν ἑτέραν
πόλιν πέμπειν πρὸ ὁδοῦ κειμένην,
τοὺς δὲ ἄλλους Πέρσας ὁπλίζειν
αὐτὸν τάχιστα, ὡς βασιλέως προσ-
τάττοντος· οὐ γὰρ ἐδήλωσε τὸν ὄντα
λόγον. Μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἑστιάσιν εἰς ὕπ-
νον τετραμμένων τῶν ἱππέων, αυτός τε
καὶ Οἰβάρας ὡς εἶχον ἀναβάντες ἐπὶ
τοὺς ἵππους, ἀπελαύνουσι, καὶ ἧκον
ἐπὶ τὴν Ὕρβαν ἔτι νυκτὸς οὔσης, καὶ
ὁπλίζει ὁ Κῦρος τοὺς ἀνθρώπους· καὶ
συντάττει τοὺς παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς
ἥκοντας ὡς εἰς μάχην· καὶ αὐτὸς μὲν
ἐν τῷ δεξιῷ ἵσταται, καὶ Οἰβάρας ἐν
τῷ εὐωνύμῳ. Καὶ ὁ οἶνος ἀνῆκε τοὺς
παρὰ ᾿Αστυάγους πρωῒ οἰχομένους,
καὶ γνόντες Κῦρον διώκουσι, καὶ ἧκον
ἐπὶ τὴν Ὕρβαν, καὶ εὑρόντες ἐκτεταγ‐
μένον συμβάλλουσιν ὡς εἰς μάχην.
Ενθα δὴ πρῶτον πολλὴν ἀνδρείαν
Κῦρος ἀποδειξάμενος σὺν τρισὶ Πέρ-
σαις κτείνει περὶ σ' καὶ ν' ἱππεῖς· οἱ
λοιποὶ δὲ φεύγουσι παρὰ βασιλέα
καὶ ταῦτ᾽ ἀνήγγειλαν. Καὶ ὃς παίσας
τὸν μηρὸν εἶπεν· “ Οἴ μοι ὡς πολλά-
κις γνοὺς ὅτι οὐ χρὴ κακοὺς εὖ
ποιεῖν, ὅμως ἁλίσκομαι χρηστοῖς
λόγοις, ὃς καὶ Κῦρον παραλαβὼν
πολλῶν κακῶν, Μάρδον γένος,
ὄλεθρον τηλικοῦτον ἐποίησα κατ'
ἐμαυτοῦ· ἀλλὰ καὶ νῦν οὐ χαιρήσει
οἷς θέλει.” Καὶ παραχρῆμα καλέσας
τοὺς στρατηγοὺς ἀθροίζειν τὴν δύνα-
μιν κελεύει. Ὡς δὲ ἠθροίσθη εἰς ρ'
μὲν πεζῶν μυριάδας, κ' δὲ ἱππέων,
τρισχίλια δὲ ἅρματα ἐλαύνει δὴ ἐπὶ
Πέρσας. Ηδη δὲ ἅπλιστο κἀκεῖ ἡ
στρατιὰ ὑπὸ Ατραδάτα πάντα εἰδό-
τος καὶ ἦσαν λ' μὲν μυριάδες πελ-
ταστῶν, κ' δὲ ἱππέων, ρ' δὲ δρεπανη-
F
φόρα. Ὡς δ᾽ εἰς ἓν συνῆλθε Κύρῳ
ἡ δύναμις παρήνεσε τούτους. [Ζήτει
ἐν τῷ περὶ δημηγοριών.]
Ἐκ τούτου αὐτός τε καὶ ὁ πατὴρ
συνέταττον τὴν στρατιὰν καὶ Οἰβά-
ραν ἀποφαίνουσι στρατηγὸν, ἄνδρα
εὔβουλον καὶ δραστήριον, ὃς προκατα-
λαμβάνει μὲν τὰς στενοπόρους ὁδοὺς
φυλακαῖς, καὶ τὰ ὑψηλότατα ὄρη, τὸν
δὲ ὄχλον ἐκ τῶν ἀτειχίστων πόλεων
εἰς τὰς εὐερκεῖς μετάγει, φρούρια δ'
ἔνθα καιρὸς ἦν ἐντειχίζεται. Καὶ
μετ᾿ οὐ πολὺ ᾿Αστυάγης ἧκε σὺν τῷ
στρατῷ, καὶ τὰς ἐρήμους πόλεις
κατέκαε πρός τε Κῦρον καὶ 'Ατραδά-
τον τὸν τούτου πατέρα πέμψας ἀγ
γέλους πολλά τε ἠπείλει καὶ ὠνείδιζε
τὴν πρόσθεν πτωχείαν, ἐκέλευσέ τε
ὀπίσω παρ' αὐτὸν ἰέναι, δήσειν γὰρ
αὐτοὺς μόνον παχείαις πέδαις· “ Εἰ
δ᾽ ἀλώσεσθε,” ἔφη, σε κακοὶ κακῶς
ἀπολεῖσθε. Κῦρος δὲ ἀποκρίνεται
“ Οὐκ ἄρα σύ γε, ὦ Αστυάγη, θεῶν
δύναμιν ᾔδεις, ὃς οὐκ οἶσθα ὑπ᾽ ἐκεί-
νων τοὺς αἰπόλους ἐποτρυνθέντας
ἐπὶ τάδε τὰ πράγματα, οἷς ἑπόμεθα
καὶ εἰς τέλος. Καί σοι παραι-
νοῦμεν, ὅτι ἡμᾶς καὶ αὐτὸς εὖ
ἐποίεις, θεῶν σοι ἐπὶ νοῦν ἀγόντων
ἀπάγειν τὴν δύναμιν καὶ Πέρσας
ἐλευθέρους ἐᾶν κρείττους ὄντας Μή
δων, ὡς μὴ τούτους δουλούμενος καὶ
τῶν ἄλλων ἀποστερηθῇς.” Ταῦτα
μὲν ὁ ἄγγελος ἀπήγγειλεν Αστυ
άγῃ. Ὁ δὲ ὑπ᾽ ὀργῆς ἐξάγει τὴν
στρατιὰν εἰς μάχην καὶ ἐκτάττει·
αὐτὸς δὲ προεκάθητο ἀναβὰς δισ
μυρίους ἔχων δορυφόρους περὶ αὐτὸν.
᾿Αντεπῄει δὲ Κῦρος, Ατραδάτην μὲν
ἐν τῷ δεξιῷ κέρατι στήσας, Οἰβάραν
δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ εὐωνύμῳ· αὐτὸς δὲ μετὰ
τῶν ἀρίστων Περσῶν ἐν μέσοις ἦν.
Ενθα δὴ δεινὴ μάχη γίνεται καὶ
πλείστους ἔκτεινε Κυρός τε καὶ οἱ
ευ
IV.-VI.]
117
CTESIAE PERSICA.
λοιποι Πέρσαι. Σχετλιάζων δὲ ὁ ᾿Ασ
τυάγης ἐπὶ τοῦ θρόνου εἶπεν· “ Οἴ-
μοι τοὺς τερμινθοφάγους Πέρσας
οἷα ἀριστεύουσι;” Και πέμψας
66
ἠπείλει τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ στρατηγοῖς, εἰ μὴ
νικήσουσι τοὺς ἀντίους, οἷα πείσον-
ται. Κάμνοντες δὲ οἱ Πέρσαι ὑπὸ
πλήθους πολεμίων, ἄλλων ἐπ᾽ ἄλλοις
ἐπιόντων, κλιθέντες ἀναχωροῦσιν εἰς
τὴν πόλιν, πρὸ ἧς ἐμάχοντο. Εἰσ-
εληλυθότας δὲ θαῤῥύνει Κῦρος καὶ
Οἰβάρας, ὅτι πλείους αὐτοὶ πολεμίων
ἔκτειναν, καὶ παραινοῦσι παῖδας μὲν
καὶ γυναῖκας εἰς Πασαργάδας τὸ
ὑψηλότατον ὄρος ἀποπέμψαι, αὐτοὶ
δὲ εἰς αὔριον ἐπεξελθόντες τέλος ἐπι-
θεῖναι τῇ νίκῃ, Πρόκειται γὰρ
ἀποθανεῖν πᾶσιν, ἢν ἡττηθῶσι· βέλ-
τιον οὖν μετὰ τοῦ νικᾶν εἰ δέοι
παθεῖν τοῦτο, ἐλευθερώσαντες τὴν
πατρίδα.” Ταῦτα εἶποντός, ὀργὴ
καὶ μίσος παρίσταται πᾶσιν ἐπὶ
Μήδους, καὶ ἕωθεν ἀναπετάσαντες
τὰς πύλας ἐπεξίασιν, ἡγουμένου Κύ-
ρου καὶ Οἰβάρα. Ο δ' Ατραδάτης
μετὰ τῶν γερόντων ἐῤῥύετο τὸ τεῖχος.
Αντεπίασι δ᾽ αὐτοῖς παμπληθεῖς
Αστυάγου φάλαγγες σὺν ὁπλίταις
τε καὶ ἱππεῦσι. Τῶν δὲ μαχομένων
ι μυριάδες εκπεριελθοῦσαι, καθότι
ἔταξεν Αστυάγης, αἱροῦσι τὴν πόλιν,
καὶ ᾿Ατραδάτην πολλὰ τραύματα
ἔχοντα ἀναπέμπουσιν ἐπὶ βασιλέα.
Γενναίως δὲ καὶ οἱ Κύρου ἀγωνισά-
μενοι φεύγουσιν εἰς Πασαργάδας,
ἔνθ᾽ αὐτοῖς τὰ τέκνα καὶ γύναια ἦν.
Αστυάγης δ᾽ ἐπεὶ αὐτῷ ἤχθη ὁ Κύρου
πατὴρ, ἔφη· “ Οὗτος σὺ δή μοι ἀγα
θὸς σατράπης, ὃν ἐγὼ ἐτίμησα,
τοιαύτας χάριτας σὺν τῷ υἱεῖ ἀπεδώ-
κατε.” Καὶ ὁ γέρων ἐκπνέων ἤδη
“ Οὐκ οἶδ',” ἔφη, ὦ δέσποτα, ὅστις
θεῶν τήνδε τὴν μανίαν ἐφώρμησε τῷ
ἐμῷ παιδί· σὺ δὲ μή με αἰκίζου˙ ταχὺ
“
""
γὰρ ὧδ' ἔχων ἀποπνεύσομαι. Καὶ
ὃς ᾤκτειρεν αὐτὸν καὶ εἶπε· “τοιγαρ-
οὖν σὲ ἐγὼ οὐδὲν αἰκίζομαι· οἶδα γὰρ
ὅτι, εἴ σοι ὁ υἱὸς ἐπείσθη οὐκ ἂν ταῦτα
ἔπραξεν· ἀλλὰ καὶ θάπτειν σε κελεύω,
οὐκ ὄντα ἐκείνῳ ὁμογνώμονα τῆσδε
τῆς μανίας.” Τοῦτον μὲν οὖν ταχὺ
ἀποθανόντα θάπτουσι καλῶς τε καὶ
εὖ. Αστυάγης δ' ἐπὶ Πασαργάδας
ᾔει διὰ στενῶν ὁδῶν. Ἔνθεν δὲ καὶ
ἔνθεν λισσάδες πέτραι καὶ τὸ ὄρος
διεῤῥωγὸς καὶ ὑψηλὸν ἦν· διὰ μέσου
δὲ διεξιέναι τὰς ἐμβολὰς Οἰβάρας
ἐφύλλατε μυρίοις ὁπλίταις· καὶ ἦν
ἀνελπίστον διελθεῖν.
Α δὴ γνοὺς ᾿Αστυάγης ἐκπεριελ-
θεῖν ἐκέλευσε τὸ ὄρος δέκα μυριάσι
ἐν κύκλῳ, εἰς ὃ εὑρόντες ἄνοδον ἀνέρ-
πουσι καὶ τῶν ἄκρων κρατοῦσιν.
Οἰβάρας δὲ καὶ Κῦρος σὺν τῷ πλήθει
παντὶ νύκτωρ φεύγουσιν εἰς ἄλλο
ὄρος χθαμαλώτερον τοῦ προτέρου.
Εἵπετο δ᾽ ἡ ᾿Αστυάγεω (Codex 'Ασ
τυάγεως) στρατιὰ κατ᾽ ἴχνος διώ-
κουσα ἤδη μεταξὺ τῶν ὀρῶν· ἐπῄει
δὴ τοὐντεῦθεν ἡ ᾿Αστυάγου στρατιὰ
καὶ ἐμάχετο πρὸς τὸ ὄρος ἀνιοῦσα
μάλα εὐψύχως. Κρημνοὶ δὲ πάντη
καὶ δρυμῶνες ἀγριέλαιοί τε συνεχεῖς
ἦσαν. Γενναιότερον δ' ἔτι οἱ Πέρσαι
ἐμάχοντο, ἔνθεν Κύρου ἐξορμῶντος,
ἔνθεν Οιβάρα, ὃς αὐτοὺς ἀνεμίμνησκε
παίδων τε καὶ γυναικῶν καὶ πατέρων
γερόντων καὶ μητέρων, οὓς αἰσχρὸν
εἶναι προεῖσθαι Μήδοις κατατέμνειν
τε καὶ αἰκίζεσθαι. ὧν ἀκούοντες
ἐῤῥώσθησαν, καὶ σὺν ἀλαλαγμῷ κατ-
ιόντες χερμάσι τε ἀπλέτοις βάλ
λοντες, ἀπορίᾳ βελῶν, καταράσουσιν
ἐκ τοῦ ὄρους τοὺς πολεμίους. Και
πως Κῦρος ἧκεν ἐπὶ τὸ πατρῷον
οἴκημα αὐτοῦ, ἔνθα αἰπολῶν, ὅτε μι
κρὸς ἦν ηὐλίζετο. Καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ ἔθυσεν
ἄλευρα εὑρὼν καὶ κυπαρίττου ὕλην
118
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
δάφνην τε ὑποθεὶς καὶ πῦρ ἐκτρίψας,
ὡς ἂν κεκμηκώς τε καὶ ἀπόρως ἔχων.
Εὐθὺς δ᾽ ἐκ δεξιᾶς ἤστραψέ τε καὶ
ἐβρόντησε. Κῦρος δὲ προσεκύνησεν,
οἰωνοί τε αἴσιοι ἐπὶ τῷ οἰκήματι
αὐτῷ ἑζόμενοι προὔφαινον ὡς εἰς
Πασαργάδας ἀφίκοιτο. Ἐκ τούτου
δειπνοποιησάμενοι ἐκοιμήθησαν ἐν
τῷ ὄρει· καὶ τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ τοῖς οἰω-
νοῖς πίσυνοι ἐπικαταβαίνουσιν ἐπὶ
τοὺς πολεμίους ἀνέρποντας ἤδη εἰς
τὸ ὄρος καὶ ἐπιπολὺ ἐμάχοντο ἀν-
δρείως. Αστυάγης δὲ πεντακισμυρί-
ους ἐπὶ τὸ ὄρος ἔστησε, καὶ ἐκέλευσε
τοὺς κατορρωδοῦντας τὴν ἀνάβασιν
ἢ φεύγοντας κάτω παρὰ σφὰς ἀποκ-
τείνειν. 'Ανάγκῃ οὖν ἐχόμενοι Μηδοί
τε καὶ οἱ σύμμαχοι ἀνῄεσαν ἐπὶ τοὺς
Πέρσας. Ενθα δὴ καμόντες ὑπὸ τοῦ
πλήθους οἱ Πέρσαι ἔφευγον ἐπὶ
ἄκρον τὸ ὄρος ἵνα αὐτοῖς αἱ γυναῖκες
ἦσαν. Αἱ δὲ ἀνασυράμεναι ἐβόων
“Ποῖ φέρεσθε, ὦ κάκιστοι; ἢ ἄχρι
ἂν εἰσδύητε ἔνθεν γεγενῆσθε;” Διὰ
τοῦτο ὁ Περσῶν βασιλεὺς, ἐπειδὰν
εἰς Πασαργάδας ἀφίκηται, χρυσὸν
δωρεῖται ταῖς Περσίσι γυναιξί· καὶ
διανέμει ἑκάστῃ εἰς λόγον δραχμῶν
κ' Αττικῶν. Οἱ δὲ Πέρσαι καταισ-
χυνθέντες ἐφ᾽ οἷς εἶδον καὶ ἤκουσαν,
ἐπιστρέφουσιν ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους,
καὶ μιᾷ ὁρμῇ ἐπιδραμόντες ἐξωθοῦσιν
αὐτοὺς ἐκ τοῦ ὄρους, καὶ κτείνουσιν
οὐκ ἐλάττους ἑξακισμυρίων. Οὐ μὴν
Αστυάγης ἀφίστατο τῆς πολιορκίας.
For the immediate sequel we are
referred in the Excerpta de insidiis
(Codex Escorialensis), in which this
fragment of Nikolaus is preserved,
to the Excerpta de rebus praeclaro
gestis (περὶ ἀνδραγαθημάτων), which
are lost, and to the Excerpta de
Strategematibus (περὶ στρατηγημά-
των), of which only a portion, not
including any extracts from Niko-
laus, romains.
Polyacnus has two or three
passages relating to the final battle,
viz., vii. 45, 2: Πέρσαι Μήδοις
παρετάσσοντο· Περσῶν Κῦρος ἡγεῖτο,
Κύρου σατράπης Οιβάρης ήρξε φυγῆς
καὶ ὅσων ἡγεῖτο Περσῶν πάντες τῷ
Οιβάρῃ συνέφευγον· ἔνθα δὴ αἱ
Περσίδες ἀπαντώμεναι τοῖς φεύγου
σιν, ἀνασυράμεναι τοὺς χιτωνίσκους,
“Ποῖ,” ἔφασαν, “φεύγετε; ὅθεν ἐξέ-
δυτε, πάλιν ἐκεῖ καταδύναι σπεύδετε;”
ὁ λόγος τῶν γυναικῶν ᾔσχυνε τοὺς
Πέρσας, καὶ ἀναστρέψαντες ἐπὶ τὴν
μάχην τους Μήδους ἐς φυγὴν ἐτρέ-
ψαντο. vii. 6, 1: Κύρος Μήδοις
παραταξάμενος τρὶς ἡττήθη. ἐπεὶ δὲ
τῶν Περσῶν αἱ γυναῖκες καὶ τὰ τέκνα
ἦσαν ἐν Πασαργάδαις, τὴν τετάρτην
μάχην ἐνταῦθα συνῆψε· πάλιν ἔφυγον
οἱ Πέρσαι· ὡς δὲ εἶδον τὰ τέκνα καὶ
τὰς γυναῖκας παθόντες ἐπ' αὐτοῖς,
ἀνέστρεψαν, καὶ τοὺς Μήδους ἀτάκτως
διώκοντας τρεψάμενοι νίκην τηλικαύ-
την ἐνίκησαν, ὡς μηκέτι Κῦρον πρὸς
αὐτοὺς ἄλλης δεηθῆναι μάχης.
In vii. 6, 9, is another anecdote
relating to the same events, but
perhaps from a different source.
Strabo, xv. 3, p. 322, also says
Kyrus ὑστάτην μάχην ἐνίκησεν 'Ασ-
τυάγην at Pasargadae.
The fragment of Nikolaus pro-
ceeds: Πολλῶν δὲ ἀναμεταξὺ γενομέ-
νων, Κῦρος εἰς τὴν σκηνὴν παρελθὼν
καθίζει εἰς τὸν τοῦ ᾿Αστυάγου θρόνον,
καὶ τὸ σκῆπτρον αὐτοῦ λαμβάνει,
ἐπευφήμησαν δὲ Πέρσαι καὶ Οἰβάρας
αὐτῷ τὴν κίδαριν ἐπιτίθησιν, εἰπών·
«Αξιώτερος σύγε εἶ 'Αστυάγου,
φορεῖν, θεοῦ σοι διδόντος δι' ἀρετὴν,
και Πέρσας Μήδων βασιλεύειν.”
Τά τε χρήματα πάντα εἰς Πασαργά-
IV.-VI.]
119
CTESIAE PERSICA.
►
δας ἀπεκόμιζον, ἐφεστῶτος Οἰβάρα
καὶ ἐπιμελητὰς καταστήσαντος.
Απλετα δ᾽ ἦν καὶ ἃ οἱ Πέρσαι κατὰ
σκηνὰς τρεπόμενοι τὰς ἰδιωτικὰς ὠφέ
λουν. Καὶ μετ' οὐ πολὺ ἡ φήμη
πάντη διήγγελλε τὴν ᾿Αστυάγου
φυγήν τε καὶ ἧτταν ὥς τε ὑπὸ θεῶν του
ἀφῄρηται τὸ κράτος. Καὶ οἱ ἄνθρω-
ποι ἀφίσταντο καὶ τὰ ἔθνη, πρῶτος
δ' ὁ Ὑρκανῶν ἄρχων Αρτασύρας ἧκε
έ μυριάδας ἄγων στρατίας Κύρῳ, καὶ
προσεκύνησεν, εἶπέ τε ἑτοίμην εἶναι
καὶ ἄλλην πολὺ πλείω, ἐὰν κελεύῃ·
μετὰ δὲ, ὅ τε Παρθυαῖος καὶ Σάκης
καὶ Βάκτριος καὶ οἱ ἐφεξῆς ἅπαντες,
ὥστε σπουδήν εἶναι ἑκάστου τὸν
ἕτερον φθῆναι θέλοντος· εἰς ὃ Ασ
τυάγης μετ' ὀλίγων ὑπολειφθείς,
ἐπάξαντος μετ' οὐ πολὺ Κύρου καὶ ἐκ
τοῦ ῥᾴστου μάχῃ κρατήσαντος, αἰχ
μάλωτος ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν ἄγεται.
INTRODUCTION
TO BOOKS VII-XXIII.
In this portion of the Persika, which relates the history of the Persian
empire from its foundation, on the defeat of Astyages, down to B.c. 398,
we have no longer to deal with matter in which the fabulous element
largely predominates over the true. Most of Ktesias's statements for this
period are at least deserving of consideration, and from the accession of
Darcius II. he is our best authority. His chief source for these books
appears to have been that work to which the title Baoiλikai Sıþ0épai
properly applies, viz., the Royal Chronicles of Persia; while for events
belonging to his own time ho derived his information partly from his
own observations, partly from the statements of eyewitnesses (Epit.
§ 33); while, like all ancient historians, he did not hesitate to embellish
his narrative with imaginary conversations and incidents affording an
opportunity for rhetorical display (fr. 36).
The locus classicus on the Royal Chronicles is the passage in Esther ii.
21-23, where the conspiracy of the cunuchs Bigthan and Teresh to
murder Xerxes I., its discovery by Mordecai, and their execution, is
6 In
בְּסֵפֶרֶ דִּבְרֵי הַיָּמִים לִפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ stautal to have been recorded
the Book of the Chronicles before the king” (ἐν τῇ βασιλικῇ βιβλιοθήκη
ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐνοίας Μαρδοχαίου ἐν ἐγκωμίῳ LΧΧ.). In vi. 1-11 we read of
the passage being read to Xerxes, who recognises Mordecai as one of the
Orosangac, or benefactors of the king, and commands him to be re-
warded; and in x. 2 we are told that the Acts of Xerxes were recorded
in the same work. It will be observed that the specimen of the
Chronicles here given is of precisely the same character as the great
majority of the statements in the Persian portions of Ktesias' history.
1 γράμματα μνημόσυνα τῶν ἡμερῶν in vi. 1 ; βιβλίον Περσῶν καὶ Μήδων in x. 2.
INTRODUCTION TO BOOKS VII.-XXIII.
121
The Book of Esther was probably written in the reign of Artaxerxes I.
The contemporary work of Herodotus contains many allusions to a
Persian official record, chiefly in its character of a register of benefactors
(e. g. vii. 100; viii. 85, 90: compare Heeren, Asiatic Nations, i. pp. 55,
56). The passages quoted from Ezra, vi. 2, and Moses of Chorene have
nothing to do with the work in question, which probably perished when
the Persian empire was overthrown. The name applied to these
Chronicles by Ktesias implies that they were written on parchment, not
on papyrus, the ordinary writing material in Egypt (and occasionally in
Babylonia: Sayce, Herodot. p. 396; Budge, Babylonian Life, p. 101;
Layard, Nineveh and Babylon, p. 153), nor on clay, as usually in Babylonia.
Hence it is, perhaps, that no old Persian documents, other than inscrip-
tions, have come down to us.
LIBRI VII.-IX.
ΕΡΙΤΟΜΕ ΡΗΟΤΙΙ.
§ 33. [(1). Ανεγνώσθη βιβλίον Κτησίου τοῦ Κνιδίου
τὰ Περσικὰ ἐν βιβλίοις κγ'. Αλλ᾽ ἐν μὲν τοῖς πρώτοις ἕξ
τά τε 'Ασσύρια διαλαμβάνει καὶ ὅσα πρὸ τῶν Περσικῶν,
ἀπὸ μέντοι τοῦ ζ' τὰ Περσικὰ διεξέρχεται· καὶ ἐν μὲν τῷ
ζ' καὶ ἡ καὶ ἰ καὶ ια' καὶ ιβ' καὶ ιγ' διέξεισι τὰ περὶ
Κύρου και Καμβύσου καὶ τοῦ μάγου, Δαρείου τε καὶ τοῦ
Ξέρξου, σχεδὸν ἐν ἅπασιν ἀντικείμενα Ηροδότῳ ἱστορῶν,
ἀλλὰ καὶ ψεύστην αὐτὸν ἐπελέγχων ἐν πολλοῖς καὶ λογο-
ποῖον ἀποκαλῶν· καὶ γὰρ νεώτερος μέν ἐστιν αὐτοῦ, φησὶ
δὲ αὑτὸν τῶν πλειόνων ἃ ἱστορεῖ αὐτόπτην γενόμενον, ἢ
παρ' αὐτῶν Περσῶν (ἔνθα τὸ ὁρᾷν μὴ ἐνεχώρει αὐτήκοον
καταστάντα, οὕτω τὴν ἱστορίαν συγγράψαι. Οὐχ Ἡροδότῳ
δὲ μόνῳ τἀναντία ἱστορεῖ, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς Ξενοφῶντα τὸν
Γρύλλου ἐπ' ἐνίων διαφωνεῖ. Ηκμασε δὲ τοῖς χρόνοις Κύρου
τοῦ ἐκ Δαρείου καὶ Παρυσάτιδος, ὃς ἀδελφὸς ᾿Αρτοξέρξου
(εἰς ὃν ἡ Περσικὴ βασιλεία κατῆλθεν ἐτύγχανε.
ον
(2). Φησὶν οὖν αὐτίκα περὶ τοῦ ᾿Αστυάγους] ὡς οὐδὲν
αὐτοῦ Κῦρος προς γένος ἐχρημάτιζεν [οὗτος δὲ αὐτὸν καὶ
Αστυΐγαν καλεῖ.] Φυγεῖν δὲ ἀπὸ προσώπου Κύρου Αστυΐ
§ 33, and fr. 22, 23. 'Aotviyav]
Our ancient Oriental accounts of
the reign of Kyrus down to the
capture of Babylon are all Baby-
lonian. In addition to some short
inscriptions of Kyrus on bricks,
which give no additional informa-
tion, they are three in number-
(1) The earliest is a cylinder of
Nabonidus found by Rassam at
Sippara, principally devoted to an
account of his buildings, but inci-
dentally mentioning in a passage
already quoted (on Epit. § 29) the
overthrow of Astyages by Kyrus
(sce Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch. v. p. 6;
VII.-IX.]
123
CTESIAE PERSICA.
γαν ᾿Αγβατάνοις, καὶ κρυφθῆναι ἐν τοῖς κρισκράνοις τῶν
βασιλείων οἰκημάτων κρυψάντων αὐτὸν τῆς τε θυγατρός
Sayce, Fresh Light from the Ancient
Monuments, p. 167; Budge, Baby-
lonian Life, p. 75).
:
(2) A fragmentary tablet, con-
taining the annals of the reigns of
Nabonidus and Kyrus down to a
period shortly after the capture of
Babylon by the latter. Under the
6th year of Nabonidus (B.c. 550-49)
we read (col. 2): "He gathered
and against Kuras, king of Ansân,
Is... went and . . . Istuvegu, his
army revolted against him, and
captured him with their hands, and
to Kuras they gave him. Kuras, in
the land of Agamtanu, the royal
city, silver, gold, furniture, and
goods captured, from Agamtanu he
carried off, and to Ansân brought
the furniture and goods which he
had captured" (Trans. S. B. A. vii.
pp. 155-6; Sayce, op. cit., p. 168).
(3) A fragmentary cylinder of
Kyrus proclaiming his devotion to
the Babylonian gods, especially
Marduk, recording his capture of
Babylon, and giving his genealogy
as follows: "I am Kurâs, king of
multitudes, son of Kâmbu-
•
ziya, the great king, king of the
city of Ansân, grandson of Kurâs,
the great king, king of the city of
Ansân, great-grandson of Siispiis,
the great king, king of Ansân "
(Trans. S. B. A. vii. p. 151; Sayce,
op. cit., p. 172; Budge, p. 81).
As Nabonidus' cylinder describes
Kyrus as the 'young servant' of
Maruduk, and the other two docu-
ments represent him as a worship-
per of the Babylonian gods, Sayce
has somewhat rashly concluded that
he was not a Zoroastrian, but a
polytheist; but for this there is no
real foundation, as the expressions
used are due, not to the king, but
to the Babylonian official scribes.
Those employed by Nabonidus are
closely parallel to the language
used of Kyrus in Is. xliv. 28, and
xlv. 1; while in official documents
compiled for the Jews Kyrus (Ezra,
i. 1-2), and Dareius I. (Ezra vi.
1-12), appear as reverencing Je-
hovah; and in Egyptian documents
Kambyses, Dareius I. (Brugsch,
History of Egypt, ii. pp. 301, 305),
and Dareius II. (Id. p. 308) appear
as worshippers of the Egyptian
gods. Kyrus and his ancestors are
described as 'kings of the city of
Ansân.' This has been identified
by Rawlinson, Pinches (Trans.
S. B. A. vii. 170), and Sayce with
Elam, as the Elamite kings style
themselves gig sunkik Anzan,
“Powerful sovereigns of Anzan.”
Sayce (Herodotos, p. 438, &c.)
hence assumes that Kyrus and his
ancestors reigned in Elam after the
overthrow of the Elamite kingdom
by Asshurbanipal, and had become
almost Turanian Elamites,¹ bearing
Turanian names, and neglecting the
1 The resemblance between the second language used in the inscriptions of the
Achaemenidae and that of the Elamite inscriptions was pointed out by Norris as long
124
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
᾿Αμύτιος καὶ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς αὐτῆς Σπιταμᾶ, ἐπιστάντα δὲ
Κῦρον ἐπιτάξαι ἀνακρίνειν διὰ στρεβλώσεων Σπιταμᾶν τε
1
Mazdayasnian religion, while the
ancestors of Dareius I. ruled in
Persia, and he interprets the ex-
pression of the latter in the Behistun
inscription, par. 4, duvitátaranam
vayam khsháyathiyá ámatiya, "in a
double line we have been kings."
Oppert, however (Records of the
Past, vol. vii.), from the Turanian
version of the inscription, concludes
that duvitátaranam means on two
occasions,' viz., before the time of
Achaemenes, who, he supposes, was
deposed by the Medes, and again
under Kyrus. A simpler explana-
tion is to regard the two lines as
being that of Kyrus I., ending with
Kambyses, son of Kyrus the Great,
consisting of Kyrus I., Kambyses I.,
Kyrus II., and Kambyses II., and
that of Ariyaramana, the only king
belonging to which was Darcius
himself, the other kings making up
the nine referred to in the Be-
histun inscriptions, being the com-
mon ancestors Chispaish (Teispes),
Hakhamanish (Achaemenes), and
probably the father and grand-
father of the latter. If the im-
mediate ancestors of Darcius had
been kings, probably he would have
said so explicitly.
the small importance of Persia
before the time of Kyrus may have
led to its being included under a
name which properly applied to a
province of Elam, just as in later
times the latter was sometimes re-
garded as a part of Persia (Strabo,
xv. 3, p. 317: σxedòv dé tɩ kaì η
Σουσὶς μέρος γεγένηται τῆς Περ-
oídos).
Herodotus, i. 95, mentions three
versions of the history of Kyrus
different from his own, according
to which Kyrus was son of Kam-
byses, a Persian of moderate station,
and of Mandane, daughter of As-
tyages, who had no son, and mar-
ried her to Kambyses, in consequence
of a dream he had, which the Magi
interpreted as portending danger to
himself from her offspring. Owing
to another dream, he directed Har-
pagus, ἄνδρα οἰκήϊον καὶ πιστότατόν
τε Μήδων καὶ πάντων ἐπίτροπον τῶν
EwUTOû, to kill the child. He gives
him to Mithridates, a herdsman, to
expose, but he and his wife Spako
bring up the child as their own.
Eventually Kyrus is reconciled to
Astyages, who restores him to his
parents, but cruelly punishes Har-
pagus for sparing him. Harpagus,
As to the use of the name Ansan, therefore, persuades him to make
but
ago as 1852. Sayce, of course, finds in it an argument in support of his views;
it is probable that then, as now, Turanian dialects were spoken by many tribes of the
Persian dominions, and the most prominent of them was naturally selected as one of
the official languages of the empire.
1 Norris (Memoir on the Scythic Version of the Behistun Inscription, p. 96) explains
the Turanian version (savak-mar) as = "from of old.”
VII.-IX.]
125
CTESIAE PERSICA.
καὶ ᾿Αμύτιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς παῖδας αὐτῶν Σπιτάκην τε καὶ
Μεγαβέρνην, περὶ ᾿Αστυΐγα· τὸν δὲ ἑαυτὸν προσαγγεῖλαι,
the Persians revolt. Astyages sum-
mons Kyrus to his presence, and
receiving an insolent reply, arms
his subjects, but makes Harpagus
their general, and he betrays his
trust, so that the Persians gain
an easy victory, ὡς ἐπύθετο τάχιστα
ὁ ᾿Αστυάγης ἔφη ἀπειλέων τῷ Κύρῳ
σε ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ὡς Κυρός γε χαιρήσει.”
τοσαῦτα εἴπας πρῶτον μὲν τῶν Μάγων
τοὺς ὀνειροπόλους, οἵ μιν ἀνέγνωσαν
μετεῖναι τὸν Κῦρον, τούτους άνεσκο-
λόπισε, μετὰ δὲ ὥπλισε τοὺς ὑπο-
λειφθέντας ἐν τῷ ἄστει τῶν Μήδων,
νέους τε καὶ πρεσβύτας ἄνδρας. ἐξαγα-
γὼν δὲ τούτους καὶ συμβαλὼν τοῖσι
Πέρσησι ἑσσώθη, καὶ αὐτός τε Ασ-
τυάγης ἐζωγρήθη καὶ τοὺς ἐξήγαγε
τῶν Μήδων ἀπέβαλε . . Αστυάγεα
δὲ Κῦρος κακὸν οὐδὲν ἄλλο ποιήσας
εἶχε παρ' ἑωυτῷ ἐς ὃ ἐτελευτήσε
(i. 95-130).
·
It is reasonable to suppose that
the earlier part of the account of
Ktesias is contained in part of the
extract from Nikolaus, and in those
from Strabo and Polyaenus cited
on § 32. Xenophon's account is
spread out over the eight books of
the Kyropaedia, a great part of
which is admittedly fictitious. He
makes Kyrus son of Kambyses
(i. p. 5, πατρὸς μὲν δὴ λέγεται ὁ
Κῦρος γενέσθαι Καμβύσου, Περσῶν
βασιλέως· ὁ δὲ Καμβύσης οὗτος τοῦ
Περσειδῶν γένους ἦν· οἱ δὲ Περσεῖδαι
ἀπὸ Περσέως κληίζονται) μητρὸς δὲ
Μανδάνης . . . ἡ δὲ Μανδάνη
αὕτη Αστυάγους ἦν θυγάτηρ, τοῦ
As-
Μήδων γενομένου βασιλέως.
tyages is succeeded by his son.
Kyaxares; Kyrus acts as his ge-
neral, subdues the Lydians, Baby-
lonians, and other nations, and
eventually peacefully succeeds him.
Deinon's version, from what re-
mains of it (fr. 7) seems to have
somewhat resembled Ktesias'.
Strabo, xv. 3, pp. 320, 322, says
that Kyrus was previously called
Agradates, and that he honoured
the Pasargadae especially, and
founded
a city and a palace
amongst them as a memorial of his
final victory over Astyages there.
Justin combines the accounts of
Herodotus and Ktesias, adopting
part of each i. 4-6). Moses of
Chorene (Hist. i. 23-29) as usual
assigns the most prominent part to
his countrymen. Tigran, King of
Armenia, and Kyrus, King of Per-
sia, contracted an alliance, which,
together with a dream respecting
the former, so alarmed Adzdahak
(Astyages), King of Media, that he
resolved to compass the destruction
of Tigran by treachery, and as a
step to doing so obtained his sister
in marriage. She refused to assist
against her brother, and escaped,
whereupon Tigran engaged in war
with Adzdahak, who was killed in
battle. In i. 30 he says, Tigranes
66
Cyri alacritate ac studio adjutus,
Medorum sibi et Persarum impe-
rium arripuit.” In cap. 31 he has
a confused story: Ex Persarum
126
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ἵνα μὴ δι' αὐτὸν στρεβλωθείησαν οἱ παῖδες.
Ληφθέντα δὲ
πέδαις παχείαις ὑπὸ Οἰβάρα δεθῆναι· λυθῆναι δὲ ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ
fabulis de Byraspe Astyge' (Adz-
dahak), who temporibus Nebrothis.
fuisse dicitur,' and therefore
has nothing in common with As-
tyages, son of Kyaxares, but the
name, representing in fact the
Zohak of mediæval Persian legends.
In them Kai Khosru takes the place
of Kyrus, and the Turanian Afrasiab
of Astyages, but the legend has
scarcely any resemblance to the
version given by Ktesias.
Comparing these accounts with
the contemporary Babylonian ones,
we find that our author's account of
the early history of the founder of
the Persian empire is on the whole
the most incorrect. Herodotus and
Xenophon are right as to his father's
name, on which point most writers
agree with them, Ktesias being
wrong. Xenophon alone is right, in
making him hereditary King of Per-
sia, though in all other points he is
furthest astray. Ktesias, who makes
him Satrap of Persia, comes nearer
the truth in this point than Hero-
dotus, who makes Kambyses a pri-
vate person. Whether Kyrus was
related to Astyages cannot be de-
termined. Both the Babylonian
and the various Greek accounts
agree in representing Astyages as
taken prisoner, not killed. The
manner of his capture is differently
stated by the two Babylonian ver-
sions; but, contrary to Ktesias'
account, it evidently preceded the
occupation of Ekbatana. The an-
nalistic tablet agrees with Herodo-
tus in representing his defeat as
due to treachery. What Ktesias
said on this point we cannot tell:
both this and the spoils taken from
Astyages are alluded to in the last
paragraph of Nikolaus, vii. fr. 66;
but this is not apparently from him,
but from some other authority
(perhaps Deinon). Nothing as to
the number of battles fought can
be concluded from the brief Baby-
lonian notices. On the whole,
Herodotus' account of the war is
confirmed in all points where it
differs from that of Ktesias.
ἐν ᾿Αγβατάνοις] Whether Raw-
linson be right or not in regarding
the Agbatana described in He-
rodotus i. 98 as a different place
from the well-known city in Media
Magna, there is no doubt that the
latter is intended here and in § 13.
It is described by Polybius (x. 27)
as an unwalled town, with a strong
citadel, and a magnificent palace
(τὰ βασίλεια τῷ μὲν μεγέθει σχεδόν
ἑπτὰ σταδίων ἔχοντα τὴν περιγραφὴν
τῇ δὲ τῶν κατὰ μέρος κατασκευασμά
dè
των πολυτελεία μεγάλην ἐμφαίνοντα
τὴν τῶν ἐξ ἀρχῆς καταβαλλομένων
cukaupíav). Considerable ruins have
been found on its site at Hamadan,
together with an inscription of
Artaxerxes II., referring to a
palace erected there by Darcius.
=
KрLokрávols] So Baehr, who ex-
plains as modern Persian ghiriz
khanch, i. c. domus refugii; Schweig-
haeuser reads κιοκράνοις
in epi-
stylio; Müller, following Osiander,
VII.-IX.]
127
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Κύρου μετ᾿ οὐ πολὺ καὶ ὡς πατέρα τιμηθῆναι καὶ τὴν
θυγατέρα Αμύτιν πρότερον μὲν μητρικῆς ἀπολαῦσαι τιμῆς,
ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ εἰς γυναῖκα ἀχθῆναι τῷ Κύρῳ, Σπιτάμα τοῦ
ἀνδρὸς αὐτῆς ἀνῃρημένου, ὅτι ἐψεύσατο ἀγνοεῖν εἰπὼν
ἐρευνώμενον 'Αστυΐγαν. [Ταῦτα λέγει Κτησίας περὶ Κύρου
καὶ οὐχ οἷα Ἡρόδοτος.] καὶ ὅτι πρὸς Βακτρίους ἐπολέμησε,
καὶ ἀγχώμαλος ἡ μάχη ἐγένετο. Ἐπεὶ δὲ Βάκτριοι Αστυΐ
γαν μὲν πατέρα Κύρου γεγενημένον, ᾿Αμύτιν δὲ μητέρα καὶ
γυναῖκα ἔμαθον, ἑαυτοὺς ἑκόντες ᾿Αμύτι καὶ Κύρῳ παρέ-
δοσαν.
FRAGMENTU M 22.
(Tertullianus) Persas cum suis matribus misceri
[Ctesias refert].
κριοκράνοις = in palati parte colum-
nas trabesve arietum capitibus caelatis
distinctas habente, suggested, I sup-
pose, by the columns, with capitals
in the form of heads of animals
used in Persian architecture. The
capital of a column, however, seems
a most unlikely hiding-place.
Σπιταμᾶ] Spitamus = 4most
holy,' is an epithet commonly ap-
plied to Zarathustra in the Avesta.
66
Σπιτάκην ] = ‘holy, from spita
(= spenta . . .) with the Scythic
guttural termination, as in Arsaces"
(Rawlinson's Herod. iii. p. 550).
ληφθέντα δὲ πέδαις παχείαις ὑπὸ
Οιβάρα] Oebaras appears through-
out as guilty of acts of cruelty,
against the orders of his master,
which the latter repudiates, but
profits by, generally leaving the
perpetrator unpunished: compare
the treatment of the Babylonian in
Nikolaus, vii. 66, and the narrative
in § 36. The name Ocbaras occurs
in Justin, in the form Sybares,
which is perhaps a dialectic variant:
in old Persian it would be 'Ubara,
where 'U- = Sanskrit Su-, the ex-
planation of it by Nikolaus (i. e.
Ktesias) ἀγαθάγγελος is correct. If
Oebares was a real person, the
legend of his carly history may
have been due to his name.
Herodotus, iii. 85, it is applied to
Darcius' groom, to whom it is
equally appropriate.
In
πρότερον μεν μητρικής, κ. τ. λ.]
Bachr and Müller are perhaps right
in regarding Tertullian, Apolog. 5,
as a quotation of this passage, but
many Greek writers stated directly
that the Persians married their
mothers and daughters: see Xan-
thus, fr. 28 ; Strabo, xv. 3, p. 329 ;
Plutarch, Artax. p. 1870; Barde-
sanes ap. Euseb. P. E. vi. 275;
Theodoret, Serm. ix., &c. (some of
these limit the statement to the
Magi).
128
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
FRAGMENTUM 23.
(Tzetzes, Chil. i. 1, 82). Τὸν ᾿Αστυΐγαν μέν [φησι]
καταβληθέντα Κύρῳ τῶν Βαρκανίων ἄρχοντα γενέσθαι
παρὰ τούτου.
EPITOME PHOTII.
§ 34. (3). Καὶ ὅτι πρὸς Σάκας ἐπολέμησε Κῦρος καὶ
συνέλαβεν ᾿Αμόργην τῶν Σακῶν μὲν βασιλέα ἄνδρα δὲ
Βαρκανίων ἄρχοντα] 'eum (As-
tygem) maximae genti Hyrcanorum
praeposuit,' Justin, i. 6. Ваρκávio
Βαρκάνιοι
ἔθνος τοῖς Υρκανοῖς ὅμορον, Ste-
phanus. Probably they are merely
different ways of representing the
same name: see on § 2.
§ 34. Záκas] Dareius I., in the
inscription on his tomb, enume-
rates among the subject nations of
his empire-(1) The Saká Huma-
vargá (Turanian Sakkapé Omuvar-
gap; Babylonian Ginirri Umurga);
(2) the Saká Tigrakhudá, Sakan
bowmen' (?); (3) the Saká tyaiya
páradaraya, Sakans beyond the
sea.'
Herodotus, vii. 64, mentions,
among the troops of Xerxes, Zákaι
of Zkúla, adding Toúrous dè éóvras
Σκύθαι, τούτους ἐόντας
Σκύθας 'Αμυργίους Σάκας ἐκάλευν· οἱ
γὰρ Πέρσαι πάντας τοὺς Σκύθας και
λεῦσι Σάκας.
5
Hellanikus, fr. 171, ap. Steph.
Byz. : Αμύργιον πεδίον Σακῶν· Ἑλ-
λάνικος Σκύθαις, τὸ ἐθνικὸν ᾿Αμύρ-
γιος ὡς αὐτός φησιν.
Here we see the Saka Huma-
varga of Dareius; it is probable
that the name Amorges in Ktesias
was derived from the name of this
tribe: their locality is discussed in
Rawlinson, Herodotus, pp. 200-
203, but cannot be determined
with certainty. Greek writers ap-
pear to have always called the
European tribes (the Saka beyond
the sea' of Dareius) Skythians,¹
while they distinguished the Asiatic
tribes into Skythians and Sakans;
but they were not consistent in the
application of the two names in the
latter case (Herodotus, i. 103 sq.
i. 153, iii. passim, vii. 64, viii. 113,
ix. 113; Hellanikus, 7. s. c. ; Strabo,
l.
xi. 8, p. 429 sq.; Arrian, Exp. Alex.
i. p. 8, iii. p. 171, iv. p. 239 sq., p.
273, p. 278; Ptolemaeus, vi. 13,
&c.). The Asiatic Skythians, or
Sakans, seem to have been usually
(not always) Turanians, though the
name was loosely used to include
all the nomad tribes. Rawlinson
supposes the European Skythians
1 If the Sakans of Ktesias, § 31, correspond to the Skythians of Herodotus, i. 103,
we have perhaps an exception, but the correspondence is doubtful. Herod. iv. 6, says
the European Skythians called themselves Skoloti.
VII.-IX.]
129
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Σπαρέθρης, ἥτις καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἅλωσιν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς στρατὸν
συλλέξασα ἐπολέμησε Κύρῳ, ἀνδρῶν μὲν στράτευμα τριά
κοντα μυριάδας ἐπαγομένη, γυναικῶν δὲ εἴκοσι. Καὶ νικῇ
Κῦρον, καὶ συλλαμβάνει ζωγρίαν μετὰ καὶ ἄλλων πλείστων
Παρμίσην τε τὸν ᾿Αμύτιος ἀδελφὸν καὶ τρεῖς αὐτοῦ παῖδας,
δι' οὓς ὕστερον καὶ ᾿Αμόργης ἀφέθη, ἐπεὶ κἀκεῖνοι ἀφέ-
θησαν.
§ 35. (4). Καὶ ὅτι στρατεύει Κῦρος ἐπὶ Κροῖσον καὶ
πόλιν Σάρδεις, συνεργὸν ἔχων ᾿Αμόργην· ὅπως τε βουλῇ
Οἰβάρα Περσῶν εἴδωλα ξύλινα ἀνὰ τὸ τεῖχος φανέντα εἰς
to have been Aryans (Herodotus,
iii. pp. 178–209): compare Heeren,
Asiatic Nations, ii. 1-34; Philip
Smith, Manual of Ancient History,
pp. 472-474. The name Segestan
perhaps = 'Place of the Sakans.'
§ 35, fr. 24. στρατεύει Κῦρος ἐπὶ
Κροίσον] Justin (probably follow-
ing Deinon) places the conquest of
Lydia after the capture of Babylon:
Herodotus, Xenophon, and most
writers, place it before. The date
of the overthrow of Astyages is
fixed to B. c. 550-49, and the cap-
ture of Babylon to summer, B.C. 539,
by Babylonian documents. The
conquest of Lydia was probably
later than B. c. 546, which is the
date given by Clinton from late
authorities. The Parian Chronicle
(Epoch 41) has ἀφ' οὗ Κροῖσος ἐξ
Ασίας εἰς Δέλφους & . . . ΔΔΑΔΙ.
ἄρχοντος Αθήνησι
θύδημου
probably B. c. 556. As it is not
mentioned in the Babylonian annals
of Kyrus and Nabonidus, so far as
they are known to us, it was pro-
bably between B. C. 545 and 539,
for which years the record is lost.
•
•
K
βουλῇ Οιβάρα] "Quod arti-
ficium attinet, quo Oebares noster
usus esse dicitur, id non abludere a
moribus Orientalium comprobatur
iis quae etiam nunc apud Sinesos
Anglis accidisse narrantur. Quibus
urbem nescio quam obsidentibus ut
terrorem incuterent oppidani fera-
rum simulacra de muris ostendisse
feruntur.” Müller. Herodotus, i.
84, says the city was taken by
means of a soldier, who climbed up
to the citadel by a steep and un-
guarded path. Polybius, vii. 17,
describes a capture of Sardis by
Lagoras the Kretan, a general of
Antiochus the Great, in a some-
what similar manner. Polyaenus,
Strat. vii. 6, 2, gives the following
account, probably from Xanthus :
Κῦρος ἐν ταῖς πρὸς Κροῖσον ἀνοχαῖς
ἀπήγαγε τὴν δύναμιν· ὡς δὲ νὺξ
ἐπῆλθε, συντόμως ἀναστρέψας ἐπὶ
τὰς Σάρδεις ἤγαγεν· καὶ προσπεσών
τοῖς τείχεσιν ἀφυλάκτως προσθέμε-
νος κλίμακας, κατέσχε τὰς Σάρδεις.
Herodotus's version is probably
correct.
The text of this section is ex-
130
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Ο
δέος μὲν κατέστησε τοὺς ἐνοικοῦντας, ἥλω δὲ διὰ ταῦτα καὶ
αὐτὴ ἡ πόλις. Ὅπως τε πρὸ τῆς ἁλώσεως δίδοται ὁ παῖς
Κροίσου ἐν ὁμήρου λόγῳ, δαιμονίου φαντάσματος ἀπατή-
σαντος Κροῖσον· ὅπως τε δολοῤῥαφοῦντος Κροίσου ὁ παῖς
κατ' ὀφθαλμοὺς ἀναιρεῖται· καὶ ὅπως ἡ μήτηρ τὸ πάθος ἰδοῦ-
σα ἑαυτὴν τοῦ τείχους ἀποκρημνίζει, καὶ θνήσκει· ὅπως τε
ἁλούσης τῆς πόλεως, πρὸς τὸ ἐν τῇ πόλει ἱερὸν τοῦ ᾿Απόλ-
λωνος καταφεύγει ὁ Κροῖσος· καὶ ὡς τρὶς ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ
πεδηθεὶς ὑπὸ Κύρου, λύεται τρίτον ἀοράτως, καίτοι σφραγί
δων τῷ ἱερῷ ἐπικειμένων, καὶ τούτων τὴν φυλακὴν Οἰβάρα
ἐμπεπιστευμένον· ὅπως τε οἱ συνδούμενοι Κροίσῳ τὰς
κεφαλὰς ἀπετέμνοντο, ὡς καταπροδιδόντες λύεσθαι Κροῖ
σου. Καί ὅτι ἀναληφθεὶς ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις καὶ δεθεὶς
ἀσφαλέστερον, βροντῶν καὶ σκηπτῶν ἐπινεχθέντων, λύεται
πάλιν. Καὶ τότε μόλις ὑπὸ Κύρου ἀφίεται. Ἐξ οὗ καὶ
περιείπετο, καὶ ἔδωκε Κύρος Κροίσῳ πόλιν μεγάλην Βαρήνην
ἐγγὺς ᾿Αγβατάνων, ἐν ᾗ ἦσαν ἱππεῖς μὲν πεντακισχίλιοι,
πελτασται δὲ καὶ ἀκοντισταὶ καὶ τοξόται μύριοι.
tremely corrupt, and, as printed by
Bachr, is in places utterly un-
meaning.
ὁ παῖς Κροίσου] This story is
inconsistent with Herodotus, who
represents one son of Kroesus as
killed before the war with Kyrus,
and the other as surviving the cap-
ture of the city; but he may have
had more than two.
ἁλούσης τῆς πόλεως] The inter-
vention of Apollo appears in all
accounts of Kyrus' dealings with
Kroesus, but otherwise there is
little resemblance between this ac-
count and those of Herodotus (i.
85-89), Xanthus (ap. Nik Dam.
vii. fr. 68), which resemble each
other in the incident of the at-
tempted burning of Kroesus, though
the latter represents it as having
been against the wish of Kyrus,
and Xenophon (Kyrop. vii. p.
399 sq.), who represents Kyrus as
treating Kroesus well from the
first.
Βαρήνην] Barce in Justin, i. 7.
The custom of assigning cities to
distinguished persons amongst the
Persians is well known. Thus The-
mistocles received Magnesia (Nepos,
Vit. Themist. 10: "domiciliumque
Magnesiae sibi constituit, namque
hanc urbem ei rex donarat
quae ei panem praeberet, Lampsa-
cum unde vinum sumeret, Myun-
tem ex quâ obsonium haberet"). It
is remarkable that Ktesias, if the
•
VII.-IX.]
131
CTESIAE PERSICA.
FRAGMENTUM 24.
(a)
(POLYAENUS, vii. 6. 13.)
Κῦρος πολιορκῶν Σάρδεις
ξύλα πολλὰ ἰσομήκη τοῖς
τείχεσιν ἐπιστήσας, αὐτὸς
εἴδωλα πώγωνας ἔχοντα καὶ
Περσικὴν ἐσθῆτα, καὶ φαρέ-
τραν κατὰ νώτου, καὶ τόξα
μετὰ χεῖρας, νύκτωρ προσ-
ήγαγεν, ὑπερέχοντα τῶν
τειχῶν τὰς ἄκρας· ὁ δὲ κατὰ
τὰ ἕτερα μέρη τῆς πόλεως
προσέβαλεν ἀρχομένης ἡμέ
pas. Ἡ δὲ στρατιὰ τοῦ
Κροῖσου ἀπομαχομένη ταῖς
τοῦ Κύρου προσβολαῖς ἐπει-
δή τινες αὐτῶν ἐπιστρα-
φέντες εἶδον ἀπό μακροῦ
τὰ εἴδωλα ὑπὲρ τὴν ἄκραν,
ἐβόησαν. Πάντας δὲ εἷλε
φόβος, ὡς ἤδη τῆς ἄκρας ὑπὸ
Περσῶν κατειλημμένης τὰς
πύλας δὲ ἀνοίξαντες, ἄλλος
ἄλλῃ ἔφυγον Κύρος δὲ
Σάρδεις κατὰ κράτος εἷλεν.
|
(6)
(THEON, Progymn. 11.)
Ἐν τῇ ἐνάτῃ Κτησίας]
οἷον τὰ εἴδωλα τῶν Περσῶν
ἐπὶ τοῖς μικροῖς ξύλοις
ὁρῶντες ὑπὸ τὸν ὄρθρον
πρὸς τὰς ἀκροπόλεις πόῤῥω-
θεν οἱ Λυδοὶ εἰς φυγὴν ἐτρά-
ποντο, νομίσαντες τὴν
ἀκρόπολιν πλήρη εἶναι Περ-
σῶν καὶ ἤδη εαλωκέναι.
(c)
(TZETZES, Chil. i. 1, 84.)
Οἰβάρην δὲ τὸν στρατη-
γὸν τὸν μέγαν τὸν τοῦ
Κύρου ξύλινα λέγει πρόσωπα
Σάρδεσιν ἐπιστῆσαι ἐν ὑπερ-
μήκεσι κοντοῖς, νυκτὸς ἐν-
οὕτω
δεδυμένα
Λυδούς
ταράξαι δὲ καὶ κατασχεῖν
τὴν πόλιν.
epitome is to be relied on, made no
mention of the capture of Babylon
by Kyrus. Even if he regarded
Babylonia as a Median province,
he might easily have introduced the
war in the same way as Justin, who
(i. 7) apparently intends to include
the Babylonians among the States,
66 quae Medorum tributariae .
mutato imperio, etiam conditionem
suam mutatam arbitrantes, a Cyro
defecerunt.” It is possible his
account may have been omitted by
the epitomater, like those of the
Babylonian and Ionic revolts, under
Dareius I. If so, the account of
the capture given by Polyaenus, vii.
6. 8, may come from Ktesias.¹
1 Κύρος Βαβυλῶνα ἐπολιόρκει· Βαβυλώνιοι πολλῶν ἐτῶν σιτία ἔχοντες, κατεγέλων
τῆς πολιορκίας Κῦρος διὰ μέσης τὴν Εὐφράτην ῥέοντα διώρυχα τεμὼν εἰς τὸ πλησίον
ἕλος ὑπεξήγαγεν. Βαβυλώνιοι πιεῖν ὕδωρ οὐκ ἔχοντες αὐτίκα σφέας αὐτοὺς τῷ Κύρῳ
παρέδωκαν.
Κ 2
132
[LIB. VII.-IX.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
EPITOME
ΡΗΟΤΙΙ.
§ 36. (5). [ἔτι δὲ διαλαμβάνει ὡς] ἀποστέλλει Κύρος
ἐν Περσίδι Πετησάκαν τὸν ἡμιάῤῥενα μέγα παρ' αὐτῷ
δυνάμενον, ἐνέγκαι ἀπὸ Βαρκανίων Αστυϊγάν. ἐπόθει γὰρ
αυτός τε καὶ ἡ θυγάτηρ Αμυτις τὸν πατέρα ἰδεῖν. Καὶ ὡς
Οἰβάρας βουλεύει Πετησάκᾳ ἐν ἐρήμῳ τόπῳ καταλιπόντα
Αστυϊγᾶν, λιμῷ καὶ δίψῃ ἀπολέσαι· ὃ καὶ γέγονε. Δι'
ἐνυπνίων δὲ τοῦ μιάσματος μηνυθέντος, Πετησάκας πολλά-
κις αιτησαμένης ᾿Αμύτιος, εἰς τιμωρίαν παρὰ Κύρου ἐκδί-
δοται. Ἡ δὲ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐξορύξασα καὶ τὸ δέρμα
περιδείρασα ἀνεσταύρωσεν. Οἰβάρας δὲ δεδιὼς μὴ τὰ
ὅμοια πείσεται, καίτοι Κύρου μηδὲν τοιοῦτον ἰσχυριζομένου
παραχωρήσαι, αὐτὸς μὲν ἀποκαρτερήσας δι' ἡμερῶν δέκα
ἑαυτὸν ἐξήγαγεν, ᾿Αστυΐγας δὲ μεγαλοπρεπῶς ἐτάφη· καὶ
ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ δὲ ἄβρωτος αὐτοῦ διέμεινεν ὁ νεκρός· λέοντες
γὰρ αὐτοῦ, [φησι] μέχρι Πετησάκαν πάλιν ἐλθεῖν καὶ ἀνα-
λαβεῖν ἐφύλαττον τὸν νεκρόν.
FRAGMENTUM 25.
(Tzetzes, Chil. i. 1, 88). Μετὰ τὴν αἰχμαλώτισιν
[φάσκει] δὲ τὴν τοῦ Κροίσου, πρὸς Αστυΐγαν πέπομφεν ὁ
Κύρος Πετσάκαν, ὅπως ἐλθὼν τὴν ᾿Αμυτιν ἴδῃ σὺν Ασ
τυΐγα. Ἡ Αμυτις ὑπάρχουσα δὲ παῖς τοῦ ᾿Αστυϊγᾶ
τοῦτον τὸν πρωτοεύνουχον, ἄθλιον Πετησάκαν, ἐπίβουλον
νοήσασα τούτου τοῦ ᾿Αστυϊγᾶ, τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐξώρυξεν,
ἐκδείρασά τε ζῶντα, ἀνεσκολόπησε, θεῖσα βορὰν ὀρνέοις.
•
§ 36, fr. 25. εἰς τιμωρίαν
ἐκδίδοται] The frst instance we
meet of the long series of cases
which Ktesias chronicles in almost
every reign, in which persons who
had incurred the displeasure of the
king's mother or wife were de-
livered up to them, and cruelly put
to death.
LIBRI X, XI.
ΕΡΙΤΟΜΕ ΡΗΟΤΙΙ.
§ 37 (6). Κύρος δὲ στρατεύει ἐπὶ Δέρβικας, Αμοραίου
βασιλεύοντος αὐτῶν καὶ ἐξ ἐνέδρας οἱ Δέρβικες ἱστῶσιν
ἐλέφαντας, καὶ τοὺς ἱππεῖς Κύρου τρέπουσι. Καὶ πίπτει καὶ
αὐτὸς Κῦρος ἐκ τοῦ ἵππου, καὶ Ἰνδὸς ἀνήρ, (συνεμάχουν γὰρ
Ἰνδοὶ τοῖς Δερβίκεσιν, ἐξ ὧν καὶ τοὺς ἐλέφαντας ἔφερον),
οὗτος ὁ Ἰνδὸς πεπτωκότα Κῦρον βάλλει ἀκοντίῳ ὑπὸ τὸ
ισχίον εἰς τὸν μηρόν· ἐξ οὗ καὶ τελευτᾷ. Τότε δὲ ζῶντα
ἀνελόμενοι αὐτὸν οἱ οἰκεῖοι, ἐπὶ στρατόπεδον ᾔεσαν. ᾿Απέ-
θανον δὲ ἐν τῇ μάχῃ καὶ Περσῶν πολλοὶ καὶ Δερβίκων ἴσοι·
μύριοι γὰρ καὶ αὐτοί.
Ο
FRAGMENTUM 26.
(Steph. Βyz.). [Δυρβαῖοι, ἔθνος καθῆκον εἰς Βάκτρους
καὶ τὴν Ἰνδικήν. Κτησίας ἐν Περσικών δεκάτῃ] χώρα δὲ
πρὸς αὐτὸν πρόσκειται Δυρβαίων· οὗτοι εὐδαίμονες ἄνδρες
καὶ πλούσιοι καὶ κάρτα δίκαιοί εἰσι, πρὸς τὴν Βακτρίαν καὶ
§ 37, fr. 26-29. Δυρβαῖοι] It is
evident that in the tenth book
Ktesias described Kyrus's conquest
of a number of Central Asian tribes,
which the epitomater has omitted.
There is no use trying to fix the
precise locality of these Dyrbaeans.
Greek geographers had very vague
ideas of the distributien of races in
Central Asia; and in any case pro-
bably the different nomad tribes
have often changed from one dis-
trict to another.
κάρτα δίκαιοί εἰσι] A character
commonly attributed by the Greeks
to wild races, of whom they knew
little: compare Indika, § 8, περὶ
τῶν Ἰνδῶν ὅτι δικαιότατοι. In Ind.
§ 11, the same is said of the Pyg-
mies, and § 23, it is said of the
J
134
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
αν
Ἰνδικὴν κατατείνοντες. Οὗτοι οὔτε ἀδικοῦσιν οὔτε ἀπο-
κτιννύουσιν ἀνθρώπων οὐδένα· ἐὰν δέ τι εὕρωσιν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ
χρυσίον ἢ ἱμάτιον ἢ ἀργύριον ἢ ἄλλο τι, οὐδὲν ἂν ἀποκινή
σειαν οὗτοι· οὔτε ἀρτοποιέουσιν οὔτε ἐσθίουσιν οὔτε νομί-
ζουσιν, ἐὰν μὴ ἱερῶν οὔνεκεν. Αλφιτα δὲ ποιοῦσι λεπτότερα
καθάπερ οἱ Ἕλληνες, καὶ ἐσθίουσι καρπούς.
FRAGMENTUM 27.
(Steph. Βyz.). [Χωραμναῖοι, ἔθνος Περσικὸν ἀγρίων
ἀνθρώπων· Κτησίας ἐν Περσικῶν δεκάτῳ] οὕτω δὲ ταχύς
ἐστιν ὁ ἄγριος ἄνθρωπος ὡς καὶ διώκων τὰς ἐλάφους κατα-
λαμβάνειν· [καὶ ἄλλα πλεῖστα περὶ αὐτῶν φησι].
FRAGMENTUM 28.
Apollonius, Histor. Mirabil., xx.). [Κτησίας ἐν τῇ
δεκάτῃ Περσικών], καμήλους τινὰς ἐν χώρᾳ γίγνεσθαι, ἃς
Kynokephali. Aeschylus, Prom.
Solut., fr. 198, ἔπειτα δ' ἥξεις δῆμον
ἐνδικώτατον βροτῶν ἁπάντων καὶ
φιλοξενώτατον, Γαβίους, ἵν᾽ οὔτ᾽
ἄροτρον οὔτε γατόμος τέμνει δίκελλο
ἄρουραν. Herodotus, iv. 26 (the
Issedonians), &c.
Χωραμναίοι] Also mentioned in
§§ 2 and 39, in each case with a
different spelling in our present
text. Larcher identifies them with
the Chorasmians, while Baehr makes.
them the people of Khorassan.
καμήλους τινὰς ] Baehr and Mül-
ler quote Aelian, H. A. xvii. 34:
Αἶγες δὲ Κάσπιαι γίνονται λευκαί
ἰσχυρῶς, καὶ κεράτων δὲ ἄγονοι,
μικραί τε μέγεθος καὶ σιμαί. Κάμη-
λοι δ' ἀριθμοῦνται πλείους, αἱ μέγισ-
ται κατὰ τοὺς ἵππους τοὺς μεγίστους,
εὔτριχες ἄγαν. Απαλαι γάρ εἰσι
σφόδρα αἱ τούτων τρίχες ὡς καὶ τοῖς
Μιλησίοις ἐρίοις ἀντικρίνεσθαι τὴν
μαλακότητα· οὐκοῦν ἐκ τούτων οἱ
ἱερεῖς ἐσθῆτα ἀμφιέννυνται, καὶ οἱ
τῶν Κασπίων πλουσιώτατοί τε καὶ
δυνατώτατοι.
By xúpa we are perhaps to
understand the land of the Kas-
pians, by whom we must evidently
understand here (as perhaps in
Herodotus, iii. 93, and vii. 86) not
a people near the Caspian, but the
inhabitants of Kashmir, the Kas-
peirians of Ptolemaeus, vii. 1, whose
shawls are still famous.
The historians of Alexander have
many references to Kyrus's wars in
X, XI.]
135
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ἔχειν τρίχας πρὸς Μιλήσια ἔρια τῇ μαλακότητι ἐκ δὲ
τούτων τοὺς ἱερεῖς καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους δυνάστας τὰς ἐσθῆτας
φέρειν.
FRAGMENTUM 29.
(Steph. Βyz.). [Δερβίκκαι, ἔθνος πλησίον τῶν Ὑρκα-
νῶν . . . Κτησίας δὲ Δερβίους αυτούς φησιν ή Τερβισ
σούς.]
EPITOME PHOTII.
§ 38. (7). 'Αμόργης δὲ περὶ Κύρου ἀκούσας σπουδῇ
παραγίνεται ἔχων Σακῶν δισμυρίους ἱππέας. Καὶ πολέμου
συῤῥαγέντος Περσῶν καὶ Δερβίκων, νικὰ κατὰ κράτος ὁ
Περσικός και Σακῶν στράτος, ἀναιρεῖται δὲ καὶ ὁ τῶν
Δερβίκων βασιλεὺς ᾿Αμοραῖος καὶ αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ δύο παῖδες
Central Asia (Arrianus, Exp. Alex.
iii. p. 228; iv. p. 243; Curtius,
vii. 3, &c.: cf. Strabo, xv. 2, p.
312.
Δέρβικας] A people better known
than the other tribes we have been
dealing with: see § 2. But the
position on the borders of India.
assigned to them is irreconcilable
with the testimony of Strabo, xi.
11, pp. 444-5, and Stephanus, who
places them near Hyrkania (not in
it, as Müller says), and Ptole-
maeus, who (iv. 20) places them in
Margiana. Perhaps the suggestion
of Osiander, adopted by Baehr and
Müller, that the Persian kings
removed them from the borders of
India to their later settlements
near the Caspian, is correct.
Nearchus (ap. Strab. xv. 2, p.
307) makes Kyrus unsuccessfully
invade India, and escape with seven
followers.
According to Herodotus, i. 204 sq.,
Kyrus attacked Tomyris, queen of
the Massagetae, a savage race near
the Caspian, and at first defeated
them, and captured Spargapises,
son of Tomyris; afterwards, how-
ever, the Persians were defeated,
the king was slain, and his body
fell into the hands of the enemy.¹
Polyaenus, viii. 28, gives a similar
1
1 Duncker, vi. p. 122 sq., regards this as the Median account of the death of
Kyrus, Ktesias's being the Persian one. To me it seems that the Herodotean account
bears as evident marks of being a Greek invention as Xenophon's.
PIT-37
136
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
αὐτοῦ.
Απέθανον δὲ Δερβίκων μὲν τρισμύριοι, Περσῶν δὲ
ἐνακισχίλιοι. Καὶ προσεχώρησεν ἡ χώρα Κύρῳ.
§ 39. (8). Κύρος δὲ μέλλων τελευτᾷν Καμβύσην μὲν
τὸν πρῶτον υἱὸν βασιλέα καθίστη, Τανυοξάρκην δὲ τὸν νεώ-
τερον ἐπέστησε δεσπότην Βακτρίων τῆς χώρας και Χοραμ
account, but differs as to details, as
does Strabo, xv. 8, pp. 431-4. Be-
rosus, iii. 15, says he perished in
the plain of the Dahae,' who were
apparently a nomad Persian tribe.
Diodorus, ii. 44, says: ἡ βασίλισσα
τῶν Σκυθῶν τό τε στρατόπεδον τῶν
Περσῶν κατέκοψε καὶ τὸν Κῦρον
αἰχμάλωτον γενόμενον ἀνεσταύρωσε.
Xenophon, Kyr. viii. p. 533, makes
Kyrus die in his bed from old age,
after giving certain injunctions (so
far agreeing with Ktesias, § 39).
Arrianus, Exp. Alex. vi. pp.
435 sq., describes (from Aristobu-
lus) the sepulchre of Kyrus at
Pasaragadae (εἶναι γὰρ ἐν Πασαργά-
δαις ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τῷ βασιλικῷ
Κύρου ἐκείνου τάφον καὶ περὶ αὐτὸν
ἄλσος ἐμπεφυτεῦσθαι δένδρων παν-
τοίων, καὶ ὕδατι εἶναι κατάῤῥυτον
καὶ αὐτὸν δὲ τὸν τάφον τὰ
κάτω λίθῳ τετραπέδῳ ἐς τετράγωνον
σχῆμα πεποιῆσθαι· ἄνωθεν δὲ οἴκημα
ἐπεῖναι λιθίνον ἐστεγασμένον, θυρί-
δα ἔχον φέρουσαν ἔσω στενὴν,κ.τ.λ.),
and the plunder of its contents in
the time of Alexander. It bore
the inscription ὦ ἄνθρωπε, ἐγὼ
&
Κυρός εἰμι ὁ Καμβύσου ὁ τὴν ἀρχὴν
Πέρσαις καταστησάμενος, καὶ τῆς
Ασίας βασιλεύσας. Μὴ οὖν φθόνει
μοι τοῦ μνήματος. Compare Strabo,
xv. 3, p. 320 sq., who describes the
tomb as πύργον οὐ μέγαν . . . κάτω
μὲν στερεὸν, ἄνω δὲ στέγην ἔχοντα
καὶ σηκὸν : Q. Curtius, x. 1, &c.
At Murgaub is a structure exactly
corresponding to this description,
and surrounded by pillars inscribed
in Persian, Turanian, and Baby-
Ionian, I am Kurush, the king, the
Achaemenid'; but Sayce and some
other writers refuse to regard this
as the tomb of Kyrus, rejecting the
identification of Murgaub and Pa-
sargadae. (Dieulafoy regards Mur-
gaub as the place where Kyrus
defeated Astyages, and where his
father, Kambyses, was buried, and
supposes that Kyrus founded a city
there as his capital, which Dareius
removed to Persepolis, and that
both places bore the name Parsa-
karta (= Persepolis), which in the
former case was confounded by the
Greeks with Pasargadae: see Aca-
demy, xxii. p. 265).
§ 39. Καμβύσην] Old Persian
Kabujiya; Babylonian Kambuziya;
Egyptian Kanbuta, or Kambat,
'a bard,' according to Rawlinson.
Τανυοξάρκην] An epithet
'strong in body,' the appropriate-
ness of which we see from Hero-
dotus, iii. 30. His real name was
Bardiya (Babylonian Barziya),
which Hellanikus (fr. 164) made
into Marphius (ap. Schol. Aesch.
Pers. 775 : Κύρου δὲ υἱὸς ὁ Καμβύ
σης, ἀδελφὸς δὲ . . . Μαρφίου καὶ
Μέμφιδος); Aeschylus (Pers. 774)
X, XI.]
137
CTESIAE PERSICA.
νίων καὶ Παρθίων καὶ Καρμανίων, ἀτελεῖς ἔχειν τὰς χώρας
διορισάμενος. Τῶν δὲ Σπιτάμα παίδων Σπιτάκην μὲν Δερ-
βίκων ἀπέδειξε σατράπην, Μεγαβέρνην δὲ Βαρκανίων· τῇ
μητρὶ δὲ πάντα πείθεσθαι προσέταττε, καὶ ᾿Αμόργην φίλον
τούτοις τῶν δεξιῶν ἐμβαλλομένων ἐποιεῖτο, καὶ ἀλλήλοις·
καὶ τοῖς μὲν ἐμμένουσι ταῖς πρὸς ἀλλήλους εὐνοίαις ἀγαθὰ
ηὔχετο, ἐπηρᾶτο δὲ τοῖς χειρῶν ἄρξασιν ἀδίκων. Ταῦτα
εἴπας ἐτελεύτησε τρίτῃ ὕστερον ἀπὸ τοῦ τραύματος ἡμέρᾳ
βασιλεύσας ἔτη λ'. [Ἐν οἷς ὁ ια' Κτησίου λόγος τοῦ Κνι-
δίου]
1
into Μάρδος, Herodotus into Smer-
dis, and Justin into Mergis, or
Merdis. Xenophon uses the epithet
in the form Tanaoxares..
Καρμανίων] The people of Ker-
man, near the entrance of the
Persian Gulf. Xenophon, Kyrop.
viii. p. 527, says Kyrus made.
Tanaoxares satrap of the Medes,
Armenians, and Kadusians.
1 Μῆδος γὰρ ἦν ὁ πρῶτος ἡγεμὼν στρατοῦ (Kyaxares) ἄλλος δ᾽ ἐκείνου παῖς
(Astyages) τόδ' ἔργον ἤνυσεν . . . Τρίτος δ᾽ ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ Κῦρος εὐδαίμων ἀνὴρ ἄρξας ἔθηκε
πᾶσιν εἰρήνην φίλοις. Κύρου δὲ παῖς τέταρτος ηὔθυνε στρατὸν, πέμπτος δὲ Μάρδος
(i. e. the Pseudo-Bardiya).
LIBRI XII, XIII.
,
ΕΡΙΤΟΜΕ ΡΗΟΤΙΙ.
§ 40 (9). ["Αρχεται δὲ ὁ ιβ' ἀπὸ τῆς Καμβύσου βασι-
λείας] οὗτος βασιλεύσας ἀπέστειλε τὸν τοῦ πατρὸς νεκρὸν
διὰ Βαγαπάτου τοῦ εὐνούχου εἰς Πέρσας ταφῆναι καὶ τἄλλα,
ὡς ὁ πατὴρ ὡρίσατο, διῳκήσατο, μέγιστον δὲ παρ᾽ αὐτῷ
ἠδύνατο ᾿Αρτασύρας Ὑρκάνιος, τῶν δὲ εὐνούχων Τζαβάτης
τε καὶ ᾿Ασπαδάτης και Βαγαπάτης, ὃς καὶ παρὰ τῷ
πατρὶ μέγιστος ἦν μετὰ τὸν Πετησάκα θάνατον. Οὗτος
στρατεύει ἐπ᾽ Αἴγυπτον, καὶ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων τὸν βασιλέα
᾿Αμυρταίον, Κομβάφεως τοῦ εὐνούχου, ὃς ἦν μέγα δυνάμενος
Π
§ 40, fr. 30. εἰς Πέρσας ταφῆ-
ναι] See note on § 37. The Achae-
menidae buried their dead, contrary
to the orthodox Zoroastrian rule
which the Sassanidae followed.
ἐπ᾽ Αἴγυπτον] The reason here
assigned for Kambyses' expedition
against Egypt is substantially the
same as that adopted by Herodotus
(iii. 1), who mentions two other
versions of the story, which made
Neitetis wife of Kyrus, and in one,
mother of Kambyses. Polyacnus
(viii. 29) makes Neitetis mother of
Kambyses, but agrees with Ktesias
in representing her as having per-
suaded him to avenge her father
Apries. Apries (Egyptian, Uah-
ab-ra) was dethroned about s. c.
570, so that the only possible way
of saving the credit of Herodotus
and Ktesias is that adopted by Dr.
Ebers for the purpose of his work,
An Egyptian Princess, where he
represented Apries as surviving
his dethronement for many years.
Herodotus mentions the persuasion
of Phanes the Halikarnassian, who
had deserted from the Egyptians, as
an additional inducement to Kam-
byses.
Αμυρταίον] Probably a mistake
of a scribe for Ψαμμήνιτον, the name
given by Herodotus (Ψαμμήχερίτης
in Manetho) to Psamtik III., son
of Amasis and the last king of the
LIB. XII, XIII.]
139
CTESIAE PERSICA.
παρὰ τῷ Αἰγυπτίων βασιλεῖ καταπροδόντος τάς τε γεφύρας
καὶ τἄλλα τῶν Αἰγυπτίων πράγματα, ἐφ᾽ ᾧ γενέσθαι ύπαρχος
Αἰγύπτου, καὶ γέγονε ταῦτα γὰρ αὐτῷ Καμβύσης διὰ
Ιζαβάτου του Κομβάφεως ἀνεψιοῦ συνέθετο, καὶ αὐτὸς
δὲ οἰκειοφώνως ὕστερον. Ζωγρίαν δὲ λαβὼν τὸν ᾿Αμυρταῖον
οὐδὲν ἄλλο κακὸν εἰργάσατο ἢ ὅτι εἰς Σοῦσα ἀνάσπαστον
σὺν ἑξακισχιλίοις Αἰγυπτίοις, οὓς αὐτὸς ᾑρετίσατο, ἐποιή
σατο, καὶ τὴν Αἴγυπτον δὲ πᾶσαν ὑπέταξεν. ᾿Απέθανον δὲ
ἐν τῇ μάχῃ Αἰγυπτίων μὲν μυριάδες πέντε, Περσῶν δὲ
ἑπτακισχίλιοι.
FRAGMENTUM
30.
(Athenæus, xiii. 10, p. 560 b.). Καὶ ἡ ἐπ᾽ Αἴγυπτον δὲ
Καμβύσου στρατεία, [ὥς φησι Κτησίας] διὰ γυναῖκα ἐγέ-
νετο· ὁ γὰρ Καμβύσης πυνθανόμενος τὰς Αἰγυπτίας γυναῖκας
ἐν ταῖς συνουσίαις διαφέρειν τῶν ἄλλων, ἔπεμψε πρὸς 'Αμα-
σιν τὸν Αἰγυπτίων βασιλέα, μίαν αἰτῶν πρὸς γάμον τῶν
θυγατέρων· ὁ δὲ τῶν μὲν ἑαυτοῦ οὐκ ἔδωκεν (ὑπονοήσας μὴ
γυναικὸς ἕξειν αὐτὴν τιμὴν, ἀλλὰ παλλακίδος), ἔπεμψε δὲ
τὴν ᾿Απρίου θυγατέρα Νειτῆτιν. Ὁ δὲ ᾿Απρίης ἐκπεπτώκει
τῆς Αἰγυπτίων βασιλείας διὰ τὴν γενομένην ἧτταν πρὸς
Κυρηναίους καὶ ἀνῄρητο ὑπὸ ᾿Αμάσιδος· ἡσθεὶς οὖν ὁ Καμ
βύσης τῇ Νειτήτιδι καὶ σφόδρα ερεθισθεὶς, ἐκμανθάνει παρ'
26th dynasty. Amyrtaeus ruled
about B. c. 415.
Κομβάσεως]
Herodotus says
nothing about this eunuch and his
treachery. According to him (iv.
166) Aryandes was made ύπαρχος
of Egypt by Kambyses.
οὐδὲν ἄλλο κακόν] According
to Herodotus (iii. 15), Psammeni-
tus was put to death for stirring
up revolt. The custom of deport-
ing captives to a distance from
their homes was common under the
Achaemenidae, though less so than
with the Assyrians and Babylonians
(Herodotus, vi. 20, &c.)
cording to Herodotus.
ἐν τῇ μάχῃ] Near Pelusium, ac-
διὰ τὴν γενομένην ἧτταν πρὸς Κυ-
ρηναίους] Probably really because
of his defeat by Nebuchadrezzar.
Herodotus (ii. 161) agrees with
Ktesias.
140
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
αὐτῆς τὰ πάντα· καὶ δεηθείσης ἐκδικῆσαι τοῦ ᾿Απρίου τὸν
φόνον, πείθει πολεμῆσαι Αἰγυπτίοις.
ΕΡΙΤΟΜΕ PHOTII.
§ 41 (10). Μάγος δέ τις Σφενδαδάτης ὄνομα ἁμαρτήσας
καὶ μαστιγωθεὶς ὑπὸ Τανυοξάρκου, ἀφικνεῖται πρὸς Καμ-
§ 41. Máyos dé Tis Σpevdadáτns]
For the following events we have
the brief narrative contained in the
Behistun inscription of Dareius (par.
10, sq.); and some valuable chrono-
logical indications are furnished by
the Babylonian "contract tablets"
of the Egibi firm, by the Egyptian
Apis-stelae and some other inscrip-
tions, and by the Egyptian lists of
Manetho and the Babylonian ones
in Berosus (iii., fr. 15), and the
Canon of Ptolemy. We have also
the narratives of Herodotus (iii. 16–
88) and Justin (i. 9, 10) (probably
from Deinon). The name Spenda-
dates is explained by Rawlinson as
'given to the holy one."
In the Behistun inscription (par.
10, 11), as in Ktesias, there is but
one Magian, but his name is given as
Gaumata. Bardiya (Tanyoxarkes)
is stated to have been full brother
to Kambyses. "Afterwards Kam-
byses slew that Bardiya. When
Kambyses had slain Bardiya it was
not known to the people. After-
wards Kambyses proceeded to Egypt.
When Kambyses had proceeded to
Egypt, then the State became
wicked. Then the lie became
abounding in the land, both in Per-
sia, and in Media, and in the other
provinces. Afterwards there was a
man, a Magian (Magush), named
Gaumáta. He arose from Pishiya-
'uvada,¹ the mountain named Ara-
kadrish On the 14th day of
the month Viyakhana (February-
March), then it was that he arose.
He thus lied to the State, 'I am
Bardiya, the son of Kurush, the
brother of Kabujiya.' Then the
State became rebellious. From
Kabujiya it went over to him, both
Persia, and Media, and the other
provinces. . . . On the ninth day
of the month Garmapada (July-
August), then it was he so sought
the empire. Afterwards Kabujiya,
having killed himself ('uvámarshi-
yush), died." The only statements
of Ktesias directly inconsistent
with what is here stated are as to
the period of Bardiya's death (in
which he agrees with Herodotus
and Justin), and the name of the
magus. We would naturally con-
¹ Pasargadae, according to Oppert's translation of the Turanian version of the
inscription.
XII, XIII.]
141
CTESIAE PERSICA.
βύσην ἐνδιαβάλλων τὸν ἀδελφὸν Τανυοξάρκην ὡς ἐπιβουλεύ-
οντα αὐτῷ· καὶ σημεῖον ἐδίδου τῆς ἀποστάσεως, ὡς εἰ
κληθείη ἐλθεῖν, οὐκ ἂν ἔλθοι. Δηλοῖ τοίνυν ὁ Καμβύσης
ἐλθεῖν τὸν ἀδελφόν· ὁ δὲ, χρείας ἄλλης ἀπαιτούσης μένειν,
ἀνεβάλετο. Παῤῥησιάζεται ταῖς διαβολαῖς πλέον ὁ μάγος.
clude, however, from the language
used, that the magus had no hand
in the death of Kambyses' brother.
The language of the epitome, also,
seems to imply that Ktesias repre-
sented him as not reigning till after
Kambyses' death, but this is not
quite clear.
Par. 13. "There was not a man,
neither Persian, nor Median, nor
anyone of our family, who could
dispossess that Gaumata, the Ma-
gian, of the crown. The State
feared him exceedingly. He slew
many people who had known the
old Bardiya; for that reason he
slew them, 'lest they should re-
cognize me that I am not Bardiya,
the son of Kurush.' No one dared
to say anything concerning Gau-
máta, the Magian, till I arrived.
Then I prayed to Auramazda.
Auramazda brought help to me.
On the nineteenth day of the
month Bagayadish (March-April),
then it was, with my faithful men,
I slew that Gaumáta, the Magian,
and the chief men who were
his followers. The fort named
Siktha-'uvatish, in the district of
Media called Nisma, there I slew
him. . . . By the grace of Aura-
mazda I became king." There is
nothing in this paragraph that is
inconsistent with Ktesias' narra-
tive; but it does not support him
in any point where he differs from
Herodotus and Justin.
The account of Herodotus agrees
with that in the text in its main
outline, but differs greatly in the
details. Kambyses sends his bro-
ther, who is called Smerdis, from
Egypt to Persia, the converse of
what is stated in the text; and he
is slain near Susa, not in Egypt,
and by Prexaspes, not by the Ma-
gian. Of the two stories given as
to the manner of his death, neither
is that of Ktesias. The time as-
signed for it, in both writers, is
wrong. The improbable¹ story that
Kambyses made the magus per-
sonate his brother does not appear
in. Herodotus, who also correctly
places the revolt before the death
of Kambyses, but makes the real
name of the rebel also Smerdis, and
his instigator, his brother, Patizei-
thes (Panzuthes in Dionysius of Mi-
letus), not the minister Artasyras
and the eunuch Bagapates. Kam-
byses, as in Ktesias and the
Behistun inscription, dies from a
¹ Unless we are to suppose that the murder of Bardiya took place while Kambyses
was only vassal king under his father, when concealment would be necessary.
142
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Αμύτις δὲ ἡ μήτηρ τὰ τοῦ μάγου ὡς ἦν ὑπονοοῦσα, ἐνου
θέτει Καμβύσην τὸν υἱὸν μὴ πείθεσθαι· ὁ δὲ ὑπεκρίνετο
μὴ πείθεσθαι, ἐπείθετο δὲ μάλιστα. Διαπεμψαμένου δὲ
τρίτον Καμβύσου πρὸς τὸν ἀδελφὸν παραγίνεται. Καὶ ἀσ-
πάζεται μὲν αὐτὸν ὁ ἀδελφὸς, οὐδὲν δὲ ἧττον ἀνελεῖν ἐμελέτα,
κρύφα δὲ ᾿Αμύτιος εἰς πρᾶξιν ἀγαγεῖν τὴν μελέτην ἔσπευδε,
καὶ λαμβάνει πέρας ἡ πρᾶξις· ὁ γάρ τοι μάγος βουλῆς τῷ
βασιλεῖ κοινωνῶν βουλεύει τοιοῦτον· ὅμοιος ἦν αὐτὸς ὁ μάγος
κάρτα τῷ Τανυοξάρκῃ, βουλέυει τοιγαροῦν αὐτὸν μὲν ἐν τῷ
φανερῷ, ὡς δῆθεν ἀδελφοῦ βασιλέως κατειπόντα, τὴν κεφα-
λὴν προστάξαι ἀποτμηθῆναι, ἐν δὲ τῷ κρυπτῷ ἀναιρεθῆναι
Τανυοξάρκην, καὶ τὴν ἐκείνου στολὴν ἀμφιασθῆναι τὸν
μάγον, ὥστε καὶ τῷ ἀμφιάσματι νομίζεσθαι Τανυοξάρκην
καὶ γίνεται ταῦτα. Αἵματι γὰρ ταύρου, ὃ ἐξέπιεν, ἀναιρεῖται
Τανυοξάρκης, ἀμφιάζεται δὲ ὁ μάγος καὶ νομίζεται Τανυο-
ξάρκης· καὶ λανθάνει πάντας ἐπὶ πολὺν χρόνον πλὴν ᾿Αρτα-
σύρα καὶ Βαγαπάτου καὶ Ἰζαβάτου τούτοις γὰρ μόνοις
Καμβύσης ἐθάῤῥησε τὴν πρᾶξιν.
§ 42 (11). Λάβυζον δὲ τῶν εὐνούχων τὸν πρῶτον, οἳ
οι
self-inflicted wound, but in Syria,
not at Babylon. The part which
Ktesias assigns to Izabates in the
detection of the magus is assigned
to Prexaspes by Herodotus; and
the latter represents the magi as
having had their weapons when
attacked. The discrepancies in the
names of the conspirators will be
discussed afterwards.
Justin (Deinon?), like our author,
represents the murder of Mergis
(Bardiya) as taking place while
Kambyses was in Egypt, and the
king as accomplishing it by the
hands of a Magian Cometes (Gau-
mata); but he agrees with Hero-
dotus in representing Cometes as
making his brother, whom he calls
Oropastes, king.
According to Valerius Maximus
(ix. 2) and Ammianus (xxiii., p.
272), (ex hoc magorum semine
septem post mortem Cambysis.
regnum inisse Persidos antiqui
memorant libri), there were seven
magi.
μαστιγωθεὶς ὑπὸ Τανυοξάρκου]
Herodotus and Justin are silent as
to this, but say that his ears were
cut off by Kyrus (Herod. iii. 69) οι
Kambyses (Justin, i. 9).
Αμυτις δὲ ἡ μήτηρ] Kassandane
according to Herodotus.
XII, XIII.]
143
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ἦσαν Τανυοξάρκεω, προσκαλεσάμενος ὁ Καμβύσης και
τοὺς ἄλλους, ὑποδείξας τὸν μάγον ὡς ἐσχημάτιστο καθεζό
μενον, τοῦτον, ἔφη, νομίζετε Τανυοξάρκην; ὁ δὲ Λάβυζος,
θαυμάσας, καὶ τίνα ἄλλον, ἔφη, νομιοῦμεν ; τοσοῦτον ἐλάν-
θανε τῇ ὁμοιότητι ὁ μάγος. Εκπέμπεται οὖν εἰς Βακτρίους,
καὶ πράττει πάντα ὡς Τανυοξάρκης. Πέντε δὲ ἐνιαυτῶν
διελθόντων, μηνύεται ἡ ᾿Αμύτις τὸ δραμα διὰ Τιβέθεως τοῦ
ευνούχου, ὃν ὁ μάγος τυπτήσας ἐτύγχανε, καὶ αἰτεῖ Σφενδα
δάτην παρὰ Καμβύσου· ὁ δὲ οὐ δίδωσιν. Ἡ δὲ ἐπαρᾶται,
καὶ πιοῦσα φάρμακον τελευτᾷ.
Ο
§ 43 (12). Θύει ὁ Καμβύσης, καὶ τῶν ἱερείων σφαζομέ
νων αἷμα οὐκ ἀποῤῥεῖ, καὶ ἀθυμεῖ, καὶ τίκτει αὐτῷ ἡ Ρωξάνη
παιδίον ἀκέφαλον, καὶ πλέον ἀθυμεῖ· καὶ οἱ μάγοι λέγουσιν
αὐτῷ τὴν τῶν τεράτων δήλωσιν, ὅτι οὐ καταλείψει τῆς ἀρχῆς
διάδοχον. Καὶ ἐφίσταται αὐτῷ ἡ μήτηρ ἐν νυκτὶ ἀπειλοῦσα
τῆς μιαιφονίας, καὶ πλέον ἀθυμεῖ. Αφικόμενος δὲ εἰς Βαβυ-
λῶνα, καὶ ξέων ξυλάριον μαχαίρᾳ διατριβῆς χάριν, παίει
τὸν μηρὸν εἰς τὸν μῦν, καὶ ἑνδεκαταῖος τελευτᾷ, βασιλεύσας
δυοῖν δέοντα εἴκοσι.
§ 42. πέντε δὲ ἐνιαυτῶν] This
agrees with the statement of Da-
reius, that the murder took place
before the expedition to Egypt.
§ 43. τίκτει αὐτῷ ἡ Ρωξάνη παιδίον
ἀκέφαλον] Herodotus, iii. 66, tells
us that Kambyses left no issue.
βασιλεύσας δυοῖν δέοντα εἴκοσι]
The chronology of the Persian kings
down to Darcius I. is remarkably
intricate. Most writers give about
thirty years for the whole reign of
Kyrus (Ktesias, § 39, Deinon,
fr. 10; Justin, i. 8; Euseb., Chron.,
fo. 64, say exactly thirty; Hero-
dotus, i. 214, says twenty-nine; Syn-
kellus, thirty-one). These writers
understood the twenty-nine or
thirty years to represent the period.
from the defeat of Astyages (when,
according to them, Kyrus first be-
came a king) to the accession of
Kambyses; but in this they were
evidently wrong, as the whole
period from the defeat of Astyages
in B. C. 549 to the accession of
Darcius I. is less than thirty years.
Probably their Persian informants
gave the number of years from
Kyrus' accession as vassal king of
Persia till his death, and they, not
being aware that he was king
before the fall of Astyages, drew
an erroneous inference.
His ac-
144
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
§ 44 (13). Βαγαπάτης δὲ καὶ ᾿Αρτασύρας, πρὶν ἢ
Καμβύσης τελευτήσει, ἐβουλεύσαντο βασιλεῦσαι τὸν μάγον·
cession in Babylon is assigned
by the clearest evidence to sum-
mer, B. c. 539, but the date of
that of Kambyses is much more
obscure. Berosus iii., fr. 15, gives
Kyrus nine years as king of Baby-
lon: 'tum imperium tenet Cambyses
annis octo, exin Darius annis sex
et triginta. Ptolemy (Canon Re-
gum) gives the reigns of the first
three Persian kings of Babylon as
follows:
κα' Κύρου ἔτη θ' συναγωγὴ σιή
(218).
n'
κβ' Καμβύσου ἔτη η συναγωγή
σκς' (226).
κγ' Δαρείου πρώτου ἔτη λς' συνα-
γωγή σέβ' (262).
Manetho's twenty-sixth dynasty
is given by him 163, or 167, or 173
years, the period from the accession
of Psametichus I. to the death of
Amasis, being 135 or 134 years.
His twenty-seventh dynasty begins
as follows:-
(1) "Kambyses, in the fifth (al.
fifteenth) year of his reign over the
Persians, for three (in Africanus.
six) years.
(2) "Magi, seven months (Afri-
canus omits).
seven months. Klemes of Alexan-
dria (Stromat. i. p. 395) gave Kam-
byses nineteen years.
We now come to the Oriental
contemporary evidence. In addition
to the statements in the Behistun
inscriptions, and in the Annalistic
tablet of Kyrus and Nabonidus,
which speaks of Kambyses as per-
forming certain ceremonies at Ba-
bylon just after the capture of that
city, we have-(1) the Babylonian
'contract tablets,' of which there
are a large number, dated in nine
years of Kyrus, the first eight and
the eleventh year of Kambyses, the
first year of Bardiya, and in most
years of Darcius I., and also in the
reigns of the two Babylonian rebels
contemporary with him. These
are discussed very fully in papers
by Messrs. Boscawen, Oppert, and
Pinches, in the sixth volume of the
Transactions of the Society of Biblical
Archæology (M. Oppert differs from
Mr. Boscawen as to the meaning
of accession year,' but the argu-
ments are too long for insertion
here).
The dates for Kyrus as 'king of
Babylon' range from Kislev, in his
(3)Darcius, son of Hystaspes, accession year (winter, B. c. 539),
thirty-six years.'
""
Herodotus, iii. 66, gives Kam-
byses seven years and five months,
and in iii. 67 he gives Smerdis
1 From era of Nabonassar, B. c. 747.
to the summer of his ninth year,
B. c. 530 (?), no later year being
found.2
For Kambyses the earliest date as
Babylon, 26th Iyyar, ninth year of
2 There is, however, a document dated
Kyrus, King of Babylon, King of Countries,' which, according to some, is Spring,
XII, XIII.]
145
CTESIAE PERSICA.
καὶ ἐβασίλευσεν ἐκείνου τελευτήσαντος. Λαβὼν δὲ τὸ
Καμβύσου σῶμα Ἰζαβάτης ῆγεν εἰς Πέρσας. Τοῦ μάγου
'king of Babylon' is, according to
Boscawen, 'Babylon, Elul 16' (au-
tumn, B. c. 530). But there is also
a document dated 'Babylon, month
Kislev, year 1st, Kambyses, king
of Babylon, in this day also Kyrus,
his father, king of countries' (ac-
cording to Boscawen and l'inches,
winter, B. c. 529: according to
Oppert's system, however, it might
belong to winter, B. c. 530).
Another document is dated in
the seventh year of Kambyses, sar
matāti sa ridutu-su, king of the
countries which are
6
his slaves'
(B. C. 523-22). All these dates
are easily explained, but we now
come to a difficulty. There is a
document, dated Tebet, cleventh
day, eighth year of Kambyses. This,
according to Pinches and Boscawen,
falls in B. c. 522-21, whereas the
usual chronology places the accession
of the Magus in summer, B. c. 522.
This difficulty might be got over,
or at least diminished, if we adopted
M. Oppert's method of reckoning
the accession year as identical with
the first portion of the first year of
a reign. Or if we reject this solu-
tion, combining the statements of
Herodotus and Ktesias, we may
suppose that Kambyses marched
against the Magus as far as Baby-
lon, recovered possession of the
town in December, B. c. 522, and
accidentally killed himself there, as
stated by Ktesias, before March,
B. C. 521. Next we have two dates
of the cleventh year. Pinches and
Sayce explain this by supposing
Kambyses was, though dead, still
reckoned as reigning in B.C. 519–18.
This, however, besides its inherent
improbability, is difficult to recon-
cile with the dates of the reign of
Darcius I., and it is simpler to
assume that he, having been made
viceroy of Babylon, and perhaps
associated in the kingdom soon after
its capture, as may perhaps be
gathered from the Annals so often
referred to, though not made vassal
king, with semi-independent sove-
reignty, till B. c. 530, chosc, after
the death of Kyrus, to date his
regnal years in Babylon from the
capture of the city. This explains
the eighteen years² assigned to him
by Ktesias, and the passage con-
firms what I have already said as
to the use of Babylonian sources by
our author. The dates of the eighth
year cannot be explained thus, as
1
=
B. C. 529. If so, unless we admit that accession year sometimes first year, the
chronological difficulties cannot be surmounted. This must be the case in the reign of
Bardiya.
¹ Compare Duncker, History of Antiquity, vi. p. 131.
2 Viz., from Summer, B. c. 539, to his death, at the end of B. c. 522, seventeen and
a-half years.
L
146
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
δὲ βασιλεύσαντος ἐπ᾽ ὀνόματι τοῦ Τανυοξάρκου, ἧκεν Ιζα-
βάτης ἐκ Περσίδος, καὶ κατειπὼν τῇ στρατιᾷ πάντα καὶ
they would fall in the reign of
Kyrus, who reigned nine years.
To the reign of the Magus belong
the documents dated 20th Elul and
1st Tisri, in the first year of
King Barziya,' apparently summer
and autumn, B. c. 522, and perhaps
before the tablet dated Tebet, eighth
year of Kambyses.
If
the pretender Naditabira
(Nebuchadrezzar III.) seized the
throne immediately after the death
of the Magus, in Spring, B. c. 521,
the documents of his reign, all
dated in his accession year, belong
to autumn and winter of that
year; but he may have reigned till
a later period. The Babylonian
documents of the reign of Dareius
are not conclusive, as different
modes of dating appear to have
been adopted in different parts of
Babylonia, and at different periods.
The series of events may be con-
jecturally arranged as follows:—
B. c. 539. Kyrus' capture of Ba-
bylon; accession year of Kyrus,
king of Babylon, and one of the
dates from which the years of Kam-
byses were reckoned.
B. c. 530. Accession of Kambyses
in Babylon, and death of Kyrus,
not long after.
B.C. 522. Summer. Revolt of the
Magus.
B. C. 521. Spring. Dareius and
others kill the Magus. Soon after
Naditabira revolts in Babylon. The
accession of Dareius is sometimes
dated from this year in Babylonia.
Egyptian data.—Besides the in-
scription of Uta-hor-cn-piris, which
gives us no chronological informa-
tion, the principal Egyptian monu-
ments of this period are the Apis-
stelae and certain inscriptions near
Koptos.¹
The Apis-stelac apparently reckon
the regnal years of Kambyses from
his accession as 'king of countries,'
on the death of Kyrus, apparently
about B. C. 529. An Apis born
or installed in the twenty-fifth
year of Amasis (Hincks, J. S. L. iv.
p. 436) was buried in Epiphi, in
the fourth year of Kambyses, i. e.
November, B. c. 525 (Brugsch, ii.
p. 299, regards the burial of this
Apis under the auspices of Kam-
byses as refuting Herodotus' story
about his killing the Apis. Hincks
explains differently, J. S. L. iv.
p. 431). Another Apis was born
Tybi 28th (May), in the fifth year
of Kambyses, and died Pakhons 3rd,
in the fourth year of Dareius I.,
B. c. 525. Accession of Kambyses aged seven years and ninety-five
in Egypt.
days. This gives us (assuming
1 The evidence of the Apis-stelae is examined in a Paper by Hincks, in the Journal
of Sacred Literature, N. S., iv. pp. 421-465, but many of his conclusions cannot now
be accepted. See also Brugsch, History of Egypt, vol. ii. pp. 295–331.
XII, XIII.]
147
CTESIAE PERSICA.
θριαμβεύσας τὸν μάγον κατέφυγεν εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν, ἐκεῖθέν τε
συλληφθεὶς ἀπετμήθη.
§ 45 (14). Εντεῦθεν ἑπτὰ τῶν Περσῶν ἐπίσημοι συνέ
B. c. 529 as the first year of Kam-
byses) B. c. 517 as the fourth, and
B.c. 521 as the first year of Dareius,
but we cannot determine how the
intermediate period was divided
between Kambyses and the Magus.
Probably the latter was not recog-
nized at all in Egypt, and the men-
tion of him in some copies of the
List of Manetho is due to an error.¹
The inscription of Ataiuhi, near
Koptos, seems to give a reign of
six years to Kambyses (Kambuta)
in Egypt, but this is perhaps
an error of the stone-cutter, or
it may refer to a portion of Kam-
byses whole reign (Brugsch, ii.
p. 313).
§ 44. Aaßur de Tò Kaμẞúσov oâμa
Λαβὼν Καμβύσου σῶμα
Ιζαβάτης
'Ilaßárns nyev eis Ilépoas] The body
of a king of Persia, in the time of the
Achaemenidae, seems to have been
accompanied to the tomb by one of
his chief ministers or eunuchs, who
remained near it for the rest of his
life (compare §§ 40, 50, 75, 77).
The tomb of Kyrus was watched by
certain families of magi Strabo,
xv. 3, p. 321, Arrian, Exp. Alex.
vi., p. 438.
§ 45. ἑπτὰ τῶν Περσῶν ἐπίσημοι]
Behistun Inscription, par. 67:-
Says Dareius, the king, These are
the men who alone were there when
I slew Gaumáta. These men alone
helped me as my followers, one
named Vidafrana (Turanian, Vinda-
parna), the son of Vayaspára, a
Persian; one named Utána, the son
of Thukhra, a Persian; one named
Gaubaruva, the son of Marduniya,
a Persian; one named Vidarna, the
son of Bagabigna, a Persian; one
named Bagabukhsha, the son of Dá-
duhya, a Persian; one named Ar-
dumanish, the son of Vahuka.”
In Eschylus, Persæ, 775, we
read :-Μάρδος . . . τὸν δὲ σὺν δόλῳ
Αρταφρένης ἔκτεινεν ἐσθλὸς ἐν δόμοις
ξὺν ἀνδράσιν φίλοισιν, οἷς τόδ᾽ ἦν
χρέος. Ἕκτος δὲ Μάραφις, ἕβδομος
δ' Αρταφρένης (these words follow
the lines quoted on § 38). In
Herodotus (iii. 68, 70), the names
of the conspirators are-Intapher-
nes; Otanes, son of Pharnaspes;
Gobryas; Hydarnes; Megabyzus;
Aspathines. Hellanikus called In-
taphernes Daphernes (fr. 167).
Diodorus, xxxi., p. 147 (Ecl. iii.,
p. 517):Καὶ τὴν μὲν ἀπὸ Κύρου
συγγένειαν οὕτω καταριθμούνται (the
Kappadokian kings) Kaußvσov Toû
Καμβύσου τοῦ
Κύρου πατρὸς ἀδελφὴν ὑπάρξαι γνη-
σίαν Ατόσσαν, ταύτης δὲ καὶ Φαρ-
dè
νάκου τοῦ Καππαδοκίας βασιλέως
γενέσθαι παῖδα Γάλλον, καὶ τούτου
γενέσθαι Σμέρδιν οὗ ᾿Αρτάμνην· τοῦ
1 In the Turanian version of the Behistun inscription Egypt is mentioned amongst
the provinces which revolted against Dareius when he was at Babylon, on the occasion
of the revolt of Naditabira.
L 2
148
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
θεντο ἀλλήλοις κατὰ τοῦ μάγου, Ὀνόφας, Ἰδέρνης, Νορον-
δάβατης, Μαρδόνιος, Βαρίσσης, Αταφέρνης καὶ Δαρείος
Υστάσπεω. Τούτων ἀλλήλοις πίστεις δόντων, προσλαμβά-
νεται καὶ ὁ ᾿Αρτασύρας, εἶτα καὶ ὁ Βαγαπάτης, ὃς τὰς κλεῖς
πάσας τῶν βασιλείων εἶχε. Καὶ εἰσελθόντες διὰ τοῦ
Βαγαπάτου οἱ ἑπτὰ εἰς τὰ βασίλεια εὑρίσκουσι τὸν μάγον
παλλακῇ Βαβυλωνίᾳ συγκαθεύδοντα. Ως δὲ εἶδεν, ἀνεπή-
Ο
•
δὲ ᾿Αναφᾶν ὃν γενέσθαι δ' ἕνα
τῶν ἑπτὰ Περσῶν . ὃν φασι δι'
ἀνδρείαν συγχωρηθῆναι τὴν Καππα-
δοκίας δυναστείαν, ὥστε μὴ τελεῖν φό-
ρους Πέρσαις. Strabo (xi. 14, p. 465)
mentions Hydarnes-τελευταῖος δ᾽
ὑπῆρξεν (Rex Armeniae) Ορόντης
ἀπόγονος Υδάρνου τῶν ἑπτὰ Περσῶν
ενός. Plutarch uses the form In-
darnes. Justin (i. 10) makes the
Zopyrus who took Babylon under
Dareius to have been one of the
seven. Sayce (Herod., p. 264), fol-
lowing Duncker, accounts for the
discrepancy between the real names
and those given by Ktesias, by sup-
posing that he gave the names of the
conspirators' sons, instead of their
own. The names he actually gives
are in three cases (Anaphes, son of
Otanes, Herod. vii. 62 ; Mardonius,
the son of Gobryas; and Idernes,
son of Idernes, Herod. vii. 83) the
same as those of the sons; but
the explanation is in itself so im-
probable that I should prefer to
explain the mistake in another way.
The document from which Ktesias
derived his information, and perhaps
Ktesias himself, mentioned the con-
Ο
spirators' fathers as well as them-
selves, though certainly not their
sons, and perhaps added the titles of
their offices. Through carelessness,
either Ktesias, or one of his copyists,
or Photius, giving only one name
in each case, retained sometimes
the name of the conspirator him-
self (Onophas, which is nearly an-
other form of representing Utana,
both father and son having the
same name, which Herodotus, de-
riving his information from different
sources, has varied : in Diodorus
Anaphes is clearly the conspirator ;
Artaphrenes, or Ataphrenes,
Vidafraná; Idernes Vidarna;
and Dareius = Dárayavush'), or of
his father (Mardonius = Marduniya,
the father of Gobryas); while No-
rondabates and Barisses are ob-
viously corrupt, and may represent
official titles like Azabarites in § 77.
In the latter the equivalent of
Vahuka, father of Aspachana, may
lie hid.
εἰσελθόντες διὰ τοῦ Βαγαπάτου]
The account here given is not re-
concilable with that of Herodotus,
but is quite as probable.
Babylonian, Dariyavaus; Hebrew, Daryavesh; Egyptian, Triush.
XII, XIII.]
149
CTESIAE PERSICA.
δησε· καὶ μηδὲν εὑρὼν τῶν πολεμικῶν ὀργάνων (πάντα γὰρ
ὁ Βαγαπάτης λάθρα ὑπεξήγαγε δίφρον χρύσεον συντρίψας
καὶ λαβὼν τὸν πόδα ἐμάχετο, καὶ τέλος κατακεντηθεὶς ὑπὸ
τῶν ἑπτὰ ἀπέθανε, βασιλεύσας μῆνας ἑπτὰ
dè tôv å
§ 46 (15). Βασιλεύει δὲ τῶν ἑπτὰ ὁ Δαρεῖος, τοῦ ἵππου,
καθὰ συνέκειτο ἀλλήλοις, πρώτου μηχανῇ τινι καὶ τέχνῃ,
ἐπειδὴ ὁ ἥλιος πρὸς ἀνατολὰς ἐγένετο, χρημετίσαντος.
Αγεται τοῖς Πέρσαις ἑορτὴ τῆς μαγοφονίας, καθ' ἣν Σφεν
ó
§ 46, μηχανῇ τινι, κ. τ. λ.] See
Herodotus, iii. 85.
Tns μayopovías] So Herodotus,
iii. 79. The agreement of Herodo-
tus and Ktesias makes it impos-
sible to doubt the existence of this
strange custom. Rawlinson (He-
rodotus i., p. 418, sq., &c.) regards
Magism as an element foreign to
Mazdaeism, derived from the Tura-
nians, with whom the Aryans came
in contact, and adopted first by those
of Media, but not till after the
time of Dareius in Persia (p. 419:
"Magism entirely superseded
among the Medes the former Arian
faith; and it was only in the Per-
sian branch of the nation that Dual-
ism maintained itself. . . . The suc-
cess of Persia, under Cyrus, made
Dualism again triumphant; . . . but
Magism and all other beliefs were
tolerated. After a single unsuccess-
ful effort to recover the supremacy,
resulting in a fierce persecution,
and the establishment of the annual
Mayopóvia, Magism submitted, but
proceeded almost immediately to
corrupt the faith, with which it
could not openly contend. A mon-
grel religion grew up, in which the
Magian and Aryan creeds were
blended together, the latter predo
minating at the Court and the former
in the provinces." This view is also
taken by many other scholars. The
retention of the Magophonia at a
time when the Magi had become the
priests of the established faith, can
only be accounted for by supposing
that it was intended to act as a
reminder to the hierarchy not to
interfere in civil affairs, which they
never seem to have done under the
Achaemenidae, though this was no
longer the case under the Sassanidae.
Those who adopt the view taken by
Haug (Essays, p. 169) that Magavas
in the Gathas = Magi, and "denoted
the earliest followers of Zarathus-
tra," will regard the latter expla-
nation as applicable from the first.
Geiger (Civilization of the Eastern
Iranians, ii., p. 79, sq.) apparently
identifies the Magi with the Athra-
vans of the Zendavesta, who, he
says, had their principal seat in
Media. He adds (p. 83):-“ We
can only correctly understand the
rebellion of the Pseudo-Bardiya. . .
if we look upon it as the reaction
of the Median tribe against the as-
cendency of the Persian."
Herodotus (i. 65) gives the revolt
150
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
δαδάτης ὁ μάγος ἀνῄρηται. Δαρεῖος προστάσσει τάφον
ἑαυτῷ κατασκευασθῆναι ἐν τῷ δισσῷ ὄρει, καὶ κατασκευά
ζεται. Επιθυμήσας δὲ ἰδεῖν αὐτὸν ὑπό τε τῶν Χαλδαίων καὶ
τῶν γονέων κωλύεται. Οἱ δὲ γονεῖς ἀνελθεῖν βουληθέντες,
ἐπεὶ οἱ ἱερεῖς εἶδον ὄφεις οἱ ἀνελκοντες αὐτοὺς, καὶ ἐφοβή-
θησαν, καὶ φοβηθέντες ἀφῆκαν τὰ σχοινία, ἔπεσον καὶ ἐτε-
λεύτησαν. Καὶ ἐλυπήθη Δαρείος λίαν, καὶ ἀπετμήθησαν
αἱ κεφαλαί τεσσαράκοντα ὄντων τῶν ἀνελκόντων.
§ 47 (16). Ὅτι ἐπιτάσσει Δαρείος Αριαράμνῃ τῷ
σατράπῃ Καππαδοκίας ἐπὶ Σκύθας διαβῆναι καὶ ἄνδρας
of the Magus a Median character,
of which Ktesias says nothing
the latter is probably right (see
Rawlinson, Herodotus, i., pp. 418-
19; ii. pp. 464, 548, sq., who is
strong against Herodotus view;
Sayce, Herodotos, p. 261 and pp.
440, 441, who wavers; and Heeren,
Asiatic Nations, i., p. 223, “ the
conspiracy had a higher object
namely, the re-establishment of the
monarchy of the Medes ").
66
Of
Δαρείος προστάσσει τάφον] Still
in existence at Nakhsh-i-Rustam,
near Persepolis, with a sculptured
frontispiece high up in the face of
the rock, resembling those of six
other tombs in the vicinity. Be-
hind is a chamber in the rock.
these seven tombs ouly that of
Darius I. has any inscription. It
has three-a long trilingual one
and two shorter ones in Persian
(see Rawlinson, Five Monarchies,
vol. iv., and Herodotus, iv., p. 250).
Strabo (xv. 3, p. 322) mentions.
another inscription-perhaps on a
tower in front of the tomb. Dio-
dorus (xvii. 71) says, near Perse-
polis :-Ὄρος ἐστι τὸ καλούμενον
βασιλικόν, ἐν ᾧ τῶν βασιλέων ὑπῆρ
χον οἱ τάφοι, πέτρα γὰρ ἦν κατεξαμ-
μένη, καὶ κατὰ μέσον οἴκους ἔχουσα
πλείονας, ἐν οἷς σηκοὶ τῶν τετελευ-
τηκότων ὑπῆρχον, πρόσβασιν μὲν
οὐδεμίαν ἔχοντες χειροποίητον, ὑπ᾽
ὀργάνων δέ τινων χειροποιήτων ἐξ-
αιρομένων τῶν νεκρῶν δεχόμενοι τὰς
ταφάς.
66
δισσῷ ὄρει] Μons idcirco dictus
fuisse videtur duplex, quod lunae
falcis instar est ab extrema parte,”
Hoeck; est δισσὸν ὄρος . . . duo
cacumina habens," Hammer. Both
cited by Baehr.
«
Χαλδαίων] Probably used for
"soothsayers" generally.
οἱ δὲ γονεῖς] His father Hystas-
pes (Vishtáspa) is mentioned, in the
Behistun inscriptions, as satrap of
Hyrkania at a period subsequent to
the first revolt of Babylon.
εἶδον ὄφεις] There seems no
reason for doubting the soundness
of the text.
§ 47. Σκύθας] Herodotus and
Justin place the Skythian expedi-
tion of Darcius after the revolt of
XII, XIII.]
151
CTESIAE PERSICA.
καὶ γυναῖκας αἰχμαλωτίσαι. Ὁ δὲ διαβὰς πεντηκοντόροις
λ' ᾐχμαλώτισε συνέλαβε δὲ καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν τοῦ βασιλέως
τῶν Σκυθῶν Μαρσαγέτην, ἐπὶ κακώσει εὑρὼν παρὰ τοῦ
οἰκείου ἀδελφοῦ δεδεμένον.
Ο
§ 48 (17). Σκυθάρχης δὲ ὁ Σκυθῶν βασιλεὺς ὀργισθείς
ἔγραψεν ὑβρίζων Δαρεῖον· καὶ ἀντεγράφη αὐτῷ ὁμοίως·
Στράτευμα δὲ ἀγείρας Δαρείος, ὀγδοήκοντα μυριάδας, καὶ
ζεύξας τὸν Βόσπορον καὶ τὸν Ἴστρον, διέβη ἐπὶ Σκύθας,
ὁδὸν ἐλάσας ἡμερῶν ιέ, καὶ ἀντέπεμπον ἀλλήλοις τόξα.
Επικρατέστερον δ᾽ ἦν τὸ τῶν Σκυθῶν· διὸ καὶ φεύγων
Δαρείος διέβη τὰς γεφυρώσεις, καὶ ἔλυσε σπεύδων πρὶν ἢ
τὸ ὅλον διαβῆναι στράτευμα. Καὶ ἀπέθανον ὑπὸ Σκυθάρ
χεω οἱ καταλειφθέντες ἐν τῇ Εὐρώπῃ μυριάδες ὀκτώ. Δαρείος
δὲ τὴν γέφυραν διαβὰς Χαλκηδονίων οἰκίας καὶ ἱερὰ ἐνέ-
πρησεν, ἐπεὶ τὰς πρὸς αὑτοῖς γεφύρας ἐμελέτησαν λῦσαι,
καὶ ὅτι τὸν βωμὸν ὃν περῶν Δαρεῖος κατέθετο ἐπ' ὀνόματι
διαβατηρίου Διός, ἠφάνισαν.
Babylon, which the epitomater has
altogether omitted.
§ 48. Σκυθάρχης] Ruler of the
Skyths.' His name was Idanthyr-
sus, according to Herodotus; Ian-
cyrus, according to Justin (ii. 5).
ἔγραψεν] Compare Herodotus,
iv. 127.
ὀγδοήκοντα μυριάδας] 700,000,
according to Herodotus, iv. 87.
ζεύξας τὸν Βόσπορον καὶ τὸν Ἴσ-
τρον] Herodotus, iv. 87, 89.
ὁδὸν ἐλάσας ἡμερῶν ιέ] The
narrative of Herodotus implies a
longer period: see Rawlinson on
Herod. iv. 134 (vol. iv., p. 106).
ἀντέπεμπον ἀλλήλοις τόξα] Com-
pare Herodotus, iv. 131, 132. The
reason assigned for Dareius fight
seems childish; but probably if we
had the full narrative it would
wear a less absurd aspect. That
given by Herodotus, iv. 134, is not
very different.
μυριάδες οκτώ] This perhaps
represents the sick, who were left
in his camp by Dareius, according
to Herodotus, iv. 135.
βωμὸν] Probably a stele com-
memorating his passage (compare
Herod. iv. 87). Polyaenus (vii. 10,
5) gives an account of the siege
of Chalkedon :-Δαρεῖος Χαλκηδόνα
ἐπολιόρκει, Χαλκηδόνιοι τειχῶν ὀχυ
ρότητι, καὶ παρασκευῇ τροφῶν θα
ῥοῦντες, ἥκιστα τῆς πολιορκίας ἐφρόν-
τιζον Δαρείος τὴν μὲν στρατιὰν οὐ
προσῆγε τοῖς τείχεσιν· ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τὴν
χώραν ἔβλαπτεν προσποιούμενος δὲ
ἀναμένειν συμμαχίαν μείζονα, τὴν
152
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
§ 49 (18). Δᾶτις δὲ ἐπανιὼν ἐκ Πόντου καὶ τοῦ Μηδικοῦ
στόλου ἡγούμενος ἐπόρθει νήσους καὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα. Ἐν
Μαραθῶνι δὲ Μιλτιάδης ὑπαντιάζει, καὶ νικῇ τοὺς βαρβά
ρους, καὶ πίπτει καὶ αὐτὸς Δᾶτις· καὶ οὐδὲ τὸ σῶμα Πέρσαις
αιτησαμένοις ἐδόθη.
§ 50 (19). Δαρεῖος δὲ ἐπανελθὼν εἰς Πέρσας καὶ θύσας
καὶ ἡμέρας νοσήσας λ' τελευτᾷ, ζήσας μὲν ἔτη οβ', βασι-
λεύσας δὲ ἔτη λα'. ᾿Απέθανε δὲ καὶ ᾿Αρτασύρας· καὶ ὁ
Βαγαπάτης δὲ τὸ σῆμα Δαρείου παρακαθίσας ἔτη ζ' ἐτε-
λεύτησε.
TO
Ο
Ο
§ 51 (20). Βασιλεύει Ξέρξης ὁ υἱός, καὶ ᾿Αρτάπανος ὁ
Αρτασύρα παῖς γίνεται δυνατὸς παρ᾽ αὐτῷ ὡς ὁ πατὴρ
ἡσυχίαν ἦγε· τῶν δὲ Χαλκηδονίων
τειχοφυλακτούντων, ἀπὸ τοῦ καλου-
μένου Αφασίου λόφου, πεντεκαίδεκα
στάδια τῆς πόλεως ἀπέχοντος, ἤρ-
ξαντο μεταλλεύειν ὑπόνομον οἱ Πέρ-
σαι· ἐπεὶ δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἀγορὰν ὀρύσ-
σοντες ἐγένοντο, τεκμαιράμενοι ῥίζαις
τῶν ἐλαιῶν, αἳ περὶ τὴν ἀγορὰν
ἐπεφύκεσαν, νύκτα ἀναμείναντες τὸν
ὑπόνομον ἀναστομώσαντες, ἀνέβησαν
ἐς τὴν ἀγορὰν, καὶ τὴν πόλιν ἄνευ
μάχης κατὰ κράτος εἷλον, Χαλκη
δονίων τὰ τείχη φυλαττόντων. Some
of the stories in the same chapter,
relating to the Skythian expedition,
may also be from Ktesias.
§ 49. Ἐκ Πόντου] Of Datis do-
ings in Pontus the Epitome tells us
nothing. Baehr takes it = ' the sea.
ἐπόρθει νήσους καὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα]
See Herodotus, Book vi. The Epi-
tome entirely omits any mention of
the Ionic revolt, a proof of its very
condensed character.
Ἐν Μαραθώνι] Herod. vi. 103,
sq. ; Justin, ii. 9; Nepos, Miltiades,
4, 5.
πίπτει καὶ αὐτὸς Δάτις] This is
contrary to Herodotus (vi. 148).´´¯/
§ 50. ζήσας μὲν ἔτη οβ' βασι-
λεύσας δὲ ἔτη λα'] This appears to
be the true reading. Herodotus
made him twenty about s. c. 529,
and consequently about sixty-four
at his death. Most writers give
Dareius a reign of thirty-six years;
and his thirty-sixth year is found
in some Babylonian documents,
and in the Egyptian inscription of
Ataiuhi, near Koptos. There were
several modes of reckoning his
regnal years in Babylonia, and
Ktesias' information, perhaps, came,
as in the case of Kambyses, from a
Babylonian source, in which the
duration of the Babylonian revolts
was deducted from the total as-
signed to him.
8 51. Ξέρξης] Old Persian,
Khshayarsha; Babylonian, Akhsi-
arsu; Hebrew, Achasverosh, in the
book of Esther, which relates to
his reign.
Αρτάπανος ὁ ᾿Αρτασύρα παῖς]
XII, XIII.]
153
CTESIAE PERSICA.
παρὰ τῷ πατρί, καὶ Μαρδόνιος ὁ παλαιός· εὐνούχων δὲ
μέγιστον ἠδύνατο Ματάκας. Γαμεῖ δὲ Ξέρξης Ὀνόφα θυγα-
τέρα Αμηστριν, καὶ γίνεται αὐτῷ παῖς Δαρειαῖος καὶ
ἕτερος μετὰ δύο ἔτη Υστάσπης, καὶ ἔτι ᾿Αρτοξέρξης, καὶ
θυγατέρες δύο, ὧν ἡ μὲν ᾿Αμύτις κατὰ τὴν ὀνομασίαν τῆς
μάμμης, ἡ δὲ Ῥοδογούνη.
§ 52 (21). Ὁ δὲ δὴ Ξέρξης στρατεύει ἐπὶ τοὺς Ἕλλη
νας, ὅτι τε Χαλκηδόνιοι λῦσαι τὴν γέφυραν, ὡς ἤδη εἴρηται,
ἐπειράθησαν, καὶ ὅτι τὸν βωμὸν ὃν ἔστησε Δαρεῖος καθεῖλον,
καὶ ὅτι Δᾶτιν 'Αθηναῖοι ἀνεῖλον καὶ οὐδὲ τὸν νεκρὸν ἔδοσαν.
Πρότερον δὲ εἰς Βαβυλῶνα ἀφίκετο, καὶ ἰδεῖν ἐπεθύμησε
τὸν Βελιτανᾶ τάφον, καὶ εἶδε διὰ Μαρδονίου, καὶ τὴν
Apparently confused with Arta-
banus, son of Hystaspes, and uncle
of Xerxes in Herodotus, vii. 10,
&c. ; in Justin, ii. 10, the uncle of
Xerxes is styled Artaphernes (com-
pare § 60).
Ματάκας] Probably the Mordecai
of Esther, who "was next unto
king Achashverosh" (Esther, x. 3).
Αμηστριν] Perhaps the Vashti
of Esther.
If so,
we must as-
sume that Esther died before Xer-
xes, and that Amestris then re-
covered her position. Had Esther
been deposed, probably the Jews
would have suffered, of which we
hear nothing. With a prince of
Xerxes' character, the fact that he
could not legally marry out of cer-
tain families counts for nothing, as
in the case of Kambyses (Herod.
iii. 31), ' the king of the Persians
might do whatever he pleased.'
Δαρειαίος] So spelt here, and, in
the case of Dareius II, by Ktesias.
For Dareius I. he uses the ordinary
form, Δαρείος. In Persian both
Dareius I. and II., are Darayavush.
The form used here is therefore the
more correct one. The name means
ἐρξείης according to Herodotus (vi.
98), where Xerxes is explained as
ἀρήϊος, and Artoxerxes as μέγας
ἀρήϊος. The lexicographers explain
Dareius as = φρόνιμος οι πολεμικός.
Xerxes (Khshayarsha) venc-
rable king' according to Rawlinson.
Others make it = 'ruling eye,' or
'king-seer.'
§ 52. Βελιτανᾶ τάφον] i. e, the
temple of Bel (see note on § 8),
Aelian V. H. xiv. 3. Ξέρξης ὁ
Δαρείου παῖς τοῦ Βήλου τοῦ ἀρχαίου
διασκάψας τὸ μνῆμα πύελον ὑελίνην
εὗρεν, ἔνθα ἦν κείμενος ὁ νεκρὸς ἐν
ἐλαίῳ. Οὐ μὴν πεπλήρωτο ἡ πύελος,
ἐνέδει δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ χείλους εἰς παλαι-
στήν. Παρέκειτο δὲ τῇ πυέλῳ καὶ
στήλη βραχεία, ἔνθα ἐγέγραπτο τῳ
ἀνοίξαντι τὸ μνῆμα καὶ μὴ ἀναπλη-
ρώσαντι τὴν πυέλον οὐκ ἐστιν ἄμεινον
'Αναγνοὺς δὲ ὁ Ξέρξης ἔδεισε και
προσέταξεν ἐπιχέαι ἔλαιον τὴν ταχίσ
την· οὐ μὴν πεπλήρωτο· ὁ δὲ πάλιν.
154
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
πύελον ἐλαίου οὐκ ἴσχυσεν, ὥσπερ καὶ ἐγέγραπτο, πλη-
ρῶσαι.
§ 53 (22). Εξελαύνει Ξέρξης εἰς ᾿Αγβάτανα, καὶ ἀγ
γέλλεται αὐτῷ ἀπόστασις Βαβυλωνίων καὶ Ζωπύρου τοῦ
στρατηγοῦ αὐτῶν ὑπὸ σφῶν ἀναίρεσις. [οὕτω καὶ περὶ
τούτων φησὶ Κτησίας, καὶ οὐχ ὡς Ἡρόδοτος· ἃ δὲ περὶ
Ζωπύρου ἐκεῖνος λέγει, πλὴν ὅτι ἡμίονος αὐτῷ ἔτεκεν, ἐπεὶ
τά γε ἄλλα Μεγάβυζον οὗτος λέγει διαπράξασθαι, ὃς ἦν
γαμβρὸς ἐπὶ τῇ θυγατρὶ ᾿Αμύτι του Ξέρξου.] Οὕτω μὲν
ἥλω διὰ τοῦ Μεγαβύζου Βαβυλών. Δίδωσι δὲ αὐτῷ Ξέρξης
ἄλλα τε πολλὰ καὶ μύλην χρυσῆν ἓξ ἕλκουσαν τάλαντα· ὃ
τιμιώτατον τῶν βασιλικῶν δώρων παρὰ Πέρσαις ἐστί.
προσέταξεν ἐπιχέαι αὔξησιν δὲ οὐκ
ἐλάμβανεν ἕως ἀπεῖπε μάτην ἀνα-
λίσκειν τὸ ἐπιχεόμενον. κατακλείσας
δὲ ὀπίσω τὸν τάφον, ἀπηλλάγη ἀδη-
μονῶν. Οὐ διεψεύσατο δὲ ἡ στήλη
ὅσα προεῖπεν, ἀθροίσας γὰρ ο' μυρι-
άδας ἐπὶ τοὺς Ἕλληνας, κακῶς ἀπήλ-
λαξεν· εἶτα ἐπανελθὼν, αἴσχιστα
ἀνθρώπων ἀπέθανεν ἀποσφαγεὶς νύκ-
τωρ ἐν εὐνῇ ὑπὸ τοῦ υἱοῦ. See also
Herod. i, 183; Strabo, xvi. 1, pp.
335, 336; Arrian, Exp. Alex. iii.,
p. 195; vii., p. 480.
§ 53. ἀπόστασις Βαβυλωνίων] Α
revolt of the Babylonians after the
outrages on their religion, com-
mitted by Xerxes, is probable in
itself. The story here told of Me-
gabyzus is told in substance by
most classical writers of his father,
Zopyrus (Herod. iii. 150, sq.; Jus-
tin, i. 10; Polyacnus, vii. 11 and 12,
where it is stated that Zopyrus imi-
tated the Sakan Syrakes, who tried
to destroy the army of Dareius.
"The story told by Polyaenus is, in
its minutest features, identical with
a certain standard oriental tale,
applied in different ages by the
Persian bards and traditionists to
Firuz and the Hiyathelah, by
Abu Rihan to Kanishka and the
Indians, and by the historians of
Cashmeer to their famous king,
Lalitaditya.” See also Livy, i. 54,
&c.).
Frontinus, Strateg., iii. 3, 4, Cyrus
Persarum rex suum comitem Zopy-
rum explorata ejus fide, truncata
de industria facie ad hostes dimisit:
ille assentante injuriarum fide, cre-
ditus inimicissimus Cyro . . . com-
missam sibi Babyloniorum urbem
tradidit Cyro.
et
μύλην χρυσήν]
"Haud pauca
ejusdem generis ornamenta
insignia eaque aurea cuncta, car-
mine Persarum regio, quid dicitur
Schahnameh celebrantur, qualia
Hammerus recenset."-Baehr.
1 Rawlinson on Herodotus, loc. cit.
XII, XIII.]
155
CTESIAE PERSICA.
§ 54 (23). Ξέρξης δὲ συναγείρας στρατίαν Περσικὴν,
ἄνευ τῶν ἁρμάτων ὀγδοήκοντα μυριάδας καὶ τριήρεις χιλίας,
ἤλαυνεν ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα, ζευγνὺς τὴν ᾿Αβυδον. Δημάρατος
δὲ ὁ Λακεδαιμόνιος παρεγένετο ἤδη πρῶτον, καὶ συνῆν
αὐτῷ ἐν τῇ διαβάσει, καὶ ἀπεῖργε τῆς εἰς Λακεδαίμονα
ἐφόδου. Ξέρξης δὲ προσβάλλει ἐν Θερμοπύλαις Λεωνίδα
τῷ στρατηγῷ τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων δι' ᾿Αρταπάνου, ἔχοντος
μυρίους· καὶ κατεκόπη τὸ Περσικὸν πλῆθος, τῶν Λακεδαι-
μονίων δύο ἢ τριῶν ἀναιρεθέντων. Εἶτα προσβαλεῖν κε-
λεύει μετὰ δισμυρίων· καὶ ἧττα γίνεται κἀκείνων. Εἶτα
μαστιγοῦνται ἐπὶ τῷ πολεμεῖν καὶ μαστιγούμενοι ἔτι ἡτ-
τῶντο. Τῇ δὲ ὑστεραίᾳ κελεύει μάχεσθαι μετὰ πεντακισ-
μυρίων καὶ ἐπεὶ οὐδὲν ἤνυεν, ἔλυσε τότε τὸν πόλεμον.
§ 55 (24). Θώραξ ὁ Θεσσαλὸς καὶ Τραχινίων οἱ δυνατοὶ
Καλλιάδης και Τιμαφέρνης, παρῆσαν στρατιὰν ἔχοντες.
§ 54. Ογδοήκοντα μυριάδας] 170
myriads (1,700,000), according to
Herodotus, vii. 60, including the
whole land force. In vii. 87, the
cavalry is given as 80,000, besides
the camels and chariots. Diodorus
(xi. 3) says more than 800,000 in-
fantry. Justin (ii. 10) says :-Sep-
tingenta millia de regno armaverat
et trecenta millia de auxiliis.
Τριήρεις χιλίας] 1000, or 1207
according to Aeschylus'; 1207 tri-
reme according to Herod. vii. 89,
and 3000 other ships; νῆες δε σύμ
πασαι μακραὶ πλείους τῶν χιλίων καὶ
διακοσίων, and 850 transports, and
3000 trickonters according to Diod.,
xi. 3; 1200 according to Justin, ii.
10; Nepos, Themistocles, 2, says-
1200 naves longae, 2000 naves one-
rariae, 700,000 infantry, 400,000
cavalry.
Δημάρατος . . . παρεγένετο] See
Herod., vii. 101. Baehr strangely
regards this statement as inconsis-
tent with Herodotus.
προσβάλλει . . . δι' ᾿Αρταπάνου
ἔχοντος μυρίους] The Medes and
Persians, according to Herod. vii.
211 (Diod. xi. 7 adds the Sakans),
attacked first, then the Persian
'Immortals.'
δύο ἢ τριῶν] ‘A few’according
to Herodotus and Diodorus.
§ 55. Θώραξ ὁ Θεσσαλὸς καὶ
Τραχινίων . . . Καλλιάδης καὶ Τιμα-
φέρνης] According to Herodotus,
vii. 213, sq., the traitor was Ephi-
1 Persae, 341: Ξέρξῃ δὲ . χιλιὰς μὲν ἦν (navium) ὧν ἦγε πλῆθος, αἱ δ᾽ ὑπέρ-
κομποι τάχει ἑκατὸν δὶς ἦσαν ἑπτά θ'· ὧδ᾽ ἔχει λόγος.
156
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
T
Καλέσας δε Ξέρξης τούτους τε καὶ τὸν Δημάρατον καὶ τὸν
Ἡγίαν τὸν Ἐφέσιον, ἔμαθεν ὡς οὐκ ἂν ἡττηθείεν Λακε-
δαιμόνιοι, εἰ μὴ κυκλωθείησαν. Ἡγουμένων δὲ τῶν δύο
Τραχινίων διὰ δυσβάτου στρατὸς Περσικὸς διελήλυθε,
μυριάδες τέσσαρες, καὶ κατὰ νώτου γίνονται τῶν Λακεδαι
μονίων· καὶ κυκλωθέντες ἀπέθανον μαχόμενοι ἀνδρείως
ἅπαντες,
§ 56 (25). Ξέρξης δὲ πάλιν στράτευμα πέμπει κατὰ
Πλαταιεων μυριάδας ιβ' ἡγούμενον αὐτοῖς Μαρδόνιον ἐπισ
τήσας. Θηβαῖοι δ᾽ ἦσαν οἱ κατὰ Πλαταίεων τὸν Ξέρξην
κινοῦντες. Αντιστρατεύει δὲ Παυσάνιας ὁ Λακεδαιμόνιος,
τριακοσίους μὲν ἔχων Σπαρτιήτας, χιλίους δὲ τῶν περιοί-
κων, ἐκ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων πόλεων χιλιάδας ἕξ· καὶ νικᾶται κατὰ
κράτος ἡ Περσικὴ στρατιὰ, καὶ φεύγει τραυματισθεὶς καὶ
Μαρδόνιος. Οὗτος ὁ Μαρδόνιος πέμπεται συλῆσαι τὸ τοῦ
Απόλλωνος ἱερὸν παρὰ Ξέρξου· κάκει, [φησι,] θνήσκει,
altes, a Trachinian; but Onetus
but Onetus
and Korydallus were also accused.
Most writers follow Herodotus.
Thorax appears as a Persian sym-
pathiser in Herod. ix. 1.
μυριάδες τέσσαρες] 20,000 ac-
cording to Diodorus.
§ 56. πέμπει κατὰ Πλαταιέων]
Our other authorities place the
battle of Plataea after that of Sa-
lamis, and the retreat of Xerxes
himself.
μυριάδας ιβ'] Herodotus (viii. 113
and ix. 1) says Mardonius retained
300,000 men, and raised additional
forces before the battle: Diod. (xi.
19) says 400,000; Nepos (Pausa-
nias i.) 200,000 foot and 20,000
horse.
50.
Θηβαίοι] Compare Herod. viii.
Τριακοσίους μὲν ἔχων] 5000
Spartans, 40,000 helots, and 5000
Perioeki, according to Herodotus.
χιλιάδας ἕξ] Herodotus ix.
30) makes the entire Greek force
108,200.
φεύγει τραυματισθεὶς] Herodotus
(ix. 63) says he was killed. So
Diod. (xi. 31) and Nepos (Pausanias,
1); Justin (ii. 14) says he escaped ;
but all these writers place the
battle at a later period of the
war.
Μαρδόνιος πέμπεται συλῆσαι]
Herodotus (viii. 35-39) relates the
repulse of a Persian force from
Delphi (sent by Xerxes on his way
to Athens) in a miraculous manner;
but the details are different from
those given here, and he says
nothing about Mardonius. Diod.
(xi. 14) and Justin (ii. 12) agree in
the main with Herodotus.
XII, XIII.]
157
CTESIAE PERSICA.
χαλάζης ἐπιπεσούσης παχείας· ἐφ᾽ ᾧ λίαν Ξέρξης ἐλυ-
πήθη.
ΕΠ
§ 57 (26). Ξέρξης δὲ ἐπ᾿ αὐτὰς ᾿Αθήνας ἐλαύνει· καὶ
Αθηναίοι πληρώσαντες ἑκατὸν δέκα τριήρεις φεύγουσιν εἰς
Σαλαμίνα. Καὶ Ξέρξης τὴν πόλιν κενὴν αἱρεῖ καὶ ἐμπί-
πρησι, πλὴν τῆς ἀκροπόλεως· ἐν αὐτῇ γὰρ ἔτι τινὲς ὑπολει
φθέντες ἐμάχοντο· τέλος κἀκείνων νυκτὶ φυγόντων, κἀκείνην
συνέφλεξαν. Ὁ δὲ Ξέρξης αὐτόθεν ἐλθὼν ἐπὶ στεινότατον
τῆς ᾿Αττικής (Ηράκλειον καλεῖται), ἐχώννυε χῶμα ἐπὶ
Σαλαμίνα, πεζῇ ἐπ᾿ αὐτὴν διαβῆναι διανοούμενος. Βουλῇ
δὲ Θεμιστοκλέους Αθηναίου καὶ ᾿Αριστείδου τοξόται μὲν
ἀπὸ Κρήτης προσκαλοῦνται καὶ παραγίνονται· εἶτα ναυ-
μαχία Περσῶν καὶ Ἑλλήνων γίνεται, Περσῶν μὲν ναῦς
ἐχόντων ὑπὲρ τὰς χιλίας, στρατηγοῦντος αὐτοῖς Ὀνόφα,
Ἑλλήνων δὲ ἑπτακοσίας· καὶ νικῶσιν Ελληνες, καὶ δια-
φθείρονται Περσικαὶ πεντακόσιαι νῆες, καὶ φεύγει Ξέρξης,
βουλῇ πάλιν καὶ τέχνῃ ᾿Αριστείδου καὶ Θεμιστοκλέους· ἐν
δὲ ταῖς λοιπαῖς ἁπάσαις μάχαις ἀπέθανον Περσῶν ιβ'
μυριάδες.
§ 58 (27). Ξέρξης δὲ περάσας εἰς τὴν ᾿Ασίαν καὶ
ἀπελαύνων εἰς Σάρδεις, ἔπεμπε Μεγάβυζον τὸ ἐν Δελφοῖς
§ 57. ἑκατὸν δέκα] Herodotus pentekonters, according to Hero-
(viii. 61) says 200.
νυκτὶ φυγόντων] Herodotus (viii.
53) says they were all killed.
ἐχώννυε] So Strabo (ix. 1, p. 238).
Herodotus (viii. 97) places this after
the battle.
καὶ
Βουλῇ δὲ Θεμιστοκλέους . . . καὶ
Αριστείδου τοξόται, κ.τ.λ. ] Omitted
by our other authorities.
Ὀνόφα] Ariabignes, Prexaspes,
Megabates, and Achaemenes, accord-
ing to Herod. (iii. 97).
ἑπτακοσίας] 300 or 310 accord-
ing to Aeschylus (Pers. 339); 378
dotus, viii. 48; Thukydides (i. 74)
says 400 (or 300).
πεντακόσιαι νῆες] 200 according
to Diod. (xi. 19).
βουλῇ πάλιν καὶ τέχνη] See
Herodotus (viii. 110); Thukydides
(i. 137).
§ 58. ἔπεμπε Μεγάβυζον τὸ ἐν
Δελφοῖς ἱερὸν συλῆσαι] The account
of this second and successful expe-
dition against Delphi, which is
unknown to our other authorities,
doubtless comes from the Persian
royal Chronicles; and its successful
158
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ἱερὸν συλῆσαι· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐκεῖνος παρῃτεῖτο, ἀποστέλλεται
Ματάκας ὁ εὐνοῦχος, ὕβρεις τε φέρων τῷ ᾿Απόλλωνι, καὶ
πάντα συλήσων· καὶ δὴ οὕτω ποιήσας πρὸς Ξέρξην ὑπέ-
στρεφεν.
§ 59 (28). Ξέρξης ἀπὸ Βαβυλῶνος εἰς Πέρσας παραγί
νεται καὶ Μεγάβυζος κατὰ τῆς γυναίκος τῆς ἰδίας Αμύτιος
(ἡ θυγάτηρ, ὡς προείρηται, Ξέρξου ἐτύγχανεν), ὡς μεμοι-
χευμένης λόγους εκίνει· καὶ ἐπιτιμᾶται ᾿Αμύτις λόγοις ὑπὸ
τοῦ πατρὸς, καὶ ὑπισχνεῖται σωφρονεῖν.
§ 60 (29). Αρτάπανος δὲ μέγα παρὰ Ξέρξῃ δυνάμενος,
issue was very likely an invention
of those engaged in it to cover their
previous disgrace.
Many
Ματάκας] See Smith's Dictionary
of the Bible, s. v. Mordecai.
of the discrepancies between Kte-
sias' account of Xerxes' Greek expe-
dition and those of other writers
are probably due to his following
the Persian official accounts. We
have now reached the point where
the history of Herodotus terminates,
though he alludes to some later
events.
§ 60. Αρτάπανος] Αρταβάνος
τὸ γένος Ὑρκάνιος in Diod. xi. 69.
Aristotle (Polit. viii. 10, 21, Con-
greve) says: Ξέρξην Αρταπάνης
φοβούμενος τὴν διαβολὴν τὴν περὶ
Δαρεῖον, ὅτι ἐκρέμασεν οὐ κελεύσαν-
τος (conj. οὐκ ἐκρέμασε κελεύσαν-
τος) Ξέρξου ἀλλ᾽ οἰόμενος συγγνώ-
σεσθαι ὡς ἀμνημονοῦντα διὰ τὸ
δειπνεῖν. Manetho, according to
the reading of Africanus, makes
Artabanus reign for seven months
between Xerxes and Artaxerxes,
but, according to Eusebius, omits
him.¹
Diodorus (xi. 69) says that Arta-
banus, captain of the guard, desir-
ing to seize the throne, conspired
with his kinsman, the chamberlain
Mithridates, and slew Xerxes in
his bedchamber. He then conspired
to bring about the death of Xerxes'
three sons, and persuaded Arta-
xerxes to put Dareius, the eldest, to
death, but afterwards endeavouring,
with his sons, to kill Artaxerxes,
he was slain by him. This is placed
in s. c. 463. Justin (iii. 1), doubt-
less from Deinon, says Artabanus,
with his seven
sons, murdered
Xerxes in the evening, and induced
Artaxerxes to murder Dareius. He
then endeavoured to induce Baca-
basus (a more correct representation
of Bagabukhsha, i. e. Megabyzus)
to conspire with him against Arta-
xerxes, but he revealed the matter
to the latter, who then treache-
1 Artabanus, however, appears in Euseb., Chron. Lat., fo. 66, Persarum 6,
Artabanus menses 7.'
XII, XIII.]
159
CTESIAE PERSICA.
μετ' Ασπαμίτρου τοῦ εὐνούχου καὶ αὐτοῦ μέγα δυναμένου,
βουλεύονται ἀνελεῖν Ξέρξην, καὶ ἀναιροῦσι, καὶ πείθουσιν
᾿Αρτοξέρξην τὸν υἱὸν ὡς Δαρειαῖος αὐτὸν ὁ ἕτερος παῖς
ἀνεῖλε. Και παραγίνεται Δαρειαῖος ἀγόμενος ὑπὸ ᾿Αρτα-
πάνου εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν ᾿Αρτοξέρξου, πολλὰ βοῶν καὶ ἀπαρνού
μενος ὡς οὐκ εἴη φονεὺς τοῦ πατρός· καὶ ἀποθνήσκει.
rously assassinated Artabanus, and
ordered his sons to be seized. The
account of Ktesias seems to me to
be preferable, as probably coming
from a Persian official source.
Αρτοξέρξην] This form of the
name appears to be the best sup-
ported in Herodotus, Ktesias, and
Plutarch. Other writers use the more
correct form, Αρταξέρξης. The old
Persian form is usually Artakhsha-
trá, which, in the inscription of the
Sassanians, becomes Artahshatri (in
inscriptions of Artaxerxes IV., a. d.
226; see Rawlinson, Seventh Mo-
narchy, p. 70), or Artahshetri (coins
of Artaxerxes V., A. D. 379, id., p.
262), and, in later Persian, Ardi-
shir. The Babylonian form is Ar-
taksatsu (Proc. S. B. A., v. p. 105.
The Hebrew is Artachshasta: the
Egyptian, Artakhshesesh (Brugsch,
ii. p. 314).
LIBRI XIV-XVII.
§ 61 (30). Καὶ βασιλεύει ᾿Αρτοξέρξης, σκουδῇ ᾿Αρτα-
πάνου καὶ ἐπιβουλεύεται πάλιν ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ, καὶ λαμβάνει
κοινωνὸν τῆς βουλῆς ᾿Αρτάπανος Μεγάβυζον ἤδη λελυπη-
μένον ἐπὶ τῇ ἰδίᾳ γυναικὶ ᾿Αμύτι διὰ τὴν μοιχείας ὑπολῆψιν·
καὶ ὅρκοις ἀλλήλους ἀσφαλίζονται. ᾿Αλλὰ μηνύει πάντα
Μεγάβυζος, καὶ ἀναιρεῖται ᾿Αρτάπανος ᾧ τρόπῳ ἔμελλεν
ἀναιρεῖν ᾿Αρτοξέρξην· καὶ γίνεται πάντα δῆλα τὰ εἰργασ‐
μένα ἐπὶ Ξέρξῃ καὶ Δαρειαίῳ, καὶ ἀπόλλυται πικρῷ καὶ
κακίστῳ θανάτῳ Ασπαμίτρης, ὃς ἦν κοινωνὸς ἐπὶ τοῖς φόνοις
Ξέρξου καὶ Δαρειαίου σκαφεύεται γὰρ, καὶ οὕτω ἀναιρεῖ
ται. Μάχη δὲ γίνεται μετὰ τὸν θάνατον ᾿Αρταπάνου τῶν
τε συνωμοτῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων Περσῶν, καὶ πίπτουσιν
ἐν τῇ μάχῃ οἱ τρεῖς τοῦ ᾿Αρταπάνου υἱοί· τραυματίζεται δὲ
καὶ Μεγάβυζος ἰσχυρῶς· καὶ θρηνεῖ 'Αρτοξέρξης καὶ ἡ
*Λμυτις καὶ ἡ Ῥοδογούνη, καὶ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτῶν ᾿Αμηστρις,
καὶ μόλις πολλῇ ἐπιμελείᾳ περισώζεται Απολλωνίδου ἰατροῦ
του Κώου.
§ 62 (31). 'Αφίσταται ᾿Αρτοξέρξου Βάκτρα καὶ ὁ σα-
τράπης, ἄλλος Αρτάπανος, καὶ γίνεται μάχη ισοπαλής· καὶ
γίνεται πάλιν ἐκ δευτέρου, καὶ ἀνέμου κατὰ πρόσωπον
Βακτρίων πνεύσαντος, νικῷ ᾿Αρτοξέρξης, καὶ προσχωρεί
αὐτῷ πᾶσα Βακτρία.
§ 63 (32). 'Αφίσταται Αἴγυπτος, Ἰνάρου Λιβύου ἀνδρὸς
§ 63. 'Αφίσταται Αἴγυπτος] Β. C.
461, according to Diod., xi. 71.
Our other authorities for this re-
volt are Herodotus, iii. 13, and
vii. 7; Thukydides, i. 104 sq.;
Diodorus, xi. 71, 74-5, and per-
haps Manetho.
Ινάρου Λιβύου ἀνδρὸς καὶ ἑτέρου
XIV.-XVII.]
161
CTESIAE PERSICA.
καὶ ἑτέρου Αἰγυπτίου τὴν ἀπόστασιν μελετήσαντος, καὶ εὐ-
τρεπίζεται τὰ πρὸς πόλεμον. Πέμπουσι καὶ ᾿Αθηναῖοι αίτησα-
μένου αὐτοῦ τεσσαράκοντα νῆας. Καὶ μελετᾷ αὐτὸς ᾿Αρτο-
ξέρξης ἐκστρατεῦσαι, καὶ τῶν φίλων οὐ συμβουλευόντων,
πέμπει 'Αχαιμενίδην τὸν ἀδελφὸν τεσσαράκοντα μὲν μυρι
άδας ἐπαγόμενον στράτευμα πεζικὸν νῆας δε π'. Συμβάλλει
πόλεμον Ἴναρος πρὸς ᾿Αχαιμενίδην, καὶ νικῶσιν Αἰγύπτιοι,
και βάλλεται 'Αχαιμενίδης ὑπὸ Ἰνάρου, καὶ θνήσκει καὶ
ἀποπέμπεται ὁ νεκρὸς αὐτοῦ εἰς ᾿Αρτοξέρξην. Ενίκησεν
Ιναρος καὶ κατὰ θάλασσαν, Χαριτιμίδου εὐδοκιμήσαντος,
ὃς τῶν ἐξ᾿Αθηνῶν τεσσαράκοντα νηῶν ἐχρημάτιζε ναύαρχος
καὶ ν' Περσῶν νῆες, αἱ μὲν κ' αὐτοῖς ἀνδράσιν ἐλήφθησαν
αἱ δὲ λ' διεφθάρησαν.
§ 64 (33). Εἶτα πέμπεται κατὰ Ἰνάρου Μεγάβυζος, ἐπα-
Αἰγυπτίου] Herodotus and Thuky-
dides agree in making Inaros a
Libyan, and son of Psammetichus.
Thukydides (i. 104) calls him βα-
σιλεὺς Λιβύων. Diodorus says he
was made king of Egypt, and says
nothing about the 'other Egyptian,'
who is called Amyrtaeus by Thuky-
dides, i. 110, and perhaps by He-
rodotus, iii. 15; but seeing that Ma-
netho places Amyrtaeus the Saite
as constituting the twenty-eighth
dynasty, about B. c. 405-399, we
may perhaps assume that Thuky-
dides was mistaken in the name.
The language of Herodotus is ob-
scure (see the question fully dis-
cussed in Rawlinson, Herodotus, ii.
pp. 414-415, and in P. Smith's
Appendix to his translation of
Brugsch's History of Egypt, ii.
pp. 433-434, where it is assumed
there were two kings of the name
of Amyrtaeus-one the rebel of
Μ
B.C. 460, whose son, Pausiris, reigned
in the district of Sais as a Persian
vassal; the second, son of Pausiris,
and a successful rebel, в. c. 405).
τεσσαράκοντα νῆας] 200 in
Thukydides and Diodorus (xi. 74).
Αχαιμενίδην] Achæmenes, bro-
ther of Xerxes in Herodotus, vii.
7, and Diod., xi. 74. Herodo-
tus says he was made satrap of
Egypt by Xerxes, and neither he
nor Thukydides speak of him as
leading an army thither. Diodorus,
however, agrees, on the whole,
with Ktesias, but says 300,000 for
400,000.
Συμβάλλει πόλεμον, κ. τ. λ.]
The battle in which Achæmenes
was slain by Inaros is mentioned
by Herod., iii. 12, who says it was
fought at Papremis.
§ 64. Μεγάβυζος] So Herod.,
iii. 160; Thukyd., i. 109; Diod.,
xi. 74. What is here related of
162
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
γόμενος ἄλλο στράτευμα πρὸς τῷ ὑπολειφθέντι, μυριάδας
εἴκοσι, καὶ νῆας τ', καὶ ἐπιστάτην αὐτοῖς Ὁρίσκον ὡς εἶναι
χωρὶς τῶν νεῶν τὸ ἄλλο πλῆθος ν' μυριάδας Αχαιμενίδης
γὰρ ὅτε ἔπεσε, δέκα μυριάδες αὐτῷ, ἐξ ὧν ἦγε μ' συνδιε-
φθάρησαν. Γίνεται οὖν μάχη κρατερά, καὶ πίπτουσιν
ἀμφοτέρωθεν πολλοί, πλείους δὲ Αἰγύπτιοι. καὶ βάλλει
Μεγάβυζος εἰς τὸν μηρὸν Ἴναρον, καὶ τρέπεται· καὶ νικῶσι
Πέρσαι κατά κράτος. Φεύγει δὲ πρὸς τὴν Βύβλον Ιναρος
(πόλις ἰσχυρὰ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ αὕτη), καὶ οἱ Ἕλληνες δὲ μετ'
αὐτοῦ, ὅσοι μὴ ἐν τῇ μάχῃ καὶ μετὰ Χαριτιμίδου ἀπέ-
θανον.
§ 65 (34). Προσχωρεῖ δὲ Αἴγυπτος πλὴν Βύβλου πρὸς
Μεγάβυζον. Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐκείνη ἀνάλωτος ἐδόκει σπένδεται
πρός Ιναρον καὶ τοὺς Ἕλληνας, ἑξακισχιλίους ὄντας καὶ ἔτι
πρός, ὁ Μεγάβυζος, ἐφ᾽ ᾧ μηδὲν κακὸν παρὰ βασιλέως
λαβεῖν, καὶ τοὺς Ἕλληνας, ὅτε βούλοιντο, πρὸς τὰ οἰκεῖα
ἐπανελθεῖν.
§ 66 (35). Καθίστησι δὲ τῆς Αἰγύπτου σατράπην
Σαρσάμαν καὶ λαβὼν Ἴναρον καὶ τοὺς Ἕλληνας παραγίνε-
ται πρὸς 'Αρτοξέρξην, καὶ εὑρίσκει λίαν κατὰ Ἰνάρου τεθν
μωμένον, ὅτι τὸν ἀδελφὸν ᾿Αχαιμενίδην ἀπεκτονὼς εἴη.
Διηγεῖται γεγονότα Μεγάβυζος, καὶ ὡς πίστεις δοὺς Ἰνάρῳ
καὶ τοῖς Ἕλλησι, Βύβλον εἴληφε· καὶ ἐξαιτεῖται λιπαρῶς
βασιλέα περὶ τῆς αὐτῶν σωτηρίας, καὶ λαμβάνει, καὶ ἐξάγε
ται τέλος τῇ στρατιᾷ ὡς Ἴναρος καὶ οἱ Ἕλληνες οὐδὲν κακὸν
πείσονται.
οι
§ 67 (36). 'Αμηστρις δὲ ὑπὲρ τοῦ παιδὸς ᾿Αχαιμενίδου
him throws discredit on the state-
ment in § 53.
μυριάδας εἴκοσι] πλείους τῶν
τριάκοντα μυριάδων, Diod. xi. 75.
Γίνεται οὖν μάχη . καὶ νικῶσι
Πέρσαι] ο Thukyd., i. 109;
Diod., xi. 77.
Βύβλον] Prosopitis, according
to Thukydides, i. 109, and Diod.,
xii. 3.
§ 65. ἀνάλωτος] Thukydides, i.
109–10, says Prosopitis was taken
after a siege of eighteen months,
Αἴγυπτος δὲ πάλιν ὑπὸ βασιλέα ἐγε-
XIV.-XVII.]
163
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Ο
δεινὰ ἐποιεῖτο, εἰ μὴ τιμωρήσαιτο Ιναρον καὶ τοὺς Ἕλληνας,
καὶ αἰτεῖται ταῦτα βασιλεῖ, ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἐνδίδωσιν· εἶτα Μεγα-
βύζῳ, ὁ δὲ ἀποπέμπεται. Εἶτα ἐπεὶ διώχλει τὸν υἱὸν, κατειρ-
γάσατο, καὶ πέντε παρελθόντων ἐτῶν λαμβάνει τὸν Ἴναρον
παρὰ βασιλέως καὶ τοὺς Ἕλληνας. Καὶ ἀνεσταύρωσε μὲν
ἐπὶ τρισὶ σταυροῖς· πεντήκοντα δὲ Ἑλλήνων, ὅσους λαβεῖν
ἴσχυσε, τούτων ἔτεμε τὰς κεφαλάς.
§ 68 (37). Καὶ ἐλυπήθη λύπην σφοδρὰν Μεγάβυζος,
καὶ ἐπένθησε, καὶ ᾐτήσατο ἐπὶ Συρίαν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ χώραν
ἀπιέναι. ἐνταῦθα λάθρα καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους τῶν Ἑλλήνων
προέπεμπε, καὶ ἀπῄει, καὶ ἀπέστη βασιλέως, καὶ ἀθροίζει
μεγάλην δύναμιν ἄχρι πεντεκαίδεκα μυριάδων χωρὶς τῶν
ἱππέων. καὶ πέμπεται Οὔσιρις κατ' αὐτοῦ σὺν εἴκοσι
μυριάσι, καὶ συνάπτεται πόλεμος, καὶ βάλλουσιν ἀλλήλους
Μεγάβυζος και Οὔσιρις, ὁ μὲν ἀκοντίῳ, καὶ τυγχάνει Με-
γαβύζου εἰς τὸν μηρὸν καὶ τιτρώσκει ἄχρι δακτύλων δύο, ὁ
δὲ ὡσαύτως ἀκοντίῳ τὸν τοῦ Οὐσίριος μηρόν· εἶτα βάλλει
εἰς τὸν ὦμον, κἀκεῖνος πίπτει ἐκ τοῦ ἵππου, καὶ περισχὼν
Μεγάβυζος προστάσσει ἀναλαβεῖν καὶ περισῶσαι. Επιπ-
τον δὲ πολλοὶ τῶν Περσῶν, καὶ ἐμάχοντο ἀνδρείως οἱ τοῦ
Μεγαβύζου παίδες Ζώπυρος καὶ ᾿Αρτύφιος, καὶ νίκη γίνεται
Μεγαβύζω κραταιά. Περιποιεῖται Οὔσιριν ἐπιμελῶς, καὶ
ἀποπέμπει τοῦτο αιτησάμενον πρὸς ᾿Αρτοξέρξην.
§ 69 (38). Πέμπεται δὲ κατ᾽ αὐτοῦ ἑτέρα στρατιὰ, καὶ
Μενοστάνης ὁ τοῦ ᾿Αρταρίου παῖς· ὁ δὲ ᾿Αρτάριος σατράπης
μὲν ἦν Βαβυλῶνος, ᾿Αρτοξέρξου δὲ ἀδελφὸς. Καὶ συμβάλ
λουσιν ἀλλήλοις, καὶ φεύγει ἡ Περσικὴ στρατιὰ, καὶ Μενο-
στάνης βάλλεται εἰς τὸν ὦμον ὑπὸ Μεγαβύζου, εἶτα εἰς τὴν
•
νέτο πλὴν ᾿Αμυρταίου τοῦ ἐν τοῖς ἕλε-
σι βασιλέως . . . Ινάρως δὲ ὁ Λιβύων
βασιλεὺς
προδοσίᾳ ληφθείς
ἀνεσταυρώθη, and he says most of
the Greeks perished. According
to him, the war lasted six years.
Μ
Diodorus, xi. 77, says the Athe-
nians, by agreement with the Per-
sians, escaped to Kyrene.
§ 67. ἀνεσταύρωσε μὲν ἐπὶ τρισὶ
σταυροίς] Impaled him on three
stakes.'
164
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
κεφαλὴν τοξεύεται οὐ καιρίαν· φεύγει δὲ ὅμως αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ
μετ᾿ αὐτοῦ καὶ νίκη λαμπρὰ γίνεται Μεγαβύζω. Αρτάριος
δὲ πέμπει πρὸς Μεγάβυζον, καὶ παραινεῖ σπείσασθαι βα-
σιλεῖ.
§ 70 (39). ὁ δὲ δηλοῖ σπείσασθαι μὲν βούλεσθαι καὶ
αὑτὸν, οὐ μέντοι παραγενέσθαι πρὸς βασιλέα, ἀλλ᾽ ἐφ᾽ ᾧ
μένειν ἐν τῇ ἑαυτοῦ. ᾿Απαγγέλλεται ταῦτα βασιλεῖ, καὶ
συμβουλεύουσιν ᾿Αρτοξάρης τε ὁ Παφλαγὼν εὐνοῦχος, ἀλλὰ
καὶ ἡ ᾿Αμηστρις, σπουδῇ πείσασθαι. Πέμπεται οὖν ᾿Αρ-
τάριός τε αὐτὸς καὶ ῎Αμυτις ἡ γυνὴ καὶ ᾿Αρτοξάρης, ἐτῶν
ἤδη ὢν κ', καὶ Πετήσας ὁ Οὐσίριος καὶ Σπιτάμα πατήρ.
Πολλοῖς οὖν ὅρκοις καὶ λόγοις πληροφορήσαντες Μεγάβυζον
μόλις ὅμως πείθουσι πρὸς βασιλέα παραγενέσθαι· καὶ
βασιλεὺς τέλος ἔπεμπε παραγενομένῳ συγγνώμην ἔχειν τῶν
ἡμαρτημένων.
§ 71 (40). Εξέρχεται βασιλεὺς ἐπὶ θήραν καὶ λέων
ἐπέρχεται αὐτῷ· μετεώρου δὲ φερομένου τοῦ θηρίου, βάλλει
ἀκοντίῳ Μεγάβυζος καὶ ἀναιρεῖ· καὶ ὀργίζεται Αρτοξέρξης
ὅτι πρὶν ἢ αὐτὸς τύχῃ Μεγάβυζος ἔβαλε. καὶ προστάσσει
τὴν κεφαλὴν τὸν Μεγάβυζον ἀποτμηθῆναι· ᾿Αμήστριος δὲ
καὶ ᾿Αμύτιος καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῇ παραιτήσει τοῦ μὲν θανάτου
ῥύεται, ἀνάσπαστος δὲ γίνεται εἰς τὴν Ἐρυθρὰν ἔν τινι πόλει
ὀνόματι Κύρται. Εξορίζεται δὲ καὶ ᾿Αρτοξάρης ο εὐνοῦχος
εἰς ᾿Αρμενίαν, ὅτι πολλάκις ὑπὲρ Μεγάβυζου βασιλεῖ ἐπαρ-
ῥησιάσατο.
Ο
FRAGMENTUM 31.
(Stephan. Byz.) [Κυρταῖα, πόλις ἐν τῇ Ἐρυθρᾷ θα
λάσσῃ, εἰς ἣν ὑπερώρισεν ᾿Αρτοξέρξης Μεγάβυζον. Κτη-
σίας γ' (forte ιζ') Περσικών.]
§ 71. ἐπὶ θήραν There are Persian kings hunting. Compare
several representations, on gems, of Curtius, Exp. Alex., viii. 6, 7.
XIV.-XVII.]
165
CTESIAE PERSICA.
yas
EPITOME
PHOTII.
§ 72 (41). Ὁ δὲ Μεγάβυζος πέντε διατρίψας ἐν τῇ
ἐξορίᾳ ἔτη, ἀποδιδράσκει, ὑποκριθεὶς τὸν πισάγαν πισά-
δὲ λέγεται παρὰ Πέρσαις ὁ λεπρός, καὶ ἔστι πᾶσιν
ἀπρόσιτος. Αποδρὺς οὖν παραγίνεται πρὸς ῎Αμυτιν καὶ
τὸν οἶκον, καὶ μόλις ἐπιγινώσκεται καὶ δι᾿ ᾿Αμήστριος καὶ
Αμύτιος καταλλάσσεται ὁ βασιλεύς, καὶ ποιεῖ αὐτὸν ὡς τὸ
πρόσθεν ὁμοτράπεζον. Ζήσας δὲ ἓξ καὶ ἑβδομήκοντα ἔτη
ἀπέθανε καὶ κάρτα ήχθέσθη βασιλεύς.
-
§ 73 (42). Τελευτήσαντος δὲ Μεγαβύζου, κάρτα ἦν
Αμυτις ἀνδράσιν ὁμιλοῦσα, καὶ πρό γε ταύτης καὶ ἡ μήτηρ
Αμηστρις ὁμοίως. Ὁ δὲ ᾿Απολλωνίδης ὁ ἰατρὸς ὁ Κῶος,
ἐπεὶ ἀσθενῶς εἶχεν ῎Αμυτις, εἰ καὶ βληχρῶς καὶ οὐκ ἰσχυρῶς,
ἐκεῖνος δὲ ἠράσθη αὐτῆς, ἔφη εἰς τὴν ὑγίειαν αὐτὴν ἐπανελ
θεῖν, ἐὰν ἀνδράσιν ὁμιλήσῃ τῆς γὰρ ὑστέρης εἶναι τὸ
νόσημα. Ἐπεὶ δὲ αὐτῷ ἐξεγένετο τὸ ἐπιτήδευμα καὶ ὡμίλει
αὐτῇ, ἡ δὲ ἄνθρωπος ἐμαραίνετο, ἀπέστη τῆς συνουσίας.
Τελευτώσα δὴ οὖν ἐπήγγειλε τῇ μητρὶ ἀμύνασθαι Απολ-
λωνίδην. Ἡ δὲ ἀπήγγειλε πάντα ᾿Αρτοξέρξῃ τῷ βασιλεῖ,
ὅπως τε ὡμίλει καὶ ὅπως ἀπέστη υβρίσας, καὶ ὅπως ἡ
θυγάτηρ ἐπήγγειλεν ᾿Απολλωνίδην ἀμύνασθαι· ἐκεῖνος δὲ
τῇ μητρὶ τὸ παριστάμενον αὐτῇ πράττειν ἐπιτρέπει. Ἡ δὲ
λαβοῦσα ἔδησε τὸν ᾿Απολλωνίδην δυσὶ μησὶ κολάζουσα,
ἔπειτα ζῶντα κατώρυξεν, ὅτε καὶ ᾿Αμυτις ἀπέθανεν.
ΟΤΕ
Ο
§ 74 (43). Ζώπυρος δὲ ὁ Μεγαβύζου καὶ ᾿Αμύτιος παῖς
ἐπεὶ αὐτῷ ὅ τε πατὴρ καὶ ἡ μήτηρ ἐτελεύτησεν, ἀπέστη
βασιλέως καὶ εἰς ᾿Αθήνας ἀφίκετο, κατὰ τὴν τῆς μητρὸς εἰς
§ 72. πισάγαν] Hesychius has
Πισσᾶτοι οἱ τὴν λεύκην ἔχοντες
λέπρον.
§ 73. ζῶντα κατώρυξεν] A pun-
ishment still in use in Persia.
Compare Herodotus, iii. 35, and
Rawlinson's note.
εἰς ᾿Αθήνας
§ 74. Ζώπυρος
ἀφίκετο] Herodot., iii. 160.
166
[LIB. XIV.-XVII.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
αὐτοὺς εὐεργεσίαν. Εἰς Καῦνον δὲ ἅμ᾽ αὐτῶν ἑπομένων
εἰσέπλευσε, καὶ ἐκέλευσε παραδιδόναι τὴν πόλιν. Καυνίοι
δὲ αὐτῷ μὲν παραδιδόναι τὴν πόλιν ἔφασκον, Αθηναίοις δὲ
τοῖς συνεπομένοις οὐκέτι. Εἰσιόντι δὲ Ζωπύρῳ εἰς τὸ
τεῖχος λίθον ᾿Αλκίδης Καύνιος ἐμβάλλει εἰς τὴν κεφαλήν
καὶ οὕτω Ζώπυρος ἀποθνήσκει. ᾿Αμῆστρις δὲ ἡ μάμμη
τὸν Καύνιον ἀνεσταύρωσεν. ᾿Αποθνήσκει δὲ καὶ ἡ ᾿Αμῆσ
τρις κάρτα γραὓς γενομένη· καὶ ᾿Αρτοξέρξης δὲ ἀποθνήσκει
μ' και β' ἔτεα βασιλεύσας. [Τελευτῷ ἱστορία ιζ' ἄρχεται
ιή.]
μ' και β' ἔτεα] Manetho gives xii. 64, forty; Ptolemaeus, forty-
him forty or forty-one years; Diod., one.
LIBER XVIII.
EPITOME PHOTII.
§ 75 (44). Αρτοξέρξου τελευτήσαντος Ξέρξης ὁ υἱὸς
βασιλεύει ὃς μόνος ἦν γνήσιος ἐκ Δαμασπίας, ἢ ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ
ἡμέρᾳ, ἐν ᾗ καὶ Ξέρξης ἐτελεύτησεν, ἀπεβίω. Βαγόραζο
δὲ τὸν νεκρὸν τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τῆς μητρὸς ἀπήγαγεν εἰς
Πέρσας. Επτακαίδεκα δὲ νόθους υἱοὺς ἔσχεν ὁ ᾿Αρτοξέρξης,
ἐξ ὧν ἐστι καὶ Σεκυδιανὸς ὁ ἐξ ᾿Αλογούνης τῆς Βαβυλωνίας,
καὶ Ωχος καὶ ᾿Αρσίτης ὁ ἐκ Κοσμαρτιδηνῆς, καὶ αὐτῆς
Βαβυλωνίας. Ὁ δὲ Ωχος ὕστερον καὶ βασιλεύει. Ἔτι δὲ
παῖδες αὐτοῦ πρὸς τοῖς εἰρημένοις καὶ Βαγαπαῖος καὶ Παρύ
σατις ἐξ ᾿Ανδρίας, καὶ αὐτῆς Βαβυλωνίας· αὕτη ἡ Παρ
σατις 'Αρτοξέρξου καὶ Κύρου μήτηρ ἐγένετο. Τὸν δὲ Ὦχον
ζῶν ὁ πατὴρ Ὑρκανίων σατράπην ἐποίησε, δοὺς αὐτῷ καὶ
γυναῖκα Παρύσατιν ὄνομα ἥτις ἦν Ξέρξου μὲν θυγάτηρ,
ἀδελφὴ δὲ οἰκεῖα.
§ 76 (45). Ὁ δὲ Σεκυδιανὸς προσποιησάμενος Φαρνα-
κύαν τὸν εὐνοῦχον, ὃς ἦν μετὰ Βαγόραζον, καὶ Μενοστάνη
καὶ ἑτέρους τινὰς, μεθύοντος ἐν ἑορτῇ τινὶ τοῦ Ξέρξου και
καθεύδοντος ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις, εἰσελθόντες ἀποκτείνουσιν
§ 76. Σεκυδιανὸς] Sogdianus in
Manetho, who gives Xerxes II.
two months, and Sogdianus seven
months. We have no mention of
these kings on any Oriental monu-
ments: not being ancestors of the
succeeding kings, their names do
not occur in the inscriptions of
Artaxerxes II. and III. Diodorus,
xii. 71, says: Ξέρξης ὁ βασιλεὺς
ἐτελεύτησεν ἄρξας ἐνιαυτόν· ὡς δ᾽
ἔνιοι γράφουσι μῆνας δύο. Τὴν δὲ
βασιλείαν διαδεξάμενος ὁ ἀδελφὸς
Σογδιανός, ἦρξε μῆνας ἑπτά. Τοῦτον
δ᾽ ἀνελὼν Δαρεῖος ἐβασίλευσεν ἔτη
δεκαεννέα.
168
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
αὐτὸν τεσσαρακοστῆς καὶ πέμπτης ἡμέρας διαγενομένης
ἀπὸ τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς τελευτής. Συνέβη οὖν ἀμφοτέρους ἅμα
εἰς Πέρσας ἀποκομισθῆναι· αἱ γὰρ ἄγουσαι τὴν ἁρμάμαξαν
ἡμίονοι, ὥσπερ ἀναμένουσαι καὶ τὸν τοῦ παιδὸς νεκρόν, οὐκ
ἤθελον πορεύεσθαι· ὅτε δὲ κατέλαβε, σὺν προθυμίῃ ἀπῄ-
εσαν.
ΟΤΕ
§ 77 (46). Βασιλεύει δὲ Σεκυδιανός, καὶ γίνεται ἀζα-
βαρίτης αὐτῷ Μενοστάνης. Απιὼν δὲ Βαγόραζος καὶ
ὑποστρέψας πρὸς Σεκυδιανὸν, ἐπεὶ παλαιὰ αὐτοῖς ἔχθρα
ὑπετετύφετο, ὡς δῆθεν ἄνευ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ γνώμης τοῦ πατρὸς
λιπὼν τὸν νεκρὸν αὐτοῦ, προστάξει βασιλέως λιθόλευστος
ἐγεγόνει· ἐφ᾽ ᾧ ἡ στρατιὰ εἰς λύπην κατηνέχθη, Ὁ δὲ
δῶρα αὐτῇ ἐδίδου· οἱ δὲ ἐμίσουν αὐτὸν, ὅτι τε τὸν ἀδελφὸν
Ξέρξην ἀπεκτόνει καὶ ὅτι Βαγόραζον.
§ 78 (47). Διαπέμπεται Σεκυδιανὸς προσκαλούμενος
Ωχον· ὁ δὲ ὑπισχνεῖται μὲν, οὐ παραγίνεται δέ. Καὶ
γίνεται τοῦτο πολλάκις τέλος περιβάλλεται Ὦχος πολλὴν
στρατιάν, καὶ ἐπίδοξος ἦν βασιλεύειν. Ἀφίσταται Αρ-
βάριος ὁ τῶν ἱππέων Σεκυδιανοῦ ἄρχων πρὸς Ὦχον, εἶτα
Αρξάνης ὁ Αἰγύπτου σατράπης· καὶ ᾿Αρτοξάρης δὲ ὁ εὐ
τοῦχος ἐξ ᾿Αρμενίας ἧκε πρὸς Ωχον, καὶ ἐπέθεντο αὐτῷ τὴν
κίταριν, οὔτι ἑκόντι.
Ο
§ 79 (48). Βασιλεύει Ὦχος, καὶ μετονομάζεται Δαρει-
αῖος. Και μετέρχεται ἀπάτῃ καὶ ὅρκοις, ὑποθήκη Παρυ-
σάτιδος, τὸν Σεκυδιανὸν, πολλὰ Μενοστάνους παραινοῦντος
Σεκυδιανὸν μὴ πιστεύειν τοῖς ὅρκοις μηδὲ σπένδεσθαι τοῖς
ἐξαπατῶσι. Πείθεται δ᾽ οὖν ὅμως, καὶ ἁλίσκεται, καὶ εἰς
τὴν σποδὸν ἐμβάλλεται καὶ ἀπόλλυται, βασιλεύσας μῆνας
ἕξι ἡμέρας πεντεκαίδεκα.
§ 77. ἀζαβάριτης]
a Persian title.
Evidently
Evidently
§ 78. κίταριν] Old Persian
Khshatram, 'crown.'
§ 79. Παρυσάτιδος] Strabo, xvi.
4, p. 412: Αἱ δὲ τῶν ὀνομάτων
μεταπτώσεις . . . πολλαί, καθάπερ
τὸν Δαριήκην Δαρεῖον ἐκάλεσαν, τὴν
δὲ Φάρζιριν Παρυσάτιν.
εἰς τὴν σποδὸν] Valerius Maxi-
XVIII.]
169
CTESIAE PERSICA.
§ 80 (49). Βασιλεύει οὖν μόνος Ὦχος ὁ καὶ Δαρειαίος
εὐνοῦχοι δὲ τρεῖς ἠδύναντο παρ' αὐτῷ, μέγιστον μὲν ᾿Αρτο-
ξάρης, δεύτερος δὲ Αρτιβαρζάνης, καὶ τρίτος ᾿Αθῶος. Εχρή-
το δὲ συμβούλῳ μάλιστα τῇ γυναικί, ἐξ ἧς πρὸ τῆς βασι-
λείας δύο ἔσχε τέκνα, ᾿Αμῆστριν θυγατέρα καὶ ᾿Αρσάκαν
υἱόν, ὃς ὕστερον μετωνομάσθη Αρτοξέρξης. Τίκτει δὲ
αὐτῷ ἕτερον υἱὸν βασιλεύουσα, καὶ τίθεται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ
ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἡλίου Κῦρον· εἶτα τίκτει ᾿Αρτόστην, καὶ ἐφεξῆς
μέχρι παίδων δεκατριῶν. [Καί φησιν ὁ συγγραφεύς,]
αὐτὸς παρ' αὐτῆς ἐκείνης τῆς Παρυσάτιδος ταῦτα ἀκοῦσαι.
᾿Αλλὰ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα τῶν τέκνων ταχὺ ἀπεβίω, οἱ δὲ περιγε-
γονότες οἵ τε προῤῥηθέντες τυγχάνουσι καὶ ἔτι τέταρτος
υἱὸς Ὀξένδρας ὠνομασμένος.
FRAGMENTUM 32.
Plutarch. Artow. 1). [ὁ μὲν οὖν Κῦρος ἀπὸ Κύρου
τοῦ παλαιοῦ τοὔνομα ἔσχεν, ἐκείνῳ δ' ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἡλίου
γενέσθαι φασί, Κῦρον γὰρ καλεῖν Πέρσας τὸν Ἡλίον. Ὁ
δὲ ᾿Αρτοξέρξης ᾿Αρσίκας πρότερον ἐκαλεῖτο, καίτοι Δείνων
φησίν, ὅτι Οάρτης. ᾿Αλλὰ τὸν Κτησίαν, εἰ καὶ τἄλλα
μύθων ἀπιθάνων καὶ παραφόρων ἐμβέβληκεν εἰς τὰ βιβλία
mus, ix. 2, Ext. 6 : “ Ochus autem
qui postea Darius appellatus est,
sanctissimo Persis jurejurando ob-
strictus, ne quem ex conjuratione
quae septem Magos cum eo op-
presserat, aut veneno aut ferro aut
ulla vi, aut inopia alimentorum
necaret; crudeliorem mortis ratio-
nem excogitat, qua onerosos sibi,
non perrupto religionis vinculo tol-
leret. Septum enim altis parietibus
locum cinere complevit, supposi-
toque tigno prominente, benigne
cibo et potione exceptos in eo col-
locabat, e quo somno sopiti, in
bant."
illam insidiosam congeriem decide-
A sufficiently improbable
Darius I. and II. are con-
story.
fused.
§ 80. Αρσάκαν] A Persian name
occurring on a seal cylinder, with
Persian inscription cited by
Layard, Nineveh and Babylon, p.
607, in the form Arshaka. It was
the title of all the Parthian Arsa-
kidæ, and occurs on Babylonian
documents of their time in the form
Arsaka. Deinon, fr. 22, calls him
Oartes.
ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἡλίου . . . Κῦρον] Sun is
170
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
παντοδαπὴν πυλαίαν, οὐκ εἰκός ἐστιν ἀγνοεῖν τοὔνομα τοῦ
βασιλέως, παρ' ᾧ διέτριβε θεραπεύων αὐτὸν καὶ γυναῖκα
καὶ μητέρα καὶ παῖδας.]
EPITOME PHOTII.
Ο
§ 81 (50). 'Αφίστανται βασιλέως ᾿Αρσίτης ὁ οἰκεῖος
ἀδελφός, ὁμοπάτριος καὶ ὁμομήτριος, καὶ ᾿Αρτύφιος ὁ Μεγα
βύζου. Πέμπεται ᾿Αρτασύρας κατ᾿ αὐτῶν, καὶ ἡττᾶται
εἶτα πάλιν συμβαλὼν νικᾷ ᾿Αρτύφιον καὶ ὑπάγεται τοὺς
σὺν αὐτῷ Ελληνας δώροις, καὶ καταλιμπάνονται αὐτῷ
Μιλήσιοι μόνοι τρεῖς. Τέλος ὅρκους καὶ πίστεις λαβὼν
παρὰ 'Αρταούρα, ἐπεὶ ὁ ᾿Αρσίτης οὐκ ἐφαίνετο, προσεχώ
ρησε βασιλεί.
§ 82 (51). Παρύσατις δὲ βουλεύεται βασιλεῖ, ὁρμῶντι
πρὸς τὸν ᾿Αρτυφίου θάνατον, μὴ ἀνελεῖν τέως (ἔσεσθαι γὰρ
τοῦτο ἀπάτην καὶ εἰς τὴν προσχώρησιν τοῦ ᾿Αρσίτου),
ἐπειδὰν δὲ κἀκεῖνος ἀπατηθεὶς ἁλῷ δεῖν τότε ἄμφω διαχρή-
σασθαι. Καὶ γέγονεν οὕτως, εὐοδωθείσης τῆς συμβουλῆς,
καὶ ἐμβάλλεται εἰς τὴν σποδὸν ᾿Αρτύφιος καὶ ᾿Αρσίτης
καίτοι Αρσίτην ὁ βασιλεὺς οὐκ ἐβούλετο ἀπολέσαι, ἀλλ᾽ ἡ
Παρύσατις τὰ μὲν πείθουσα τὰ δὲ βιαζομένη ἀπώλεσε.
Κατελεύσθη δὲ καὶ Φαρνακύας ὁ συνανελὼν Σεκυδιανῷ
Ξέρξην, ἀνηρέθη δὲ καὶ Μενοστάνης ὑφ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ, ἤδη πρὸς
θάνατον συλλαμβανόμενος.
§ 83 (52). 'Αφίσταται Πισούθνης, καὶ ἀποστέλλεται
κατ᾿ αὐτοῦ Τισαφέρνης καὶ Σπιθραδάτης καὶ Παρμίσης.
IIware in Zend; Khur in modorn
Persian.
Persian. The etymology has been.
denied (soo Rawlinson, Herod. iii.
p. 544; Suyce, Herod., p. 69), but
Parysatis ought to have known.
Tomaschek says that in cortain
Iranian dialects of the Pamir, in
Κύρος is Kurush in old
which he sees "the scanty remains
of the ancient tongue of the Sacae,"
the sun is called khir or kher, which
he regards as explaining the state-
ment in the text (Acad. xx. p.
496).
§ 83. Πισούθνης] Mentioned
in Thukyd., i. 115, iii. 31. Α
XVIII.]
171
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Αντεπεξῄει δὲ Πισούθνης, ἔχων καὶ Λύκωνα τὸν ᾿Αθηναῖον
ἅμα Ελλησιν ὧν ἐκεῖνος ἦρχε. Λαμβάνουσι δὲ οἱ τοῦ
βασιλέως στρατηγοί χρήμασι Λύκωνα καὶ τοὺς Ἕλληνας,
καὶ ἀφιστῶσι Πισούθνου· εἶτα δόντες αὐτῷ πίστεις καὶ
λαβόντες ἄγουσι πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα, ὁ δὲ εἰς τὴν σπου
δὸν ἐνέβαλε, Τισαφέρνῃ δοὺς τὴν Πισούθνου σατραπείαν.
Ἔλαβε δὲ Λύκων καὶ πόλεις καὶ χώρας ὑπὲρ τῆς προδοσίας.
§ 84 (53). 'Αρτοξάρης ὁ εὐνοῦχος, ὃς μεγὰ ἠδύνατο
παρὰ βασιλεῖ, ἐπιβουλεύει βασιλέα, θέλων αὐτὸς βασι-
λεῦσαι· πώγωνα γὰρ καὶ ὑπόῤῥινα προσέταξεν αὑτῷ γυναικὶ
κατασκευάσαι, ἵνα ὡς ἀνὴρ φαίνοιτο. Δι' ἧς καὶ καταμηνύ
εται καὶ συλλαμβάνεται καὶ παραδίδοται Παρυσάτιδι καὶ
ἀναιρείται. Αρσάκης ὁ τοῦ βασιλεώς παῖς, ὁ καὶ ὕστερον
μετονομασθεὶς ᾿Αρτοξέρξης, γαμεῖ τὴν Ἰδέρνεω θυγατέρα
Στάτειραν τὴν δὲ τοῦ βασιλεώς θυγατέρα ὁ τοῦ Ἰδέρνεω
υἱός. Αμηστρις ἦν ἡ θυγάτηρ, τῷ δὲ ταύτης νυμφίῳ ὄνομα
Τεριτούχμης, ὃς καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς τελευτήσαντος, ἀντ᾿ αὐτοῦ
σατράπης κατέστη.
Ο
§ 85 (54). Ἦν δὲ ὁμοπατρία αὐτῷ ἀδελφὴ Ρωξάνη,
καλὴ τῷ εἴδει καὶ τοξεύειν καὶ ἀκοντίζειν ἐμπειροτάτη.
Ἐρῶν δὲ ταύτης ὁ Τεριτούχμης καὶ συγγινόμενος ἐμίσει
Αμηστριν, καὶ τέλος ἐμβαλεῖν αὐτὴν εἰς σάκκον, καὶ κατα-
κεντηθῆναι ὑπὸ τριακοσίων ἀνδρῶν, μεθ' ὧν καὶ τὴν ἀπό-
στασιν ἐμελέτησεν, ἐβουλεύσατο. Αλλά τις Οὐδιάστης
ὄνομα ἰσχὺν ἔχων παρὰ Τεριτούχμῃ, καὶ γράμματα παρὰ
βασιλέως πολλὰς ὑποσχέσεις ἔχοντα, εἰ περισωθείη αὐτῷ ἡ
θυγάτηρ δεξάμενος, ἐπιτίθεται καὶ ἀναιρεῖ Τεριτούχμην,
γενναίως ἐν τῇ ἐπαναστάσει ἀνδρισάμενον καὶ πολλοὺς
ἀποκτείναντα μέχρι γὰρ λ' καὶ ζ' φασιν αὐτὸν ἀποκ-
τείναι.
§ 86 (55). Ὁ δὲ υἱὸς τοῦ Οὐδιάστου Μιτραδάτης, ὑπασ
cording to Thukyd., viii. 5, 28,
his illegitimate son Amorgos re-
belled in Karia, and was taken
prisoner by the Peloponnesians,
and delivered to Tissaphernes.
172
[LIB. XVIII.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
πιστὴς ὢν Τεριτούχμου καὶ μὴ παρών, ἐπεὶ ἔμαθε, πολλὰ τῷ
πατρὶ κατηράσατο, καὶ πόλιν Ζάριν καταλαβὼν ἐφύλασσε
ταύτην τῷ παιδὶ τοῦ Τεριτούχμεω. Ἡ δὲ Παρύσατις τήν τε
μητέρα τὴν Τεριτούχμεω καὶ τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς Μιτρώστην καὶ
Ηλικον καὶ τὰς ἀδελφὰς, δύο οὔσας χωρὶς τῆς Στατείρας,
ζώσας ἐκέλευε καταχῶσαι, τὴν δὲ Ῥωξάνην ζῶσαν κατατε-
μεῖν· καὶ ἐγένετο.
§ 87 (56). Ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς εἶπε τῇ γυναικὶ Παρυσάτιδι
ποιῆσαι ὁμοίως καὶ Στάτειραν τὴν ᾿Αρσάκου γυναῖκα τοῦ
παιδός. Αλλ' ὅ γε ᾿Αρσάκης πολλὰ τὴν μητέρα καὶ τὸν
πατέρα δάκρυσι καὶ κοπετοῖς ἐξιλεωσάμενος, ἐπεὶ ἡ Παρύ-
σατις ἐπεκάμφθη, συνεχώρησε καὶ Ὦχος ὁ Δαρειαῖος,
εἰπὼν Παρυσάτιδι πολλὰ μεταμελήσειν αὐτήν.
[Τέλος τῆς ιη ἱστορίας].
LIBRI XIX, ΧΧ.
EPITOME PHOTII.
88 (57). ['Εν δὲ τῇ ιθ' ἱστορία διαλαμβάνει ὡς]
Ωχος ὁ Δαρειαῖος ἀπέθανεν ἀσθενήσας ἐν Βαβυλῶνι, ἔτη
βασιλεύσας λέ. Βασιλέυει δὲ ᾿Αρσάκης ὁ μετονομασθεὶς
Αρτοξέρξης. Καὶ ἐκτέμνεται ὁ Οὐδιάστης τὴν γλῶτταν,
καὶ ἐξελκύεται ταύτην ἐξόπισθεν, καὶ θνήσκει. Ὁ δὲ παῖς
αὐτοῦ Μιτραδάτης ἀντὶ τοῦ πατρὸς καθίσταται σατράπης.
Ἐπράχθη δὲ ταῦτα σπουδῇ Στατείρας, καὶ ἠνιᾶτο Παρύσατις.
Διαβάλλεται Κύρος ὑπὸ Τισσαφέρνους πρὸς 'Αρτοξέρξην τὸν
ἀδελφόν, καὶ καταφεύγει Παρυσάτιδι τῇ μητρὶ καὶ ἀπολύεται
τῆς διαβολῆς. Απελαύνει Κῦρος ἠτιμωμένος παρὰ τοῦ
ἀδελφοῦ πρὸς τὴν οἰκείαν σατραπείαν, καὶ μελετᾷ ἐπανά
στασιν. Διαβάλλει Σατιβαρζάνης Ορόντην, ὡς Παρυσάτιδι
μίγνυται καίτοι λίαν αὐτῆς σωφρονούσης· καὶ ἀναιρεῖται
Ορόντης, καὶ ὀργίζεται ἡ μήτηρ τῷ βασιλεῖ, ὅτι Παρύσατις
φαρμάκῳ διαφθείρει τὸν Τεριτούχμεω υἱόν. Καὶ περὶ τοῦ
θάψαντος τὸν πατέρα διὰ τοῦ πυρὸς παρὰ τὸν νόμον· ἐξ οὗ καὶ
ἔλεγχος Ελλανίκου καὶ Ηροδότου, ὡς ψεύδονται.
§ 88. ἔτη βασιλεύσας λε] Ma
netho gives him nineteen years,
down to the revolt of Egypt; Dio-
dorus gives him nineteen years in
all; and so Ptolemaeus, who places.
the close of his reign in B. c. 402.
A Babylonian table of cycles, com-
piled about B. c. 90, gives cighteen
years, from the nineteenth year of
Daravus to the eighth year of
Artaksatsu, thus giving Dareius II.
twenty-nine years. It gives Arto-
xerxes II. only thirty-six years,
thus making the total the same.
The death of Dareius II. is placed
in B. c. 395.
Διαβάλλεται Κῦρος ὑπὸ Τισσα-
pépvovs, K.T.
φέρνους, κ. τ. λ.] So Xenophon,
Anabasis, i. 1. 3, sq.
περὶ τοῦ θάψαντος τὸν πατέρα διὰ
174
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
§ 89 (58). Απόστασις Κύρου ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ, καὶ
συναγωγὴ Ἑλληνικοῦ στρατεύματος καὶ βαρβαρικοῦ, καὶ
στρατηγῶν Κλέαρχος Ελλήνων. Ὅπως τε Συέννεσις ὁ
Κιλίκων βασιλεὺς ἄμφω συνεμάχει, Κύρῳ τε καὶ ᾿Αρτοξέρξη.
ὅπως τε Κῦρος τῇ ἰδίᾳ στρατιᾷ καὶ ᾿Αρτοξέρξης πάλιν τῇ
οἰκείᾳ παρῄνεσαν. Κλέαρχος δὲ ὁ Λακεδαιμόνιος, ὃς ἦρχε
τῶν Ἑλλήνων, καὶ Μένων ὁ Θετταλός, οἳ μετὰ Κύρου ἦσαν,
ἀεὶ διάφοροι ἀλλήλοις ἐτύγχανον, διότι τῷ μὲν Κλεάρχῳ
ἅπαντα ὁ Κῦρος συνεβούλευε, τοῦ δὲ Μένωνος λόγος
οὐδεὶς ἦν. Ηὐτομόλουν δὲ ἀπὸ μὲν ᾿Αρτοξέρξου πρὸς
Κῦρον πολλοί, πρὸς δὲ ᾿Αρτοξέρξην ἀπὸ Κύρου οὐδείς
διὸ καὶ ᾿Αρταβάριος προσχωρήσαι Κύρῳ μελετήσας καὶ
διαβληθεὶς εἰς τὴν σποδὸν ἐνεβλήθη. Προσβολή Κύρου
πρὸς τὴν βασιλέως στρατιὰν, καὶ νίκη Κύρου· ἀλλὰ καὶ
θάνατος Κύρου ἀπειθοῦντος Κλεάρχῳ, καὶ αἰκισμὸς τοῦ
σώματος Κύρου ὑπὸ τἀδελφοῦ ᾿Αρτοξέρξου· τήν τε γὰρ
κεφαλὴν καὶ τὴν χεῖρα μεθ᾿ ἧς τὸν ᾿Αρτοξέρξην ἔβαλεν,
αὐτὸς ἀπέτεμε καὶ ἐθριάμβευσεν. ᾿Αναχώρησις Κλεάρχου
τοῦ Λακεδαιμονίου ἅμα τῶν σὺν αὐτῷ Ἑλλήνων τῆς νυκτός,
καὶ τῶν τῆς Παρυσάτιδος πόλεων μιας κατάληψις· εἶτα
σπονδαὶ βασιλέως πρὸς τοὺς Ἕλληνας.
FRAGMENTUM 33.
(Plutarch, Arton., c. 9). Οἱ μὲν γὰρ Ελληνες ὅσον
ἐβούλοντο τοὺς βαρβάρους ἐνίκων καὶ διώκοντες ἐπὶ πλεῖστον
τοῦ πυρὸς παρὰ τὸν νόμον] Α hei-
nous offence against the Mazdayaz-
nian religion (Vendidad. i. 17). As
we have already seen (vide note on
§ 5), Artaxerxes II. introduced
idolatrous elements into the Persian
worship.
§ 89, and fr. 32-35. ᾿Απόστασις
Κύρου] Xenophon, Anab. i. 1, sq. ;
Diod., xiv. 19 sq.; Justin, v. 11,
who generally agree with Ktesias.
οὐδεὶς] So Xenophon, Anab. iii.
9, 29.
9,
Προσβαλὴ Κύρου] Xenophon
describes the battle, Arab. i. 8-10.
ἀπειθοῦντος Κλεάρχω] See Plu
tarch, Artoæ. 8; Polyaenus, Strat.
ii. 2. 1.
κεφαλὴν καὶ τὴν χεῖρα] So Xe-
nophon, i. x. 1.
ἀναχώρησις Κλεάρχου] Xeno-
phon, Anab. ii.; Diod. xiv. 25.
XIX, XX.]
175
CTESIAE PERSICA.
προῆλθον, Κύρῳ δὲ γενναῖον ἵππον, ἄστομον δὲ καὶ ὑβριστὴν
ἐλαύνοντι Πασάκαν καλούμενον, [ὡς Κτησίας φησὶν,] ἀντε-
ξήλασεν ὁ Καδουσίων ἄρχων Αρταγέρσης μέγα βοῶν· Ω τὸ
κάλλιστον ἐν Πέρσαις ὄνομα Κύρου καταισχύνων, ἀδικώτατε
ἀνδρῶν καὶ ἀφρονέστατε, κακοὺς μὲν Ελληνας ἔρχῃ κακὴν
ὁδὸν ἄγων ἐπὶ τὰ Περσῶν ἀγαθά, δεσπότην δὲ σεαυτοῦ καὶ
ἀδελφὸν ἐλπίζων ἀναιρήσειν, ὃς σοῦ μυριάκις μυρίους δού
λους ἔχει κρείσσονας. Αὐτίκα δὲ πειράσῃ· πρότερον γὰρ
ἀπολεῖς ἐνταῦθα τὴν σεαυτοῦ κεφαλὴν ἢ θεάσασθαι τὸ
βασιλέως πρόσωπον. Ταῦτ᾽ εἰπὼν ἐξηκόντισεν ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν.
Ὁ δὲ θώραξ στερεῶς ἀντέσχε καὶ οὐκ ἐτρώθη μὲν ὁ Κῦρος,
ἐκραδάνθη δὲ, τῆς πληγῆς ἰσχυρᾶς προσπεσουσης. Απο-
στρέψαντος δὲ τὸν ἵππον τοῦ ᾿Αρταγέρσου βαλὼν ὁ Κῦρος
ἔτυχε καὶ διήλασε παρὰ τὸν κλεῖδα διὰ τοῦ τραχήλου τὴν
αἰχμήν. Τὸν μὲν οὖν ᾿Αρταγέρσην ἀποθανεῖν ὑπὸ Κύρου
[σχεδὸν ἅπαντες ὁμολογοῦσι].
FRAGMENTUM 34.
Ο
ΤΟ
(α) (Plutarch, Artor., cap. 11). [Ἡ δὲ Κτησίου διή
γησις ὡς ἐπιτεμόντι πολλὰ συντόμως ἀπαγγεῖλαι, τοιαύτη
τις ἐστὶ] Κῦρος ἀποκτείνας ᾿Αρταγέρσην, ἤλαυνεν εἰς
αὐτὸν βασιλέα τὸν ἵππον καὶ οὗτος εἰς ἐκεῖνον, ἀμφότεροι
σιωπῇ, φθάνει δὲ βάλλων ὁ ᾿Αριαῖος ὁ Κύρου φίλος βασι-
λέα καὶ οὐκ ἔτρωσε. Βασιλεὺς δ᾽ ἀφεὶς τὸ δόρυ, Κύρου μὲν
οὐκ ἔτυχε, Τισαφέρνην δέ, πιστὸν ἄνδρα Κύρῳ καὶ γεν-
ναῖον, ἔβαλε καὶ κατέκτεινε. Κῦρος δ᾽ ἐπ᾿ αὐτὸν ἐξακοντίσας
διὰ τοῦ θώρακος ἔτρωσε τὸ στῆθος ὅσον ἐνδῦναι δύο
δακτύλους τὸ ἀκόντιον, πεσεῖν δ' αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τῆς πληγῆς ἀπό
τοῦ ἵππου. Φυγῆς δὲ καὶ ταραχῆς τῶν περὶ αὐτὸν γενομέ-
νης, ὁ μὲν ἀναστὰς μετ᾿ ὀλίγων, ἐν οἷς καὶ Κτησίας ἦν,
λόφον τινὰ πλησίον καταλαβὼν ἡσύχαζε, Κῦρον δὲ τοῖς
πολεμίοις ἐνειλούμενον ὁ ἵππος ἐξέφερεν ὑπὸ θυμοῦ μακρὰν
ἤδη σκότους ὄντος ἀγνοούμενον ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων καὶ
ζητούμενον ὑπὸ τῶν φίλων. Επαιρόμενος δὲ τῇ νίκῃ καὶ
176
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
μεστὸς ὢν ὁρμῆς καὶ θράσους διεξέλαυνε βοῶν· Ἐξίστασθε
πενιχροί. Τοῦτο δὲ Περσιστὶ πολλάκις αὐτοῦ, οἱ μὲν ἐξίστ
ταντο προσκυνοῦντες, ἀποπίπτει δὲ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἡ τιάρα
τοῦ Κύρου καὶ παρατρέχων νεανίας Πέρσης, ὄνομα Μιθρι
δάτης, ἀκοντίῳ βάλλει τὸν κρόταφον αὐτοῦ παρὰ τὸν
ὀφθαλμὸν, ἀγνοῶν, ὅστις εἴη. Πολὺ δ' αἷμα τοῦ τραύματος
ἐκβαλόντος, ιλιγγιάσας καὶ καρωθεὶς ὁ Κῦρος ἔπεσε. Και
ὁ μὲν ἵππος ὑπεκφυγὼν ἐπλάζετο· τὸν δ᾽ ἐφίππειον πῖλον
ἀποῤῥυέντα λαμβάνει τοῦ τὸν Κῦρον βαλόντος ἀκόλουθος
αἵματι περίπλεω. Τὸν δὲ Κῦρον, ἐκ τῆς πληγῆς ἀναφέροντα
χαλεπῶς καὶ μόλις εὐνοῦχοί τινες παρόντες ὀλίγοι ἐπεχεί
ρουν ἐπ' ἄλλον ἵππον ἀναθέσθαι καὶ σώζειν. 'Αδυνάτως δ᾽
ἔχοντα καὶ δι' αὑτοῦ προθυμούμενον βαδίζειν, ὑπολαβόντες
ἦγον τῷ μὲν σώματι καρηβαροῦντα καὶ σφαλλόμενον,
οἰόμενον δὲ νικᾶν, ἀκούοντα τῶν φευγόντων ἀνακαλουμένων
Κῦρον βασιλέα καὶ φείδεσθαι δεομένων. Ἐν δὲ τούτῳ
Καύνιοί τινες ἄνθρωποι κακόβιοι καὶ ἄποροι καὶ ταπεινῶν
ὑπουργημάτων ἕνεκα τῇ τοῦ βασιλέως στρατιᾷ παρακο-
λουθοῦντες, ἔτυχον συναναμιχθέντες ὡς φίλοι τοῖς περὶ τὸν
Κῦρον. Ὡς δὲ μόλις συνεῖδον τὰ ἐπιθωρακίδια φοινικᾶ
λευκοῖς χρωμένων τῶν βασιλικῶν ἁπάντων, ἔγνωσαν πολε-
μίους ὄντας. Εἷς οὖν ἐκείνων ἐτόλμησεν ἀγνοῶν ἐξόπισθεν
βαλεῖν τὸν Κῦρον ἀκοντίῳ. Τῆς δὲ περὶ τὴν ἰγνύαν φλεβὸς
ἀναῤῥαγείσης, πεσὼν ὁ Κῦρος, ἅμα παίει πρός τινι λίθῳ
τὸν τετρωμένον κρόταφον καὶ ἀποθνήσκει. [Τοιοῦτος μὲν
ὁ Κτησίου λόγος, ᾧ καθάπερ ἀμβλεῖ ξιφιδίῳ μόλις ἀναιρῶν
τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἀνήρηκεν.]
(6) (Xenophon, Anab. i. 8, 26). [Σὺν τούτοις καθορᾷ
βασιλέα καὶ τὸ ἀμφ' ἐκεῖνον στίφος καὶ εὐθὺς οὐκ ἠνέστ
χετο, ἀλλ᾽ εἰπὼν, τὸν ἄνδρα Ὁρῶ, ἵεται ἐπ αὐτὸν καὶ παίει
κατὰ τὸ στέρνον καὶ τιτρώσκει διὰ τοῦ θώρακος, ὥς φησι
Κτησίας ὁ ἰατρὸς, καὶ ἰᾶσθαι αὐτὸν τὸ τραυμά φησι. Παί-
οντα δ᾽ αὐτὸν ἀκοντίζει τις παλτῷ ὑπὸ τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν βιαίως,
καὶ ἐνταῦθα μαχόμενοι καὶ βασιλεὺς καὶ Κῦρος καὶ οἱ ἀμφ'
XIX, XX.]
177
CTESIAE PERSICA.
αὐτοὺς ὑπὲρ ἑκατέρου ὁπόσοι μὲν τῶν ἀμφὶ βασιλέα ἀπέθ-
νησκον Κτησίας λέγει παρ' ἐκείνῳ γὰρ ἦν· Κῦρος δὲ αὐτός
τε ἀπέθανε καὶ ὀκτὼ οἱ ἄριστοι ἔκειντο ἐπ' αὐτῷ.]
FRAGMENTUM 35.
(Plutarch, Artor., e. 12. sq.) Ηδη δ' αὐτοῦ τεθνηκότος
Αρταούρας ὁ βασιλέως ὀφθαλμὸς ἔτυχεν ἵππῳ παρεξελαύ
νων. Γνωρίσας οὖν τοὺς εὐνούχους ὀλοφυρομένους ἠρώτησε
τὸν πιστότατον αὐτῶν· Τίνα τοῦτον, ὦ Παρίσκα, κλαίεις
παρακαθήμενος; Ὁ δὲ εἶπεν· Οὐχ ὁρᾷς, ὦ Αρταούρα,
Κῦρον τεθνηκότα; Θαυμάσας οὖν ὁ ᾿Αρτασύρας τῷ μὲν
εὐνούχῳ θαῤῥεῖν παρεκελεύσατο καὶ φυλάττειν τὸν νεκρόν,
αὐτὸς δὲ συντείνας πρὸς τὸν ᾿Αρτοξέρξην ἀπεγνωκότα μὲν
ἤδη τὰ πράγματα, κακῶς δὲ καὶ τὸ σῶμα διακείμενον ὑπό
τε διψης καὶ τοῦ τραύματος, χαίρων φράζει, ὡς αὐτὸς ἴδοι
τεθνηκότα Κῦρον. Ὁ δὲ πρῶτον μὲν εὐθὺς ὥρμησεν αὐτὸς
ἰέναι καὶ τὸν ᾿Αρτασύραν ἄγειν ἐκέλευσεν ἐπὶ τὸν τόπον·
ἐπεὶ δὲ πολὺς ἦν λόγος τῶν Ἑλλήνων καὶ φόβος ὡς διωκόν
των καὶ πάντα νικώντων καὶ κρατούντων, ἔδοξε πλείονας
πέμψαι τους κατοψομένους. Και τριάκοντα λαμπάδας
ἔχοντες ἐπέμφθησαν· αὐτῷ δὲ μικρὸν ἀπολείποντι τοῦ
τεθνάναι διὰ τὸ διψὴν Σατιβαρζάνης ὁ εὐνοῦχος περιθέων
ἐζήτει πότον, οὐ γὰρ εἶχε τὸ χωρίον ὕδωρ καὶ οὐδ᾽ ἦν
ἐγγὺς τὸ στρατόπεδον. Μόλις οὖν ἐπιτυγχάνει τῶν Καυ
νίων ἐκείνων τῶν κακοβίων ἑνὸς ἐν ἀσκίῳ φαύλῳ διεφθαρ-
μένον ὕδωρ καὶ πονηρὸν ἔχοντος ὅσον ὀκτὼ κοτύλας· καὶ
λαβὼν τοῦτο καὶ κομίσας βασιλεῖ δίδωσιν. Ἐκπιόντα δ'
ἅπαν ἠρώτησεν εἰ μὴ πάνυ δυσχεραίνοι τὸ ποτόν. Ὁ δὲ
ὤμοσε τοὺς θεοὺς μήτ' οἶνον ἡδέως οὕτως πώποτε πεπωκέναι
μήτε ὕδωρ τὸ κουφότατον καὶ καθαρώτατον· ὥστε, ἔφη, τὸν
δόντα σοι τοῦτο ἄνθρωπον, ἂν ἐγὼ μὴ δυνηθῶ ζητήσας
ἀμείψασθαι, τοὺς θεοὺς εὔχομαι ποιῆσαι μακάριον καὶ
πλούσιον. Ἐν δὲ τούτῳ προσήλαυνον οἱ τριάκοντα λαμ-
ΤΟ
N
178
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
T
προὶ καὶ περιχαρεῖς ἀναγγέλλοντες αὐτῷ τὴν ἀνέλπιστον
εὐτυχίαν. Ἤδη δὲ καὶ πλήθει τῶν συντρεχόντων πάλιν
πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ συνισταμένων ἐθάῤῥει, καὶ κατέβαινεν ἀπὸ
τοῦ λόφου φωτὶ πολλῷ περιλαμπόμενος. Ὡς δ᾽ ἐπέστη τῷ
νεκρῷ καὶ κατὰ δή τινα νόμον Περσῶν ἡ δεξιὰ χεὶρ ἀπεκόπη
καὶ ἡ κεφαλὴ τοῦ σώματος, ἐκέλευσε τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ
κομισθῆναι καὶ τῆς κόμης δραξάμενος οὔσης βαθείας καὶ
λασίας, ἐπεδείκνυε τοῖς ἀμφιδοξοῦσιν ἔτι καὶ φεύγουσιν.
Οἱ δ᾽ ἐθαύμαζον καὶ προσεκύνουν· ὥστε ταχὺ μυριάδας
ἑπτὰ περὶ αὐτὸν γενέσθαι καὶ συνεισελάσαι πάλιν εἰς τὸ
στρατόπεδον. Εξεληλάκει δ᾽, [ὡς ὁ Κτησίας φησὶν,] ἐπὶ
τὴν μάχην μ' μυριάσιν. ᾿Αριθμὸν δὲ νεκρῶν [ὁ Κτησίας]
ἐννακισχιλίους ἀνενεχθῆναί [φησι] πρὸς τὸν ᾿Αρτοξέρξην,
αὐτῷ δὲ δισμυρίων οὐκ ἐλάττους φανῆναι τοὺς κειμένους
[ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἔχει διαμφισβήτησιν· ἐκεῖνο δὲ τοῦ
Κτησίου λαμπρὸν ἤδη ψεῦσμα, τὸ πεμφθῆναι φάναι πρὸς
τοὺς Ἕλληνας αὑτὸν μετὰ Φαλίνου τοῦ Ζακυνθίου καί τινων
ἄλλων. ᾿Αλλὰ δαιμονίως ὁ Κτησίας, ὡς ἔοικε φιλότιμος
ὢν καὶ οὐχ ἧττον φιλολάκων καὶ φιλοκλεάρχος, ἀεί τινας ἐν
τῇ διηγήσει χώρας ἑαυτῷ δίδωσιν, ἐν αἷς γενόμενος πολλὰ
καὶ καλὰ μιμνήσκεται Κλεάρχου καὶ τῆς Λακεδαίμονος.
Μετὰ δὲ τὴν μάχην δῶρα κάλλιστα μὲν ἐξέπεμψε καὶ
μέγιστα τῷ ᾿Αρταγέρσου παιδὶ τοῦ πεσόντος ὑπὸ Κύρου,
καλῶς δὲ καὶ Κτησίαν καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους ἐτίμησεν.]
ων
EPITOME PHOTII.
§ 90 (59). Ως Παρύσατις εἰς Βαβυλῶνα ἀφίκετο, πεν-
θοῦσα Κῦρον, καὶ μόλις ἐκομίσατο τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ
τὴν χεῖρα, καὶ ἔθαψεν, καὶ ἀπέστειλεν εἰς Σοῦσα. Τὰ περὶ
Βαγαπάτου τοῦ ἀποτεμόντος προστάξει βασιλεὼς τὴν κεφα-
λὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος Κύρου. Ὅπως ἡ μήτηρ μετὰ βασι-
λέως κύβοις ἐπὶ συνθήκαις παίξασα καὶ νικήσασα ἔλαβε
Βαγαπάτην, καὶ ὃν τρόπον τὸ δέρμα περιαιρεθεὶς ἀνεσταυ
XIX, XX.]
179
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ΟΤΕ
ρίσθη ὑπὸ Παρυσάτιος· ὅτε καὶ τὸ πολὺ ἐπὶ Κύρῳ πένθος
αὐτῇ ἐπαύσατο, διὰ τὴν πολλὴν τοῦ ᾿Αρτοξέρξου δέησιν.
Ως Αρτοξέρξης δῶρα ἔδωκε τῷ ἐνέγκαντι τὸν Κύρου πίλον,
καὶ ὡς τὸν Καρα τὸν δοκέοντα Κῦρον βαλεῖν ᾿Αρτοξέρξης
ἐτίμησε, καὶ ὡς Παρύσατις τὸν τιμηθέντα Καρα αἰκισαμένη,
ἀπέκτεινεν. Ὡς ᾿Αρτοξέρξης παρέδωκεν αἰτησαμένη Μι
τραδάτην Παρυσάτιδι ἐπὶ τραπέζης μεγαλαυχήσαντα
ἀποκτεῖναι Κῦρον, κἀκείνη λαβοῦσα πικρῶς ἀνεῖλε. [Ταῦτα
ἡ ιθ' καὶ ἡ κ' ἱστορία.]
FRAGMENTUM
36.
(Demetrius Phalereus, De Elocutione, §§ 222, 223).
[Δεῖ τὰ γενόμενα οὐκ εὐθὺς λέγειν, ὅτι ἐγένετο, ἀλλὰ κατὰ
μικρόν, κρεμῶντα τὸν ἀκροατὴν καὶ ἀναγκάζοντα συναγω-
νιᾷν τοῦτο ὁ Κτησίας ἐν τῇ ἀγγελίᾳ τῇ περὶ Κύρου
τεθνεῶτος ποιεῖ.] Ἐλθὼν γὰρ ὁ ἄγγελος, οὐκ εὐθὺς λέγει
ὅτι ἀπέθανε Κύρος παρὰ τὴν Παρύσατιν· [τοῦτο γὰρ ἡ
λεγομένη ἀπὸ Σκυθῶν ῥῆσίς ἐστιν· ἀλλὰ] πρῶτον μὲν
ἤγγειλεν, ὅτι νικῇ· ἡ δὲ ἦσθη καὶ ἠγωνίασε. Μετὰ δὲ
τοῦτο ἐρωτᾷ, βασιλεὺς δὲ πῶς πράττει ; ὁ δὲ, πέφευγέ φησι·
καὶ ἡ ὑπολαβοῦσα, Τισσαφέρνης γὰρ αὐτῷ τούτων αἴτιος, καὶ
πάλιν ἐπανερωτᾷ, Κῦρος δὲ ποῦ νῦν ; ὁ δὲ ἄγγελος ἀμείβε-
ται, ἔνθα χρὴ τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς ἄνδρας αὐλίζεσθαι· [κατὰ
μικρὸν καὶ κατὰ βραχὺ προιὼν, μόλις τὸ δὴ λεγόμενον
ἀπέρρηξεν αυτό].
FRAGMENTUM 37.
(Longinus Περὶ εὑρέσεως, p. 589). [Ὁ Κτησίας πε-
ποίηκε τὴν τοῦ Κύρου μήτερα περὶ τῶν ἵππων καὶ τῶν
κτημάτων καὶ τῶν ὅπλων διαλεγομένην, καὶ ἀπὸ τούτων
οἶκτον κεκίνηται.]
N 2
180
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
FRAGMENTUM 38.
(Hesychius). [Σάραπις Περσικός χιτων μεσόλευκος,
ὡς Κτησίας] καὶ διαῤῥηξαμένη τὸν σάραπιν καὶ τὰς τρίχας
καθειμένη, ἐτίλλετό τε καὶ βοὴν ἐποίει.
Ο
FRAGMENTUM 39.
T
(Plutarch, Artor., c. 17). Λοιπός δ' ἦν τῇ Παρυσάτιδι
σκοπὸς ὁ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀποτεμὼν καὶ τὴν χεῖρα τοῦ Κύρου
Μασαβάτης, βασιλέως εὐνοῦχος. Ὡς οὖν αὐτὸς οὐδεμίαν
καθ' ἑαυτοῦ λαβὴν παρεδίδου, τοιοῦτον ἐπιβουλῆς τρόπον ἡ
Παρύσατις συνέθηκεν. Ην τὰ ἄλλα θυμόσοφος γυνὴ καὶ
δεινὴ κυβεύειν· διὸ καὶ βασιλεῖ πρὸ τοῦ πολέμου πολλάκις
συνεκύβευε, μετὰ δὲ τὸν πόλεμον διαλυθεῖσα πρὸς αὐτὸν
οὐκ ἔφευγε τὰς φιλοφροσύνας, ἀλλὰ καὶ συνέπαιζε καὶ τῶν
ἐρωτικῶν ἐκοινώνει συμπράττουσα καὶ παροῦσα, καὶ ὅλως
μικρότατον αὐτῷ τῇ Στατείρᾳ μετεδίδου χρῆσθαι καὶ συν
είναι μισοῦσά τε μάλιστα πάντων ἐκείνην καὶ μέγιστον
αὐτὴ βουλομένη δύνασθαι. Λαβοῦσα δή ποτε τὸν ᾿Αρτο-
ξέρξην ὡρμημένον ἀλύειν σχολῆς οὔσης προὐκαλεῖτο περὶ
χιλιῶν δαρεικῶν κυβεῦσαι καὶ κυβεύοντα περιεῖδε νικῆσαι
καὶ τὸ χρυσίον ἀπέδωκε. Προσποιουμένη δ᾽ ἀνιᾶσθαι καὶ
βιλονεικεῖν ἐκέλευσεν αὖθις ἐξ ἀρχῆς περὶ εὐνούχου διακυ-
βεῦσαι· κἀκεῖνος ὑπήκουσε. Ποιησάμενοι δὲ συνθήκας
πέντε μὲν ἑκάτερον ὑπεξελέσθαι τοὺς πιστοτάτους, ἐκ δὲ
τῶν λοιπῶν ὃν ἂν ὁ νικῶν ἕληται δοῦναι τὸν ἡττώμενον,
ἐπὶ τούτοις ἐκύβευον. Σφόδρα δὲ γενομένη πρὸς τῷ πράγ
ματι καὶ σπουδάσασα περὶ τὴν παιδιάν, εὖ δέ πως αὐτῇ καὶ
T
§ 90, fr. 36-40. Σάραπις] « Λεξ
posui autem hoc loci istud frag-
mentum, quod alicui non ita voro
absimile videri queat, ista de Pary-
satidis luctu ob interfectum filium a
Ctesia scripta fuisse.” Schottus,
quoted by Müller.
Μασαβάτης] In the epitome we
find the more correct form Baya-
πάτης.
XIX, XX.]
181
CTESIAE PERSICA.
τῶν κύβων πεσόντων, νικήσασα λαμβάνει τὸν Μασαβάτην
οὐ γὰρ ἦν ἐν τοῖς ὑπεξῃρημένοις. Καὶ πρὶν ἐν ὑποψία βασι-
λέα γενέσθαι τοῦ πράγματος ἐγχειρίσασα τοῖς ἐπὶ τῶν
τιμωριῶν προσέταξεν ἐκδεῖραι ζῶντα καὶ τὸ μὲν σῶμα
πλάγιον διὰ τριῶν σταυρῶν ἀναπῆξαι, τὸ δὲ δέρμα χωρὶς
διαπατταλεῦσαι. Γενομένων δὲ τούτων καὶ βασιλέως χαλε-
πῶς φέροντος καὶ παροξυνομένου πρὸς αὐτὴν, εἰρωνευομένη
μετὰ γέλωτος· Ὡς ἡδύς, ἔφασκεν, εἶ καὶ μακάριος, εἰ
χαλεπαίνεις διὰ γέροντα πονηρὸν εὐνοῦχον, ἐγὼ δὲ χιλίους
ἐκκυβευθεῖσα δαρεικοὺς σιωπῶ καὶ στέργω. Βασιλεὺς μὲν
οὖν ἐφ᾽ οἷς ἐξηπατήθη μεταμελόμενος ἡσυχίαν ἦγεν, ἡ δὲ
Στάτειρα καὶ πρὸς τἄλλα φανερῶς ἠναντιοῦτο καὶ τούτοις
ἐδυσχέραινεν, ὡς ἄνδρας καὶ εὐνούχους πιστοὺς βασιλεῖ
διὰ Κῦρον ὠμῶς καὶ παρανόμως ἀπολλυούσης αὐτῆς.
FRAGMENTUM 40.
K
(Plutarch, Artox. 14). Οἰόμενος δὲ καὶ βουλόμενος
δοκεῖν καὶ λέγειν πάντας ἀνθρώπους, ὡς αὐτὸς ἀπεκτόνοι
Κύρον, Μιθριδάτῃ τῷ βαλόντι πρώτῳ Κῦρον ἐξέπεμψε δῶρα
καὶ λέγειν ἐκέλευσε τοὺς διδόντας, ὡς, Τούτοις σε τιμᾷ ὁ
βασιλεὺς, ὅτι τὸν ἐφίππειον Κύρου πίλον εὑρὼν ἀνήνεγκας
τοῦ δὲ Καρὸς, ὑφ' οὗ τὴν ἰγνύαν πληγεὶς ὁ Κῦρος ἔπεσε,
καὶ αὐτοῦ δωρεὰν αὐτοῦντος, ἐκέλευσεν εἰπεῖν τοὺς διδόντας,
ὅτι Σοὶ ταῦτα δίδωσι βασιλεὺς εὐαγγελίων δευτερεία πρῶ
τος γὰρ Αρταούρας, μετ᾿ ἐκεῖνον δὲ σὺ τὴν Κύρου τελευτὴν
ἀπήγγειλας. Ὁ μὲν οὖν Μιθριδάτης ἀπῆλθε σιωπῇ λυ-
πούμενος, τὸν δ᾽ ἄθλιον Καρα καινόν τι πάθος ἐξ ἀβελτερίας
κατέσχε. Διαφθαρείς γὰρ ὑπὸ τῶν παρόντων, ὡς ἔοικεν,
ἀγαθῶν καὶ ἀναπεισθεὶς εὐθὺς ἀντιποιεῖσθαι τῶν ὑπὲρ αὑτὸν
οὐκ ἠξίου τὰ δοθέντα μισθὸν εὐαγγελίων ἔχειν, ἀλλ᾽ ἠγα-
νάκτει μαρτυρόμενος καὶ βοῶν, ὅτι Κῦρος οὐδεὶς ἕτερος ἀλλ᾽
αὐτὸς ἀπεκτόνοι καὶ τὴν δόξαν οὐ δικαίως ἀποστέροιτο.
Ταῦτα δ᾽ ἀκούσας ὁ βασιλεὺς σφόδρα παρωξύνθη καὶ τὴν
182
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
νοι.
Ο
Ο
κεφαλὴν ἐκέλευσεν ἀποτεμεῖν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου. Παροῦσα δ᾽ ἡ
μήτηρ, Μὴ σύ γ' εἶπεν οὕτω τὸν Καρα τοῦτον, ὦ βασιλεῦ, τὸν
ὄλεθρον ἀπαλλάξῃς ἀλλὰ παρ' ἐμοῦ τὸν ἄξιον ἀπολήψεται
μισθὸν ὧν ἐτόλμα λέγειν. Ἐπιτρέψαντος δὲ τοῦ βασιλέως
ἐκέλευσε τοὺς ἐπὶ τῶν τιμωριῶν ἡ Παρύσατις λαβόντας τὸν
ἄνθρωπον ἐφ' ἡμέρας δέκα στρεβλοῦν, εἶτα τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς
ἐξορύξαντας εἰς τὰ ὦτα θερμὸν ἐντήκειν χαλκὸν, ἕως ἀποθά-
Κακῶς δ᾽ ἀπώλετο δὲ καὶ Μιθριδάτης μετ' ὀλίγον
χρόνον ἐκ τῆς αὑτοῦ ἀβελτερίας. Κληθεὶς γὰρ ἐπὶ δεῖπνον,
ἔνθα καὶ βασιλέως καὶ τῆς μητρὸς εὐνοῦχοι παρῆσαν, ἧκεν
ἐσθῆτι καὶ χρυσῷ κεκοσμημένος οἷς ἔλαβε παρὰ βασιλέως.
Ἐπεὶ δ᾽ εἰς τὸ πίνειν ἀφίκοντο, λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ μέγιστον
δυνάμενος τῶν Παρυσάτιδος εὐνούχων, Ὡς καλὴν μὲν
ἐσθῆτα σοι ταύτην, ὦ Μιθριδάτα, ὁ βασιλεὺς δέδωκε, καλὰ
δὲ στρεπτὰ καὶ ψέλια· πολλοῦ δ᾽ ἄξιος ὁ ἀκινάκης. Η
μακάριόν σε καὶ περίβλεπτον ἅπασι πεποίηκεν. Ἤδη δὲ
μεθύων ὁ Μιθριδάτης, Τί δὲ τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν, εἶπεν, ὦ Σπαρα-
μίξη; μειζόνων γὰρ ἐγὼ καὶ καλλιόνων βασιλεῖ τὴν ἡμέραν
ἐκείνην ἄξιον ἐμαυτὸν παρέσχον. Καὶ ὁ Σπαραμίξης ἐπιμει-
διάσας, φθόνος μὲν οὐδείς, ὦ Μιθριδάτα, εἶπεν· ἐπεὶ δέ
φασιν Ἕλληνες οἶνον καὶ ἀλήθειαν εἶναι, τί λαμπρὸν ὦ τὰν
ἢ μέγα, πῖλον εὑρεῖν ἵππου περιῤῥυέντα καὶ τοῦτον ἀνενεγ
κεῖν; ταῦτα δ᾽ οὐκ ἀγνοῶν τὸ ἀληθὲς ἔλεγεν, ἀλλὰ βουλό-
μενος ἐκκαλύψαι πρὸς τοὺς παρόντας, ὑπεκίνει τὴν κουφότητα
τοῦ ἀνθρώπου λάλου καὶ ἀκρατους γεγονότος διὰ τὸν οἶνον.
Εἶπεν οὖν μὴ κατασχὼν ὑμεῖς μέν, ὅτι βούλεσθε, πίλους
λέγετε και φλυάρους· ἐγὼ δ᾽ ὑμῖν λέγω διαῤῥήδην ὑπὸ
ταύτης ἀνῃρῆσθαι Κῦρον τῆς χειρός. Οὐ γὰρ ὡς ᾿Αρτα-
γέρσης, ἠκόντισα κενὸν καὶ μάταιον ἀλλὰ τοῦ μὲν ὀφθαλ
μου μικρὸν ἥμαρτον, τοῦ δὲ κροτάφου τυχὼν καὶ διελάσας
κατέβαλον τὸν ἄνδρα, καὶ τέθνηκεν ὑπ᾽ ἐκείνου του τραύ
ματος. Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἄλλοι τὸ τέλος ἤδη τοῦ Μιθριδάτου καὶ
τὴν κακοδαιμονίαν ὁρῶντες εἰς τὴν γῆν ἔκυψαν, ὁ δ᾽ ἑστιῶν
αὐτοὺς, Ω τὰν, ἔφη, Μιθριδάτα, πίνωμεν ἐν τῷ παρόντι καὶ
Ο
XIX, xx.]
183
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ἐσθίωμεν τὸν βασιλέως δαίμονα προσκυνοῦντες, λόγους δὲ
μείζους ἢ καθ' ἡμᾶς ἐάσωμεν. Ἐκ τούτου τῇ μὲν Παρυσά-
τιδι φράζει τὸν λόγον ὁ εὐνοῦχος, ἐκείνη δὲ βασιλεῖ.
βασιλεὺς δ' ἠγανάκτησεν ὥσπερ ἐλεγχόμενος καὶ τὸ κάλ-
λιστον καὶ ἥδιστον ἀπολλύων τῆς νίκης. Ἐβούλετο γὰρ
βαρβάρους ἅπαντας πεπεῖσθαι καὶ Ἕλληνας, ὡς ἐν ταῖς
ἐξελάσεσι καὶ συμπλοκαῖς δοὺς καὶ λαβὼν πληγὴν ἐτρώθη
μὲν αὐτός, ἔκτεινε δ᾽ ἐκεῖνον. Ἐκέλευσεν οὖν τὸν Μιθρι
δάτην ἀποθανεῖν σκαφευθέντα. Τὸ δὲ σκαφευθῆναι τοιοῦ
τόν ἐστι σκάφας δύο πεποιημένας ἐφαρμόζειν ἀλλήλαις
λαβόντες, εἰς τὴν ἑτέραν κατακλίνουσι τὸν κολαζόμενον
ὕπτιον· εἶτα τὴν ἑτέραν ἐπάγοντες καὶ συναρμόζοντες, ὥστε
τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὰς χεῖρας ἔξω καὶ τοὺς πόδας ἀπολαμβά
νεσθαι, τὸ δ᾽ ἄλλο σῶμα πᾶν ἀποκεκρύφθαι, διδόασιν
ἐσθίειν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ, κἂν μὴ θέλῃ, προσβιάζονται, κεντοῦν
τες τὰ ὄμματα, φαγόντι δὲ, πιεῖν μέλι καὶ γάλα συγκεκρα-
μένον ἐγχέουσιν εἰς τὸ στόμα καὶ κατὰ τοῦ προσώπου
καταχέουσιν. Εἶτα πρὸς τὸν ἥλιον ἀεὶ στρέφουσιν ἐναντία
τὰ ὄμματα, καὶ μυιῶν προσκαθημένων πλῆθος πᾶν ἀπο-
κρύπτεται τὸ πρόσωπον. Ἐντὸς δὲ ποιοῦντος, ὅσα ποιεῖν
ἀναγκαῖόν ἐστι ἐσθίοντας ἀνθρώπους καὶ πίνοντας, εὐλαὶ
καὶ σκώληκες ὑπὸ φθορᾶς καὶ σηπεδόνος ἐκ τοῦ περιττώ
ματος ἀναζέουσιν, ὑφ᾽ ὧν ἀναλίσκεται τὸ σῶμα διαδυομένων
εἰς τὰ ἐντός. Ὅταν γὰρ ἤδη φανερῶς ᾖ τεθνηκὼς ὁ ἄνθρω-
πος, ἀφαιρεθείσης τῆς ἐπάνω σκάφης, ὁρῶσι τὴν μὲν σάρκα
κατεδηδεσμένην, περὶ δὲ τὰ σπλάγχνα τοιούτων θηρίων
ἐσμοὺς ἐσθιόντων καὶ προσπεφυκότων.
και
LIBRI XXI.-XXIII.
EPITOME PHOTII.
Ο
§ 91 (60). ['Ἐν δὲ τῇ κα' καὶ β' και γ', ἥτις καὶ τῆς
ὅλης πέρας ἐστὶν ἱστορίας, τάδε περιείληπται· ὡς.] Τισα-
φέρνης ἐπιβουλεύει τοῖς Ἕλλησι, καὶ προσεταιρισάμενος
Μένωνα τὸν Θεσσαλὸν, δι' αὐτοῦ Κλεάρχον καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους
στρατηγοὺς ἀπάτῃ καὶ ὅρκοις ἐχειρώσατο, τοῦ Κλεάρχου
καὶ προειδομένου καὶ ἀποκρουομένου τὴν ἐπιβουλήν ἀλλὰ
τό τε πλῆθος διὰ Μένωνος ἀπατηθὲν κατηνάγκασε καὶ
ἄκοντα Κλέαρχον πρὸς Τισαφέρνην παραγενέσθαι, καὶ
Πρόξενος ὁ Βοιώτιος, αὐτὸς ἤδη προαλοὺς ἀπάτῃ συμπαρ-
ήνει. Ως εἰς Βαβυλῶνα πρὸς ᾿Αρτοξέρξην Κλέαρχον καὶ
τοὺς ἄλλους ἀπέστειλεν ἐν πέδαις, καὶ ὡς ἐπὶ θέαν Κλεάρχου
ἅπαντες συνεῤῥύησαν. Ὡς Κτησίας αὐτὸς ἰατρὸς ὢν
Παρυσάτιδος πολλὰ Κλεάρχῳ ἐν τῷ δεσμωτηρίῳ ὄντι πρὸς
ἡδονὴν καὶ θεραπείαν δι' αὐτῆς ἔπραξε· καὶ τῶν δεσμῶν ἂν
Παρύσατις ἔλυσε καὶ ἀφῆκεν εἰ μὴ Στάτειρα τὸν ἄνδρα
Αρτοξέρξην ἀνέπεισε τοῦτον ἀναιρεθῆναι. Καὶ ἀνῃρέθη
Κλέαρχος, και τέρας ἐπὶ τῷ σώματι συνέστη αὐτομάτως
γὰρ ἐπ' αὐτῷ τάφος, μεγίστου πνεύσαντος ἀνέμου, ἐπὶ μέγα
ἠρμένος ἐπισυνέστη. ᾿Ανῃρέθησαν δὲ καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ
ἀναπεμφθέντες Ἕλληνες πλὴν Μένωνος.
ע:
§ 91, fr. 41. προσεταιρισάμενος
Μένωνα] Comp. Xenophon, Anab.
ii. 5, 28.
πι
ων
who apparently regarded the exc-
cution of the Greeks as taking
place immediately, but in this
Πρόξενος] Compare Xenophon, respect Ktesias was likely to be
ii. 5, 38.
εἰς Βαβυλώνα] Xenophon, ii. 6, 1,
better informed.
πλὴν Μένωνος] Μένωνα δὲ μόνον
LIB. XXI.-XXIII.]
185
CTESIAE PERSICA.
FRAGMENTUM 41.
Εν
(Plutarch, Artox. 18). Ἐπεὶ δὲ Κλέαρχον καὶ τοὺς
ἄλλους στρατηγοὺς Τισσαφέρνης ἐξηπάτησε καὶ παρε-
σπόνδησεν, ὅρκων γενομένων, καὶ συλλαβὼν ἀνέπεμψεν ἐν
πέδαις δεδεμένους, δεηθῆναί [φησιν] αὐτοῦ τὸν Κλέαρχον
[ὁ Κτησίας] ὅπως κτενὸς εὐπορήσειε. Τυχόντα δὲ καὶ
τημελήσαντα τὴν κεφαλὴν ἡσθῆναί τε τῇ χρείᾳ καὶ τὸν
δακτύλιον αὐτῷ δοῦναι, σύμβουλον φιλίας πρὸς τοὺς ἐν
Λακεδαίμονι συγγενεῖς καὶ οἰκείους· εἶναι δὲ γλυφὴν ἐν τῇ
σφραγίδι, Καρυάτιδας ὀρχουμένας. Τὰ δὲ πεμπόμενα σιτία
τῷ Κλεάρχῳ τοὺς συνδεδεμένους στρατιώτας ἀφαιρεῖσθαι
καὶ καταναλίσκειν, ὀλίγα τῷ Κλεάρχῳ διδόντας ἀπ' αὐτῶν.
Ἰάσασθαι δὲ καὶ τοῦτο [φησὶν ὁ Κτησίας] πλείονα τῷ
Κλεάρχῳ πέμπεσθαι διαπραξάμενος, ἰδίᾳ δ᾽ ἕτερα τοῖς
στρατιώταις δίδοσθαι· καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ὑπουργῆσαι καὶ
παρασχείν χάριτι καὶ γνώμῃ τῆς Παρυσάτιδος. Πεμπομέ-
νου δὲ καθ' ἡμέραν τῷ Κλεάρχῳ κωλῆνος ἐπὶ τοῖς σιτίοις,
παρακαλεῖν αὐτὸν καὶ διδάσκειν ὡς χρὴ μικρὸν εἰς τὸ κρέας
ἐμβαλόντα μαχαίριον, ἀποκρύψαντα πέμψαι καὶ μὴ περι-
ιδεῖν ἐν τῇ βασιλέως ὠμότητι τὸ τέλος αὐτοῦ γενόμενον
αὐτὸν δὲ φοβούμενον μὴ ἐθελῆσαι. Βασιλέα δὲ τῇ μὲν
μητρὶ παραιτουμένῃ, μὴ κτεῖναι τὸν Κλεάρχον ὁμολογῆσαι
καὶ ὀμόσαι πεισθέντα δ᾽ αὖτις ὑπὸ τῆς Στατείρας, ἀπο-
κτεῖναι πάντας πλὴν Μένωνος. Ἐκ δὲ τούτου τὴν Παρύ-
σατιν ἐπιβουλεῦσαι τῇ Στατείρᾳ καὶ συσκευάσασθαι τὴν
φαρμακείαν κατ' αὐτῆς . καὶ γὰρ ἀναιρεθέντων [φησὶ]
τῶν στρατηγῶν τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους ὑπὸ κυνῶν σπαράττεσθαι
καὶ ὀρνέων· τῷ δὲ Κλεάρχου νεκρῷ θυέλλαν ἀνέμου, γῆς
θῖνα πολλὴν φέρουσαν, ἐπιχῶσαι καὶ ἐπικρύψαι τὸ σῶμα·
φοινίκων δέ τινων διασπαρέντων, ὀλίγῳ χρόνῳ θαυμαστὸν
ἀφῆκεν, according to Diod. xiv. 27 ;
Xenophon, ii. 6, 29, suys he was
said to have been put to death
afterwards.
κωλῆνος] Ham.
ὀλίγω χρόνῳ] Eight years, ac-
cording to S 93. The statement
there can only be reconciled with
186
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
ἄλσος ἀναφῦναι καὶ κατασκιάσαι τὸν τόπον ὥστε καὶ
βασιλεῖ σφόδρα μεταμελεῖν, ὡς ἄνδρα θεοῖς φίλον ἀνῃρη
κότι τὸν Κλεάρχον.
EPITOME PHOTII.
§ 92 (61). Λοιδορία Παρυσάτιδος πρὸς Στάτειραν καὶ
ἀναίρεσις διὰ φαρμάκου τοῦτον διασκευασθέντος τὸν τρό-
πον (ἐφυλάττετο γὰρ Στάτειρα λίαν μὴ παθεῖν ὃ πέπονθε),
μαχαιρίου τὸ ἓν μέρος ἐπαλείφεται τῷ φαρμάκῳ, τὸ δὲ
λοιπὸν οὐ μετεῖχε. Τούτῳ τέμνεται ὀρνίθιον μικρὸν, μέγε
θος ὅσον ὠοῦ· ῥυνδάκην Πέρσαι τὸ ὀρνίθιον καλοῦσι. Τέμ
νεται δὲ δίχα, καὶ τὸ μὲν καθαρεύον τοῦ ἰοῦ ἥμισυ αὐτὴ
λαβοῦσα Παρύσατις ἐσθίει, τὸ δὲ προσομιλῆσαν τῷ φαρ-
μάκῳ ὀρέγει Στατείρᾳ· ἡ δὲ, ἐπεὶ ἐσθίουσαν τὴν ἐπιδοῦσαν
ἑώρα τὸ ἥμισυ, μηδὲν συνιδεῖν δυνηθεῖσα, καὶ αὐτὴ συνεστ
θίει τοῦ θανάτου τὸ φάρμακον. ὀργὴ διὰ ταῦτα τοῦ
το
βασιλέως πρὸς τὴν μητέρα καὶ σύλληψις τῶν εὐνούχων
αὐτῆς καὶ αἰκισμὸς καὶ ἀναίρεσις καὶ ἔτι σύλληψις Γίγγης,
ἣ ᾠκείωτο Παρυσάτιδι, καὶ κρίσις ἐπ᾿ αὐτῇ, καὶ ἀθώωσις
μὲν παρὰ τῶν κριτῶν, καταδίκη δὲ παρὰ βασιλέως, καὶ
αἰκισμὸς Γίγγης καὶ ἀναίρεσις, καὶ ὀργὴ διὰ τοῦτο Παρυ-
σάτιδος πρὸς τὸν υἱὸν κἀκείνου πρὸς τὴν μητέρα.
FRAGMENTUM
42.
(Plutarch, Artoæ., c. 6). ['Επεὶ δὲ Δείνων ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ
συντελεσθῆναι τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν (Parysatidis contra Statiram)
§ 91 and fr. 41 by supposing that
the sand was first heaped up by
the wind, in which there is nothing
very remarkable, and that the eu-
nuchs of Parysatis then placed
carth on the top, and planted the
palm trees.
§ 92, fr. 42. puvdákyv] or ῥυν-
τάκης, according to the epitome.
"Persicum Rund nomen avis, quae
frequentius in oryzetis invenitur,"
Baehr.
ἀθώωσις μὲν παρὰ τῶν κριτῶν]
A remarkable instance of judicial
independence.
XXI.XXIII.]
187
CTESIAE PERSICA.
εἴρηκε, Κτησίας δ᾽ ὕστερον, ὃν οὔτ᾽ ἀγνοεῖν τὸν χρόνον
εἰκός ἐστι παρόντα ταῖς πράξεσιν, οὔτε ἑκὼν αἰτίαν εἶχεν
ἐκ τοῦ χρόνου μεταστῆσαι τὸ ἔργον ὡς ἐπράχθη διηγού-
μενος, οἷα πάσχει πολλάκις ὁ λόγος αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὸ μυθῶδες
καὶ δραματικὸν ἐκτρεπόμενος τῆς ἀληθείας, τοῦτο μὲν ἣν
ἐκεῖνος ἀπέδωκε χώραν ἕξει.]
(Id., c. 19). Ἡ δ᾽ οὖν Παρύσατις, μίσους τε πρὸς τὴν
Στάτειραν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὑποκειμένου καὶ ζηλοτυπίας, ὁρῶσα
μὲν αὐτῆς δύναμιν αἰδουμένου βασιλέως καὶ τιμῶντος οὖσαν,
τὴν δ᾽ ἐκείνης ἔρωτι καὶ πίστει βέβαιον καὶ ἰσχυρὰν, ἐπε-
βούλευεν ὑπὲρ τῶν μεγίστων ὡς ᾤετο, παραβαλλομένη.
Θεράπαιναν εἶχε πιστὴν καὶ δυνομένην παρ' αὐτῇ μέγιστον,
ὄνομα Γίγιν· [ἦν ὁ μὲν Δείνων ὑπουργῆσαι τῇ φαρμακεία
φησὶ, συγγνῶναι δὲ μόνον ἄκουσαν ὁ Κτησίας. Τὸν δὲ
δόντα τὸ φάρμακον οὗτος μὲν ὀνομάζει Βελιτάραν . . .]
Ἐκ δὲ τῆς πρόσθεν ὑποψίας καὶ διαφορᾶς ἀρξάμεναι πάλιν
εἰς τὸ αἶτο φοιτᾷν καὶ συνδειπνεῖν ἀλλήλαις, ὅμως τῷ
δεδιέναι καὶ φυλάττεσθαι, τοῖς αὐτοῖς σιτίοις καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν
αὐτῶν ἐχρῶντο. Γίνεται δὲ μικρὸν ἐν Πέρσαις ὀρνίθιον, ᾧ
περιττώματος οὐδέν ἐστιν, ὅλον διάπλεων πιμελῆς τὰ ἐντός
ᾗ καὶ νομίζουσιν ἀνεμῷ καὶ δρόσῳ τρέφεσθαι τὸ ζῷον
ὀνομάζεται δὲ ῥυντάκης. Τοῦτό [φησιν ὁ Κτησίας] μικρᾷ
μαχαιρίδι κεχρισμένῃ τῷ φαρμάκῳ κατὰ θάτερα τὴν Παρύ
σατιν διαιροῦσαν, ἐκμάξαι τῷ ἑτέρῳ μέρει τὸ φάρμακον
καὶ τὸ μὲν ἄχραντον καὶ καθαρὸν εἰς τὸ στόμα βαλοῦσαν
αὐτὴν ἐσθίειν, δοῦναι δὲ τῇ Στατείρᾳ τὸ πεφαρμαγμένον.
᾿Αποθνήσκουσα γοῦν ἡ γυνὴ μετὰ πόνων μεγάλων
καὶ σπαραγμῶν, αὐτή τε συνησθάνετο τοῦ κακοῦ, καὶ βασι-
λεῖ παρέσχεν ὑποψίαν κατὰ τῆς μητρὸς, εἰδότι τὸ θηριώδες
αὐτῆς καὶ δυσμείλικτον. Ὅθεν εὐθὺς ἐπὶ τὴν ζήτησιν ὁρ-
Βελιτάραν] Melantus, according
to Deinon, fr. 26 (according to
Müller's arrangement, but it ought
to follow fr. 23).
δοῦναι τῇ Στατείρα] Deinon, 1. c.
says Melantus did this.
188
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
μήσας, τοὺς μὲν ὑπηρέτας καὶ τραπεζοκόμους τῆς μητρὸς
συνέλαβε καὶ κατεστρέβλωσε τὴν δὲ Γίγιν ἡ Παρύσατις
πολὺν χρόνον εἶχεν οἴκοι μεθ᾽ αὑτῆς καὶ βασιλέως ἐξαι
τοῦντος οὐκ ἔδωκεν. ᾿Αλλ᾽ ὕστερον αὐτῆς δεηθείσης εἰς
τὸν οἶκον ἀφεθῆναι νυκτὸς αἰσθόμενος καὶ λόχον ὑφείς
συνήρπασε και κατέγνω θάνατον. ᾿Αποθνήσκουσι δ' οἱ
φαρμακεῖς ἐν Πέρσαις κατὰ νόμον οὕτως· λίθος ἐστι πλατὺς,
ἐφ᾽ οὗ τὴν κεφαλὴν καταθέντες αὐτῶν ἑτέρῳ λίθῳ παίουσι
καὶ πιέζουσιν, ἄχρις οὗ συνθλάσωσι τὸ πρόσωπον καὶ τὴν
κεφαλήν. Ἡ οὖν Γίγις οὕτως ἀπέθανε. Τὴν δὲ Παρύσατιν
ὁ Αρτοξέρξης ἀλλὸ μὲν οὐδὲν οὔτ᾽ εἶπε κακὸν, οὔτ᾽ ἐποίησεν,
εἰς δὲ Βαβυλῶνα βουλομένην ἐξέπεμψεν, εἰπὼν ἕως ἐκείνη
περίεστιν, αὐτὸς οὐκ ὄψεσθαι Βαβυλῶνα.
EPITOME PHOTII.
§ 93 (62). Καὶ τὸ χῶμα δὲ τοῦ Κλεάρχου δι' ἐτῶν ὀκτὼ
μεστὸν ἐφάνη φοινίκων, οὓς ἦν κρύφα Παρύσατις, καθ᾽ ὅν
καιρὸν ἐκεῖνος ἐτελεύτησε, διὰ εὐνούχων καταχώσασα.
FRAGMENTUM
43.
(Plutarch, Artoæ. 18 [cf. fr. 41]). Φοινίκων δέ τινων
διασπαρέντων ὀλίγῳ χρόνῳ θαυμαστὸν ἄλσος ἀναφῦναι καὶ
κατασκιάσαι τὸν τόπον (tumulum Clearchi) ὥστε καὶ
βασιλεῖ σφόδρα μεταμελεῖν, ὡς ἄνδρα θεοῖς φίλον ἀνῃρη
κότι τὸν Κλεάρχον.
EPITOME PHOTII.
§ 94 (63). Αιτίαι δι᾽ ἃς Εὐαγόρᾳ βασιλεῖ Σαλαμῖνος
βασιλεὺς ᾿Αρτοξέρξης διηνέχθη. Καὶ ἄγγελοι Εὐαγόρα
πρὸς Κτησίαν ὑπὲρ τοῦ λαβεῖν παρὰ ᾿Αβουλίτου τὰς ἐπισ-
τολὰς, καὶ Κτησίου πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐπιστολὴ περὶ τοῦ διαλλα-
XXI. XXIII.]
189
CTESIAE PERSICA.
γῆναι ο τὸν ᾿Αναξαγόρᾳ τῷ Κυπρίων βασιλεῖ. Τῶν παρὰ
Εὐαγόρα ἀγγέλων εἰς Κύπρον ἄφιξις, καὶ τῶν παρὰ
Κτησίου γραμμάτων ἀπόδοσις Εὐαγόρᾳ. Καὶ Κόνωνος
πρὸς Εὐαγόραν λόγος ὑπὲρ τοῦ πρὸς βασιλέα ἀναβῆναι,
καὶ Εὐαγόρα ἐπιστολὴ περὶ ὧν ἠξιώθη ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ
Κόνωνος πρὸς Κτησίαν ἐπιστολή, καὶ βασιλεῖ παρὰ Εὐα
γόρα φόρος, καὶ τῶν ἐπιστολῶν Κτησίᾳ ἀπόδοσις. Κτησίου
λόγος προς βασιλέα περὶ Κόνωνος, καὶ ἐπιστολὴ πρὸς αὐτόν.
Τῶν παρὰ Εὐαγόρου δώρων ἀπόδοσις Σατιβαρζάνῃ, καὶ
τῶν ἀγγέλων τῶν εἰς Κύπρον ἄφιξις, καὶ Κόνωνος ἐπιστολὴ
πρὸς βασιλέα καὶ Κτησίαν. Ὡς ἐτηρήθησαν οἱ παρὰ
Λακεδαιμονίων ἄγγελοι πεμφθέντες πρὸς βασιλέα. Βασι-
λέως ἐπιστολὴ πρὸς Κόνωνα καὶ πρὸς Λακεδαιμονίους, ἣν
Κτησίας αὐτὸς ἐκομίσεν. Ὡς ὑπὸ Φαρναβάζου ναύαρχος
Κόνων ἐγένετο.
FRAGMENTUM 44.
(Plutarch, Artor. 21). Ἐξέβαλε δὲ καὶ (Artoxerxes)
τῆς θαλάσσης Λακεδαιμονίους, Κόνωνι τῷ ᾿Αθηναίῳ μετὰ
Φαρναβάζου στρατηγῷ χρησάμενος. Ὁ γὰρ Κόνων διέ-
τριβε μὲν ἐν Κύπρῳ μετὰ τὴν ἐν Αἰγὸς ποταμοῖς ναυμαχίαν,
οὐ τὴν ἀσφάλειαν ἀγαπῶν, ἀλλὰ τὴν τῶν πραγμάτων μετα-
βολὴν, ὥσπερ ἐν πελάγει τροπὴν περιμένων. Ὁρῶν δὲ καὶ
τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ λογισμοὺς δυνάμεως, καὶ τὴν βασιλέως δύναμιν
ἀνδρὸς ἔμφρονος δεομένην, ἔπεμψεν ἐπιστολὴν βασιλεῖ
περὶ ὧν διενοεῖτο. Καὶ ταύτην ἐκέλευσε τὸν κομίζοντα
μάλιστα μὲν ἀποδοῦναι διὰ Ζήνωνος, τοῦ Κρητὸς, ἢ Πολυ-
κρίτου, τοῦ Μενδαίου· τούτων δ᾽ ἦν ὁ μὲν Ζήνωνὀ ρχηστὴς, ὁ
δὲ Πολύκριτος ἰατρός· ἂν δ' οὗτοι μὴ παρῶσι, διὰ Κτησίου,
§ 94, fr. 45–48. Evayópa] Diod.
xiv. 98, 110; xv. 2 sq.
Κόνωνος ἐπιστολή] Cf. Justin,
Cf. Justin,
vi. 2; Nepos, Conon, 3.
ὡς δ᾽ ὑπὸ Φαρναβάζου, κ. τ. λ.]
Diod. xiv. 39; Justin, viii. 1;
Nepos, Conon, 4.
190
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
τοῦ ἰατροῦ. [Λέγεται δ' ὁ Κτησίας τὴν ἐπιστολὴν λαβὼν
παρεγγράψαι τοῖς ὑπὸ τοῦ Κόνωνος ἐπεσταλμένοις, ὅπως καὶ
Κτησίαν ἀποστείλῃ πρὸς αὐτὸν, ὡς ὠφέλιμον ὄντα ταῖς ἐπὶ
θαλάσσῃ πράξεσιν. Ὁ δὲ Κτησίας αὐτὸν ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ
βασιλέα φησί προσθεῖναι τὴν λειτουργίαν αὐτῷ ταύτην.]
FRAGMENTUM 45.
(Athenaeus, i. 40, p. 83, Schweig.) [Ορχησταί δὲ
ἔνδοξοι . . . Ζήνων δὲ, ὁ Κρὴς ὁ πάνυ ᾿Αρταξέρξῃ προσφι-
λέστατος, παρὰ Κτησίᾳ.]
Ο
Ο
ΕΡΙΤΟΜΕ ΡΗΟΤΙΙ.
§ 95 (64). Κτησίου εἰς Κνίδον τὴν πατρίδα ἄφιξις καὶ
εἰς Λακεδαίμονα, καὶ κρίσις πρὸς τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίων
ἀγγέλους ἐν Ρόδῳ, καὶ ἄφεσις. ᾿Απὸ Ἐφέσου μέχρι Βάκ
τρων καὶ Ἰνδικῆς ἀριθμὸς σταθμῶν, ἡμερῶν, παρασαγγῶν.
Κατάλογος βασιλέων ἀπὸ Νίνου καὶ Σεμιράμεως μέχρι
Αρτοξέρξου.
[Εν οἷς καὶ τὸ τέλος.]
§ 95. ᾿Απὸ Ἐφέσου, κ. τ. λ.] Of
the two appendices to the Persika,
the list of kings is preserved, but
no traces of the list of stages sur-
vive. Its nature may, however,
be gathered from Herodotus, v.
52-54, where the distance from
Ephesus to Susa is given as 14,040
stadia,¹ and Xenophon, Anab. i. 2,
5-i. 7, 14, where the stages from
Sardis to Kunaxa are given as 514
parasangs (about 15,420 stadia)
and 84 stages. These measure-
ments are of course inconsistent.
It is possible that the passage
quoted by the Scholiast on Apol-
lonius, Argon. ii. 1017, from the
first book Περιόδων (usually printed
among the fragments De montibus)
may come from this part of the
Persika.
1 450 parasangs =
13,500 stadia, and 90 stages from Sardis to Susa, 540 stadia
from Ephesus to Sardis; but his items and his total disagree.
XXI. -
191
CTESIAE PERSICA.
XXIII.]
(a)
FRAGMENTUM 46.
Catalogus Regum Assyriorum.
(EUSEBIUS, Chronicon, in
versione Latina Hieronymi,
fo. 11, et 15 sq.)
Primus omnium Asiae ex-
ceptis Indis Ninus
[Beli filius] regnavit.
Ninus primus an. 52.
Semiramis 2 an. 42.
(3)
(SYNCELLUS).
(c)
(MOSES CHORENENSIS,
Hist. Arm. i. 18).
Σεμίραμις ἔτη μβ'.
Νίνος ἔτη νβ'.
Zameis qui et Ninias
3 Νινύας ἔτη λη'.
an. 38.
Arius 4 an. 30.
Αρίος ἔτη λ'.
Aralius 5 an. 40.
Αράλιος ἔτη μ'.
Xerxes qui et Balaeus 6 Ξέρξης ἔτη λ'.
an. 30.
Armamitres 7 an. 38.
Belochus 8 an. 35.
Αρμαμίθρης ἔτη λη'.
Baleus 9 an. 52.
Altadas 10 an. 32.
Mamitus 11 an. 30.
Βήλωχος ἔτη λε'.
Βαλαιὸς ἔτη νβ'.
Mancalaeus 12 an. 30.
Σεθὼς ἔτη λβ'.
Μαμυθὸς ἔτη λ'.
Ασχάλιος ἔτη κή.
Iphereus 13 an. 20.
Σφαίρος ἔτη κβ'.
Mamylas 14 an. 30.
Μάμυλος ἔτη λ'.
Sparetus 15 an. 40.
Ascades 16 an. 40.
Σπαρθαῖος ἔτη μβ'.
Ασκατάδης ἔτη μή'.
Amyntas 17 an. 45.
Αμύντης ἔτη με.
Βήλοχος ἔτη κε'.
Βαλατόρης ἔτη λ'.
Λαμπρίδης ἔτη λ'.
Σωσάρης ἔτη κ'.
Ninus.
Semiramis.
Ninyas, vel Zamessis.
Arios.
Aralios.
Baleus Cheochsar.
Armatrites.
Belochos.
Azatagus.
Mamidos.
Maschaleos.
Spharos.
Samilos.
Sparetos.
Askatades.
Bellothus 18 an. 25.
Bellepares 19 an. 30.
Lamprides 20 an. 32.
Sosares 21 an. 20.
Lampares 22 an. 30.
Pannias 23 an. 45.
Sosarmus 24 an. 19.
Mithreus 25 an. 27.
Tautanes 26 an. 32.
Λαμπραὴς ἔτη λ'.
Πανύας ἔτη με'.
Σώσαρμος ἔτη κβ'.
Μιθραῖος ἔτη λβ'.
Amindes.
Vestaskalus.
Sousares.
Paneas.
Sosarmos.
Mithreos.
Τεύταμος ἢ Ταυτάνης ἔτη Teutamos.
λβ΄.
Τευταῖος ἔτη μδ'.
Tauteus 27 an. 40.
Αραβλος ἔτη μβ'.
Thineus 28 an. 30.
Χάλαος ἔτη με.
*Ανεβος ἔτη λή.
Thineus.
Βάβιος ἢ Ταυτάνης ἔτη λζ'.
Fr. 46. Catalogus Regum Assyri- the notes on those books. It is
orum] This list has been already
to some extent discussed in the
Introduction to Books I.-III., and
one of the least valuable portions
of Ktesias' work, and has unfortu-
nately taken the place in the chro-
192
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
FRAGMENTUM 46.-Catalogus Regum Assyriorum.-continued.
(a)
(EUSERIUS.)
Dercilus 29 an. 40.
(0)
(SYNCELLUS.)
(c)
(MOSES CHORENENSIS,
Hist. Arm. i. 18.)
Derkylos.
Eupalmes.
Eupoles 30 an. 38.
Laosthenes 31 an. 45.
Piritiades 32 an. 30.
Orphrateus 33 an. 20.
Ophratanes 34 an. 30.
Acrazapes 35 an. 42.
Tonus Concoleros qui vo-
cabatur Graece Sardana-
palus an. 20.
Δερκύλος ἔτη μ'.
Εὐπάκμης ἔτη λή.
Λαοσθένης ἔτη μέ
Περτιάδης ἔτη λ'.
Οφραταῖος ἔτη κα'.
Εφεχέρης ἔτη νβ'.
Ακραγάνης ἔτη μβ'.
•
Prideazes.
Pharates.
Akrazanes.
Θῶνος Κογκόλερος ἔτη ιε'. Sardanapalos, vel
Omnes anni regni Assyri- [Summa an. 1460].
orum a primo anno Nini
supputantur, 1240.
nographers' compilations, occupied
by the lists of Manetho for Egypt,
thus displacing the genuine lists of
Berosus, of which a considerable
part has perished altogether.
It is useless to try and assign
dates to the kings in Ktesias' list,
because we do not know what date
he intended by his capture of Nine-
veh. Assuming a reign of 35 years.
for Astyages, we may place it
either (1) 317 years before B. C.
549, the real date of his overthrow
by Kyrus, i.e. B.C. 866, when
Asshurnasirpal (в. c. 885–860) was
king; or (2) 317 years before
B. C. 559, which Ktesias apparently
regarded as the date (30 years be-
fore B. c. 529, see § 40); or (3) as
coinciding with the accession of
Tiglathpileser II. (Pulu Belesys, in
Babylon), B. c. 745; or (4) as coin-
ciding with the real date of the
final fall of Assyria, в. c. 606.
Moreover, the discrepancies in
the readings of the regnal years.
are so great that we cannot tell
Thonos Konkoleros.
within a limit of
of 220 years
(1460 total in Syncellus, 1240 in
Eusebius) how long a duration he
assigned to the Assyrian mon-
archy.
Berosus divided the kings of
Babylon after the Deluge into
eight dynastics, of which one is
mythical. The kings of the sixth
and seventh dynastics are called
Assyrians, and correspond with
the period of the Assyrian empire,
and the break between them with
a revolution in Assyria; but he
may have intended two dynasties
of Assyrian origin reigning in
Babylon; however, it is convenient
to designate the Assyrian kings.
from B. c. 1273-747 the sixth dy-
nasty, and those from 747-625 the
seventh dynasty.
Ninus] See Introduction to
Books I.-III., and note on § 1.
Semiramis] See Introduction to
Books I.-III. and note on § 4.
Zameis] Assyro-Babylonian di-
vine name = Shamas, the sun-god.
XXI-.XXIII.]
193
CTESIAE PERSICA.
•
᾿Αρβάκης ἔτη κή.
Μαδαύκης ἔτη ν
Σώσαρμος ἔτη λ'.
᾿Αρτύκας ἔτη ν'.
Αρβιάνης ἔτη κβ'.
FRAGMENTUM 47.
Reges Medorum.
Arius] - Persian Arya, noble,
an epithet suited to any king.
Aralius] Babylonian divine name
Aralli = Hades, according to Sayce.
Aramus in Excerpta Barbara.
Xerxes qui et Balaeus] Balaeus;
Babylonian divine name Bel, more
correctly made by later writers the
father of Ninus (since Bel was
father of the god Nin). Xerxes
is intended as the Persian equi-
valent.
Armamitres] Mamithrus in Ex-
cerpta Barbara, where he is given
37 years.
Belochus] An Assyrian royal
name. S. Augustin (Civ. Dei,
xviii. 3) calls him Belocus.
Αρταῖος ἔτη μ'.
᾿Αρτύνης ἔτη κβ'.
Αστιβάρας ἔτη μ'.
Ασπάδας ὁ καὶ Αστυΐγας.
Amyntas] A Greek name. He
has 50 years in Exc. Barb.
Bellothus] Babylonian royal name
(a repetition of No. 8) = Bel-kudur-
uzur (king of Assyria circ. B.C.
1240), according to Sayce. Exc.
Barb. substitute Actosai et Semi-
ramis 23.' The Atossa of Hellanikus
(see Introduction to Books I.-III.)
is dragged in here by the chrono-
graphers, probably because of some
indications given by him as to her
date, though he makes her a Per-
sian queen, daughter of king Ari-
aspes. Bellothus, or Belochus, is
turned into Belimus by Kephalion
in quoting fr. 13, who (perhaps
from Ktosias) makes a synchronism
Baleus] A repetition of No. 6 between him and Perseus, founded
omitted by Moses Chor.
Altadas] This name is very
variously given. Exc. Barb. gives
him 35 years.
Mancalaeus] Ittafferus in Exc.
Barb., with 20 years.
Iphereus] In Exc. Barb. this
king (as Spareus), and Mamylus
(as Mamythus) change places. Ma-
mythus is given 35, and Spareus 40
years. In S. Augustin (Civ. Dei,
xviii. 8) the fourteenth king is
Saphrus.
Sparetus] A repetition of Sphac-
rus. Exc. Barb. omits.
0
no doubt on chronological reasons.
Bellepares (better Balatores ;
Belleroparus, with 34 years, in
Exc. Barb.) is an Assyrian royal
name Tiglathi-palzira, who is
called by this name by Dion and
Polyhistor.
Lamprides] Probably a Greek
name.
Sosares] Posarus in Exc. Barb.
Lampracs] Repetition of No. 20.
Pannias] Paunias et Zeus'
in Exc. Barb. He is made to syn-
chronize with the Argonauts in
fr. 13.
194
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Κῦρος ἔτη λ'.
Καμβύσης ἔτη ιή.
Σφενδαδάτης μῆνας ζ'.
Δαρεῖος ἔτη λα.
Ξέρξης.
FRAGMENTUM
Reges Persarum.
Sosarmus Repetition of No. 21:
cf. fr. 47.
Mithraeus] Persian name, 'be-
longing to Mithra.' He is made to
synchronize with Medeia in fr. 13,
and is placed 1000 years after Semi-
ramis, which does not agree with
the list, in Eusebius' version of
which he is only about 800 years
after her accession. Perhaps the
text in fr. 13 should be altered.
Tautanes] Or Teutamus. A
Greek name.
Müller (Dorians, i.
37) mentions a prince of Larissa of
that name, and suggests it should
be read for Tektamus in Diod. iv.
60. See § 23, fr. 13, and notes
thercon. In Exc. Barb. he is
turned into Tautelus. Eusebius
makes it 883 or 882 years down to
this reign; Exc. Barb. 964.
-Teutaeus] Repetition of No. 26.
Euteus in Exc. Barb.
Thineus] This king has 29
years in Exc. Barb.
'Apaßnλos] Assyrian local name
from Arbela. This name and three
following are omitted here by Euse-
bius and Moses, the latter of whom
puts them between Belus and
Ninus, professedly following Aby-
denus.
Xáλaos] Assyrian local name
from Kalah, perhaps represented
48.
Αρτοξέρξης ἔτη μβ'.
Ξέρξης ἡμέρας μέ.
Σεκυδιανὸς μῆνας ἓξ ἡμέρας ιέ. .
Ἦχος ὁ καὶ Δαρειαῖος ἔτη λέ.
᾿Αρτοξέρξης.
by Thineus in the other lists.
Báẞtos] Babylonian local name
from Babylon.
Dercylus] Babylonian royal name
Durrigalazu; but, according to
Rawlinson, derived from the city
called after that king (Herodotus, i.
p. 429). He is Cercillus in Exc.
Barb. S. Augustin (Civ. Dei,
xviii. 11) calls the 29th king
Oneus.
•
Eupoles] Greek name. He has
36 years in Exc. Barb.
Laosthenes] Greek name.
Peritiades] Greek name.
Ophrataeus] Assyro-Babylonian
local name from Euphrates.
Ophratanes] Repetition of No.
34.
Acraganes] Local name: see
Rawlinson, 1. c. Acrazapus in
Exc. Barb., with 40 years.
Tonos Konkoleros] Or Konos Kon-
koleros. According to Lenormant,
a misunderstanding of the words
found at the end of contracts 'Ku-
nuk kanuki' 'qu'il le confirme par
l'apposition de son cachet.' Exc.
Barb. give this king 30 years, and
add (from Kastor) Ninus II., 19
years, making the total 1514. The
total in Eusebius is 1239 or 1237
(stated as 1240); in Syncellus,
1460.
XXI.-XXIII.]
195
CTESIAE PERSICA.
FRAGMENTA SEDIS INCERTAE.
FRAGMENTUM 49.
(Tzetzes, Hist., iii. 641). [Νόμος κοίνος τις Περσικός
ἐστι κατ᾽ ἀχαρίστων, τοὺς δυναμένους σύμπαντας χάριν
ἀποδιδόναι καὶ μὴ διδόντας ἰσχυρῶς εὐθύνων καὶ κολάζων.
Τοὺς ἀχαρίστους οἴονται καὶ γὰρ πρὸς τὴν πατρίδα, καὶ
πρὸς γονεῖς καὶ πρὸς θεὸν, ἀσεβεστάτους εἶναι. Τὴν μὲν
τοῦ Κύρου Ξενοφῶν, τὴν δὲ τοῦ Πέρσου νόμου Κτησίας καὶ
Ηρόδοτος γράφουσιν ἱστορίαν.]
FRAGMENTU M 50.
B).
Ο
(Athenaeus, ii. p. 45 ). [Ὁ Περσῶν βασιλεύς, ὥς
φησιν ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ Ηρόδοτος, ὕδωρ ἀπὸ τοῦ Χοάσπεωπιεῖν
ἄγεται, τοῦ παρὰ Σοῦσα ῥέοντος· τοῦ μόνου πίνει ὁ βασι-
λεύς. Τοῦ δὲ τοιούτου ὕδατος ἀπεψημένου πολλαὶ κάρτα
ἅμαξαι τετράκυκλοι ἡμιόνειαι κομίζουσαι ἐν ἀγγείοις ἀργυ
ρέοισιν ἕπονταί οἱ. Κτησίας δὲ ὁ Κνίδιος καὶ ἱστορεῖ,
ὅπως] ἕψεται τὸ βασιλικὸν τοῦτο ὕδωρ καὶ ὅπως ἐναποτιθέ-
μενον τοῖς ἀγγείοις φέρεται τῷ βασιλεῖ, [λέγων] αὐτὸ καὶ
ἐλαφρότατον καὶ ἥδιστον εἶναι.
(Apud Eustathium ad Hom. Odyss., iv. p. 173, post
quaedam ex Athenaeo sumta 'sequuntur haec verba et
ipsa ex Ctesianis expressa.')
καὶ μὲν καὶ τὸ ἐλαίῳ ἀκανθίνῳ χρῆσθαι μετὰ λουτρόν.
Fr. 49.] " Verba τὴν μὲν τοῦ
Κύρου Ξενοφῶν ad antecedentia
spectant ubi de Cyro ex Xenophon-
tis narratione traditur. [Kyrop. i.,
p. 8] de lege autem Persica quae hic
memoratur, vid. Barnab. Brisson
de Reg. Pers. Princ. ii. 91, pag.
423 seq.”—Bachr.
Fr. 50.] Compare Herodotus, i.
188; Strabo, xv. 3, p. 330 (1068),
Plinius, H. N., xxxi. 3 (Parthorum
reges ex Choaspe et Eulco tantum
bibunt et cae quamvis in longinquo
comitantur illos), &c., on the Cho-
aspes. See Loftus, Chaldæa and
Susiana, pp. 424 sq.
02
196
[LIB.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
FRAGMENTUM
51.
(Athenaeus, iv. p. 146 C). Ὁ δὲ Περσῶν βασιλεὺς
[ὥς φησι Κτησίας καὶ Δίνων ἐν τοῖς Περσικοῖς,] ἐδείπνει
μετὰ ἀνδρῶν μυρίων πεντακισχιλίων, καὶ ἀνηλίσκετο εἰς τὸ
δεῖπνον τάλαντα τετρακόσια.
FRAGMENTUM 52.
(Athenaeus, xi. p. 464 Α). [Κτησίας] παρὰ Πέρσαις,
[φησὶν,] ὃν ἂν βασιλεὺς ἀτιμάσῃ, κεραμέοις χρῆται.
(a)
FRAGMENTUM
53.
(3)
(AELIANUS, Nat. Animal., vii. 1.)
[Πέπυσμαι δὲ ἄρα καὶ ἀριθμητικῆς τὰς
βοῦς οὐκ ἀμοίρους εἶναι τὰς Σουσίδας.
Καὶ ὡς οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλως κόμπος τὸ εἰρη-
μένον, μάρτυς δ· λέγων] ἐν Σούσοις τῷ
βασιλεῖ βοῦς ἐς τοὺς παραδείσους πολλὰς
ἐς τὰ ἧττον ἐπίῤῥυτα ἀντλεῖν ἑκάστην
κάδους ἑκατόν. Οὐκοῦν ἢ τὸν ἐπινησθέντα
αὐταῖς ἢ τὸν συντραφέντα ἐκ πολλοῦ
μόχθον προθυμότατα ἐκτελοῦσιν· καὶ οὐκ
ἂν βλακεύουσάν τινα θεάσαιο· εἰ δὲ πέρα |
τῆς προειρημένης ἑκατοντάδος ἕνα γοῦν
προσλιπαρήσεις κάδον, ἀνιμήσασθαι, οὐ
πείσεις οὐδὲ ἀναγκάσεις, οὔτε παίων οὐδὲ
κολακεύων [λέγει Κτησίας].
(PLUTARCHUS, De Solertia Animal.,
cap. 21, p. 974 E.)
[Ἧττον δὲ ταῦτα θαυμαστά, καίπερ ὄντα
θαυμάσια, ποιοῦσιν αἱ νόησιν ἀριθμοῦ καὶ
δύναμιν τοῦ ἀριθμεῖν ἔχουσαι φύσεις ώσπερ
ἔχουσιν αἱ περὶ Σοῦσα βόες] εἰσὶ γὰρ
αὐτόθι τὸν βασιλικὸν παράδεισον ἄρδουσαι
περιάκτοις ἀντλήμασιν, ὧν ὥρισται τὸ
πλῆθος· ἑκατὸν γὰρ ἑκάστη βοῦς ἀναφέρει
καθ' ἡμέραν ἑκάστην ἀντλήματα, πλείονα
δ᾽ οὐκ ἔστιν οὔτε λαβεῖν οὔτε βιάσασθαι
βουλόμενον· ἀλλὰ καὶ πείρας ἕνεκα πολλάκις
προστιθέντων, ὑφίσταται, καὶ οὐ πρόεισιν,
ἀποδοῦσα τὸ τεταγμένον· οὕτως ἀκριβῶς
συντίθησι καταμνημονεύει το κεφάλαιον
[ὡς Κτησίας ὁ Κνίδιος ἱστόρηκε].
FRAGMENTUM
54.
(Aelianus, Nat. Animal., xvi. 42). [Κτησίας γε μὴν ὁ
Κνίδιος φησι] περὶ τὴν Περσικὴν Σιττάκην ποταμὸν εἶναι,
Fr. 51.] See Heeren, Asiatic
Nations, i. p. 254,
Fr. 53. περιάκτοις ἀντλήμασιν]
Compare Herodotus, i. 193, &c.
The Shadoof, or irrigation wheel,
is referred to. It is represented on
the Assyrian and Egyptian monu-
ments (see Rawlinson, Herodotus,
i. p. 315). Mr. Romanes (Times,
Sept. 26, 1888), mentions several
instances which show that some
animals can count up to five at least.
Fr. 54. Σιττάκην] See Strabo,
xv. 3. p. 324; Steph. Byzant, s. v.
XXI.-XXIII.
197
CTESIAE PERSICA.
Αργάδην ὄνομα ὄφεις δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ γίνεσθαι πολλοὺς, μέ
λανας τὸ σῶμα, πλήν γε τῆς κεφαλῆς· εἶναι δὲ αὐτοῖς
λευκὴν ταύτην· προϊέναι δὲ εἰς ὀργυιὰν τὸ μῆκος τοὺς
ὄφεις τούσδε· τοὺς οὖν ὑπὸ τούτων δηχθέντας ἀποθνήσκειν.
Και μεθ' ἡμέραν μὲν μὴ ὁρᾶσθαι, ὑφύδρους δὲ νήχεσθαι·
νύκτωρ δὲ ἢ τοὺς ὑδρινομένους ἢ τοὺς τὴν ἐσθῆτα φαιδρύ
νοντας διαφθείρειν· πολλοὺς δὲ ἄρα πάσχειν τοῦτο, ἢ
χρείᾳ ὕδατος ἐπιλείποντος, ἢ μεθ' ἡμέραν ἀσχοληθέντας
καὶ ἀποπλῦναι τὴν ἐσθῆτα μὴ δεδυνημένους.
(a)
FRAGMENTUM 55.
(ATHENAEUS, X., p. 434 D.)
[Κτησίας δὲ παρ' Ινδοῖς φησιν] οὐκ
εἶναι τῷ βασιλεῖ μεθυσθῆναι παρὰ δὲ
Πέρσαις τῷ βασιλεῖ ἐφίεται μεθύσκεσθαι
μιᾷ ἡμέρᾳ ἐν ᾗ θύουσι τῷ Μίθρῃ. [Γράφει
δὲ οὕτως περὶ τούτων Δοῦρις.]
(V)
(EUSTATHIUS, ad Odyss., xviii. 3, p. 651.)
[Ινδοί παρ' οἷς ὡς ἱστορεῖ Κτησίας,]
οὐκ ἔστι τῷ βασιλεῖ μεθυσθῆναι. [Παρὰ
δέ γε Πέρσαις ὥς φησι Δούρις ἐφίεται τῷ
βασιλεῖ μεθύσκεσθαι ἡμέρᾳ μιὰ ἐν ᾗ τῷ
Μίθρα ἔθυον.]
FRAGMENTUM 56.
(Antigonus Caryst., Mirab., c. 15, narrat duos tan-
tum Cranone corvos esse, ac manere eos Cranone donec
pullos genuissent, deinde abire et ipsarum loco pullos
relinquere). [Καὶ ἐν Εκβατάνοις δὲ καὶ ἐν Πέρσαις Κτη-
σίας ἱστορεῖ παραπλήσιόν τι τούτοις· διὰ δὲ τὸ αὐτὸν
πολλὰ ψεύδεσθαι παρελείπομεν τὴν ἐκλογήν· καὶ γὰρ ἐφαί-
νετο τερατώδης.]
198
CTESIAE PERSICA.
E LIBRO DE ASIATICIS TRIBUTIS.
FRAGMENTUM 1.
(«) (Athenaeus, ii. p. 67 Α). [Κτησίας δ'] ἐν Καρμανίᾳ
[φησὶ] γίνεσθαι ἔλαιον ἀκάνθινον ᾧ χρῆσθαι βασιλέα· [ὃς
καὶ καταλέγων ἐν τῷ περὶ τῶν κατὰ τὴν ᾿Ασίαν φόρων
τούτῳ (al. τρίτῳ) βιβλίῳ, πάντα τὰ τῷ βασιλεῖ παρασκευα-
ζόμενα ἐπὶ τὸ δεῖπνον, οὔτε πεπέρεως μέμνηται, οὔτε ὄξους,
ὃ μόνον ἄριστον ἐστὶ τῶν ἡδυσμάτων.]
(b) (Eustathius, ad Odyss., 2, p. 248, 19 Basil.) 'Ev
Καρμανία [ἱστορεῖ Κτησίας] ἔλαιον γίνεσθαι ἀκάνθινον, ᾧ
χρῆσθαι τὸν βασιλέα.
FRAGMENTUM 2.
(Athenaeus, X., p. 442 Α). ['Αμύντας ἐν τοῖς Σταθ.
μοῖς, τὸ τῶν Ταπύρων ἔθνος φησὶν οὕτω φίλοινον εἶναι, ὡς
καὶ ἀλείμματι ἄλλῳ μηδενὶ χρῆσθαι ἢ τῷ οἴνῳ· τὰ δ᾽ αὐτὰ
ἱστορεῖ καὶ Κτησίας ἐν τῷ περὶ τῶν κατὰ τὴν ᾿Ασίαν φόρων.
Οὗτος δὲ καὶ δικαιοτάτους αὐτοὺς λέγει εἶναι.]
E LIBRIS DE MONTIBUS.
LIBER I.
FRAGMENTU M 1.
(Schol. Apollon. Rhod. ii. 1017). ["Opos (scil. rò iepòv
ὄρος) οὕτω καλούμενον τὸ καθῆκον εἰς τὸν Εὔξεινον πόντον.
Μέμνηται αὐτοῦ καὶ Κτησίας ἐν τῷ α' Περιόδων (περὶ ὀρῶν
Meursius).]
CTESIAE PERSICA.
199
LIBER II.
FRAGMENTUM
2.
(Plutarch, de Flum. xxi. 5). [Γεννᾶται δ᾽ ἐν αὐτῷ (in
Teuthrante, Mysiae monte) λίθος ᾿Αντιπαθὴς καλούμενος
ὃς κάλλιστα ποιεῖ πρὸς ἄλφους καὶ λεπροὺς δι᾽ οἶνον τριβό
μενος καθὼς ἱστορεῖ Κτησίας Κνίδιος ἐν β' περὶ ὀρῶν.]
"Eadem Stobaeus Sermon. 213 omisso tamen auctoris
nomine."
FRAGMENTU M 3.
(Schol. Apollon. Rhod. ii. 401). [Ὅτι δὲ ᾿Αμάραντα
ὄρη ἐστὶ Κόλχων ἱστορεῖ Κτησίας ἐν β'.]
E LIBRIS DE FLUMINIBUS.
LIBER I.
FRAGMENTUM 1.
(Plutarch, de Flum. xix. 2). [Γεννᾶται δ᾽ ἐν τῷ ποταμῷ
τούτῳ (Alpheo) βοτάνη κεγχρῖτις προσαγορευομένη, μελι
κήρῳ παρόμοιος· ἣν οἱ ἰατροὶ καθέψοντες, πιεῖν διδόασιν
τοῖς ἀπηλλοτριωμένας ἔχουσι τὰς φρένας, καὶ ἀπαλλάττου
σιν αὐτοὺς τῆς μανίας καθὼς ἱστορεῖ Κτησίας ἐν α' περὶ
ποταμών.]
FRAGMENTU M 2.
(Servius ad Vergil, Georg. i. 182). [Ubi sit Eridanus
multi errant . . . Thesias (leg. Ctesias) hunc in Media
esse (putat).]
200
CTESIAE PERSICA.
E PERIPLO.
LIBER I.
FRAGMENTU M 1.
(Stephanus Byz.) [Σίγυνος, πόλις Αἰγυπτίων ὡς Κτη-
σίας ἐν πρώτῳ περίπλων.]
FRAGMENTUM 2.
(Suidas). [Σκιάποδες . . . ἔθνος ἐστὶ Λιβυκόν· Κτησίας ἐν
τῷ περίπλῳ Ασίας φησίν Ὑπὲρ δὲ τούτων Σκιάποδες. οἳ τούς
τε πόδας ὡς χῆνες ἔχουσι κάρτα πλατέας καὶ ὅταν θέρμη ᾖ,
ὕπτιον ἀναπεσόντες ἄραντες τὰ σκέλη, σκιάζονται τοῖς ποσί.
Fere eadem habent Photius, Lex., p. 384, Harpocra-
tion, p. 320.
LIBER III.
FRAGMENTUM 3.
(Steph. Byz.) [Κοσύτη, πόλις Ομβρικὴ, Κτησίας τρίτῃ
περιηγήσεως.]
FRAGMENTUM 4.
Tzetzes, Hist. viii. 987). [Κτησίας, πάντες ἄλλοι
λέγουσι τὴν εὐδαίμονα τυγχάνειν ᾿Αραβίαν, ὥσπερ καὶ γῆν
τὴν Ἰνδικὴν, εὐωδεστάτην ἄγαν ἀρώμασιν ἐκπνέουσαν, ὡς
καὶ τὴν γῆν ἐκείνης καὶ λίθους κοπτομένους δὲ ταύτης ἀρω-
ματίζειν· τοὺς δὲ ἀνθρώπους τοὺς ἐκεῖ λυθέντας εὐωδίαις,
ὀστᾶ τινὰ καὶ κέρατα καὶ φύσεις τὰς ἐζώδεις, τότε καπνί
ζεσθαι λοιπὸν καὶ ἀνακτᾶσθαι πάλιν.]
FRAGMENTUM 5.
(Servius ad Virg., Georg. i. 30). [Thule . . . miracula in
hac insula feruntur sicut apud Graecos Ctesias ... dicit.]
Periplus, fr. 2. Σκιάποδες] Compare Indika, fr. 84 (Müller), Plinius,
II. N., vii. 2.
CTESIAE PERSICA.
201
EX OPERE INCERTO.
(a)
FRAGMENTUM 1,
(ANTIGONUS, Hist. Mirab., 181).
Τὸ δ᾽ ἐκ τῆς πέτρας ᾿Αρμενίων ἐκπίπτον
[scil. ὕδωρ] [Κτησίαν ἱστορεῖν ὅτι] συμ-
βάλλει ἰχθὺς μέλανας, ὧν τὸν ἀπογευσά-
μενον τελευτᾶν.
(b)
(PLINIUS, Η. Ν. xxi. 2).
[Ctesias] in Armenia [scribit] esse
fontem, ex quo nigros pisces illico mor-
tem afferre in cibis.
E COMMENTARIIS MEDICIS (?)
FRAGMENTU M 1.
(Galenus, tom. v., p. 652). [Κατεγνώκασιν Ἱπποκρά
τους ἐπ' ἐμβαλεῖν τὸ κατ' ισχίον ἄρθρον, ὡς ἂν ἐκπίπτον
αὐτίκα, πρῶτος μὲν Κτησίας ὁ Κνίδιος συγγενὴς αὐτοῦ.]
FRAGMENTUM 2..
(Ex Oribasii codice Mosquensi). [Κτησίου περὶ ἑλλε
βόρου.]
Ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐμοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τοῦ ἐμοῦ πάππου ἰατρὸς οὐδεὶς
εἰσεδίδου ἑλλέβορον· οὐ γὰρ ἠπίσταντο τὴν κρᾶσιν αὐτοῦ
καὶ τὸ μέτρον καὶ σταθμὸν, ὁπόσον χρὴ διδόναι. Εἰ δέ τις
καὶ ἐδίδου ἑλλέβορον πιεῖν, διαθέσθαι πρῶτον ἐκέλευεν, ὡς
μέγαν κίνδυνον μέλλοντα κινδυνεύειν· τῶν δὲ πινόντων
πολλοὶ μὲν ἀπεπνίγοντο. Νῦν δὲ δοκεῖ ἀσφαλέστατον
εἶναι.
ΛΟΝΟΤΑΤIO CRITΙΟΛ.
Frag. 20. Σίμμα ὄντος]
«
Sic corr. Heeren, codd. Σιμοεντος.
Epit. 5. Οξυάρτης] Codd. Dindorfii A. B. D., Εξαόρτης; F.,
ὁ Ξαόρτης; G. Μ., ὁ Ζαόρτης; Poggius, Zoroastres et Zoroastes.”
Müllerus.
Epit. 12. Χαύονα] Αl. Χάθωνα, απ. Χάονα, αι. Χάνα.
Epit. 13. Αγβατάνων] Diodorus et Photius semper Εκβατάνων, &c.,
scribunt sed sec. Steph. Βyz. s. v. : Κτησίας δὲ πανταχοῦ τῶν Περσικῶν
τὰ παρὰ Μήδοις ᾿Αγβάτανα διὰ τοῦ α γράφει.
Epit. 23. Σαρδαναπάλου] Athenaei codices (vide fr. 14) Σαρδανά
παλλος duplicata littora λ praebent.
ἔτι δ᾽ ἑξήκοντα] Syncellus omit.
Epit. 24. τριακοστός] τριακοστὸς καὶ πέμπτος, sc. Syncellum,
p. 132.
Fr. 15 a. Σπαραμείζον] 17. Παραμείζον.
Fr. 19a, p. 100. 'Apraíov] 'Apßákov, Cod. Turon.
Νάναρον] Νάνυβρον, Codex h. 1.
Αρβάκεω] Αρβάκεως, Cod. Turon.
Ρ. 102. Μύλιττα] Μόλιν, Cod. Turon.
Γ. 103. Νανάρῳ] Νανύβρῳ, Cod. Turon.
Fr. 196. Νάνναρον ] Apud Athenaeum hodie legimus "Ανναρον.
Epit. 31. Αστιβαραν]
Γαρταμέρνην.”—Müllerus.
Fr. 20 α. Στραγγαίου]
« Codd. Dindorf. ; Α. Β. Γαρταμάρνην; 1.
Cod. τοῦ αγγαίου.
Epit. 33. Αγβατάνοις] Vide ad sect. 13.
Αμύτιν] Hoeschel et Codex Monacensis, "Αμυντιν.
Fr. 23. Αστυΐγα] Αστυάγη, Tzetzes.
Epit. 35. καὶ θνήσκει] καὶ οὐ θνήσκει, Baehrius.
καταφεύγει ὁ Κροῖσος] καταφεύγει καὶ θνήσκει· καὶ, Baelrius ; κατα
φεύγει ὁ Κροῖσος καὶ θνήσκει, 1. Η.
ADNOTATIO CRITICA.
203
Fr. 26. νομίζουσιν] Müller. conj. ποτίζουσιν.
Epit. 40. Ιζαβάτης] D. II. et Müll. ; ἐξαβάτης, Bael.; Ιζαλβάτης,
Cod. Monac.
ἦν μετὰ] 11. καὶ μετὰ.
ἑπτακισχίλιοι] δύο, Baehr.
Epit. 41 ad init. Μάγος]
Monac. et al. μέγας.
Τανυοξάρκην] Τανυξάρκην, Monac.
οὐδὲν . . ἐμέλετα] ἐπεὶ οὐδὲν ἀνελεῖν ἐμελέτα, Monac.; ἐπεὶ οὐδὲν
ἀνελῶν ἐμελέτα, Max. Margun.
Epit. 42. Λάβυζον] Αl. Λάβυξον.
Epit. 44. Νορονδάβατης] Νοροδαβάτης, D. Η.
Βαρίσσης] Βαρίσης, D. Η.
Epit. 47. Αριαράμνη] Πριαράμνῃ, Stephanus in edit. alt. ; 'Αριάμμη,
D. H.
Μαρσαγέτην] Μασαγέτην, Monac. et D. I.
Epit. 48. Σκυθάρχης] Monac.; Σκυθάρκης, Baehrius; Σκυθάρβης,
Beller et Müll.; Σκυράρκης, Σκυτάρβης, Σκυτάρης, αι.
Σκυθάρσεω] Σκυθάρκου, Monac.; Σκυθάρκου, Baehr.; σκυθάρων,
D. H.; Σκυθάρκεω, Mill.; Σκυθαρβέων, αι.
Χαλκηδονίων] Καρχηδονίων, Μonac. et D. H.; Χαλκεδονίων, Βaeh.
Epit. 49. Μηδικοῦ] Ποντικοῦ, D. I.
Epit. 50. οβ'] ιβ' πρὸ τῆς βασιλείας, Baehr.
Epit. 51. Ματάκας] Νατάκας, Bachrius et Müllerus hoc loco, δύνα-
τονατακας, Μonac.
§ 63. Λιβύον] Αl. Λυδίου; Baehr. Λυβίου.
§ 66. Σαρσάμαν] D. Η., Σαρτάμαν.
Αρτοξέρξην] Codd. et Müller., Ξέρξην; in marg. cod. Monac. man
correctoris, ἴσως ᾿Αρταξέρξην.
§ 67. 'Αμηστρις] Codd. "Αμυτις.
§ 68. ἱππέων] Codd. ἱππέων καὶ τῶν πεζῶν.
Οὔσιρις] D. Η., Όσιρις.
τοῦτο] Baehr., τοῦτον.
§ 69. Μενοστάνης] D. Η. et Müll., Μενοστάτης.
§ 70. σπείσασθαι] Cod. Monac., πείσασθαι.
εὐνοῦχος] Cod. Monac. omit.
Fr. 31. 'Αρτοξέρξης] Apud Stephanum, Αρταξέρξης.
§ 73. βληχρῶς] Monac., αὐλησχρῶς; D. Η., ἀβλησχρῶς.
§ 74. τελευτᾷ, κ. τ. λ.] Haec verba desunt in cod. Monac.
204
ADNOTATIO CRITICA.
§ 75. ἐν ᾗ καὶ Ξέρξης] Conj. Baehr., 'Αρτοξέρξης.
Σεκυδιανός ] Bachr., Σεκυνδιανός.
Κοσμαρτιδηνῆς] Ι). Η., γυναῖκος Μαρτίδηνης.
αὕτη--ἐγένετο] Forte hic omittenda et inserenda post οἰκεῖα.
§ 76. Φαρνακύαν τὸν εὐνοῦχον] Verba τὸν εὐνοῦχον desunt in Cod.
Monac.
§ 83. Τισαφέρνης] Bachrius, Τισσαφέρνης.
Τισαφέρνῃ δοὺς τὴν] “D. Η., Τίσσαφερνίδης τήν. Atque ita reapse
in libro Monacensi ubi tamen ante Τισσοφ. signum correct. manu positun
reperitur hoc quo aliquid excidisse indicetur; quanquam in margine
nihil omnino suppletum."-Baehrius.
§ 86. Μιτραδάτης] D. Η., Μιθριδάτης.
Ad fin. lib. xviii., Τέλος, κ. τ. λ.] Ita Bachrius, « Ex. D. Hoesch.
editione sunt recepta, in marg. libri Monac. appicta." Millerus legit,
τελευτᾷ ἡ ιη'.
§ 89. Συέννεσις] " Συέννεσις etiam Cod. Vatic. et Max. Margunii.
1). Η., Συνέννεσις obloquente libro Monac. qui haec verba usque ad
Αρτοξέρξη in margine habet suppleta.”Bachrius.
Αρταβάριος] ΒBaehr., καὶ ὁ βάρβαρος; αι., καὶ ᾿Αρβάριος.
ἅμα τῶν—κατάληψης] Monac., ἅμα τοῖς σὺν αὐτῷ Ἕλλησι καὶ τοῖς τῆς
Παρυσάτιδος πόλεως μιᾶς κατάληψις.
§ 90. Μιτραδάτην]
adnot.).
1). Η., Μιθριδάτην; Bachr., Μιθραδάτην (in
§ 94. Ρόδῳ] D. H., λόγῳ.
Fr. 46. Balacus] Steph., Balancus.
Mancalacus] Al. Macchalacus; al. Manchalius.
an. 30 (post nomen Mancalaci)] Arm. Euseb. 32.
Ασχάλιος ἔτη κή] 11. κβ'.
Iphereus] 1l. Sphorus, an. 22.
Mamylas] Al. Mamitus.
Ascades] Al. Askatades; Arm., Astakadis.
Bellothus] Al. Belochus, "Hujus filia Actosa quae et Semiramis
regnat cum patre an 7."--Euseb. in Vers. Hieron.
Pannias
45] Al. 42.
Σφαίρος . kß'] Al. kn'.
•
Ασκατάδης . · . μή]
μή]
ΑΙ. λή.
Tautanes 26, an. 32] Al. 31, “Sub isto Tautane rege Assyriorum
Troia capta est."-Euseb. in Vers. Hieron., fo. 39.
ADNOTATIO CRITICA.
205
Tautous] Al. Teuteos.
Eupoles] Al. Eupacmes.
Orphrateus
20] Al. 21.
Acrazapes] Arm., Okrazapes; al. Acraganes.
Sardanapulas, an. 20], "Sub Ariphrone Assyriorum regnum destruc-
tum, et Sardanapalum ut nonnulli scriptitant eodem tempore Tharsum et
Anchialem condidit, et in proelio victus ab Arbace Medo, semet incendio
concremavit.”—Eus. in Vers. Hieron., fo. 52.
Fr. 47. Μαδαύκης] Αl. Μανδαύκης,
206
CORRIGENDA ET ADDENDA.
CORRIGENDA ET ADDENDA.
Introduction, p. 1, line 19] For "Sparta," read “Rhodes.”
§ 8, p. 42, λív0ois] The discovery by the French archæologists at
Susa of whole walls covered with splendidly coloured scenes of the
Achaemenid period, wrought in enamelled bricks, should have been also
referred to.
iepòv
§ 8, p. 44, ἱερὸν Διός, ὃν καλοῦσιν Βῆλον] A Babylonian description
of the Temple of Bel at Babylon is quoted by Sayce, Hibbert Lectures,
p. 43, sq. (from George Smith). From this it appears that the building was
surrounded by several courts, of which the outer was 1156 ft. × 900 ft.
In the inner court was a building 200 ft. x 200 ft. connected with the
great Ziggurat, or tower, round the base of which were ranged the chapel.
of the chief gods; viz., on the east, Nebo and his wife Tasmit and
fourteen others; on the north, Ea and Nusku; on the south, Anu and
Bel; on the west was a building which contained the couch of the god
and the golden throne, mentioned by Herodotus. The Ziggurat was one
of seven stages, the highest stage being the sanctuary of Bel; the total
height was about 300 feet. The temple (which bore the title of E-Saggil)
is said to have been founded by Khammuragas (B.c. 2250, according to
Sayce). Just within the gate was the seat or shrine of Zarpanit, the wife
of Bel-Merodach, and perhaps the Hera of Ktesias.
Fr. 10. Zakéav] Sayce (Hibbert Lectures, p. 68), proposes to identify
the Babylonian Sakea with the festival of Zagmuku, held at the begin-
ning of the year.
§ 30 Hapσúdŋv] Sayce (Hibbert Lectures, p. 157) while adopting
Lenormant's explanation of the name of Nannarus, compares for that of
Parsondes the town of Parsindu, near Agbatana.
*
§ 52, Beλitavâ Tápov] The name Bel-etan, i.c. "Bel the mighty'
(scarcely Bλos & apxaîos, as in Aelian, V. H. xiv. 3), has been con-
jecturally read on a seal cylinder from the Lebanon.-(Proc. S. B. 4.
vi. 17.)
Fr. 46. Sosarmus] Assyrian royal name Shamas-rimmon.
=
Teutamus] "The man of the sea, or tavtim, the name by which the
sea coast of Babylonia, with its capital Eridu, was known."-- Sayce (Hibb.
Lect., p. 109.)
Acraganes] Assyrian royal name = Sargon, according to Sayce.
PRINCIPAL AUTHORITIES AND EDITIONS
CITED IN THE INTRODUCTION AND NOTES.
ABYDENUS.-In Müller's Fragmenta Hist. Graec., vol. iv.: Paris, Didot,
1851.
ACADEMY, THE.
AESCHYLUS.-In Dindorf's Poetae Scenici Graeci: London, Nutt, 1868.
AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS.-Hamburg, Froeben, 1609.
APOLLODORUS.-In Müller's Fragmenta Hist. Graec., vol. i.
ARISTOPHANES.-In Dindorf's Poetae Scenici Graeci.
ARISTOTELES.-Ethika, ed. Jelf: Oxford, Parker, 1871.
Politika, ed. Congreve: London, Longmans, 1874.
ARRIANUS.-Exped. Alex., and Indika, Blancardus: Amsterdam, 1668.
ASIATIC SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN, Journal of.
BABELON.-Continuation of Lenormant's Histoire ancienne de l'Orient.
BAEHR.-Ctesiae Cnidii Operum Reliquiae: Frankfurt, Broenner, 1824.
BALL, VALENTINE.-In Proceedings of the Royal Dublin Society, vol. iv.,
N. S., and Academy, vols. xxiii., xxv., xxvii.
BEROSUS.-In Müller's Frag. Hist. Graec., vol. ii., and in Bunsen's
Egypt's Place in the World's History.
BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, SOCIETY OF.-Proceedings and Transactions.
BION.-In Müller's Frag. Hist. Graec., vol. iv.
BOSCAWEN.—In Transactions of Soc. Bibl. Arch., vol. vi.
BROWN, R.-In Academy, vol. xxix.
BRUGSCH.-History of Egypt, translated by Philip Smith: London,
Murray, 1881.
BUDGE, E.—Babylonian Life and History: London, 1884.
In Proceedings and Transactions S. B. A., and Transactions,
Victoria Institute.
BUNSEN.-Egypt's Place in the World's History, English translation :
London, 1848–51.
M
208
PRINCIPAL AUTHORITIES.
CURTIUS, Q.-Amsterdam, ex officina Elzeviriana, 1673.
DEINON.-In Müller's Frag. Hist. Graec., vol. ii.
DIODORUS SICULUS.--Leipzic, Holtze (Tauchnitz), 1871-79.
DIONYSIUS MILESIUS.-In Müller's Frag. Hist. Graec., vol. ii.
DUBLIN SOCIETY, THE ROYAL.-Proceedings of.
DUNCKER.-History of Antiquity, translated by E. Abbott: London,
1877-79.
EPHORUS.In Müller's Frag. Hist. Graec., vol. i.
EUSEBIUS.-Chronicon in Latin version, by S. Jerome: Paris, Stephanus,
1518.
FRONTINUS-Strategemata: Leyden, Maire, 1633.
GEIGER. Civilization of the Eastern Iranians, English translation, by
Darab Dastur Peshotan Sanjana: London, Frowde, 1885-7.
HAUG.-Essays: London, Trübner, 1878.
HEBREW BIBLE.-Doederlein and Meissner, 1818.
HEEREN.-Historical Researches, vols. i. and ii., Asiatic Nations, English
translation: London, Bohn, 1866.
HEKATAEUS.—In Müller's Frag. Hist. Graec., vol. i.
HELLANIKUS.-In Müller's Frag. Hist. Graec., vol. ii.
HERMIPPUS.-In Müller's Frag. Hist. Gracc., vol. iii.
HERODOTUS.-Ed. Dindorf: Paris, Didot.
i.-iii., ed. Sayce: London, Macmillan, 1883.
English translation, by Rawlinson, 4th ed.: London,
Murray, 1880.
HESIODUS.-Ed. Schrevelius: London, Brewster and Baker, 1659.
HIERONYMUS (JEROME).—Latin version of Chronicon of Eusebius, Ste-
phanus Paris, 1518.
HINCKS.-In Journal of Sacred Literature, vol. ii., new series.
HISTORICAL REVIEW, ENGLISH.—Vol. ii.
HOMERUS.-Odysseia: Oxford, Parker, 1868.
JUSTINUS.-Dublin, Smith, 1811.
KASTOR.-Ed. Müller: Paris, Didot.
KEPHALION.—In Müller's Frag. Hist. Graec., vol. iii.
LAYARD.-Nineveh and Babylon: London, Murray, 1853.
LENORMANT.-Manuel d'Histoire Ancienne de l'Orient: Paris, 1869.
Histoire Ancienne de l'Orient, 9 édition: Paris, Levy,
1881-6 (continued by Babelon).
Les Origines de l'Histoire d'après la Bible.
PRINCIPAL AUTHORITIES.
209
LIVIUS, TITUS.-London, 1869–71.
LOFTUS.-Chaldaea and Susiana: London, Nisbet, 1857.
MACROBIUS.-Ed. Zeunius: Leipsic, 1774.
MALCOLM, SIR J.-History of Persia: London, Murray, 1815.
MANETHO.-In Bunsen's Egypt's Place.
MEGASTHENES.-In Müller's Frag. Hist. Graec., vol. ii.
MNASEAS.-In Müller's Frag. Hist. Graec., vol. iii.
MOSES OF CHORENE.-Ed. Whiston: London, 1736.
MÜLLER, C.-Ctesiae Cnidii Fragmenta: Paris, Didot.
MÜLLER, K.-Dorians: Oxford, 1830.
NEPOS, CORNELIUS.-Ed. Bradley: London, Longmans, 1823.
NIKOLAUS.-In Müller's Frag. Hist. Graec., vol. iii.
NORRIS, E.-Memoir on the Scythic Version of the Behistun Inscription
in Journal R. As. Soc.: London, 1853.
OPPERT.-In Proceedings and Transactions, S. B. A., and in Records of
the Past.
OVIDIUS.-In Walker's Corpus Poet. Lat.: London, Bell, 1878.
PARIAN CHRONICLE.-In Müller's Frag. Hist. Graec., vol. i.
PATERCULUS, VELLEIUS.-Ed. Thysius: Leyden, 1653.
PHILO BYBLIUS..-In Bunsen's Egypt's Place, and Müller's Frag. Hist.
Graec.
PHILOLOGICAL MUSEUM.-Vol. ii.: Cambridge, London, and Oxford,
1833.
PINCHES, T.-In Proceedings and Transactions of the Society of Biblical
Archaeology.
PLINIUS.-Historia Naturalis: Basle, Froben, 1530.
POLYAENUS.-Maasivicius: Leyden, 1691.
POLYBIUS.-Leipsic, Tauchnitz (and Holtze), 1836-66.
POLYHISTOR.-In Müller's Frag. Hist. Graec., vol. iii.
PTOLEMAEUS, CLAUDIUS.-Canon of kings in Bunsen's Egypt's Place.
QUINTUS SMYRNAEUS.-Ed. de Pauu: Leyden, Van Abcoude, 1734.
RAWLINSON, G.-Translation of Herodotus, 4th ed., London, Murray, 1880.
Five Monarchies.
1867.
Seventh Great Oriental Monarchy: London, Longmans,
RECORDS OF THE PAST.-London, Bagster.
SACRED LITERATURE.-Journal of.
SAYCE, A. H..-Herodotos: London, Macmillan, 1883.
P
210
PRINCIPAL AUTHORITIES.
SAYCE, A. H.-In Journal of Sacred Literature, Academy, Proceedings
and Transactions, Soc. Bibl. Arch., and Records of the
Past.
Hibbert Lectures: London, 1887.
SEPTUAGINTA INTERPRETES.-Vetus Testamentum Graece juxta, ed.
Tischendorf: Leipsic, Brockhaus, 1880.
SMITH, GEORGE.-Assyrian Discoveries, London, 1875.
Chaldaean Account of Genesis: London, 1876.
PHILIP. The Ancient History of the East: London, Murray,
1871.
Translation of and additions to Brugsch's History of
Egypt.
ROBERTSON.-In English Historical Review, vol. ii.
WILLIAM.-Dictionary of the Bible, London, Murray 1863.
STEPHANUS BYZANTINUS.-Leyden, 1694.
STEPHANUS, H. (the elder).-Chronicon of Eusebius (Latin version), 1518.
(the younger). Herodotus and Ktesias, 1570.
STRABO.-Leipsic, Tauchnitz, 1829.
SUIDAS. Ed. Aemilius Portus, Geneva, 1619.
TACITUS.-Annales, Frost: London, 1872.
THEODOTION.—Greek version of Daniel, in Tischendorf's LXX.
THUKYDIDES.-i.-iv., ed. Bigg and Simcox: London, &c. Rivingtons,
1868-75.
v.-viii., ed. Boehme: Leipsic, Teubner, 1871.
TOUP.-Emendationes in Suidam et Hesychium: Oxford, 1790.
VALERIUS MAXIMUS.-Ed. Thysius, Leyden, Hackius, 1651.
WILKINSON, SIR G.-In Rawlinson's Herodotus.
XANTHUS.-In Müller's Frag. Hist. Graec., vol. i.
XENOPHON.-Anabasis: London, 1871.
Kyropædia, ed. Hutchinson: Glasgow, 1814.
ZENDAVESTA.—English version of portions, in Haug's Essays.
INDEX.
Adar see Nin.
Aethiopians, customs of the, 55.
Eastern, 69.
Agbatana, 51, 93, 126.
Amasis, King of Egypt, 139.
Ammon, 54.
Amyrtaeus, 139.
Apries, King of Egypt, 138.
Arbakes, 76, 92.
Artoxerxes I., 160.
II., inscription of, 33; reign
of, 173.
Askalon, 24.
Asphaltum, in Babylonia, 48.
Assyrian empire, duration of, 13, 76,
90, 194.
extent of, 19.
Assyrian kings, Greek lists of, 15.
Astyages, overthrow of, 111, 123.
Atossa, 12.
Babylon, founded, 17, 37.
87.
position of under the Medes,
Bel, temple of, at Babylon, 44, 153.
Bricks, enamelled, 42, 205.
Burial, customs of various nations
respecting, 55, 138, 147.
Chronicles, the Royal, of Persia, 9,
98, 121.
Conspirators against the Magus, the
seven, 147.
Dareius the Mede, 88.
son of Hystaspes, 147, 169.
his tomb, 150.
Ochus, 167; length of his
reign, 173.
Egypt, 54.
conquered by Kambyses, 138.
revolts, 160.
Er, legend of, 51.
Evagoras, King of Salamis, 188–9.
Euphrates, 21, 81.
Herodotus, 10, 11, 122.
authorities respecting Kyrus' Hierapolis, or Bambyke, 24.
conquest of, 122.
revolt of under Xerxes, 154.
in Egypt, 54.
Baktria, 10, 20, 30.
Bamboo, 59.
Barsom, 18.
Behistun, monuments at, 49.
Inarus, revolt and death of, 161-3.
India, invaded by Semiramis, 56.
Ionic revolt, 152.
dialect, used by Ktesias, 4-5.
Ishtar, the goddess, 11, 50.
Izdubar, 11, 50.
212
INDEX.
Kadusians, 19, 99, 112.
Kalah, ziggurat at, 37.
Kambyses, 138.
duration of his reign, 144.
Kashmir, 134.
Kissians, or Elamites, 69.
Klearchus, 185-8.
Konon, 189.
Ktesias, his life and works, 1–5.
his credibility, 5, 9.
Kyrus, King of Persia, 111-137.
death of, 135.
tomb of, 136.
the Younger, 169, 174–9.
Lydia, early kings of, 16.
conquered by Kyrus, 129.
Magian revolt, 140.
Oannes, or Onnes, 13, 25.
Obelisks, Assyrian, 47.
Oebares, 113, 130, 132.
Parsondas, legend of, 95, 98.
Parysatis, 167, 173.
Persian words in Ktesias, 5.
Persian kings, chronology of, down
to Dareius I., 143–7.
Plataea, battle of, 156.
Rimmon-nirari, King of Assyria, 11.
Sakans, 128.
Sakea, festival of the, 65.
Sardanapalus, 14, 68-91, 192.
Sardis taken, 129.
Semiramis, 11, 24, 37.
Sesostris, 21.
Skiapodes, 200.
Skythians, 128, 151.
Magophonia, 149.
Mardonius, 148, 156.
Matakas, 153, 158.
Mazdayasnian religion, 31, 149.
Media, 18, 92.
Kings of, 93-4, 192.
Megabyzus, 154, 161–5.
Memnon, legend of, 69-72.
Mithridates, 181.
Mulitta, 102.
Nabonassar, 15.
Nabonidus, 87.
Nannarus, legend of, 100-7.
Nebuchadrezzar, 11, 38, 45.
Nergal-shar-uzur, 89.
Nin, or Ninus, 13, 15.
Nineveh, 13, 21.
fall of, 73-91.
Stateira, 171.
poisoned, 187.
Susa, 71.
Tarsus founded, 74.
Thule, 200.
Troy, 69-73.
"Yπaрxos, meaning of, 82.
War, engines of, used by the As-
syrians, 84.
Xenophon, credibility of his Kyro-
paedia, 17, 125.
Xerxes I., 152.
II., 166.
Zarina, legend of, 107.
Zendavesta, 30, 95.
Zoroaster, 29.
THE END.
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