Tales from Herodotus

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21759, 16 April 1936, Page 5 (Supplement)

Tales from Herodotus

(Herodotus, the first historian, was born in B.C. 484 in the Greek city of Halicarnassus. His history describes the rapid rise of Persia to world empire, and the collapse of her attempt to subdue Greece. He travelled extensively in the Persian Empire and among the Greek cities to collect material for his work, which he probably wrote in his old age. He is unrivalled for the vigour and liveliness of his narrative, and is weakest in his understanding of national policy and of chronology.) —How Cyrus Became King At the time wlien Cyrus was born, the Medes ruled over the Persians. Astyages, the King of the Medes, had a vision; he dreamed that he saw the mother of Cyrus, and from her there grew up a vine which overshadowed all Asia. He was alarmed at the dream, and consulted his wise men, the Magi; and they told him that Cyrus was destined to take the kingdom from him and make the Medes subject to the Persians. When he heard this, Astyages sent his kinsman Harpagus to put Cyrus to death. But Harpagus feared the anger of the mother of Cyrus, and instead of obeying Astyages himself, he gave the boy to a slave, a herdsman, who fed his cattle on the mountains, and bade him kill the boy. But it happened that the herdsman's own child had just died, and when he came home his wife begged him to let her bring up Cyrus instead. At first he refused, for Harpagus had threatened to punish him terribly if he did not obey the command; but at last he was persuaded. So Cyrus grew up, believing that he was the son of the herdsman; but because he had royal blood he surpassed all the boys of his village in their games. One day when they were playing they made Cyrus their king, and promised to obey all his commands; and he appointed some of them to be the officials of his court, and others he set to work to build houses, and others were to be his soldiers. But one of the boys was the son of a nobleman of the Medes, and this boy refused to obey Cyrus, thinking it an indignity that he should have to obey the son of a slave; so Cyrus commanded the other boys to flog him. The boy ran home to his father, weeping; and his father went to the court of Astyages and complained bitterly, saying, "Oh. King, see how my son has been treated by' the son of a herdsman, your slave. Will you allow your nobles to be shamed in this way?" Astyages was angry when he saw this, and sent for the herdsman and Cyrus, intending to punish them. When they came before him, he asked Cyrus, "How is it that you, the son of a slave, have dared to treat the son of a noble in this way?" But Cyrus answered, "Sir, I punished him Justly. The boys in my village chose me to be their king in play, and promised to obey my commands. He alone refused, and therefore I ordered them to flog him." While he was speaking, Astyages had been watchin? him, and he had guessed that he was Cyrus, by his likeness to his mother. To make certain, he took the herdsman apart into another room, and ordered him to say truly how he had got the boy. When he learnt that the boy was still the king feared greatly. He called together the Magi whom he had consulted before, and explained the whole matter to them.

(By W.EM.)

They consulted together, and said, "If the boy is still alive and has already been called a king; you need no longer be anxious about your dream, for it is the nature of dreams that they are often fulfilled by small events." So Astyages no longer feared Cyrus, but gave him presents and sent him away to Persia to his own parents. The herdsman also he sent away unharmed, thinking little of his offence; but he punished Harpagus cruelly. Now Astyages was a cruel king, and he was hated by many of his nobles; and Harpagus, wishing for revenge, always remembered the king's dream. So when Cyrus became a man, he sent a letter to him secretly, saying, "O, Cyrus, it is right that you should be an enemy of Astyages. since he tried to murder you when you were a child. Now therefore you must raise an army in Persia and attack the king; and if you do so, many nobles of the Medes will join you, and many will fight badly for Astyages on purpose." When Cyrus heard this, he debated in himself as to what he had best do; and he made the following plan. He wrote a letter, pretending that it had come from the king, •and then he called together the Persians, and said to them, "Men of Persia, the king has appointed me to be your commander; and he bids you come here to-morrow with spades and axes." Now there was in that part of Persia a large tract of land which was all covered with scrub; and Cyrus made the Persians toil all day in the hot sun to clear it. When night came he sent them home, telling them to come again the next day. Then Cyrus told his servants to kill all his father's sheep and cattle, and prepare them for a banquet. When the Persians came on the following day, he made them sit down on the turf and feasted them and made merry all that day. In the evening he asked them which they preferred, the feast, or the toil of the previous day; and they replied that they preferred to feast. Then Cyrus said to them, "Men of Persia, as long as you are the slaves of the Medes. be sure that you will toil all your days. But if you make me your general, we can defeat the Medes, and then they will be your slaves; and all your lives you will have such good things as you have had to-day." So the Persians resolved to revolt from Astyages. When the king heard what Cyrus was doing, he sent a messenger to summon him to the court; but Cyrus replied that he would come sooner than he was looked for. Thereupon Astyages armed all the Medes and sent them against the Persians; but the gods made him mad, for he put Harpagus in command of them, forgetting the injury he had done him; and when the battle began, many of the Medes went over to Gyrus, so that their army was put to flight. When he heard this, Astyages was very angry. First he put to death all the Magi who had advised him to let Cyrus go when he was a boy; then he armed all the Medes who were left in the city, even the old men and boys, and led them out 'against Cyrus. But the Medes were beaten and Astyages himself was taken prisoner. Thus Cyrus conquered the Medes, and the Persians ruled them ever after. But as ; for Astyages, Cyrus kept him at his court, and did him no further injury,