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Tiresias: The Ancient Mediterranean Religions Source Database



11241
Xenophon, The Education Of Cyrus, 4.6.11


οὕτω δὴ οὗτος μὲν ᾤχετο ἡγεμόνα καταλιπών. οἱ δὲ Μῆδοι παρῆσαν, ἃ μὲν οἱ μάγοι ἔφρασαν τοῖς θεοῖς ἐξελεῖν, ἀποδόντες τοῖς μάγοις, Κύρῳ δʼ ἐξῃρηκότες τὴν καλλίστην σκηνὴν καὶ τὴν Σουσίδα γυναῖκα, ἣ καλλίστη δὴ λέγεται ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ γυνὴ γενέσθαι, καὶ μουσουργοὺς δὲ δύο τὰς κρατίστας, δεύτερον δὲ Κυαξάρῃ τὰ δεύτερα, τοιαῦτα δὲ ἄλλα ὧν ἐδέοντο ἑαυτοῖς ἐκπληρώσαντες, ὡς μηδενὸς ἐνδεόμενοι στρατεύωνται· πάντα γὰρ ἦν πολλά.With these words he was gone, leaving a guide behind. And then the Medes came in, after they How the spoils were divided had delivered to the magi what the magi had directed them to set apart for the gods. And they had selected for Cyrus the most splendid tent and the lady of Susa, who was said to be the most beautiful woman in Asia, and two of the most accomplished music-girls; and afterward they had selected for Cyaxares the next best. They had also supplied themselves with such other things as they needed, so that they might continue the campaign in want of nothing; for there was an abundance of everything.


Intertexts (texts cited often on the same page as the searched text):

3 results
1. Herodotus, Histories, 1.8-1.12, 1.187, 2.100, 3.68-3.69, 3.119, 4.162-4.167, 4.200-4.205, 9.76 (5th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)

1.8. This Candaules, then, fell in love with his own wife, so much so that he believed her to be by far the most beautiful woman in the world; and believing this, he praised her beauty beyond measure to Gyges son of Dascylus, who was his favorite among his bodyguard; for it was to Gyges that he entrusted all his most important secrets. ,After a little while, Candaules, doomed to misfortune, spoke to Gyges thus: “Gyges, I do not think that you believe what I say about the beauty of my wife; men trust their ears less than their eyes: so you must see her naked.” Gyges protested loudly at this. ,“Master,” he said, “what an unsound suggestion, that I should see my mistress naked! When a woman's clothes come off, she dispenses with her modesty, too. ,Men have long ago made wise rules from which one ought to learn; one of these is that one should mind one's own business. As for me, I believe that your queen is the most beautiful of all women, and I ask you not to ask of me what is lawless.” 1.9. Speaking thus, Gyges resisted: for he was afraid that some evil would come of it for him. But this was Candaules' answer: “Courage, Gyges! Do not be afraid of me, that I say this to test you, or of my wife, that you will have any harm from her. I will arrange it so that she shall never know that you have seen her. ,I will bring you into the chamber where she and I lie and conceal you behind the open door; and after I have entered, my wife too will come to bed. There is a chair standing near the entrance of the room: on this she will lay each article of her clothing as she takes it off, and you will be able to look upon her at your leisure. ,Then, when she moves from the chair to the bed, turning her back on you, be careful she does not see you going out through the doorway.” 1.10. As Gyges could not escape, he consented. Candaules, when he judged it to be time for bed, brought Gyges into the chamber; his wife followed presently, and when she had come in and was laying aside her garments, Gyges saw her; ,when she turned her back upon him to go to bed, he slipped from the room. The woman glimpsed him as he went out, and perceived what her husband had done. But though shamed, she did not cry out or let it be seen that she had perceived anything, for she meant to punish Candaules; ,since among the Lydians and most of the foreign peoples it is felt as a great shame that even a man be seen naked. 1.11. For the present she made no sign and kept quiet. But as soon as it was day, she prepared those of her household whom she saw were most faithful to her, and called Gyges. He, supposing that she knew nothing of what had been done, answered the summons; for he was used to attending the queen whenever she summoned him. ,When Gyges came, the lady addressed him thus: “Now, Gyges, you have two ways before you; decide which you will follow. You must either kill Candaules and take me and the throne of Lydia for your own, or be killed yourself now without more ado; that will prevent you from obeying all Candaules' commands in the future and seeing what you should not see. ,One of you must die: either he, the contriver of this plot, or you, who have outraged all custom by looking on me uncovered.” Gyges stood awhile astonished at this; presently, he begged her not to compel him to such a choice. ,But when he could not deter her, and saw that dire necessity was truly upon him either to kill his master or himself be killed by others, he chose his own life. Then he asked: “Since you force me against my will to kill my master, I would like to know how we are to lay our hands on him.” ,She replied, “You shall come at him from the same place where he made you view me naked: attack him in his sleep.” 1.12. When they had prepared this plot, and night had fallen, Gyges followed the woman into the chamber (for Gyges was not released, nor was there any means of deliverance, but either he or Candaules must die). She gave him a dagger and hid him behind the same door; ,and presently he stole out and killed Candaules as he slept. Thus he made himself master of the king's wife and sovereignty. He is mentioned in the iambic verses of Archilochus of Parus who lived about the same time. 1.187. There was a trick, too, that this same queen contrived. She had a tomb made for herself and set high over the very gate of that entrance of the city which was used most, with writing engraved on the tomb, which read: ,“If any king of Babylon in the future is in need of money, let him open this tomb and take as much as he likes: but let him not open it unless he is in need; for it will be the worse for him.” ,This tomb remained untouched until the kingship fell to Darius. He thought it a very strange thing that he should never use this gate, or take the money when it lay there and the writing itself invited him to. ,The reason he did not use the gate was that the dead body would be over his head as he passed through. ,After opening the tomb, he found no money there, only the dead body, with writing which read: “If you were ever satisfied with what you had and did not disgrace yourself seeking more, you would not have opened the coffins of the dead.” Such a woman, it is recorded, was this queen. 2.100. After him came three hundred and thirty kings, whose names the priests recited from a papyrus roll. In all these many generations there were eighteen Ethiopian kings, and one queen, native to the country; the rest were all Egyptian men. ,The name of the queen was the same as that of the Babylonian princess, Nitocris. She, to avenge her brother (he was king of Egypt and was slain by his subjects, who then gave Nitocris the sovereignty) put many of the Egyptians to death by treachery. ,She built a spacious underground chamber; then, with the pretence of inaugurating it, but with quite another intent in her mind, she gave a great feast, inviting to it those Egyptians whom she knew to have had the most complicity in her brother's murder; and while they feasted, she let the river in upon them by a vast secret channel. ,This was all that the priests told of her, except that when she had done this she cast herself into a chamber full of hot ashes, to escape vengeance. 3.68. Such was his proclamation at the beginning of his reign; but in the eighth month he was exposed in the following manner. There was one Otanes, son of Pharnaspes, as well-born and rich a man as any Persian. ,This Otanes was the first to guess that the Magus was not Cyrus' son Smerdis and who, in fact, he was; the reason was, that he never left the acropolis nor summoned any notable Persian into his presence. And having formed this suspicion Otanes did as follows: ,Cambyses had taken his daughter, whose name was Phaedyme; this same girl the Magus had now and he lived with her and with all Cambyses' other wives. Otanes sent to this daughter, asking at what man's side she lay, with Smerdis, Cyrus' son, or with some other? ,She sent back a message that she did not know; for (she said) she had never seen Cyrus' son Smerdis, nor did she know who her bedfellow was. Then Otanes sent a second message, to this effect: “If you do not know Cyrus' son Smerdis yourself, then find out from Atossa who it is that she and you are living with; for surely she knows her own brother.” ,To this his daughter replied: “I cannot communicate with Atossa, nor can I see any other of the women of the household; for no sooner had this man, whoever he is, made himself king, than he sent us to live apart, each in her own appointed place.” 3.69. When Otanes heard that, he saw more clearly how the matter stood; and he sent her this third message: ,“Daughter, your noble birth obliges you to run any risk that your father commands you to face. If this man is not Smerdis son of Cyrus but who I think he is, then he must not get away with sleeping with you and sitting on the throne of Persia, but be punished. ,Now, then, when he lies with you and you see that he is sleeping, feel his ears; if he has ears, rest assured that you are living with Smerdis son of Cyrus; but if he has none, it is Smerdis the Magus.” ,Phaedyme answered by messenger that she would run a very great risk by so doing; for if it should turn out that he had no ears, and she were caught feeling for them, he would surely kill her; nevertheless she would do it. ,So she promised to do this for her father. Cyrus son of Cambyses during his reign cut off the ears of this Magus Smerdis for some grave reason. ,So Phaedyme, daughter of Otanes, performed her promise to her father. When it was her turn to go to the Magus (for their wives go in sequence to the Persians), she came to his bed and felt for the Magus' ears while he slumbered deeply; and having with no great difficulty assured herself that he had no ears, she sent and told this to her father as soon as it was morning. 3.119. They showed themselves to the king and told him why they had been treated so. Darius, fearing that the six had done this by common consent, sent for each and asked his opinion, whether they approved what had been done; ,and being assured that they had no part in it, he seized Intaphrenes with his sons and all his household—for he strongly suspected that the man was plotting a rebellion with his kinsmen—and imprisoned them with the intention of putting them to death. ,Then Intaphrenes' wife began coming to the palace gates, weeping and lamenting; and by continuing to do this same thing she persuaded Darius to pity her; and he sent a messenger to tell her, “Woman, King Darius will allow one of your imprisoned relatives to survive, whomever you prefer of them all.” ,After considering she answered, “If indeed the king gives me the life of one, I chose from them all my brother.” ,Darius was astonished when he heard her answer, and sent someone who asked her: “Woman, the king asks you with what in mind you abandon your husband and your children and choose to save the life of your brother, who is less close to you than your children and less dear than your husband?” ,“O King,” she answered, “I may have another husband, if a god is willing, and other children, if I lose these; but since my father and mother are no longer living, there is no way that I can have another brother; I said what I did with that in mind.” ,Darius thought that the woman answered well, and for her sake he released the one for whom she had asked, and the eldest of her sons as well; he put to death all the rest. Thus immediately perished one of the seven. 4.162. During the life of this Battus, these ordices held good, but in the time of his son Arcesilaus much contention arose about the king's rights. ,Arcesilaus, son of the lame Battus and Pheretime, would not abide by the ordices of Demonax, but demanded back the prerogatives of his forefathers, and made himself head of a faction; but he was defeated and banished to Samos, and his mother fled to Salamis in Cyprus. ,Now Salamis at this time was ruled by Evelthon, who dedicated that marvellous censer at Delphi which stands in the treasury of the Corinthians. Pheretime came to him, asking him for an army to bring her and her son back to Cyrene; ,Evelthon was willing to give her everything else, only not an army, and when she accepted what he gave her, she said that it was fine, but it would be better to give her an army as she asked. ,This she said whatever the gift, until at last Evelthon sent her a golden spindle and distaff, and wool, and when Pheretime uttered the same words as before, he answered that these, and not armies, were gifts for women. 4.163. Meanwhile Arcesilaus was in Samos, collecting all the men that he could and promising them a new division of land; and while a great army was thus gathering, he made a journey to Delphi, to ask the oracle about his return. ,The priestess gave him this answer: quote type="oracle"“For the lifetimes of four Battuses and four Arcesilauses, eight generations of men, Loxias grants to your house the kingship of Cyrene; more than this he advises you not even to try. /quote , quoteBut you, return to your country and live there in peace. But if you find the oven full of amphora, do not bake the amphora, but let them go unscathed. And if you bake them in the oven, do not go into the tidal place; for if you do, then you shall be killed yourself, and also the bull that is fairest of the herd.” /quote This was the oracle given by the priestess to Arcesilaus. 4.164. But he returned to Cyrene with the men from Samos, and having made himself master of it he forgot the oracle, and demanded justice upon his enemies for his banishment. ,Some of these left the country altogether; others, Arcesilaus seized and sent away to Cyprus to be killed there. These were carried off their course to Cnidus, where the Cnidians saved them and sent them to Thera. Others of the Cyrenaeans fled for refuge into a great tower that belonged to one Aglomachus, a private man, and Arcesilaus piled wood around it and burnt them there. ,Then, perceiving too late that this was the meaning of the Delphic oracle which forbade him to bake the amphora if he found them in the oven, he deliberately refrained from going into the city of the Cyrenaeans, fearing the death prophesied and supposing the tidal place to be Cyrene. ,Now he had a wife who was a relation of his, a daughter of Alazir king of the Barcaeans, and Arcesilaus went to Alazir; but men of Barce and some of the exiles from Cyrene were aware of him and killed him as he walked in the town, and Alazir his father-in-law too. So Arcesilaus whether with or without meaning to missed the meaning of the oracle and fulfilled his destiny. 4.165. While Arcesilaus was living at Barce, accomplishing his own destruction, his mother Pheretime held her son's prerogative at Cyrene, where she administered all his business and sat with others in council. ,But when she learned of her son's death at Barce, she made her escape to Egypt, trusting to the good service which Arcesilaus had done Cambyses the son of Cyrus; for this was the Arcesilaus who gave Cyrene to Cambyses and agreed to pay tribute. ,So, on her arrival in Egypt, Pheretime supplicated Aryandes, asking that he avenge her, on the plea that her son had been killed for allying himself with the Medes. 4.166. This Aryandes had been appointed viceroy of Egypt by Cambyses; at a later day, he was put to death for making himself equal to Darius. For, learning and seeing that Darius desired to leave a memorial of himself such as no king ever had, Aryandes imitated him, until he got his reward; ,for Darius had coined money out of gold refined to an extreme purity, and Aryandes, then ruling Egypt, made a similar silver coinage; and now there is no silver money so pure as is the Aryandic. But when Darius heard that Aryandes was doing so, he put him to death, not on this charge but as a rebel. 4.167. At this time, Aryandes took pity on Pheretime and gave her all the Egyptian land and sea forces, appointing Amasis, a Maraphian, general of the army, and Badres of the tribe of the Pasargadae, admiral of the fleet. ,But before despatching the troops, Aryandes sent a herald to Barce to ask who it was who had killed Arcesilaus. The Barcaeans answered that it was the deed of the whole city, for the many wrongs that Arcesilaus had done them; when he heard this, Aryandes sent his troops with Pheretime. ,This was the pretext; but I myself think that the troops were sent to subjugate Libya. For the Libyan tribes are many and of different kinds, and though a few of them were the king's subjects, the greater part cared nothing for Darius. 4.200. Now when the Persians that Aryandes sent from Egypt to avenge Pheretime came to Barce, they laid siege to the city, demanding the surrender of those who were guilty of the murder of Arcesilaus: but the Barcaeans, whose whole people were accessory to the deed, would not yield. ,The Persians besieged Barce for nine months, digging underground passages leading to the walls, and making violent assaults. As for the tunnels, a blacksmith discovered them by the means of a bronze shield, and this is how he found them: carrying the shield around the inner side of the walls, he struck it against the ground of the city; ,all the other places which he struck returned a dull sound; but where there were tunnels, the bronze of the shield rang clear. Here the Barcaeans made a counter-tunnel and killed those Persians who were digging underground. Thus the tunnels were discovered, and the assaults were repelled by the townsfolk. 4.201. When much time had been spent and many on both sides (not less of the Persians than of their enemies) slain, Amasis the general of the foot soldiers devised a plot, knowing that Barce could not be taken by force but might be taken by guile: he dug by night a wide trench and laid frail planks across it, which he then covered over with a layer of earth level with the ground about it. ,Then when day came, he invited the Barcaeans to confer with him, and they readily consented; at last all agreed to conditions of peace. This was done thus: standing on the hidden trench, they gave and accepted a sworn assurance that their treaty would hold good while the ground where they stood was unchanged; the Barcaeans promised to pay a due sum to the king, and the Persians to do the Barcaeans no harm. ,When the sworn agreement was made, the townsfolk, trusting in it and opening all their gates, themselves came out of the city, and let all their enemies who so desired enter within the walls. But the Persians broke down the hidden bridge and ran into the city. They broke down the bridge that they had made, so that they might keep the oath which they had sworn to the Barcaeans: namely, that this treaty would hold good for as long as the ground remained as it was; but if they broke the bridge the treaty held good no longer. 4.202. When they were delivered to her by the Persians, Pheretime took the most guilty of the Barcaeans and set them impaled around the top of the wall; the breasts of their women she cut off and planted around the wall in like manner. ,As for the rest of the Barcaeans, she told the Persians to take them as their booty, except those who were of the house of Battus and not accessory to the murder: to these she turned over the city. 4.203. The Persians thus enslaved the rest of the Barcaeans, and went home. When they appeared before the city of Cyrene, the Cyrenaeans let them pass through their city, so that a certain oracle might be fulfilled. ,As the army was passing through, Badres the admiral of the fleet was for taking the city, but Amasis the general of the land army would not consent, saying that he had been sent against Barce and no other Greek city; at last they passed through Cyrene and camped on the hill of Lycaean Zeus; there they regretted not having taken the city, and tried to enter it again, but the Cyrenaeans would not let them. ,Then, although no one attacked them, panic seized the Persians, and they fled to a place seven miles distant and camped there; and while they were there, a messenger from Aryandes came to the camp asking them to return. The Persians asked and received from the Cyrenaeans provisions for their march, after which they left to go to Egypt; ,but then they fell into the hands of the Libyans, who killed the laggards and stragglers of the army for the sake of their garments and possessions; until at last they came to Egypt. 4.204. This Persian force advanced as far as Euhesperidae in Libya and no farther. As for the Barcaeans whom they had taken for slaves, they carried them from Egypt into banishment and brought them to the king, and Darius gave them a town of Bactria to live in. They gave this town the name Barce, and it remained an inhabited place in Bactria until my own lifetime. 4.205. But Pheretime did not end well, either. For as soon as she had revenged herself on the Barcaeans and returned to Egypt, she met an awful death. For while still alive she teemed with maggots: thus does over-brutal human revenge invite retribution from the gods. That of Pheretime, daughter of Battus, against the Barcaeans was revenge of this nature and this brutality. 9.76. Immediately after the Greeks had devastated the barbarians at Plataea, a woman, who was the concubine of Pharandates a Persian, son of Teaspis, deserting from the enemy, came to them. She, learning that the Persians were ruined and the Greeks victorious, decked herself (as did also her attendants) with many gold ornaments and the fairest clothing that she had, and alighting thus from her carriage came to the Lacedaemonians while they were still in the midst of slaughtering. When she saw Pausanias, whose name and country she had often heard of, directing everything, she knew that it was he, and supplicated him clasping his knees: ,“Save me, your suppliant, O king of Sparta, from captive slavery, for you have aided me till now, by making an end of those men who hold sacred nothing of the gods or of any divinities. Coan I am by birth, the daughter of Hegetorides, son of Antagoras; in Cos the Persian seized me by force and held me prisoner.” ,“Take heart, lady,” Pausanias answered, “for you are my suppliant, and furthermore if you are really the daughter of Hegetorides of Cos, he is my closest friend of all who dwell in those lands.” For the present, he then entrusted her to those of the ephors who were present. Later he sent her to Aegina, where she herself desired to go.
2. Xenophon, The Education of Cyrus, 5.1.2-5.1.18, 6.1.31-6.1.51, 6.3.21, 6.4.2-6.4.4, 7.1.18, 7.3.2-7.3.16 (5th cent. BCE - 4th cent. BCE)

5.1.2. Then Cyrus called to him Araspas, a Mede, who had been his friend from boyhood—the same one to I. iv. 26 whom he had given his Median robe when he laid it off as he was returning from Astyages’s court to Persia—and bade him keep for him both the lady and the tent. 5.1.4. No, by Zeus, said Cyrus ; not I. But I have, said the other. I saw her when we selected her for you. And when we went into her tent, upon my word, we did not at first distinguish her from the rest; for she sat upon the ground and all her handmaids sat around her. And she was dressed withal just like her servants; but when we looked round upon them all in our desire to make out which one was the mistress, at once her superiority to all the rest was evident, even though she sat veiled, with her head bowed to the earth. 5.1.7. And then we had vision of most of her face and vision of her neck and arms. And let me tell you, Cyrus, said he, it seemed to me, as it did to all the rest who saw her, that there never was so beautiful a woman of mortal birth in Asia . But, he added, you must by all means see her for yourself. 5.1.8. No, by Zeus, said Cyrus ; and all the less, Cyrus declines to visit her if she is as beautiful as you say. Why so? asked the young man. Because said he, if now I have heard from you that she is beautiful and am inclined just by your account of her to go and gaze on her, when I have no time to spare, I am afraid that she will herself much more readily persuade me to come again to gaze on her. And in consequence of that I might sit there, in neglect of my duties, idly gazing upon her. 5.1.9. Why Cyrus, said the young man breaking Araspas maintains that love is a matter of will into a laugh, you do not think, do you, that human beauty is able to compel a man against his will to act contrary to his own best interests? Why, said he, if that were a law of nature, it would compel us all alike. 5.1.12. How then, pray, said Cyrus, if falling in Cyrus maintains that it is a kind of slavery love is a matter of free will, is it not possible for any one to stop whenever he pleases? But I have seen people in tears of sorrow because of love and in slavery to the objects of their love, even though they believed before they fell in love that slavery is a great evil; I have seen them give those objects of their love many things that they could ill afford to part with; and I have seen people praying to be delivered from love just as from any other disease, and, for all that, unable to be delivered from it, but fettered by a stronger necessity than if they had been fettered with shackles of iron. At any rate, they surrender themselves to those they love to perform for them many services blindly. And yet, in spite of all their misery, they do not attempt to run away, but even watch their darlings to keep them from running away. 5.1.13. Yes, the young man answered; there are Araspas claims that only the weakling is enslaved some who do so; but such are wretched weaklings, and because of their slavery, I think, they constantly pray that they may die, because they are so unhappy; but, though there are ten thousand possible ways of getting rid of life, they do not get rid of it. And this very same sort attempt also to steal and do not keep their hands off other people’s property; but when they commit robbery or theft, you see that you are the first to accuse the thief and the robber, because it was not necessary to steal, and you do not pardon him, but you punish him. 5.1.16. Aye, by Zeus, said Cyrus ; for you came away perhaps in less time than love takes, as its nature is, to get a man ensnared. For, you know, it is possible for a man to put his finger in the fire and not be burned at once, and wood does not burst at once into flame; still, for my part, I neither put my hand into the fire nor look upon the beautiful, if I can help it. And I advise you, too, Araspas, said he, not to let your eyes linger upon the fair; for fire, to be sure, burns only those who touch it, but beauty insidiously kindles a fire even in those who gaze upon it from afar, so that they are inflamed with passion. 5.1.17. Never fear, Cyrus, said he, even if I never cease to look upon her, I shall never be so overcome as to do anything that I ought not. Your professions, said he, are most excellent. Keep her then, as I bid you, and take good care of her; for this lady may perhaps be of very great service to us when the time comes. 5.1.18. After this conversation, then, they separated. He falls in love And as the young man found the lady so beautiful and at the same time came to know her goodness and nobility of character, as he attended her and thought he pleased her, and then also as he saw that she was not ungrateful but always took care by the hands of her own servants not only that he should find whatever he needed when he came in, but that, if he ever fell sick, he should suffer no lack of attention—in consequence of all this, he fell desperately in love with her; and what happened to him was perhaps not at all surprising. Thus matters began to take this turn. 6.1.31. Now, he wished to send some one as a spy into Lydia to find out what the Assyrian was doing, and it seemed to him that Araspas, the guardian of the beautiful woman, was the proper person to go on this mission. Now Araspas’s case had taken a turn like Araspas and Panthea this: he had fallen in love with the lady and could not resist the impulse to approach her with amorous proposals. 6.1.38. Would that some occasion might arise, answered Araspas, in which I could be of service to you. 6.1.39. Aye, by Zeus, said Araspas, and I know that even with my friends I could start the story that I was running away from you. 6.1.40. Depend upon it, said he, I will start at once; and one of the circumstances that will gain my story credence will be the appearance that I have run away because I was likely to be punished by you. 6.1.44. Then Araspas withdrew; he got together the most trusted of his attendants, told some of his friends such things as he thought would contribute to the success of his scheme, and was gone. 6.1.45. When Panthea learned that Araspas had gone Panthea sends for Abradatas away, she sent word to Cyrus, saying: Do not be distressed, Cyrus, that Araspas has gone over to the enemy; for if you will allow me to send to my husband, I can guarantee you that a much more faithful friend will come to you than Araspas was. And what is more, I know that he will come to you with as many troops as he can bring. For while the father of the present king was his friend, this present king once even attempted to separate me from my husband. Inasmuch, therefore, as he considers the king an insolent scoundrel, I am sure that he would be glad to transfer his allegiance to such a man as you. 6.1.46. When Cyrus heard that, he bade her send word to her husband; and she did so. And when Abradatas read the cipher message sent by his wife and was informed how matters stood otherwise, he joyfully proceeded with about a thousand horse to join Cyrus . When he came up to the Persian sentries, he sent to Cyrus to let him know who it was; and Cyrus gave orders to take him at once to his wife. 6.1.47. And when Abradatas and his wife saw each other they embraced each other with joy, as was natural, considering they had not expected ever to meet again. Thereafter Panthea told of Cyrus’s piety and self-restraint and of his compassion for her. Tell me, Panthea, said Abradatas when he heard Abradatas makes common cause with Cyrus this, what can I do to pay the debt of gratitude that you and I owe to Cyrus ? What else, pray, said Panthea, than to try to be to him what he has been to you? 6.1.48. Later Abradatas went to Cyrus . When he saw him he took his right hand in his and said: In return for the kindnesses you have done us, Cyrus, I do not know what more to say than that I offer myself to you to be your friend, your servant, your ally. And in whatsoever enterprise I see you engage, I shall try to co-operate with you to the very best of my ability. 6.1.49. And I accept your offer, said Cyrus . And now I will take leave of you and let you go to dinner with your wife. Some other time you will be expected to dine at my headquarters with your friends and mine. 6.1.50. After this, as Abradatas observed that Cyrus was busily engaged with the scythe-bearing chariots and the mailed horses and riders, he tried to contribute from his own cavalry as many as a hundred chariots like them; and he made ready to lead them in person upon his chariot. 6.3.21. And then do you, Arsamas, said he,... and you Chrysantas take charge of the right wing, as you always have done, and the rest of you brigadier-generals take the posts you now have. When the race is on, it is not the time for any chariot to change horses. So instruct your captains and lieutets to form a line with each separate platoon two deep. Now each platoon contained twenty-four men. 6.4.3. With these words, she began to put the armour on him, and though she tried to conceal them, the tears stole down her cheeks. 6.4.4. And when Abradatas was armed in his panoply he looked most handsome and noble, for he had been favoured by nature and, even unadorned, was well worth looking at; and taking the reins from his groom he was now making ready to mount his chariot. 7.1.18. But now, Abradatas, while you have time, by all means ride along your line of chariots and exhort your men to the charge, cheering them by your own looks and buoying them up with hopes. Furthermore, inspire them with a spirit of rivalry that you and your division may prove yourselves the best of the charioteers. And that will be worth while; for be assured that if we are successful to-day, all men in future will say that nothing is more profitable than valour. Abradatas accordingly mounted and drove along and did as Cyrus had suggested. 7.3.2. And when he had called to him certain of his aides who were present, Cyrus said: Tell me, has any one of you seen Abradatas? For I wonder why, in view of the fact that he used often to come to us, he is now nowhere to be seen. 7.3.3. Sire, answered one of the aides, he is no He learns of the death of Abradatas longer alive, but he fell in the battle as he hurled his chariot against the ranks of the Egyptians, while the rest, they say, all but himself and his companions, turned aside when they saw the dense host of the Egyptians. 7.3.6. Upon hearing this, Cyrus smote his thigh, mounted his horse at once, and rode with a regiment of cavalry to the scene of sorrow. 7.3.8. And when he saw the lady sitting upon the Panthea mourns over her dead ground and the corpse lying there, he wept over his loss and said: Alas, O brave and faithful soul, hast thou then gone and left us? And with the words he clasped his hand, and the dead man’s hand came away in his grasp; for the wrist had been severed by a sabre in the hands of an Egyptian. 7.3.11. For some time Cyrus wept in silence and then Cyrus tries to comfort her he said aloud: Well, lady, he indeed has met the fairest of ends, for he has died in the very hour of victory; but do you accept these gifts from me —for Gobryas and Gadatas had come with many beautiful ornaments— and deck him with them. And then, let me assure you that in other ways also he shall not want for honours, but many hands shall rear to him a monument worthy of us, and sacrifice shall be made over it, such as will befit a man so valiant. 7.3.12. And you, he continued, shall not be left friendless, but on account of your goodness and all your worth, I shall show you all honour; and besides, I will commend to you some one to escort you to the place where you yourself desire to go. Only let me know to whom you wish to be conducted. 7.3.13. Ah, Cyrus, Panthea answered, do not fear; I shall never hide from you who it is to whom I wish to go. 7.3.14. When he had said this, Cyrus went away, his heart full of pity for the woman, as he thought what a husband she had lost, and for the man, that he must leave such a wife and never see her more. The lady then desired the eunuchs to retire, until, she said, I have bewailed my husband here, as I desire. But her nurse she told to stay with her, Panthea’s death and she charged her to cover her and her husband, when she, too, was dead, with the same cloak. The nurse, however, pleaded earnestly with her not to do so; but when her prayers proved of no avail and she saw her mistress becoming angered, she sat down and burst into tears. Panthea then drew out a dagger, with which she had provided herself long before, and plunged it into her heart, and laying her head upon her husband’s bosom she breathed her last. Then the nurse wailed aloud and covered them both, even as Panthea had directed. 7.3.15. And now even to this day, it is said, the monument Their monument of the eunuchs is still standing; and they say that the names of the husband and wife are inscribed in Assyrian letters upon the slab above; and below, it is said, are three slabs with the inscription the mace-bearers. Staff-bearers—apparently court officials, bearing a staff of office; mentioned again 8.1.38; 8.3.15; Anab. 1.6.11. 7.3.16. And when Cyrus drew near to the place of sorrow he marvelled at the woman; and having made lament over her, he went his way. He also took care that they should find all due honours, and the monument reared over them was, as they say, exceeding great.
3. Septuagint, Judith, 13.6, 16.24 (2nd cent. BCE - 0th cent. CE)

13.6. She went up to the post at the end of the bed, above Holofernes' head, and took down his sword that hung there. 16.24. and the house of Israel mourned for her seven days. Before she died she distributed her property to all those who were next of kin to her husband Manasseh, and to her own nearest kindred.


Subjects of this text:

subject book bibliographic info
alyattes, tumulus of Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
artemisia Gera, Judith (2014) 70
asia, beautiful women of Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
book of judith, and greek writings Gera, Judith (2014) 70, 71
book of judith, irony and humor Gera, Judith (2014) 70, 71
booty and plundering Gera, Judith (2014) 70
candaules wife Gera, Judith (2014) 71
chastity Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
clearchus of soli Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
court tales Gera, Judith (2014) 70, 71
courtesans Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
croesus, fall of Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
ctesias Gera, Judith (2014) 70, 71
cyrus the great Gera, Judith (2014) 70, 71; Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
darius i Gera, Judith (2014) 71
eunuchs Gera, Judith (2014) 70, 71
food Gera, Judith (2014) 71
funerary cult, and inscriptions Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
funerary cult, and monuments Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
funerary cult Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
gyges, wife or mistress of Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
hegetorides daughter Gera, Judith (2014) 71
herodotus, revisionist interpretations of Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
herodotus Gera, Judith (2014) 70, 71
intaphrenes wife Gera, Judith (2014) 71
judith, and warrior queens Gera, Judith (2014) 70, 71
lydia and lydians, rites of Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
maids and female servants, greek Gera, Judith (2014) 70, 71
medes and media Gera, Judith (2014) 70
mermnads Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
midas, tomb and epigram of Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
midas Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
mother of the gods, and tyranny Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
mother of the gods, and warfare Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
mother of the gods, rites of Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
mother of the gods, statues and images of Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
mourning Gera, Judith (2014) 70, 71
mutilation of enemies Gera, Judith (2014) 71
nitocris, babylonian queen Gera, Judith (2014) 71
nitocris, egyptian queen Gera, Judith (2014) 71
novels and novellas, greek Gera, Judith (2014) 70, 71
panthea Gera, Judith (2014) 70, 71
pantheia Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
persian traces in judith Gera, Judith (2014) 70, 71
phaedyme Gera, Judith (2014) 71
pheretime Gera, Judith (2014) 71
rooms, inner/ closed Gera, Judith (2014) 71
roxane Gera, Judith (2014) 71
sacrifice, funerary Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
sacrifice, human Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
sacrifice Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
sardis, tombs and tumuli at Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
sardis, under persians Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
scythians Gera, Judith (2014) 70, 71
sexual encounters Gera, Judith (2014) 70
shame and disgrace Gera, Judith (2014) 70
sparethra Gera, Judith (2014) 71
stryangaeus Gera, Judith (2014) 70
tomb, of midas Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
tomb, of pantheia Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
tomyris Gera, Judith (2014) 70
tumulus, of alyattes Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
tumulus Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
tyranny, theology of' Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
warrior women Gera, Judith (2014) 70, 71
widows Gera, Judith (2014) 70
xenophon Gera, Judith (2014) 70, 71
xenophon of athens, on persians Munn, The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny of Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion (2006) 156
zarinaea Gera, Judith (2014) 70