stances which gave rise to the ocular deception. In his mind the whole system of water-meadows would be connected together, and described as the work of Maris, even supposing him undesirous of producing an exaggerated impression on the traveller;-a supposition, however, which is at variance with the ordinary practice of ciceroni either in ancient or modern times.

If the above considerations have any truth in them, both Herodotus and Strabo must in this matter be entirely acquitted of the charge of inaccuracy in those points which came under their personal knowledge. Both the one and the other give a true account of the phenomena presented to them; and both give a false explanation (philosophically speaking) of those phenomena. In the case of Herodotus the ocular deception was much the greater, and probably the informant whose explanation was adopted the more ignorant; for the rank of Strabo's companions procured them the attentions of the chief authorities of Arsinoë, whereas the other would probably have no guide but a common laquais de place. If indeed we are determined to look upon him as some of the moderns insist on doing; to regard him not as a simple traveller with the clear Hellenic eye for sensuous impressions, and the fresh Hellenic imagination for embodying them, but as a physical philosopher and historical critic of the nineteenth century, testing all that he heard and saw by independent observations and reference to known laws of nature, we must undoubtedly be content to regard his description of the lake Moris as one of the most gigantic exaggerations to be found in the whole compass of litera

ture.

ΗΡΟΔΟΤΟΥ

ΙΣΤΟΡΙΩΝ ΤΡΙΤΗ.

ΘΑΛΕΙΑ.

9 makes war

sis.

account of

of the quar

ἘΠΙ τοῦτον δὴ τὸν ̓Αμασιν Καμβύσης ὁ Κύρου ἐστρατεύετο, 1 ἄγων καὶ ἄλλους τῶν ἦρχε καὶ Ἑλλήνων Ιωνάς τε καὶ Αἰολέας ', Cambyses δι' αἰτίην τοιήνδε πέμψας Καμβύσης ἐς Αἴγυπτον κήρυκα, αἴτεε upon Ama"Αμασιν θυγατέρα· αἴτεε δὲ ἐκ συμβουλίης ἀνδρὸς Αἰγυπτίου, ὃς A Persian μεμφόμενος "Αμασιν ἔπρηξε ταῦτα, ὅτι μιν ἐξ ἁπάντων τῶν ἐν trigin Αἰγύπτῳ ἰητρῶν ἀποσπάσας ἀπὸ γυναικός τε καὶ τέκνων, τεί ἔκδοτον ἐποίησε ἐς Πέρσας, ὅτε Κῦρος πέμψας παρὰ ̓́Αμασιν αἴτεε ἰητρὸν ὀφθαλμῶν ὃς εἴη ἄριστος τῶν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ· ταῦτα δὴ ἐπιμεμφόμενος ὁ Αἰγύπτιος, ἐνῆγε τῇ συμβουλίῃ κελεύων αἰτέειν τὸν Καμβύσεα "Αμασιν θυγατέρα· ἵνα ἢ δοὺς ἀνιῷτο, ἢ μὴ δοὺς Καμβύσῃ ἀπέχθοιτο· ὁ δὲ "Αμασις, τῇ δυνάμει τῶν Περσέων ἀχθόμενος καὶ ἀρρωδέων, οὐκ εἶχε οὔτε δοῦναι οὔτε ἀρνήσασθαι· εὖ γὰρ ἠπίστατο ὅτι οὐκ ὡς γυναῖκά μιν ἔμελλε Καμβύσης ἕξειν ἀλλ ̓ ὡς παλλακήν· ταῦτα δὴ ἐκλογιζόμενος, ἐποίησε τάδε· ἦν ̓Απρίεω τοῦ προτέρου βασιλέος θυγάτηρ κάρτα μεγάλη τε καὶ εὐειδὴς, μούνη τοῦ οἴκου λελειμ· μένη· οὔνομα δέ οἱ ἦν Νίτητες· ταύτην δὴ τὴν παῖδα ὁ ̓Αμασις

1 Ἑλλήνων Ιωνάς τε καὶ Αἰολέας. See note 593 on i. 176. The thread of the narrative is resumed from ii. 1.

2 ἰητρὸν ὀφθαλμῶν, ὃς εἴη ἄριστος τῶν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ. For the extent to which medical science was carried in Egypt, and the division of the several branches of practice, see ii. 84.

3 μεγάλη τε καὶ εὐειδής. The sister of the Peonian brothers who attracted Darius's attention and produced the subjugation of her tribe is described in the same terms (v. 12). The word καλὸς applied to a woman always involved the notion of commanding stature as well as beauty of feature and complexion.

tetis the

concubine

of Cam

byses.

2

An Egypt

made Cam

byses a son of Nitetis by Cyrus.

makes Ni- κοσμήσας ἐσθῆτί τε καὶ χρυσῷ, ἀποπέμπει ἐς Πέρσας ὡς ἑωυτοῦ θυγατέρα· μετὰ δὲ χρόνον ὡς μιν ἠσπάζετο πατρόθεν οὐνομάζων, λέγει πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ παῖς· “ ὦ βασιλεῦ, διαβεβλημένος ὑπὸ ̓Αμά σιος οὐ μανθάνεις, ὃς ἐμέ σοι κόσμῳ ἀσκήσας ἀπέπεμψε ὡς ἑωυτοῦ θυγατέρα διδοὺς ἐοῦσαν τῇ ἀληθηΐῃ ̓Απρίεω· τὸν ἐκεῖνος ἐόντα ἑωυτοῦ δεσπότεα μετ ̓ Αἰγυπτίων ἐπαναστὰς ἐφόνευσε.” τοῦτο δὴ τὸ ἔπος καὶ αὕτη ἡ αἰτίη ἐγγενομένη ἤγαγε Καμβύσεα τὸν Κύρου, μεγάλως θυμωθέντα, ἐπ ̓ Αἴγυπτον. οὕτω μέν νυν λέγουσι Πέρσαι. Αἰγύπτιοι δὲ οἰκηϊεῦνται Καμβύσεα, φάμενοί μιν ἐκ ταύτης δὴ tan account τῆς ̓Απρίεω θυγατρὸς γενέσθαι. Κῦρον γὰρ εἶναι τὸν πέμψαντα παρὰ "Αμασιν ἐπὶ τὴν θυγατέρα, ἀλλ ̓ οὐ Καμβύσεα. λέγοντες δὲ ταῦτα, οὐκ ὀρθῶς λέγουσι. οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ λέληθε αὐτοὺς, (εἰ γάρ τινες καὶ ἄλλοι, τὰ Περσέων νόμιμα ὀρθῶς ἐπιστέαται καὶ Αἰγύ πτιοι,) ὅτι πρῶτα μὲν νόθον οὔ σφι νόμος ἐστὶ βασιλεῦσαι, γνησίου παρεόντος· αὖτις δὲ, ὅτι Κασσανδάνης τῆς Φαρνάσπεω ' θυγατρὸς ἦν παῖς Καμβύσης, ἀνδρὸς ̓Αχαιμενίδεω, ἀλλ ̓ οὐκ ἐκ τῆς Αἰγυπτίης· ἀλλὰ παρατρέπουσι τὸν λόγον, προσποιεύμενοι τῇ Κύρου 3 οἰκίῃ συγγενέες εἶναι. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ὧδε ἔχει. Λέγεται δὲ καὶ ὅδε ὁ λόγος, ἐμοὶ μὲν οὐ πιθανός ὡς τῶν Περσίδων γυναικῶν ἐσελθοῦσά τις παρὰ τὰς Κύρου γυναῖκας, ὡς εἶδε τῇ Κασσανδάνῃ therm παρεστεῶτα τέκνα εὐειδέα τε καὶ μεγάλα, πολλῷ ἐχρᾶτο τῷ ἐπαίνῳ ὑπερθωυμάζουσα· ἡ δὲ Κασσανδάνη, ἐοῦσα τοῦ Κύρου γυνὴ, εἶπε τάδε· “ τοιῶνδε μέντοι ἐμὲ παίδων μητέρα ἐοῦσαν Κῦρος ἐν ἀτιμίῃ ἔχει· τὴν δ ̓ ἀπ ̓ Αἰγύπτου ἐπίκτητον ἐν τιμῇ τίθεται.” τὴν μὲν ἀχθομένην τῇ Νιτήτι εἰπεῖν ταῦτα· τῶν δέ οἱ παίδων τὸν

A third

made Nitetis

come as a concubine to Cyrus

byses was ten years

old.

not however all the Persian accounts which made Cambyses son of Cassandane. CTESIAS makes him son of Amytis,-and that this is not another name of Cassandane appears from the circumstance that he makes Amytis survive Cyrus, and only die shortly before the death of Cambyses. See note on § 61.

8 προσποιεύμενοι τῇ Κύρου οἰκίῃ συγγενέες εἶναι. This was probably the reason of another story which DIODORUS (i. 33) relates that Meroë, a city in the island of the Nile of the same name, built by Cambyses, was so called after the name of his mother. It appears from STRABO (Xvii. c. 1, p. 420) that others maintained Meroë to be his sister, and others again his wife.