The Good Book (36 page)

42. ‘And honourable works, and the enjoyment of these things until the day of his death, is alone a man who can be called happy.

43. ‘If you are such as this, I will give you that name. But otherwise, let us call no man happy until he is dead.’

44. Such was the speech that Solon addressed to Croesus, who thought him an arrant fool because he made no account of present good, but advised men always to wait and mark the end;

45. And therefore Solon departed the court of Croesus without largesse or praise from the king, who saw him leave with much indifference.

Chapter 4

  1. At this time Croesus feared the growing power of the Persians under Cyrus,

  2. So he resolved to attack first in order to prevent Persia growing yet more powerful, thus threatening his safety.

  3. Moreover he had designs on the land of Cappadocia, which he wished to add to his empire;

  4. And last but not least, he wished to avenge his brother-in-law Astyages, son of Cyaxerxes and king of the Medes,

  5. Who had been defeated by Cyrus the Persian, his Medes taken into the growing Persian empire, and himself made prisoner by Cyrus.

  6. Croesus therefore sent to Sparta to form an alliance, and found the Spartans willing, having been recipients of Croesus’ friendliness in the past.

  7. And with this and other encouragements of a more foolish kind, Croesus began his preparations for war.

  8. Even as he did so he was visited by a Lydian named Sandanis, famed for his wisdom, who came and counselled the king in the following words:

  9. ‘Oh Croesus, you are about to make war against men who dress in animal skins,

10. ‘Who are obliged to eat not what they like but what they can get from the unkind and sterile soil of their country;

11. ‘Who do not know wine, but only water; who have neither figs nor any good thing to eat.

12. ‘If you conquer them, what good can you get from them, seeing that they have nothing good of their own?

13. ‘But if they conquer you instead, consider how much that is precious you will lose;

14. ‘For once they get the taste for our pleasant things, they will keep hold of them so tightly that we shall never loosen their grasp again.

15. ‘For my part I am thankful that the Persians have never considered invading us here in Lydia, and I fear for the outcome of going to war against such a hardy and increasing people.’

16. Croesus ignored this advice, and led his army to the banks of the River Halys, marking the border with Cappadocia.

17. Here he encountered a difficulty about how to cross, for there were then no bridges, and the stream was too deep to ford.

18. His problem was solved by the philosopher Thales of Miletus, who was with the army.

19. Thales had the engineers dig a second course for the river, thus dividing its stream so that it flowed on either side of the army’s encampment, making two streams, each easily fordable.

20. After laying waste to the area of the Syrians beyond the Halys, Croesus was confronted by Cyrus’ army in the district of Pteria, and a battle was fought.

21. By the time night fell neither army had gained the upper hand;

22. But as he was the invader and in need of reinforcements, being outnumbered by the Persian forces,

23. Croesus chose to return to Sardis, there to collect his allies with a view to renewing the struggle next spring.

24. On his return to Sardis with these plans in mind, Croesus disbanded his mercenary forces and sent messengers to his allies to summon them for the following spring.

25. He never guessed that Cyrus would not do the same.

26. For Cyrus, knowing that Croesus would stand down his army and devote himself to preparations for the following year,

27. Decided to keep his forces together and to march on Sardis. He marched with such speed that he was himself the herald of his arrival.

28. Despite his cruel disadvantage, Croesus did not lack courage, nor his Lydians skill in war, for they were famous for fighting with long lances from horseback.

29. Croesus therefore led out the remainder of his army onto the great plain before Sardis, and arrayed his famed cavalry before them.

30. Seeing the cavalry, Cyrus adopted a strategy suggested to him by one Harpagus, a Mede,

31. Which was to take the camels of the baggage train and put riders on them armed as cavalrymen. These led the charge, with the foot behind and the Persian cavalry in the rear.

32. The reason for the strategy was that horses detest camels, and are fearful of the sight and smell of them.

33. By this means Cyrus negated the effect of the Lydian cavalry, otherwise so formidable; for the Lydian horses bolted as the camels came towards them, and Croesus lost his advantage.

34. The courage of the Lydians did not fail them. The cavalrymen leaped from their frightened horses and engaged the Persians on foot.

35. The combat was long and bloody, but eventually went to Cyrus. The Lydians retired behind the walls of Sardis, and the Persians laid siege.

Chapter 5

  1. On the fourteenth day of the siege Cyrus proclaimed to his army that he would reward the man who first mounted the walls of Sardis. He then attempted an assault of the walls, but without success.

  2. As Cyrus’ troops retired, a Mardian called Hyroeades resolved to gain entry to Sardis by a place left unguarded because the steep rock cliff below the walls was thought unassailable.

  3. For Hyroeades had seen, earlier in the siege, a Lydian soldier climb down the rock to retrieve a helmet he had dropped, and then back up over the wall; and this gave him his hint.

  4. Followed by a large group of Persians, Hyroeades climbed the rock and surmounted the wall, surprising the guard within;

  5. And they quickly overcame the latter’s resistance, and threw open the gates to the Persian army, which entered and subjected the city to pillage.

  6. An unusual event involving the unfortunate Croesus himself occurred during the sack of Sardis.

  7. The younger son of Croesus was a deaf mute, and no efforts to cure him had succeeded.

  8. As the Persian troops overran the city, Croesus in his grief and despair did nothing to preserve himself, but exposed himself to danger.

  9. A Persian soldier, not knowing that he was the king, ran at him to kill him, and Croesus under the burden of his affliction did nothing to avoid the blow.

10. His mute son, in his agony of fear for his father’s life, suddenly burst into speech, crying out, ‘Man, do not kill Croesus!’ He thereafter retained the power of speech for the rest of his life.

11. Croesus was brought before Cyrus, who made him stand in his fetters, with a group of leading Lydians likewise fettered around him,

12. On a pile of goods that had been looted from the city, purposing to set fire to the pile and so make an end of Croesus and his leading men.

13. Standing there Croesus remembered the words of Solon, ‘Call no man happy until he is dead,’

14. And he groaned aloud, and cried out the name of Solon, whose wisdom he at last recognised.

15. Hearing him speak a name, Cyrus asked the interpreters to question Croesus as to his meaning, and who it was he called upon.

16. Croesus answered, ‘One I would give much to see converse with every monarch.’

17. Pressed by Cyrus to explain, Croesus told him how Solon had come to see him in all his royal splendour,

18. And had made light of it; and that Solon had been right in what he said, speaking words of wisdom that all should hear.

19. Cyrus, learning from the interpreters what Croesus said, relented, thinking that Croesus too was a man,

20. A fellow-man who had once been as fortunate as himself; and that he himself might one day meet the same fate of being conquered and placed on a pyre to be burned alive.

21. Full of the thought that whatever is human is insecure, Cyrus bade his men quench the blaze that they had started.

22. Alas it seemed that the fire had taken too strong a hold, and the Persians were unable to put it out, so that the fate of Croesus appeared to be sealed.

23. But just then it began to rain; and between the efforts of the Persian soldiers and the rain the fire was extinguished,

24. And Croesus and the distinguished Lydians with him were released, to be made more the guests than the captives of Cyrus.

25. And as they then sat at meat together, Cyrus asked the once-great king Croesus why he had attacked Persia, thus bringing ruin to himself;

26. And Croesus told him that he had been encouraged to it by the Greeks, whom he had consulted on the best way to limit the growing power of Persia.

27. Thus was sown the seed of the first enmity between East and West, between Persia and Greece, which shaped the course of civilisations to come in after time.

Chapter 6

  1. As Cyrus and Croesus sat at meat together this first time, the latter gestured towards his hapless former capital city of Sardis, where the Persian troops were looting and pillaging,

  2. And he asked Cyrus, ‘Oh king, what are your soldiers doing?’

  3. And Cyrus replied, ‘They are plundering the riches of your city, of course!’

  4. To which Croesus replied, ‘Not my city, and not my riches; it is your city and your riches they are plundering.’

  5. Struck by this remark, Cyrus told his courtiers to withdraw, and asked Croesus what he thought should be done about the plundering.

  6. Croesus said, ‘Now that I am your captive and your slave, it behoves me to do what I can to serve you, O king, and show you anything that might be to your advantage.

  7. ‘Your Persians have proud hearts, but they are a poor people, and much less civilised than those they have just conquered.

  8. ‘If you let them pillage and take great wealth, I can tell you what to expect at their hands.

  9. ‘The man who gets the most, expect him to rebel against you sooner rather than later, for he will have acquired a taste for riches and the power they bring.

10. ‘If you are wise, you will place your bodyguards as sentinels at each of the city gates, to take the booty from the plunderers as they leave,

11. ‘Telling them that the tenth part is owed to the crown for the good of all collectively.

12. ‘They will see that this is just and will part with some of their booty willingly, and it will affirm their allegiance to you.’

13. Cyrus was beyond measure pleased with this advice, so excellent did it seem to him. He praised Croesus highly,

14. And gave orders to his bodyguard to do as advised. Turning to Croesus he said, ‘O Croesus, I see that you are resolved both in speech and action to show yourself a virtuous prince;

15. ‘What can I do to show you my gratitude and friendship towards you?’

16. To which Croesus said, ‘Let me send these fetters to the Greeks who advised me to make war on you, to show them what their advice has led to.’

17. To this Cyrus agreed, and Croesus was permitted to send some of his Lydians to Greece with the fetters he had worn on what was to have been his funeral pyre,

18. With the message: that they were the first fruits of their advice.

19. Thus it was that Lydia was brought under the Persian yoke, and that the Persians became lords of all Asia.

Chapter 7

  1. The journey of the Persians to this conquest had been long. Before them it was the Assyrians who held the empire of Upper Asia,

  2. And did so for five hundred and twenty years before the Medes set the example of revolt,

  3. Shaking off their servitude and becoming a free people. Their example inspired other nations to do the same.

  4. Thus the nations of Asia obtained the blessings of self-government, but only at first,

  5. For they fell again under the sway of kings, in the following manner:

  6. A certain Mede named Deioces, son of Phraortes, a man of great intelligence, conceived the desire of obtaining the sovereign power.

  7. He saw that the Medes dwelt in scattered villages without central authority, and in consequence lawlessness prevailed throughout the land.

  8. Deioces, already a man of mark in his own village, applied himself with zeal to the cause of justice among his fellows.

  9. His fellows observed his integrity and chose him as their judge.

10. Soon the neighbouring villages invited him to be their judge also, for they heard of his uprightness.

11. At last the Medes put their confidence in no one else.

12. After a time, Deioces announced that he was wearied with so many appeals from all the villages of the Medes, and wished to retire from the task.

13. But when he did so, lawlessness again broke out, and the people were more discomforted than before, having grown used to order.