His
affection
for Atossa was so strong, that though she
bad a leprosy, which spread itself over her body, he
was not disgusted at it; but be was daily imploring
Juno for her, and grasping the dust of her temple;
for be paid his homage to no other goddess.
bad a leprosy, which spread itself over her body, he
was not disgusted at it; but be was daily imploring
Juno for her, and grasping the dust of her temple;
for be paid his homage to no other goddess.
Plutarch - Lives - v7
ARTAXERXES.
213
chain! how valuable your cimeter! He has cer-
tainly made you not only a great, but a happy man. '
Mithridates, who by this time was flushed with wine,
made answer, 'What are these things, Sparamixes 1
I deserve much greater marks of honor than these for
the services I rendered the king that day. ' Then Spa-
ramixes replied, with a smile, 'I speak not in the
least out of envy; but since, according to the Greek
proverb, there is truth in wine, let me tell you my
mind freely, and ask you what great matter it is to
find a horse's furniture fallen off, and bring it to the
king. ' This he said, not that he was ignorant of the
real state of the case; but because he wanted to lay
him open, and saw that the wine had made him talka-
tive, and taken him off his guard, he studied to pique
his vanity. Mithridates, no longer master of himself,
said,' You may talk of what furniture and what trifles
you please; but I tell you plainly, it was by this hand
that Cyrus was slain: for I did not, like Artagerses,
throw my javelin in vain, but pierced his temples near
the eye, and brought him to the ground; and of that
wound he died. ' The rest of the company saw the
dreadful fate that would befall Mithridates, and looked
with dejected eyes on the ground; but he who gave
the entertainment said, ' Let us now attend to our eat-
ing and drinking; and adoring the fortune of the king,
let such matters alone as are too high for us. '
Immediately after the company broke up the slave
told Parysatis what had been said, and she informed
the king, Artaxerxes, like a person detected, and one
who had lost a victory out of his hands, was enraged
at this discovery: for he was desirous of making all
the barbarians and Greeks believe, that in the several
encounters he both gave and received blows; and that
though he was wounded himself, he killed his adver-
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? PLUTARCH.
sary. He therefore condemned Mithridates to the
punishment of ' the hoat. ' The manner of it is this.
They take two hoats, which are made to fit each other,
and extend the criminal in one of them in a supine
posture. Then they turn the other on it, so that the
poor wretch's hody is covered, and only the head and
hands are out at one end, and the feet at the other.
They give him victuals daily, and if he refuses to eat,
they compef him by pricking him in the eyes. After be
has eaten, they make him drink a mixture of honey and
milk, which they pour into his mouth. They spread
the same, too, over his face, and always turn him so as
to have the sun full in his eyes; the consequence of
which is, that his face is covered with swarms of flies.
As all the necessary evacuations of a man who eats
and drinks are within the boat, the filthiness and cor-
ruption engender a quantity of worms, which consume
his flesh, and penetrate to his entrails. When they
find that the man is dead, they take off the upper boat,
and have the spectacle of a carcass whose flesh is eaten
away, and of numberless vermin dinging to and gnaw-
ing the bowels. Mithridates with much difficulty found
death, after he had been consumed in this manner for
seventeen days.
There remained now no other mark for the vengeanee
of Parysatis but Mesabates, one of the king's slaves,
who cut off Cyrus' head and hand. As he took care
to give her no handle against him, she laid this scheme
for his destruction. She was a woman of keen parts
in all respects, and in particular she played well at
dice. The king often played with her before the war,
and being reconciled to her after it, took the same dir
version with her. She was even the confidant of his
pleasures, and scrupled not to assist him in any thing
of gallantry.
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? AETAXERXES.
Statira indeed was the object of her hatred, and she
let her have a very small share of the king's company;
for she was determined to have the principal interest
with bim herself. One day finding Artaxerxes wanted
something to pass away the time, she challenged him
to play for a thousand darks, and purposely managed
her dice so ill, that she lost. She paid the money im-
mediately, but pretended to be much chagrined, and
called on him to play again for a slave. He consented
to the proposal, and they agreed each of tbem to ex-
cept five of their most faithful slaves ; the winner was
to have his choice out of the rest. On these conditions
they played. The queen, who had the affair at heart,
exerted all her skill, and being favored besides by the
dice, won the slave, and pitched on Mesabates, who was
not of the number of the excepted. He was immedi-
ately delivered to her, and before the king suspected
any thing of her intentions, she put him in the hands of
the executioners, with orders to flay bim alive, to fix
his body on three stakes, and to stretch out his skin by
itself. The king was highly incensed, and expressed
bis resentment in strong terms: but she only said in a
laughing ironical way, 'This is pleasant indeed, that
you must be so angry about an old useless slave, while
I say not a word of my loss of a thousand darics! '
The king, though much concerned at the imposition,
held his peace. But Statira, who on other occasions
openly censured the practice of the queen mother, com-
plained now of her injustice and cruelty, in sacrificing
to Cyrus the slaves, and other faithful servants of the
king.
After Tissaphernes bad deceived Clearchus and the
other Grecian officers, and, contrary to the treaty and
his oaths, put them in chains, Ctesias tells us that Cle-
archus made interest with him for the recovery of a
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? 216
PLUTARCH.
comb. When he had obtained it, it seems, he was so
much pleased with the use of it, that he took his ring
from his finger, and gave it Ctesias, that it might ap-
pear as a token of his regard for him to his friends and
relations in Lacedaemon. The device was a dance of
the Caryatides. He adds, that whenever provisions
were sent to Clearchus, his fellow-prisoners took most
of them for themselves, and left him a very small share:
but that he corrected this abuse, by procuring a larger
quantity to be sent to Clearchus, and separating the
allowance of the others from his. All this, according
to our author, was done with the consent, and by the
favor of Parysatis. As he sent every day a gammon
of bacon among the provisions, Clearchus suggested to
him that he might easily conceal a small dagger in the
fleshy part, and begged earnestly that he would do it,
that his fate might not be left to the cruel disposition
of Artaxerxes; but, through fear of the king's dis-
pleasure, he refused it. The king, however, at the re-
quest of his mother, promised, on oath, not to put Cle-
archus to death; but afterwards he was persuaded by
Statira to destroy all the prisoners except Menon. On
this account he tells us Parysatis plotted against Sta-
tira, and resolved to take her off by poison. But it is
a great absurdity in Ctesias to assign so disproportion-
ate a cause. Would Parysatis, for the sake of Clear-
chus, undertake so horrid and dangerous an enterprise,
as that of poisoning the king's lawful wife, by whom
he had children and an heir to his crown? It is clear
enough that he tells this fabulous tale to do honor to
the memory of Clearchus: for he adds, that the car-
casses of the other officers were torn in pieces by dogs
and birds; but that a storm of wind brought a great
heap of sand, and provided a tomb for Clearchus.
Around this heap there sprang up a number of palm-
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? ARTAXERXES.
trees, which soon grew into an admirable grove, and
spread their protecting shade over the place ;, so that
the king repented greatly of what he had done, be-
lieving that he had destroyed a man who was a favorite
of the gods.
It was therefore only from the hatred and jealousy
which Parysatis had entertained of Statira from the
first, that she embarked in so cruel a design. She saw
that her own power with the king depended only on
his reverence for her as his mother; whereas that of
Statira was founded in love, and confirmed by the
greatest confidence in her fidelity. The point she had
to carry was great, and she resolved to make one despe-
rate effort. She had a faithful and favorite attendant,
named Gigis, who, as Dinon tells us, assisted in the
affair of the poison ; but, according to Ctesias, she was
only conscious to it, and that against her will. The
former calls the person who provided the poison Me-
lantas; the latter, Belitaras.
These two princesses had, in appearance, forgot
their old suspicions and animosities, and began to visit
and eat at each other's table. But they did it with so
much distrust and caution, as to make it a rule to eat
of the same dish, and even of the same slices. There
is a small bird in Persia, which has no secretion, the
intestines being only filled with fat; on which account
it is supposed to live on air and dew: the name of it is
rhyntaces. Ctesias writes, that Parysatis divided one
of these birds with a small knife that was poisoned on
one side, and taking the wholesomer part herself, gave
the other to Statira. Dinon, however, affirms that it
was not Parysatis, but Melantas, who cut the bird in
two, and presented the poisoned part to Statira. Be
that as it may, she died in dreadful agonies and con-
vulsions; and was not only sensible herself of the
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? 218
PLUTARCH.
cause, but intimated her suspicions to the king, who
knew too well the savage and implacable temper of his
mother: he therefore immediately made an inqusition
into the affair. He took her officers and servants that
attended at her table, and put them to the torture.
But she kept Gigis in her own apartment; and when
the king demanded her, refused to give her up. At
last Gigis begged of the queen-mother to let her go in
the night to her own house; and the king being in-
formed of it, ordered some of his guards to intercept
her. Accordingly she was seized, and condemned to
die. The laws of Persia have provided this punish-
ment for poisoners: their heads are placed on a broad
stone, and then crushed with another, till nothing of
the figure remains. In that manner was Gigis executed.
As for Parysatis, the king did not reproach her with
her crime, nor punish her any farther than by sending
her to Babylon, (which was the place she desired to
retire to,) and declaring that he would never visit that
city while she lived. Such was the state of his do-
mestic affairs.
He was no less solicitous to get the Greeks into his
hands who had followed Cyrus into Asia, than he had
been to conquer Cyrus himself, and to keep the crown.
But he could not succeed: for though they had lost
Cyrus their general, and their own officers, yet they
forced their way, as it were, out of the very palace of
Artaxerxes, and made it appear to all the world that
the Persians and their king had nothing to value them-
selves on but wealth, luxury, women, and that the rest
was mere parade and ostentation. This gave fresh
spirits to the Greeks, and taught them to despise the
barbarians. The Lacedaemonians, in particular, thought
it would be a great dishonor, if they did not now de-
liver the Asiatic Greeks from servitude, and put an
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? ARTAXERXES.
219
end to the insults of the Persians. Their first attempt
was under the direction of Thimbro, and the next under
that of Dercyllidas; but as those generals effected
nothing of importance, the conduct of the war was given
to Agesilaus. That prince immediately passed into
Asia with his fleet, and soon distinguished himself by
his vigorous operations; for he defeated Tissaphernes
in a pitched battle, and brought over several cities.
By these losses Artaxerxes understood what was his
best method of making war. He therefore sent Her-
mocrates, the Rhodian, into Greece, with a great quan-
tity of gold, having instructed him to corrupt with it
the leading men amongst the states, and to stir up
a Grecian war against Lacedaemon. -
Hermocrates acquitted himself so well in his com-
mission, that the most considerable cities leagued
against Sparta, and there were such commotions in Pe-
loponnesus, that the magistrates were forced to recall
Agesilaus from Asia. On leaving that country he is
reported to have said to his friends, ' The king drives
me out of Asia with thirty thousand archers:' for
the Persian money bore the impression of an archer.
Artaxerxes deprived the Lacedaemonians of the do*
minion of the sea, by means of Conon, the Athenian,
who acted in conjunction with Pharnabazus: for Co-
non, after he had lost the sea-fight at JJgos Potamos,
took up his abode in Cyprus; not merely to provide
for his own safety, but to wait for a change of affairs,
as mariners wait for the turn of the tide. As he saw
that his own plan wanted a respectable power to carry
jt into execution, and that the Persian power required
a person of ability to conduct it, he wrote the king an
account of the measures he had concerted. The mes-
senger was ordered to get the letter delivered into his
hands by Zeno the Cretan, who danced in the revels,
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? 220
PLUTARCH.
or by Polycritus the Mendaean, who was his physician;
and in case of their absence, by Ctesias, another phy-
sician. The letter, we are told, was given to Ctesias,
and he added to it this paragraph: ' I desire you, sir,
to send Ctesias to me, for he will be very serviceable
in the business of the navy. ' But Ctesias affirms that
the king, without any kind of solicitation, put him on
this service.
After Artaxerxes had gained, by Conon and Pharna-
bazus, the battle of Cnidus, which stripped the Lace-
daemonians of the empire of the sea, he drew almost all
Greece into his interest; insomuch, that the celebrated
peace, called the Peace of Antalcidas, was intirely of
his modelling. Antalcidas was a Spartan, the son of
Leon, and so strongly attached to the king, that he
prevailed with the Lacedaemonians to give up to him
all the Greek cities in Asia, and the islands which
are reckoned amongst its dependences, to be held as
his tributaries, in virtue of the peace; if we can call
that a peace by which Greece was dishonored and be-
trayed; which was indeed so vile a bargain, that the
most unsuccessful war could have terminated in no-
thing more inglorious.
Hence it was that Artaxerxes, though, according to
Dinon's account, he always detested the other Spar-
tans as the most impudent of men, yet expressed a
great regard for Antalcidas, when he came to his court.
One evening he took a chaplet of flowers from his
head, dipped it in the richest essences, and sent it from
his table to Antalcidas. All the court was astonished
at such a mark of favor. But there seems to have been
a propriety in making him so ridiculous a compliment;
and he was a fit man to wear such a crown, who could
take off Leonidas and Callicratides in a dance before
the Persians. Somebody happening to say in the hear-
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? ARTAXERXES.
221
ing of Agesilaus, 'Alas for Greece! when the Lacedae-
monians are turning Persians,' he corrected him, and
said, 'No; the Medes are rather turning Lacedae-
monians. But the wit of the expression did not re-
move the disgrace of the thing. They lost their supe-
riority in Greece by the ill-fought battle of Leuctra,
as they had before lost their honor by the vile condi-
tions of this peace.
So long as Sparta kept the lead, the king admitted
Antalcidas to the privileges of hospitality, and called
Him his friend. But when, on their defeat at Leuctra,
the Spartans sent Agesilaus into Egypt, to get a sup-
ply of money, and Antalcidas went on the same busi-
ness to the Persian court, Artaxerxes treated him with
so much neglect and contempt, that between the ridi-
cule he suffered from his enemies, and his fear of the
resentment of the ephori, he resolved, on his return, to
starve himself to death. Ismenias the Theban, and
Pelopidas, who had lately won the battle of Leuctra,
went also to the court of Artaxerxes. Pelopidas sub-
mitted to nothing unworthy of his country or cha-
racter; but Ismenias being commanded to adore the
king, purposely let his ring fall from his finger, and
then, by stooping to take it up, appeared in a posture
of adoration. Timagoras, the Athenian, having given
the king some secret intelligence in a letter which he
sent by a secretary named Beluris, he was so much
pleased, that he made him a present of ten thousand
darics. The same Timagoras wanted a supply of cow's
milk, on account of a languishing disorder, and Arta-
xerxes ordered eighty cows for his use, which were
to follow him wherever he went. He likewise sent
him a bed with the necessary coverlets, and Persian
servants to make it, because he thought the Greeks not
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? PtUTARCH.
skilled in that aft; and he ordered him to be carried
to the sea-side in a litter, on account of his indispo-
sition. To this we may add the allowance for his
table while he was at court, which was so magnificent,
that Ostanes, the king's brother, one day said to him,
'Timagoras, remember this table, for it is not so
sumptuons for nothing. ' This was rather reproaching
him with his treason, than calling for his acknow-
legements. And, indeed, Timagoras, on his return,
was capitally condemned by the Athenians for taking
bribes.
Artaxerxes, in some measure, atoned for the causes
of sorrow he gave the Greeks, by doing one thing that
afforded them great pleasure: he put Tissaphernes
their most implacable enemy to death. This he did
partly at the instigation of Parysatis, who added other
charges to those alleged against him: for he did not
long retain his anger, but was reconciled to his mother,
and sent for her to court; because he saw she had
understanding and spirit enough to assist in governing
the kingdom, and there now remained no farther cause
of suspicions and uneasiness between them. From this
time she made it a rule to please the king in all her
measures, and not to oppose any of his inclinations, by
which she gained an absolute ascendant over him. She
perceived that he had a strong passion for one of his
own daughters, named Atossa. He endeavored, indeed,
to conceal it on his mother's account, and restrained it
in public. Parysatis no sooner suspected the intrigue,
than she caressed her grand-daughter more than ever;
and was continually praising to Artaxerxes both her
beauty and her behavior, in which she assured him
there was something great and worthy of a crown. At
last she persuaded him to make her his wife, without
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? AKTAXERXES.
regarding the laws and opinions of the Greeks. 'God,'
said she, 'has made you a law to the Persians, and a
rule of right and wrong. ' Some historians, amongst
whom is Heraclides of Cumae, affirm, that Artaxerxes
married not only Atossa, hut another of his daughters,
named Amestris, of whom we shall speak by and by.
His affection for Atossa was so strong, that though she
bad a leprosy, which spread itself over her body, he
was not disgusted at it; but be was daily imploring
Juno for her, and grasping the dust of her temple;
for be paid his homage to no other goddess. At the
same time, by bis order, bis great officers sent so many
offerings to her shrine, that the whole space between
the palace and the temple, which was sixteen fur-
longs, was filled with gold, silver, purple, and fine
horses.
He sent Pharnabazus and Iphicrates to make war on
the Egyptians; but the expedition miscarried through
the difference which happened between the generals he
employed. After this he went in person against the
Cadusiaus, with three hundred thousand foot, and ten
thousand horse. Their country is rough and uneven,
and covered with perpetual fogs. As it produces no
corn or fruits by cultivation, the inhabitants, a fierce
and warlike race of men, live on wild pears, apples,
and other things of that kind. He therefore insensibly
fell into great danger and distress; for his troops could
find no provisions there, nor could they be supplied
from any other place. They were forced to kill their
beasts of burden, and eat them; and those became so
scarce, that an ass's head was sold for sixty drachmas.
The king's table itself was ill supplied; and there re-
mained only a few horses, all the rest having been used
for food.
In this extremity Tiribazus, who often was in high
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PLUTARCH.
favor on account of his valor, and often degraded for
his levity, and who at this very time was in the great-
est disgrace, saved the king and his whole army by
the following stratagem. The Cadusians having two
kings, each had his separate camp. On this Tiribazus
formed his scheme; and, after he had communicated it
to Artaxerxes, went himself to one of those princes,
and sent his son to the other. Each imposed on the
king he applied to, by pretending that the other was
going to send a private embassy to Artaxerxes, to ne-
gotiate a separate alliance. 'But if you are wise,'
said they, 'you will be beforehand with your rival,'
and we will assist you in the whole affair. This argu-
ment had its effect; and each, persuaded that the other
was undermining him out of envy, sent his ambassa-
dors; the one with Tiribazus, and the other with his
son. As some time passed before they returned, Arta-
xerxes began to suspect; and there were those who
suggested that Tiribazus had some traitorous design.
The king was extremely dejected, and, repenting of
the confidence he had reposed in him, gave ear to all
the calumnies of his enemies. But at last Tiribazus
arrived, as did also his son, with the Cadusian ambas-
sadors, and peace was made with both parties; in con-
sequence of which Tiribazus returned with the king in
greater esteem and authority than ever. During this
expedition Artaxerxes showed that timidity and effe-
minacy ought not to be ascribed, as they generally are,
to the pomp and luxuries of life, but to a native mean-
ness and a depraved judgment: for neither the gold,
the purple, nor the jewels, which the king always wore,
and which were worth no less than twelve thousand
talents, hindered him from bearing the same fatigues
and hardships with the meanest soldier in his army.
He took his quiver on his back, and his buckler on his
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? ARTAXERXES.
225
arm, and quitting his horse, would often march fore-
most up the most craggy and difficult places; inso-
much, that others found their task much lighter, when
they saw the strength and alacrity with which he pro-
ceeded; for he marched above two hundred furlongs a
day.
At last he arrived at one of his own palaces, where,
there were gardens and parks of great extent and
beauty, though the country around it was naked and
barren. As the weather was exceedingly cold, he per-
mitted his men to cut wood out of his own parks, with-
out sparing either pine or cypress: and when the sol-
diers were loth to touch trees of such size and beauty,
he took an axe in his own hand, and laid it to the
finest tree amongst them. After which they cut them
down without scruple, and, having made a number of
fires, passed the night with great satisfaction.
He found, however, on his arrival at his capital, that
he had lost many brave men, and almost all his horses;
and imagining that he was despised for his losses, and
the ill success of the expedition, he became suspicious
of his grandees. Many of them he put to death in
anger, and more out of fear: for fear is the most san-
guinary principle a tyrant can act from; courage, on
the contrary, is merciful, mild, and unsuspicious. Thus
the most timorous animals are the hardest to be tamed;
but the more generous, having less suspicion, because
they have less fear, fly not the caresses and society of
men.
Artaxerxes being now far advanced in years, ob-*
served his sons making parties for the crown amongst
his friends and the rest of the nobility. The more
equitable part were for his leaving it to his eldest son
Darius, as he had received it from his father in the
PLUT. VOL. VII. P
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? PLUTARCH.
same right. But Lis younger son, Ochus, who was an
active man, and of a violent spirit, had also a consi-
derable interest among the grandees. Besides, he
hoped to gain his father through Atossa; for he paid
his court to her, and promised to make her the partner
of his throne on the death of Artaxerxes. Nay, it was
said that he had already private familiarities with her.
Artaxerxes, though he was ignorant of this circum-
stance, resolved to cut off the hopes of Ochus at once;
lest, following the daring steps of his uncle Cyrus, he
should involve the kingdom again in civil wars. He
therefore declared Darius his successor, who was now
twenty-five years old, and permitted him to wear the
point of his turban erect, as a mark of royalty.
As it is customary in Persia for the heir to ask a fa-
vor of him that declared him such, which, if possible,
is always granted, Darius asked for Aspasia, who had
been the favorite companion of Cyrus, and was now one
of the king's favorites. She was a native of Phocea
in Ionia, and her parents, who were above the condi-
tion of slaves, had given her a good education. One
evening she was introduced to Cyrus at supper with
the other women. They approached him without scru-
ple, and received his jokes and caresses with pleasure:
but Aspasia stood by in silence ; and when Cyrus called
her, she refused to go. Perceiving that the chamber-
lains were about to compel her, she said, 'Whoever
lays hands on me shall repent it. ' On which the com-
pany looked on her as an unpolished creature; but
Cyrus was pleased, and said, with a smile, to the per-
son who brought the women, 'Do not you see, that of
all you have provided, this only has generous and vir-
tuous sentiments? ' From this moment he attached
himself to her, loved her most of all his favorites,
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? ARTAXERXES.
227
and called her 'Aspasia the Wise. ' When Cyrus fell
in battle, she was taken amongst the plunder of his
camp.
Artaxerxes was much concerned at his son's request;
for the barbarians are so extremely jealous of their
women, that capital punishment is inflicted, not only
on the man who speaks to, or touches one of the king's
favorites, but on him who approaches or passes their
chariots on the road. And though, in compliance with
the dictates of his passion, he had made Atossa his
wife contrary to law, he kept three hundred and sixty
favorite women, all of the greatest beauty. However,
when Darius demanded Aspasia, he declared her free,
and said, 'She might go with him if she pleased;
but he would do no violence to her inclinations. ' Ac-
cordingly Aspasia was sent for, and, contrary to the
king's expectation, made choice of Darius. He gave
her up to him, indeed, because he was obliged to it by
the law; but he soon took her away, and made her a
priestess of Diana of Ecbatana, whom they call Anitis,
that she might pass the remainder of her life in chas-
tity. This he thought no severe revenge on his son,
but a pleasant way of chastising his presumption. But
Darius highly resented the affront; whether it was that
the charms of Aspasia had made a deep impression on
him, or whether he thought himself insulted and ridi-
culed by this proceeding.
Tiribazus, seeing how much he was offended, endea-
vored to exasperate him still more. This he did from
a fellow feeling; for he had suffered an injury much
of the same kind. The king, having several daughters,
promised to give Apama to Pharnabazus, Rhodogune
to Orontes, and Amestris to Tiribazus. He kept his
word with the two first, but deceived Tiribazus; for,
instead of giving Amestris to him, he married her him-
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I-
PLUTARCH.
self; promising, at the same time, that he should have
his youngest daughter Atossa. But he became ena-
moured of her too, and married her, as we have al-
ready mentioned. This treatment extremely incensed
Tiribazus, who had indeed nothing steady in his dispo-
sition, but was wild and irregular. One while suc-
cessful, and on a footing with the greatest men in the
court, another while unacceptable to the king, and
sinking into disgrace, he bore no change of fortune
with propriety. If he was in favor, his vanity was
insupportable; if in disgrace, instead of being humble
and quiet, he had recourse to violence and ferocity.
His conversing with the young prince was therefore
adding flame to fire. 'What avails it,' said he, 'to
have the point of your turban advanced, if you seek
not to advance your authority? Nothing can be more
absurd than your thinking yourself secure of the suc-
cession, while your brother is privately forwarding his
interest by means of the women, and your father is so
very foolish and unsteady. He who could break one
of the most sacred laws of the Persians, for the sake
of an insignificant Grecian woman, is certainly not to
be depended on in more important engagements. The
case is quite different between you and Ochus, as to
the event of the competition: if Ochus does not obtain
the crown, none will hinder him from livrng happily in
a private station; but you, who have been declared
king, must either reign or die. ' On this occasion was
verified that observation of Sophocles:
Swift in its march
Is evil counsel.
The road which leads us to what we desire is indeed
smooth, and of an easy descent; and the desires of
most men are vicious, because they have never known
or tried the enjoyments of virtue. The lustre of such
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? ARTAXERXES.
229
an imperial crown, and Darius' fear of his brother,
furnished Tiribazus with other arguments; but the
goddess of beauty contributed her share towards per-
suading him, by putting him in mind of the loss of
Aspasia.
He gave himself up therefore intirely to Tiribazus,
and many others soon entered into the conspiracy.
But before it could be carried into execution a slave
gave the king information of it, and of all the measures
that were taken; for he had got perfect intelligence
that they designed to enter his chamber in the night,
and kill him in his bed.
Artaxerxes thought it would be great imprudence
either to slight the information, and lay himself open
to such danger, or to credit it without farther proof.
The method he took was this: he ordered the slave to
join Darius and his adherents, and assist at all their
councils; and in the mean time broke a door through
the wall behind his bed, which he concealed with the
tapestry. When the time came, which the slave in-
formed him of, he placed himself on his bed, and re-
mained there till he had a sight of the faces of the
conspirators, and could perfectly distinguish each of
them. But when he saw them draw their swords, and
advance towards him, he pulled back the tapestry, re-
treated into the inner room, and, after he had bolted
the door, alarmed the palace. The assassins seeing
themselves discovered, and their designs disappointed,
immediately took to flight, and desired Tiribazus to
do the same, because he must certainly have been ob-
served. While he lingered the guards came and laid
hold of him; but he killed many of them, and it was
with difficulty that he was despatched at last by a ja-
velin thrown at a distance.
Darius was taken, together with his children, and
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? PLUTARCH.
brought to answer for his crime before the judges
which the king appointed. The king did not think
proper to assist at the trial in person, but directed
others to lay the charge against his son, and his nota-
ries were to take down separately the opinion of each
judge. As they all gave it unanimously for death, the
officers took Darius, and led him to an adjacent prison.
But when the executioner came, with the instrument
in his hand which is used in beheading the capital con-
victs, he was seized with horror at the sight of Darius,
and drew back towards the door, as having neither abi-
lity nor courage to lay violent hands on his king. But
the judges who stood at the door, urging him to do his
office, with menaces of instant punishment if he did
not comply, he returned, and seizing Darius by the
hair, threw him on the ground, and cut off his head.
Some say the cause was tried in presence of the king,
and that Darius, after he was convicted by indubitable
proofs, fell on his face and begged for mercy, but Ar-
taxerxes, rising in great anger, drew his cimeter, and
pursued his stroke till he laid him dead at his feet.
They add, that after this he returned to his palace;
and having paid his devotions to the sun, said to those
who assisted at the ceremony, ' My Persians, you may
now return in triumph, and tell your fellow-subjects
that the great Oromazes1 has taken vengeance on those
who formed the most impious and execrable designs
against their sovereign. ' Such was the end of the con-
spiracy.
Ochus now entertained very agreeable hopes, and
was encouraged besides by Atossa. But he had still
some fear of his remaining legitimate brother, Ariaspes,
and of his natural brother Arsames. Not that Ochus
1 The Persians worshipped Oromazes as the author of good,
and Arimauius as the author of evil.
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? ARTAXERXES.
231
had so much to apprehend from Ariaspes, merely be-
cause he was older, but the Persians were desirous of
having him succeed to the throne on account of his
mildness, his sincerity, and his humane disposition.
As for Arsames, he had the character of a wise prince,
and was the particular favorite of his father. This
was no secret to Ochus. However, he planned the
destruction of both these brothers of his; and being
of an artful, as well as sanguinary turn, he employed
his cruelty against Arsames, and his art against Ari-
aspes. To the latter he privately sent some of the
king's slaves and friends with frequent accounts of se-
vere and menacing expressions of his father's, as if he
had resolved to put him to a cruel and ignominious
death. As these persons came daily to tell him in
confidence, that some of these threats were on the
point of being put in execution, and the others would
not be long delayed, he was so terrified, and fell into
such a melancholy and desponding way, that he pre-
pared a poisonous draught, and drank it, to deliver
himself from the burden of life.
The king being informed of the manner of his death,
sincerely lamented him, and had some suspicion of the
cause, but could not examine into it thoroughly on ac-
count of his great age.
However, Arsames now became dearer to him than
ever, and it was easy to see that the king placed an
intire confidence in him, and communicated to him his
most secret thoughts. Ochus, therefore, would not
defer his enterprise longer, but employed Harpates,
the son of Tiribazus, to kill Arsames. Artaxerxes,
whom time had brought to the very verge of life, when
he had this additional stroke in the fate of Arsames,
could not make much more struggle; his sorrow and
regret soon brought him to the grave. He lived nine-
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PLUTARCH.
ty-four years, and reigned sixty-two. He had the
character of a prince who governed with lenity, and
loved his people. But perhaps the hehavior of his
successor might contribute not a little to his reputa-
tion; for Ochus was the most cruel and sanguinary of
princes.
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\
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213
chain! how valuable your cimeter! He has cer-
tainly made you not only a great, but a happy man. '
Mithridates, who by this time was flushed with wine,
made answer, 'What are these things, Sparamixes 1
I deserve much greater marks of honor than these for
the services I rendered the king that day. ' Then Spa-
ramixes replied, with a smile, 'I speak not in the
least out of envy; but since, according to the Greek
proverb, there is truth in wine, let me tell you my
mind freely, and ask you what great matter it is to
find a horse's furniture fallen off, and bring it to the
king. ' This he said, not that he was ignorant of the
real state of the case; but because he wanted to lay
him open, and saw that the wine had made him talka-
tive, and taken him off his guard, he studied to pique
his vanity. Mithridates, no longer master of himself,
said,' You may talk of what furniture and what trifles
you please; but I tell you plainly, it was by this hand
that Cyrus was slain: for I did not, like Artagerses,
throw my javelin in vain, but pierced his temples near
the eye, and brought him to the ground; and of that
wound he died. ' The rest of the company saw the
dreadful fate that would befall Mithridates, and looked
with dejected eyes on the ground; but he who gave
the entertainment said, ' Let us now attend to our eat-
ing and drinking; and adoring the fortune of the king,
let such matters alone as are too high for us. '
Immediately after the company broke up the slave
told Parysatis what had been said, and she informed
the king, Artaxerxes, like a person detected, and one
who had lost a victory out of his hands, was enraged
at this discovery: for he was desirous of making all
the barbarians and Greeks believe, that in the several
encounters he both gave and received blows; and that
though he was wounded himself, he killed his adver-
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? PLUTARCH.
sary. He therefore condemned Mithridates to the
punishment of ' the hoat. ' The manner of it is this.
They take two hoats, which are made to fit each other,
and extend the criminal in one of them in a supine
posture. Then they turn the other on it, so that the
poor wretch's hody is covered, and only the head and
hands are out at one end, and the feet at the other.
They give him victuals daily, and if he refuses to eat,
they compef him by pricking him in the eyes. After be
has eaten, they make him drink a mixture of honey and
milk, which they pour into his mouth. They spread
the same, too, over his face, and always turn him so as
to have the sun full in his eyes; the consequence of
which is, that his face is covered with swarms of flies.
As all the necessary evacuations of a man who eats
and drinks are within the boat, the filthiness and cor-
ruption engender a quantity of worms, which consume
his flesh, and penetrate to his entrails. When they
find that the man is dead, they take off the upper boat,
and have the spectacle of a carcass whose flesh is eaten
away, and of numberless vermin dinging to and gnaw-
ing the bowels. Mithridates with much difficulty found
death, after he had been consumed in this manner for
seventeen days.
There remained now no other mark for the vengeanee
of Parysatis but Mesabates, one of the king's slaves,
who cut off Cyrus' head and hand. As he took care
to give her no handle against him, she laid this scheme
for his destruction. She was a woman of keen parts
in all respects, and in particular she played well at
dice. The king often played with her before the war,
and being reconciled to her after it, took the same dir
version with her. She was even the confidant of his
pleasures, and scrupled not to assist him in any thing
of gallantry.
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? AETAXERXES.
Statira indeed was the object of her hatred, and she
let her have a very small share of the king's company;
for she was determined to have the principal interest
with bim herself. One day finding Artaxerxes wanted
something to pass away the time, she challenged him
to play for a thousand darks, and purposely managed
her dice so ill, that she lost. She paid the money im-
mediately, but pretended to be much chagrined, and
called on him to play again for a slave. He consented
to the proposal, and they agreed each of tbem to ex-
cept five of their most faithful slaves ; the winner was
to have his choice out of the rest. On these conditions
they played. The queen, who had the affair at heart,
exerted all her skill, and being favored besides by the
dice, won the slave, and pitched on Mesabates, who was
not of the number of the excepted. He was immedi-
ately delivered to her, and before the king suspected
any thing of her intentions, she put him in the hands of
the executioners, with orders to flay bim alive, to fix
his body on three stakes, and to stretch out his skin by
itself. The king was highly incensed, and expressed
bis resentment in strong terms: but she only said in a
laughing ironical way, 'This is pleasant indeed, that
you must be so angry about an old useless slave, while
I say not a word of my loss of a thousand darics! '
The king, though much concerned at the imposition,
held his peace. But Statira, who on other occasions
openly censured the practice of the queen mother, com-
plained now of her injustice and cruelty, in sacrificing
to Cyrus the slaves, and other faithful servants of the
king.
After Tissaphernes bad deceived Clearchus and the
other Grecian officers, and, contrary to the treaty and
his oaths, put them in chains, Ctesias tells us that Cle-
archus made interest with him for the recovery of a
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? 216
PLUTARCH.
comb. When he had obtained it, it seems, he was so
much pleased with the use of it, that he took his ring
from his finger, and gave it Ctesias, that it might ap-
pear as a token of his regard for him to his friends and
relations in Lacedaemon. The device was a dance of
the Caryatides. He adds, that whenever provisions
were sent to Clearchus, his fellow-prisoners took most
of them for themselves, and left him a very small share:
but that he corrected this abuse, by procuring a larger
quantity to be sent to Clearchus, and separating the
allowance of the others from his. All this, according
to our author, was done with the consent, and by the
favor of Parysatis. As he sent every day a gammon
of bacon among the provisions, Clearchus suggested to
him that he might easily conceal a small dagger in the
fleshy part, and begged earnestly that he would do it,
that his fate might not be left to the cruel disposition
of Artaxerxes; but, through fear of the king's dis-
pleasure, he refused it. The king, however, at the re-
quest of his mother, promised, on oath, not to put Cle-
archus to death; but afterwards he was persuaded by
Statira to destroy all the prisoners except Menon. On
this account he tells us Parysatis plotted against Sta-
tira, and resolved to take her off by poison. But it is
a great absurdity in Ctesias to assign so disproportion-
ate a cause. Would Parysatis, for the sake of Clear-
chus, undertake so horrid and dangerous an enterprise,
as that of poisoning the king's lawful wife, by whom
he had children and an heir to his crown? It is clear
enough that he tells this fabulous tale to do honor to
the memory of Clearchus: for he adds, that the car-
casses of the other officers were torn in pieces by dogs
and birds; but that a storm of wind brought a great
heap of sand, and provided a tomb for Clearchus.
Around this heap there sprang up a number of palm-
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? ARTAXERXES.
trees, which soon grew into an admirable grove, and
spread their protecting shade over the place ;, so that
the king repented greatly of what he had done, be-
lieving that he had destroyed a man who was a favorite
of the gods.
It was therefore only from the hatred and jealousy
which Parysatis had entertained of Statira from the
first, that she embarked in so cruel a design. She saw
that her own power with the king depended only on
his reverence for her as his mother; whereas that of
Statira was founded in love, and confirmed by the
greatest confidence in her fidelity. The point she had
to carry was great, and she resolved to make one despe-
rate effort. She had a faithful and favorite attendant,
named Gigis, who, as Dinon tells us, assisted in the
affair of the poison ; but, according to Ctesias, she was
only conscious to it, and that against her will. The
former calls the person who provided the poison Me-
lantas; the latter, Belitaras.
These two princesses had, in appearance, forgot
their old suspicions and animosities, and began to visit
and eat at each other's table. But they did it with so
much distrust and caution, as to make it a rule to eat
of the same dish, and even of the same slices. There
is a small bird in Persia, which has no secretion, the
intestines being only filled with fat; on which account
it is supposed to live on air and dew: the name of it is
rhyntaces. Ctesias writes, that Parysatis divided one
of these birds with a small knife that was poisoned on
one side, and taking the wholesomer part herself, gave
the other to Statira. Dinon, however, affirms that it
was not Parysatis, but Melantas, who cut the bird in
two, and presented the poisoned part to Statira. Be
that as it may, she died in dreadful agonies and con-
vulsions; and was not only sensible herself of the
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? 218
PLUTARCH.
cause, but intimated her suspicions to the king, who
knew too well the savage and implacable temper of his
mother: he therefore immediately made an inqusition
into the affair. He took her officers and servants that
attended at her table, and put them to the torture.
But she kept Gigis in her own apartment; and when
the king demanded her, refused to give her up. At
last Gigis begged of the queen-mother to let her go in
the night to her own house; and the king being in-
formed of it, ordered some of his guards to intercept
her. Accordingly she was seized, and condemned to
die. The laws of Persia have provided this punish-
ment for poisoners: their heads are placed on a broad
stone, and then crushed with another, till nothing of
the figure remains. In that manner was Gigis executed.
As for Parysatis, the king did not reproach her with
her crime, nor punish her any farther than by sending
her to Babylon, (which was the place she desired to
retire to,) and declaring that he would never visit that
city while she lived. Such was the state of his do-
mestic affairs.
He was no less solicitous to get the Greeks into his
hands who had followed Cyrus into Asia, than he had
been to conquer Cyrus himself, and to keep the crown.
But he could not succeed: for though they had lost
Cyrus their general, and their own officers, yet they
forced their way, as it were, out of the very palace of
Artaxerxes, and made it appear to all the world that
the Persians and their king had nothing to value them-
selves on but wealth, luxury, women, and that the rest
was mere parade and ostentation. This gave fresh
spirits to the Greeks, and taught them to despise the
barbarians. The Lacedaemonians, in particular, thought
it would be a great dishonor, if they did not now de-
liver the Asiatic Greeks from servitude, and put an
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? ARTAXERXES.
219
end to the insults of the Persians. Their first attempt
was under the direction of Thimbro, and the next under
that of Dercyllidas; but as those generals effected
nothing of importance, the conduct of the war was given
to Agesilaus. That prince immediately passed into
Asia with his fleet, and soon distinguished himself by
his vigorous operations; for he defeated Tissaphernes
in a pitched battle, and brought over several cities.
By these losses Artaxerxes understood what was his
best method of making war. He therefore sent Her-
mocrates, the Rhodian, into Greece, with a great quan-
tity of gold, having instructed him to corrupt with it
the leading men amongst the states, and to stir up
a Grecian war against Lacedaemon. -
Hermocrates acquitted himself so well in his com-
mission, that the most considerable cities leagued
against Sparta, and there were such commotions in Pe-
loponnesus, that the magistrates were forced to recall
Agesilaus from Asia. On leaving that country he is
reported to have said to his friends, ' The king drives
me out of Asia with thirty thousand archers:' for
the Persian money bore the impression of an archer.
Artaxerxes deprived the Lacedaemonians of the do*
minion of the sea, by means of Conon, the Athenian,
who acted in conjunction with Pharnabazus: for Co-
non, after he had lost the sea-fight at JJgos Potamos,
took up his abode in Cyprus; not merely to provide
for his own safety, but to wait for a change of affairs,
as mariners wait for the turn of the tide. As he saw
that his own plan wanted a respectable power to carry
jt into execution, and that the Persian power required
a person of ability to conduct it, he wrote the king an
account of the measures he had concerted. The mes-
senger was ordered to get the letter delivered into his
hands by Zeno the Cretan, who danced in the revels,
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PLUTARCH.
or by Polycritus the Mendaean, who was his physician;
and in case of their absence, by Ctesias, another phy-
sician. The letter, we are told, was given to Ctesias,
and he added to it this paragraph: ' I desire you, sir,
to send Ctesias to me, for he will be very serviceable
in the business of the navy. ' But Ctesias affirms that
the king, without any kind of solicitation, put him on
this service.
After Artaxerxes had gained, by Conon and Pharna-
bazus, the battle of Cnidus, which stripped the Lace-
daemonians of the empire of the sea, he drew almost all
Greece into his interest; insomuch, that the celebrated
peace, called the Peace of Antalcidas, was intirely of
his modelling. Antalcidas was a Spartan, the son of
Leon, and so strongly attached to the king, that he
prevailed with the Lacedaemonians to give up to him
all the Greek cities in Asia, and the islands which
are reckoned amongst its dependences, to be held as
his tributaries, in virtue of the peace; if we can call
that a peace by which Greece was dishonored and be-
trayed; which was indeed so vile a bargain, that the
most unsuccessful war could have terminated in no-
thing more inglorious.
Hence it was that Artaxerxes, though, according to
Dinon's account, he always detested the other Spar-
tans as the most impudent of men, yet expressed a
great regard for Antalcidas, when he came to his court.
One evening he took a chaplet of flowers from his
head, dipped it in the richest essences, and sent it from
his table to Antalcidas. All the court was astonished
at such a mark of favor. But there seems to have been
a propriety in making him so ridiculous a compliment;
and he was a fit man to wear such a crown, who could
take off Leonidas and Callicratides in a dance before
the Persians. Somebody happening to say in the hear-
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? ARTAXERXES.
221
ing of Agesilaus, 'Alas for Greece! when the Lacedae-
monians are turning Persians,' he corrected him, and
said, 'No; the Medes are rather turning Lacedae-
monians. But the wit of the expression did not re-
move the disgrace of the thing. They lost their supe-
riority in Greece by the ill-fought battle of Leuctra,
as they had before lost their honor by the vile condi-
tions of this peace.
So long as Sparta kept the lead, the king admitted
Antalcidas to the privileges of hospitality, and called
Him his friend. But when, on their defeat at Leuctra,
the Spartans sent Agesilaus into Egypt, to get a sup-
ply of money, and Antalcidas went on the same busi-
ness to the Persian court, Artaxerxes treated him with
so much neglect and contempt, that between the ridi-
cule he suffered from his enemies, and his fear of the
resentment of the ephori, he resolved, on his return, to
starve himself to death. Ismenias the Theban, and
Pelopidas, who had lately won the battle of Leuctra,
went also to the court of Artaxerxes. Pelopidas sub-
mitted to nothing unworthy of his country or cha-
racter; but Ismenias being commanded to adore the
king, purposely let his ring fall from his finger, and
then, by stooping to take it up, appeared in a posture
of adoration. Timagoras, the Athenian, having given
the king some secret intelligence in a letter which he
sent by a secretary named Beluris, he was so much
pleased, that he made him a present of ten thousand
darics. The same Timagoras wanted a supply of cow's
milk, on account of a languishing disorder, and Arta-
xerxes ordered eighty cows for his use, which were
to follow him wherever he went. He likewise sent
him a bed with the necessary coverlets, and Persian
servants to make it, because he thought the Greeks not
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? PtUTARCH.
skilled in that aft; and he ordered him to be carried
to the sea-side in a litter, on account of his indispo-
sition. To this we may add the allowance for his
table while he was at court, which was so magnificent,
that Ostanes, the king's brother, one day said to him,
'Timagoras, remember this table, for it is not so
sumptuons for nothing. ' This was rather reproaching
him with his treason, than calling for his acknow-
legements. And, indeed, Timagoras, on his return,
was capitally condemned by the Athenians for taking
bribes.
Artaxerxes, in some measure, atoned for the causes
of sorrow he gave the Greeks, by doing one thing that
afforded them great pleasure: he put Tissaphernes
their most implacable enemy to death. This he did
partly at the instigation of Parysatis, who added other
charges to those alleged against him: for he did not
long retain his anger, but was reconciled to his mother,
and sent for her to court; because he saw she had
understanding and spirit enough to assist in governing
the kingdom, and there now remained no farther cause
of suspicions and uneasiness between them. From this
time she made it a rule to please the king in all her
measures, and not to oppose any of his inclinations, by
which she gained an absolute ascendant over him. She
perceived that he had a strong passion for one of his
own daughters, named Atossa. He endeavored, indeed,
to conceal it on his mother's account, and restrained it
in public. Parysatis no sooner suspected the intrigue,
than she caressed her grand-daughter more than ever;
and was continually praising to Artaxerxes both her
beauty and her behavior, in which she assured him
there was something great and worthy of a crown. At
last she persuaded him to make her his wife, without
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? AKTAXERXES.
regarding the laws and opinions of the Greeks. 'God,'
said she, 'has made you a law to the Persians, and a
rule of right and wrong. ' Some historians, amongst
whom is Heraclides of Cumae, affirm, that Artaxerxes
married not only Atossa, hut another of his daughters,
named Amestris, of whom we shall speak by and by.
His affection for Atossa was so strong, that though she
bad a leprosy, which spread itself over her body, he
was not disgusted at it; but be was daily imploring
Juno for her, and grasping the dust of her temple;
for be paid his homage to no other goddess. At the
same time, by bis order, bis great officers sent so many
offerings to her shrine, that the whole space between
the palace and the temple, which was sixteen fur-
longs, was filled with gold, silver, purple, and fine
horses.
He sent Pharnabazus and Iphicrates to make war on
the Egyptians; but the expedition miscarried through
the difference which happened between the generals he
employed. After this he went in person against the
Cadusiaus, with three hundred thousand foot, and ten
thousand horse. Their country is rough and uneven,
and covered with perpetual fogs. As it produces no
corn or fruits by cultivation, the inhabitants, a fierce
and warlike race of men, live on wild pears, apples,
and other things of that kind. He therefore insensibly
fell into great danger and distress; for his troops could
find no provisions there, nor could they be supplied
from any other place. They were forced to kill their
beasts of burden, and eat them; and those became so
scarce, that an ass's head was sold for sixty drachmas.
The king's table itself was ill supplied; and there re-
mained only a few horses, all the rest having been used
for food.
In this extremity Tiribazus, who often was in high
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PLUTARCH.
favor on account of his valor, and often degraded for
his levity, and who at this very time was in the great-
est disgrace, saved the king and his whole army by
the following stratagem. The Cadusians having two
kings, each had his separate camp. On this Tiribazus
formed his scheme; and, after he had communicated it
to Artaxerxes, went himself to one of those princes,
and sent his son to the other. Each imposed on the
king he applied to, by pretending that the other was
going to send a private embassy to Artaxerxes, to ne-
gotiate a separate alliance. 'But if you are wise,'
said they, 'you will be beforehand with your rival,'
and we will assist you in the whole affair. This argu-
ment had its effect; and each, persuaded that the other
was undermining him out of envy, sent his ambassa-
dors; the one with Tiribazus, and the other with his
son. As some time passed before they returned, Arta-
xerxes began to suspect; and there were those who
suggested that Tiribazus had some traitorous design.
The king was extremely dejected, and, repenting of
the confidence he had reposed in him, gave ear to all
the calumnies of his enemies. But at last Tiribazus
arrived, as did also his son, with the Cadusian ambas-
sadors, and peace was made with both parties; in con-
sequence of which Tiribazus returned with the king in
greater esteem and authority than ever. During this
expedition Artaxerxes showed that timidity and effe-
minacy ought not to be ascribed, as they generally are,
to the pomp and luxuries of life, but to a native mean-
ness and a depraved judgment: for neither the gold,
the purple, nor the jewels, which the king always wore,
and which were worth no less than twelve thousand
talents, hindered him from bearing the same fatigues
and hardships with the meanest soldier in his army.
He took his quiver on his back, and his buckler on his
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? ARTAXERXES.
225
arm, and quitting his horse, would often march fore-
most up the most craggy and difficult places; inso-
much, that others found their task much lighter, when
they saw the strength and alacrity with which he pro-
ceeded; for he marched above two hundred furlongs a
day.
At last he arrived at one of his own palaces, where,
there were gardens and parks of great extent and
beauty, though the country around it was naked and
barren. As the weather was exceedingly cold, he per-
mitted his men to cut wood out of his own parks, with-
out sparing either pine or cypress: and when the sol-
diers were loth to touch trees of such size and beauty,
he took an axe in his own hand, and laid it to the
finest tree amongst them. After which they cut them
down without scruple, and, having made a number of
fires, passed the night with great satisfaction.
He found, however, on his arrival at his capital, that
he had lost many brave men, and almost all his horses;
and imagining that he was despised for his losses, and
the ill success of the expedition, he became suspicious
of his grandees. Many of them he put to death in
anger, and more out of fear: for fear is the most san-
guinary principle a tyrant can act from; courage, on
the contrary, is merciful, mild, and unsuspicious. Thus
the most timorous animals are the hardest to be tamed;
but the more generous, having less suspicion, because
they have less fear, fly not the caresses and society of
men.
Artaxerxes being now far advanced in years, ob-*
served his sons making parties for the crown amongst
his friends and the rest of the nobility. The more
equitable part were for his leaving it to his eldest son
Darius, as he had received it from his father in the
PLUT. VOL. VII. P
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? PLUTARCH.
same right. But Lis younger son, Ochus, who was an
active man, and of a violent spirit, had also a consi-
derable interest among the grandees. Besides, he
hoped to gain his father through Atossa; for he paid
his court to her, and promised to make her the partner
of his throne on the death of Artaxerxes. Nay, it was
said that he had already private familiarities with her.
Artaxerxes, though he was ignorant of this circum-
stance, resolved to cut off the hopes of Ochus at once;
lest, following the daring steps of his uncle Cyrus, he
should involve the kingdom again in civil wars. He
therefore declared Darius his successor, who was now
twenty-five years old, and permitted him to wear the
point of his turban erect, as a mark of royalty.
As it is customary in Persia for the heir to ask a fa-
vor of him that declared him such, which, if possible,
is always granted, Darius asked for Aspasia, who had
been the favorite companion of Cyrus, and was now one
of the king's favorites. She was a native of Phocea
in Ionia, and her parents, who were above the condi-
tion of slaves, had given her a good education. One
evening she was introduced to Cyrus at supper with
the other women. They approached him without scru-
ple, and received his jokes and caresses with pleasure:
but Aspasia stood by in silence ; and when Cyrus called
her, she refused to go. Perceiving that the chamber-
lains were about to compel her, she said, 'Whoever
lays hands on me shall repent it. ' On which the com-
pany looked on her as an unpolished creature; but
Cyrus was pleased, and said, with a smile, to the per-
son who brought the women, 'Do not you see, that of
all you have provided, this only has generous and vir-
tuous sentiments? ' From this moment he attached
himself to her, loved her most of all his favorites,
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? ARTAXERXES.
227
and called her 'Aspasia the Wise. ' When Cyrus fell
in battle, she was taken amongst the plunder of his
camp.
Artaxerxes was much concerned at his son's request;
for the barbarians are so extremely jealous of their
women, that capital punishment is inflicted, not only
on the man who speaks to, or touches one of the king's
favorites, but on him who approaches or passes their
chariots on the road. And though, in compliance with
the dictates of his passion, he had made Atossa his
wife contrary to law, he kept three hundred and sixty
favorite women, all of the greatest beauty. However,
when Darius demanded Aspasia, he declared her free,
and said, 'She might go with him if she pleased;
but he would do no violence to her inclinations. ' Ac-
cordingly Aspasia was sent for, and, contrary to the
king's expectation, made choice of Darius. He gave
her up to him, indeed, because he was obliged to it by
the law; but he soon took her away, and made her a
priestess of Diana of Ecbatana, whom they call Anitis,
that she might pass the remainder of her life in chas-
tity. This he thought no severe revenge on his son,
but a pleasant way of chastising his presumption. But
Darius highly resented the affront; whether it was that
the charms of Aspasia had made a deep impression on
him, or whether he thought himself insulted and ridi-
culed by this proceeding.
Tiribazus, seeing how much he was offended, endea-
vored to exasperate him still more. This he did from
a fellow feeling; for he had suffered an injury much
of the same kind. The king, having several daughters,
promised to give Apama to Pharnabazus, Rhodogune
to Orontes, and Amestris to Tiribazus. He kept his
word with the two first, but deceived Tiribazus; for,
instead of giving Amestris to him, he married her him-
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? 228
I-
PLUTARCH.
self; promising, at the same time, that he should have
his youngest daughter Atossa. But he became ena-
moured of her too, and married her, as we have al-
ready mentioned. This treatment extremely incensed
Tiribazus, who had indeed nothing steady in his dispo-
sition, but was wild and irregular. One while suc-
cessful, and on a footing with the greatest men in the
court, another while unacceptable to the king, and
sinking into disgrace, he bore no change of fortune
with propriety. If he was in favor, his vanity was
insupportable; if in disgrace, instead of being humble
and quiet, he had recourse to violence and ferocity.
His conversing with the young prince was therefore
adding flame to fire. 'What avails it,' said he, 'to
have the point of your turban advanced, if you seek
not to advance your authority? Nothing can be more
absurd than your thinking yourself secure of the suc-
cession, while your brother is privately forwarding his
interest by means of the women, and your father is so
very foolish and unsteady. He who could break one
of the most sacred laws of the Persians, for the sake
of an insignificant Grecian woman, is certainly not to
be depended on in more important engagements. The
case is quite different between you and Ochus, as to
the event of the competition: if Ochus does not obtain
the crown, none will hinder him from livrng happily in
a private station; but you, who have been declared
king, must either reign or die. ' On this occasion was
verified that observation of Sophocles:
Swift in its march
Is evil counsel.
The road which leads us to what we desire is indeed
smooth, and of an easy descent; and the desires of
most men are vicious, because they have never known
or tried the enjoyments of virtue. The lustre of such
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? ARTAXERXES.
229
an imperial crown, and Darius' fear of his brother,
furnished Tiribazus with other arguments; but the
goddess of beauty contributed her share towards per-
suading him, by putting him in mind of the loss of
Aspasia.
He gave himself up therefore intirely to Tiribazus,
and many others soon entered into the conspiracy.
But before it could be carried into execution a slave
gave the king information of it, and of all the measures
that were taken; for he had got perfect intelligence
that they designed to enter his chamber in the night,
and kill him in his bed.
Artaxerxes thought it would be great imprudence
either to slight the information, and lay himself open
to such danger, or to credit it without farther proof.
The method he took was this: he ordered the slave to
join Darius and his adherents, and assist at all their
councils; and in the mean time broke a door through
the wall behind his bed, which he concealed with the
tapestry. When the time came, which the slave in-
formed him of, he placed himself on his bed, and re-
mained there till he had a sight of the faces of the
conspirators, and could perfectly distinguish each of
them. But when he saw them draw their swords, and
advance towards him, he pulled back the tapestry, re-
treated into the inner room, and, after he had bolted
the door, alarmed the palace. The assassins seeing
themselves discovered, and their designs disappointed,
immediately took to flight, and desired Tiribazus to
do the same, because he must certainly have been ob-
served. While he lingered the guards came and laid
hold of him; but he killed many of them, and it was
with difficulty that he was despatched at last by a ja-
velin thrown at a distance.
Darius was taken, together with his children, and
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? PLUTARCH.
brought to answer for his crime before the judges
which the king appointed. The king did not think
proper to assist at the trial in person, but directed
others to lay the charge against his son, and his nota-
ries were to take down separately the opinion of each
judge. As they all gave it unanimously for death, the
officers took Darius, and led him to an adjacent prison.
But when the executioner came, with the instrument
in his hand which is used in beheading the capital con-
victs, he was seized with horror at the sight of Darius,
and drew back towards the door, as having neither abi-
lity nor courage to lay violent hands on his king. But
the judges who stood at the door, urging him to do his
office, with menaces of instant punishment if he did
not comply, he returned, and seizing Darius by the
hair, threw him on the ground, and cut off his head.
Some say the cause was tried in presence of the king,
and that Darius, after he was convicted by indubitable
proofs, fell on his face and begged for mercy, but Ar-
taxerxes, rising in great anger, drew his cimeter, and
pursued his stroke till he laid him dead at his feet.
They add, that after this he returned to his palace;
and having paid his devotions to the sun, said to those
who assisted at the ceremony, ' My Persians, you may
now return in triumph, and tell your fellow-subjects
that the great Oromazes1 has taken vengeance on those
who formed the most impious and execrable designs
against their sovereign. ' Such was the end of the con-
spiracy.
Ochus now entertained very agreeable hopes, and
was encouraged besides by Atossa. But he had still
some fear of his remaining legitimate brother, Ariaspes,
and of his natural brother Arsames. Not that Ochus
1 The Persians worshipped Oromazes as the author of good,
and Arimauius as the author of evil.
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? ARTAXERXES.
231
had so much to apprehend from Ariaspes, merely be-
cause he was older, but the Persians were desirous of
having him succeed to the throne on account of his
mildness, his sincerity, and his humane disposition.
As for Arsames, he had the character of a wise prince,
and was the particular favorite of his father. This
was no secret to Ochus. However, he planned the
destruction of both these brothers of his; and being
of an artful, as well as sanguinary turn, he employed
his cruelty against Arsames, and his art against Ari-
aspes. To the latter he privately sent some of the
king's slaves and friends with frequent accounts of se-
vere and menacing expressions of his father's, as if he
had resolved to put him to a cruel and ignominious
death. As these persons came daily to tell him in
confidence, that some of these threats were on the
point of being put in execution, and the others would
not be long delayed, he was so terrified, and fell into
such a melancholy and desponding way, that he pre-
pared a poisonous draught, and drank it, to deliver
himself from the burden of life.
The king being informed of the manner of his death,
sincerely lamented him, and had some suspicion of the
cause, but could not examine into it thoroughly on ac-
count of his great age.
However, Arsames now became dearer to him than
ever, and it was easy to see that the king placed an
intire confidence in him, and communicated to him his
most secret thoughts. Ochus, therefore, would not
defer his enterprise longer, but employed Harpates,
the son of Tiribazus, to kill Arsames. Artaxerxes,
whom time had brought to the very verge of life, when
he had this additional stroke in the fate of Arsames,
could not make much more struggle; his sorrow and
regret soon brought him to the grave. He lived nine-
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? 232
PLUTARCH.
ty-four years, and reigned sixty-two. He had the
character of a prince who governed with lenity, and
loved his people. But perhaps the hehavior of his
successor might contribute not a little to his reputa-
tion; for Ochus was the most cruel and sanguinary of
princes.
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\
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