The Good Book_ A Secular Bible - A. C. Grayling [134]
14. The Persians expected no danger, since they supposed that all was peacefully settled by treaty.
15. At the first onslaught therefore all the Persians of most note, men who were in the habit of using litters, were slain by the mercenaries.
16. The rest of the army quickly came to the rescue, defeated the mercenaries and drove them back into the citadel.
17. Then Otanes, the general, when he saw the calamity which had befallen the Persians, made up his mind to forget Darius’ orders,
18. Which had been ‘not to kill or enslave a single Samian, but to deliver up the island unharmed to Syloson’,
19. And gave the word to his army that they should slay the Samians, both men and boys, wherever they could find them.
20. Upon this some of his troops laid siege to the citadel, while others began the massacre, killing all they met, some outside, some inside the buildings.
21. So the Persians reduced Samos, and delivered it up to Syloson, emptied of its men.
22. Maeandrius fled from Samos to Lacedaemon, and took there all the riches he had brought away, after which he acted as follows.
23. Having placed upon his board all the gold and silver vessels that he had, and bade his servants to employ themselves in cleaning them,
24. He himself went and entered into conversation with Cleomenes, son of Anaxandridas, king of Sparta, and as they talked, brought him along to his house.
25. There Cleomenes, seeing the plate, was filled with wonder and astonishment;
26. Whereon the other begged that he would carry home with him any of the vessels that he liked.
27. Maeandrius said this two or three times; but Cleomenes here displayed surpassing honesty.
28. He refused the gift, and thinking that if Maeandrius made the same offers to others he would get the aid he sought, the Spartan king went straight to the ephors and told them,
29. ‘It would be best for Sparta that the Samian stranger should be sent away from the Peloponnese;
30. ‘For otherwise he might persuade himself or some other Spartan to be base.’
31. The ephors took his advice, and let Maeandrius know by a herald that he must leave the city.
Chapter 38
1. Not long after the defeat of the Samian rebellion Otanes decided to repeople the city. He did this as follows.
2. At the time that the army under Otanes sailed for Samos, the Babylonians revolted, having made every preparation for defence.
3. During the time that Smerdis the Magian was king, and while the seven were conspiring, the Babylonians had profited by the troubles,
4. And had made themselves ready for a siege, no one noticing what they were doing.
5. At last when the time came for rebelling openly, they first set apart their mothers, and then each man chose besides out of his whole household one woman, whichever he pleased;
6. These alone were allowed to live, while all the rest were brought to one place and strangled.
7. The women chosen were kept to make bread for the men; while the others were strangled so that they would not consume the stores.
8. When news reached Darius of what had happened, he drew together all his power, and marched straight upon Babylon, laying siege to it.
9. The Babylonians did not care about his siege, being so well prepared. Mounting upon their battlements they jeered at Darius and his mighty host.
10. One even shouted to them and said, ‘Why do you sit there, Persians? Why do you not go home? Till mules foal you will not take our city.’
11. This was by a Babylonian who thought that a mule would never foal.
12. Now when a year and seven months had passed, Darius and his army were quite wearied, unable to find any way to take the city.
13. All stratagems and arts had been used, even the means by which Cyrus conquered the place.
14. At last, in the twentieth month, Zopyrus, son of Megabyzus who was among the seven men that overthrew the Magus,
15. Hit upon a radical and ingenious plan to overthrow Babylon, having reviewed all other ways of capturing the city.
16. His plan was to maim himself and go over to the enemy, pretending to have