Kitap 1
The customs of the Lydians are like those of the Greeks, except that they make prostitutes of their female children. They were the first men whom we know who coined and used gold and silver currency; and they were the first to sell by retail.
And, according to what they themselves say, the games now in use among them and the Greeks were invented by the Lydians: these, they say, were invented among them at the time when they colonized Etruria (region (general)), Italy, EuropeTyrrhenia. This is their story:
In the reign of Atys son of Manes there was great scarcity of food in all Lydia [27.516,38.683] (region (general)), Turkey, Asia Lydia . For a while the Lydians bore this with what patience they could; presently, when the famine did not abate, they looked for remedies, and different plans were devised by different men. Then it was that they invented the games of dice and knuckle-bones and ball and all other forms of game except dice, which the Lydians do not claim to have discovered.
Then, using their discovery to lighten the famine, every other day they would play for the whole day, so that they would not have to look for food, and the next day they quit their play and ate. This was their way of life for eighteen years.
But the famine did not cease to trouble them, and instead afflicted them even more. At last their king divided the people into two groups, and made them draw lots, so that the one group should remain and the other leave the country; he himself was to be the head of those who drew the lot to remain there, and his son, whose name was Tyrrhenus, of those who departed.
Then the one group, having drawn the lot, left the country and came down to Smyrna [27.1667,38.4167] (Perseus) Smyrna and built ships, in which they loaded all their goods that could be transported aboard ship, and sailed away to seek a livelihood and a country; until at last, after sojourning with one people after another, they came to the Ombrici,In northern and central Italy [12.833,42.833] (nation), Europe Italy ; the Umbria [12.5,43] (region), Italy, Europe Umbria of Roman history perpetuates the name. where they founded cities and have lived ever since.
They no longer called themselves Lydians, but Tyrrhenians, after the name of the king's son who had led them there.The Lydians, then, were enslaved by the Persians.
But the next business of my history is to inquire who this Cyrus was who took down the power of Croesus, and how the Persians came to be the rulers of Asia (continent) Asia . I mean then to be guided in what I write by some of the Persians who desire not to magnify the story of Cyrus but to tell the truth, though there are no less than three other accounts of Cyrus which I could give.
After the Assyrians had ruled Upper Asia (continent) Asia for five hundred and twenty years, From 1229 to 709 B.C., as Deioces' reign began in 709. the Medes were the first who began to revolt from them. These, it would seem, proved their bravery in fighting for freedom against the Assyrians; they cast off their slavery and won freedom. Afterwards, the other subject nations, too, did the same as the Medes.
All of those on the mainland were now free men; but they came to be ruled by monarchs again, as I will now relate. There was among the Medes a clever man called Deioces: he was the son of Phraortes.
Deioces was infatuated with sovereignty, and so he set about gaining it. Already a notable man in his own town (one of the many towns into which Media was divided), he began to profess and practice justice more constantly and zealously than ever, and he did this even though there was much lawlessness throughout the land of Media, and though he knew that injustice is always the enemy of justice. Then the Medes of the same town, seeing his behavior, chose him to be their judge, and he (for he coveted sovereign power) was honest and just.
By acting so, he won no small praise from his fellow townsmen, to such an extent that when the men of the other towns learned that Deioces alone gave fair judgments (having before suffered from unjust decisions), they came often and gladly to plead before Deioces; and at last they would submit to no arbitration but his.
The number of those who came grew ever greater, for they heard that each case turned out in accord with the truth. Then Deioces, seeing that everything now depended on him, would not sit in his former seat of judgment, and said he would give no more decisions; for it was of no advantage to him (he said) to leave his own business and spend all day judging the cases of his neighbors.
This caused robbery and lawlessness to increase greatly in the towns; and, gathering together, the Medes conferred about their present affairs, and said (here, as I suppose, the main speakers were Deioces' friends),
“Since we cannot go on living in the present way in the land, come, let us set up a king over us; in this way the land will be well governed, and we ourselves shall attend to our business and not be routed by lawlessness.” With such words they persuaded themselves to be ruled by a king.
The question was at once propounded: Whom should they make king? Then every man was loud in putting Deioces forward and praising Deioces, until they agreed that he should be their king.
He ordered them to build him houses worthy of his royal power, and strengthen him with a bodyguard. The Medes did so. They built him a big and strong house wherever in the land he indicated to them, and let him choose a bodyguard out of all the Medes.
And having obtained power, he forced the Medes to build him one city and to fortify and care for this more strongly than all the rest. The Medes did this for him, too. So he built the big and strong walls, one standing inside the next in circles, which are now called Hamadan [48.583,34.766] (inhabited place), Hamadan, Iran, Asia Ecbatana .Modern Hamadan [48.583,34.766] (inhabited place), Hamadan, Iran, Asia Hamadan , probably; but see Rawlinson's note.
This fortress is so designed that each circle of walls is higher than the next outer circle by no more than the height of its battlements; to which plan the site itself, on a hill in the plain, contributes somewhat, but chiefly it was accomplished by skill.
There are seven circles in all; within the innermost circle are the palace and the treasuries; and the longest wall is about the length of the wall that surrounds the city of Athens [23.7333,37.9667] (Perseus) Athens .About eight miles, according to a scholiast's note on Thucyd. ii. 13; but this is disputed. The battlements of the first circle are white, of the second black, of the third circle purple, of the fourth blue, and of the fifth orange:
thus the battlements of five circles are painted with colors; and the battlements of the last two circles are coated, the one with silver and the other with gold.
Deioces built these walls for himself and around his own quarters, and he ordered the people to dwell outside the wall. And when it was all built, Deioces was first to establish the rule that no one should come into the presence of the king, but everything should be done by means of messengers; that the king should be seen by no one; and moreover that it should be a disgrace for anyone to laugh or to spit in his presence.
He was careful to hedge himself with all this so that the men of his own age (who had been brought up with him and were as nobly born as he and his equals in courage), instead of seeing him and being upset and perhaps moved to plot against him, might by reason of not seeing him believe him to be different.Or, perhaps, different from themselves.
When he had made these arrangements and strengthened himself with sovereign power, he was a hard man in the protection of justice. They would write down their pleas and send them in to him; then he would pass judgment on what was brought to him and send his decisions out.
This was his manner of deciding cases at law, and he had other arrangements too; for when he heard that a man was doing violence he would send for him and punish him as each offense deserved: and he had spies and eavesdroppers everywhere in his domain.
Deioces, then, united the Median nation by itself and ruled it. The Median tribes are these: the Busae, the Paretaceni, the Struchates, the Arizanti, the Budii, the Magi. Their tribes are this many.
Deioces had a son, Phraortes, who inherited the throne when Deioces died after a reign of fifty-three years. Deioces died in 656 B.C. Having inherited it, he was not content to rule the Medes alone: marching against the Persians, he attacked them first, and they were the first whom he made subject to the Medes.
Then, with these two strong nations at his back, he subjugated one nation of Asia (continent) Asia after another, until he marched against the Assyrians; that is, against those of the Assyrians who held Nineveh (deserted settlement), Ninawa, Iraq, Asia Ninus . These had formerly been rulers of all; but now their allies had deserted them and they were left alone, though well-off themselves. Marching against these Assyrians, then, Phraortes and most of his army perished, after he had reigned twenty-two years.
At his death he was succeeded by his son Cyaxares. He is said to have been a much greater soldier than his ancestors: it was he who first organized the men of Asia (continent) Asia in companies and posted each arm apart, the spearmen and archers and cavalry: before this they were all mingled together in confusion.
This was the king who fought against the Lydians when the day was turned to night in the battle, and who united under his dominion all of Asia (continent) Asia that is beyond the river Halys River (river), Turkey, Asia Halys . Collecting all his subjects, he marched against Nineveh (deserted settlement), Ninawa, Iraq, Asia Ninus , wanting to avenge his father and to destroy the city.
He defeated the Assyrians in battle; but while he was besieging their city, a great army of Scythians came down upon him, led by their king Madyes son of Protothyes. They had invaded Asia (continent) Asia after they had driven the Cimmerians out of Europe (continent) Europe : pursuing them in their flight, the Scythians came to the Median country.This is the same story as that related in the early chapters of Book IV. The Scythians, apparently, marched eastwards along the northern slope of the Bol'soj Kavkaz [46.833,42] (mountain range), Asia Caucasus , turning south between the end of the range and the Caspian. But Herodotus' geography in this story is difficult to follow.—The “Saspires” are in Armenia (region (general)), Asia Armenia .
It is a thirty days' journey for an unencumbered man from the Maeetian lake The Maeetian lake is the Sea of Azov . to the river Poti [41.683,42.183] (inhabited place), regions under republican jurisdiction, Georgia, Asia Phasis and the land of the Colchi; from the Colchi it is an easy matter to cross into Media: there is only one nation between, the Saspires; to pass these is to be in Media.
Nevertheless, it was not by this way that the Scythians entered; they turned aside and came by the upper and much longer way, keeping the Caucasian mountains on their right. There, the Medes met the Scythians, who defeated them in battle, deprived them of their rule, and made themselves masters of all Asia (continent) Asia .
From there they marched against Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt : and when they were in the part of Syria [38,35] (nation), Asia Syria called Palestine [35.333,31.916] (region (general)), Asia Palestine , Psammetichus king of Egypt [30,27] (nation), Africa Egypt met them and persuaded them with gifts and prayers to come no further.
So they turned back, and when they came on their way to the city of Tel Ashqelon [34.55,31.666] (deserted settlement), Mehoz HaDarom, Israel, Asia Ascalon in Syria [38,35] (nation), Asia Syria , most of the Scythians passed by and did no harm, but a few remained behind and plundered the temple of Heavenly Aphrodite.The great goddess (Mother of Heaven and Earth) worshipped by Eastern nations under various names—Mylitta in Assyria, Astarte in Phoenicia (region (general)), Asia Phoenicia : called Heavenly Aphrodite, or simply the Heavenly One, by the Greeks.
This temple, I discover from making inquiry, is the oldest of all the temples of the goddess, for the temple in Cyprus [33,35] (island), Asia Cyprus was founded from it, as the Cyprians themselves say; and the temple on Cerigo (island), Attica, Central Greece and Euboea, Greece, Europe Cythera was founded by Phoenicians from this same land of Syria [38,35] (nation), Asia Syria .
But the Scythians who pillaged the temple, and all their descendants after them, were afflicted by the goddess with the “female” sickness: and so the Scythians say that they are afflicted as a consequence of this and also that those who visit Scythian territory see among them the condition of those whom the Scythians call “Hermaphrodites”.The derivation of this word is uncertain; it is agreed that the disease was a loss of virility. In Hdt. 4.67 ἐναρής = ἀνδρόγονος.
The Scythians, then, ruled Asia (continent) Asia for twenty-eight years: and the whole land was ruined because of their violence and their pride, for, besides exacting from each the tribute which was assessed, they rode about the land carrying off everyone's possessions.
Most of them were entertained and made drunk and then slain by Cyaxares and the Medes: so thus the Medes took back their empire and all that they had formerly possessed; and they took Nineveh (deserted settlement), Ninawa, Iraq, Asia Ninus (how, I will describe in a later part of my history), and brought all Assyria except the province of Babylon [44.4,32.55] (deserted settlement), Babil, Iraq, Asia Babylon under their rule.
Afterwards, Cyaxares died after a reign of forty years (among which I count the years of the Scythian domination) and his son Astyages inherited the sovereignty. Astyages had a daughter, whom he called Mandane: he dreamed that she urinated so much that she filled his city and flooded all of Asia (continent) Asia . He communicated this vision to those of the Magi who interpreted dreams, and when he heard what they told him he was terrified;