Herodotus' Picture of Cyrus

Author(s): Harry C. Avery

Source: The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 93, No. 4 (Oct., 1972), pp. 529-546
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/294345
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 HERODOTUS' PICTURE OF CYRUS.*

When one compares Herodotus' account of Cyrus and the

descriptions of his career we find in modern histories of Persia,'
it is clear that Herodotus' Cyrus is very different from the
man we read about in the modern histories. The Greek his-
torian seems to have been interested in more than merely re-
cording Cyrus' deeds; he was concerned about the sort of person
Cyrus was, o-rns E'v, as he says in I, 95, 1. But on closer ex-
amination we find that even this interest in Cyrus' personality
was not the main force which shaped Herodotus' portrayal of
Cyrus or governed Herodotus' choice of material to include in
the Histories. He seems to have been especially interested in
using Cyrus as a sort of moral abstraction-a model or ex-
emplar-who is cast in certain roles and who serves certain
functions.
It is generally conceded that Herodotus' account of Cyrus'
life follows recognizable patterns. Immerwahr sets Cyrus into
"the elaborate pattern of the rise and fall of a ruler," which
has its fullest exposition in the career of Xerxes. This pattern
consists of three elements: origin of the ruler; his early reign
until he reaches the height of his power; and the events which
lead to his fall or decline.3 Another similar pattern is ex-
pressed in terms drawn from tragedy and Cyrus' career is seen
as an example "of a well-defined formulaic biography which
exemplified in the lives of individuals the cycle of olbos, Loros,
*An earlier version of this paper was delivered at the Meeting of
the American Philological Association in December, 1967.
1For example, A. T. Olmstead, History of the Persian Empire
(Achaemenid Period) (Chicago, 1948), pp. 34-58; cf. C. A.H., IV,
pp. 2-15. A. R. Burn, Persia and the Greeks (New York, 1962), pp.
36-62, makes a greater effort to incorporate Herodotean material into
his account, but he is also forced to reject much of it (pp. 38-45).
2 For
arguments against the imposition of patterns on Herodotus'
work, see K. H. Waters, Historia, XIX (1970), p. 505.
8H. R. Immerwahr, Form and Thought in Herodotus (Cleveland,
1966), pp. 75-8. The main discussions of Cyrus are on pp. 89-93 and
161-7.

629
530 HARRY C. AVERY.

hybris, and ate."4 Both these formulations (as well as another;

see note 7 below) concentrate on the picture of Cyrus as pre-
sented in the first book and they do not take into full account
the role Cyrus-or his reputation-play throughout the rest
of the Histories.5 Therefore I do not believe that these formula-
tions completely define the form into which Herodotus chose to
cast his account of Cyrus. It is not the purpose of this paper,
however, to argue against these formulae, but rather to go on
from them and to determine exactly how Herodotus used Cyrus
and his life in the whole of the Histories. This use does not
fall into any definite pattern, except perhaps in a very broad sense,
but I think the views presented here are in keeping with the
belief that Herodotus was in control of his material and that
he manipulated it for certain purposes, some of which we would
call historical, but many of which we would call literary.6
There are two sides to Herodotus' picture of Cyrus.7 First,
there is the Persian view of Cyrus as the revered-almost
sacrosanct-founder of Persian freedom and prosperity. This
Cyrus appears throughout the Histories and he, along with the
themes connected with him, constitutes a unifying element from
the first book to the last page. Second, there is Herodotus'
actual biography of Cyrus in which Cyrus is used to illustrate

'See M. Lang, C. J., LXIII (1967-8), p. 81. Cf. J. L. Myres,

Herodotus Father of History (Oxford, 1953), p. 53. See also Immerwahr
(note 3 above), p. 310.
Immerwahr notes the mention of Cyrus in other passages (p. 167,
n. 54; see also note 13 below) and he points out what seem to be
inconsistencies. "Such inconsistencies between major logoi (but not
within a logos) are characteristic of Herodotus' dramatic technique."
I agree, but the fact that these "inconsistencies" do occur is revealing
and an attempt should be made to explain them.
e For the view that Herodotus used
literary devices for historical
purposes, see K. H. Waters, Historia, XV (1966), pp. 157-71.
7Herodotus'
technique of viewing the same character from at least
two aspects has been discussed at length by T. Spath, Das Motiv
der doppelten Beleuchtung bei Herodot (Vienna, 1968). Cyrus is
treated on pp. 56-62. Spath concentrates on Cyrus as presented in
book one, with only a glance at the concluding chapter of the Histories.
In his analysis he points out that Cyrus is painted in bright colors
at the beginning of his story and in dark at the end, that he is lucky
at the beginning, but falls victim to his hybris at the end, and that
he was a great general yet counsels anti-imperialism in IX, 122.
 HERODOTUS' PICTURE OF CYRUS. 531

certain virtues and vices. The virtues lead to success. The

vices lead to failure.
The first side of the picture is most apparent after Cyrus'
death, that is, after Herodotus' first book. But the foundations
for this reverent attitude towards Cyrus8 are laid in book one.
To begin with, Herodotus tells us that there were multiple
versions of Cyrus' life and death and that some Persians tried
to exalt his career (I, 95, 1 and 214, 5). But, more important,
we also find in book one the beginnings of some of the significant
themes which help to tie the Histories together. One of these
is the Persian belief that Cyrus gave them their freedom. When
Cyrus persuades the Persians to break away from the Medes,
he tells them (I, 126, 6) that if they follow him they will be-
come free men (Xv6&EpoL).9The Persians, now that they have
found a leader, are glad to gain their freedom (I, 127, 1) and
they succeed in their revolt (I, 127-8). This point, that Cyrus
gave the Persians their freedom, is brought up again in various
crucial passages: (1) At the very moment Cyrus moves towards
disaster, Hystaspes, Darius' father, tells Cyrus (I, 210, 2) that
he made the Persians free men instead of slaves. (2) In the
next generation, when the fate of Persia is being decided in the
constitutional debate among the conspirators who overthrew
the false Smerdis, Darius crowns his arguments for monarchy
by pointing out that the Persians gained their freedom not
from a democracy or an oligarchy, but from one man, Cyrus
(III, 82, 5: cf. the emphasis Cambyses places on Persian free-

When occasion demands the Persians can remember that Cyrus,

too, was capable of failure: III, 36, 3 and VII, 18, 2. But these
instances do not detract from the general awe in which Cyrus and
his memory are held.
9Cyrus is subtly connected with the idea of freedom early in his
story. One of the ways Astyages recognizes Cyrus as his grandson
is by Cyrus' answer, which was EXevOepLwrTpl(I, 116, 1). Powell in his
Lexicon to Herodotus translates this as "outspoken" and compares
three uses of the adverb, EXevOepws.But in all these passages the
meaning is more than merely "outspoken." The passages indicate that
the words (or thoughts) in question are those (1) of a free man as
distinct from a slave fearful of a despot (VII, 46, 1); or (2) of a
free man opposed to tyranny (V, 93, 2); or (3) of a man who is
independent enough of mind to speak harsh truths freely in the face
of public opinion (VIII, 73, 3).
532 HARRY C. AVERY.

dom at III, 65, 7). (3) Again, in the succeeding generation,

it is generally acknowledged that Cyrus got the Persians their
freedom (VII, 2, 3). This freedom10 is seen by the Persians
as the basis for their great prosperity. Cyrus himself emphasizes
this when he has the Persians do a hard day's work in cleaning
out a thorny field and then contrasts it with a day of feasting
(I, 126). He promises them that if they listen to him and
revolt they will have uncounted blessings (I, 126, 5 :pvpL'aayaOcd;
cf. 4: rdcvraaya0a0). Freedom and prosperity are in turn closely
connected with the fact that the Persians are rulers and not
subjects. This, too, derives from Cyrus who implies it in his
speech in I, 126, 5-6. The difference between rulers and subjects
is made more explicit at I, 129, 3-4 where Astyages, in his
conversation with Harpagus, makes much of the change of
10It is worthwhile to ask
exactly what Herodotus conceived this
Persian freedom to be, especially in the light of the conversation be-
tween the Spartans Sperthias and Boulis and the Persian Hydranes
in VII, 135, 2-3. The Spartans tell Hydranes that he knows what it
is to be a slave, but he has had no experience of freedom. What
then was this freedom which Cyrus gave to the Persians? We shall
see below (cf. note 11) that it is intimately connected with the power
to rule over others. In this sense there is no intermediate position.
One is either free, a ruler, or one is a slave, ruled by others (see for
example I, 129, 4). Thus freedom implies rule over subjects. We find
in Herodotus a succession illustrating this sort of freedom. The Medes
freed themselves from Assyrian rule (I, 95, 2), but they gradually
come to rule others (I, 96-106). The Persians free themselves from
the Medes (I, 125-30) and they take over a ready-made empire
(hegemonia: I, 46, 1; VII, 8 a, 1; IX, 122, 2) which they expand.
One could argue that the main purpose of Herodotus' work is to show
how the Greeks gained their freedom. Before Croesus all the Greeks
were free (I, 6, 3). After the fall of Sestos, virtually all the Greeks
are again free. But this is a different freedom from the Persian type,
for now there is no implication that the Greeks will rule others (unless
one sees it in one's interpretation of IX, 122, but this would be
highly subjective). The freedom of the Greeks is the same as that
achieved by Otanes (III, 83) when he withdraws from competition
as to who would become king of Persia. He wishes neither to rule
nor to be ruled (oUre yap dpxeOtv ov're apxecoOa 0e'Xw). The freedom the
Greeks are fighting for, then, is essentially different from the freedom
that Cyrus gave the Persians: it does not imply rule over others.
For further developments and problems after Herodotus, see J.A.O.
Larsen, C.P., LVII (1962), pp. 230-4.
 HERODOTUS'PICTURE OF CYRUS. 533

fortune suffered by the Medes. They had been masters (&sao'rat),

now they were slaves (SoiXot). The Persians, on the other
hand, had been slaves and now they were masters.ll Iystaspes
says the same thing in slightly different language at I, 210,
2 when he says that the Persians, because of Cyrus, rule the
world instead of being ruled by others (avrTl 8 apxEaf9aLvir' aXXov
apX?tv aradvTrv) .12 The fact that Cyrus obtained for the Persians
their rule is brought up again later (VII, 8 a, 1 and 51, 1).
These three things, freedom, prosperity, and rule, all at-
tributed to Cyrus, are closely intertwined and interdependent.
Yet one of them, prosperity, has within it the seeds of Persian
defeat. Often in the Histories we find stress placed on the
commonplace contrast between the hardiness of poverty and the
weakness of prosperous luxury. This note is first struck in
I, 71 when Sandanis asks Croesus what will be gained by con-
quering the Persians who drink no wine, eat no figs, and have
no other amenity (aXAo aya0ov ov8ev). Herodotus notes at the
end of this chapter that before the defeat of Lydia the Persians
had nothing habron or agathon. In due course the Persians do
gain these amenities (I, 135) and at the end of book one (207,
6) Herodotus has Croesus, who says he has learned from hard
experience (207, 1; thus referring 207, 6 back to I, 71), con-
trast the hardiness and simplicity of the Massagetae with the
luxuries of the Persians. Two generations later, when the
Persians are about to confront the Greeks on a large scale,
Demaratus tells Xerxes that, even though Greece has always
lived with poverty, she still has acquired courage through her
11Henceforth the Persians are
masters, their subjects slaves: see
I, 89, 1 (cf. I, 91, 6); 210, 2 (where the Persians are called free rather
than masters); II, 1, 2; V, 49, 2; VI, 11, 2; 44, 1; VII, 9, 1-2; 38,
1-39, 1; 96, 2; VIII, 68; 100, 2-3; IX, 48, 2. In the eyes of the
Greeks everyone subject to Xerxes was a slave (VIII, 68; 102, 3;
cf. Xerxes' own view at VII, 103, 3-5), even the most powerful
Persians (VII, 135, 3; VIII, 102, 3; cf. the typically Greek view in
the story at VIII, 118, which Herodotus does not believe, VIII, 119,
1). But Cyrus himself is not characterized by the Persians as a despot.
That title is reserved for Cambyses (III, 89, 3).
It was especially rankling to the Persians during the period the
false Smerdis was on the throne that they were ruled by a Mede
(III, 73, 1; 74, 3).
12Cf. Otanes (III, 83, 2) and see note 10 above.
534 HARRY C. AVERY.

wisdom and strong social customs (VII, 102, 1). Other passages
in book seven stress the luxury of the Persian army, their
sumptuous dress, and the gold and silver utensils to which
they have became accustomed (83, 2; 119, 2; 190). Finally,
in book nine (80-3), Herodotus again emphasizes the wealth
of the Persians by describing at length the booty found on the
field at Plataea. At this point (82) he tells the story of the
contrast Pausanias made between the luxury of the Persians
and the simplicity of the Greeks when he had a Persian meal
set out next to a typical Spartan meal. This story looks back
to Demaratus' conversation with Xerxes and even further to
Sandanis' advice to Croesus. At the same time it looks forward
to the end of the Histories.
In the very last story of the Histories (IX, 122)1' all of these
themes, Persian freedom, prosperity, rule, and ultimate defeat,
are drawn together and summed up in a masterly fashion by
Herodotus. And it is Cyrus who is the focus of the story. Here
he is cast in the role of the dispassionate sage. He speaks as
if he has no control over the Persians who suggest, now that
they are rulers of many men and all Asia, that they abandon
their small and hard land for a better one. Cyrus answers that
they can do as they please, but if they do take a richer land
they should prepare themselves to stop ruling and become sub-
ject to others (oVKE'7napovrag aXX' ap~olevovs). Soft lands yield
soft men. The Persians saw Cyrus' point and chose to live
in a harsh land and rule rather than farm rich plains and be
slaves to others. In this story the ideas of rulers and ruled,
slaves and free men, the harsh life of responsibility and the
easy life of compliance are brought forth to tie up the themes
first announced in book one. Cyrus, the founder of Persian free-
dom, prosperity, and rule, is used to warn of the dangers in-
herent in these normally desirable acquisitions. But, of course,
the warning has come too late. The agatha which Cyrus had
promised the Persians in I, 126 and which they have enjoyed
18 For the
significance of the last story see Immerwahr (note 3,
above), pp. 145-7 and the bibliography listed in n. 191 on p. 146,
especially H. Bischoff, Der Warner bei Herodot (Marburg, 1932), pp.
78-83 (== W. Marg, Herodot, Eine Auswahl aus der neueren Forschung
[Munich, 1962], pp. 670-6). Bischoff develops some of the points made
here, but for a different purpose.
 HERODOTUS'PICTURE OF CYRUS. 535

at least from the time of the Massagetae campaign (I, 207,

6; perhaps from the time of the Babylonian campaign, see I,
188-9 and below, pp. 542-3, these luxuries have already taken
their toll. Herodotus has just shown in the preceding chapters
(IX, 107-13) how corrupt Xerxes and the whole Persian nobility
had been made by the fruits of freedom, prosperity, and rule.
The themes involving Cyrus which culminate in IX, 122 are
reinforced by certain subsidiary and related motifs. First,
there is the emphasis on the importance of direct descent from
Cyrus for the ruler of Persia. This is especially evident in
the false Smerdis episode (III, 61-79; see in particular 75, 1
where this theme is linked with the idea that Persian prosperity
derives from Cyrus). Both Cambyses and the real Smerdis are
called "son of Cyrus" repeatedly in this section. Darius is not
directly descended from Cyrus, but as soon as he becomes king
he strengthens his position by marrying two daughters of Cyrus
(one, Atossa, had been married to both Cambyses and the false
Smerdis) and one daughter of Smerdis the son of Cyrus (III,
88, 2-3; cf. VII, 64, 2; 69, 2; 72, 2; and 78 where sons from
these wives are mentioned). When Xerxes recounts his lineage
(VII, 11, 2) he by-passes Cyrus and goes back through Darius
and his ancestors to Achaemenes, yet it is clear from VII,
2-3 that the fact that Xerxes was descended from Cyrus through
Atossa was instrumental in placing him on the throne (see
especially VII, 2, 3 where the theme of descent from Cyrus
is linked with the idea that Cyrus gave the Persians their
freedom). In his account of Xerxes' ascent to the throne
Herodotus tells us (VII, 3, 4) that Atossa had all the power,
but he does not say explicitly what the basis of her power was.
There is, however, the implication that at least part of it derived
from her descent from Cyrus (cf. III, 133-4).
Another related theme results from the Persian practice of
holding Cyrus up as a high example to his successors. At III,
152 Darius' difficulties in re-conquering Babylon are stressed.
He even tries the device by which Cyrus took the town but this
too fails for Darius. Later (III, 160, 1) when Herodotus de-
scribes the reputation Zopyrus gained because of his part in the
second conquest of Babylon, he also remarks that no Persian
thought himself worthy to be compared with Cyrus. And at
VII, 8 a, 1 Xerxes takes Cyrus, Cambyses, and Darius as
536 HARRY C. AVERY.

models for his own activity. Furthermore, the story at III,

34, 4-5, where Cambyses asks his courtiers how he rates next
to his father Cyrus, is much in the same vein. All reply that
Cambysesis the better man because he not only kept his father's
territory but also added Egypt and the sea. Only Croesus says
Cyrus was greater, and this because Cambyses has not yet pro-
duced such a son as himself. The story is told in the context of
Cambyses'madness and the implications are that Cambyses was
insane to force such a comparison, that his courtiers were
fawningly anxious to flatter him at the expense of the truth,
that only clever Croesus found a way to right the comparison
while still pleasing Cambyses and feeding his vanity. Finally,
another dimension of the picture of Cyrus is stressed in the
passage (III, 89, 3) where the Persians are said to have thought
of Cyrus as a gentle and benevolent father (this image arises
from the idea that Cyrus provided the Persians their prosperity).
The second, biographical, aspect of Herodotus' picture of Cy-
rus is concentrated in book one,14 but it too is rich and complex.
Here we find two distinct Cyruses: one the successful conqueror
of all Asia, the other the pitiful and inept ruler who blunders
into the land of the Massagetae to his own destruction.l5 The
14 Henceforth all references to book one will omit the book number:
for example 156, 2 = I, 156, 2.
16
Duality plays an important role in the story Herodotus chooses to
tell about Cyrus' early life. First, Herodotus makes much of Delphi's
riddle about Cyrus' being a mule (55, 2) with the explanation that
Cyrus was born of unequal parents (91, 5-6). More significant, how-
ever, are the dualities found in the story of Cyrus' birth and how he
survived to become king of Persia. Cyrus had two lives, for all had
thought he had died of exposure soon after birth. At 124, 1 Harpagus
reminds Cyrus that Astyages is his murderer, so Cyrus is in the unique
position of being able to avenge his own murder. Furthermore, Cyrus
has two sets of parents: Mandane and Cambyses, and Spako and
Mitradates. Cyrus becomes king twice: once while a child (114) and
once again when grown (Astyages and the magi accept the legitimacy
of the first kingship: 120, 2-6). Cyrus has two names, though we
are not told what his name as the shepherd's son was (113, 3).
Finally, in a sense, Cyrus is a twin, for Spako's still-born child (112,
2-113, 3) was virtually his exact contemporary. The dead child takes
Cyrus' place in the coffin and receives the royal burial meant for
Cyrus. These dualities set the stage for the larger dualities discussed
below (cf. note 7 above).
 HERODOTUS' PICTURE OF CYRUS. 537

Cyrus who campaigned against Croesus did everything right.

He made all the right decisions and swept away the power of
Lydia. The Cyrus who campaigned against Tomyris did every-
thing wrong. He made all the wrong decisions and destroyed
both himself and the army which followed him across the
Araxes river.
On analyzing Cyrus' behavior in the two situations we find
that Cyrus succeeded in the earlier campaign for the following
reasons: (1) He recognized good advice and followed it: advice
from Harpagus at 80, 2 (cf. 124, 1-125, 1) and from Croesus at
88, 2-90, 1 and 155-6. (2) He used his own native intelligence
to solve his problems: 79, 1-2; 86-7 (especially 86, 6; cf. 125,
1-2). In fact, Cyrus appears, when he is successful in book one,
in the same role of a sage as in the last story in the Histories.
At 141, 1-3; 153, 1-2; and 155, 1-2 he speaks as a shrewd
and wise man. (3) He did not desire too much. Here there is
an interplay and exchange between Croesus and Cyrus in the
course of book one (to be discussed more fully below). Herodotus
stresses Croesus' desire for more land and power when the
Lydian undertakes his campaign against Cyrus (73, 1; cf. 87,
3-4), but no such desires are attributed to Cyrus at this time.
His turn comes later. (4) Cyrus feared punishment from the
gods, that is, he feared the consequences of his acts and he
understood that he was subordinate to higher powers. This
is seen most clearly in the scene in front of Croesus' pyre (86,
6) when Cyrus comes to understand that he is a mortal, now
putting to death another mortal who was once no less prosperous
and happy than he. He also fears divine retribution (tisis) and
he realizes that nothing human is safe and sure. In his earlier
career the gods had watched over Cyrus (124, 1; 126, 6; cf.
122, 3 and 121). At this point in his career Cyrus understands
what it is to be human and he acts in a way worthy of the
benevolence the gods had shown him.16
Now if we turn to Cyrus' campaign against the Massagetae
we find not only that Cyrus failed miserably but also that he

18 The miracle which saved Croesus from the pyre taught Cyrus
that Croesus was beloved by the gods (87, 2: OeoL5iXis). Perhaps it
should also have taught him that those favored by the gods can also
fail.
538 HARRY C. AVERY.

did in all cases the exact opposite of what he had done earlier.
Cyrus now no longer fears divine punishment nor does he
give any thought to the consequences of his actions-even the
most brutal, such as the sacrifice of part of his army (207, 7
and 211, 2) and the slaughter of the Massagetae while they are
drunk (211, 3). Furthermore, by this time Cyrus considers
himself more than merely human (204, 1-2; 209, especially
4).17 At 207, 2 Croesus has to use irony to remind Cyrus
of what he had understood without prompting at 86, 6, that
he was a mortal and subject to the vagaries of the human con-
dition: "If you think you are immortal and that you command
an army equally immortal, then there's no need for me to ex-
press my views to you; but if you know that you are a man
and lead an army of men, . . . etc." To underline the point
Herodotus makes Cyrus most confident 18 of his special con-
nection with the gods at the very moment the gods are with-
drawing their favor, that is, in 209 when Cyrus dreams that he
sees Darius with wings on his shoulders overshadowing Asia on
the one hand and Europe on the other. Cyrus feels absolute
confidence (209, 5: OVK . . E. aTL vXav; cf. 204, 2; both im-
possibilities turn out to be more than merely possible) that
he has interpreted the dream correctly when he takes it to mean
that Darius is plotting against him. He cites proof, " The gods
look after me and they show me ahead of time everything that
is going to happen" (209, 4; cf. 5). Yet, whatever the dream
meant,19 it did not mean what Cyrus so confidently thought
17 Earlier in his career Cyrus' connections with divinity are stressed
more by others (124, 1-2, Harpagus; 122, 3, his parents; 121, Astyages;
cf. the view of some later Persians, 95, 1) than by Cyrus himself
(126, 6). In the early Cyrus fear extends to such practical matters
as the Lydian cavalry (80, 2). By the time of his last campaign he
fears nothing.
18 For the theme of self-confidence and its use by Herodotus, see
W. Marg, "'Selbstsicherheit' bei Herodot," in Marg (note 13 above),
pp. 290-301, especially pp. 296-7.
19Commentators seem not to have noticed the strangeness of this
dream and its location in the narrative (the dream is treated super-
ficially in P. Frisch, Die Traume bei Herodot [Meisenheim am Glan,
1968], pp. 30-2). Herodotus' own interpretation is only satisfactory
up to a point. It seems not to arise out of the dream but rather out
of subsequent events. The dream as related gives no indication that
 HERODOTUS' PICTURE OF CYRUS. 539

it meant. Herodotus makes this point in 210, 1, "Cyrus said

this, thinking (8oKEov) that Darius was plotting against him.
But really the god revealed to him that he was going to die
there and that his kingdom would go to Darius." Thus Hero-
dotus shows Cyrus abandoned by the gods just when he feels
most sure of his powers.
In his last campaign Cyrus also desires too much. Herodotus
sounds the note of desire (CreNjunoe,201) at the very beginning
of his account. He returns to the idea at 204, 1 when he re-
peats that Cyrus had a desire (7rpoOvltlrv) to march against
the Massagetae. But the main emphasis is found in Tomyris'
messages to Cyrus. In the first (206, 1-3) she urges him to
give up his eager striving (7rao-u orevswv raorTevSes) after
things whose end he cannot know; let him rule his land and
the Massagetae their own. But if he does not want to listen
to this advice, if his desire to test the Massagetae is so great
(et eyaAXwos
7rpoUvleat), then let one side or the other retire to
allow the other to cross the river. Here Tomyris has a clear
perception of Cyrus as a man rushing headlong into the un-
known because of his uncontrollable desire to rule others. After

Cyrus will die on this expedition. It does of course indicate that

Darius will assume the royal power. But why should Cyrus dream
a dream which includes Europe as soon as he has passed over the
Araxes river into the territory of the Massagetae (209, 1)? The Mas-
sagetae are a Scythian tribe (201) and the Scythians inhabit eastern
Europe north of the Danube and west of the Don (IV, 99-101). The
dream could imply that Cyrus is somehow in Europe, but I cannot
believe that Herodotus intends us to understand that the area to
the east of the Caspian is in some sense Europe. Furthermore, in
Herodotus Cyrus has little connection with Europe. The only indication
that he thought in terms of the conquest of Europe is his veiled threat
against the Spartans (153, 1-2). Otherwise Cyrus' ambitions lie totally
outside Europe (153, 3-4; 177). Europe is significant for Darius first
among the Persian kings and it may be conjectured that the dream
originated in some context where it related wholly to Darius and not
at all to Cyrus. In addition, the dream seems to have a Greek cast
about it, in that it emphasizes the importance of Europe in relation
to Asia (cf. Xerxes' dream in Aeschylus' Persians, 181-99, which puts
Greece and Persia on an equal footing). Whatever the source of the
dream, Herodotus' carelessness about some aspects of it indicates that
he was primarily interested in using it as a means of showing Cyrus'
(now unfounded) self-confidence and his loss of favor with the gods.
540 HARRY C. AVERY.

Cyrus' first partial victory Tomyris sends a second message

(212, 2-3): "Insatiate of blood, Cyrus" (a,rAXre a,utLaTos,
Kvpe),20don't feel over confident because you have won a battle
and taken my son prisoner. Be content with what you have
accomplished, give back my son, and leave this land unharmed.
If you don't, "I will give you your fill of blood, insatiate though
you are" (Kal a7rraX-TOrovd'vTa acuaTos Kopeao). Cyrus, of course,
does not listen (ov8eva . .. orodeero Xoyov, 213) and the severed
head of Asia's conquerer at last finds satiety in a bag of blood,
while Tomyris boasts (214, 5). Here the results of Cyrus'
excess of desire are painted in particularly lurid colors, but
the point is unmistakable: Cyrus had wanted much and he
got more than he had expected.21
As mentioned above, in the course of book one Croesus and
Cyrus change places in regard to the idea of desire. It would
be well to pause here to examine some other ways in which there
is an interchange between the characters and positions of Croesus
and Cyrus by the end of book one. Croesus had put his faith
in what he thought was a manifestation of the divine will, the
ambiguous oracle from Delphi about the fall of an empire (53,
3; 73, 1; 75, 2). However, he interpreted the oracle wrongly
(91, 4). Cyrus on his part puts faith in his ability to under-
stand another message from the gods, the dream about Darius,
but he also fails to read the future (209, 1-210, 1). Because
of his misplaced trust in the oracle Croesus' ambitions had
been raised on high (expressed in various forms of cra'pw: 87,
3; 90, 3; 90, 4). Similarly Cyrus' success and self confidencehave
raised his ambitions on high by the time of the last campaign
(204, 2; 212, 2). Finally we have seen above that Cyrus acts
brutally and unjustly in regard to part of his army (207, 7;
211, 2). We should not then be surprised to find that Herodotus
stresses Croesus' cruelty and injustice in regard to the Syrians
earlier (76, 1-2). These considerations make it clear that
Herodotus deliberately places the Cyrus of the Massagetae cam-
20Here
Tomyris knows his name. The first time (206, 1) she had
addressed him as "King of the Medes." The next, and last, time (214,
5) she will contemptuously address his mutilated corpse as " ab."
21 Artabanus' statement (VII, 18, 2) that it is wrong to desire much,
followed by a reference to Cyrus' campaign against the Massagetae,
supports the argument in the text.
 HERODOTUS' PICTURE OF CYRUS. 541

paign in the same position in which he had placed Croesus dur-

ing his expedition against Cyrus.
To return to the contrast between the early and late Cyrus,
we may next note that Cyrus no longer uses his own native
intelligence22 to solve the problems posed by the last march.
This is most clear when he wants to decide what to do about
Tomyris' suggestion (206, 2-3) that he give up the trouble23
of building a bridge across the Araxes. Now, for the first time
in Herodotus' account of Cyrus' life, Cyrus calls a council of
Persian grandees to ask for advice (206, 3). This is in sharp
contrast to his reliance on his own decisions and his swift ac-
tion earlier (79, 1-2; cf. 125, 1-2 and 127, 2; contrast especially
fovXCevJ'pvos, "he took counsel with himself," 79, 1 and cvp.-
fovXevo'evo0,, "he took counsel with others," 206, 3). What is
more, Cyrus depends completely on the advice offered at the
council and he even wavers, first accepting one view, then
another (206, 3; 208, 1). In the one instance when Cyrus
actually does use his own unaided intelligence-in interpreting
the dream about Darius-we have seen that he is grievously
misguided and mistaken.
Finally, we come to the advice offered Cyrus. We have seen
that he took advice frequently from others earlier and that that
advice helped solve his problems. Now he has three sources:
the unnamed Persian magnates who advise him to allow Tomyris
to cross the river (206, 3); Croesus, who urges him to cross the
river and provides him with a plan by which to defeat the
Massagetae (207); and Tomyris herself, who urges him on two
22
Bischoff (note 13 above), pp. 8-11 (= Marg, note 13 above, pp.
306-10), shows that, in Herodotus, it is equally good to solve one's
problems by one's self or to solve them by advice from some outside
source (see also Immerwahr, note 3 above, pp. 73-4). Even so, the
fact remains that Cyrus is successful when his own powers of judg-
ment are intact and he fails when he has to rely completely on others.
28Another, subsidiary, difference between the early and the late
Cyrus is that Tomyris can mock the mighty effort he is making to
bridge the Araxes and fortify the bridge (206, 1-2: 7r6'ov; a-re68wv . . .
aorevSeis; g,6XBov). Here Cyrus is like Pentheus in Euripides' Bacchae
(616-37), struggling mightily to accomplish nothing, especially since
Tomyris points out that the work is entirely unnecessary. There is
no sense of enormous effort in the earlier campaigns, rather of divine
ease.
542 HARRY C. AVERY.

separate occasions (206, 1-2; 212, 2-3) to give up the whole

venture. As it turns out, the enemy Tomyris offered the best
advice. But instead Cyrus listens to Croesus whose advice is
good as far as it goes (he even brings up the possibility of
defeat, 207, 3). The trouble with it is that it does not go far
enough. It does not take into account all possibilities, especially
the one which brings about Cyrus' defeat: that the Massagetae
will commit only a part of their force to the attack on the
Persian camp. Here, then, in his last campaign, Cyrus has also
lost the ability he had to discern good advice and act successfully
upon it.
Thus Cyrus fails against the Massagetae because he had none
of the virtues he displayed in his first conquests. But, we may
ask, is the contrast between the campaigns so stark?
The transition between the successful and the unsuccessful
Cyrus in Herodotus may be found in the account of the first
conquest of Babylon. At the beginning of this story (188, 1-2)
Herodotus makes some curious and seemingly irrelevant remarks
to the effect that the Great King always campaigns well supplied
with grain and meat from home. The only water he drinks
comes from the Choaspes river and it is transported in silver
jars wherever he goes. This is the first time the title The Great
King is used in Herodotus and the title does not necessarily
refer to Cyrus himself for two reasons: (1) Herodotus uses
the present tense in this description of the King's mode of travel,
so he seems to be referring to contemporary fifth-century con-
ditions rather than to the state of affairs in Cyrus' time. (2)
After the fall of Babylon, at 192, Herodotus describes the wealth
of Assyria. Here again he uses the title The Great King and
he is certainly referring to the fifth-century situation since he
names the satrap in Assyria, Tritantaechmesthe son of Artabazus,
who probably held the post in Herodotus' own time.24 These
anachronistic details stress the grandeur, wealth, and rigidity
of the Persian empire at its height. Inserted at this point they
are puzzling unless Herodotus meant them to bring to mind
24
See W. W. How and J. Wells, A Commentary on Herodotus (Ox-
ford, 1928), note to 192, 2. The title Great King occurs twice again
in Herodotus: once in the time of Darius (V, 49, 7), and once in
reference to Xerxes (VIII, 140 b, 4).
 HERODOTUS' PICTURE OF CYRUS. 543

the great pomp which surrounded the Persian king in the fifth
century and by doing this to mark the transition from the re-
latively simple, straightforward, and successful Cyrus to the
haughty, devious,25and unsuccessful Cyrus of the last expedition.
The Babylonian campaign begins with the episode at the
Gyndes river in which one of the holy horses (another reference
to Persian pomp) drowns (189, 1). Cyrus becomes very angry
at the river and punishes it by diverting it into 360 channels,
making it so weak that even a woman could easily cross it
without wetting her knees (189, 2-3). This story is important
for a number of reasons. First, Cyrus has become excessively
angry, and angry at nature itself (the obvious comparison is
with Xerxes' anger at the Hellespont, VII, 35). Prior to this
event Cyrus, both man and boy, had become angry (114, 3;
141, 1-4; 153, 1-3; 156, 2), but he had never let his anger
interfere with his good sense. It had never, therefore, detracted
from his success. He was quite willing to put aside his anger
when it served his purpose (156, 2). This anger of Cyrus is
especially significant when we consider the phenomenon of anger
in Astyages and his descendants. Astyages was prone to anger
(117, 1; 118, 1), like his father Cyaxares (73, 4). Astyages'
anger was manifested in his cruelty, which led eventually to
his downfall (108, 3-4; 119, 3-7; 123, 2; 128, 2; 130, 1). Of
his direct descendants only Cyrus generally controls his anger.
Cambyses and Xerxes do not (see Spath, note 7 above, p. 63,
n. 101 for references to their anger), and they both (in Hero-
dotean terms) fail. Darius is outside both the male and female
lines and he is not cursed with the anger native to the family
of Astyages. That Cyrus expresses his anger here and allows
it to dictate his actions indicates that he is approaching a
situation in which he, too, could fail. Second, weakening the
river to the point it could be crossed easily by a woman calls

26 Cyrus first tries to woo

Tomyris, wanting to marry her for her
territory, but this trick (56Xos, 205, 2) fails. Croesus' stratagem is
not called a trick in the conference (207, 6-7) or by Herodotus (211, 1,
viroeKias), but Tomyris calls it that (212, 2; 214, 5). Harpagus' idea
of using camels against the Lydian cavalry is called simply wise advice
(80, 2 and 4). Cyrus had used deceit earlier (125, 2), but Herodotus
does not call it that.
544 HARRY C. AVERY.

to mind the soft lands and soft motif discussed earlier.26 It

also looks directly to Cyrus' defeat and humiliation at the hands
of Tomyris. Croesus, in his speech of advice to Cyrus (207, 5)
emphasizes the point that it would be a disgrace for Cyrus the
son of Cambyses to yield and give up territory to a woman.
But in fact Cyrus, like the river he has humbled, is defeated by
a woman.27 Third, punishing the Gyndes delays Cyrus' attack
on Babylon itself by a year (189, 4-190, 1). This delay does
no apparent harm, but it is in clear contrast to the swiftness
of the Lydian campaign (79-80, 84; cf. 127-8) and it pre-
sages Cyrus' indecision and delay at the Araxes. Fourth,
Herodotus himself stresses the relationship between the Gyndes
and the Araxes in Cyrus' career (189, 1 and 204, 3), deliberately
recalling Cyrus' humiliation of the Gyndes when the king is at
the banks of the Araxes.28 All of these aspects of the episode at
the Gyndes foreshadow the Massagetae expedition and subtly
alter the reader's perception of Cyrus.
Similarly two elements in Herodotus' account of the taking
of Babylon (190-1) also look forward to the final campaign.
When Cyrus diverts the channel of the Euphrates he uses the
axprfov of his army to do the work (191, 2). This word occurs
only three times in Herodotus: once in the Persian constitu-
tional debate when Megabyzus, in presenting his case for
oligarchy, uses it to argue that there is nothing more stupid
or insolent than the "useless" crowd (III, 81, 1); once to
describe the part of the army which Cyrus leaves behind as
bait for the Massagetae (211, 2; cf. 207, 7 where Croesus calls
it the cXavpo'rarav of the army); and here. These latter two
passages, so close together, seem to look to each other. At
Babylon Cyrus puts the " useless" part of his army to work at
a necessary engineering task. But the mere fact that Herodotus
has him think of this part as "useless" prepares us for Cyrus'
26 Bischoff, note 13 above, pp. 81-2 (= Marg, note 13 above, pp.
674-5), discusses Herodotus' use of the man-woman contrast, especially
in relation to IX, 122.
27 Note that Cyrus' defeat by a woman rounds out Herodotus'
picture
of him in one sense, since his life had been saved essentially by a
woman (112, 1-113, 1; cf. 122, 3).
28 For the motif of rivers in Herodotus, see Immerwahr, note 3

above, the passages cited on p. 372 of the index.

 HERODOTUS' PICTURE OF CYRUS. 545

wanton sacrifice of this part of his army-and to no avail-in his

last campaign. Then there is also the passage in which Hero-
dotus describes Cyrus' consternation when he is settled in the
siege of Babylon (190, 2-191, 1) and sees that he is making
no progress. Here Cyrus is described for the first time as being
at a loss what to do (a7roplo'p ZelvXero). Here again Cyrus takes
up a position which had been occupied by Croesus earlier (75,
3-4; 79, 2: the first aporia was solved by Thales, the second
by the fall of Sardis). Though' Cyrus had been in trouble before
(for example at the siege of Sardis, 84, 2-3), Herodotus makes
no mention of aporia. Now the word occurs twice within a few
lines. Clearly Herodotus wanted to emphasize the difficulty of
Cyrus' situation. At this crisis, Herodotus goes on to say that
Cyrus hit upon the device by which he took the city. But
Herodotus says explicitly that he does not know whether this
plan resulted from someone else's advice to Cyrus or if Cyrus
thought of it himself. We have seen that previously Cyrus had
won his battles because he could discern good advice and follow
it and because he could use his own intelligence to solve his
problems. Now Herodotus seems to be saying that Cyrus is doing
one or the other of these two, not both as before. This presages
Cyrus' inability to do either in the campaign against the Mas-
sagetae.
Yet, for all this ominous foreshadowing, we must keep in
mind that Cyrus won a great victory at Babylon, in historical
terms the greatest of his career. And Herodotus' account looks
backward to Cyrus' early successes as well as forward to his
failure. First, even though Cyrus becomes angry at nature
when the horse drowns in the Gyndes, nature is generally on his
side. He is able to manipulate the Euphrates to his own ends.
This recalls his seemingly effortless pursuit of Croesus earlier
and his capture of the "impregnable " citadel of Sardis. Sec-
ondly, Herodotus emphasizes that Cyrus' luck is still with him
when he took Babylon (191, 5-6; cf. 84, 2-5). If the Babylonians
had known what was happening when the water level of the
Euphrates fell, they could have kept Cyrus' troops out, but it
chanced (rvXdCv, 191, 6) to be a holiday and the town could
be taken by surprise (i6 adrpoaSoKrTrov). Of course, Cyrus has
no luck with the Massagetae. Finally, there is the story of
 546 HARRY C. AVERY.

the tomb of Nitocris which immediately precedes the account

of the Babylonian campaign (187). The tomb was located
above one of the main gates of the city. On it was an inscription
saying that it could be opened by any one of Nitocris' successors
who was in great need of money. "The tomb remained un-
touched until the rule of Darius" (187, 3). When he opened
it he found no money, but another inscription, "If you were
not insatiate of money (a7rXAr?7ro . . . XprJrov) and shameless
in your greed, you would not have opened a tomb of the dead "
(187, 5). Herodotus' clear statement that Darius opened the
tomb means that Cyrus did not touch it. Having refrained,
Cyrus could not at this stage of his career be considered "in-
satiate," as he was later.29 Thus Cyrus' self-control was also
in evidence during his conquest of Babylon.
In this way Herodotus seems, in his account of the first
conquest of Babylon, to be building a bridge between the bril-
liantly successful Cyrus of the earlier campaigns and the
wretched failure of the last. At Babylon Cyrus is successful, but
those virtues which enabled him to conquer earlier are beginning
to fade and the shadow of his vices begins to attract notice. The
stage is set for the disastrous defeat which follows.
HARRY C. AVERY.
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH.

29 See pp. 539-40 above. The word &7rXTorosappears only these three
times in Herodotus. Here again, as in the dream of 209, 1 (see note 19
above), we have a story which seems most relevant to Darius used
in a context involving Cyrus. The difference is that in this case
there is even less relevance to Darius since he has no reputation
in the Histories for greed or love of money. This indicates that
Herodotus tells us the story more for what it says about Cyrus than
for what it says about Darius.