τῆς δὲ Βαβυλῶνος ταύτης πολλοὶ μέν κου καὶ ἄλλοι ἐγένοντο βασιλέες, τῶν ἐν τοῖσι Ἀσσυρίοισι λόγοισι μνήμην ποιήσομαι, οἳ τὰ τείχεά τε ἐπεκόσμησαν καὶ τὰ ἱρά, ἐν δὲ δὴ καὶ γυναῖκες δύο. ἡ μὲν πρότερον ἄρξασα, τῆς ὕστερον γενεῇσι πέντε πρότερον γενομένη, τῇ οὔνομα ἦν Σεμίραμις, αὕτη μὲν ἀπεδέξατο χώματα ἀνὰ τὸ πεδίον ἐόντα ἀξιοθέητα· πρότερον δὲ ἐώθεε ὁ ποταμὸς ἀνὰ τὸ πεδίον πᾶν πελαγίζειν.
Of this Babylon, besides many other rulers, of whom I shall make mention in the Assyrian history, and who added improvement to the walls and temples, there were also two who were women. Of these, the one who ruled first, named Semiramis, who lived five generations before the other, produced banks of earth in the plain which are a sight worth seeing; and before this the river used to flood like a sea over the whole plain.
ἡ δὲ δὴ δεύτερον γενομένη ταύτης βασίλεια, τῇ οὔνομα ἦν Νίτωκρις, αὕτη δὲ συνετωτέρη γενομένη τῆς πρότερον ἀρξάσης τοῦτο μὲν μνημόσυνα ἐλίπετο τὰ ἐγὼ ἀπηγήσομαι, τοῦτο δὲ τὴν Μήδων ὁρῶσα ἀρχὴν μεγάλην τε καὶ οὐκ ἀτρεμίζουσαν, ἀλλʼ ἄλλα τε ἀραιρημένα ἄστεα αὐτοῖσι, ἐν δὲ δὴ καὶ τὴν Νίνον, προεφυλάξατο ὅσα ἐδύνατο μάλιστα.
πρῶτα μὲν τὸν Εὐφρήτην ποταμὸν ῥέοντα πρότερον ἰθύν, ὅς σφι διὰ τῆς πόλιος μέσης ῥέει, τοῦτον ἄνωθεν διώρυχας ὀρύξασα οὕτω δή τι ἐποίησε σκολιὸν ὥστε δὴ τρὶς ἐς τῶν τινα κωμέων τῶν ἐν τῇ Ἀσσυρίῃ ἀπικνέεται ῥέων· τῇ δὲ κώμῃ οὔνομα ἐστί, ἐς τὴν ἀπικνέεται ὁ Εὐφρήτης, Ἀρδέρικκα. καὶ νῦν οἳ ἂν κομίζωνται ἀπὸ τῆσδε τῆς θαλάσσης ἐς Βαβυλῶνα, καταπλέοντες τὸν Εὐφρήτην ποταμὸν τρίς τε ἐς τὴν αὐτὴν ταύτην κώμην παραγίνονται καὶ ἐν τρισὶ ἡμέρῃσι.
τοῦτο μὲν δὴ τοιοῦτον ἐποίησε, χῶμα δὲ παρέχωσε παρʼ ἑκάτερον τοῦ ποταμοῦ τὸ χεῖλος ἄξιον θώματος μέγαθος καὶ ὕψος ὅσον τι ἐστί.
κατύπερθε δὲ πολλῷ Βαβυλῶνος ὤρυσσε ἔλυτρον λίμνῃ, ὀλίγον τι παρατείνουσα ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ, βάθος μὲν ἐς τὸ ὕδωρ αἰεὶ ὀρύσσουσα, εὖρος δὲ τὸ περίμετρον αὐτοῦ ποιεῦσα εἴκοσί τε καὶ τετρακοσίων σταδίων· τὸν δὲ ὀρυσσόμενον χοῦν ἐκ τούτου τοῦ ὀρύγματος ἀναισίμου παρὰ τὰ χείλεα τοῦ ποταμοῦ παραχέουσα.
ἐπείτε δέ οἱ ὀρώρυκτο, λίθους ἀγαγομένη κρηπῖδα κύκλῳ περὶ αὐτὴν ἤλασε.
ἐποίεε δὲ ἀμφότερα ταῦτα, τόν τε ποταμὸν σκολιὸν καὶ τὸ ὄρυγμα πᾶν ἕλος, ὡς ὅ τε ποταμὸς βραδύτερος εἴη περὶ καμπὰς πολλὰς ἀγνύμενος, καὶ οἱ πλόοι ἔωσι σκολιοὶ ἐς τὴν Βαβυλῶνα, ἔκ τε τῶν πλόων ἐκδέκηται περίοδος τῆς λίμνης μακρή.
κατὰ τοῦτο δὲ ἐργάζετο τῆς χώρης τῇ αἵ τε ἐσβολαὶ ἦσαν καὶ τὰ σύντομα τῆς ἐκ Μήδων ὁδοῦ, ἵνα μὴ ἐπιμισγόμενοι οἱ Μῆδοι ἐκμανθάνοιεν αὐτῆς τὰ πρήγματα.
The queen who lived after her time, named Nitocris, was wiser than she who had reigned before; and in the first place she left behind her monuments which I shall tell of; then secondly, seeing that the monarchy of the Medes was great and not apt to remain still, but that besides other cities even Nineveh had been captured by it, she made provision against it in so far as she was able. First, as regards the river Euphrates which flows through the midst of their city, whereas before this it flowed straight, she by digging channels above made it so winding that it actually comes three times in its course to one of the villages in Assyria; and the name of the village to which the Euphrates comes is Ardericca; and at this day those who travel from this Sea of ours to Babylon, in their voyage down the river Euphrates arrive three times at this same village and on three separate days. This she did thus; and she also piled up a mound along each bank of the river, which is worthy to cause wonder for its size and height: and at a great distance above Babylon, she dug a basin for a lake, which she caused to extend along at a very small distance from the river, excavating it everywhere of such depth as to come to water, and making the extent such that the circuit of it measured four hundred and twenty furlongs: and the earth which was dug out of this excavation she used up by piling it in mounds along the banks of the river: and when this had been dug by her she brought stones and set them all round it as a facing wall. Both these two things she did, that is she made the river to have a winding course, and she made the place which was dug out all into a swamp, in order that the river might run more slowly, having its force broken by going round many bends, and that the voyages might be winding to Babylon, and after the voyages there might succeed a long circuit of the pool. These works she carried out in that part where the entrance to the country was, and the shortest way to it from Media, so that the Medes might not have dealings with her kingdom and learn of her affairs.
ταῦτα μὲν δὴ ἐκ βάθεος περιεβάλετο, τοιήνδε δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν παρενθήκην ἐποιήσατο. τῆς πόλιος ἐούσης δύο φαρσέων, τοῦ δὲ ποταμοῦ μέσον ἔχοντος, ἐπὶ τῶν πρότερον βασιλέων ὅκως τις ἐθέλοι ἐκ τοῦ ἑτέρου φάρσεος ἐς τοὔτερον διαβῆναι, χρῆν πλοίῳ διαβαίνειν, καὶ ἦν, ὡς ἐγὼ δοκέω, ὀχληρὸν τοῦτο. αὕτη δὲ καὶ τοῦτο προεῖδε. ἐπείτε γὰρ ὤρυσσε τὸ ἔλυτρον τῇ λίμνῃ, μνημόσυνον τόδε ἄλλο ἀπὸ τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἔργου ἐλίπετο·
ἐτάμνετο λίθους περιμήκεας, ὡς δέ οἱ ἦσαν οἱ λίθοι ἕτοιμοι καὶ τὸ χωρίον ὀρώρυκτο, ἐκτρέψασα τοῦ ποταμοῦ τὸ ῥέεθρον πᾶν ἐς τὸ ὤρυσσε χωρίον, ἐν ᾧ ἐπίμπλατο τοῦτο, ἐν τούτω ἀπεξηρασμένου τοῦ ἀρχαίου ῥεέθρου τοῦτο μὲν τὰ χείλεα τοῦ ποταμοῦ κατὰ τὴν πόλιν καὶ τὰς καταβάσιας τὰς ἐκ τῶν πυλίδων ἐς τὸν ποταμὸν φερούσας ἀνοικοδόμησε πλίνθοισι ὀπτῇσι κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν λόγον τῷ τείχεϊ, τοῦτο δὲ κατὰ μέσην κου μάλιστα τὴν πόλιν τοῖσι λίθοισι τοὺς ὠρύξατο οἰκοδόμεε γέφυραν, δέουσα τοὺς λίθους σιδήρῳ τε καὶ μολύβδῳ.
ἐπιτείνεσκε δὲ ἐπʼ αὐτήν, ὅκως μὲν ἡμέρη γίνοιτο, ξύλα τετράγωνα, ἐπʼ ὧν τὴν διάβασιν ἐποιεῦντο οἱ Βαβυλώνιοι· τὰς δὲ νύκτας τὰ ξύλα ταῦτα ἀπαιρέεσκον τοῦδε εἵνεκα, ἵνα μὴ διαφοιτέοντες τὰς νύκτας κλέπτοιεν παρʼ ἀλλήλων.
ὡς δὲ τό τε ὀρυχθὲν λίμνη πλήρης ἐγεγόνεε ὑπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ καὶ τὰ περὶ τὴν γέφυραν ἐκεκόσμητο, τὸν Εὐφρήτην ποταμὸν ἐς τὰ ἀρχαῖα ῥέεθρα ἐκ τῆς λίμνης ἐξήγαγε, καὶ οὕτω τὸ ὀρυχθὲν ἕλος γενόμενον ἐς δέον ἐδόκεε γεγονέναι καὶ τοῖσι πολιήτῃσι γέφυρα ἦν κατεσκευασμένη.
These defences she cast round her city from the depth; and she made the following addition which was dependent upon them:—The city was in two divisions, and the river occupied the space between; and in the time of the former rulers, when any one wished to pass over from the one division to the other, he had to pass over in a boat, and that, as I imagine, was troublesome: she however made provision also for this; for when she was digging the basin for the lake she left this other monument of herself derived from the same work, that is, she caused stones to be cut of very great length, and when the stones were prepared for her and the place had been dug out, she turned aside the whole stream of the river into the place which she had been digging; and while this was being filled with water, the ancient bed of the river being dried up in the meantime, she both built up with baked bricks after the same fashion as the wall the edges of the river, where it flows through the city, and the places of descent leading from the small gateways to the river; and also about the middle of the city, as I judge, with the stones which she had caused to be dug out she proceeded to build a bridge, binding together the stones with iron and lead: and upon the top she laid squared timbers across, to remain there while it was daytime, over which the people of Babylon made the passage across; but at night they used to take away these timbers for this reason, namely that they might not go backwards and forwards by night and steal from one another: and when the place dug out had been made into a lake full of water by the river, and at the same time the bridge had been completed, then she conducted the Euphrates back into its ancient channel from the lake, and so the place dug out being made into a swamp was thought to have served a good purpose, and there had been a bridge set up for the men of the city.
ἡ δʼ αὐτὴ αὕτη βασίλεια καὶ ἀπάτην τοιήνδε τινὰ ἐμηχανήσατο· ὕπερ τῶν μάλιστα λεωφόρων πυλέων τοῦ ἄστεος τάφον ἑωυτῇ κατεσκευάσατο μετέωρον ἐπιπολῆς αὐτέων τῶν πυλέων, ἐνεκόλαψε δὲ ἐς τὸν τάφον γράμματα λέγοντα τάδε.
τῶν τις ἐμεῦ ὕστερον γινομένων Βαβυλῶνος βασιλέων ἢν σπανίσῃ χρημάτων, ἀνοίξας τὸν τάφον λαβέτω ὁκόσα βούλεται χρήματα· μὴ μέντοι γε μὴ σπανίσας γε ἄλλως ἀνοίξῃ· οὐ γὰρ ἄμεινον·
οὗτος ὁ τάφος ἦν ἀκίνητος μέχρι οὗ ἐς Δαρεῖον περιῆλθε ἡ βασιληίη· Δαρείῳ δὲ καὶ δεινὸν ἐδόκεε εἶναι τῇσι πύλῃσι ταύτῃσι μηδὲν χρᾶσθαι, καὶ χρημάτων κειμένων καὶ αὐτῶν τῶν γραμμάτων ἐπικαλεομένων, μὴ οὐ λαβεῖν αὐτά·
τῇσι δὲ πύλῃσι ταύτῃσι οὐδὲν ἐχρᾶτο τοῦδε εἵνεκα, ὅτι ὕπερ κεφαλῆς οἱ ἐγίνετο ὁ νεκρὸς διεξελαύνοντι.
ἀνοίξας δὲ τὸν τάφον εὗρε χρήματα μὲν οὔ, τὸν δὲ νεκρὸν καὶ γράμματα λέγοντα τάδε· εἰ μὴ ἄπληστός τε ἔας χρημάτων καὶ αἰσχροκερδής, οὐκ ἂν νεκρῶν θήκας ἀνέῳγες. αὕτη μέν νυν ἡ βασίλεια τοιαύτη τις λέγεται γενέσθαι.
This same queen also contrived a snare of the following kind:—Over that gate of the city through which the greatest number of people passed she set up for herself a tomb above the very gate itself. And on the tomb she engraved writing which said thus: “If any of the kings of Babylon who come after me shall be in want of wealth, let him open my tomb and take as much as he desires; but let him not open it for any other cause, if he be not in want; for that will not be well.” This tomb was undisturbed until the kingdom came to Dareios; but to Dareios it seemed that it was a monstrous thing not to make any use of this gate, and also, when there was money lying there, not to take it, considering that the money itself invited him to do so. Now the reason why he would not make any use of this gate was because the corpse would have been above his head as he drove through. He then, I say, opened the tomb and found not indeed money but the corpse, with writing which said thus: “If thou hadst not been insatiable of wealth and basely covetous, thou wouldest not have opened the resting-places of the dead.”
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