ὁ μὲν πρῶτος Ἀρτοξέρξης, τῶν ἐν Πέρσαις βασιλέων πραότητι καὶ μεγαλοψυχίᾳ πρωτεύσας, Μακρόχειρ ἐπεκαλεῖτο τὴν δεξιὰν μείζονα τῆς ἑτέρας ἔχων, Ξέρξου δὲ ἦν υἱός· ὁ δὲ δεύτερος, περὶ οὗ τάδε γράφεται, Μνήμων ἐπικληθείς ἐκ θυγατρὸς ἦν ἐκεῖνον. Δαρείου γὰρ καὶ Παρυσάτιδος παῖδες ἐγένοντο τέσσαρες, πρεσβύτατος μὲν Ἀρτοξέρξης, μετʼ ἐκεῖνον δὲ Κῦρος, νεώτεροι δὲ τούτων Ὀστάνης καὶ Ὀξάθρης.
The first Artaxerxes, preeminent among the kings of Persia for gentleness and magnanimity, was surnamed Longimanus, because his right hand was longer than his left, and was the son of Xerxes; the second Artaxerxes, the subject of this Life, was surnamed Memor, or Mindful, and was the grandson of the first by his daughter Parysatis. For Dareius and Parysatis had four sons—an eldest, Artaxerxes, and next to him Cyrus, and after these Ostanes and Oxathres.
ὁ μὲν οὖν Κῦρος ἀπὸ Κύρου τοῦ παλαιοῦ τοὔνομα ἔσχεν, ἐκείνῳ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου γενέσθαι φασί Κῦρον γὰρ καλεῖν Πέρσας τὸν ἥλιον. ὁ δὲ Ἀρτοξέρξης Ἀρσίκας πρότερον ἐκαλεῖτο· καίτοι Δείνων φησὶν ὅτι Ὀάρσης, ἀλλὰ τὸν Κτησίαν, εἰ καὶ τἆλλα μύθων ἀπιθάνων καὶ παραφόρων ἐμβέβληκεν εἰς τὰ βιβλία παντοδαπὴν πυλαίαν, οὐκ εἰκός ἐστιν ἀγνοεῖν τοὔνομα τοῦ βασιλέως παρʼ ᾧ διέτριβε θεραπεύων αὐτὸν καὶ γυναῖκα καὶ μητέρα καὶ παῖδας.
Cyrus took his name from Cyrus of old, who, as they say, was named from the sun; for Cyrus is the Persian word for sun. Artaxerxes was at first called Arsicas; although Deinon gives the name as Oarses. But it is unlikely that Ctesias, even if be has put into his work a perfect farrago of extravagant and incredible tales, should be ignorant of the name of the king at whose court he lived as physician to the king’s wife and mother and children.
ὁ μὲν οὖν Κῦρος ἔντονόν τι καὶ σφοδρὸν εὐθὺς ἐκ πρώτης ἡλικίας εἶχεν, ἅτερος δὲ πραότερος ἐδόκει περὶ πάντα καὶ ταῖς ὁρμαῖς φύσει μαλακώτερος εἶναι, γυναῖκα δὲ καλὴν καὶ ἀγαθὴν ἔλαβε μὲν τῶν γονέων κελευόντων, ἐφύλαξε δὲ κωλυόντων τὸν γὰρ ἀδελφὸν αὐτῆς ἀποκτείνας ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐβουλεύετο κἀκείνην ἀνελεῖν,
Now Cyrus, from his very earliest years, was high-strung and impetuous, but Artaxerxes seemed gentler in everything and naturally milder in his impulses. His wife, a beautiful and excellent woman, he married in compliance with his parents’ bidding, and kept her in defiance of them; for after the king had put her brother to death, he wished to kill her also.
ὁ δὲ Ἀρσίκας τῆς μητρὸς ἱκέτης γενόμενος καὶ πολλὰ κατακλαύσας μόλις ἔπεισε μήτε ἀποκτεῖναι μήτε αὐτοῦ διαστῆσαι τὴν ἄνθρωπον. ἡ δὲ μήτηρ ὑπῆρχε τὸν Κῦρον μᾶλλον φιλοῦσα καὶ βουλομένη βασιλεύειν ἐκεῖνον, διὸ καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς νοσοῦντος ἤδη μετάπεμπτος ἀπὸ θαλάσσης γενόμενος παντάπασιν ἀνέβαινεν εὔελπις ὤν, ὡς κατειργασμένης ἐκείνης διάδοχον αὐτὸν ἀποδειχθῆναι τῆς ἀρχῆς.
But Arsicas, throwing himself at his mother’s feet and supplicating her with many tears, at last obtained her promise that his wife should neither be killed nor separated from him. But the mother had more love for Cyrus, and wished that he should succeed to the throne. Therefore, when his father was now lying sick, Cyrus was summoned home from the sea-coast, and went up in full hope that by his mother’s efforts he had been designated as successor to the kingdom.
καὶ γὰρ εἶχεν εὐπρεπῆ λόγον ἡ Παρύσατις, ᾧ καὶ Ξέρξης ὁ παλαιὸς ἐχρήσατο, Δημαράτου διδάξαντος, ὡς Ἀρσίκαν μὲν ἰδιώτῃ, Κῦρον δὲ βασιλεύοντι Δαρείῳ τεκεῖν. οὐ μὴν ἔπεισεν, ἀλλʼ ὁ πρεσβύτερος ἀπεδείχθη βασιλεύς, Ἀρτοξέρξης μετονομασθείς, Κῦρος δὲ Λυδίας σατράπης καὶ τῶν ἐπὶ θαλάσσης στρατηγός.
For Parysatis had a specious argument (the same that Xerxes the Elder employed on the advice of Demaratus), to the effect that she had borne Arsicas to Dareius when he was in private station, but Cyrus when he was a king. However, she could not prevail, but the elder son was declared king, under the new name of Artaxerxes, while Cyrus remained satrap of Lydia and commander of the forces in the maritime provinces.
ὀλίγῳ δʼ ὕστερον ἢ τελευτῆσαι Δαρεῖον ἐξήλασεν εἰς Πασαργάδας ὁ βασιλεύς, ὅπως τελεσθείη τὴν βασιλικὴν τελετὴν ὑπὸ τῶν ἐν Πέρσαις ἱερέων, ἔστι δὲ θεᾶς πολεμικῆς ἱερόν, ἣν Ἀθηνᾶν ἂν τις εἰκάσειεν.
A little while after the death of Dareius, the new king made an expedition to Pasargadae, that he might receive the royal initiation at the hands of the Persian priests. Here there is a sanctuary of a warlike goddess whom one might conjecture to be Athena.
εἰς τοῦτο δεῖ τὸν τελούμενον παρελθόντα τὴν μὲν ἰδίαν ἀποθέσθαι στολήν, ἀναλαβεῖν δὲ ἣν Κῦρος ὁ παλαιὸς ἐφόρει πρὶν ἢ βασιλεὺς γενέσθαι, καὶ σύκων παλάθης ἐμφαγόντα τερμίνθου κατατραγεῖν καὶ ποτήριον ἐκπιεῖν ὀξυγάλακτος. εἰ δὲ πρὸς τούτοις ἕτερʼ ἄττα δρῶσιν, ἄδηλόν ἐστι τοῖς ἄλλοις.
Into this sanctuary the candidate for initiation must pass, and after laying aside his own proper robe, must put on that which Cyrus the Elder used to wear before he became king then he must eat of a cake of figs, chew some turpentine-wood, and drink a cup of sour milk. Whatever else is done besides this is unknown to outsiders.
ταῦτα δρᾶν Ἀρτοξέρξου μέλλοντος ἀφίκετο Τισαφέρνης πρὸς αὐτόν ἄγων ἕνα τῶν ἱερέων, ὃς ἐν παισὶ Κύρου τῆς νομιζομένης ἀγωγῆς ἐπιστάτης γενόμενος καὶ διδάξας μαγεύειν αὐτόν οὐδενὸς ἧττον ἐδόκει Περσῶν ἀνιᾶσθαι μὴ ἀποδειχθέντος ἐκείνου βασιλέως διὸ καὶ πίστιν ἔσχε κατηγορῶν Κύρου.
As Artaxerxes was about to perform these rites, Tissaphernes brought to him a certain priest who had conducted Cyrus through the customary discipline for boys, had taught him the wisdom of the Magi, and was thought to be more distressed than any one in Persia because his pupil had not been declared king. For this reason, too, his accusation against Cyrus won credence.
κατηγόρει δὲ ὡς μέλλοντος ἐνεδρεύειν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ, καὶ ἐπειδὰν ἐκδύηται τὴν ἐσθῆτα ὁ βασιλεύς, ἐπιτίθεσθαι καὶ διαφθείρειν αὐτόν, οἱ μὲν ἐκ ταύτης τῆς διαβολῆς τὴν σύλληψιν γενέσθαι φασίν, οἱ δὲ καὶ παρελθεῖν τὸν Κῦρον εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν καὶ παραδοθῆναι κρυπτόμενον ὑπὸ τοῦ ἱερέως.
And he accused him of planning to lie in wait for the king in the sanctuary until he should put off his garment, and then to fall upon him and kill him. Some say that Cyrus was arrested in consequence of this false charge, others that he actually made his way into the sanctuary and hid himself there, and was delivered into custody by the priest.
μέλλοντα δὲ αὐτόν ἤδη ἀποθνῄσκειν ἡ μήτηρ περισχοῦσα ταῖς ἀγκάλαις καὶ τοῖς βοστρύχοις περιελίξασα καὶ συλλαβοῦσα τὸν ἐκείνου τράχηλον πρὸς τὸν αὑτῆς, ὀδυρομένη πολλὰ καὶ ποτνιωμένη παρῃτήσατο καὶ κατέπεμψεν αὖθις ἐπὶ θάλατταν, οὐκ ἀγαπῶντα τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐκείνην, οὐδὲ μεμνημένον τῆς διέσεως, ἀλλὰ τῆς συλλήψεως, καὶ διʼ ὀργὴν σπαργῶντα μᾶλλον ἢ πρότερον ἐπὶ τὴν βασιλείαν.
But now, as he was about to be put to death, his mother clasped him in her arms, twined her tresses about him, pressed his neck against her own, and by much lamentation and entreaty prevailed upon the king to spare him, and sent him back to the sea-coast. Here he was not satisfied with the office assigned to him, nor mindful of his release, but only of his arrest; and his anger made him more eager than before to secure the kingdom.
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