Stories of the East From Herodotus Author:Herodotus Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. KING CRCESUS IS DEFEATED AND THE CITY OF SARDIS IS TAKEN. King Crcesus, being steadfastly purposed to make war with the Persians, marched int... more »o the land of the Cappadocians, wherein is the river Halys, being the boundary between his kingdom and the kingdom of Cyrus. Now the reasons that King Croesus had for making war were these. First, he desired to enlarge the borders of his dominion, adding thereto the land of the Persians ; and next, he had it in his heart to avenge upon Cyrus his sister's husband Astyages ; for Cyrus had subdued him, and taken from him his kingdom, as shall be told hereafter. But how it came to pass that Croesus was brother-in-law to Astyages shall be told at this present. Certain families of the wandering Scythians, being at variance with their own people, fled into the land of the Medes, the king of the Medes in those days being Cyax- ares, the son of Phraortes. This Cyaxares at the first dealt kindly with these Scythians, as being men who were suppliants for his grace. And indeed he made so much of them that he put with them certain children who should learn their language and the art of shooting with the bow, in which they excel. Now the Scythians were wont to go hunting every day, and failed not to bring home venison ; but after a while, on a certain day it chanced that they brought home nothing. And when King Cyaxares saw them returning with empty hands he was wroth with them, and entreated them shamefully, being indeed a man of violent temper. Then the Scythians bethought them how they might avenge themselves for this dishonour; whereupon they took one of the children whom they were teaching, and cut him into pieces, and dressed the flesh as they were wont to dress the venison which they took in hunting, and gave it to the King as...« less