Herodotus' HISTORY BOOK 1 (CLIO) Complete

Translated by G. Macaulay.

Herodotus Bilingual Anthology  Studies  Herodotus in Print

107 pages - You are on Page 39

75. This Astyages then, being his mother's father, Cyrus had conquered and made prisoner for a reason which I shall declare in the history which comes after. [90] This then was the complaint which Croesus had against Cyrus when he sent to the Oracles to ask if he should march against the Persians; and when a deceitful answer had come back to him, he marched into the dominion of the Persians, supposing that the answer was favourable to himself. And when Croesus came to the river Halys, then, according to my account, he passed his army across by the bridges which there were; but, according to the account which prevails among the Hellenes, Thales the Milesian enabled him to pass his army across. For, say they, when Croesus was at a loss how his army should pass over the river (since, they add, there were not yet at that time the bridges which now there are), Thales being present in the army caused the river, which flowed then on the left hand of the army, to flow partly also on the right; and he did it thus:—beginning above the camp he proceeded to dig a deep channel, directing it in the form of a crescent moon, so that the river might take the camp there pitched in the rear, being turned aside from its ancient course by this way along the channel, and afterwards passing by the camp might fall again into its ancient course; so that as soon as the river was thus parted in two it became fordable by both branches: and some say even that the ancient course of the river was altogether dried up. But this tale I do not admit as true, for how then did they pass over the river as they went back? 76. And Croesus, when he had passed over with his army, came to that place in Cappadokia which is called Pteria (now Pteria is the strongest place in this country, and is situated somewhere about in a line with the city of Sinope [91] on the Euxine). Here he encamped and ravaged the fields of the Syrians. Moreover he took the city of the Pterians, and sold the people into slavery, and he took also all the towns that lay about it; and the Syrians, who were not guilty of any wrong, he forced to remove from their homes. [92] Meanwhile Cyrus, having gathered his own forces and having taken up in addition to them all who dwelt in the region between, was coming to meet Croesus. Before he began however to lead forth his army, he had sent heralds to the Ionians and tried to induce them to revolt from Croesus; but the Ionians would not do as he said. Then when Cyrus was come and had encamped over against Croesus, they made trial of one another by force of arms in the land of Pteria: and after hard fighting, when many had fallen on both sides, at length, night having come on, they parted from one the other with no victory on either side.

[90] See ch. 107 ff.

[91] Not "somewhere near the city of Sinope," for it must have been at a considerable distance and probably far inland. Sinope itself is at least fifty miles to the west of the Halys. I take it to mean that Pteria was nearly due south of Sinope, i.e. that the nearest road from Pteria to the sea led to Sinope. Pteria no doubt was the name of a region as well as of a city.

[92] {anastatous epoiese}.

Previous / First / Herodotus History: Next Page of this Book (Clio)

Herodotus History - Table of Contents

Herodotus Home Page ||| Elpenor's Free Greek Lessons

Thucydides

Reference address : https://ellopos.net/elpenor/greek-texts/ancient-Greece/herodotus/history-1.asp?pg=39