Anabasis I
Author: Xenophon,
Translator: H.G. Dkyns


I


Darius and Parysatis had two sons: the elder was named Artaxerxes, and 1
the younger Cyrus. Now, as Darius lay sick and felt that the end of
life drew near, he wished both his sons to be with him. The elder, as
it chanced, was already there, but Cyrus he must needs send for from
the province over which he had made him satrap, having appointed him
general moreover of all the forces that muster in the plain of the
Castolus. Thus Cyrus went up, taking with him Tissaphernes as his
friend, and accompanied also by a body of Hellenes, three hundred
heavy armed men, under the command of Xenias the Parrhasian[1].

[1] Parrhasia, a district and town in the south-west of Arcadia.

Now when Darius was dead, and Artaxerxes was established in the
kingdom, Tissaphernes brought slanderous accusations against Cyrus
before his brother, the king, of harbouring designs against him. And
Artaxerxes, listening to the words of Tissaphernes, laid hands upon
Cyrus, desiring to put him to death; but his mother made intercession
for him, and sent him back again in safety to his province. He then,
having so escaped through peril and dishonour, fell to considering,
not only how he might avoid ever again being in his brother's power,
but how, if possible, he might become king in his stead. Parysatis,
his mother, was his first resource; for she had more love for Cyrus
than for Artaxerxes upon his throne. Moreover Cyrus's behaviour
towards all who came to him from the king's court was such that, when
he sent them away again, they were better friends to himself than to 5
the king his brother. Nor did he neglect the barbarians in his own
service; but trained them, at once to be capable as warriors and
devoted adherents of himself. Lastly, he began collecting his Hellenic
armament, but with the utmost secrecy, so that he might take the king
as far as might be at unawares.

The manner in which he contrived the levying of the troops was as
follows: First, he sent orders to the commandants of garrisons in the
cities (so held by him), bidding them to get together as large a body
of picked Peloponnesian troops as they severally were able, on the
plea that Tissaphernes was plotting against their cities; and truly
these cities of Ionia had originally belonged to Tissaphernes, being
given to him by the king; but at this time, with the exception of
Miletus, they had all revolted to Cyrus. In Miletus, Tissaphernes,
having become aware of similar designs, had forestalled the
conspirators by putting some to death and banishing the remainder.
Cyrus, on his side, welcomed these fugitives, and having collected an
army, laid siege to Miletus by sea and land, endeavouring to reinstate
the exiles; and this gave him another pretext for collecting an
armament. At the same time he sent to the king, and claimed, as being
the king's brother, that these cities should be given to himself
rather than that Tissaphernes should continue to govern them; and in
furtherance of this end, the queen, his mother, co-operated with him,
so that the king not only failed to see the design against himself,
but concluded that Cyrus was spending his money on armaments in order
to make war on Tissaphernes. Nor did it pain him greatly to see the
two at war together, and the less so because Cyrus was careful to
remit the tribute due to the king from the cities which belonged to
Tissaphernes.

A third army was being collected for him in the Chersonese, over
against Abydos, the origin of which was as follows: There was a
Lacedaemonian exile, named Clearchus, with whom Cyrus had become
associated. Cyrus admired the man, and made him a present of ten
thousand darics[2]. Clearchus took the gold, and with the money raised 9
an army, and using the Chersonese as his base of operations, set to
work to fight the Thracians north of the Hellespont, in the interests
of the Hellenes, and with such happy result that the Hellespontine
cities, of their own accord, were eager to contribute funds for the
support of his troops. In this way, again, an armament was being
secretly maintained for Cyrus.

[2] A Persian gold coin = 125.55 grains of gold.

Then there was the Thessalian Aristippus, Cyrus's friend[3], who,
under pressure of the rival political party at home, had come to Cyrus
and asked him for pay for two thousand mercenaries, to be continued
for three months, which would enable him, he said, to gain the upper
hand of his antagonists. Cyrus replied by presenting him with six
months' pay for four thousand mercenaries--only stipulating that
Aristippus should not come to terms with his antagonists without final
consultation with himself. In this way he secured to himself the
secret maintenance of a fourth armament.

[3] Lit. "guest-friend." Aristippus was, as we learn from the "Meno"
of Plato, a native of Larisa, of the family of the Aleuadae, and a
pupil of Gorgias. He was also a lover of Menon, whom he appears to
have sent on this expedition instead of himself.

Further, he bade Proxenus, a Boeotian, who was another friend, get
together as many men as possible, and join him in an expedition which
he meditated against the Pisidians[4], who were causing annoyance to
his territory. Similarly two other friends, Sophaenetus the
Stymphalian[5], and Socrates the Achaean, had orders to get together
as many men as possible and come to him, since he was on the point of
opening a campaign, along with Milesian exiles, against Tissaphernes.
These orders were duly carried out by the officers in question.


[4] Lit. "into the country of the Pisidians."

[5] Of Stymphalus in Arcadia.