Herodotus - The Histories.pdf

The Histories–Book Eight V 89
know, took the most cruel vengeance on the person
who had done him an injury. He had been
made a prisoner of war, and when his captors sold
him, he was bought by a certain Panionius, a
native of Chios, who made his living by a most
nefarious traffic. Whenever he could get any boys
of unusual beauty, he made them eunuchs, and,
carrying them to Sardis or Ephesus, sold them for
large sums of money. For the barbarians value
eunuchs more than others, since they regard them
as more trustworthy. Many were the slaves that
Panionius, who made his living by the practice,
had thus treated; and among them was this
Hermotimus of whom I have here made mention.
However, he was not without his share of good
fortune; for after a while he was sent from Sardis,
together with other gifts, as a present to the king.
Nor was it long before he came to be esteemed by
Xerxes more highly than all his eunuchs.
When the king was on his way to Athens with the
Persian army, and abode for a time at Sardis,
Hermotimus happened to make a journey upon
business into Mysia; and there, in a district which
is called Atarneus, but belongs to Chios, he