herodotus

hurt to the Eginetans and suffered much hurt also from them. Such wasthe cause of this event: 60, and about the Samians I have spoken atgreater length, because they have three works which are greater thanany others that have been made by Hellenes: first a passage beginningfrom below and open at both ends, dug through a mountain not less thana hundred and fifty fathoms[52] in height; the length of the passageis seven furlongs[53] and the height and breadth each eight feet, andthroughout the whole of it another passage has been dug twenty cubitsin depth and three feet in breadth, through which the water isconducted and comes by the pipes to the city, brought from an abundantspring: and the designer of this work was a Megarian, Eupalinos theson of Naustrophos. This is one of the three; and the second is a molein the sea about the harbour, going down to a depth of as much as[54]twenty fathoms; and the length of the mole is more than two furlongs.The third work which they have executed is a temple larger than allthe other temples of which we know. Of this the first designer wasRhoicos the son of Philes, a native of Samos. For this reason I havespoken at greater length of the Samians.*****61. Now while Cambyses the son of Cyrus was spending a long time inEgypt and had gone out of his right mind, there rose up against himtwo brothers, Magians, of whom the one had been left behind byCambyses as caretaker of his household. This man, I say, rose upagainst him perceiving that the occurrence of the death of Smerdis wasbeing kept secret, and that there were but few of the Persians whowere aware of it, while the greater number believed without doubt thathe was still alive. Therefore he endeavoured to obtain the kingdom,and he formed his plan as follows:--he had a brother (that one who, asI said, rose up with him against Cambyses), and this man in form veryclosely resembled Smerdis the son of Cyrus, whom Cambyses had slain,being his own brother. He was like Smerdis, I say, in form, and notonly so but he had the same name, Smerdis. Having persuaded this manthat he would manage everything for him, the Magian Patizeithesbrought him and seated him upon the royal throne: and having so donehe sent heralds about to the various provinces, and among others oneto the army in Egypt, to proclaim to them that they must obey Smerdisthe son of Cyrus for the future instead of Cambyses. 62. So then theother heralds made this proclamation, and also the one who wasappointed to go to Egypt, finding Cambyses and his army at Agbatana inSyria, stood in the midst and began to proclaim that which had beencommanded to him by the Magian. Hearing this from the herald, andsupposing that the herald was speaking the truth and that he hadhimself been betrayed by Prexaspes, that is to say, that whenPrexaspes was sent to kill Smerdis he had not done so, Cambyses looked