herodotus

otherwise who he was who lived with her. Otanes then sent a secondtime and said: "If thou dost not thyself know Smerdis the son ofCyrus, then do thou ask of Atossa who this man is, with whom both sheand thou live as wives; for assuredly it must be that she knows herown brother." 69. To this the daughter sent back word: "I am not ableeither to come to speech with Atossa or to see any other of the womenwho live here with me; for as soon as this man, whosoever he may be,succeeded to the kingdom, he separated us and placed us in differentapartments by ourselves." When Otanes heard this, the matter becamemore and more clear to him, and he sent another message in to her,which said: "Daughter, it is right for thee, nobly born as thou art,to undertake any risk which thy father bids thee take upon thee: forif in truth this is not Smerdis the son of Cyrus but the man whom Isuppose, he ought not to escape with impunity either for taking theeto his bed or for holding the dominion of Persians, but he must paythe penalty. Now therefore do as I say. When he sleeps by thee andthou perceivest that he is sound asleep, feel his ears; and if itprove that he has ears, then believe that thou art living with Smerdisthe son of Cyrus, but if not, believe that it is with the MagianSmerdis." To this Phaidyme sent an answer saying that, if she shoulddo so, she would run a great risk; for supposing that he should chancenot to have his ears, and she were detected feeling for them, she waswell assured that he would put her to death; but nevertheless shewould do this. So she undertook to do this for her father: but as forthis Magian Smerdis, he had had his ears cut off by Cyrus the son ofCambyses when he was king, for some grave offence. This Phaidyme then,the daughter of Otanes, proceeding to perform all that she hadundertaken for her father, when her turn came to go to the Magian (forthe wives of the Persians go in to them regularly each in her turn),came and lay down beside him: and when the Magian was in deep sleep,she felt his ears; and perceiving not with difficulty but easily thather husband had no ears, so soon as it became day she sent andinformed her father of that which had taken place.70. Then Otanes took to him Aspathines and Gobryas,[59] who wereleading men among the Persians and also his own most trusted friends,and related to them the whole matter: and they, as it then appeared,had suspicions also themselves that it was so; and when Otanesreported this to them, they readily accepted his proposals. Then itwas resolved by them that each one should associate with himself thatman of the Persians whom he trusted most; so Otanes brought inIntaphrenes,[60] Gobryas brought in Megabyzos, and Aspathines broughtin Hydarnes. When they had thus become six, Dareios the son ofHystaspes arrived at Susa, having come from the land of Persia, for ofthis his father was governor. Accordingly when he came, the six men ofthe Persians resolved to associate Dareios also with themselves. 71.