herodotus

from Asia to Hellas, and for the reason which has been mentioned thesewere sent as spies.139. After this king Dareios took Samos before all other cities,whether of Hellenes or Barbarians, and for a cause which was asfollows:--When Cambyses the son of Cyrus was marching upon Egypt, manyHellenes arrived in Egypt, some, as might be expected, joining in thecampaign to make profit,[122] and some also coming to see the landitself; and among these was Syoloson the son of Aiakes and brother ofPolycrates, an exile from Samos. To this Syloson a fortunate chanceoccurred, which was this:--he had taken and put upon him a flamecolouredmantle, and was about the market-place in Memphis; andDareios, who was then one of the spearmen of Cambyses and not yet heldin any great estimation, seeing him had a desire for the mantle, andgoing up to him offered to buy it. Then Syloson, seeing that Dareiosvery greatly desired the mantle, by some divine inspiration said: "Iwill not sell this for any sum, but I will give it thee for nothing,if, as it appears, it must be thine at all costs." To this Dareiosagreed and received from him the garment. 140. Now Syloson supposedwithout any doubt that he had altogether lost this by easy simplicity;but when in course of time Cambyses was dead, and the seven Persianshad risen up against the Magian, and of the seven Dareios had obtainedthe kingdom, Syloson heard that the kingdom had come about to that manto whom once in Egypt he had given the garment at his request:accordingly he went up to Susa and sat down at the entrance[123] ofthe king's palace, and said that he was a benefactor of Dareios. Thekeeper of the door hearing this reported it to the king; and hemarvelled at it and said to him: "Who then of the Hellenes is mybenefactor, to whom I am bound by gratitude? seeing that it is now buta short time that I possess the kingdom, and as yet scarcely one[124]of them has come up to our court; and I may almost say that I have nodebt owing to a Hellene. Nevertheless bring him in before me, that Imay know what he means when he says these things." Then the keeper ofthe door brought Syloson before him, and when he had been set in themidst, the interpreters asked him who he was and what he had done,that he called himself the benefactor of the king. Syloson accordinglytold all that had happened about the mantle, and how he was the manwho had given it; to which Dareios made answer: "O most noble of men,thou art he who when as yet I had no power gavest me a gift, small itmay be, but nevertheless the kindness is counted with me to be asgreat as if I should now receive some great thing from some one.Therefore I will give thee in return gold and silver in abundance,that thou mayest not ever repent that thou didst render a service toDareios the son of Hystaspes." To this Syloson replied: "To me, Oking, give neither gold nor silver, but recover and give to me myfatherland Samos, which now that my brother Polycrates has been slain