herodotus

slavery, but to restore the island to Syloson free from all sufferingof calamity,--these commands, I say, he purposely forgot, and gave theword to his army to slay every one whom they should take, man or boy,without distinction. So while some of the army were besieging thefortress, others were slaying every one who came in their way, insanctuary or out of sanctuary equally. 148. Meanwhile Maiandrios hadescaped from Samos and was sailing to Lacedemon; and having comethither and caused to be brought up to the city the things which hehad taken with him when he departed, he did as follows:--first, hewould set out his cups of silver and of gold, and then while theservants were cleaning them, he would be engaged in conversation withCleomenes the son of Anaxandrides, then king of Sparta, and wouldbring him on to his house; and when Cleomenes saw the cups hemarvelled and was astonished at them, and Maiandrios would bid himtake away with him as many of them as he pleased. Maiandrios said thistwice or three times, but Cleomenes herein showed himself the mostupright of men; for he not only did not think fit to take that whichwas offered, but perceiving that Maiandrios would make presents toothers of the citizens, and so obtain assistance for himself, he wentto the Ephors and said that it was better for Sparta that the strangerof Samos should depart from Peloponnesus, lest he might persuadeeither himself or some other man of the Spartans to act basely. Theyaccordingly accepted his counsel, and expelled Maiandrios byproclamation. 149. As to Samos, the Persians, after sweeping thepopulation off it,[131] delivered it to Syloson stripped of men.Afterwards however the commander Otanes even joined in settling peoplethere, moved by a vision of a dream and by a disease which seized him,so that he was diseased in the genital organs.150. After a naval force had thus gone against Samos, the Babyloniansmade revolt, being for this exceedingly well prepared; for during allthe time of the reign of the Magian and of the insurrection of theseven, during all this time and the attendant confusion they werepreparing themselves for the siege of their city: and it chanced bysome means that they were not observed to be doing this. Then whenthey made open revolt, they did as follows:--after setting apart theirmothers first, each man set apart also for himself one woman,whosoever he wished of his own household, and all the remainder theygathered together and killed by suffocation. Each man set apart theone who has been mentioned to serve as a maker of bread, and theysuffocated the rest in order that they might not consume theirprovisions. 151. Dareios being informed of this and having gatheredtogether all his power, made expedition against them, and when he hadmarched his army up to Babylon he began to besiege them; but theycared nothing about the siege, for the Babylonians used to go up tothe battlements of the wall and show contempt of Dareios and of his