herodotus

true indeed that the Persians before they subdued the Lydians had noluxury nor any good thing.72. Now the Cappadokians are called by the Hellenes Syrians;[85] andthese Syrians, before the Persians had rule, were subjects of theMedes, but at this time they were subjects of Cyrus. For the boundarybetween the Median empire and the Lydian was the river Halys; and thisflows from the mountain-land of Armenia through the Kilikians, andafterwards, as it flows, it has the Matienians on the right hand andthe Phrygians on the other side; then passing by these and flowing uptowards the North Wind, it bounds on the one side the CappadokianSyrians and on the left hand the Paphlagonians. Thus the river Halyscuts off from the rest almost all the lower parts of Asia by a lineextending from the sea that is opposite Cyprus to the Euxine. And thistract is the neck of the whole peninsula, the distance of the journeybeing such that five days are spent on the way by a man withoutencumbrance.[86]73. Now for the following reasons Crœsus was marching into Cappadokia:--first because he desired to acquire the land in addition to his ownpossessions, and then especially because he had confidence in theoracle and wished to take vengeance on Cyrus for Astyages. For Cyrusthe son of Cambyses had conquered Astyages and was keeping him incaptivity, who was brother by marriage to Crœsus and king of theMedes: and he had become the brother by marriage of Crœsus in thismanner:--A horde of the nomad Scythians at feud with the rest withdrewand sought refuge in the land of the Medes: and at this time the rulerof the Medes was Kyaxares the son of Phraortes, the son of Deïokes,who at first dealt well with these Scythians, being suppliants for hisprotection; and esteeming them very highly he delivered boys to themto learn their speech and the art of shooting with the bow. Then timewent by, and the Scythians used to go out continually to the chase andalways brought back something; till once it happened that they tooknothing, and when they returned with empty hands Kyaxares (being, ashe showed on this occasion, not of an eminently good disposition[87])dealt with them very harshly and used insult towards them. And they,when they had received this treatment from Kyaxares, considering thatthey had suffered indignity, planned to kill and to cut up one of theboys who were being instructed among them, and having dressed hisflesh as they had been wont to dress the wild animals, to bear it toKyaxares and give it to him, pretending that it was game taken inhunting; and when they had given it, their design was to make theirway as quickly as possible to Alyattes the son of Sadyattes at Sardis.This then was done; and Kyaxares with the guests who ate at his tabletasted of that meat, and the Scythians having so done becamesuppliants for the protection of Alyattes. 74. After this, seeing that