herodotus

all that thou givest now and at the same time take to thy houseanother wife in addition to this one, to bear thee children." Whenthey spoke to him after this manner, Anaxandrides consented, havingtwo wives, a thing which was not by any means after the Spartanfashion. 41. Then when no long time had elapsed, the wife who had comein afterwards bore this Cleomenes of whom we spoke; and just when shewas bringing to the light an heir to the kingdom of the Spartans, theformer wife, who had during the time before been childless, then bysome means conceived, chancing to do so just at that time: and thoughshe was in truth with child, the kinsfolk of the wife who had come inafterwards, when they heard of it cried out against her and said thatshe was making a vain boast, and that she meant to pass off anotherchild as her own. Since then they made a great show of indignation, asthe time was fast drawing near, the Ephors being incredulous sat roundand watched the woman during the birth of her child: and she boreDorieos and then straightway conceived Leonidas and after him at onceCleombrotos,--nay, some even say that Cleombrotos and Leonidas weretwins. The wife however who had born Cleomenes and had come in afterthe first wife, being the daughter of Primetades the son ofDemarmenos, did not bear a child again. 42. Now Cleomenes, it is said,was not quite in his right senses but on the verge of madness,[24]while Dorieos was of all his equals in age the first, and felt assuredthat he would obtain the kingdom by merit. Seeing then that he hadthis opinion, when Anaxandrides died and the Lacedemonians followedthe usual custom established the eldest, namely Cleomenes, upon thethrone, Dorieos being indignant and not thinking it fit that he shouldbe a subject of Cleomenes, asked the Spartans to give him a company offollowers and led them out to found a colony, without either inquiringof the Oracle at Delphi to what land he should go to make asettlement, or doing any of the things which are usually done; butbeing vexed he sailed away with his ships to Libya, and the Theraianswere his guides thither. Then having come to Kinyps[25] he made asettlement in the fairest spot of all Libya, along the banks of theriver; but afterwards in the third year he was driven out from thenceby the Macai and the Libyans[26] and the Carthaginians, and returnedto Peloponnesus. 43. Then Antichares a man of Eleon gave him counselout of the oracles of Laïos to make a settlement at Heracleia[27] inSicily, saying that the whole land of Eryx belonged to theHeracleidai, since Heracles himself had won it: and hearing this hewent forthwith to Delphi to inquire of the Oracle whether he would beable to conquer the land to which he was setting forth; and thePythian prophetess replied to him that he would conquer it. Dorieostherefore took with him the armament which he conducted before toLibya, and voyaged along the coast of Italy.[28] 44. Now at this time,the men of Sybaris say that they and their king Telys were about tomake an expedition against Croton, and the men of Croton being