herodotus

laying blame especially on the one who had first received the child,because he had not done according to that which had been resolved;until at last after some time they determined again to enter and allto take a share in the murder. (d) From the offspring of Aëtionhowever it was destined that evils should spring up for Corinth: forLabda was listening to all this as she stood close by the door, andfearing lest they should change their mind and take the child a secondtime and kill it, she carried it and concealed it in the place whichseemed to her the least likely to be discovered, that is to say acorn-chest,[84] feeling sure that if they should return and come to asearch, they were likely to examine everything: and this in facthappened. So when they had come, and searching had failed to find it,they thought it best to return and say to those who had sent them thatthey had done all that which they had been charged by them to do. (e)They then having departed said this; and after this the son of Aëtiongrew, and because he had escaped this danger, the name of Kypselos wasgiven him as a surname derived from the corn-chest. Then when Kypseloshad grown to manhood and was seeking divination, a two-edged[85]answer was given him at Delphi, placing trust in which he made anattempt upon Corinth and obtained possession of it. Now the answer wasas follows:"'Happy is this man's lot of a truth, who enters my dwelling,Offspring of Aëtion, he shall rule in famous Corinthos,Kypselos, he and his sons, but his children's children no longer.'Such was the oracle: and Kypselos when he became despot was a man ofthis character,--many of the Corinthians he drove into exile, many hedeprived of their wealth, and very many more of their lives. (f) Andwhen he had reigned for thirty years and had brought his life to aprosperous end, his son Periander became his successor in thedespotism. Now Periander at first was milder than his father; butafter he had had dealings through messengers with Thrasybulos thedespot of Miletos, he became far more murderous even than Kypselos.For he sent a messenger to Thrasybulos and asked what settlement ofaffairs was the safest for him to make, in order that he might bestgovern his State: and Thrasybulos led forth the messenger who had comefrom Periander out of the city, and entered into a field of growingcorn; and as he passed through the crop of corn, while inquiring andasking questions repeatedly[86] of the messenger about the occasion ofhis coming from Corinth, he kept cutting off the heads of those earsof corn which he saw higher than the rest; and as he cut off theirheads he cast them away, until he had destroyed in this manner thefinest and richest part of the crop. So having passed through theplace and having suggested no word of counsel, he dismissed themessenger. When the messenger returned to Corinth, Periander was