BABYLON AND PERSIA

"KURUSH, IHE KING, THE' AKHJEMENIAN:'Hgi,shocked by the absurdity of the statement, and ex¬plained it away in the manner we have seen. *6. There were several other versions of the storyof Kyros' youth.They have been retailed by vari¬ous Greek writers, without any attempt at criticism,and donot appear much more reliable than thatselected by Herodotus, except only that the miracu¬lous element is wanting, f They all agree in makinghim aresident at the Median court during his boy¬hood and eariy youth, and one makes.him a Mardian(or Amardian), thus unconsciously coming near thetruth as concerning his connection with Anshan (seep. 280), of which, however, not one of these com¬pilers knows any thing, any more than of his sup¬posed relationship to Astyages.One of these ver¬sions gives an exceedingly probable account of hisproceedings after his victory.ant tells us,Astyages, this inform¬had one daughter, Amytis (not Mandane),and she was married to a noble Mede of thename of Spitama, who thus found himself heir tothe throne.This dangerous claimant Kyros put todeath when he had made himself master of Agbatanaand the royal family, but spared his two sons andtreated the princess with every respect, then tookher to wife, thus transferring her claim to himself.* This is the passage in " Herodotus" : " So it happened thalt hisparents, catching the n.ame " (his nurse's), " and wishing to persuadethe Persians that there was a special providence in his preservation,spread the report that Kyros, when he was exposed, was suckled bya bitch.This was the sole origin of the rumor." It was the reversethat was really the case.t " I know three ways in which the story of Kyros is told, aU dif¬fering from my own narrarive." Herodotus, I., 95-