god with these things. And Cyrus when he heard it, laughed and said, "This request I grant thee, O Croesus, as I will grant thee everything that thou shalt ask me hereafter."

And when Croesus heard these words he sent certain Lydians to Delphi, and bade them lay the fetters on the threshold of the temple and inquire of the god whether he was not ashamed to have encouraged Croesus by his oracles to march against the Persians, thinking that he should overthrow the empire of Cyrus, of which undertaking these, the fetters to wit, were the first-fruits, and whether it was the custom of the god of the Greeks to be unfaithful. And when the Lydians did as had been commanded them, the Pythia made this answer, "That which is fated it is by no means possible to avoid, not even to a god. And Croesus hath suffered for the transgressions of his forefather in the fifth generation, who, being a bodyguard of the king, slew his master, a woman helping him with her craft, and took his honor to himself, though he had no part or lot in it. And Apollo was very earnest with the Fates that they should not bring this evil upon Sardis in the days of Croesus, but that they should bring it in his son's days. Yet could he not prevail.

"Nevertheless all that the Fates granted to him. that did he for Croesus, delaying the taking of Sardis for the space of three years; for let Croesus be sure of this, that the taking of Sardis is later by three years

than had been ordained at the first.

Also when he

was in peril of being burned with fire the god helped him and delivered him. And as for the oracle, Croesus doth not right to blame him, for Apollo foretold to him that, if he should make war against the Persians, he should bring to the ground a great empire. If therefore he had been well advised in this matter, he should have sent again to inquire of the god whether his own empire or the empire of Cyrus were thus signified. But seeing that he understood not the thing which was said, nor inquired a second time, let him blame himself. And as to that which Apollo answered him when he inquired of him the last time, speaking of a mule, this also Croesus understood not. For Cyrus was this mule, being born of parents that were not of the same race, his mother also being of the more noble stock and his father of the worse. For she was a woman of the Medes and the daughter of King Astyages, and he was a Persian and no King, but a servant that married the daughter of his master." This was the answer that the priestess gave to the Lydians; and when Croesus heard it he confessed that he had erred and not the god.

In this way did the empire of the Lydians come to an end.

THE TAKING OF BABYLON

WHEN Cyrus had overthrown the kingdom of

the Lydians, and had conquered also such countries and cities as had appertained thereto, he made war in the next place against the Assyrians. Now the Assyrians have many other great and famous cities, but the greatest and famous of all is Babylon, for there, when Nineveh was destroyed, was set up the palace of the King. The city of Babylon is built foursquare, and the measure of each side is one hundred and twenty furlongs. Round about the walls there is a ditch, very deep and broad and full of water; and after the ditch there is a wall, of which the breadth is seventy and five feet and the height three hundred feet. On the top of the wall, at the sides thereof, are built houses of one story, being so much apart that a chariot with four horses may turn in the space. And in the wall there are a hundred gates, of brass all of them, with posts and lintels of the same. The city is divided into two parts, between which floweth the river. Now the name of this river is Euphrates, and it cometh out of the land of Armenia, and floweth into the Red Sea.

On either side the wall is pushed forward into

the river; also along each bank of the river there runneth a wall of baked brick. The city is built with houses of three stories or four, these being ordered in straight streets that cross each other. And wheresoever a street goeth down to the river there are gates of brass in the walls of brick that is by the riverside, gates for each street. Also over and above the outer wall of the city there is an inner wall, of wellnigh equal strength, but in thickness not so great.

In each part of the city there was a great building, of which one was the King's palace and the other the temple of Belus. This temple hath brazen gates, and is foursquare, being two furlongs every way. In the midst there is a tower which is solid throughout and of the bigness of a furlong each way; and on this tower is built another tower, and yet another upon this, and so forth, seven in all. Round about these towers are built stairs; and for one who hath climbed half-way a landing-place and chairs where he may rest; and in the topmost tower there is a temple very splendidly furnished, and a couch and a table thereby, but no image.

There is another temple below, and in it a statue of Zeus sitting, and before it a table of gold; the throne and the steps are also of gold; and the weight of all its eight hundred talents. Outside is a golden altar, on which a thousand talents of frankincense were wont to be burned at the great feast. Here

also was a great statue of gold, twelve cubits high, and solid throughout. This statue Darius was minded to take, but dared not; yet did Xerxes take it, and slew the priest that would have hindered him.

Of this city of Babylon there have been many kings, and two queens. Of these queens the first made for the river great banks, for before her day it used to overflow all the plain of Babylon. The name of this Queen was Semiramis, and the name of the second Queen was Nitetis. This Nitetis, seeing that the kingdom of the Medes increased daily, and that they were not content with what they had, but sought to subdue others, and had conquered many cities, among which was Nineveh, devised a defence against them. For first she caused that the river Euphrates, which before had flowed in a straight course, should now fetch a compass; and this she did by making for it new channels. And now one that saileth on this river cometh thrice in three days to the self-same village, and the name of this village is Ardericca. Also she made a great lake, digging it out by the side of the river; and the circuit of this lake is four hundred and twenty furlongs. Now both these things she did for the same end, that the stream of the river might be the slower and the voyage to Babylon a voyage of many windings and that when the voyage on the river should be ended then there should be the voyage on the lake.