Page:History of Greece Vol IX.djvu/69

CYRUS IS SLAIN, 47 panions around him all perished in his defence. Artasyras, who stood first among them in his confidence and attachment, seeing him mortally wounded and fallen, cast himself down upon him, clasped him in his arms, and in this position either slew himself, or was slain by order of the king. 1 The head and the right hand of the deceased prince were imme- diately cut off by order of Artaxerxes, and doubtless exhibited conspicuously to view. This was a proclamation to every one that the entire contest was at an end ; and so it was understood by Ariasus, who, together with all the Asiatic troops of Cyrus, deserted the field and fled back to the camp. Not even there did they defend themselves, when the king and his forces pursued them ; but fled yet farther back to the resting-place of the previous night. The troops of Artaxerxes got into the camp and began to plunder it without resistance. Even the harem of Cyrus feh 1 into their power. It included two Grecian women, of free condition, good family, and education, one from Phokaea, the other from Mile- tus, brought to him, by force, from their parents to Sardis. The elder of these two, the Phokaean, named Milto, distinguished alike Xen. Anab. i, 8, 22-29. The account of this battle and of the death of Cyrus by Ktesias (as far as we can make it out from the brief abstract in Photius Ktesias, Fragm. c. 58, 59, ed. Bahr) does not differ materially from Xenophon. Ktesias mentions the Karian soldier (not noticed by Xenophon ) who hurled the javelin ; and adds that this soldier was after- wards tortured and put to death by Queen Parysatis, in savage revenge for the death of Cyrus. He also informs us that Bagapates, the person who by order of Artaxerxes cut off the head and hand of Cyrus, was destroyed by her in the same way. Diodorus (xiv, 23) dresses up a much fuller picture of the conflict be- tween Cyrus and his brother, which differs on many points, partly direct and partly implied, from Xenophon. Plutarch (Artaxerxes, c. 11, 12, 13) gives an account of the battle, and of the death of Cyrus, which he professes to have derived from Ktesias, but which differs still more materially from the narrative in Xenophoi:. Com- pare also the few words of Justin, v, 11. Diodorus (xiv, 24) says that twelve thousand men were slain of the king's army at Kunaxa; the greater part of them by the Greeks under Klearchus, who did not lose a single man. He estimates the loss of Cyrus's Asiatic army at three thousand men. But as the Greeks did not lose a man, so they can hardly have killed many in the pursuit ; for they had scarcely any cavalry, and no great number of peltasts, while hoplites could not havg overtaken the flying Persians.