Cyropaedia

Such was their interview, and then they went[*](Cyrus takes the Lydian treasures) to rest. And on the following day Cyrus summoned his friends and the general officers of his army. He appointed some of them to take charge of the treasures and others he ordered first to select from the valuables that Croesus delivered such a portion for the gods as the magi should designate; the rest they should then take into their own charge and put in chests, and these they should pack upon the wagons; they should then divide the wagons by lot and convey them whithersoever they themselves might go; then, when the time came, the treasure should be divided, and each man should receive his share according to his deserts.

The officers, accordingly, proceeded to follow his instructions. And when he had called to him certain of his aides who were present, Cyrus said: Tell me, has any one of you seen Abradatas? For I wonder why, in view of the fact that he used often to come to us, he is now nowhere to be seen.

Sire, answered one of the aides, he is no[*](He learns of the death of Abradatas) longer alive, but he fell in the battle as he hurled his chariot against the ranks of the Egyptians, while the rest, they say, all but himself and his companions, turned aside when they saw the dense host of the Egyptians.

And even now his wife, I am told, has taken up his body for burial, placed it in the carriage in which she herself used to ride, and brought it to some place here by the River Pactolus.

And his eunuchs and servants, so they say, are digging a grave upon a certain hill for his dead body. But his wife, they say, has decked her husband with what she possessed and now sits upon the ground, holding his head in her lap.

Upon hearing this, Cyrus smote his thigh, mounted his horse at once, and rode with a regiment of cavalry to the scene of sorrow.

He left orders for Gadatas and Gobryas to follow him with the most beautiful ornaments they could get for the man, who had fallen beloved and brave. And he ordered those who had in charge the herds that were taken with the army to bring both cattle and horses and many sheep besides to the place where they should hear that he was, that he might sacrifice them in honour of Abradatas.

And when he saw the lady sitting upon the[*](Panthea mourns over her dead) ground and the corpse lying there, he wept over his loss and said: Alas, O brave and faithful soul, hast thou then gone and left us? And with the words he clasped his hand, and the dead man’s hand came away in his grasp; for the wrist had been severed by a sabre in the hands of an Egyptian.

And Cyrus was still more deeply moved at seeing this; and the wife wept aloud; but taking the hand from Cyrus, she kissed it and fitted it on again as best she could and said: