Artaxerxes

And as for the king’s suspicions, his mother, who was at court, tried to remove them, and Cyrus himself would always write in a submissive vein, sometimes asking favours from him, and sometimes making countercharges against Tissaphernes as if his eager contention were against him.

There was, too, a certain dilatoriness in the nature of the king, which most people took for clemency. Moreover, in the beginning he appeared to be altogether emulous of the gentleness of the Artaxerxes whose name he bore, showing himself very agreeable in intercourse, and bestowing greater honours and favours than were really deserved, while from all his punishments he took away the element of insult or vindictive pleasure, and in his acceptance and bestowal of favours appeared no less gracious and kindly to the givers than to the recipients.

For there was no gift so small that he did not accept it with alacrity; indeed, when a certain Omisus brought him a single pomegranate of surpassing size, he said: By Mithra, this man would speedily make a city great instead of small were he entrusted with it.

Once when he was on a journey and various people were presenting him with various things, a labouring man, who could find nothing else at the moment, ran to the river, and, taking some of the water in his hands, offered it to him; at which Artaxerxes was so pleased that he sent him a goblet of gold and a thousand darics. To Eucleidas the Lacedaemonian, who would often say bold and impudent things to him, he sent this word by his officer of the guard: It is in thy power to say what thou pleasest, but it is in mine both to say and to do.

Again, when he was hunting once and Teribazus pointed out that the king’s coat was rent, he asked him what was to be done. And when Teribazus replied, Put on another for thyself, but give this one to me, the king did so, saying, I give this to thee, Teribazus, but I forbid thee to wear it. Teribazus gave no heed to this command (being not a bad man, but rather light-headed and witless), and at once put on the king’s coat, and decked himself with golden necklaces and women’s ornaments of royal splendour. Everybody was indignant at this (for it was a forbidden thing); but the king merely laughed, and said: I permit thee to wear the trinkets as a woman, and the robe as a madman.

Again, no one shared the table of a Persian king except his mother or his wedded wife, the wife sitting below him, the mother above him; but Artaxerxes invited to the same table with him his brothers Ostanes and Oxathres, although they were his juniors. But what gratified the Persians most of all was the sight of his wife Stateira’s carriage, which always appeared with its curtains up, and thus permitted the women of the people to approach and greet the queen. This made her beloved of the common folk.