Cyropaedia

Behind them came ten thousand other Persian horsemen arranged in the same way with Hystaspas in command, and after them ten thousand more in the same formation with Datamas as their commander; following them, as many more with Gadatas in command.

And then followed in succession the cavalry of the Medes, Armenians, Hyrcanians, Cadusians, and Sacians; and behind the cavalry came the chariots ranged four abreast, and Artabatas, a Persian, had command of them.

And as he proceeded, a great throng of people[*](How Cyrus received petitions) followed outside the lines with petitions to present to Cyrus, one about one matter, another about another. So he sent to them some of his mace-bearers, who followed, three on either side of his chariot, for the express purpose of carrying messages for him; and he bade them say that if any one wanted anything of him, he should make his wish known to some one of his cavalry officers and they, he said, would inform him. So the people at once fell back and made their way along the lines of cavalry, each considering what officer he should approach.

From time to time Cyrus would send some one to call to him one by one those of his friends whom he wished to have most courted by the people, and would say to them: If any one of the people following the procession tries to bring anything to your attention, if you do not think he has anything worth while to say, pay no attention to him; but if any one seems to you to ask what is fair, come and tell me, so that we may consult together and grant the petition.

And whenever he sent such summons, the[*](Discourtesy toward the king rebuked) men would ride up at full speed to answer it, thereby magnifying the majesty of Cyrus’s authority and at the same time showing their eagerness to obey. There was but one exception: a certain Daïphernes, a fellow rather boorish in his manners, though that he would show more independence if he did not obey at once.

Cyrus noticed this; and so, before Daïphernes came and talked with him, he sent one of his mace-bearers privately to say that he had no more need of him; and he did not send for him again.

But when a man who was summoned later than Daïphernes rode up to him sooner than he, Cyrus gave him one of the horses that were being led in the procession and gave orders to one of the mace-bearers to have it led away for him wherever he should direct. And to those who saw it it seemed to be a mark of great honour, and as a consequence of that event many more people paid court to that man.

So, when they came to the sanctuaries, they[*](The sacrifice and the races) performed the sacrifice to Zeus and made a holocaust of the bulls; then they gave the horses to the flames in honour of the Sun; next they did sacrifice to the Earth, as the magi directed, and lastly to the tutelary heroes of Syria.