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Having seen everything, the spies departed again. When they reported all this, Cambyses was angry, and marched at once against the Ethiopians, neither giving directions for any provision of food nor considering that he was about to lead his army to the ends of the earth;
Having seen everything, the spies departed again. When they reported all this, Cambyses was angry, and marched at once against the Ethiopians, neither giving directions for any provision of food nor considering that he was about to lead his army to the ends of the earth;
[2] being not in his right mind but mad, however, he marched at once on hearing from the
Fish-eaters, ordering the
Greeks who were with him to await him where they were, and taking with him all his land army.
[3] When he came in his march to
Thebes [32.666,25.683] (deserted settlement), Qina, Upper Egypt, Egypt, Africa
Thebes
, he detached about fifty thousand men from his army, and directed them to enslave the
Ammonians and burn the oracle of
Zeus; and he himself went on towards
Ethiopia [39,8] (nation), Africa
Ethiopia
with the rest of his host.
[4] But before his army had accomplished the fifth part of their journey they had come to an end of all there was in the way of provision, and after the food was gone, they ate the beasts of burden until there was none of these left either.
[5] Now had
Cambyses, when he perceived this, changed his mind and led his army back again, he would have been a wise man at last after his first fault; but as it was, he went ever forward, taking account of nothing.
[6] While his soldiers could get anything from the earth, they kept themselves alive by eating grass; but when they came to the sandy desert, some did a terrible thing, taking by lot one man out of ten and eating him.
[7] Hearing this,
Cambyses feared their becoming cannibals, and so gave up his expedition against the
Ethiopians and marched back to
Thebes [32.666,25.683] (deserted settlement), Qina, Upper Egypt, Egypt, Africa
Thebes
, with the loss of many of his army; from
Thebes [32.666,25.683] (deserted settlement), Qina, Upper Egypt, Egypt, Africa
Thebes
he came down to
Mit Rahina [31.25,29.85] (inhabited place), Giza, Upper Egypt, Egypt, Africa
Memphis
, and sent the
Greeks to sail away.
Histories. Herodotus. ed. A.D. Godley. Cambridge. 1920-1925.
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