Persia

Abstract

Cambyses invaded Egypt because Amasis had deceived him; he had sent the daughter of the former king when Cambyses demanded one of his own; he had hoped that her beauty and height, set off with fine garments and gold, would fool Cambyses; he had not counted on her speaking the truth when Cambyses addressed her as the daughter of Amasis (1). Amasis’ trust in her silence seems to have been founded on the silence Herodotus had discovered in Egypt itself. Speaking appeared so alien to Egypt that even Amasis did not consider the error in his deception. But Herodotus adds that this is what the Persians say; the Persians understand the Egyptians in this way; they think the Egyptians are so addicted to show and position that they would overlook the possibility of the truth being spoken. The Persians do not respond only to the surface of things; they are accustomed to tell the truth, and seeing means less to them: apparently an eye-ailment of Cyrus was the ultimate cause of Cambyses’ invasion (1.1).