De insidiis

 having accused the patricide and fratricide. After these things, when a little time had passed, the king also died, and the nation rose up against his

 The Median seemed then to be after the Assyrian. This Arbaces, then, having come into conversation with Belesys, the ruler of Babylon, and being a fel

 her sufferings, having learned beforehand that they were her children, embracing her mother, she both implored her to deliver her from her evils, and

 a passion, pretending some of the servants, she pushed her father, who was bent over a jar of wine, headfirst and killed him. 8. That Aegisthus, havin

 to Corinthus, from whom the city of Corinth gets its name, who was slain by the locals through a plot, Sisyphus, coming to his aid, punished the murde

 but these, indeed these, I bring. And at the same time he shows both heads. He, being pleased, ordered him to ask for whatever he wanted in return fo

 He, as they say, suspecting the noble character of the young man, did not wish to destroy him openly, since there was no cause, but in another way, by

 Gyges ordered the man to lead. And he himself was driving the chariot for her, and somehow by divine will Gyges meets him at a bend in the road. The r

 Concerning the war. And God said that helpers would come to them from Phrygia, who would both exact vengeance for the murder of Leodamas and deliver b

 Cleonas brought him while he was still a boy, and one who excelled many in appearance and virtue. In time, Cypselus, wishing to return to Corinth, con

 he undertook a policy of this sort: he made one board of eight probouloi, and from the rest he enrolled a council of 9 men. [SEEK IN THE ON POLITICS.]

 he was in charge and he himself offered the cup to the king to drink. And he receives him eagerly and orders him to pour wine for the king's table-com

 signifies wealth and power, just as the name also says. Quickly then Cyrus takes the man and ordered him to be with him and he obeyed. After this, he

 being with children. Being very distressed at what had been done and even more angered, so that he no longer received Oebaras, he changed his mind aga

 lying on the road, and that he should arm the other Persians as quickly as possible, as if the king 30 were commanding it for he did not reveal the t

 having wounds they send up to the king. But Cyrus' men, having fought nobly, flee to Pasargadae, where their children and wives were. But Astyages, wh

 and he did obeisance and said he was ready with even another much larger, if he should command and after him the Parthian and the Saka and the Bactri

 He then praised the Apolloniates, and on assuming power, he bestowed upon them freedom and immunity from taxes and not a few other favors, making the

 to appear pleasing, if he should concede so great a name and power to anyone at all, especially since his country was also eager and calling him to hi

 They were led to attack the man by grievances that were not small, which had occurred both privately to each and publicly to all. For some, having a c

 that the people also became invalid in the appointment of magistrates, and that they were given to him to give to whomever he wished, just as the decr

 The story is that Antony did these things wishing to gratify that man, as he supposed, but courting for himself the hope that he might become an adopt

 to appoint, on which those from the senate would meet to deliberate about matters he himself was about to introduce. And when the appointed day arrive

 wounds, breathed his last. A countless cry arose, on the one hand, of those from the senate-house fleeing in terror, as many as did not participate in

 in Pompey's portico. Decimus Brutus was the one getting these men ready, under the pretext of other business, wishing, as he said, to seize one of the

 to both for then those who seemed to have been destroyed, taking courage again, drove back the victors Therefore, Caesar, even though dead, would ca

 having broken off a certain part of Caesar's army, he himself also held power in Nearer Spain, holding the Celts who bordered on the upper sea but Lu

 eagerly towards one another, some already being burdened by Antony's power, others out of piety towards Caesar and his successor, others for the sake

 paradoxical, and asking what the report might be and what the man’s intention was, they advised him to get out of the way for those days, until these

 who participated in the campaign and in the subsequent events. And these were Marcus Agrippa, Lucius Maecenas, Quintus Juventius, Marcus Modialius and

 He took Cassandra as his wife in Troy, and she, having found a pretext, plots his death with Aegisthus her adulterer, who was himself of royal blood.

 able to stop it. Therefore, while they were in confusion and preparing to do something, a certain Julius Proclus, an equestrian, having dressed himsel

 and abolished the kingdom. 11. That in the time of Darius, king of the Persians, when Philip of Macedonia was reigning for twenty-one years and had su

 Antiochus surnamed Theos but Seleucus, suspected of plotting against his father, is put to death. 20. That Demetrius was the son of Philip, king of t

 they deprived them of the burdens they were carrying. And they offered the runaways none of the booty, but having become masters of much wealth themse

 by a correction of what was amiss, he brought it back to the Roman order, having done nothing harsh or bitter to any of his subjects. He humbled Jugur

 that Pompey's party opposed Caesar but that he, wishing to receive some extension of the appointed time, in order to subdue all the barbarians togeth

 to be of the winning side, and holding in no account the misfortunes of friends, before he had even landed, having said nothing nor lamented, he kills

 is fortunately preserved. Caesar, therefore, with all the civil wars now finished, was returning to Rome, his spirit swollen by his continuous deeds o

 a consul decided to stir up a civil war in Italy. He was the brother of Marcus Antonius, who fought alongside Caesar against Brutus and Cassius. Not l

 by Agrippina his wife and sister, for whom he both committed perjury and did other things, he was plotted against in his food and wickedly destroyed,

 and having been brought up very badly, he thus fell from power, being 30 years old, and having reigned for 14 years less two months. And the city was

 a plot. And when he asked, In what manner shall I die? Apollonius said, The way Odysseus is said to have. For they say that death came to him also

 Therefore the trustworthiness of his judgment was confirmed more from what he knew he had done than from what others thought. For which reason, indeed

 And he got rid of those who were slandered indiscriminately, especially his father's and his necessary friends, with Perennius contriving this. For ha

 a sister of the king, having unbound her hair and thrown herself upon the ground, related all the things done by Cleander, and that they were being dr

 who was left of the friends of Marcus to whom they arrive in the dead of night, both they themselves and a few of the conspirators. And standing at t

 he called upon and deemed him worthy to become a helper with all speed to the Roman empire, as it was suffering insult and they proclaimed this man e

 having settled matters and having killed all the friends of Albinus, he drove into Rome. 51. That Severus betrothed the daughter of Plautianus, who wa

 he arrived at the city. And when the people received them carrying laurel, and the senate acclaimed them emperors, and having buried their father, the

 And suspecting that everyone prophesied to him out of flattery, he sends a letter to a certain Maternianus, who had at that time been entrusted with a

 having arrived at the wall of the camp, they were very easily received. And immediately the whole camp acclaimed the boy Antoninus, and having thrown

 of his mother they handed over to be dragged and abused by those who wished which, having been dragged for a long time through the middle of the city

 And when the army of Maximinus drew near, and shouting, the young men called upon their fellow soldiers to abandon a petty woman and a cowardly boy wh

 of the senate, and he was the leader of the Mauretanian Nomads under the Romans, having also a not inconsiderable force of soldiers. Gordian relieved

 army. For having set these on fire, they poured them down like rain, so that they were stripped of their weapons, being burned, and were destroyed, th

 delaying, he organized his return to Rome. And he sent away the rest of the army to the provinces and to their own camps but he himself returned to R

 Perinthus, as it was reported to him that civil dissensions had occurred in Rome, which Decius, of consular rank and prefect of the city, had caused,

 having taken a harsh sharpness, they decided to act before they suffered, and they killed him in the middle of his journey from Byzantium to Heraclea,

 put on the purple and seized Britain. And while he was doing this, and with affairs being in a state of commotion, Achilleus also was causing a revolu

 he appointed. But having raised the army, he neither made his march towards Italy, nor was he clearly set on civil war, but hastened again against the

 hanged himself. Then, therefore, the victorious emperors proceeded to Rome, with Theodosius's son Honorius accompanying them. Therefore, they were in

 having taken Timasius, Gainas the Scythian, and Saul from the Alans as leaders of the armies, and at the same time having set Stilicho over the troops

 sent Gainas, he immediately set out, in word against Tribigildus, but in deed wishing to become a tyrant. And he led with him not a few myriads of Got

 of the enemies perished. But Gainas, having departed through Thrace and taken to flight, falls in with a Roman force and is killed along with the barb

 he might get him out of the way. 125 Theodosius, therefore, having learned these things, writes to Valentinian to send Honoria out to Attila. And he,

 who had served in the army and were attached to Valentinian, he came to terms, and after giving and receiving pledges, he accused the 127 emperor on a

 having taken off his robe. There the followers of Majorinus did not desist from the siege, until, pressed by hunger, he left this life, eight months h

 Misael and Cosmas, being chamberlains of the palace, because having neglected to guard the palace, while the emperor was living outside, they allowed

 Illus and he himself marched out because Paul, the emperor's servant, was seized, holding a sword at the ready for a plot against Illus. But at that t

 a military force having been sent against them, Marcian's party is turned and flees, with many from both sides having been killed. And some few of the

 Illus, having brought Verina to Tarsus, prepared for her to use the imperial robe and, as she was the mistress of the empire, to proclaim Leontius emp

 wishing to win him over, he sent his sister, who was living with the empress, to him while he was still at war, along with much wealth, giving him whi

 passing through Odoacer's body at the loin, they say Theodoric said: Perhaps this wretch had not even a bone. And sending him out, he buried him in th

 happening in Cotiaeum, the city of Phrygia, the emperor's army of *about two thousand also met them. They were led by two generals, John the Scythian

 concerning the injustices of the general of the Thracians, and that the correct divine doctrine be ratified. On the next day, when those of the first

 and when the people in Constantinople rose up in revolt during the spectacle of the horse races, the emperor cancelled the afternoon festival, and no

 he writes to the general Comentiolus to betray the captivity, to secretly betray the people of Thrace to the barbarians. So the people knew the trick

 Heraclius being at Abydos, he fled in the city. Heraclius therefore received at Abydos all the exiles whom Phocas had exiled. Therefore Heraclius came

 to go against Aegisthus. And taking Orestes he comes *** *** persuaded their own mother, and she received Orestes. And when Clytemnestra was entreated

 her, and it was not known where she was. He also had Chrysothemis and Laodice as daughters. And when she heard these things, she ordered him to be rel

 sister Electra to Pylades, he held the land of the Mycenaeans until his death. 2. That Julius Caesar, having gone up from Antioch to Rome, was slain b

 the Greeks having plotted against him through the giving of a drink, since it was the dogma of the Epicureans that the one after him would receive the

 was killed by the multitude of the city. For his reinforcement with him, having been frightened by the immense multitude of the Roman citizens and hav

 where the Byzantines shouted: A dead man has no friend, except Ostrys alone. And the same Leo made a persecution of the Arian Exakionites on account

 numbers. And immediately going forth he became tyrant and took over all of Thrace, and he came against the emperor Zeno as far as Sycae opposite Const

 and he was carried by his men into his house. But Zeno, upon hearing this, swore an oath, saying he was ignorant of the plot for the death of Illus a

 of him were beheaded by an executioner, and their heads were brought to the emperor Zeno. And while the hippodrome was watching, they were brought in

 of the people the king, but being angered he ordered a chariot to go against them, and a great disorder occurred. And the demes went up against the ex

 of a diadem. And knowing this, the people entered the hippodrome, and through his address he managed the multitudes of the city, ordering them not to

 having insulted and reviled the empress Theodora, and he exiled him to Cyzicus, who ought to have been cast into prison, and having been cast into the

 on the same evening. And those who had devised the same plan of the plot were these: Ablabius the melistes near Miltiades, and Marcellus the silversmi

 having attacked at the place called Pittakia, they seized him and brought him into the Great Church. And a great riot and disorder arose about this in

 His nephew Caesar Augustus, son of Octavius, having subjected all of Egypt, also killed those who had murdered his great-uncle Julius. 7. That Gaius c

 he sends letters to Gratian the emperor, ordering Theodosius to be sent to him. And Theodosius, having begun 180 the journey and having learned of Val

 having captured one who had taken refuge in the church, he exiled him along with his wife and children to a fortress in Cappadocia, in which, having b

 From this, Maurice, being hated, was reviled by all. But coming to repentance, he chose to receive his due here rather than there, and he sent to mona

 and having gathered forces from Mauritania, he seized the city of Constantine, bringing with him also the icon of the Lord not made by human hands, as

 with the senate, and indeed upon entering the city, he impaled these, and castrated his brothers. 187 41. That Justinian, having become emperor again,

 a curopalates is suddenly proclaimed emperor in the hippodrome by the senate and the regiments, since Staurakios was already despaired of on account o

 having learned this, he immediately withdrew from the city and set out against him with a very great force, and indeed, having besieged him for some s

 he was to make the Medes and Persians revolt, while the other was to persuade the Babylonians to join in the undertaking and to win over the leader of

 himself from living, the oldest after him succeeds to the leadership. 13. That the men on the island in the ocean make garments from certain reeds whi

 Whatever Medea might command concerning the body of their father, and that the maidens were ready to do what was ordered, when night had come on, and

 and there he continued to be honored by those who had been well-treated. 24. That Numitor, deprived of his kingdom by his own brother, who was called

 Ptolemy, even before this, having held the Syrian kings in contempt, became a rebel, and because of their own distractions he ruled the country withou

 claiming he was the son of Perseus, also declaring a fabricated birth and upbringing, and approaching Demetrius with a crowd to urge him to restore hi

 to revolt, and having received Ptolemy into the city 204 they placed a diadem upon him and entrusted the kingdom to him. But he, not desiring the king

 that Philometor had given him a child by Cleopatra to raise for the kingship, and having placed a diadem on him, and having many fugitives as allies,

 His mind preoccupied and a multitude of the best men having been gathered, he withdrew into the stoa behind the temple, distressed and tormented. And

 he used to act with a council and advisors, but holding hearings privately and, having shown himself the sole judge, he would make the decisions and

 to send gifts, and for this reason it happened that the houses were open all night long they therefore agreed at this time to send into the houses of

 the people as doing these things, from which the people will be small and worthy of nothing, and as having no care for the poor in a time of famine, n

 PUBLIC SPEECHES] And when it was reported to the senate, they appointed a dictator. And he ordered the master of the horse * to come to him with the c

 they were receiving But those who had shared in the conspiracy, being freed from fear, pretended to rejoice and praised the council for its decisions

 now is and then was the way of life and for all the remaining time will be, being a fruitful plain and with many pastures and best for the health of t

 they lead them to be transported to Rome and to be guarded in unknown prisons, separating one from another, until he himself should arrive. But as the

 and 400 Sidicini, of all of whom Decius, a Campanian by birth, was the leader. This man, whenever he was entertained by the most distinguished of the

 for that time he remained blind and having survived a few more days, he becomes subject to the Romans, having been arrested by his own men. For some,

 to get all the prominent men out of his way. He also sent Scopas the Aetolian to Greece for recruitment, putting together a large amount of gold for a

 misinterpreting and distorting some reports, while fabricating and elaborating others from the very 228 beginning. And he did these things, wishing to

having learned this, he immediately withdrew from the city and set out against him with a very great force, and indeed, having besieged him for some short time and having subdued him without effort, whose neck he also trod upon according to the ancient custom, and having mutilated his hands and feet and having thus impaled him, he put an end to the harsh and intolerable civil war that had begun through him and lasted for three years. The end of the chronological history of George the Monk. Concerning a plot. Concerning plots that happened against kings. E. From the history of Diodorus Siculus. 1. That, when Sesosis returned to Egypt and was staying near Pelusium, his brother, while feasting him along with his wife and children, formed a plot. For while they were resting from their drunkenness, having a quantity of dry reeds 191 prepared for some time, he placed this around the tent at night and set it on fire. And when the fire suddenly blazed up, those assigned to the king's service came to help ignobly, as they were drunk, but Sesosis, raising both his hands and having prayed for the safety of his children and his wife, escaped through the flame. And having been saved miraculously, he honored the other gods with votive offerings. 2. That after they had ruled Egypt for 15 years, it happened that the kingship devolved to one man. For Psammitichus, one of the twelve, ruling the parts along the sea, dealt with Phoenician and Greek merchants, and had great wealth and friendship with nations and rulers. And because of these things, they say that the other kings, having grown envious of him, made war. But some relate the story that an oracle was given, that whichever of them should be the first to pour a libation to the god in Memphis from a bronze bowl, would rule all of Egypt, and that Psammitichus, when one of the priests brought out twelve golden bowls from the temple, took off his helmet and poured a libation. Therefore the co-rulers, suspecting what had happened, did not wish to kill him, but to exile him and order him to live in the marshes by the sea. And when the dispute arose, Psammitichus, having sent for mercenaries from Caria, was victorious. 3. That Psammitichus, preferring the mercenaries to the natives as he had been victorious through them, and stationing the mercenaries on the right wing, but the natives on the left, the Egyptians, having been provoked and numbering more than 20 myriads, revolted and advanced toward Ethiopia, having decided to acquire a country of their own for themselves. 4. That Apries, having sent a force against Cyrene and Barca and having lost the greater part of it, alienated the survivors. For suspecting that he had organized the expedition for their destruction, they revolted. But Amasis, a distinguished man, having been sent to them by the king, neglected what was said for the sake of concord, but on the contrary, having urged them to alienation, he joined the revolt and was himself chosen king. 192 5. That Semiramis, having been plotted against by her son Ninyas through a certain eunuch, and having recalled the oracle from Ammon, did no harm to the plotter. 6. That Belesys, the priest of the Babylonians, being an astrologer, foretold to Arbaces that he must certainly become king of all the land which Sardanapalus ruled. And Arbaces, having praised the man, promised to give him the satrapy of Babylonia when the affair came to its conclusion, but he himself, being elated as if by the voice of some god, associated with the leaders of the other nations and eagerly invited everyone to feasts and general conversations, cultivating friendship with each one. And he was also ambitious to see the king in person and to observe his whole way of life. Therefore, having given a golden bowl to one of the eunuchs, he was brought in to Sardanapalus, and having carefully observed both his luxury and the womanish zeal of his pursuits, he despised the king as worthy of nothing, and was urged much more to cling to the hopes given by the Chaldean. And finally he made a conspiracy with Belesys, so that

μεμαθηκὼς αὐτίκα τῆς πόλεως ὑπεξελθὼν μετὰ πλείστης δυνάμεως πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐξώρμησε, καὶ δὴ περικαθίσας βραχύν τινα καιρὸν καὶ τοῦτον ἀμογητὶ χειρωσάμενος, οὗ καὶ τὸν τράχηλον κατὰ τὴν ἀρχαίαν συνήθειαν πεπατηκὼς καὶ ἀκρωτηριάσας αὐτοῦ χεῖρας καὶ πόδας καὶ οὕτως ἀνασκολοπίσας κατέπαυσε τὸν ἐν τρισὶν ἔτεσι δι' αὐτοῦ κατάρξαντα καὶ διαρκέσαντα χαλεπὸν καὶ δύσοιστον ἐμφύλιον πόλεμον. Τέλος τῆς χρονικῆς ἱστορίας Γεωργίου μοναχοῦ. Περὶ ἐπιβουλῆς. Περὶ ἐπιβουλῶν κατὰ βασιλέων γεγονυιῶν. Ε. Ἐκ τῆς ἱστορίας ∆ιοδώρου Σικελιώτου. 1. Ὅτι, ἀνακάμψαντος εἰς τὴν Αἴγυπτον τοῦ Σεσοώσιος καὶ διατρίψαντος περὶ τὸ Πηλούσιον, ἑστιῶν αὐτὸν ὁ ἀδελφὸς μετὰ τῆς γυναικὸς καὶ τῶν τέκνων ἐπιβουλὴν συνεστήσατο. ἀναπαυομένων γὰρ αὐτῶν ἀπὸ τῆς μέθης, ἔχων καλάμου ξηροῦ πλῆθος 191 ἐκ χρόνου παρεσκευασμένον καὶ τοῦτο νυκτὸς τῇ σκηνῇ περιθεὶς ἐνέπρησεν. ἄφνω δὲ τοῦ πυρὸς ἐκλάμψαντος, οἱ μὲν ἐπὶ τῆς θεραπείας τοῦ βασιλέως τεταγμένοι παρεβοήθουν ἀγεννῶς ὡς ἂν οἰνωμένοι, ὁ δὲ Σεσόωσις ἀμφοτέρας τὰς χεῖρας ἀνατείνας καὶ ὑπὲρ τῆς σωτηρίας τῶν παίδων καὶ τῆς γυναικὸς εὐξάμενος διεξέπεσε διὰ τῆς φλογός. σωθεὶς δὲ παραδόξως τούς τε ἄλλους θεοὺς ἐτίμησεν ἀναθήμασιν. 2. Ὅτι ἀρξάντων τῆς Αἰγύπτου ιεʹ ἔτη συνέβη τὴν βασιλείαν περιστῆναι εἰς ἕνα. Ψαμμίτιχος γὰρ εἷς τῶν ιβʹ τῶν παρὰ θάλατταν μερῶν κυριεύων Φοίνιξι καὶ Ἕλλησι τοῖς ἐμπόροις παρεῖχε καὶ ἐλάμβανεν, καὶ εὐπορίαν εἶχε μεγάλην καὶ φιλίαν πρὸς ἔθνη καὶ δυνάστας. διὰ δὲ ταῦτά φασι φθονήσαντας αὐτῷ τοὺς ἄλλους βασιλεῖς πόλεμον ἐξενεγκεῖν. ἔνιοι δὲ μυθολογοῦσιν χρησμὸν γενέσθαι, ὃς ἂν αὐτῶν πρῶτος ἐκ χαλκῆς φιάλης ἐν Μέμφει σπείσῃ τῷ θεῷ, κρατήσειν αὐτὸν πάσης Αἰγύπτου, τὸν δὲ Ψαμμίτιχον, ἐξενέγκαντος ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ τῶν ἱερέων τινὸς φιάλας ιβʹ χρυσᾶς, περιελόμενον τὴν περικεφαλαίαν σπεῖσαι. ὑπειδομένους οὖν τοὺς συνάρχοντας τὸ πραχθὲν ἀποκτεῖναι μὲν αὐτὸν μὴ βουληθῆναι, φυγαδεῦσαι δὲ καὶ προστάξαι διατρίβειν ἐν τοῖς ἕλεσι τοῖς παρὰ θάλατταν. καὶ γενομένης τῆς διαφορᾶς ἐκ τῆς Καρίας ὁ Ψαμμίτιχος μισθοφόρους μεταπεμψάμενος ἐνίκησεν. 3. Ὅτι τοὺς μισθοφόρους ὁ Ψαμμίτιχος τῶν ἐγχωρίων προτιμῶν ὡς δι' αὐτῶν νενικηκώς, καὶ τοὺς μὲν μισθοφόρους εἰς τὰ δεξιὰ τάττοντος, τοὺς δὲ ἐγχωρίους κατὰ τὸ εὐώνυμον, οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι παροξυνθέντες καὶ γενόμενοι πλῆθος πλείους τῶν κʹ μυριάδων ἀπέστησαν καὶ προῆγον ἐπ' Αἰθιοπίας κεκρικότες ἰδίαν χώραν ἑαυτοῖς κατακτᾶσθαι. 4. Ὅτι Ἀπρίης δύναμιν πέμψας ἐπὶ Κυρήνην καὶ Βάρκην καὶ τὸ πλεῖον αὐτῆς ἀποβαλὼν ἀλλοτρίους ἔσχε τοὺς διασωθέντας. ὑπολαβόντες γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐπ' ἀπωλείᾳ συστήσασθαι τὴν στρατείαν ἀπέστησαν. ἀποσταλεὶς δὲ πρὸς τούτους ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως Ἄμασις ἀνὴρ ἐπιφανὴς τῶν ῥηθέντων πρὸς ὁμόνοιαν ἠμέλησεν, τοὐναντίον δὲ ἐκείνους προτρεψάμενος εἰς ἀλλοτριότητα συναπέστη καὶ βασιλεὺς αὐτὸς ᾑρέθη. 192 5. Ὅτι Σεμίραμις ὑπὸ Νινύου τοῦ υἱοῦ δι' εὐνούχου τινὸς ἐπιβουλευθεῖσα καὶ τὸ παρ' Ἄμμωνι λόγιον ἀνανεωσαμένη τὸν ἐπιβουλεύσαντα κακὸν οὐδὲν εἰργάσατο. 6. Ὅτι Βέλεσυς ὁ τῶν Βαβυλωνίων ἱερεὺς ἀστρολόγος ὢν προεῖπεν Ἀρβάκῃ ὅτι πάντως δεῖ αὐτὸν βασιλεῦσαι πάσης τῆς χώρας ἧς ἄρχει Σαρδανάπαλλος. ὁ δὲ Ἀρβάκης ἐπαινέσας τὸν ἄνδρα τούτῳ μὲν ἐπηγγείλατο δώσειν σατραπείαν τῆς Βαβυλωνίας, τῆς πράξεως ἐπὶ τέλος ἐλθούσης, αὐτὸς δὲ καθαπερεί τινος θεοῦ φωνῇ μετεωρισθεὶς τοῖς τε ἡγεμόσι τῶν ἄλλων ἐθνῶν συνίστατο καὶ πρὸς τὰς ἑστιάσεις καὶ κοινὰς ὁμιλίας ἐκτενῶς πάντας παρελάμβανεν, φιλίαν ἐγκατασκευάζων πρὸς ἕκαστον. ἐφιλοτιμήθη δὲ καὶ τὸν βασιλέα κατ' ὄψιν ἰδεῖν καὶ τὸν ὅλον τούτου βίον κατασκέψασθαι. διόπερ δούς τινι τῶν εὐνούχων χρυσῆν φιάλην εἰσήχθη πρὸς τὸν Σαρδανάπαλλον, καὶ τήν τε τρυφὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸν γυναικώδη τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων ζῆλον ἀκριβῶς κατανοήσας κατεφρόνησε μὲν τοῦ βασιλέως ὡς οὐδενὸς ἀξίου, προήχθη δὲ πολὺ μᾶλλον ἀντέχεσθαι τῶν δοθεισῶν ἐλπίδων ὑπὸ τοῦ Χαλδαίου. τέλος δὲ συνωμοσίαν ἐποιήσατο πρὸς τὸν Βέλεσυν, ὥστε