in their hands, and
exhibiting everywhere this proof at once of the death of the late king
and of his imposture, they proceeded to authorize and aid in carrying
out, a general massacre of the Magian priests, the abettors of the later
usurpation. Every Magus who could be found was poniarded by the enraged
Persians; and the caste would have been well-nigh exterminated, if it
had not been for the approach of night. Darkness brought the carnage
to an end; and the sword, once sheathed, was not again drawn. Only, to
complete the punishment of the ambitious religionists who had insulted
and deceived the nation, the day of the massacre was appointed to be
kept annually as a solemn festival, under the name of the Magophonia;
and a law was passed that on that day no Magus should leave his house.

The accession of Darius to the vacant throne now took place (Jan. 1,
B.C. 521). According to Herodotus it was preceded by a period of debate
and irresolution, during which the royal authority was, as it were, in
commission among the Seven; and in this interval he places not only the
choice of a king, but an actual discussion on the subject of the proper
form of government to be established. Even his contemporaries, however,
could see that this last story was unworthy of credit and it may be
questioned whether any more reliance ought to be placed on the remainder
of the narrative. Probably the true account of the matter is, that,
having come to a knowledge of the facts of the case, the heads of the
seven great Persian clans or families met together in secret conclave
and arranged all their proceedings beforehand. No government but the
monarchical could be thought of for a moment, and no one could assert
any claim to be king but Darius. Darius went into the conspiracy as a
pretender to the throne: the other six were simply his "faithful men,"
his friends and well-wishers. While, however, the six were far from
disputing Darius's right, they required and received for themselves a
guarantee of certain privileges, which may either have belonged to them
previously, by law or custom, as the heads of the great clans, or may
have been now for the first time conceded. The king-bound himself to
choose his wives from among the families of the conspirators only, and
sanctioned their claim to have free access to his person at all times
without asking his permission. One of their number, Otanes, demanded and
obtained even more. He and his house were to