tyages was so struck with the
beauty, wit, and boldness of the boy that he made earnest inquiries of
the herdsman, who was forced to tell the truth, and confessed that the
youth was not his son, but had been put into his hands by Harpagus with
orders to destroy him. The royal origin of Cyrus was now apparent, and
the king sent for Harpagus, who corroborated the statement of the
herdsman. Astyages dissembled his wrath, as Oriental monarchs can, who
are trained to dissimulation, and the only punishment he inflicted on
Harpagus was to set before him at a banquet a dish made of the arms and
legs of a dead infant. This the courtier in turn professed to relish,
but henceforth became the secret and implacable enemy of the king.

Herodotus tells us that Astyages took the boy, unmistakably his grandson
and heir, to his palace to be educated according to his rank. Cyrus was
now brought up with every honor and the greatest care, taught to hunt
and ride and shoot with the bow like the highest nobles. He soon
distinguished himself for his feats in horsemanship and skill in hunting
wild animals, winning universal admiration, and disarming envy by his
tact, amiability, and generosity, which were as marked as his
intellectual brilliancy,--being altogether a model of reproachless
chivalry.

For some reason, however, the fears and jealousy of Astyages were
renewed, and Cyrus was sent to his father in Persia with costly gifts.
Possibly he was recalled by Cambyses himself, for a father by all the
Eastern codes had a right to the person of his son.

No sooner was Cyrus established in Persia,--a country which it would
seem he had never before seen,--than he was sought by the discontented
Persians to head a revolt against their masters, and he availed himself
of the disaffection of Harpagus, the most influential of the Median
noblemen, for the dethronement of his grandfather. Persia arose in
rebellion against Media. A war ensued, and in a battle between the
conflicting forces Astyages was defeated and taken prisoner, but was
kindly treated by his magnanimous conqueror. This battle ended the
Median ascendency, and Cyrus became the monarch of both Media
and Persia.

Since the Medes belonged to the same Aryan family as the Persians, and
had the same language, religion, and institutions, with slight
differences, and lived among the mountains exposed to an uncongenial
climate with extremes of heat and cold, and were doomed to hard and
incessa