but Agesilaus, who had
had enough of Egypt and its intrigues, deserted his cause, and shortly
afterwards died of exhaustion on the coast near Cyrene. The anticipated
Persian invasion followed shortly after, but it was conducted without
energy or decision. Artaxerxes had entrusted the conduct of the
expedition to Tachos, doubtless promising to reinstate him in his former
power as satrap or vassal king of Egypt, but Tachos died before he could
even assume his post,* and the discords which rent the family of the
Persian king prevented the generals who replaced him from taking any
effective action.

* AElian narrates, probably following Dinon, that Tachos died
of dysentery due to over-indulgence at dinner.

The aged Artaxerxes had had, it was reported, one hundred and fifteen
sons by the different women in his harem, but only three of those by his
queen Statira were now living--Darius, Ariaspes, and Ochus. Darius,
the eldest of the three, had been formally recognised as
heir-apparent--perhaps at the time of the disastrous war against the
Cadusians* --but the younger brother, Ochus, who secretly aspired to
the throne, had managed to inspire him with anxiety with regard to
the succession, and incited him to put the aged king out of the way.
Contemporary historians, ill informed as to the intrigues in the
palace, whose effects they noted without any attempt to explore their
intricacies, invented several stories to account for the conduct of the
young prince. Some assigned as the reason of his conspiracy a romantic
love-affair. They said that Cyrus the Younger had had an Ionian mistress
named Aspasia, who, after the fatal battle of Cunaxa, had been taken
into the harem of the conqueror, and had captivated him by her beauty.
Darius conceived a violent passion for this damsel, and his father was
at first inclined to give her up to him, but afterwards, repenting of
his complaisance, consecrated her to the service of Mithra, a cult which
imposed on her the obligation of perpetual chastity. Darius, exasperated
by this treatment, began to contemplate measures of vengeance, but,
being betrayed by his brother Ochus, was put to death with his whole
family.**

* Pompeius Trogus asserts that such co-regencies were
contrary to Persian law; we have seen above that, on the
contrary, they were obligatory when the sovereign was
setting out on a campaign.

** This is the version of the story given by Din