Cambyses

Question 1

Why did Cambyses want to conquer Egypt?

Answer 1

• Cambyses wanted to marry Amasis’ daughter; Amasis sent Apries’ (the previous pharaoh’s) daughter instead
• Cyrus married Apries’ daughter; Cambyses was her son, so related
  to Egyptian royal family
• Cambyses’ mother was insulted by Cyrus choice of an Egyptian wife;
  Cambyses promised that he would ‘turn all of Egypt upside down’ in
  revenge for the insult

Question 2

How did Cambyses beat the Egyptians at Pelusium?

Answer 2

• Used Phoenician navy; crossed the desert with Arabs
• Held cats in front of them; the Egyptians held the cat-god Batset
  sacred, so they could not shoot at the Persians

Question 3

Who else did Cambyses try to conquer? What happened?

Answer 3

• Ethiopia: runs out of supplies
• Ammon: army destroyed by sandstorm.

Question 4

How did Cambyses treat Psammetichus?

Answer 4

• Paraded Psammetichus’ children before him on city walls before they
  were executed
• Moved to spare eldest son, but order came too late
• Opened Amasis’ (Psammetichus’ father) tomb and mutilated/ burned body

Question 5

What was the Apis Bull? What did Cambyses do to it?

Answer 5

• Special bull, born from cow that is supposedly infertile.
• Considered manifestation of the king and god Apis
• Cambyses fatally stabbed it in the thigh as he believed festival was mockery for his loss in Ethiopia

Question 6

What else, according to Herodotus, did Cambyses do in Egypt?

Answer 6

• Married 2 of his sisters and murdered one of them for protesting her
  other brother’s murder
• Killed a judge and made a chair out of his skin
• Buried 12 nobles alive
• Jeered at statues of Cabeiri and Hephaestus
• Opened tombs and examined corpses

Question 7

How did Cambyses treat his chief advisers

Answer 7

• Killed Prexaspes’ son by shooting him in the heart to prove that he
  wasn’t mad
• Tried to kill Croesus; servants hid him and when he expressed regret,
  revealed him. He was happy, but killed servants for disobeying him

Question 8

What does the Udjahorresne and Apis Bull Sarcophagus say about Cambyses? Why is Cambyses portrayed negatively in Herodotus?

Answer 8

• Udjahorresne Chronicle: Cambyses respected the Egyptian goddess
  Neith
• Apis Bull Sarcophagus shows him worshipping the Apis Bull
• Herodotus’ sources were Egyptian priests who were taxed by Cambyses.

Question 9

What did Cambyses do to his brother Smerdis? Why?

Answer 9

• After a dream, Cambyses orders Prexaspes (advisor) to kill his
  brother, Smerdis
• He had a dream where he saw Smerdis sitting on the throne with his head touching the clouds

Question 10

What were the duties of the Magi?

Answer 10

• Priests
• Advisors to the king

Question 11

What did ‘the false Smerdis’ do? What was peculiar about him?

Answer 11

• Pretended to be Smerdis, Cambyses’ brother, as he looked like him
• Herodotus: he allowed remittance of military service
• Behistun inscription: he taxed the people
• He had no ears

Question 12

How did Cambyses die? What was significant about his death?

Answer 12

• Accidentally stabs himself in the thigh mounting his horse (same place
  as he stabbed Apis Bull
• Died in Ecbatana (a small town, not the city), fulfilling prophecy that he would do so

Question 13

How was Smerdis’ coup uncovered?

Answer 13

• Otanes suspected a coup; told his daughter (Smerdis’ wife) to feel
  for his ears at night
• Prexaspes publicly revealed real Smerdis’ death, and his
  involvement, before throwing himself from the battlements

Question 14

How was ‘Smerdis’ overthrown?

Answer 14

• 7 conspirators, including Darius, rode to Pasargadae and killed the Magi
• Saw omen of 7 pairs of hawks killing 2 vultures en route and took this as a sign that they were doing the right thing

Question 15

How was Darius chosen as king?

Answer 15

• Herodotus: Darius’ horse neighs first at dawn owing to some trickery by his groom.
• Behistun Inscription: he was related to Achaemenes and was chosen by Ahura Mazda