Cyrus Against Tomyris

Abstract

Cyrus, along with the Lydian Croesus, dominates the first book of Herodotus’ Histories. At the end of this book the author describes the Persian king’s campaign against the uncivilised tribe of the Massagetae – the campaign which cost him his life. Cyrus’ confrontation with the barbarous queen Tomyris, first in the form of verbal exchange and then on the battlefield, offers an opportunity to observe and compare two different characters and mentalities. The main aim of this paper is to investigate this obvious contrast by the close reading of the Herodotean account.