s over in a boat, and that, as I
imagine, was troublesome: she however made provision also for this; for
when she was digging the basin for the lake she left this other monument
of herself derived from the same work, that is, she caused stones to be
cut of very great length, and when the stones were prepared for her and
the place had been dug out, she turned aside the whole stream of the
river into the place which she had been digging; and while this was
being filled with water, the ancient bed of the river being dried up in
the meantime, she both built up with baked bricks after the same fashion
as the wall the edges of the river, where it flows through the city, and
the places of descent leading from the small gateways to the river; and
also about the middle of the city, as I judge, with the stones which
she had caused to be dug out she proceeded to build a bridge, binding
together the stones with iron and lead: and upon the top she laid
squared timbers across, to remain there while it was daytime, over which
the people of Babylon made the passage across; but at night they used to
take away these timbers for this reason, namely that they might not go
backwards and forwards by night and steal from one another: and when the
place dug out had been made into a lake full of water by the river, and
at the same time the bridge had been completed, then she conducted the
Euphrates back into its ancient channel from the lake, and so the
place dug out being made into a swamp was thought to have served a good
purpose, and there had been a bridge set up for the men of the city.

187. This same queen also contrived a snare of the following kind:--Over
that gate of the city through which the greatest number of people passed
she set up for herself a tomb above the very gate itself. And on the
tomb she engraved writing which said thus: "If any of the kings of
Babylon who come after me shall be in want of wealth, let him open my
tomb and take as much as he desires; but let him not open it for any
other cause, if he be not in want; for that will not be well." 191 This
tomb was undisturbed until the kingdom came to Dareios; but to Dareios
it seemed that it was a monstrous thing not to make any use of this
gate, and also, when there was money lying there, not to take it,
considering that the money itself invited him to do so. Now the reason
why he would not make any use of this gate was because the corpse would
have been above his head as