s a mark like
a beetle.

29. When the priests had brought Apis, Cambyses being somewhat affected
with madness drew his dagger, and aiming at the belly of Apis, struck
his thigh: then he laughed and said to the priests: "O ye wretched
creatures, are gods born such as this, with blood and flesh, and
sensible of the stroke of iron weapons? Worthy indeed of Egyptians
is such a god as this. Ye however at least shall not escape without
punishment for making a mock of me." Having thus spoken he ordered those
whose duty it was to do such things, to scourge the priests without
mercy, and to put to death any one of the other Egyptians whom they
should find keeping the festival. Thus the festival of the Egyptians had
been brought to an end, and the priests were being chastised, and Apis
wounded by the stroke in his thigh lay dying in the temple.

30. Him, when he had brought his life to an end by reason of the wound,
the priests buried without the knowledge of Cambyses: but Cambyses, as
the Egyptians say, immediately after this evil deed became absolutely
mad, not having been really in his right senses even before that time:
and the first of his evil deeds was that he put to death his brother
Smerdis, who was of the same father and the same mother as himself. This
brother he had sent away from Egypt to Persia in envy, because alone
of all the Persians he had been able to draw the bow which the
Ichthyophagoi brought from the Ethiopian king, to an extent of about two
finger-breadths; while of the other Persians not one had proved able
to do this. Then when Smerdis had gone away to Persia, Cambyses saw a
vision in his sleep of this kind:--it seemed to him that a messenger came
from Persia and reported that Smerdis sitting upon the royal throne had
touched the heaven with his head. Fearing therefore with regard to
this lest his brother might slay him and reign in his stead, he sent
Prexaspes to Persia, the man whom of all the Persians he trusted most,
with command to slay him. He accordingly went up to Susa and slew
Smerdis; and some say that he took him out of the chase and so slew him,
others that he brought him to the Erythraian Sea and drowned him.

31. This they say was the first beginning of the evil deeds of Cambyses;
and next after this he put to death his sister, who had accompanied
him to Egypt, to whom also he was married, she being his sister by both
parents. Now he took her to wife in the following manner (for
before t