de him perfectly well, though he had never hoped to be
sound of foot again. Upon this Dareios presented him with two pairs of
golden fetters; and he asked him whether it was by design that he had
given to him a double share of his suffering, because he had made him
well. Being pleased by this saying, Dareios sent him to visit his wives,
and the eunuchs in bringing him in said to the women that this was he
who had restored to the king his life. Then each one of them plunged a
cup into the gold-chest 116 and presented Demokedes with so abundant a
gift that his servant, whose name was Skiton, following and gathering
up the coins 117 which fell from the cups, collected for himself a very
large sum of gold.

131. This Demokedes came from Croton, and became the associate of
Polycrates in the following manner:--at Croton he lived in strife with
his father, who was of a harsh temper, and when he could no longer
endure him, he departed and came to Egina. Being established there he
surpassed in the first year all the other physicians, although he was
without appliances and had none of the instruments which are used in the
art. In the next year the Eginetan State engaged him for a payment of
one talent, in the third year he was engaged by the Athenians for a
hundred pounds weight of silver, 118 and in the fourth by Polycrates for
two talents. Thus he arrived in Samos; and it was by reason of this
man more than anything else that the physicians of Croton got their
reputation: for this event happened at the time when the physicians of
Croton began to be spoken of as the first in Hellas, while the Kyrenians
were reputed to have the second place. About this same time also the
Argives had the reputation of being the first musicians in Hellas. 119

132. Then Demokedes having healed king Dareios had a very great house
in Susa, and had been made a table-companion of the king; and except the
one thing of returning to the land of the Hellenes, he had everything.
And first as regards the Egyptian physicians who tried to heal the king
before him, when they were about to be impaled because they had proved
inferior to a physician who was a Hellene, he asked their lives of the
king and rescued them from death: then secondly, he rescued an Eleian
prophet, who had accompanied Polycrates and had remained unnoticed among
the slaves. In short Demokedes was very great in the favour of the king.

133. Not long time after this another thing came to pas