There was a sort of glen or rocky gorge in this
quarter, outside of the walls, down which dead bodies were thrown on
one occasion subsequently, at a time when the city was besieged, and
beasts and birds of prey fed upon them there undisturbed, so lonely
was the place and so desolate. In fact, the walls that crowned these
precipices were considered absolutely inaccessible, and were very
slightly built and very feebly guarded. There was an ancient legend
that, a long time before, when a certain Males was king of Lydia, one
of his wives had a son in the form of a lion, whom they called Leon,
and an oracle declared that if this Leon were carried around the walls
of the city, it would be rendered impregnable, and should never be
taken. They carried Leon, therefore, around, so far as the regular
walls extended. When they came to this precipice of rocks, they
returned, considering that this part of the city was impregnable
without any such ceremony. A spur or eminence from the mountain of
Tmolus, which was behind the city, projected into it at this point,
and there was a strong citadel built upon its summit.

[Illustration: THE SIEGE OF SARDIS.]

Cyrus continued the siege fourteen days, and then he determined that
he must, in some way or other, find the means of carrying it by
assault, and to do this he must find some place to scale the walls. He
accordingly sent a party of horsemen around to explore every part,
offering them a large reward if they would find any place where an
entrance could be effected. The horsemen made the circuit, and
reported that their search had been in vain. At length a certain
soldier, named Hyraeades, after studying for some time the precipices
on the side which had been deemed inaccessible, saw a sentinel, who
was stationed on the walls above, leave his post and come climbing
down the rocks for some distance to get his helmet, which had
accidentally dropped down. Hyraeades watched him both as he descended
and as he returned. He reflected on this discovery, communicated it to
others, and the practicability of scaling the rock and the walls at
that point was discussed. In the end, the attempt was made and was
successful. Hyraeades went up first, followed by a few daring spirits
who were ambitious of the glory of the exploit. They were not at first
observed from above. The way being thus shown, great numbers followed
on, and so large a force succeeded in thus gaining an entrance that
the city was t