l her to a certain Xanthus. The government of
Samos at that time was still in the hands of the less opulent nobles;
had Polykrates then been at the head of affairs, Xanthus need not have
despaired of a purchaser. These tyrants fill their treasuries as the
magpies their nests! As it was, however, he went off with his precious
jewel to Naukratis, and there gained a fortune by means of her wondrous
charms. These were three years of the deepest humiliation to Rhodopis,
which she still remembers with horror.

Now it happened, just at the time when her fame was spreading through
all Greece, and strangers were coming from far to Naukratis for her sake
alone, that the people of Lesbos rose up against their nobles, drove
them forth, and chose the wise Pittakus as their ruler.

[According to Herodotus the beauty of Rhodopis was so great that
every Greek knew her by name.]

The highest families of Lesbos were forced to leave the country, and
fled, some to Sicily, some to the Greek provinces of Italy, and others
to Egypt. Alcaeus, the greatest poet of his day, and Charaxus, the
brother of that Sappho whose odes it was our Solon's last wish to
learn by heart, came here to Naukratis, which had already long been the
flourishing centre of commercial communication between Egypt and
the rest of the world. Charaxus saw Rhodopis, and soon loved her
so passionately, that he gave an immense sum to secure her from the
mercenary Xanthus, who was on the point of returning with her to his own
country; Sappho wrote some biting verses, derisive of her brother
and his purchase, but Alcaeus on the other hand, approved, and gave
expression to this feeling in glowing songs on the charms of Rhodopis.
And now Sappho's brother, who had till then remained undistinguished
among the many strangers at Naukratis, became a noted man through
Rhodopis. His house was soon the centre of attraction to all foreigners,
by whom she was overwhelmed with gifts. The King Hophra, hearing of her
beauty and talent, sent for her to Memphis, and offered to buy her
of Charaxus, but the latter had already long, though secretly,
given Rhodopis her freedom, and loved her far too well to allow of a
separation. She too, loved the handsome Lesbian and refused to leave
him despite the brilliant offers made to her on all sides. At length
Charaxus made this wonderful woman his lawful wife, and continued to
live with her and her little daughter Kleis in Naukratis, until the
Les