ns of the
soldiery; but not long after, Eryxo and Polyarchos, the wife and
brother-in-law of his victim, surprised and assassinated him in his
turn. The partisans of Laarchos then had recourse to the Pharaoh, who
showed himself disposed to send them help; but his preparations were
suspended owing to the death of his mother. Polyarchos repaired to Egypt
before the royal mourning was ended, and pleaded his cause with such
urgency that he won over the king to his side; he obtained the royal
investiture for his sister's child, who was still a minor, Battos III.,
the lame, and thus placed Oyrene in a sort of vassalage to the Egyptian
crown.*

* Herodotus narrates these events without mentioning Amasis,
and Nicolas of Damascus adopted Herodotus' account with
certain modifications taken from other sources. The
intervention of Amasis is mentioned only by Plutarch and by
Polyaanus; but the record of it had been handed down to them
by some more ancient author--perhaps by Akesandros; or
perhaps, in the first instance, by Hellanicos of Lesbos, who
gave a somewhat detailed account of certain points in
Egyptian history. The passage of Herodotus is also found
incorporated in accounts of Cyrenian origin: his informants
were interested in recalling deeds which reflected glory on
their country, like the defeat of Apries at Irasa, but not
in the memory of events so humiliating for them as the
sovereign intervention of Pharaoh only a few years after
this victory. And besides, the merely pacific success which
Amasis achieved was not of a nature to leave a profound mark
on the Egyptian mind. It is thus easy to explain how it was
that Herodotus makes no allusion to the part played by Egypt
in this affair.

The ties which connected the two courts were subsequently drawn closer
by marriage; partly from policy and partly from a whim, Amasis espoused
a Cyrenian woman named Ladike, the daughter, according to some, of
Arkesilas or of Battos, according to others, of a wealthy private
individual named Kritobulos.* The Greeks of Europe and Asia Minor fared
no less to their own satisfaction at his hand than their compatriots
in Africa; following the example of his ally Croesus, he entered
into relations with their oracles on several occasions, and sent them
magnificent presents. The temple of Delphi having been burnt down in
548, the Athenian family of th