Anabasis, Book 1, Ch. 7 - Prophecy for profit at politburo diktat 2.0

Anabasis, Book 1, Ch. 7 - Prophecy for profit

Still expecting Artaxerxes, the Great King of Persia, his brother, to fight, Cyrus brings his army of Greek mercenaries and “barbarians” almost to Babylon. They encounter a defensive ditch, dug by the King.

There is at least one sentence in this passage (in boldface) that I just do not understand. First, let’s be clear what the scholars and editors have determined. That is, the ditch extended across Cyrus’ path, he had to cross it, and for a 20-foot section, it was interrupted. Very clearly, there was an unfinished ditch, and a relatively narrow section permitting an army to pass. Now read the bold sentence, which, quite differently, describes the ditch and the Euphrates river, with a high-and-dry narrow passage between them, as if they were parallel. That is clearly not the situation of the ditch, the river, and the passage, but I cannot make the sentence read any other way.

Greek money

It’s almost futile to try to convert ancient money to modern equivalents, like we can convert Euros to dollars. Ancient, slave-labor based, pre-industrial economies were so very different from modern economies that comparisons are very difficult. Another (more manageable) difference is that ancient coins were valued for their weight of precious metal: gold or silver. That being said, here are the units of ancient Greek money:

1 obol = the smallest denomination
6 obols = 1 drachma
7.5 obols = 1 siglos
20 drachmae = 1 Daric
100 drachmae = 1 mina
60 minae = 1 talent

The obol, drachma, mina, and talent were units of Greek money, or, more properly, weights of precious metals, generally silver. The siglos and the Daric were Persian coins, the Daric being made of gold.

Wikipedia notes that 1 drachma was a daily wage for a skilled worker or a mercenary soldier. Some ancient sources reported that a comfortable allowance for a family of four (plus slaves) was 700 - 1000 drachmae annually. So, Silanus’ reward of ten talents (= 3,000 Darics = 60,000 drachmae) was almost a hundred years of a very good salary.

From there Cyrus marched for one day, three parasangs, with the entire army in formation, both the Greeks and the barbarians, for he thought that the King would fight that day. In the middle of that march, they reached a deeply dug trench, 5 fathoms broad and 3 fathoms deep. The trench extended through the plain for 12 parasangs, up to the Median Wall. … There was a narrow passage along the Euphrates, between the river and the ditch, about 20 feet wide. The King had improved this ditch, rather than the wall, when he learned that Cyrus was approaching. However, Cyrus and his army went through the passage and got inside of the trench.Thus, on this day, the King did not fight, but there were signs of his retreat, many tracks of both men and horses.

There Cyrus summoned Silanus, the Ambraciot soothsayer, and gave him 3,000 Darics, because sacrificing eleven days before, he predicted that the King would not fight for ten days. So Cyrus told him: “If the King does not fight in those days, if the prophecy is true, then I will give you 10 talents.” And, when the ten days passed, then he gave him that much gold.