Mitradates

Mitradates was a cowherd in the service of the Median king, Astyages.

Astyages wanted his daughter’s infant son murdered and gave the foul task to one of his trusted kinsmen, Harpagus; when Harpagus gave thought to the matter he decided to keep his hands clean and give the dirty deed to someone of lower rank; he ordered Mitradates to take the baby into the wilderness and leave it to the beasts and elements.

Mitradates took the baby back to his home and found that his wife, Kyno (Cyno), had just given birth but that her baby had been born dead; Kyno persuaded Mitradates to spare the life of the king’s grandson and to present their dead baby to Harpagus and declare that the evil deed had been done; Harpagus believed Mitradates’ story and gave the matter no more thought.

Mitradates and Kyno raised the child as their own and all went well until the young boy had a dispute with his playmates; in one of their games, the boy was chosen to play the role of the king; when one of the other boys disobeyed a “royal” command, the “king” ordered that he be beaten; the boy who had been punished took offense at such base treatment because his family was of noble birth and a mere cowherd’s son had ordered him beaten; the boy’s father took the insulting matter to king Astyages for justice; Astyages called Mitradates and the boy to stand trial but when Astyages saw the family resemblance of the boy to his daughter, Mandane, and to himself he realized that Mandane’s son was still alive; Astyages demanded the truth from the cowherd and he soon understood the entire sequence of events.

The young boy was taken from Mitradates and Kyno and given to his natural mother and father, Mandane and her Persian husband, Kambyses; the boy was named Kyrus (Cyrus) and as he grew to manhood he was the best and brightest of his peers; he united the Persians and led a successful revolt against king Astyages.

• Histories, book 1, chapters 110-122