Cyrræi, a people of Æthiopia.
Cyrrhadæ, an Indian nation.
Cyrrhes, a people of Macedonia, near Pella.
Cyrrhestĭca, a country of Syria near Cilicia, of which the capital was called Cyrrhum. Pliny, bk. 5, ch. 23.—Cicero, Letters to Atticus, bk. 5, ltr. 18.
Cyrrhus and Cyrus, a river of Iberia in Asia.
Cyrsīlus, an Athenian, stoned to death by his countrymen, because he advised them to receive the army of Xerxes, and to submit to the power of Persia. Demosthenes, de Coronâ.—Cicero, bk. 3, de Officiis, ch. 11.
Cyrus, a king of Persia, son of Cambyses and Mandane, daughter of Astyages king of Media. His father was of an ignoble family, whose marriage with Mandane had been consummated on account of the apprehensions of Astyages. See: [Astyages]. Cyrus was exposed as soon as born; but he was preserved by a shepherdess, who educated him as her own son. As he was playing with his equals in years, he was elected king in a certain diversion, and he exercised his power with such an independent spirit, that he ordered one of his play companions to be severely whipped for disobedience. The father of the youth, who was a nobleman, complained to the king of the ill treatment which his son had received from a shepherd’s son. Astyages ordered Cyrus before him, and discovered that he was Mandane’s son, from whom he had so much to apprehend. He treated him with great coldness; and Cyrus, unable to bear his tyranny, escaped from his confinement, and began to levy troops to dethrone his grandfather. He was assisted and encouraged by the ministers of Astyages, who were displeased with the king’s oppression. He marched against him, and Astyages was defeated in a battle, and taken prisoner, B.C. 559. From this victory the empire of Media became tributary to the Persians. Cyrus subdued the eastern parts of Asia, and made war against Crœsus king of Lydia, whom he conquered, B.C. 548. He invaded the kingdom of Assyria, and took the city of Babylon by drying the channels of the Euphrates, and marching his troops through the bed of the river, while the people were celebrating a grand festival. He afterwards marched against Tomyris the queen of the Massagetæ, a Scythian nation, and was defeated in a bloody battle, B.C. 530. The victorious queen, who had lost her son in a previous encounter, was so incensed against Cyrus, that she cut off his head, and threw it into a vessel filled with human blood, exclaiming, Satia te sanguine quem sitisti. Xenophon has written the life of Cyrus; but his history is not perfectly authentic. In the character of Cyrus he delineates a brave and virtuous prince, and often puts in his mouth many of the sayings of Socrates. The chronology is false; and Xenophon, in his narration, has given existence to persons whom no other historian ever mentioned. The Cyropædia, therefore, is not to be looked upon as an authentic history of Cyrus the Great, but we must consider it as showing what every good and virtuous prince ought to be. Diodorus, bk. 1.—Herodotus, bk. 1, ch. 75, &c.—Justin, bk. 1, chs. 5 & 7.——The younger Cyrus was the younger son of Darius Nothus, and the brother of Artaxerxes. He was sent by his father, at the age of 16, to assist the Lacedæmonians against Athens. Artaxerxes succeeded to the throne at the death of Nothus; and Cyrus, who was of an aspiring soul, attempted to assassinate him. He was discovered, and would have been punished with death, had not his mother Parysatis saved him from the hands of the executioner by her tears and entreaties. This circumstance did not in the least check the ambition of Cyrus; he was appointed over Lydia and the sea coasts, where he secretly fomented rebellion, and levied troops under various pretences. At last he took the field with an army of 100,000 barbarians, and 13,000 Greeks under the command of Clearchus. Artaxerxes met him with 900,000 men near Cunaxa. The battle was long and bloody, and Cyrus might have perhaps obtained the victory, had not his uncommon rashness proved his ruin. It is said that the two royal brothers met in person, and engaged with the most inveterate fury, and their engagement ended in the death of Cyrus, 401 years B.C. Artaxerxes was so anxious of its being universally reported that his brother had fallen by his hand, that he put to death two of his subjects for boasting that they had killed Cyrus. The Greeks, who were engaged in the expedition, obtained much glory in the battle; and after the death of Cyrus, they remained victorious in the field without a commander. They were not, however, discouraged, though at a great distance from their country, and surrounded on every side by a powerful enemy. They unanimously united in the election of commanders, and traversed all Asia, in spite of the continual attacks of the Persians; and nothing is more truly celebrated in ancient history than the bold retreat of the 10,000. The journey that they made from the place of their first embarkation till their return, has been calculated at 1155 leagues, performed in the space of 15 months, including all the time which was devoted to take rest and refreshment. This retreat has been celebrated by Xenophon, who was one of their leaders, and among the friends and supporters of Cyrus. It is said, that in the letter he wrote to Lacedæmon to solicit auxiliaries, Cyrus boasted his philosophy, his royal blood, and his ability to drink more wine than his brother without being intoxicated. Plutarch, Artaxerxes.—Diodorus, bk. 14.—Justin, bk. 5, ch. 11.——A rival of Horace, in the affections of one of his mistresses, bk. 1, ode 17, li. 24.——A poet of Panopolis, in the age of Theodosius.
Cyrus and Cyropŏlis, a city of Syria, built by the Jews in honour of Cyrus, whose humanity in relieving them from their captivity they wished thus to commemorate.
Cyrus, a river of Persia, now Kur.
Cyta, a town of Colchis, famous for the poisonous herbs which it produced, and for the birth of Medea. Flaccus, bk. 6, li. 693.—Propertius, bk. 2, poem 1, li. 73.