Royal Domestic Violence

Earlier, Cambyses marries one sister (3.31) and murders another. This one is unnamed.

Herodotus, Histories 3.32

“There are two stories regarding her death just as in the case of Smerdis. The Greeks report that Cambyses made a puppy fight with a lion cub and that this woman was watching. When the puppy was being defeated, another puppy—its sibling—broke its leash and was helping him. Together, the two puppies overpowered the lion cub.

Cambyses was pleased when he saw this, but she was crying as she sat alongside him. When Cambyses saw that she was crying and asked why she was, she responded that she cried upon seeing the puppy try to avenge his brother because she was thinking of Smerdis and realizing that there was no one who would avenge him.

The Greeks claim that she was executed for Cambyses for this response. The Egyptians, however, say that when the two of them were sitting at a table the woman took up some lettuce, plucked off the leaves, and then asked her husband if the lettuce seemed better plucked or with its leaves still. When he said he liked it more intact, she said that “but you must recall that you have stripped the house of Cyrus just like this lettuce.” In rage over this, he leaped on her even though she was pregnant. She died after miscarrying.”

Ἀμφὶ δὲ τῷ θανάτῳ αὐτῆς διξὸς ὥσπερ περὶ Σμέρδιος λέγεται λόγος. Ἕλληνες μὲν λέγουσι Καμβύσεα συμβαλεῖν σκύμνον λέοντος σκύλακι κυνός, θεωρέειν δὲ καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα ταύτην, νικωμένου δὲ τοῦ σκύλακος ἀδελφεὸν αὐτοῦ ἄλλον σκύλακα ἀπορρήξαντα τὸν δεσμὸν παραγενέσθαι οἱ, δύο δὲ γενομένους οὕτω δὴ τοὺς σκύλακας ἐπικρατῆσαι τοῦ σκύμνου. καὶ τὸν μὲν Καμβύσεα ἥδεσθαι θεώμενον, τὴν δὲ παρημένην δακρύειν. Καμβύσεα δὲ μαθόντα τοῦτο ἐπειρέσθαι δι᾿ ὅ τι δακρύει, τὴν δὲ εἰπεῖν ὡς ἰδοῦσα τὸν σκύλακα τῷ ἀδελφεῷ τιμωρήσαντα δακρύσειε, μνησθεῖσά τε Σμέρδιος καὶ μαθοῦσα ὡς ἐκείνῳ οὐκ εἴη ὁ τιμωρήσων. Ἕλληνες μὲν δὴ διὰ τοῦτο τὸ ἔπος φασὶ αὐτὴν ἀπολέσθαι ὑπὸ Καμβύσεω, Αἰγύπτιοι δὲ ὡς τραπέζῃ παρακατημένων λαβοῦσαν θρίδακα τὴν γυναῖκα περιτῖλαι καὶ ἐπανειρέσθαι τὸν ἄνδρα κότερον περιτετιλμένη ἡ θρίδαξ ἢ δασέα εἴη καλλίων, καὶ τὸν φάναι δασέαν, τὴν δ᾿ εἰπεῖν “Ταύτην μέντοι κοτὲ σὺ τὴν θρίδακα ἐμιμήσαο τὸν Κύρου οἶκον ἀποψιλώσας.” τὸν δὲ θυμωθέντα ἐμπηδῆσαι αὐτῇ ἐχούσῃ ἐν γαστρί, καί μιν ἐκτρώσασαν ἀποθανεῖν.