The Madness of Cambyses

An excerpt or excerpts from Heodotus' The Histories, all pertaining to Cambyses, the mad Persian King.
It is a readable, but slightly awkward collection. Many Greek and Persian names, and many Greek people and peoples make for a somewhat confusing narrative.

As is typical with the words of oracles, things seldom work out the way they are expected to, and the making of plans to avoid outcomes after the advice of an oracle, often what leads to words of the oracle coming to pass.

Clearly mad, and seldom with regret for his hasty decisions, usually involving the deaths of those closest or most faithful to him, Cambyses in a moment of clarity just prior to his death figures out where he jumped to the wrong conclusion and set in motion his own downfall.

As I said above, readable but a bit awkward. As usual with a historic work, hard to tell how big a part the translation and the selection of excerpts effects the original work. Three stars for me.