The Story of Zopyrus, True or False?

The Story of Zopyrus,  True or False?

From the book The Histories by Herodotus.  Translated by Robin Waterfield with an Introduction and Notes by Carolyn DeWald.  First published in 1998 by Oxford University Press.

Book Three

p. 231
In the context of this prediction, Zopyrus came to the conclusion that Babylon could now be captured; after all, a god must have guided the man to say what he said, and his own mule to give birth.
Having come to the conclusion that Babylon was destined to fall now, he went to Darius and asked him how important the capture of Babylon was to him.  Darius replied that it was very important to him, so Zopyrus next began to try to find a way whereby he could be the one to bring about the fall of Babylon, as his own achievement, because among the Persians a high value is placed on services to the king, and those who perform them are greatly honored. Now, the only plan he came up with which would enable him to make the city his involved him maiming himself and defecting to the Babylonians. So he coolly gave himself crippling, permanent injuries: he cut off his own nose and ears, roughly shaved his head, and flogged himself. Then he went to Darius.

Darius was very shocked at the sight of a man of Zopyrus' standing with such terrible injuries. He jumped up from his throne with a cry and asked who it was who had disfigured him and why.  Zopyrus said, 'No one did it to me my lord; after all, you are the only person who could.  I did it to myself, because I think it's dreadful to have Assyrians mocking Persians.'

'No, that won't do at all,' Darius replied.  'To claim that you have given yourself these permanent injuries as a way of doing something about the people we are besieging is to gloss over the utter vileness of your deed. It's just stupid to think that your injuries might hasten our opponents' surrender.  You must be out of your mind to have disfigured yourself like this.'

'If I'd told you what I was intending to do,' Zopyrus said, 'you'd have stopped me. Instead, I took it upon myself to act. And the result is that we will now capture Babylon, as long as you don't let me down.  Here is the plan. I will go as I am to the city wall as a deserter, claiming that it was you who mutilated me like this. I am confident that, once I have convinced them of the truth of my claims, they will give me a military command. What you have to do is this. Ten days after I have entered the city, post a thousand expendable men opposite the Gate of Semiramis. Then, seven days later, post another two thousand men opposite the Gate of the People of Ninus. After an interval of another twenty days, take another four thousand men and station them opposite the Gate of the Chaldeans. Neither the first two groups nor this last contingent are to have any means of defense except their daggers; that's all you must let them have. Then, the very next day, order the rest of your men to attack the walls from all sides, but post the Persian troops opposite the Belian and Cissian Gates. I think my substantial achievements will have won me the Babylonians' complete confidence---and in particular that they will have given me the keys of the city gates to look after.  After that, it will be up to me and the Persians to do what needs doing.'

After issuing these instructions, he made his way to the gates of Babylon, looking over his shoulder all the time as if he really were a genuine deserter. The look-outs posted on the towers spotted him, ran down, opened one of the gates a crack, and asked him who he was and what he had come for. He answered that he was Zopyrus and that he was deserting to their side. At this, the gatekeepers took him to the Babylonian council, where he stood forth and complained to them about his sufferings. He blamed Darius for his self-inflicted injuries, and claimed that he had received them as a punishment for advising Darius to draw off his forces, when there seemed no way to take the city.  'Men of Babylon,' he said, 'my presence here will be a huge boon to you---and a huge bane to Darius and his army. He will certainly not get away with mutilating me like this. I know his plans inside out.'  That, or something like it, is what he said.

The sight of one of the most distinguished Persians without his nose and ears and covered with blood and welts from being flogged inclined the Babylonians to believe that he was telling the truth and had come as their ally, and they were happy to entrust him with everything he asked of them---and he asked them for an army.  Once they had given it to him, he put into action the plan he had arranged with Darius.  On the tenth day he led his Babylonian forces out of the city, surrounded the thousand troops he had told Darius to deploy first, and massacred them.  When the Babylonians realized that he was as good as his word, they were absolutely delighted and were willing to do anything he told them. After an interval of the agreed number of days, he again led out a select body of troops and massacred the 2,000-strong contingent of Darius' men.  Following this second achievement, praise of Zopyrus could constantly be heard throughout Babylon on everyone's lips. Once again, after an interval of the agreed number of days, he led his men out to the pre-arranged spot, and surrounded and massacred the four thousand.  This feat, on top of his earlier exploits, made Zopyrus the leading light of Babylon, and he was appointed commander-in-chief of the army and also put in charge of the defense of the city walls.

At the agreed time, Darius had his men attack the city wall from all sides---and then the full extent of Zopyrus' guile was revealed. While the Babylonians were busy defending the city from the walls against the onslaughts of Darius' army, Zopyrus flung open the Cissian and Belian Gates and let the Persians into the city. Some of the Babylonians saw what he had done and managed to take refuge in the sanctuary of Zeus as Bel, but those who did not remained at their posts until they too realized that they had been betrayed.

So that is how Babylon fell for the second time.  Now that the Babylonians were in his power, Darius demolished the city wall and tore down all its gates (both of which were actions Cyrus had failed to do when he had taken Babylon earlier), and he also had about three thousand of the most prominent men impaled on stakes; however, he returned the city to the remaining Babylonians and let them live there. As was explained earlier, the Babylonians had strangled their wives to ensure that they had enough to eat; so in order to make sure that they would have enough women to have offspring, Darius ordered all the nearby peoples to send women to Babylon, and gave each a quota, which resulted in a grand total of fifty thousand women congregating there.  Today's Babylonians are descended from these women.

To Darius' mind, no Persian ever performed a greater act of service than Zopyrus---no one ever did later, and no one ever had before, except Cyrus---no Persian would ever compare himself with Cyrus.  It is said that Darius often expressed the opinion that he would prefer to see Zopyrus without his injuries than gain twenty more Babylons.  He valued Zopyrus a great deal.  Every year he presented him with the most precious items in Persia, and among a number of other gifts, he gave him Babylon to be his own domain, free of taxes, for as long as he  should live.  The Megabyzus who commanded the forces against Athens and her allies in Egypt was the son of this Zopyrus; and the Zopyrus who deserted from the Persians to Athens was the son of this Megabyzus.


Zopyrus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

Zopyrus   (ca. 500 BC) was a Persian nobleman mentioned in Herodotus' Histories.

He was son of Megabyzus, who helped Darius I in his ascension. When Babylon revolted against the rule of Darius I, Zopyrus devised a plan to regain control of the vital city. By cutting off his own nose and ears, and then having himself whipped, he arrived at the court of Darius. He told the ruler of his plan: He would go before the people of Babylon and proclaim himself an exile punished by Darius. Gaining the Babylonians' trust, Zopyrus soon became commander-in-chief of their army, allowing him to weaken the city's defenses. With this, Darius' armies victoriously reconquered the city. Zopyrus was made satrap (provincial governor).

The veracity (truth) of this story is debatable.  First, the story resembles Homer's description of Odysseus, who spied on Troy after mutilating himself. Second, no cuneiform sources mention Zopyrus as satrap of Babylon.

According to Herodotus, Zopyrus had a son named Megabyzus.