Cyrus, the Great prophesied as the bird of prey coming from the east summoned by God had been the subject of ironies. At least two cult leaders from the far east, Felix Manalo of the Philippines and Sun Myung Moon of Korea used the same bible passage in claiming they are the raptors anointed and summoned by God for a great purpose. This would only prove that even in death, Cyrus still causes a stir even as when he was still alive.
Before his birth, Cyrus’ mother, Mandane, wife of Cambyses I, dreamt that water from her womb caused a great flood. When the princess Mandane told her father, Astyages about it, the king immediately felt uneasy. Then in his sleep, he dreamt that a great vine came forth from Mandane’s womb which became a great jungle. The king of Medes decided to seek the advice of the magi who reside in one of the Midianite cities and they were unanimous in saying that if the child she is bearing is a threat to his reign. Immediately, king Astyages ordered Hyspargus, his trusted minister to have the baby killed as soon as he was born. Hence, after the princess gave birth, the baby was kidnapped by Hyspargus but he did not have the heart to kill the baby boy. Instead, he asked Mithradates, a shepherd to do the heinous crime for him. Although, he said, yes; the shepherd couldn’t just do it and upon consultation with his wife who had just given birth to a stillborn baby, they decided to swap them by changing the infant’s clothes. After three days, as agreed upon, the shepherd showed the clothes of his own child ravaged by mountain beasts. Thus, Astyadates, the name given to Cyrus by the shepherd, grew up as a shepherd boy thinking that his parents were actually the peasants.
And yet, as the young Cyrus grew up, his mien was not like that of other children. He was often serious even when he was at play. The fact is that he had been having recurring dreams that he was actually born to be a king and that someday, he is going to become one. One time, he and his playmates were playing King of the Mountain and he was chosen to be king. It happened that one of the playmates was the child of a noble minister in king Astyages’ court and asked his father if he could play with the local children. His father consented and when he joined the game, Astyadates gave him a task to do as king but the child found the task too lowly for his status and so, he would not do it. The young Cyrus, serious as he was with everything whipped the boy and he went back to his father crying.
The minister told the king what the shepherd boy has done to his child and the king felt obliged to summon the child and his father. Confronted about what he did, Cyrus did not flinch before his grandfather and said that he had to do it because he was a mere subject and he would not obey his king. Awed by the majesty and composure of the child, he had this sudden intuition that this must be his grandchild and that he was in fact, alive. In fact, his demeanor was just like his daughter, Mandane when she is arguing and he looks very much like Cambyses, his son-in-law. In a private interview, he asked the shepherd the circumstances of the boy and Mithradates couldn’t keep it secret anymore, and told the King the truth.
Controlling his anger, he summoned Hyspargus, his most loyal minister and trusted friend to inquire about the shepherd’s confession. Hyspargus couldn’t deny it any longer and confessed that he didn’t have the heart to do such a terrible deed. Astyages, for his part, pretended that he welcomes now the idea that the boy is alive. To celebrate his coming back to the palace, he asked Hyspargus to bring his boy to the palace so that the prince can have a playmate. Hyspargus was ecstatic with the turn of events and went home immediately to fetch his boy. Meantime, the king summoned his Magi and consulted them about the situation. They unanimously agreed that his becoming king had already happened in the game played and therefore, it is now safe for the King to let him live. The king was relieved but his anger for Hyspargus’ disobedience remained. He asked his servants to butcher the minister’s son and serve his meat to him for dinner. After dinner, he asked the head and hands of the boy to be shown him.
A stern warrior, Hyspargus kept his composure. He simply asked for forgiveness which the king readily gave and took what remained of his son to be buried. He continued to serve King biding his time for Cyrus to grow up. Cyrus for his part, was returned to his parents to Persia, a mere province of the empire of the Medes, where he was renamed Cyrus, and made a prince. Mandane would always tell her stories about the hero Perseus, especially how he had killed the gorgon monster, Medusa to emphasize that good must overcome evil. Cambyses, although he didn’t have the knowledge of the True God, taught him how to live an upright life as a man, especially as a future king of Persia who had to abide by his oath to Mithra, the Persian god and his country.
Meantime, Astyages grew greedy and asked for more taxes envying his neighbor king of Lydia, Croesus, the richest man in the world. Because of the oppression, Cambyses couldn’t hold anymore the people’s wrath when they decided to revolt. He had to stand by his people because he was their real king and protector. Cyrus, already a grown man decided to fight instead for his father. Astyages scoffed at his gesture and simply saw in him a child engaged in a game. However, Cyrus proved to be a good tactician in battle and soon the Medes were losing. Hyspargus, now saw the opportunity for revenge and he made his troops turn their allegiance to the young warrior. Thus, with Hyspargus’ help the Medes were conquered by the Persians initially realizing the prophetic dreams.
Cyrus, at the instance of his mother, easily forgave Astyages, his grandfather. This gesture rather than complementing goodwill in him made him think that Cyrus was too soft to be Shahansha (King of kings) of the whole empire. He then secretly asked for Croesus help to wage war on the Medes to humiliate Cyrus as the new emperor.
Croesus, finding the offer attractive and to get rid of his contemporary in the guise of help went to consult the Oracle of Delphi. The Oracle stated that the moment he crossed the kingdom’s border, a kingdom is bound to fall. Elated at the prospect and thinking all the while that it was Cyrus’ kingdom which was bound to fall, he immediately led his army across the border upon his return. But he was no match for Cyrus, as he was God’s anointed, and his army was easily routed. Cyrus now also becomes King of Lydia and automatically the Greek city states by the Aegean paid allegiance to him. Though Cyrus was a forgiving man, who easily forgave Croesus and allowed him to stay on the Lydian throne as a vassal king,
Croesus couldn’t accept the fact that although he had bought his friends with his gold, they have left him for Cyrus. He wouldn’t allow the truth that now the Lydians are cheering Cyrus instead of him. And so, one day, he set himself afire and he died.
Now, the lesson here is this. It is better to be an upright man always believing on what is true. Superstitions like the advice of the Magi and the Oracle’s prediction are nothing compared to the heart that is true. Likewise, greed can only lead to perdition while being forgiving nurtures blessings from above. And Cyrus’ flight had just begun to receive more graces.
