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[Cyrus] the king is said to be the son of Cambyses the king of the Persians. This Cambyses [was] of the family of the Perseids, and the Perseids are named from Perseus;[1] his mother was Mandane. Mandane was the daughter of Astyages who became king of the Medes. Cyrus is reported and praised even now by the barbarians as having been very handsome in appearance, and in his character very loving of mankind and very devoted to learning [and very ambitious], so that he endured every kind of toil and every kind of danger for the sake of praise.[2]
He was called Kyros because when playing the game of kingship with the other boys he won the supremacy.[3]
This Cyrus was experienced, if any one was, in the philosophy in which he was educated by the magi; he was taught justice and truth, in accordance with some laws established for the Persian nobles.[4]
[Note] that Cyrus, the king of the Persians, was so called because in the game called basilinda he gained supremacy over his age-mates.[5]

*ku=ros, o( basileu/s, patro\s me\n dh\ le/getai gene/sqai *kambu/sew *persw=n basile/ws: o( de\ *kambu/shs ou(=tos tou= *perseidw=n ge/nous, oi( de\ *persei=dai a)po\ *perse/ws klhi/+zontai: mhtro\s de\ *manda/nhs. h)=n de\ h( *manda/nh *)astua/gous quga/thr tou= *mh/dwn genome/nou basile/ws. fu=nai de\ o( *ku=ros le/getai kai\ a)/|detai e)/ti kai\ nu=n u(po\ tw=n barba/rwn ei)=dos me\n ka/llistos, yuxh\n de\ filanqrwpo/tatos kai\ filomaqe/statos, w(/ste pa/nta me\n po/non a)natlh=nai, pa/nta de\ ki/ndunon u(pomei=nai tou= e)painei=sqai e(/neka. *ku=ros de\ e)klh/qh dia\ to\ th=s basilei/as paidia\n diapratto/menos su\n meiraki/ois to\ ku=ros ei)lhfe/nai. ou(=tos o( *ku=ros filosofi/as, ei) kai/ tis a)/llos, e)/mpeiros h)=n, h(/ntina para\ toi=s ma/gois e)paideu/qh: dikaiosu/nhn te kai\ a)lh/qeian e)dida/xqh, kata\ dh/ tinas patri/ous no/mous kaqestw=tas *persw=n toi=s a)ri/stois. o(/ti *ku=ros, o( *persw=n basileu/s, ou(/tws e)klh/qh dia\ to\ e)n th=| basili/nda legome/nh| paidia=| kurieu=sai tw=n h(li/kwn.

Cyrus the Great, c.599 BCE-529 BCE; see generally OCD(4) s.v. Cyrus(1), and again kappa 2778.
[1] See under pi 1374. (For Kambyses see also alpha 1916, alpha 3894, epsilon 360, kappa 2778, omicron 210, pi 721, sigma 439.)
[2] Xenophon, Cyropaedia 1.2.1 (web address 1).
[3] This story is told by Herodotus at 1.114.1 (web address 2); cf. beta 161. It implies a Greek etymology for Cyrus's name (cf. kappa 2775), but in Persian his name was Kurash (see web address 3).
[4] Nicolaus of Damascus FGrH 90 F67.
[5] For basilinda cf. beta 160, beta 161.

David Whitehead (augmented notes and keywords; cosmetics) on 19 October 2003@04:09:29.
David Whitehead (augmented notes and keywords) on 14 July 2006@06:33:48.
David Whitehead on 25 March 2013@08:54:19.
Catharine Roth (upgraded links) on 25 March 2013@14:17:07.
David Whitehead on 4 August 2014@06:59:04.
David Whitehead (another x-ref) on 21 June 2016@04:23:06.

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