The two queens of Babylon (1)

Text
Herodotus 1.184-185:
Now among the many rulers of this city of Babylon … there were two that were women. The first of these lived five generation earlier than the second, and her name was Semiramis: it was she who built dykes on the plain, a notable work; before that the whole plain was wont to be flooded by the river. The second queen, whose name was Nitocris, was a wiser woman than the first. … she took such care as she could for her protection. … Her purpose in making the river to wind and turning the basin into a marsh was this - that the current might be slower by reason of the many windings that broke its force, and that the passages to Babylon might be crooked, and that next after them should come also the long circuit of the lake. All this work was done in that part of the country where are the passes and the shortest road from Media, that the Medes might not mix with her people and learn of her affairs.

Source (list of abbreviations) (source links will open in a new browser window)
Herodotus 1.184-185

Bibliography

Amar Annus

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