§3.120.1κατὰ δέ κου μάλιστα τὴν Καμβύσεω νοῦσον ἐγίνετο τάδε.
About the time of Cambyses' illness, the following occurred.
ὑπὸ Κύρου κατασταθεὶς ἦν Σαρδίων ὕπαρχος Ὀροίτης ἀνὴρ Πέρσης·
There was a Persian named Oroetes, who had been appointed governor of Sardis by Cyrus.
οὗτος ἐπεθύμησε πρήγματος οὐκ ὁσίου· οὔτε γάρ τι παθὼν οὔτε ἀκούσας μάταιον ἔπος πρὸς Πολυκράτεος τοῦ Σαμίου, οὐδὲ ἰδὼν πρότερον, ἐπεθύμεε λαβὼν αὐτὸν ἀπολέσαι, ὡς μὲν οἱ πλεῦνες λέγουσι, διὰ τοιήνδε τινὰ αἰτίην.
This man conceived a desire for an unholy deed; for although he had neither suffered any harm nor heard any insulting word from Polycrates of Samos, nor had even seen him before, he desired to capture and destroy him, as most people say, for some such reason as this.
§3.120.2ἐπὶ τῶν βασιλέος θυρέων κατήμενον τόν τε Ὀροίτεα καὶ ἄλλον Πέρσην τῷ οὔνομα εἶναι Μιτροβάτεα, νομοῦ ἄρχοντα τοῦ ἐν Δασκυλείῳ, τούτους ἐκ λόγων ἐς νείκεα συμπεσεῖν, κρινομένων δὲ περὶ ἀρετῆς εἰπεῖν τὸν Μιτροβάτεα τῷ Ὀροίτῃ προφέροντα
While Oroetes and another Persian named Mitrobates, the ruler of the province of Dascyleium, were sitting at the King's gates, they fell into a quarrel from words.
§3.120.3σὺ γὰρ ἐν ἀνδρῶν λόγῳ, ὃς βασιλέι νῆσον Σάμον πρὸς τῷ σῷ νομῷ προσκειμένην οὐ προσεκτήσαο, ὧδε δή τι ἐοῦσαν εὐπετέα χειρωθῆναι, τὴν τῶν τις ἐπιχωρίων πεντεκαίδεκα ὁπλίτῃσι ἐπαναστὰς ἔσχε καὶ νῦν αὐτῆς τυραννεύει; §3.120.4οἳ μὲν δή μιν φασὶ τοῦτο ἀκούσαντα καὶ ἀλγήσαντα τῷ ὀνείδεϊ ἐπιθυμῆσαι οὐκ οὕτω τὸν εἴπαντα ταῦτα τίσασθαι ὡς Πολυκράτεα πάντως ἀπολέσαι, διʼ ὅντινα κακῶς ἤκουσε.
As they were disputing about their merit, Mitrobates said to Oroetes by way of reproach: "Are you to be counted among men, who have not acquired for the King the island of Samos, which lies close to your province, and is so very easy to be subdued, which one of its natives, having risen up with fifteen heavy-armed men, took and now rules as tyrant?" Some indeed say that upon hearing this, and being stung by the insult, he desired not so much to avenge himself on the one who said these things, as to destroy Polycrates by all means, on whose account he had been ill spoken of.