It happened however that the presence of the fleet was sufficient, and that it was not necessary to land the soldiers. The prince had indeed taken possession of the heights commanding the road by which Cyrus must enter, but when he found that not only were the mountains behind him occupied by the Hellene soldiers who had accompanied his wife to her home, but that moreover the troops who were preparing to disembark from the fleet would also be in his rear, he abandoned all idea of defending it. And thus Cyrus was able to pass over the mountains unhindered, and enter the city of Tarsus without further difficulty. [Illustration: PERSIAN GALLEY.] Cyrus now invited the prince to visit him as a friend. But Syennesis answered, ‘I have never put myself into the power of one who was more powerful than myself, and I will not do so now.’ The princess however persuaded him to trust to the honour of Cyrus, and he finally accepted the invitation. Like his wife, he took with him a considerable sum of money to assist the rebel, and in return, Cyrus presented him with the usual gifts offered by the Persians to persons of distinction,--a horse with a golden bridle, a sword with a golden sheath, a ring, armlets, and a robe of honour. So little could the Great King rely upon the loyalty of his subjects! In deciding to make his peace with Cyrus, the Cilician prince had probably considered what would be the course best calculated to forward his own interests. By occupying the mountains for a few days, he had made a display of loyalty to the Great King; and having done this, he was anxious on the other hand to secure the favour of Cyrus also, in case he should be the conqueror. VIII CLEARCHUS For twenty days the army halted at Tarsus. It seemed indeed, at one time, that at this point the expedition would break down altogether. For the Hellene troops, on whom Cyrus based all his hopes of conquest, became restive and dissatisfied. They had been engaged to punish the Pisidian marauders, but had now passed the country of the Pisidians, and were naturally beginning to ask themselves what was the real object of the expedition. Their suspicions were increased moreover by the opposition of the Cilician prince. His resistance had certainly been of the feeblest, but still he had made an attempt to stop their passage through his mountains, and had thus declared himself the enemy of Cyrus. What reason could he have had for taking such a course, were it not that he had received instructions from the Great King to bar the passage of Cyrus, because he was a rebel and was advancing to unseat him from his throne? [Illustration: HALL OF THE HUNDRED COLUMNS AT PERSEPOLIS--RESTORED. _See page 3, and illustrations facing pages 47 and 62._]