In ages when monarchs were absolute in the foremost countries of the world, the personal ability of the king was a matter of far greater concern than we today realize. In modern times, political and social changes have had their beginnings in the conditions and desires of the people. In the remote years we are now studying, the people were less considered, and their wishes seldom heard. The personal character of the king determined the policy of the ancient state. We have already seen how the welfare--the very fate of Egypt, Babylonia and Assyria depended upon their rulers. Even more pronounced was this in Persia, where subjects, including nobles and princes, acted in unthinking submission to a degree unknown in other lands. In taking up the career of Cyrus the Great we are largely dependent upon the writings of Herodotus and Xenophon. Of Herodotus we have learned something, and concerning Xenophon we may note that besides being a writer and a traveller, he was also an experienced and able general. Herodotus lived some fifty years after the death of Cyrus, and Xenophon was thirty years younger than Herodotus. Both Greeks wrote at length of the great Persian King. When Astyages ascended the throne of Media, Persia was a mere tribute-paying kingdom, insignificant not only in political strength, but in social life, wealth, and culture. It is supposed that Cyrus was sent to the Median court as a hostage from a tribute land. His father ruled in Persia, and we are told that he was greatly impressed as a boy by the difference between the two countries. The subjects over whom his father ruled were many of them soldiers whose days were spent with training and physical exercise. They ate and drank moderately, and while they lacked the culture and refinement of the northern kingdom, they were just coming into the strength and vigour which the Medians lost upon their conquest of Assyria and subsequent abundance of wealth. Tradition pictures the youth clinging to the simple habits of his early life, and caring little for the pomp and ceremony around him. He delighted in riding and liked the hunt best of all amusements, while he shortly became the companion of Astyages during the king's leisure hours, bringing refreshing life and boyish candor into a degenerate court.