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Pythagoras’ Greed Cup and Other Lesser-Known Ancient World Facts

Khalid Elhassan July 31, 2020 34 min

Roman Empire - Roman emperor — The assassination of Caligula. Quora

14. Gruesome Vengeance, and Payback

Pharaoh Amasis had died by the time Cambyses invaded Egypt, and had been succeeded by his son, Pharaoh Psamtik III. Enraged at Phanes, Psamtik tricked the Greek general’s sons into meeting him, took them captive, and had them executed. He then had their blood drained and mixed with wine, which he quaffed down along with his subordinates.

Cambyses II capturing Egyptian Pharaoh Psamtik III. Wikimedia

Phanes got his revenge by leading the Persian army into Egypt, acting as Cambyses’ guide and military advisor. With the mercenary general’s assistance, the Persians defeated and captured Psamtik. Phanes then engineered the execution of his sons’ murderer by uncovering and informing Cambyses of a plot by the captive pharaoh to stir up a revolt.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.