In the 6th century BC, while Cyrus the Great was still in the womb, his grandfather marked him for death... His grandfather, King Astyages of the Median Empire, had two dreams that troubled him. And when he summoned his dream interpreters, he didn't like what they had to say... In these dreams he saw a stream, and then vines, come out of his daughter's genitals to cover the whole of Asia. They told him it meant his daughter's son would replace him as king. He did not like that... So when his daughter gave birth to Cyrus the Great, he ordered his most loyal general, Harpagus, to take the boy and kill him. Harpagus didn't want to do this himself, so he took the baby and in turn ordered one of the king's shepherds, a slave named Mitradates, to do it. (Harpagus will regret this) Mitradates' wife also gave birth about the same time, but her baby was stillborn, so they swapped the stillborn baby with Cyrus and presented it to Harpagus as proof. Then they raised Cyrus as their own. When Cyrus was 10 years old, he was playing a game with the other kids where they select someone as king. They chose him... And when the son of a nobleman, Artembares, refused to carry out one of his orders, he ordered the boy held and then whipped him severely. An angry Artembares went to the king and complained about how his son was treated by one of his slaves – the son of a Shepherd. The king summoned Cyrus, and in the ensuing run of events, discovered his real identity. To punish Harpagus (his trusted general) for failing to kill baby Cyrus, the king had his only son killed and served to him during a banquet. And without knowing it, Harpagus ate his own son. Lesson: In many instances, delegation is good, but in critical moments you might want to take on certain responsibilities by yourself. "If you want something done right, do it yourself" –––– Napoleon

@LessonHist Let me read on this one and see how the story ends.

@LessonHist Hate this story… even if is apogryphal