The Essays and Hymns of Synesius of Cyrene, Vol. 2

And Parysatis made this clear, for she lost her love for King Artaxerxes, all on account of the handsome Cyrus Reference to the mother of Cyrus the Younger and Artaxerxes II..

5, 10, 15

2. Thus I lamented aloud and thought my misfortune no small matter. But when time had made me more accustomed to it, reason entered the fray and struggled against my discomfiture until it gradually retired. I became easier in my mind and recovered. But this very Dio has now retaliated with another torrent, having resumed his attack on me with an ally. Against two adversaries, as the proverb says, even Heracles was of no avail, for he could not resist the sons of Molione when they fell upon him from their ambush. Similarly, when he fought the Hydra, they were engaged in single combat for a time, but when the Crab came to her rescue, he might have abandoned the struggle had he not invoked the alliance of Iolaus against her.

20, 25

Truly, it seems to me that I have suffered a similar experience at the hands of Dio, and—alas!—I have no Iolaus as a nephew. For a long time now, forgetful of myself and my arguments, I have been writing elegies and dirges concerning my hair. Yet one might say to me: "You, being the noblest of the bald and a man of generous character—one who does not trouble over the misfortune but even fancies himself over it as if it were good fortune, like when pea-soup is on the table and the scrutiny of brows begins—cannot you endure this essay of Dio? Keep your soul in calm, as the saying goes, just as Odysseus remained undaunted in the face of the dissoluteness of women. Make a struggle to suffer nothing at its hand. What! You say you would not be able? You will be quite able. Just listen to this. You need not even unroll the volume."