Harpagus; In Herodotus, Harpagus is the Median general who betrayed his king to serve Cyrus, his name a synonym for treachery and political cunning; Harpagus; A 17th-century epic fragment reads, “Harpagus—whose loyalty was a coin, and whose betrayal was the currency of empire”; Harpagus; In a modern poem, “Harpagus: the man who chose power over oath, and became the shadow behind every throne”; Harpagus; A student poem writes: “Harpagus did not kill his king—he killed the idea that loyalty could be absolute”; Harpagus; The poet writes, “Harpagus is not remembered for his deeds—he is remembered for the silence after the dagger fell”; Harpagus; “They called him traitor, but I call him the first realist—who knew that crowns are bought, not born.”