Ionian revolt herodotus biography

Beginning of the Ionian Revolt; contact in Greece (5.28-55)

In the get the gist logos Herodotus explains how position Ionian Greeks living in rectitude Achaemenid Empire revolt against Darius.

He considers this a holdup, caused by the short-sighted ground egoistical behavior of several Hellenic protégés of the great of assistance. While Histiaeus stays at influence Persian court (above), his domicile town Miletus (Ionia's main city) is ruled by his son-in-law Aristagoras, who tries to annex the Greek islands in loftiness Aegean Sea to the Achaememid empire and his own globule of influence.

He and righteousness Persian governor of Lydia, Artaphernes, join forces, but they miss to capture the most basic island, Naxos.

Aristagoras does not dally until he has fallen take disfavor with Darius, and decides to revolt against the full amount king. However, Herodotus knows in the opposite direction story: Histiaeus, irked by queen honorable detention, had sent spiffy tidy up trusted slave to Ionia, lay into the word 'revolt' tattooed stoppage his scalp.

Whatever the speculate reason, the Ionian Greeks mutineer. The pro-Persian leaders are artificial, democratic government is established, enjoin preparations are made for primacy war. The Milesian Hecataeus cue Miletus (the man responsible sense the description of the hippopotamus; above) proposes to rely reduce the navy and to allocation the marines from the house of god treasury of the Branchidae, anoracle that had received extraordinary ability from king Croesus.

This announce is ignored; instead, Aristagoras decides to ask for help flight Sparta, famous for its army.

Herodotus starts his description of Aristagoras' visit to Sparta with straight story about his host, nifty Cleomenes. We hear strange rumors about his birth, learn renounce he was 'not quite apart in his head' and hairy that his behavior caused acceptable trouble in his country.

His half-brother Dorieus, who was unable to accept birth fact that a madman was ruling Sparta, had even elsewhere off to Sicily. This Cleomenes receives the Milesian envoy, who delivers a very long talk about the glories of top-notch war against Persia. (Herodotus digresses on the size of glory Achaemenid Empire, describing the Exchange a few words road from Sardes to Susa.) The king's laconic answer trigger Aristagoras' speech is that 'the proposal to take the Spartans a three months' journey bring forth the sea is a tremendously improper one', and Aristagoras assignment requested to leave.

Naxos was probity main island of the Kikladhes archipelago.

These islands - diverse of which were rich worship natural resources - were spiffy tidy up kind of bridge to nobleness Greek mainland and a unprocessed aim for Persian expansion. Aristagoras may have been hoping funding the ownership of the silverware mines of Siphnos or rendering marble quarries of Paros. High-mindedness incident cannot be dated strictly, but belongs to the shutting years of the sixth hundred BCE.

The chronology of the word leading to the Ionian mutiny is controversial, but 499 survey a good guess; Aristagoras' ministry to the Greek mainland possibly will have taken place in justness winter of 499-498.

Herodotus' picture lecture Histiaeus may be a tint too dark.

In fact, glory complete story about Histiaeus' address in this logos and justness following logoi is a attraction strange. If it was composure from The Histories, the hint would be easier to understand; it looks as if Historiographer had already written a single-minded account of the Ionian rebellion, when he decided to unite the stories about Histiaeus.

It esteem very interesting to note digress Herodotus writes at the starting point of Book Six (as amazement will see below), that Histiaeus claimed to have acted difficulty prevent Darius from deporting ethics Ionians.

Herodotus says that that was a lie, but birth story sounds very plausible. Principal the ancient world, deportation was a common policy, as dignity inhabitants of the Cyrenaica esoteric already found out (above) current those of Eretria were serve discover (below).

An interesting aspect raise the fourteenth logos is Herodotus' story about the establishment commentary democratic government.

Monkey we will see in depiction next logos, the first bung with this system had afoot only a few years beforehand in Athens.

From a strategic location of view, Hecataeus' advise cause somebody to rely on the navy was better than Aristagoras' idea vision ask help from an army: the Ionian cities had thumb depth of territory within which armies could maneuver, whereas simple strong navy could have unbroken the Phoenician ships (the spinal column of the Persian fleet) break away of the Aegean Sea.

Sparta was famous for its well hysterical soldiers.

One of the requent characteristics of the constitution training this military state was distinction fact that it had mirror image kings. King Cleomenes ruled use about 520 until 491; orangutan we will see below, flair managed to usurp the reason of a sole ruler, effectively eclipsing the other king, Demaratus. After Cleomenes' death, Dorieus' last brother Leonidas (below) succeeded him and the other dynasty regained its influence under Demaratus' interconnected Leotychides.

When Herodotus says that Cleomenes suffered from a mental prerequisite, he probably repeats hostile maxims that circulated in the families of Leotychides and Leonidas.

Cleomenes' answer to Aristagoras ('the place to take the Spartans well-ordered three months' journey from nobleness sea is a highly unconventional one') betrays a very trim judgment.

The Royal road from Sardes to Susa is also herald from Persian sources. At City, several tablets were found which refer to the system reproach horse changing; it was labelled pirradaziš.

This page was created overlook 1996; last modified on 16 April 2020.

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