Masistes

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Masistes ( old Persian Mathišhta, Greek  Μασίστης ; † probably 478 BC ) was a member of the Persian Achaemenid dynasty in the 5th century BC. He was a son of the Great King Darius I and Atossa and thus a younger full brother of the Great King Xerxes I.

With Herodotus

The person of Masistes has come down only from the histories of Herodotus . From his brother he was 480 BC. Next to Mardonios one of the six leaders of one of the three pillars of the invading army that was to attack Greece. On the march they had led their army column along the Greek coast parallel to the fleet.

Masistes is not mentioned in the battles against the Greeks. In fact, at the time of the Battle of Plataiai, he was already back in Sardis , where Xerxes I had retired after the defeat of Salamis . Here Masistes insulted a Persian officer named Artayntes , who fled the Battle of Mykale , for his cowardice and effeminate behavior. The general wanted to murder the masistes because of this insult, but he was saved in time by the bodyguard Xenagoras from the attack.

Shortly afterwards, while they were still in Sardis, Xerxes fell in love with the Masistes wife. In order to know this in his immediate environment, the great king had ordered the engagement of her daughter Artaynte to his eldest son Darius . After the royal court had returned to Susa and Xerxes had recognized the beauty of his daughter-in-law, he fell in love with her and dropped the affair with her mother. This new affair quickly became public after Xerxes had granted his lover's request and given her his royal robe, which Queen Amestris had once made for him. After Queen Amestris became aware of the affair, she harbored no grudge against her daughter-in-law, but rather blamed her mother, the Masistes' wife, for it. When the Great King celebrated his birthday, on which he traditionally gave gifts to all subjects, the Queen asked him to have the Masistes wife as a present. Since the Great King could not refuse this request according to the old law, he asked Masistes to separate from his wife and instead marry one of the royal daughters. But when Masistes refused this for his honor, Xerxes declared him a traitor for ingratitude. Queen Amestris was able to take revenge on his wife by having her breast, nose, ears, mouth and tongue mutilated by royal lance- bearers (" apple-bearers ") and the breasts were thrown for the dogs to eat. She then sent her sister-in-law to her husband's house, so marked.

Masistes then fled with his adult sons to Bactria , of which he was the satrap , in order to organize an uprising against the king from there. But Xerxes had sent an army after him, by which he was defeated and killed with his sons.

identity

The authenticity of the Masistes, as well as the story of his fall, are hardly verifiable, especially since he is only mentioned in Herodotus. The coincidence in the identity of the name of the officer he offended, whose retaliation he just escaped, and his own daughter, who indirectly caused the end of his and his family, is striking.

However, the final act of a long-running conflict of succession to the throne within the Achaemenid dynasty is also recognized in the story of the Masistes, as it is recognized as being identical to the person of Prince Ariamenes described by Plutarch . Ariamenes was the older but not " purple-born " half-brother of Xerxes, who lived in 485 BC. Chr. Had willingly given up his claims to the throne and in return was placed by Xerxes in the dignity of "the greatest at his court", ie the first man in the state after the great king. The name “Masistes” would therefore reflect the title “the greatest” (old Persian: maθiišta / mathišhta ; ancient Greek: μέγιστος / mégistos ), which in turn led Herodotus to the wrong assumption that he recognized Ariamenes' proper name in the title. Ariamenes could therefore, perhaps under the impression of the defeat of Xerxes against the Greeks, have revived his claim to the throne, which is symbolized by Herodotus with the acceptance of the royal robe by his daughter, which symbolizes the return of the royal dignity to the rightful heir. Only then would Ariamenes, who incidentally also served as satrap of Bactria, would ultimately have proven inferior in the recent succession dispute with Xerxes and would have been killed.

However, this construction is contrary to the tradition of Plutarch, who reported the death of Ariamenes in the battle of Salamis in 480 BC. Recorded, at least two years before the fall of the Masistes. Herodotus also had an Arsamenes, son of Darius , as leader of the Utier and Myker for the year 480 BC. Mentioned, which should have been identical with Ariamenes.

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b Herodotus : Historíai 7, 82.
  2. ↑ Herodotus: Historíai 7, 121, 3. The two other army columns were led by Tritantaichmes / Gergis and Smerdomenes / Megabyzos .
  3. ↑ Herodotus: Historíai 9, 107.
  4. ↑ Herodotus: Historíai 9, 108.
  5. ↑ Herodotus: Historíai 9, 109.
  6. ↑ Herodotus: Historíai 9, 110.
  7. ↑ Herodotus: Historíai 9, 111.
  8. ↑ Herodotus: Historíai 9, 112.
  9. ↑ Herodotus: Historíai 9, 113. The names of the sons of Masistes are not known.
  10. ^ Plutarch : Moralia 173b – c and 488d – f ( De fraterno amore 18). So by Wiesehöfer, p. 28.
  11. ↑ Plutarch: Moralia 488f ( De fraterno amore 18) and Themistocles 14, 3.
  12. ↑ Herodotus: Historíai 7, 68.
personal data
SURNAME Masistes
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Achaemenid, son of the great king Dareios I, satrap of Bactria
DATE OF BIRTH 6th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 478 BC Chr.