Otanes
Otanes (Old Persian: Utāna, Greek: Ὀτάνης) is a name given to several figures that appear in the Histories of Herodotus. One or more of these figures may be the same person.
In the Histories
Otanes, son of Pharnaspes
He was regarded as a
Histories 3.68.2 and 3.70 portrays this Otanes as the first person to suspect the king of not being the son of Cyrus, and that Otanes subsequently took the initiative to overthrow him. Supposedly, Otanes has his suspicions confirmed by his daughter Phaidyme, who—as one of the kings wives—establishes that the false Smerdis has no ears, thus identifying him as the same man whom
In Histories 3.139-3.149, Otanes ("one of the seven", 3.141.1) reappears as commander of Achaemenid troops during their recapture of Samos for Syloson, the brother of Polycrates.
Otanes, son of Sisamnes
In Histories 5 (Histories 5.25-5.28),[4] Herodotus speaks of an Otanes - a son of a previously mentioned Sisamnes (3.31) - who served as a judge under Cambyses II and later under Darius I, and who following Darius' expedition against the "Scythians", and who succeeded Megabazus as the governor/supreme commander of the united forces of the peoples of the Aegean (5.26.1), and who subjugated Byzantium and other cities during the Ionian revolt (5.123.1, 5.116.1). This Otanes married one of Darius' daughters (5.116.1).
Otanes in Histories 7
In Histories 7.40.4, an Otanes is named as the father of Xerxes' charioteer Patiramphes.
In Histories 7.61.2, an Otanes - named as father of Amestris, one of Xerxes' wives - commands the forces of the Persis in Xerxes' campaign against Greece. This Otanes is perhaps[5] the same Otanes as the one of Histories 3 and/or of 7.62.2 and/or of 7.82.1.
In Histories 7.62.2, an Otanes (perhaps
In Histories 7.82.1, an Otanes (perhaps[5] the same Otanes as the one of 7.61.2 and/or of 7.62.2) is father of Smerdomenes, one of the six commanders of infantry.
Legacy
As a figurative defender of democracy in
Otanes also appears in certain works of fiction and drama. James Baldwin fictionalizes the childhood of Otanes in his short story, "The Boy and The Robbers" from his book, Fifty Famous People, a book of short stories".[8] In addition, the Dutch TV movie Volk en vaderliefde ('People and Fatherly Love', 1976) is about Otanes and the coup.[9]
References
- ^ Unruh, Daniel (2021). "Loaves in a Cold Oven: Tyranny and Sterility in Herodotus' Histories". The Classical World. 114 (3): 281–308.
- ^ Barbato, Matteo (2021). "For Themistocles of Phrearrhioi, On Account of Honour': Ostracism, Honour and the Nature of Athenian Politics". Classical Quarterly. 71 (2). Oxford: 500–519.
- ISBN 9780199238804.
- ^ Perseus Under Philologic: Hdt.%205.25.1. Archived from the original on 2020-03-10. Retrieved 2019-01-13.
- ^ a b c Schmitt, Rüdiger (2012), "Otanes", Encyclopedia Iranica, New York: Iranica online.
- ISBN 0872201503.
- ^ Berlin, Isaiah (2004). Liberty. Oxford University Press. p. 33.
- ISBN 1-4191-1963-X. Archived from the originalon 2014-08-26. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
- IMDb
Sources
- Herodotus (1862). History of Herodotus, Volume 2. pp. 384–396.
External links
Achaemenid Satraps of Lydia (546–334 BC) | |
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