How reliable is Ctesias?
Although Ctesias claimed that his history was based on Persian archives and state records and therefore was far superior to Herodotus’s history, what survives is full of romantic stories, exotic anecdotes, court gossip, and lists that are of dubious reliability.
Did Xerxes destroy Athens?
The Achaemenid destruction of Athens was accomplished by the Achaemenid Army of Xerxes I during the Second Persian invasion of Greece, and occurred in two phases over a period of two years, in 480–479 BCE.
Who defeated Xerxes 1?
In August 465 BC, Artabanus, the commander of the royal bodyguard and the most powerful official in the Persian court, assassinated Xerxes with the help of a eunuch, Aspamitres.
What type of person was Xerxes?
In short, Xerxes was a weak personality whose faults showed mostly in his religious fanaticism, in his aesthetic enjoyment of beautiful surroundings and he wasted his time on women of pernicious influence at the cost of state-affairs.
What is Xerxes best known for?
519 bce—died 465, Persepolis, Iran), Persian king (486–465 bce), the son and successor of Darius I. He is best known for his massive invasion of Greece from across the Hellespont (480 bce), a campaign marked by the battles of Thermopylae, Salamis, and Plataea.
What is the meaning of ctesias?
Ctesias (/ˈtiːʒəs/; Ancient Greek: Κτησίας, Ktēsíās, 5th century BC), also known as Ctesias the Cnidian or Ctesias of Cnidus, was a Greek physician and historian from the town of Cnidus in Caria, when Caria was part of the Achaemenid Empire.
How do you pronounce nearchus?
- Phonetic spelling of Nearchus. n-EH-aa-r-h-aw-s.
- Examples of in a sentence.
- Translations of Nearchus.
What is Xerxes famous for?
He is best known for his massive invasion of Greece from across the Hellespont (480 bce), a campaign marked by the battles of Thermopylae, Salamis, and Plataea. His ultimate defeat spelled the beginning of the decline of the Achaemenian Empire.
Why is nearchus important?
Acommander under Alexander the Great, Nearchus served as admiral over a fleet that sailed from the coast of the Indian subcontinent to the Euphrates river in distant Mesopotamia. In July 326 b.c. Alexander began the long westward movement, separating his force into three groups. …
Who was Ctesias and what did he do?
Ctesias was a Greek physician who stayed at the court of the Persian king Artaxerxes II Mnemon from 404 to 398/397. He wrote several books about Persia and India. They are now lost but were quoted by ancient authors; consequently, we are able to judge their value as history (low) and as works of art (entertaining).
Who was the son of Xerxes and Amestris?
ARTAXERXES I, a son of Xerxes I and Amestris, whose name Flavius Josephus (Jewish Antiquities 11.6.1.) gives as Cyrus, Persian king 465-64 to 424-23 B.C. Greek authors (first Plutarch, Artoxerxes 1.1) give him the surname “Longhanded, Long-armed” (Makrocheir, Latin Macrochir, Longimanus, New Persian Ardašīr-e derāzdast).
When did Ctesias of Cnidus stay in Persia?
Ctesias of Cnidus: Greek physician who stayed at the court of the Persian king Artaxerxes II Mnemon from 404 to 398/397. Ctesias wrote several books about Persia and India.
Who was the Greek physician who treated Artaxerxes?
In 405 bc Ctesias traveled to the Persian court, where he remained as physician under the rulers Darius II and Artaxerxes II. He claimed to have treated Artaxerxes for wounds inflicted by his brother, Cyrus, at the Battle of Cunaxa in 401 (an episode related by Xenophon in Anabasis, Book I).