Oxyathres of Heraclea
Encyclopedia
Oxyathres was a son of Dionysius
, tyrant
of Heraclea
and of Amastris
, the daughter of the brother of Darius III Codomannus
, also called Oxyathres
. He succeeded, together with his brother Clearchus, to the sovereignty of Heraclea on the death of Dionysius, 306 BC
: but the government was administered by Amastris
during the minority of her two sons. Soon after the young men had attained to manhood and taken the direction of affairs into their own hands, they caused their mother to be put to death (284 BC
): but this act of parricide brought upon them the immediate vengeance of Lysimachus
, who made himself master of Heraclea, and put both Clearchus and Oxyathres to death. According to Diodorus
, they had reigned seventeen years; but their death should be assigned to the year 284 BC.
Dionysius of Heraclea
Dionysius was a tyrant of Heraclea on the Euxine . He was a son of Clearchus, who had assumed the tyranny in his native place. When Clearchus died , he was first succeeded by his brother Satyrus, who was reigning as guardian for Clearchus' sons Timotheus and Dionysius...
, tyrant
Tyrant
A tyrant was originally one who illegally seized and controlled a governmental power in a polis. Tyrants were a group of individuals who took over many Greek poleis during the uprising of the middle classes in the sixth and seventh centuries BC, ousting the aristocratic governments.Plato and...
of Heraclea
Heraclea Pontica
Heraclea Pontica , an ancient city on the coast of Bithynia in Asia Minor, at the mouth of the river Lycus. It was founded by the Greek city-state of Megara c.560-558 and was named after Heracles who the Greeks believed entered the underworld at a cave on the adjoining Archerusian promontory .The...
and of Amastris
Amasra
Amasra is a small Black Sea port town in the Bartın Province, Turkey. The town is today much appreciated for its beaches and natural setting, which has made tourism the most important activity for its inhabitants...
, the daughter of the brother of Darius III Codomannus
Darius III of Persia
Darius III , also known by his given name of Codomannus, was the last king of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia from 336 BC to 330 BC....
, also called Oxyathres
Oxyathres of Persia
Oxyathres was a brother of the Persian king Darius III Codomannus...
. He succeeded, together with his brother Clearchus, to the sovereignty of Heraclea on the death of Dionysius, 306 BC
306 BC
Year 306 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tremulus and Arvina...
: but the government was administered by Amastris
Amastris
Amastris also called Amastrine, was a Persian Princess. She was the daughter of Oxyathres, the brother of the Persian King Darius III.-Marriages:...
during the minority of her two sons. Soon after the young men had attained to manhood and taken the direction of affairs into their own hands, they caused their mother to be put to death (284 BC
284 BC
Year 284 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tucca and Denter/Dentatus...
): but this act of parricide brought upon them the immediate vengeance of Lysimachus
Lysimachus
Lysimachus was a Macedonian officer and diadochus of Alexander the Great, who became a basileus in 306 BC, ruling Thrace, Asia Minor and Macedon.-Early Life & Career:...
, who made himself master of Heraclea, and put both Clearchus and Oxyathres to death. According to Diodorus
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...
, they had reigned seventeen years; but their death should be assigned to the year 284 BC.