The Death of Polycrates re-examined

Abstract

A fresh re-examination of the Herodotean story of the death of Polykrates, the mighty tyrant of Samos, at the hands of Oroites, the rebellious Persian satrap of Lydia, in 523/522 BC, might seem an unproductive endeavour given the absence of other accounts and the large amount of modern literature already written on the topic. However, careful contextualization of the events and a better grasp of Herodotos’s literary conception and techniques allow us to go beyond the tragic perspective of the events which attracted the focus of the historian of Halikarnassos. It is surmised that despite Herodotos’s narrative, in the beginning, Oroites was genuinely interested in gaining Polykrates’s cooperation, as he probably chose to support Bardiya/Smerdis against Kambyses. This authentic interest on the part of the Persian satrap, as well as other circumstantial facts that can be established, reveals that the trip of Polykrates to Magnesia to meet Oroites was not as blindfolded as it is depicted by Herodotos. Dissent between the two leaders, or more likely, the better alternative that the satrap found that he had in replacing Polykrates with Maiandrios at the head of Samos contributed to the terrible end of the former.

Keywords

• Maiandrios
• Oroites
• Persia
• Polykrates
• Samos
• tyrant

Polykrates'in Ölümü: Yeni Bir İnceleme

Abstract

Samos'un güçlü tiranı Polykrates'in, Lidya'nın asi Pers satrapı Oroites'in elinde M.Ö. 523/522'de ölümüne ilişkin Herodotos anlatısının yeniden incelenmesi, başka kaynaklar olmaması ve halihazırda yazılmış çok sayıda modern literatür dikkate alındığına verimsiz bir çaba gibi gözünebilir. Ancak olayların dikkatli bir bağlamında tartışılması ve Herodotos'un edebiyat anlayışının ve tekniklerinin daha iyi anlaşılması ile Halikarnassos tarihçisinin odaklandığı olayların trajik perspektifinin ötesine geçmek mümkündür. Herodotos'un anlatımına rağmen, başlangıçta Oroites'in Polykrates'in işbirliğini kazanmakla gerçekten ilgilendiği, muhtemelen Kambyses'e karşı Bardiya/Smerdis'i desteklemeyi seçtiği düşünülmektedir. Pers satrapının bu gerçek ilgisi ve tespit edilebilecek diğer bazı koşullar, Polykrates'in Oroites ile tanışmak için Magnesia'ya yaptığı yolculuğun Herodotos'un tasvir ettiği kadar gözleri bağlı bir eylem olmadığını ortaya koyuyor. İki lider arasındaki görüş ayrılığı ya da daha büyük ihtimalle satrapın, Samos'un başında Maiandrios'u getirmekte bulduğu daha iyi alternatif, Polykrates'in korkunç sonuna katkıda bulundu.

Keywords

• Maiandrios
• Oroites
• Persler
• Polykrates
• Samos
• tiran

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