IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ Συγγραφή : Ντόουσον Μαρία - Δήμητρα Μετάφραση : Νάκας Ιωάννης Για παραπομπή : Ντόουσον Μαρία - Δήμητρα , "Hecatomnus", Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Κωνσταντινούπολη URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=7892> Περίληψη : Ruler from Mylasa of Caria. In 392/391 BC he was appointed satrap of Caria by the Persian king . He participated in the campaign of the Persians against Cyprus and the king Evagoras I. However, he is considered to have secretly allied with Euagoras, causing problems in his relations with the Persian court. He died in 377/376 BC, leaving his son Mausolus as his heir. Άλλα Ονόματα Τόπος και Χρόνος Γέννησης 5th c.-Caria Τόπος και Χρόνος Θανάτου 377/376 BC Κύρια Ιδιότητα Satrap of Caria 1. Family Hecatomnus was the son of Hyssaldomus or Hyssalomus, whose name is only attested in inscriptions. His wife was probably his sister Ava, following the Carian custom of dynastic endogamy. This custom was later practiced by his children: Mausolus, Artemisia, Idrieus, Ada and Pixodarus, who in succession ruled Caria as satraps after his death.1 2. Activity Hecatomnus is considered to have initially been a dynast of his birthplace Mylasa. In the early 4th c. BC, probably in 392/391 BC, he was appointed as the satrap of the newly-formed by the Persian king Artaxerxes II (405/404-359/358 BC) prefecture of Caria. It should be underlined that the choice of a local satrap was unusual for the Persian Empire. His dominion did not probably include Halicarnassus neither Latmus, whereas the rest of the Greek coastal cities of Caria came under his control after the concluding of the King's Peace (Peace of Antalcidas) in 386 BC.2 According to Diodorus, in 391/390 BC, Hecatomnus was summoned by the Persian king to take part in the campaign of the Persians against Evagoras I (435-374/373 BC), king of Salamis in Cyprus. He was probably in charge of the naval forces. Diodorus, however, mentions no battles, maybe because there were no important clashes between the two opponents. The satrap of Caria might have been recalled around 389/388 BC by Artaxerxes to protect Caria from the attacks made by the Athenians under Thrasybulus to the coasts of Asia Minor.3 In the Suda lexicon a story of anecdotal character is cited, according to which Hecatomnus asked the physician Dexippus from Kos to save his two sons, Mausolus and Pixodarus, who were suffering from a certain disease. Dexippus accepted to cure his sons under the condition that Hecatomnus, “king of Caria”, would stop his attacks against “the Carians”. According to modern scholars, such an event is historically implausible, since this information is not verified by other sources. Furthermore, Dexippus from Kos had no reasons to be interested in any warfare inside Caria. As a consequence, it has been considered that it is a mistake of the author and that the word “Carians”must be corrected as “Coans”. Scholars suppose that, if the aforementioned testimony is correct, the war between Hecatomnus and Kos can be dated around 388/387 BC.4 Diodorus also reveals a secret collaboration between Hecatomnus and Evagoras I, king of Cyprus, during the period Artaxerxes II was preparing a new attack against Cyprus (386/385 BC). More specifically, he reports that Hecatomnus helped Evagoras I financially, in order to maintain his mercenary troops.5 Furthermore, around 380 BC, the Athenian orator Isocrates mentions Δημιουργήθηκε στις 3/10/2021 Σελίδα 1/5 IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ Συγγραφή : Ντόουσον Μαρία - Δήμητρα Μετάφραση : Νάκας Ιωάννης Για παραπομπή : Ντόουσον Μαρία - Δήμητρα , "Hecatomnus", Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Κωνσταντινούπολη URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=7892> Hecatomnus with the title “epistathmos of Caria”. He also gives the information that the ruler of Caria was unsatisfied with the Persian Empire and suggests that he planned an apostacy.6 3. Coinage Hecatomnus minted silver and bronze coins according to the Milesian and Rhodian standards, which bore inscriptions with his name. The use of two different standards aimed at the fulfillment of needs and the facilitation of numismatic exchanges in every region of his satrapy, since in western Caria there was a wide use of the coins of Miletus, whereas in the south of the satrapy Rhodian coins were used.7 4. Monuments of Hecatomnus Hecatomnus, eager to show his power as the satrap of Caria, started building monuments in the area of Mylasa which bore his name. More specifically, at Labraunda, the base of a statue with a votive inscription of him was discovered. Moreover, an inscription found at the sanctuary of Sinuri testifies the offering of an altar by the satrap of Caria. Though only these monuments are documented as offerings of Hecatomnus by the inscriptions, scholars assume that Hecatomnus must have participated more actively in the embellishment of these two sanctuaries of Caria in the early 4th century BC.8 Furthermore, he must have kept close relations with Caunus, in south Caria, since it is documented, again from inscriptions, that he was honoured by the city with the erection of a statue.9 5. Death We have no literary sources informing us about the cause and the date of Hecatomnus’death. Taking, though, into consideration the narration of Diodorus, according to which Mausolus, his first son and immediate successor, died in 353/352 BC, after 24 years of ruling Caria, we estimate that Hecatomnus died around 377/376 BC.10 6. Evaluation and judgments A decisive role concerning the evaluation of Hecatomnus is played by his collaboration with Evagoras I, an opponent of the Persian king. This conspiracy of Hecatomnus against the Persian Empire has been questioned by modern research, since he would hardly have any personal gain from such a movement. Meanwhile he remained in power until his death and the regular succession by his son Mausolus, is considered to be proof of the maintenance of good relations between the family of Hecatomnus and the Persian court. It has also been suggested that the whole matter was a trick of Evagoras I, who created such a rumor aiming to the support of the Egyptians against the Persians.11 However, ancient authors very clearly document the plot of Hecatomnus against the Persian king, which could have been dictated from the personal ambitions of the satrap of Caria and his hope to create an independent kingdom. For this reason he favoured the weakening of the Persian Empire and acted secretly towards this end by financially supporting Evagoras I.12 Hecatomnus was the founder of the Hecatomnid dynasty and inaugurated a period of prosperity for Caria. He made his birthplace, Mylasa, the capital and administrative centre of his satrapy.13 He encouraged the diffusion of Greek culture in his dominion, as indicated by the Greek inscriptions and the coins which bore his name. Also, it is considered possible that he financed building programmes for the worship of the sanctuaries at Labraunda and Sinuri, thus starting the tradition of benefactions by his dynasty in important cities and sanctuaries of Caria.14 1. DGRBM II (1880), p. 364‑365, see Hecatomnos (C.P. Mason); RE VII.2, cols. 2787‑2789, see Hekatomnos (U. Kahrstedt); Hornblower, S., Mausolus (Oxford 1982), p. 36‑37, n. 5, 6, 9, p. 316, n. 177, p. 359; Ruzicka, S., Politics of a Persian Dynasty: The Hecatomnids in the Fourth Century BC (Oklahoma 1992), p. 15‑16. The origins of the dynasty of Hekatomnus can be traced back to the early 5th c. BC. In the time of the Δημιουργήθηκε στις 3/10/2021 Σελίδα 2/5 IΔΡΥΜA ΜΕΙΖΟΝΟΣ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΣΜΟΥ Συγγραφή : Ντόουσον Μαρία - Δήμητρα Μετάφραση : Νάκας Ιωάννης Για παραπομπή : Ντόουσον Μαρία - Δήμητρα , "Hecatomnus", Εγκυκλοπαίδεια Μείζονος Ελληνισμού, Κωνσταντινούπολη URL: <http://www.ehw.gr/l.aspx?id=7892> Ionian revolt Herodotus (V.118) mentions Pixodarus, son of Mausolus, who was then the ruler of Kindye. Based on the common names of the rulers of Kindye in the 5th c. BC and of the satraps of Caria in the 4th c. BC there has been suggested that Pixodarus and Mausolus mentioned by Herodotus can be identified as ancestors of the Hekatomnos dynasty. As for Hyssoldomus, father of Hecatomnus, it is assumed he was the ruler of Mylasa and perhaps the first satrap of Caria, see Crampa, J., Labraunda III.2 (Stockholm 1972), p. 7‑8; SEG 12, p. 128, no. 470. 2. RE VII.2, cols. 2787‑2789, see Hekatomnos (U. Kahrstedt); Crampa, J., Labraunda III.2 (Stockholm 1972), pp. 7‑8; Ruzicka, S., Politics of a Persian Dynasty: The Hecatomnids in the Fourth Century BC (Oklahoma 1992), pp. 17‑19; Hornblower, S., Mausolus (Oxford 1982), pp. 36, 38, 85, n. 56. In the early 4th c. BC an administrative reorganization of Asia Minor was made by Artaxerxes II, after the rejection of the peace proposal by the Spartans and because of the fear of an attack by the formers. Thus, Caria and Ionia, being initially part of the satrapy of Lydia, became separate satrapies. It was then that Hecatomnus became the governor of Caria, with his main care being the protection of the province from the Spartans. The exact date of his rise to power is unknown. Older scholars thought 395 BC was the most probable date, since it coincided with the fall of Tissaphernes. In recent publications, though, the year 392/391 BC has been accepted. Furthermore, there has been suggested that Hecatomnus already held an office in the Persian court, like that of the hyparch with economic and military duties. The appointment of a local Carian, with no Iranian origin, as a satrap was an exception for the conditions of the Persian Empire, whereas Hecatomnus is also mentioned by the ancient sources as the ruler or king of Caria (D.