For other uses of the word DatiThere are several uses of the word Dati:*Cella Dati, a comune in northern Italy*Leonardo Dati, an Italian friar and humanist *Rachida Dati, a French right-wing woman politician, appointed Minister of Justice of France in 2007...
, see the disambiguation page.
Datis or
Datus was a Median admiral who served the
Persian EmpireThe Achaemenid Empire or Persian Empire was the successor state of the Median Empire, ruling over significant portions of what would become Greater Iran. The Persian and the Median Empire taken together are also known as the Medo-Persian Empire, succeeding the Neo-Assyrian Empire...
, under Darius the Great. He is most notable for his joint leadership with
ArtaphernesArtaphrenes, was the brother of Darius Hystaspis, and satrap of Sardis.It was he who received the embassy from Athens sent probably by Cleisthenes in 497 BC, and subsequently warned the Athenians to receive back the tyrant Hippias....
of the Persian forces in the first campaign of the Persian Wars against the Greeks.
Datis was one of the Persian commanders responsible for the siege of Naxos and the sacking of
EretriaEretria was a polis in Ancient Greece, located on the western coast of the island of Euboea , south of Chalcis , facing the coast of Attica across the narrow Euboian Gulf. Eretria was an important Greek polis in the 6th/5th century BC. However, it lost its importance already in antiquity...
in 490 BC.
For other uses of the word DatiThere are several uses of the word Dati:*Cella Dati, a comune in northern Italy*Leonardo Dati, an Italian friar and humanist *Rachida Dati, a French right-wing woman politician, appointed Minister of Justice of France in 2007...
, see the disambiguation page.
Datis or
Datus was a Median admiral who served the
Persian EmpireThe Achaemenid Empire or Persian Empire was the successor state of the Median Empire, ruling over significant portions of what would become Greater Iran. The Persian and the Median Empire taken together are also known as the Medo-Persian Empire, succeeding the Neo-Assyrian Empire...
, under Darius the Great. He is most notable for his joint leadership with
ArtaphernesArtaphrenes, was the brother of Darius Hystaspis, and satrap of Sardis.It was he who received the embassy from Athens sent probably by Cleisthenes in 497 BC, and subsequently warned the Athenians to receive back the tyrant Hippias....
of the Persian forces in the first campaign of the Persian Wars against the Greeks.
Datis was one of the Persian commanders responsible for the siege of Naxos and the sacking of
EretriaEretria was a polis in Ancient Greece, located on the western coast of the island of Euboea , south of Chalcis , facing the coast of Attica across the narrow Euboian Gulf. Eretria was an important Greek polis in the 6th/5th century BC. However, it lost its importance already in antiquity...
in 490 BC. He was also leader of the Persian assault force on the Athenians at the
Battle of MarathonThe Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. It was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate...
in the same year.
CtesiasCtesias of Cnidus was a Greek physician and historian from Cnidus in Caria. Ctesias, who flourished in the 5th century BC, was physician to Artaxerxes Mnemon, whom he accompanied in 401 BC on his expedition against his brother Cyrus the Younger....
of Cnidus relates that Datis was slain at Marathon and that the Athenians refused to hand over his body, however this conflicts with
HerodotusHerodotus of Halicarnassus was a Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC and is regarded as the "Father of History" in Western culture. He was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
' earlier analysis that Datis survived the battle
Datis was originally called to duty alongside
ArtaphernesArtaphrenes, was the brother of Darius Hystaspis, and satrap of Sardis.It was he who received the embassy from Athens sent probably by Cleisthenes in 497 BC, and subsequently warned the Athenians to receive back the tyrant Hippias....
for the Greek invasion because Darius I had decided to temporarily relieve
MardoniusMardonius was a leading Persian military commander during the Persian Wars with Greece in the early 5th century BC.-Early years:Mardonius was the son of Gobryas, a Persian nobleman who had assisted the Achaemenid prince Darius when he claimed the throne...
of military service due to an injury he suffered in the
ThracianThrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded on the north by the Balkan Mountains, on the south by the Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea and on the east by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara...
campaign.
Datis is mocked in Aristophanes' play "Peace", where Trygaeus exclaims: "Now is the time to sing as Datis did, as he masturbated at high noon: 'Oh pleasure! oh enjoyment! oh delights!'”
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