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MAGI - ZOROASTRIANISM: THE AVESTA

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Author Topic: MAGI - ZOROASTRIANISM: THE AVESTA  (Read 6368 times)
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Bianca
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« Reply #15 on: August 22, 2007, 02:11:35 pm »











                                          Herodotus' eighth logos: coups in Persia 




 
The coups of the Magians and Darius (3.61-119, 3.126-141 and 3.150-160)



Note: the eighth and ninth logoi are both divided in two pieces, which are grouped like ABAB.
In the eighth logos, Herodotus tells his most romantic story: the coup d'état of the Magians in March 522. (The Magians were a Median tribe, considered specialists in religious rituals.) One of the Magians looks very much like the murdered prince Smerdis; his name also happens to be Smerdis. This pseudo-Smerdis proclaims himself king; his brother Patizeithes is the mastermind behind the plan. The two manage to gain support from Persia's subjects by a promise to acquit them of their taxes for three years.
 
 
When Cambyses hears from it, he rushes back to Persia, but when he springs into the saddle of his horse, the cap falls of the sheath of his sword and exposes the blade, which pierces his thigh. Herodotus does not fail to stress that this was just the spot where Cambyses had wounded the Apis (see above). Soon, the Persian king dies from gangrene.
 
The Persian elite cannot appreciate pseudo-Smerdis' policy towards the subject peoples, and seven conspirators assemble. Herodotus gives their names as Otanes (a son of the secret agent Prexaspes), Gobryas, Intaphrenes, Hydarnes, Megabyzus, Darius and Aspathines. Before they can strike, Cambyses' secret agent Prexaspes commits suicide, after announcing to the people of Susa (one of the capitals of the Achaemenid empire) the truth about king Smerdis. The population of the city is restless. This is the moment the seven have been waiting for, and they kill the two Magians. Next, there is a debate about the future constitution of the Achaemenid empire. The seven decide that Persia has to stay a monarchy, and choose Darius as their king.

The new shah divides the country into twenty satrapies (districts); Herodotus knows all their names and what kind of tribute they have to pay to the great king. The Indian satrapy gives Herodotus an opportunity to describe this country, including the gold-digging ants he believes to live there. There is a very entertaining digression on the edges of the earth (text).

Herodotus also informs us about the fall of Intaphrenes, one of the seven conspirators (go here for the story), and tells us about the Persian recapture of the rebellious city of Babylon. Zopyrus, son of the conspirator Megabyzus, cuts off his own ears and nose, and defects to the beleaguered city, saying that he was punished by Darius and that he wants to help the Babylonians. These entrust their army to him, but he opens the gates and lets the Persians in.
 
   

Persian soldier,  from Susa
 (Louvre, Paris)
« Last Edit: August 22, 2007, 02:17:31 pm by Bianca2001 » Report Spam   Logged

Your mind understands what you have been taught; your heart what is true.
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