A report on Mardonius (nephew of Darius I)

Gobryas, father of Mardonius, on the tomb of Darius I.
Mardonius led the Destruction of Athens. Part of the archaeological remains called Perserschutt, or "Persian rubble".
Answer of the Athenian Aristides to the ambassadors of Mardonius: "As long as the sun holds to its present course, we shall never come to terms with Xerxes".
Camp of Mardonius and disposition of Achaemenid troops at the Battle of Plataea (479 BC), in which Mardonius was killed. From left to right: Greek allies, Sacae, Indians, Bactrians, Medes and Persians.

Leading Persian military commander during the Persian Wars with Greece in the early 5th century BC who died at the Battle of Plataea.

- Mardonius (nephew of Darius I)
Gobryas, father of Mardonius, on the tomb of Darius I.

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Datis fighting Kallimachos at the Battle of Marathon, in the Stoa Poikile (reconstitution)

Datis

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Median noble and admiral who served the Persian Empire during the reign of Darius the Great.

Median noble and admiral who served the Persian Empire during the reign of Darius the Great.

Datis fighting Kallimachos at the Battle of Marathon, in the Stoa Poikile (reconstitution)

Datis and another officer named Artaphernes replaced a commander named Mardonius.

Coin from the end of the reign of Alexander I, struck circa 460-450 BC. Young male head right, wearing petasos.

Alexander I of Macedon

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The ruler of the ancient Kingdom of Macedon from c. 498 BC until his death in 454 BC. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Alcetas II.

The ruler of the ancient Kingdom of Macedon from c. 498 BC until his death in 454 BC. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Alcetas II.

Coin from the end of the reign of Alexander I, struck circa 460-450 BC. Young male head right, wearing petasos.
Early coinage of Alexander I, under Achaemenid Macedonia, Aegae, circa 500-480 BC. Goat kneeling right, head reverted; pellet above and before / Quadripartite incuse square.
Coin of Alexander I in the decade following the Second Persian invasion of Greece (struck in 480-470 BC).
Silver tetradrachm of Alexander I, struck at the end of his reign, circa 465-460 BC.
Aristides, commander of the Athenians, informed by Alexander I of Macedon that delaying the encounter with the Persians would help further diminish their already low supplies. Battle of Plataea, 479 BC.

In 492 BC it was made a fully subordinate part of the Persian Empire by Mardonius' campaign.

Part of the archaeological remains called Perserschutt, or "Persian rubble": remnants of the destruction of Athens by the armies of Xerxes. Photographed in 1866, just after excavation.

Achaemenid destruction of Athens

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Accomplished by the Achaemenid Army of Xerxes I during the Second Persian invasion of Greece, and occurred in two phases over a period of two years, in 480–479 BCE.

Accomplished by the Achaemenid Army of Xerxes I during the Second Persian invasion of Greece, and occurred in two phases over a period of two years, in 480–479 BCE.

Part of the archaeological remains called Perserschutt, or "Persian rubble": remnants of the destruction of Athens by the armies of Xerxes. Photographed in 1866, just after excavation.
"The Citadel at Athens" at the time of Xerxes (1900 reconstitution).
Foundations of the Old Temple of Athena, destroyed by the armies of Xerxes I.
Answer of Aristides to the ambassadors of Mardonius: "As long as the sun holds to its present course, we shall never come to terms with Xerxes".
Athenians rebuilding their city under the direction of Themistocles.
Alexander the Great lifting Thais holding a torch, in "The Burning of Persepolis" (L'incendie de Persepolis), Georges Rochegrosse, 1890.
Acropolis excavation pit where remains of Archaic statues were found, northwest of the Erechtheum.
The Kritios Boy was recovered, decapitated, in the Perserschutt.
The Antenor Kore, recovered from the Perserschutt.
Part of the damaged Hekatompedon pediment.
The damaged Moscophoros.
The damaged Peplos Kore.
The damaged Rampin Rider.
The Capture of the Acropolis by the Persians
Architectural remains of the Old Athena Temple built into the north wall of the Acropolis by Themistocles.
Column drums of the Older Parthenon, reused in the North wall of the Acropolis, by Themistocles.
The Older Parthenon (in black) was destroyed by the Achaemenids, and then rebuilt by Pericles in 438 BCE (in grey).
Ruins of the Themistoclean Wall.

According to Herodotus, Mardonius volunteered to remain in Greece and complete the conquest with a hand-picked group of troops, while advising Xerxes to retreat to Asia with the bulk of the army.

Mount Athos - view from NW

Mount Athos

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Mountain and peninsula in northeastern Greece and an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism.

Mountain and peninsula in northeastern Greece and an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism.

Mount Athos - view from NW
A map of Mount Athos
A 3D model of Athos
Imaginary view of the Alexander monument, proposed by Dinocrates. Engraving by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, 1725
The peninsula as seen from the summit of Mount Athos (40.15778°N, 24.32667°W)
A Byzantine watch tower, protecting the dock (αρσανάς, arsanás) of Xeropotamou monastery
Emperor Nicephorus Phocas
Athanasios the Athonite
Holy Mount Athos: The Holy Mount Athos: Sheltering the Oldest Orthodox Literary Treasures (1926), by Alphonse Mucha, The Slav Epic
View of the area around Vatopedi monastery

In ancient Greek history two fleet disasters in the area are recorded: In 492 BC Darius, the king of Persia, lost 300 ships under general Mardonius.

Artazostre

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Persian princess, daughter of king Darius the Great (521-485 BC) by Artystone, daughter of Cyrus the Great.

Persian princess, daughter of king Darius the Great (521-485 BC) by Artystone, daughter of Cyrus the Great.

According to the Greek historian Herodotus (VI, 43) Artazostre was given in marriage to Mardonius, young son of the noble Gobryas, not much before he took the command of the Persian army in Thrace and Macedon (c.

"The struggle between Gobryas and the false Smerdis", 19th century print.

Gobryas

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Common name of several Persian noblemen.

Common name of several Persian noblemen.

"The struggle between Gobryas and the false Smerdis", 19th century print.
Darius I, and five other conspirators, including Gobryas, invoking the sun to become King.

Their son Mardonius, was the Commander-in-Chief of the armies of Xerxes I in the Second Persian invasion of Greece, married Darius' daughter Artazostre.

Depiction of the "Susian guards" from the Palace of Darius in Susa. Their garments match the description of the Immortals by ancient authors.

Immortals (Achaemenid Empire)

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The name given by Herodotus to an elite heavy infantry unit of 10,000 soldiers in the army of the Achaemenid Empire.

The name given by Herodotus to an elite heavy infantry unit of 10,000 soldiers in the army of the Achaemenid Empire.

Depiction of the "Susian guards" from the Palace of Darius in Susa. Their garments match the description of the Immortals by ancient authors.
Modern reconstruction of the Immortals in their ceremonial dress during the 2,500-year celebration of the Persian Empire in Pahlavi Iran, 1971.
Median (left) and Persian (right) warriors in their ceremonial dress in carvings at Persepolis in Fars Province, Iran. Some scholars speculate that they represent the Immortals.

They also notably participated in the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BCE during the Greco-Persian Wars and were amongst the Persian troops who occupied Greece in 479 BCE under Mardonius.

Coinage of Hellespontine Phrygia at the time of Artabazos I, Kyzikos, Mysia. Circa 500-450 BC. This type of electrum coins was treated as gold coinage, and competed alongside Achaemenid Darics.

Artabazos I of Phrygia

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Persian general in the army of Xerxes I, and later satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia (now northwest Turkey) under the Achaemenid dynasty, founder of the Pharnacid dynasty of satraps.

Persian general in the army of Xerxes I, and later satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia (now northwest Turkey) under the Achaemenid dynasty, founder of the Pharnacid dynasty of satraps.

Coinage of Hellespontine Phrygia at the time of Artabazos I, Kyzikos, Mysia. Circa 500-450 BC. This type of electrum coins was treated as gold coinage, and competed alongside Achaemenid Darics.
Artabazos I was Satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia.
Megabyzus fought against the Athenians and the Egyptians in the Siege of Memphis (459-455 BC) and the Siege of Prosopitis (455 BC).
Egyptian soldier, circa 470 BC. Xerxes I tomb relief.

The invasion ended the following year with the Commander in Chief Mardonius, ignoring advice from Artabazus and others, meeting the Greeks in pitched battle at the Battle of Plataea and being defeated (479 BC).

Aeimnestus

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Ancient Greek word, also spelled aeímnēstos and arímnēstos that means "unforgettable", literally "of everlasting memory".

Ancient Greek word, also spelled aeímnēstos and arímnēstos that means "unforgettable", literally "of everlasting memory".

A Spartan soldier Aeimnestus killed the Persian general Mardonius by crushing Mardonius' head with a rock during the Battle of Plataea in 479 BC. The event was described in Book 9 of the Histories of Herodotus.

View of Plataea, and the battlefield of the Battle of Plataea.

Plataea

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Ancient city, located in Greece in southeastern Boeotia, south of Thebes.

Ancient city, located in Greece in southeastern Boeotia, south of Thebes.

View of Plataea, and the battlefield of the Battle of Plataea.
Part of the wall of Plataeae
The burial mound of the Plataeans, fallen at the Battle of Marathon, Marathon

According to Herodotus, the Spartan general Pausanias led an allied Greek defense against Mardonius' Persian forces.