EGYPT, ARYANDES, to set in motion an expedition of VENGEANCE (4.200–5). Despite their effective resistance, the Barcaeans were eventually conquered by a Persian ruse; the Persians, without pity, allowed Pheretime to massacre some, and the rest were led into captivity in BACTRIA. The Battiads retook power and placed themselves under Persian sovereignty.
SEE ALSO: Libya; Migration; Oaths
FURTHER READING
1 Chamoux, François. 1953. Cyrène sous la monarchie des Battiades. Paris: de Boccard.
2 Laronde, André. 2003. “L’apparition de la vie urbaine en Libye dans l’Antiquité.” In La naissance de la ville dans l’Antiquité, edited by Michel Reddé, Laurent Dubois, Dominique Briquel, Henry Lavagne, and François Queyrel, 109–20. Paris: de Boccard.
3 Marini, Sophie. 2013. “Grecs et Romains face aux populations libyennes.” Diss. Paris‐Sorbonne, Paris IV.
BARDES/BARDIYA, see SMERDIS
BARIS, see SHIPS AND SAILING
BASILEIDES (Βασιληίδης, ὁ)
CHRISTOPHER BARON
University of Notre Dame
Patronymic, father of Herodotus (of Ionia—not the historian), who was one of the conspirators against the Persian‐backed TYRANT in CHIOS, STRATTIS, in spring 479 BCE (8.132.2). It has been suggested that Basileides’ name may indicate a connection with the Ionian priestly clan of the Basileidae (Hornblower 2003, 56).
SEE ALSO: Herodotus son of Basileides; Ionians
REFERENCE
1 Hornblower, Simon. 2003. “Panionios of Chios and Hermotimos of Pedasa (Hdt. 8.104–6).” In Herodotus and His World: Essays from a Conference in Memory of George Forrest, edited by Peter Derow and Robert Parker, 37–57. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
BASSACES (Βασσάκης, ὁ)
CHRISTOPHER BARON
University of Notre Dame
Son of ARTABANUS, thus cousin of XERXES, Bassaces commanded the BITHYNIAN THRACIANS in the Persian invasion force of 480 BCE (7.75.2). The MANUSCRIPTS of the Histories present a number of variant readings for his name; the correct form may be Bagasaces (Βαγασάκης: Schmitt, IPGL 155–57 (no. 115)).
SEE ALSO: Catalogues; Persia
BATTUS I (Βάττος, ὁ)
TYPHAINE HAZIZA
Université de Caen NormandieBattus I, son of POLYMNESTUS, was the founder of the Greek colony of CYRENE in LIBYA (North Africa) in 631 BCE and reigned there as its first king. Herodotus relates two accounts of the process of the foundation of Cyrene, in which the role of Battus is not exactly the same: the version from THERA, the mother‐city (4.150–53), and that of the colony itself (4.154–58). While he appears only in a secondary role in the first account—the Theraean king GRINNUS passes off to him the mission which is given by the ORACLE at DELPHI—Battus occupies the central place in the second account: APOLLO directly tasks him with leading the successful foundation of Cyrene. However, Battus does not seem in a hurry to obey. After a reminder from the god, and a vain attempt to return to Thera, the colonists installed themselves for two years on an ISLAND off the Libyan coast named PLATEA. Then, still receiving warnings from the oracle, they finally established themselves on the continent. The city of Cyrene was founded eight years later, thanks to the help of a local tribe, the GILIGAMAE. Battus ruled Cyrene for forty years (4.159.1) until his death around 599, after which he was buried in the AGORA. In both versions of the story, Battus appears as the son of an elite Theraean, Polymnestus, descendent of the Argonaut EUPHEMUS. The Cyrenaean version gives his mother as a Cretan princess (PHRONIME) and insists upon the child’s stammer, which is perhaps the origin of the name Battus, although Herodotus thinks that it derives from a Libyan term meaning “king” (4.155).
SEE ALSO: Arcesilaus I; Colonization; Disabilities; Heroes and Hero Cult; Sources for Herodotus
FURTHER READING
1 Calame, Claude. 1988. “Mythe, récit épique et histoire: le récit hérodotéen de la fondation de Cyrène.” In Métamorphose du mythe en Grèce antique, edited by Claude Calame, 105–25. Geneva: Labor et Fides.
2 Chamoux, François. 1953. Cyrène sous la monarchie des Battiades. Paris: de Boccard.
3 Dougherty, Carol. 1993. The Poetics of Colonization: From City to Text in Archaic Greece. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
4 Masson, Olivier. 1976. “Le nom de Battos, fondateur de Cyrène, et un groupe de mot grec apparenté.” Glotta 54.1/2: 84–98.
BATTUS II (Βάττος, ὁ)
TYPHAINE HAZIZA
Université de Caen Normandie
Third king of the Greek city of CYRENE in LIBYA (North Africa), Battus II (nicknamed Eudaimōn, “The Blessed”) reigned from around 583 until after 570 BCE. Supported by the oracle of DELPHI, Battus II decided to encourage a massive immigration of new colonists from all parts of the Greek world. This demographic and geographic expansion of the city produced a reaction among its Libyan neighbors, now deprived of their lands. The Libyans requested the help of the Egyptian king APRIES, but his army was defeated by the Cyreneans at IRASA c. 570 (4.159).
SEE ALSO: Adicran; Arcesilaus II; Battus I; Colonization
FURTHER READING
1 Chamoux, François. 1953. Cyrène sous la monarchie des Battiades, 134–36. Paris: de Boccard.
Corcella in ALC, 686–87.
BATTUS III (Βάττος, ὁ)
TYPHAINE HAZIZA
Université de Caen Normandie
Fifth king of the Greek city of CYRENE in LIBYA (North Africa), Battus III (ruled c. 550–530 BCE) was born lame, according to Herodotus, interpreted as an ill‐omened sign by the Cyreneans who consulted the ORACLE at DELPHI concerning which regime it would be best for them to adopt. On the advice of the PYTHIA, they accepted the reforms proposed by DEMONAX of MANTINEIA, who divided the population of the city into three tribes and, most importantly, restricted royal prerogatives by limiting them essentially to the religious sphere (4.161).
SEE ALSO: Arcesilaus III; Disabilities; Monarchy
FURTHER READING
1 Chamoux, François. 1953. Cyrène sous
