Discover Top Posts Tagged with #stateira i

The Family of Darius before Alexander by Paolo Veronese

This painting is full of activity. The main attention goes to the two groups of life-size people in the foreground. The painting shows how the family of Persian King Darius (in the center) appears in front of King Alexander the Great and his following (on the right) to ask for mercy. The man on the right, dressed in red and gold, is Alexander the Great. To his right, with the orange cape, is his good friend and advisor Hephaistion who is pointing to himself. Alexander is further surrounded by other high-ranked officers in his army, some of which a carrying a weapon called a halberd. The woman in blue in the center foreground is the mother of Darius, Sisygambis. She is pleading for mercy on behalf of her family. To her left, dressed in gold is the wife of Darius, Stateira, and to her left are their two daughters in beautiful identical dresses. To the right of Sisygambis is a small figure. Some say that this may be a son of Darius and Stateira, but most consider this to be a random dwarf.

#paolo veronese #alexander the great #stateira ii #king darius #hephaestion #sisygambus #stateira i

Darius III

-- originally named Artashata

-- called Codomannus by the Greeks

-- last king of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia

-- born in 380 BCE

-- died in July of 330 BCE in Bactria

-- married to Stateira I

-- empire was unstable

-- Alexander the Great began his invasion in 334 BCE

-- battled Alexander at the Battle of Gaugamela

-- killed by his cousin and satrap, Bessus

Patreon | Ko-fi

Victims of the Childbed - Stateira I (well, possibly)

After the Battle of Issus in 333 BC, the power of the Persian Empire officially began to crumble. King Darius III of Persia was defeated by Alexander of Macedon and was the first time Persia’s army had suffered defeat with its king present on the battlefield. Darius fled from Alexander with impressive quickness. In his haste to escape, Darius left behind his wife Stateira, mother Sisygambis, and his young children to be captured by Hellenic forces. Needless to say Stateira was probably not altogether pleased at Darius’ decision.

Stateira’s early life and parentage are unknown. The second century historian Justin claims she was Darius’ sister. It was said that Stateira was very beautiful as well. She bore Darius at least three children: a son called Ochus and two daughters, Stateira (sometimes also called Barsine) and Drypetis. When Stateira and Sisygambis accompanied Darius to Issus these children went along with them. In the wake of Darius’ flight after the battle all five of them came under the protection of Alexander. He treated Stateira and her family with considerable courtesy and they retained their royal status. It is entirely possible that Alexander only saw Stateira on one occasion, which might disprove certain theories regarding her pregnancy.

There is some debate over the time and nature of Stateira’s death. She is believed by some to have died in childbirth between 332 and 331 BC. The date of her death could mean that Darius was not the father of her child, as she would have been pregnant two years after she last saw him if she died in 331 BC. Both Justin and Plutarch record that she died either in childbirth or after a miscarriage. As the wife of a king Stateira was highly valuable to Alexander, so it is not likely that he allowed even the opportunity for another man to father a child with her. Plutarch asserts that Alexander did not have a physical relationship with Stateira. The real truth of the circumstances of her death, however, will never be known.

In 324 BC, several years after Stateira’s death and almost a decade after the Battle of Issus, Alexander married her daughter Stateira II (or Barsine). Stateira’s younger daughter Drypetis was wed to Hephaestion on the same day. After Alexander’s death in 323 Staeira II was killed by his first wife Roxane.