Perseus, the Ancestor of the Persians in Greek Mythology

Corinthian vase depicting Perseus, Cetus, and Andromeda. Credit: cc by.sa 3.0

Perseus is good known successful Greek mythology arsenic 1 of the precise earliest Greek heroes. According to legend, helium was the lad of Zeus and fought Medusa and the sea-monster Cetus. What is not truthful good known is that Perseus was besides said to person been the ancestor of the Persians. Given the large region betwixt Greece and Persia, this is surprising. What precisely does Greek mythology assertion astir the Persians’ expected descent from Perseus?

Achaemenes, the legendary laminitis of the Persian kings

To comprehend the fable of Perseus arsenic the ancestor of the Persians, which goes backmost to astatine slightest the clip of Darius I, the king of Persia from 522 to 486 BC, we request to analyse a Persian contented that is simply a portion of galore past records. According to this tradition, the ancestor of the kings of the Achaemenid dynasty was a definite Achaemenes, who was the laminitis of the dynasty—hence the similarity betwixt the names.

In the Behistun Inscription from the clip of Darius I, Achaemenes appears arsenic the begetter of Teispes. From this and different records, we larn that Teispes was the great-grandfather of Cyrus the Great. Since Cyrus was calved astir 600 BC, this would mean that Achaemenes was astir apt a fig of the late-eighth oregon early-seventh period BC, assuming helium successful information existed. There is sizeable statement arsenic to whether helium so did oregon was, rather, an invention of Darius I.

Achaemenes of the Persians arsenic descendant of Greek mythology’s Perseus

Persian records bash not pass america of Achaemenes’ lineage. However, respective Greek sources bash supply immoderate enlightenment connected this. According to Herodotus, the Greek historiographer of the 5th period BC, the Persian king Xerxes the Great had the pursuing to accidental during his celebrated invasion of Greece:

“Men of Argos, King Xerxes says to you these things: We clasp that Perses, from whom we are descended, was the lad of Perseus, the lad of Danae, and was calved of the girl of Kepheus, Andromeda; and according to this it would look that we are descended from you.”

According to this, Xerxes himself claimed that the Persians were descended from Perses, the lad of Perseus. Given the lack of this assertion successful immoderate autochthonal Persian records, this astir apt simply means that Xerxes and different educated Persians were acquainted with the Greek traditions of their people. It does not mean that the Persians needfully really believed successful Perses.

In immoderate case, we find this aforesaid basal assertion successful a fig of Greek records. Perseus supposedly had a lad named Perses, who was deemed to beryllium the ancestor of the Persians.

Modern myths connected Perses and Achaemenes

According to respective modern sources, definite Greek records person equated Perses with Achaemenes. For instance, 1 assertion is that First Alcibiades, attributed to Plato successful the 4th period BC, conflates these 2 characters. However, erstwhile we analyse the existent claims of the source, we spot that this is not the case. Through the words of Socrates, this dialog preserves the pursuing tradition:

“Then fto america comparison our antecedents with those of the Lacedaemonian and Persian kings; are they inferior to america successful descent? Have we not heard that the erstwhile are sprung from Heracles, and the second from Achaemenes, and that the contention of Heracles and the contention of Achaemenes spell backmost to Perseus, lad of Zeus?”

Here, Socrates states that the Persian kings are descended from Achaemenes, who was successful crook descended from Perseus. However, helium successful nary mode states that Achaemenes was straight the lad of Perseus (which would equate him with Perses).

Furthermore, different modern root claims that Achaemenes is referenced arsenic the lad of Perseus by a definite commentator successful the past writings of Dionysius Periegetes (possibly 2nd period AD). Nonetheless, this is besides inaccurate.

How the Persians were truly descended from Perseus successful Greek mythology

The commentator connected Dionysius Periegetes does wide up the contented of the narration betwixt Perses and Achaemenes, but the root does not assertion they were so the aforesaid individual. Rather, Richard Edmund Tyrwhitt, a scholar, explains what is really claimed:

“For Akhaemenes lad of Perses, see…the Scholiast (who seems to beryllium quoting Hellanicus) connected Dionysius Periegetes enactment 1053. In this past transition the treble assertion is made (apparently by a modern of Herodotus) that Perses lad of Perseus had a lad named Akhaemenes and that helium gave sanction to the agreed federation of Artoeans…and Kephenians.”

According to this, the existent contented concerning Perses held him to beryllium Achaemenes’ father. Hence, Achaemenes, the ancestor of the kings of the Persians, was the grandson of Perseus. In different words, Perseus had a lad named Perses, who successful crook had Achaemenes. This contented seemingly dates backmost to the 5th period BC, making it astir arsenic aged arsenic the precise earliest references to Perses and Achaemenes successful ancient Greek and Persian records.

Herodotus explains that erstwhile Perseus saved Andromeda and joined her, they near their son, Perses, successful the attraction of Andromeda’s father, Cepheus, since helium did not person an heir. The Persians, who were primitively known arsenic the Cephenes aft Cepheus, adopted the sanction Persians aft Perses.

Interestingly, Cepheus was supposedly the king of Ethiopia. This is alternatively distant from the past onshore of Persis, location of the Persians. Presumably, past Greek contented mixed up the Ethiopia successful Africa with the Ethiopia adjacent Persis successful Asia.