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1

When Callimachus was archon at Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Gaius Marcius and Publius Valerius. During their term of office Artaxerxes, seeing that Mentor the general had performed great services for him in the war against the Egyptians, advanced him over and above his other friends. [2] Esteeming him worthy of honour for his gallant actions, he gave him a hundred talents of silver and also the best of expensive decorations, and he appointed him satrap of the Asiatic coast and placed him in charge of the war against the rebels, having designated him general in supreme command. [3] And since Mentor was related2 to Artabazus and Memnon, both of whom had warred against the Persians in the preceding period3 and at the time now under consideration were fugitives from Asia residing at the court of Philip, he requested the King and prevailed upon him to dismiss the charges against them. Immediately afterwards he also summoned them both to come to his presence with all their families; [4] for there had been born to Artabazus by the sister of Mentor and Memnon eleven sons and ten daughters.4 And Mentor was so enchanted with the large number of children born to the marriage that he promoted the lads, giving them the most distinguished commands in the armed forces. [5] He made his first campaign against Hermias5 the tyrant of Atarneus, who had revolted from the King and was master of many fortresses and cities. [6] Having promised Hermias that he would prevail upon the King to dismiss the charges against him too, he met him at a conference and then, playing him false, arrested him. After getting possession of his signet-ring and writing to the cities that a reconciliation had been effected with the King through Mentor's intervention, he sealed the letters with Hermias' ring, and sent the letters and with them agents who were to take over the districts. [7] The populations of the cities, trusting the documents and being quite content to accept the peace, all surrendered their fortresses and cities. Now that Mentor through deception had quickly and without risk recovered the towns of the rebels, he won great favour with the King, who concluded that he was capable of performing the duties of general realistically. [8] Similarly with regard to the other commanders who were at odds with the Persians, whether by force or by stratagem, he soon subdued them all.

And this was the state of affairs in Asia. [9]

In Europe Philip, the Macedonian king, marched against the cities of Chalcidice, took the fortress of Zereia6 by siege and razed it. He then intimidated some of the other towns and compelled them to submit. Then coming against Pherae in Thessaly he expelled Peitholaus,7 who was in control of the city. [10] While these things were going on, there occurred in Pontus the death of Spartacus king of Pontus after a rule of five years. His brother Paerisades8 succeeded to the throne and reigned for thirty-eight years.

1 349/8 B.C.

2 Artabazus was his brother-in-law, Memnon his brother (see below). (Cp. Dem. 23.157: ὁ Μέμνων καὶ ὁ Μέντωρ, οἱ κηδεσταὶ τοῦ ᾿Αρταβάζου).

3 See chaps. 22.1 and 34.2.

4 Some of their names are known (see P.-W. Realencyclopädie, s.v. "Artabazus," 3).

5 A philosopher, eunuch, and slave of Eubulus. Aristotle, who knew him through the Academy (cp. Plat. L. 6), lived with him, and after his death married his adopted daughter Pythias. The events of this chapter concerning the arrest of Hermias certainly occurred at a later date, since Aristotle is reported (Dionysius, Epist. ad Ammaeum, ch. 5) to have spent three years at the court of Hermias after the death of Plato. Tarn gives the date of Hermias' arrest as 342 (Cambridge Ancient History, 6.23).

6 Cp. Dem. 19.266 and Philochorus fr. 132.

7 Inconsistent with chaps. 37, 38 unless Peitholaus had recovered Pherae in the meantime.

8 For his death see Book 20.22.1.

Diodorus Siculus. Diodorus of Sicily in Twelve Volumes with an English Translation by C. H. Oldfather. Vol. 4-8. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989.

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