Darius

Family: Persian · Role: king · First appears: Book 1 · Chapter 25

In Book 3, Darius is named as the son of Hystaspes; Aeginetan leaders were arrested for supporting him by supplying “earth and water,” and Demaratus went into exile in Persia and joined his court. His envoys were sent to Greece to request earth and water; after Athenians killed them, Miltiades was held responsible.

In Book 6, Darius, the illegitimate son of Artaxerxes, deposed his legitimate brother Sogdius with the Persian commonalty’s help and took the kingdom. Once king, he summoned Polydamas to Susa, promising rewards. Later accounts name Alexander (son of Philip) as his enemy, and in Book 8 his son Xerxes is identified as king of the Persians.