Pheretime
Family: Kyrenian · Role: mother of Arkesilaos and queen · First appears: Book 4 · §159–166
Life events
- After challenging Demonax’s arrangement, Arkesilaos was defeated and went into exile, while Pheretime went to Salamis in Cyprus.(Book 4 · §159–166 · 📍 Samos)
- With: Arkesilaos son of Battos the Lame
- “After this, stirring up strife he was worsted and went as an exile to Samos, and his mother to Salamis in Cyprus.”
- Pheretime exercised her slain son’s royal power at Kyrene.(Book 4 · §159–166 · 📍 Kyrene)
- With: Arkesilaos son of Battos the Lame
- “herself held the royal power of her son at Kyrene, both exercising his other rights and also sitting in council:”
- Pheretime fled to Egypt after learning of her son’s death.(Book 4 · §159–166 · 📍 Egypt)
- “but when she heard that her son had been slain in Barca, she departed and fled to Egypt:”
- Pheretime appealed to Aryandes for help, blaming the Medes’ side for her son’s death.(Book 4 · §159–166 · 📍 Egypt)
- With: Aryandes
- “Pheretime then having come to Egypt sat down as a suppliant of Aryandes, bidding him help her, and alleging as a reason that it was on account of his inclination to the side of the Medes that her son had been slain.”
- Aryandes gave Pheretime the Egyptian land and sea forces, appointing Amasis to command the land army and Badres the fleet.(Book 4 · §167–179 · 📍 Egypt)
- Aryandes sent Pheretime and the army out, ostensibly in response to the killing of Arkesilaos.(Book 4 · §167–179)
- The Persian forces sent by Aryandes besieged Barca.(Book 4 · §200–205 · 📍 Barca)
- “Then they besieged Barca for nine months, both digging underground passages which led to the wall and making vigorous attacks upon it.”
- Pheretime impaled the most guilty Barcaians and mutilated their wives.(Book 4 · §200–205 · 📍 Barca)
- “Pheretime impaled in a ring round about the wall; and she cut off the breasts of their wives”
- Pheretime spared Battos’s innocent household and entrusted them with the city.(Book 4 · §200–205 · 📍 Barca)
- With: Battos
- “except so many of them as were of the house of Battos and not sharers in the guilt of the murder; and to these Pheretime gave the city in charge.”
- Pheretime died after returning from Libya.(Book 4 · §200–205 · 📍 Egypt)
- “she died an evil death, having become suddenly full of worms while yet alive”
Book 4 · §159–166
- child: Arkesilaos son of Battos the Lame “for Arkesilaos son of Battos the Lame and of Pheretime said that he would not suffer it to be according as the Mantineian Demonax had arranged”
- with Euelthon (interaction) “To him having come, Pheretime asked him for an army to restore herself and her son to Kyrene. Euelthon however was ready to give her anything else rather than that”
- with Aryandes (interaction) “Pheretime then having come to Egypt sat down as a suppliant of Aryandes, bidding him help her”
Book 4 · §167–179
- with Aryandes (Aryandes gave Pheretime troops.) “this Aryandes had compassion on Pheretime and gave her all the troops that were in Egypt”
Book 4 · §200–205
- married with Battos “Such and so great was the punishment inflicted by Pheretime the wife of Battos on the men of Barca.”
- with Aryandes (Aryandes sent Persian helpers to aid Pheretime.) “Now when the Persian helpers of Pheretime, having been sent from Egypt by Aryandes, had arrived at Barca”
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Extracted from the original text of The Histories. Made with Rho MD.