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Deioces
(174 words)

[German version]

(Δηιόκης; Dēiókēs). According to Hdt. 1, the first ruler of the  Medes, said to have ruled for 53 years; elected by the Medes as their ruler, he is said to have had a fortress built ( Ecbatana), surrounded himself with a bodyguard and introduced a court ceremonial designed to accustom his subjects to regard their ruler as a higher being. Herodotus' account combines contemporary elements of Achaemenid court protocol with Greek ideas on the ways of a tyrant (Hdt. 1, 96-101; [2]). The Greek personal name D. corresponds to the name Daiakku mentioned in Neo-Assyrian sources…

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Kuhrt, Amélie (London) and Sancisi-Weerdenburg, Helen (Utrecht), “Deioces”, in: Brill’s New Pauly, Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and , Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry. Consulted online on 28 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e312950>
First published online: 2006
First print edition: 9789004122598, 20110510



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