Family
Darius was son of Hystaspes and grandson of Arsames, both men belonging to the Achaemenid tribe, and being alive when Darius ascended the throne. Darius justifies his ascension to the throne with his lineage tracing back to Achaemenes, even though he was distantly related. For these reasons, Darius married Atossa, daughter of Cyrus, with whom he had four sons, Xerxes, Achaimenes, Masistes and Hystaspes. He also married Artystone, another daughter of Cyrus, with whom he had two sons, Arsames and Gobryas. Darius also married Parmys, the daughter of Bardiya, with whom he had a son, Ariomardos. Furthermore, Darius married Phratagone, with whom he had two sons, Abrokomas and Hyperantes. He also married another woman of the nobility, Phaidime, the daughter of Otanes. It is unknown if he had children with her. Before these royal marriages, Darius married a commoner with whom he had three sons, Artobarzanes(the first born), Arabignes and Arsamenes, while daughters are not known. Although Artobarzanes was the first born of Darius, Xerxes became heir and next king through the influence of Atossa, who had great authority in the kingdom, as Darius loved her, of all of his wives, most.
Read more about this topic: Darius I
Famous quotes containing the word family:
“True spoiling is nothing to do with what a child owns or with amount of attention he gets. he can have the major part of your income, living space and attention and not be spoiled, or he can have very little and be spoiled. It is not what he gets that is at issue. It is how and why he gets it. Spoiling is to do with the family balance of power.”
—Penelope Leach (20th century)
“Because it’s not only that a child is inseparable from the family in which he lives, but that the lives of families are determined by the community in which they live and the cultural tradition from which they come.”
—Bernice Weissbourd (20th century)
“Nor does the family even move about together,
But every son would have his motor cycle,
And daughters ride away on casual pillions.”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)