The Center for Hellenic Studies

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Book Chapter

Appendix I. Formulaic Analysis of Kerdīr’s Inscriptions

Appendix I. Formulaic Analysis of Kerdīr’s Inscriptions In the present appendix, formulae (or repetitions) that have occurred at least twice, word for word, are underlined; in contrast, formulae that are variations from other encountered word-clusters, and thus represent “varying formulae,” are presented in bold. The present texts merely serve the purposes of formulaic analysis and are not intended to be a critical reproduction of Kerdīr’s inscriptions. … Read more

Book Chapter

8. Preliminary Conclusions

Chapter 8. Preliminary Conclusions In this study we have argued that the murder of King Bardiya and his helper Gaumāta—both of whom we consider to be historical personalities—gave rise to two distinct narratives, each targeting a specific audience. As a means to cover up the murder of Bardiya and Gaumāta, Darius’ royal chancellery cast one account—the one preserved in the Bisotun inscription, as well as in “diplomatic”… Read more

Book Chapter

7. Royal Usurpations in Iranian Literary Traditions II: The Evidence of the Šāhnāme

Chapter 7. Royal Usurpations in Iranian Literary Traditions II: The Evidence of the Šāhnāme Up to this point, we have found strong evidence for the composition of the Sasanian inscriptions within the framework of an oral tradition in (1) the appearance of a high formulaic density in the narrative of Kerdīr’s inscriptions, together with the presence of formulaic parallels in two epigraphic corpora that are more than… Read more

Book Chapter

5. Oral-Formulaic Theory and Iranian Royal Inscriptions

Chapter 5. Oral-Formulaic Theory and Iranian Royal Inscriptions Literary parallels between the Achaemenid inscriptions of the sixth and fifth centuries BCE, especially those of Darius I (late sixth century BCE), and the Sasanian inscriptions of the third and early fourth century CE had already been recognized in the 1930s and were attributed to the survival of Aramaic translations of the former. [1]… Read more

Book Chapter

4. The Evil Brothers in the Iranian Tradition

Chapter 4. The Evil Brothers in the Iranian Tradition The Legend of the Indo-European Twins Now let us turn our attention to the problem of the “two brothers.” [1] What could have triggered the identification of “two associates” with “two brothers”? This time the answer seems to lie within the Indo-Iranian epic tradition itself. From the Indic pantheon we know of… Read more

Book Chapter

3. The Concept and Reality of the Substitute Kingin Mesopotamia and Iran

Chapter 3. The Concept and Reality of the Substitute Kingin Mesopotamia and Iran Having made a case for the historicity of both Bardiya and Gaumāta, and their presumed functions of “kingmaker” and “puppet-king,” in the classical sources, there remains the necessity of revealing the historical prece-dents, or literary patterns, upon which Darius’ fabricated chronicle—as put forth in the Bisotun inscription—rested. The first of these forms the main… Read more

Book Chapter

2. On the Historical Personae Bardiya and Gaumāta

Chapter 2. On the Historical Personae Bardiya and Gaumāta The duplication of the usurper in the Greek sources—which contrasts with the Bisotun inscription’s single “usurper”—is commonly believed to derive from the erroneous interpretation of Gaumāta’s titles as appellations of secondary persons. [1] The names of the pair transmitted by Herodotus, namely, Patizeithēs and Smerdis, could be respectively interpreted as graecized renderings of… Read more

Book Chapter

1. The Sources

Chapter 1. The Sources Old Persian Epigraphy: The Bisotun Inscription According to Darius’ inscription at Bisotun (composed in the late sixth century BCE), [1] King Cambyses killed his brother Bardiya on the eve of his Egyptian campaign without the people (kāra-) being aware of his crime. [2] During the king’s absence in Egypt, according to the… Read more

Book Chapter

Abbreviations

Abbreviations DB = Inscriptions of Darius at Bisotun FGH = Fragmente der griechischen Historiker NPi = Inscription of Narseh at Paikuli LABS = Letters from Assyrian and Babylonian Scholars, ed. Parpola Š-KhM = Šāhnāme, ed. Khaleghi-Motlagh … Read more