A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

MITHRIDATES. MITHRIDATES. 1095
after attempted to establish himself in his new countries, and thus became the founder of the
sovereignty and expel Asander, was defeated and kingdom of Pontus. (Appian, Mithr. 9; Strab.
slain. (Strab. I. c.; Dion Cass. xlii. 48, xlvii. xii. p. 562; Plut. Decmetr. 4.) The period of the
26.) [E. H. B.] flight of Mithridates is uncertain, but it must have
MITHRIDA'TES, kings of PONTUS. The first taken place as early as 318, as we find him at the
of these, however, wasnot really an independent close of 317 supporting Eumenes in the war against
monarch, but merely a satrap under the Persian Antigonus. (Diod. xix. 40.) From this time we
king; and it would be more correct to omit him in hear no more of him till his death in B. C. 302, but
the enumeration, and reckon the one who comes it appears that he had submitted again to at least
next in order as Mithridates I.; but the ordinary a nominal subjection to Antigonus, who now propractice has been here followed for convenience. cured his assassination, to prevent him from joining
The kings of Pontus claimed to be lineally de- the league of Cassander and his confederates. He
scended from one of the seven Persians who had seems, however, to have before this established
conspired against the Magi, and who was subse- himself firmly in his kingdom, in which he was
quently established by Dareius Hystaspes in the succeeded without opposition by his son Mithrigovernment of the countries bordering on the dates. (Diod. xx. 111; Appian, Mithr. 9.) AcEuxine Sea. (Polyb. v. 43; Diod. xix. 40; Aur. cording to Lucian (Macrob. 13), he was not less
Vict. de Vir. Illust. 76.) They also asserted their than eighty-four years of age at the time of his
descent from the royal house of the Achaemenides, death, which renders it not improbable, as suggested
to which the kings of Persia belonged, but we know by Clinton (F. H. iii. p. 422), that he is the same
not how they made out this part of their pedigree. as the Mithridates, son of Ariobarzanes, who in his
Very little is known of their history until after youth circumvented and put to death Datames.
the fall of the Persian empire. [DATAMEs.] Plutarch is clearly in error when he
MITHRIDATES I., son of Ariobarzanes (probably calls him a young man at the time of his flight,
of the first prince of that name), is mentioned by and a contemporary of Demetrius. (See Clinton,
Xenophon (Cyr. viii. 8. ~ 4) as having betrayed 1. c., and Droysen, Hellenism, tom. i. p. 44, 298.)
his father, aud the same circumstance is alluded to MITHRIDATES III., son of the preceding, whom
by Aristotle (Pol. v. 10). Eckhel supposes him he succeeded on the throne in B. C. 302. He is
to be the same with the Mithridates who accom- said to have added largely to the dominions inpanied the younger Cyrus, but there is certainly no herited from his father, by the acquisition of great
proof of this. He may, however, be the same with part of Cappadocia and Paphlagonia, but whether
the Mithridates mentioned by Xenophon (Anab. by conquest or by the cession of the Macedonian
vii. 8. ~ 25) as satrap of Cappadocia and Lycaonia. rulers of Asia does not appear. (Diod. xx. 111.)
It appears that he was dead before B. c. 363, when In B. C. 281 we find him concluding an alliance
Ariobarzanes II. made himself master of the coun- with the Heracleans, to protect them against Setries which had been subject to his rule. (Diod. leucus (Memnon, c. 11, ed. Orell.); and at a subxv. 90.) sequent period, availing himself of the services of
MITHRIDATES IT., son of Ariobarzanes II., the Gauls, then lately settled in Asia, to overthrow
whom he succeeded on the throne in B. c. 337. a force sent against him by Ptolemy, king of
(Diod. xvi. 90.) He is frequently called o KTo'r's, Egypt. (Steph. Byz. A.'Aycvpa.) These are the
as having been the founder of the independent only events recorded of his reign, which lasted
kingdom of Pontus, and ought certainly to be dis- thirty-six years. He was succeeded by his son
tingished as Mithridates I. According to Appian Ariobarzanes III.
(Mithr. 112) he was eighth in descent from the MITHRIDATES IV., grandson of the precedfirst satrap of Pontus under Dareius Hystaspes, ing, was the son and successor of Ariobarzanes.
and sixth in ascending order from Mithridates the III, He was a minor at the death of his father,
Great. (Ibid. 9; see Clinton, F. H. vol. iii. p. 423.) but the period of his accession cannot be deterDiodorus assigns him a reign of thirty-five years, mined. Clinton places it as low as 242 or 240
but it appears certain that he did not hold unin- B. C., while Droysen (Hellenism. vol. ii. p. 355)
terrupted possession of the sovereignty during that carries. it back nearly to 258. It seems probable
period. What circumstances led to his expulsion that it must be placed considerably before 240, as
or subjection we know not; indeed we meet with Memnon tells us that he was a child at his father's
no farther notice of him from the date of his ac- death, and he had a daughter of marriageable age
cession already mentioned until some time after in 222. Shortly after his accession his kingdom
the death of Alexander, when we find him attend- was invaded by the Gauls, who were, however,
ing, apparently in a private, or at least subordinate, repulsed. (Memnon, c. 24, ed. Orell.) After he
capacity, upon the court and camp of Antigonus. had attained to manhood he married a sister of
Probably he had been compelled to submit to the Seleucus Callinicus, with whom he is, said to have
Macedonian yoke at the time that Cappadocia was- received the province of Phrygia as a dowry.
conquered by Perdiccas, B. c. 322. He seems to (Euseb. Arm. p. 164; Justin. xxxviii. 5.) But
have enjoyed a high place in the favour and con- notwithstanding this alliance, we find him, during
fidence of Antigonus, until that potentate, alarmed the war between Seleucus and Antiochus Hierax,
at a dream he had had, foretelling the future great- taking part against the former, whom he defeated
ness of Mithridates, was induced to form the in a great battle, in which Seleucus lost 20,000 of
project of putting him to death. Mithridates, his troops, and narrowly escaped with his own life.
however, received from Demetrius timely notice of (Euseb. Arm. p. 165.) In aB c. 222, Mithridates
his father's intentions, and fled with a few followers gave his daughter Laodice in marriage to Antiochus
to Paphlagonia, where he occupied a strong fortress, III.: another of his daughters, also named Laodice,
called Cimiata, and being joined by numerous was married about the same time. to Achaeus, the
bodies of troops from different quarters, gradually cousin of Antiochus. (Polyb. v. 43, 74, viii. 22.)
extended his dominion over the neighbouring In B. c. 220 Mithridates made awar upon the
4A 4