DARES, dar'-Ps. I. A Phrygian, was engaged in and wrote a Greek history of the Trojan war. 2. A companion of IEneas, sprung from Amy cus, was celebrated as a pugilist at the funeral games in honour of Hector, where he killed I3utes ; he was killed by Turnus in Italy. DARIUS, da."-W-U.S... I. A noble satrap of Persia, son of Hystaspes, conspired with six other Persian nobles to destroy the Magian, who pretended to be Cambyses' son Sinerdis, and usurped the throne. On the murder of the usurper, the seven conspirators agreed that he should have the throne whose horse neighed first : by a stratagem of his groom, Darius was I the one selected, and was at once, at the age of 29, saluted king by the others, and it was resolved that the kings should take wives out of their families only, and that they and their descendants should have the right of free access to the palace at all times. Darius besieged and took Babylon (which had re volted), after twenty months' siege, by the arti fice of Zepyrus, 506 B.C. ; he conquered Thrace, and marched against Scythia, but, after several disasters in the wilds, he had to retire ; he tnnqtiered the Ionians, who were instigated to revolt (sox), and were assisted by the Athe tians, who took and burnt Sardis, which so in censed Darius against the Athenians that he ordered a servant to remind him every evening Et supper to punish the Athenians ; he sent his son-in-law Mardonius against Greece with an army, which was destroyed by the Thracians, 492 ; in 490 he sent a larger force under Datis and Artaphernes, which was defeated at Mara thon by to,000 Athenians, and the Persians lost in the expedition 2o6,oao men ; Darius then resolved to proceed in person against Greece, and collected a large army, but died in the midst of his preparations (48s ac.),
after thirty-six years' reign, leaving the throne and the war to Xerxes. 2. Damns II., Ocuus, e-chus, or NOTHUS, note-us, as being the illegitimate son of Artaxerxes, ascended the throne soon after Xerxes' murder, 424 B.C., and married his cruel and ambitious sister Pary s6tis, who bore him Artaxerxes II. Mnetnon, Amestris, and Cyrus (the Younger); he waged successfully many wars• by his generals and son Cyrus ; he died 4os. 3. DARIUS III., CODOMANNUS, cod-o-nran'-nus, the last king .of Persia, son of Arsames and Sisygambis, and descended from Darius II., was placed on the throne, 336 B.C., by the eunuch Bagoas, who had poisoned Artaxerxes III. Ochus ; Bagoas, disappointed at not finding Darius subservient, tried to poison him, but was detected and killed. Alexander the Great attacked Darius, who collected an army remarkable more for numbers (60o,000), opulence, and luxury than for courage. Darius was defeated near the Granicus, 22 May, 334; again at Issus,333, where his mother, wife, and children were taken prisoners ; and finally overthrown at Arbela, October, 332, from which he fled to Media, where Be,,sus, his governor of Bactriana in hopes of getting the throne, ordered him to be killed, and he was found by the Macedonians in his cha riot, covered with wounds and almost expiring ; Darius sent his thanks to Alexander for his kindness to his captive family, and Alexander honoured the body with a magnificent funeral, continued his kindness to the family, and put Bessus to death. The Persian empire ended in Darius, after having lasted 226 years, from its establishment by Cyrus the Great. 4. A son of Xerxes, married Artaynta, and was killed by Artabenus.