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Mentor of Rhodes ( grc, Μέντωρ Ῥόδιος) () was a
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
mercenary A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any ...
and later Satrap of the Asiatic coast. He fought both for and against
Artaxerxes III Ochus ( grc-gre, Ὦχος ), known by his dynastic name Artaxerxes III ( peo, 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ἀρταξέρξης), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 359/58 to 338 BC. He was the son and successor of ...
of
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkme ...
. He is also known as the first husband of Barsine, who later became mistress to
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
. In 358 BC, Mentor, along with his brother Memnon, were hired to provide military leadership by a rebel Persian satrap, Artabazus. Despite Mentor's capable leadership, the rebellion failed, and Artabazus, Barsine and Memnon fled to
Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled b ...
, where they were welcomed by Philip II. Mentor fled to
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
.
Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until th ...
Nectanebo II Nectanebo II ( Egyptian: ; grc-gre, Νεκτανεβώς ) was the last native ruler of Ancient Egypt, as well as the third and last pharaoh from the Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt. He reigned from 358 to 340 BC. Under Nectanebo II, Egypt prosper ...
immediately enlisted the aid of the Greek mercenary, as he expected a Persian invasion was imminent. The pharaoh sent Mentor, at the head of 4000 mercenaries, to support
Sidon Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast ...
, which had rebelled from Persia. Although Mentor won significant victories against some of the satraps, he was unable to defeat Artaxerxes' army, and was captured in 346 BC. Upon his capture, Artaxerxes evidently recognized Mentor's skills, and pardoned him. Immediately, Mentor was sent to aid in the invasion of his former refuge, Egypt. During the Egyptian campaign, Mentor led one of three divisions of the great kings Hellenic army he shared the command with Bagoas, a Persian of some note whom Diodorus of Sicily describes as the man 'whom the King trusted most, a man exceptionally daring and impatient of propriety.' The pair had some success in Egypt taking Bubastus amongst other cities by one cunning device, garrisoning the cities were both native Egyptians and Greek mercenary troops Mentor offered one side or the other a favourable surrender creating stasis and infighting within the garrisons weakening the defensive troops and making it far more easy for the Persians to gain the city by subterfuge. This tactic proved critical in the battle for Egypt, Nectanebo preserving the loss of so many of his fortified towns and cities withdrew from Memphis towards the south, choosing not to contest his kingship in pitched battle. After the defeat of Egypt, "Artaxerxes, seeing that Mentor the general had performed great services for him in the war against the Egyptians, advanced him over and above his other friends."Diod. 16.52.1 The king appointed Mentor his commander in the west in 342 BC and satrap of the Asiatic coast; he was also given a vast wealth of silver. One of his actions during his short tenure at this post was to pardon Artabazus, whom he allowed to return home, along with Barsine and Memnon. Mentor died after just four years in his post. His daughter later married Nearchus, and Barsine remarried, to Memnon. Memnon received Mentor's command after his brother's death.


References


Further reading

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External links


Livius.org: Mentor of Rhodes


Diodorus' account of the Egyptian campaign Ancient Greek mercenaries in Achaemenid service Ancient Rhodian generals Satraps of the Achaemenid Empire 380s BC births 340 BC deaths 4th-century BC Egyptian people 4th-century BC Rhodians People of the Twenty-ninth Dynasty of Egypt {{AncientGreece-bio-stub