In Greek sources,
[.] Ostanes is given as the name of one of the sons of the
Achaemenid Persian emperor
Darius (II) Nothos, and the grandfather of
Darius (III) Codomannos. Aside from the name and relationship to the rulers, the sources do not have any information about the person.
The sources are
Diodorus
Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...
17.5.5 and
Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...
''Artax''. 1.1.5. The latter explicitly names
Ctesias
Ctesias (; grc-gre, Κτησίας; fl. fifth century BC), also known as Ctesias of Cnidus, was a Greek physician and historian from the town of Cnidus in Caria, then part of the Achaemenid Empire.
Historical events
Ctesias, who lived in the fi ...
(the physician of
Artaxerxes (II) Mnemon) as his source. Ctesias, however, names Artostes as the son of Darius II, and Ferdinand Justi suggests that the sources confused Artostes as Ostanes.
[.]
His son Arsames (II) married his cousin
Sisygambis
Sisygambis (died 323 BCE) was the mother of Darius III of Persia, whose reign was ended during the wars of Alexander the Great. After she was captured by Alexander at the Battle of Issus, she became devoted to him, and Alexander referred to her a ...
and had issue:
*
Darius III
*
Oxathres.
References
{{reflist
Achaemenid dynasty