Oxyathres ( grc, Οξυάθρης; died 284 BC) was a son of Dionysius,

tyrant A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to re ...

of Heraclea and of Amastris, the daughter of the brother of

Darius III Codomannus Darius III ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; c. 380 – 330 BC) was the last Achaemenid King of Kings of Persia, reigning from 336 BC to his death in 330 BC. Contrary to his predecessor Artaxerxes IV Arses, Dariu ...

, also called Oxyathres. He succeeded, together with his brother Clearchus, to the sovereignty of Heraclea on the death of Dionysius, 306 BC, but the government was administered by Amastris during the minority of her two sons. Soon after the young men had attained to manhood and taken the direction of affairs into their own hands, they caused their mother to be put to death (284 BC); this act of matricide brought upon them the immediate vengeance of Lysimachus, who made himself master of Heraclea, and put both Clearchus and Oxyathres to death. According to

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 ...

, they had reigned seventeen years; their death should be assigned to the year 284 BC.

References

* Smith, William; ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 ...

''
"Oxathres (4)"

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, (1867)

Notes

---- {{SmithDGRBM 284 BC deaths Ancient Greek tyrants 3rd-century BC Greek people 3rd-century BC Iranian people People from Heraclea Pontica