Tough Decisions in the face of Cyrus the Great
Pactyes was a Lydian in charge of the civil administration of government in Sardis, present-day Turkey. How much can we trust Herodotus to tell the whole story? Nevertheless, this is one of the difficult decisions made in the face of overwhelming power. Pactyes journeyed throughout ancient Lydia in his quest to evade the Persians. Eventually landing in Chios, he was surrendered by the Chians in exchange for some land on the mainland. In the interest of self-preservation and territorial gain, the Chians were not wrong to offer Pactyes. Their decision to surrender Pactyes’ was a prudent decision that ensured their survival.
Pactyes was primarily a middleman between the Persian occupational government and the Lydian population, who then “went rogue.” Pactyes was a native Lydian whom the Persian governor of Sardis, Tabalus, selected to collect and transport the treasures of Croseus and his fellow Lydians. He then turned against the Persian occupation government and used his position of power and access to wealth to convince his fellow Lydians to revolt while raising an army from the coastal villages of Lydia. The Persian emperor, Cyrus, immediately dispatched the Mede General, Mazares, to handle the problem at Sardis with a detachment of soldiers.
Despite having Tabalus under siege at the center of Sardis, Pactyes immediately fled upon learning that Mazares was moving toward him. He escapes first to Cyme, on the coast of Asia Minor. It is there that Herodotus describes the Cymians actions. Instead, when told to surrender Pactyes, they delay, ensuring their decision is the one which will most please the Gods. Interestingly, the only mention that Herodotus makes to supplication by Pactyes is in Aristodicus’ prayers to Apollo. After consulting the Gods, the Cymians ultimately decided to send him to Mytilene instead of making the hard decision between protecting Pactyes and being attacked or dishonoring him but giving up a suppliant.
No mention is made of supplication by Pactyes in Mytilene, only that they were about to give him up for a sum of money. It is then that the Chians decide that this could be an excellent deal for them and send for him. The Chians went to Mytilene to get Pactyes to make a deal with the Persians. Their entire intent was to benefit from this arrangement, which they did by receiving a portion of land opposite Lesbos located on the mainland of Asia Minor known as Atarneus. Atarneus is, coincidentally, located directly across from Mytilene.
The Chians decided that their own survival and territorial gains were more important than honoring the supplication of Pactyes. This decision ultimately haunted them. Herodotus reports that “for a considerable time after this no Chian would use barley meal from Atarneus to sprinkle on a sacrifice, or make any cake from the grain grown there; in fact, they put a ban upon all the produce of the district so far as religious purposes were concerned.” The Chians were not happy with their decision from a religious perspective, perhaps feeling that they dishonored the Gods in giving up a supplicant, and fellow Greek, to the Persians. The decision by the Chians was the best decision they could have made, and, unfortunately, the Cymians didn’t do the same thing for themselves. Choosing to hide or protect Pactyes would have resulted in the complete destruction of their cities at the hands of the much superior forces of the Persian Empire. None of these city-states had much choice, and Cyme and Mytilene were merely delaying Pactyes death and missing out on an opportunity for territorial gain.
Herodotus makes mention of Pactyes’ supplication only in his quotation of Aristodicus’ prayer to Apollo, so, therefore, Herodotus seems to think of supplication as an issue for the Gods. Herodotus’ take represents a departure from Homeric writings about supplication in which Homer vividly describes the supplication by the priest Chryses to Agamemnon. He also seems very indifferent toward Pactyes. Herodotus demonstrates the reality of the situation that Cyme, Mytilene, and eventually Chios faced. He describes in detail the attempts by the Cymians to beg Apollo to allow them to protect Pactyes, which was an effort to honor Pactyes’ supplication. But the truncated writing describing Pactyes’ movement to Mytilene and Chios suggests that Herodotus not only understands the prudence of treating Pactyes in that manner but also probably agrees with the Chian treatment of Pactyes.
