Megabazus
historical figure · 2 works · 4 mentions · 9 anchored passages
in the texts
The Histories
The Persian commander left in charge of Europe by Darius, remembered both for Darius's high praise and for a memorable witticism.
This Megabazus is forever remembered by the people of the Hellespont for replying, when he was told at Byzantium that the people of Calchedon had founded their town seventeen years before the Byzantines had founded theirs, that the Calchedonians must at that time have been blind, for had they not been, they would never have chosen the worse site for their city when they might have had the better.
from there, he crossed over with his ships to Asia, leaving Megabazus as his commander in Europe, a Persian whom he once honored by saying among the Persians what I note here:
then Darius said that he would rather have that many men like Megabazus than make all Hellas subject to him.
History of the Peloponnesian War
Persian envoy sent with money to induce Sparta to invade Attica and so draw the Athenians out of Egypt.
and the king sent Megabazus, a Persian, to Lacedaemon with a sum of money, that he might cause the recall of the Athenians from Egypt by the Peloponnesians being persuaded to invade Attica.
But when he did not succeed, and the money was being spent to no purpose, Megabazus with the remainder of it went back to Asia;