Idrieus

1. Family

Idrieus was the son of the satrap of Caria, Hecatomnus, younger brother of Mausolus, and brother of Artemisia II, Ada and Pixodarus. He was born in the 2nd half of the 5th cent. BC in Caria. He was married to Ada, like Mausolus who had married his sister Artemisia. In the Hecatomnid dynasty, marriage between siblings was allowed according to the Carian custom, as related by Arrian; this marriage, however, was necessitated by the desire of the Hecatomnids to retain the power and wealth of their dynasty within the confines of the family. Idrieus and Ada remained childless.1

2. Activity

According to a reference in Polyaenus, related to the period of Mausolus’ rule in Caria, i.e. before Idrieus came to power, Mausolus wished to exhibit his goodwill towards Latmus, in order to capture it, and for this reason he returned to the city the hostages taken by Idrieus. Although no information is given on a previous attack against the city or a time-frame for the event, we may suppose that Idrieus was leader of a military force sent by Mausolus against Latmus.2

In 351/350 BC, Idrieus succeeded Artemisia II to the throne of the Carian satrapy and wielded power together with his spouse Ada, as attested on a decree discovered in the sanctuary of Sinuri.3

As an ally of the Persians, he helped the king Artaxerxes III in quenching the revolt in Cyprus. He participated with a considerable force: a fleet of 40 warships and an army of 8000 mercenaries, using as his commander the former king of Cyprus Evagoras II and the Athenian general Phocion. According to the ancient author Diodorus, the intervention in Cyprus occurred immediately after Idrieus had come into power, in ca.351/350 BC. Modern scholars, however, date it to between 345 and 343 BC.4 Demosthenes mentions, but does not name, a satrap from Caria who had annexed to his state the islands of Chios, Cos and Rhodes. Judging from the period of time Idrieus remained in power, it is reasonable to assume Demosthenes is referring to him.5

3. Coinage

Idrieus continued to mint drachmas, didrachms and tetradrachms in the type of Zeus Labraundos, which had been also used by Mausolus. These coins bore the head of Apollo on the obverse and Zeus Labraundos and an inscription with the name of the dynast on the reverse. He also minted subdivisions of the drachma, which indicates the increased financial contact of the population due to the intense commercial activity in Caria.6

4. Hecatomnid building programme

Idrieus is considered one of the most brilliant donors of the sanctuary at Labraunda, as his name appears on dedicatory inscriptions of five buildings, most important of which was the Temple of Zeus Labraundos. The rest of the buildings he dedicated to the sanctuary were the andron A, the houses, a treasure or hieros oikos and the south propylon. Furthermore, his name appears on the inscription of the epistyle in the propylaea of the Temple of Artemis at Amyzon. Both these Carian sanctuaries belong to a building programme designed and inaugurated by Mausolus and completed by Idrieus.7

Idrieus and Ada probably resumed the construction of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, which would not have been completed during the reign of Artemisia II. Another edifice connected with Idrieus is the Temple of Athena at Priene, whose construction is thought to have begun during the rule of Idrieus and Ada. Scholars also attribute to Idrieus or Mausolus the re-foundation of the city of Priene in the mid-4th cent. BC.8

A votive inscription on a base found in the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi informs us of the dedication to the sanctuary by the Miletians of a bronze complex of statues depicting the figures of Idrieus and Ada, crafted by the sculptor Satyrus. We are not aware of the reasons that led the Miletians to dedicate this sculpture with the figures of the two rulers of Caria in the Pan-Hellenic sanctuary of Delphi. This move could be interpreted as an attempt to underline the Hecatomnids’ strong bonds with the city of Miletus. The votive offering dates to the period of Idrieus and Ada’s joint satrapy, i.e. between 351 and 343 BC.9

Another votive offering depicting the two satraps originated from mainland Greece. This is a small relief found in Tegea of Arcadia; it depicted Idrieus and Ada worshiping Zeus Stratios or Labraundos, shown standing between them. The relief stele was originally identified as a dedicatory offering to the Temple of Athena Alea by a private individual and was dated to the period of Idrieus and Ada’s joint rule.10

The presence of these sculpture offerings in the Pan-Hellenic sanctuaries has recently led to the hypothesis that the two rulers were among the sponsors of the reconstruction of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi and the Temple of Athena Alea at Tegea in the mid-4th cent. BC. Thus, one could speak of the expansion of the Hecatomnid building programmes and donations to mainland Greece.11

5. Death

Idrieus passed away in 344/343 BC due to unknown natural causes. He wielded power in the satrapy of Caria for seven years, leaving his sister Ada as his heiress. The literary sources do not mention any funerary monument comparable to that of Mausolus. Perhaps the tomb discovered next to the sanctuary of Zeus Labraundos belongs to Idrieus.12

6. Evaluation

During his reign, Idrieus generally adopted a pro-Persian policy, contrary to the expectations of the Athenian orator Isocrates. Isocrates describes him as one of the wealthiest and most powerful rulers of Asia. This was probably true, as it was also true of Mausolus.13

Idrieus took steps to strengthen his state’s defences, continuing Mausolus’ policy. The fact that Demosthenes denounced his allegedly expansionary policy is no more than mere alarmism, for Idrieus did not actually detach Samos from the control of Athens.14

With respect to his relations with other cities of Asia Minor outside Caria, our information is limited. We know of a decree in Erythrae whereby the citizens honoured Idrieus as a benefactor and proxenos of the city. At the same time, based on this honorary decree it is proclaimed that this Ionian city offered the Carian satrap full commercial tax-exemption, a measure probably introduced by the pro-Hecatomnid oligarchs of Erythrae.15

Finally, we may conclude that Idrieus safeguarded Caria’s territorial integrity by avoiding tensions and following prudent policies. He was particularly active in the field of building projects, as he contributed to the embellishment of important Carian sanctuaries. The years that follow his death are regarded as a period of decline for the Hecatomnid dynasty.16




1. Str. 14.2.17; D. S. 16.69.2; Arr. 1.23.7; DGRBM II (1880), p. 563, Idrieus (E.H. Bunbury); REIA (1893), column 339, Ada (W. Judeich); REIXA (1914), column 912, Idrieus (2) (U. Kahrstedt); Hornblower, S., Mausolus (Oxford 1982), pp. 33, 359; Bosworth, A.B., A Historical Commentary on Arrian's History of Alexander I (Oxford 1980), p. 152- KlPauly 2 (1967), cols. 1341-1342, Idrieus (Η. Volkmann); NPauly 5 (1998), col. 896, Idrieus (J. Wiesehofer).

2. Polyaen., Strategemata 7.23.2; Debord, P., L'Asie Mineure au IVe siècle 412-323 a.c. (Bordeaux 1999), p. 392; Ruzicka, S., Politics of a Persian Dynasty: The Hecatomnids in the Fourth Century BC (Oklahoma 1992), p. 71.

3. Robert, L., Le Sanctuaire de Sinuri 1 (Paris 1945), p. 94; Hornblower, S., Mausolus (Oxford 1982), p. 45; NPauly 5 (1998), 896, Idrieus (J. Wiesehofer).

4. D. S. 16.42.6-9; REIXA (1914), 912, Idrieus (2) (U. Kahrstedt); KIPauly 2 (1967), 1341-1342, Idrieus (Η. Volkmann); NPauly 5 (1998), 896, Idrieus (J. Wiesehofer); DGRBM II (1880), p. 563, Idrieus (E.H. Bunbury); Hornblower, S., Mausolus (Oxford 1982), pp. 43-44; Ruzicka, S., Politics of a Persian Dynasty: The Hecatomnids in the Fourth Century BC (Oklahoma 1992), pp. 116-117; Debord, P., L' Asie Mineure au IVe siècle 412-323 a.c. (Bordeaux 1999), p. 401. Scholars date Idrieus’ intervention in Cyprus after the writing of Isocrates's letter to Phillip II, king of Macedon, dated in ca. 346 BC, where it is seen that the Athenian orator expects a clash between the satrap of Caria and the Persian king and the satrap providing aiding the Phoenician and Cypriot cities. Following his operations in Cyprus Isocrates’ hopes were confuted and there would have been no point in voicing them.

5. D., On the Peace V.25; Hornblower, S., Mausolus (Oxford 1982), pp. 44-45, 134; Ruzicka, S., Politics of a Persian Dynasty: The Hecatomnids in the Fourth Century BC (Oklahoma 1992), pp. 112-114; DGRBM II (1880), p. 563, Idrieus (E.H. Bunbury); Debord, P., L'Asie Mineure au IVe siècle 412-323 a.c. (Bordeaux 1999), p. 402.

6. Head, B.V., Historia Numorum (Oxford 1911), pp. 629-630; Hornblower, S., Mausolus (Oxford 1982), p. 340; Ruzicka, S., Politics of a Persian Dynasty: The Hecatomnids in the Fourth Century BC (Oklahoma 1992), p. 102; BMC Caria and the Islands, p. 183, tab. XXVIII.

7. Hornblower, S., Mausolus (Oxford 1982), pp. 278-279, 309-310, 313; Ruzicka, S., Politics of a Persian Dynasty: The Hecatomnids in the Fourth Century BC (1992), pp. 48, 104. On Labraunda see Crampa, J., Labraunda III.2, The Greek Inscriptions Part I I (Stockholm 1972), pp. 11-19; Hellstrom, P., "Architecture. Characteristic building-types and particularities of style and technique. Possible implications for Hellenistic architecture in Isager, J. (ed.), Hekatomnid Caria and the Ionian Renaissance, Acts of the International Symposium at the Department of Greek and Roman Studies, Odense University, 28-29 November 1991 (Odense 1994), pp. 36-57; Hellstrom, P., "Formal Banqueting at Labraunda", in Linders, T. -Hellstrom, P. (eds.), Architecture and Society in Hecatomnid Caria (Boreas 17, Uppsala 1989), pp. 17-104; Gunter, A.C, "Looking at Hectomnid Patronage from Labraunda", REA 87 (1985), pp. 113-124. On Amyzon see Robert, L., Fouilles d'Amyzon (Paris 1983), pp. 93-97; Debord, P., L'Asie Mineure au IVe siècle 412-323 a.c. (Bordeaux 1999), p. 403.

8. Hornblower, S., Mausolus (Oxford 1982), p. 239; Ruzicka, S., Politics of a Persian Dynasty: The Hecatomnids in the Fourth Century BC
(Oklahoma 1992), p. 104; Botermann, H., "Wer baute das neue Priene?", Hermes 122 (1994), p. 178; Carter, J.C., The Sculpture of the Sanctuary of Athena Polias at Priene (Reports of the Research Committee of the Society of Antiquaries of London XLII, London 1983), pp. 27, 31.

9. KIPauly 2 (1967), 1341-1342, Idrieus (Η. Volkmann). On the dedicatory offering of the Miletians at Delphi  see Hornblower, S., Mausolus (Oxford 1982), pp. 44, 111, 241, 275; Ruzicka, S., Politics of a Persian Dynasty: The Hecatomnids in the Fourth Century BC (Oklahoma 1992), p. 104; Debord, P., L'Asie Mineure au IVe siècle 412-323 a.c. (Bordeaux 1999), p. 402.

10. KIPauly 2 (1967), 1341-1342, Idrieus (Η. Volkmann). The relief is believed to be a dedicatory offering by some assistant of the sculptor Scopas who had worked in the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus or by some mercenary from Tegea who had served in the Carian army, for Arcadia was a centre for recruiting mercenaries, see Hornblower, S., Mausolus (Oxford 1982), pp. 240-241, 275; Smith, A.H., "Some Recently Acquired Reliefs in the British Museum", JHS 36 (1916), pp. 65-70; Jongkees, J.H., "New Statues by Bryaxis", JHS 68 (1948), pp. 29-39; Ruzicka, S., Politics of a Persian Dynasty: The Hecatomnids in the Fourth Century BC (Oklahoma 1992), p. 105; Waywell, G.B., "The Ada, Zeus and Idrieus Relief from Tegea in the British Museum", in Palagia, O. - Coulson, W. (eds.), Sculpture from Arcadia and Laconia (Oxford 1993), pp. 79-86; Debord, P., L'Asie Mineure au IVe siècle 412-323 a.c. (Bordeaux 1999), p. 402.

11. Waywell, G.B., "The Ada, Zeus and Idrieus Relief from Tegea in the British Museum", in Palagia, O. - Coulson, W. (eds.), Sculpture from Arcadia and Laconia (Oxford 1993), pp. 79-86; Gunter, A.C, "Looking at Hecatomnid Patronage from Labraunda", REA 87 (1985), p. 120.

12. Ruzicka, S., Politics of a Persian Dynasty: The Hecatomnids in the Fourth Century BC (Oklahoma 1992), pp. 118-119; NPauly 5 (1998), 896, Idrieus (J. Wiesehofer); DGRBM II (1880), p. 563, Idrieus (E.H. Bunbury).

13. Isoc., Phillip V.103; Hornblower, S., Mausolus (Oxford 1982), p. 266; Ruzicka, S., Politics of a Persian Dynasty: The Hecatomnids in the Fourth Century BC (Oklahoma 1992), p. 118; DGRBM II (1880), p. 563, Idrieus (E.H. Bunbury); RE IX.l (1914), 912, Idrieus (2) (U. Kahrstedt).

14. Hornblower, S., Mausolus (Oxford 1982), pp. 216-217; Ruzicka, S., Politics of a Persian Dynasty: The Hecatomnids in the Fourth Century BC (Oklahoma 1992), pp. 113-114; Debord, P., L'Asie Mineure au IVe siècle 412-323 a.c. (Bordeaux 1999), p. 401.

15. SEG 31(1984) 969, pp. 253-254; Ruzicka, S., Politics of a Persian Dynasty: The Hecatomnids in the Fourth Century BC (Oklahoma 1992), pp. 111-112; NPauly 5 (1998), 896, Idrieus (J. Wiesehofer).

16. Debord, P., L'Asie Mineure au IVe siècle 412-323 a.c. (Bordeaux 1999), p. 403.