The skēptouchoi of Cyrus the Younger

Abstract

The Achaemenid dignitaries known under the Greek term of skēptouchoi (σκηπτοῦχοι, sing. σκηπτοῦχος/skēptouchos), that is ‘scepter-bearers’, are mainly known from the court of the Achaemenid Great King, both from the written and iconographic accounts. Mentions of the skēptouchoi of Cyrus the Younger in Xenophon’s Anabasis indicate that the dignitaries were also present at Cyrus’ court in Anatolia. The aim of this article is to compare the source material about Achaemenid skēptouchoi to Xenophon’s data, and to attempt to determine on this basis the role and position of these dignitaries at the court of Cyrus the Younger, with emphasis on the dignitary called Artapates, ‘the most faithful of Cyrus’ skēptouchoi’.