# Otanes — Histories character guide

> Otanes in Histories by Herodotus.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Otanes a Persian, the Persians Otanes

**First appearance:** 0004-book-iii-thaleia

## Snapshot

A Persian noble who alone dares demand why the Magian usurper should rule, and who later wins a startling privilege for his household.

## Who they are

Among the seven conspirators who strike down the false Smerdis, Otanes is the one who first suspects the fraud and presses the others to act, speaking his mind bluntly in a court where silence is safer. His reward is a peculiar honor: he and his descendants stand free of the king's authority, owing obedience only if it pleases them. He anchors the Persian constitutional debate that Herodotus stages, giving the narrative its earliest taste of how power is seized, shared, and argued over.

## In the story

### [Book V: Terpsichore](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/histories_se/chapters/book-v-terpsichore)

Appointed commander of the coastal regions after Megabazos; conquers Byzantion, Calchedon, and other cities.

## Links

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