Kybernis Explained

Kybernis or Kubernis (ruled 520-480 BCE), also abbreviated KUB on his coins in Lycian, called Cyberniscus son of Sicas by Herodotus, was a dynast of Lycia, at the beginning of the time it was under the domination of the Achaemenid Empire. He is best known through his tomb, the Harpy Tomb, the decorative remains of which are now in the British Museum.^[1] According to Melanie Michailidis, though bearing a "Greek appearance", the Harpy Tomb, the Nereid Monument and the Tomb of Payava were built according main Zoroastrian criteria "by being composed of thick stone, raised on plinths off the ground, and having single windowless chambers".

Kybernis is known from Herodotus (Hdt. 7.92, 98) to have served under Xerxes I during the Persian invasion of Greece circa 480 BCE. He came with 50 ships. His men were equipped with cuirasses, felt caps with feathers, and capes made of goat-skin.^[2]

It is assumed that Kybernis disappeared at the Battle of Salamis (480 BCE), together with a large part of the Achaemenid fleet.^{[3] [4]}

Sources

• Book: Michailidis . Melanie . Gacek . Tomasz . Pstrusińska . Jadwiga . Proceedings of the Ninth Conference of the European Society for Central Asian Studies . Empty Graves: The Tomb Towers of Northern Iran. 2009 . Cambridge Scholars Publishing . 978-1443815024.

Notes and References

1. Book: Mortensen . Eva . Poulsen . Birte . Cityscapes and Monuments of Western Asia Minor: Memories and Identities . 2017 . Oxbow Books . 9781785708398 . 269 . en.
2. "A Lycian commander, Kybernis(kos), served under Xerxes in 480 b.c. with fifty ships. His men wore cuirasses and greaves, felt caps with feathers, and goat-skin capes. They were archers and hoplites, carrying javelins, daggers, and curved swords (Hdt. 7.92, 98)." Book: The Cambridge Ancient History: pt. 1. The prehistory of the Balkans; and the Middle East and the Aegean world, tenth to eighth centuries B.C . 1991 . Cambridge University Press . 659 . en.
3. Book: Keen . Antony G. . Dynastic Lycia: A Political of History of the Lycians and Their Relations with Foreign Powers : C. 545-362 B.C. . 1998 . BRILL . 9004109560 . 96 . en.
4. Book: Stafford-Deitsch . Jeremy . Kingdoms of Ruin: The Art and Architectural Splendours of Ancient Turkey . 2010 . I.B. Tauris . 9781845117993 . 107 . en.