Mattan I
Encyclopedia
Mattan I ruled Tyre from 840 to 832 BC, succeeding Baal-Eser II
(Balbazer II) of Tyre/Sidon.http://jwsr.ucr.edu/archive/vol10/number3/pdf/jwsr-v10n3-wilkinson.pdf
He was the father of Pygmalion
(also known as Pumayyaton), king of Tyre from 831 to 785 BC, and of Dido. As such, he may be the same person as Virgil
's The Aeneid
character Belus II
. In The Aeneid, Belus's son Pygmalion is the cruel-hearted brother of Dido who secretly kills Dido's husband Sychaeus because of his lust for gold.
The primary information related to Mattan I comes from Josephus’s citation of the Phoenician author Menander of Ephesus
, in Against Apion i.18. Here it is said that Badezorus (Baal-Eser II
) “was succeeded by Matgenus (Mattan I) his son: he lived thirty-two years and reigned, nine years: Pygmalion succeeded him.”
Dates given here are according to the work of F. M. Cross
and other scholars who take 825 BC as the date of Dido’s flight from her brother Pygmalion, after which she founded the city of Carthage
in 814 BC. See the chronological justification for these dates in the Pygmalion article. For those who place the seventh year of Pygmalion in 814 BC, i.e. in the same year that Dido left Tyre, the dates of Mattan and Pygmalion will be 11 years later.
Baal-Eser II
Baal-Eser II , also known as Balbazer II and Ba‘l-mazzer I, was a king of Tyre, the son of Ithobaal I.The primary information related to Baal-Eser II comes from Josephus’s citation of the Phoenician author Menander of Ephesus, in Against Apion i.18. Here it is said that “Ithobalus, the priest of...
(Balbazer II) of Tyre/Sidon.http://jwsr.ucr.edu/archive/vol10/number3/pdf/jwsr-v10n3-wilkinson.pdf
He was the father of Pygmalion
Pygmalion of Tyre
Pygmalion was king of Tyre from 831 to 785 BC and a son of King Mattan I .During Pygmalion's reign, Tyre seems to have shifted the heart of its trading empire from the Middle East to the Mediterranean, as can be judged from the building of new colonies including Kition on Cyprus, Sardinia , and,...
(also known as Pumayyaton), king of Tyre from 831 to 785 BC, and of Dido. As such, he may be the same person as Virgil
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
's The Aeneid
Aeneid
The Aeneid is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It is composed of roughly 10,000 lines in dactylic hexameter...
character Belus II
Belus II
For other individuals with this name, see Belus.Belus II is in Virgil's Aeneid the king of Tyre and father of Dido, Pygmalion of Tyre, and Anna. As such this Belus is to be equated with the historical King Matan I of Tyre....
. In The Aeneid, Belus's son Pygmalion is the cruel-hearted brother of Dido who secretly kills Dido's husband Sychaeus because of his lust for gold.
The primary information related to Mattan I comes from Josephus’s citation of the Phoenician author Menander of Ephesus
Menander of Ephesus
Menander of Ephesus was the historian whose lost work on the history of Tyre was used by Josephus, who quotes Menander's list of kings of Tyre in his apologia for the Jews, Against Apion...
, in Against Apion i.18. Here it is said that Badezorus (Baal-Eser II
Baal-Eser II
Baal-Eser II , also known as Balbazer II and Ba‘l-mazzer I, was a king of Tyre, the son of Ithobaal I.The primary information related to Baal-Eser II comes from Josephus’s citation of the Phoenician author Menander of Ephesus, in Against Apion i.18. Here it is said that “Ithobalus, the priest of...
) “was succeeded by Matgenus (Mattan I) his son: he lived thirty-two years and reigned, nine years: Pygmalion succeeded him.”
Dates given here are according to the work of F. M. Cross
Frank Moore Cross
Frank Moore Cross, Jr. is Hancock Professor of Hebrew and Other Oriental Languages Emeritus at Harvard University, notable for his work in the interpretation of the Dead Sea Scrolls, his 1973 magnum opus Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic, and his work in Northwest Semitic epigraphy...
and other scholars who take 825 BC as the date of Dido’s flight from her brother Pygmalion, after which she founded the city of Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
in 814 BC. See the chronological justification for these dates in the Pygmalion article. For those who place the seventh year of Pygmalion in 814 BC, i.e. in the same year that Dido left Tyre, the dates of Mattan and Pygmalion will be 11 years later.