[Footnote 11: Theophylact. l. iii. c. 18. The story of the
seven Persians is told in the third book of Herodotus; and
their noble descendants are often mentioned, especially in
the fragments of Ctesias. Yet the independence of Otanes
(Herodot. l. iii. c. 83, 84) is hostile to the spirit of
despotism, and it may not seem probable that the seven
families could survive the revolutions of eleven hundred
years. They might, however, be represented by the seven
ministers, (Brisson, de Regno Persico, l. i. p. 190;) and
some Persian nobles, like the kings of Pontus (Polyb l. v.
p. 540) and Cappadocia, (Diodor. Sicul. l. xxxi. tom. ii. p.
517,) might claim their descent from the bold companions of
Darius.]