structural:expansion, information:filtering
Name and ancestry

Mithridates is the Greek attestation of the Iranic name Mihrdāt, meaning "given by Mithra ", the name of the ancient Iranian sun god. The name itself is derived from Old Iranian Miθra-dāta-. The epithet " eupator " means "of a well (noble) father", and was adopted by a number of other Hellenistic rulers as well.

Mithridates Eupator Dionysus (Greek: Μιθριδάτης Εὐπάτωρ Διόνυσος) was a prince of mixed Iranic and Greek ancestry. He claimed descent from Cyrus the Great, the family of Darius the Great, the Regent Antipater, the generals of Alexander the Great, as well as the later kings Antigonus I Monophthalmus and Seleucus I Nicator.