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(Δάμων; Dámōn) [German version] [1] Prince of the Telchines Prince of the  Telchines. Father-in-law of Minos and ancestor of Miletus. When the Telchines were struck dead by lightning by Jupiter because they poisoned crops, D. and his family were spared in gratitude for hospitality provided. Only his daughter Macelo and her husband were among the victims (Nic. in the schol. Ov. Ib. 475). Bloch, René (Berne) [German version] [2] Pythagorean from Syracuse A Pythagorean from Syracuse, friend of Phintias, for whom he stood surety with his life. According to Aristoxenus (…

(Λύκων; Lýkōn). [German version] [1] Athenian, late 5th cent. BC Athenian, supported the rebellion of Pissuthnes against the Great King around 420 BC. Bribed by Tissaphernes, L. fell away from Pissuthnes and received several cities as territory under his rule in recompense (Ctesias FGrH 688 F 15,53). Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) [German version] [2] Prosecutor of Socrates Prosecutor of Socrates (Pl. Ap. 23e; 36a); satirized by comedians (Eupolis fr. 61; 232; Metagenes fr. 10 PCG; schol. Aristoph. Vesp. 1169) because of his poverty, foreign origin, …

I. Mesopotamia [German version] A. Numerical systems Before systems for representing numbers in writing were (further) developed, counting stones, known as calculi or tokens, were used in arithmetic. As first-order representations they enabled operations such as increasing, decreasing, combining, separating, and distributing. Their relationship to the numerical notations recorded in the oldest ‘texts’ ( c. 3300 BC; Uruk) is still discussed [2]. The numerical signs in these texts do not represent absolute numbers but context-dependent units of count…

(Πυθαγόρας/ Pythagóras). [German version] [1] Fictitious Spartan and adviser to Numa Pompilius Fictitious person, supposedly from Sparta, victor at the Olympic Games in 716 BC, emigrated to Italy where he became an adviser to king Numa Pompilius. It seems this person was constructed to establish a connection between P. [2] and Roman religion (Plut. Numa 1,2-3). Käppel, Lutz (Kiel) Bibliography F. Ollier, Pythagore de Sparta, REG 59/60, 1946/7, 139-149. [German version] [2] Philosopher, c. 600 BC Natural philosopher and charismatic teacher from the 6th and early 5th cent…

(Ἵππαρχος; Hípparchos). [German version] [1] Second son of Peisistratus, around 530 BC Second son of  Peisistratus and an Athenian woman. Together with his older brother  Hippias [1] and the younger Thessalus, H. assumed his inheritance (528/527 BC) after his father's death (Thuc. 6,55; [Aristot.] Ath. Pol. 18,1). In contrast to Hippias, H. exhibited no political profile. He dedicated himself to aristocratic social life and culture and invited, among others,  Anacreon [1] of Teos and  Simonides of Ceos to A…

(Διόδωρος, Διόδορος; Diódōros, Diódoros). Well-known representatives of the name: the philosopher D. [4] Kronos, the mathematician D. [8] of Alexandria, the universal historian D. [18] Siculus, the early Christian theologian D. [20] of Tarsus. [German version] [1] Athenian fleet commander in the Peloponnesian War Athenian, fleet commander with Mantitheus at the end of 408-407 BC at the Hellespont with a sufficient number of ships, so that Alcibiades [3] was able to sail to Samos and Thrasyllus and Theramenes to Athens (Diod. Sic. 13,68,2). (Traill, PAA 329550; Develin 171). Kinzl, …