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(Λέαινα; Léaina). [German version] [1] Hetaera of Aristogiton [1], 6th cent. BC Legendary hetaera of Aristogeiton [1]. After the murder of Hipparchus [1], Hippias [1] allegedly raped and killed her (Paus. 1,23,1f.; Plut. Mor. 505E; Ath. 596f; Cic. fr. 8,12 Merguet). In another version, she bit off her tongue while being tortured by Hippias so she would not betray her lover (Polyaenus, Strat. 8,45). A bronze lioness was supposedly erected to commemorate her. The name of the heroine (‘Lioness’) and the mor…

(Λυκόφρων; Lykóphrōn). [German version] [1] Younger son of Periander of Corinth The younger son of Periander of Corinth and Melissa, daughter of Procles of Epidaurus. In the war between Periander and his father-in-law, L. is sent to Cercyra and murdered there by the Cercyraeans, who presumably considered him a tyrant and successor of Periander. Legend-building in an early phase can be seen in Herodotus (3,50-53; cf. Diog. Laert. 1,94f.; Nicolaus of Damascus FGrH 90 F 60). Patzek, Barbara (Wiesbaden) [German version] [2] Founder of the tyrannis in Pherai, c. 404/390 BC Founder of the t…

(κορυνηφόροι; korynēphóroi, ‘mace-bearers’). [German version] [1] Bodyguards of Peistratus Bodyguards who were to protect Peisistratus against an alleged threat from his opponents. They were granted to him by the Athenian people. He used them to occupy the acropolis (Hdt. 1,59). Solon supposedly recognized this striving for tyranny and he was the only one to declare himself against the bodyguards ([Aristot.] Ath. Pol. 14,2; Plut. Solon 30). Patzek, Barbara (Wiesbaden) [German version] [2] Bodyguards of the tyrant of Sicyon According to a later tradition, bodyguards of the…

[German version] (Φύη; Phýē). Daughter of Socrates from the Paeania deme. As Peisistratus [4] attempted his second seizure of power in 546/5 BC, she was, on acount of her tall stature ( c. 1·80 m), dressed with weapons as the goddess Athena and carried on a chariot, as a sign that the goddess was showing him the way (Hdt. 1,60; Aristot. Ath. Pol. 14). This is related in the form of a legend as early as Herodotus. In later versions P. becomes a Thracian garland seller. P. is also given as the name of the wife of  Hipparchus [1] (Cleidemus FGrH 323 F 15). Patzek, Barbara (Wiesbaden) Bibliography H. Ber…

[German version] (Τῆλυς; Têlys). King or tyrant (Hdt. 5,44,47; Diod. Sic. 12,9,2) in proverbially rich Sybaris [4] c. 510 BC. Probably supported by the dêmos, he banished the 500 richest citizens of the city and confiscated their wealth. After these found shelter in Croton, T. attacked the city, in spite of the warnings of the seer Callias of Elis. After the Crotonians were victorious Sybaris was razed to the ground and T. was killed by his followers (Heraclid. Pont. fr. 49 Wehrli). The morally coloured tradition derives from the Crotonians. Patzek, Barbara (Wiesbaden) Bibliography H. B…

[German version] (Τιμοφάνης/ Timophánēs). Son of Timodemus and Demarete or Demariste, elder brother of Timoleon. In 366 BC, supported by his command of 400 mercenaries and the urban population, he elevated himself to tyrant of Corinth. When his rule degenerated into arbitrariness, Timoleon and others from the circle of his hetairía [2] tried, unsuccessfully, to convince him to give up his position of power. With the assent of Timoleon and the oligarchs of Corinth, T. was assassinated by his companions (Plut. Timoleon 4,5-8; Plut. Mor. 808a; Tim…

[German version] (τυραννοκτονία/ tyrannoktonía; Latin tyrannicidium). Term coined in Hellenistic and Roman rhetoric, historiography and law (initially Greek, Diod. Sic. 16,14,1, Latin Sen. Controv. 4,7). The term goes back to the public veneration of the tyrannicides in Athens (Harmodius [1], Aristogiton [1]). Their deed quickly became a democratic topos (Thuc. 1,20; 6,53,3-6,54,1). Injustice, lawlessness and despotism (Pl. Plt. 291e; Pl. Resp. 9,571-586) justified tyrannicide (Pl. Prt. 322d) and the…

[German version] (Βαττιάδαι; Battiádai). Designation for the dynasty of Cyrene that lasted for eight generations; four kings by the name of  Battus alternated with four others by the name of  Arcesilaus (Hdt. 4,159). The eponym is Battus I (since c. 630 in Cyrene). The king's privileges mentioned by Herodotus (4,161) are unusual. Since  Arcesilaus II ( c. 560), we find the typical aristocratic divisions in Cyrene which led to tyrannis in Greek cities of that time. The successors either tried to dominate or pushed for agreement. In order to stay in power, the king…

(Τελέστης; Teléstēs). [German version] [1] Last king of Corinth According to a list of kings in Diod. 7,9,2-5, T. was the last king of Corinth. The name's apt meaning ( télos = 'end') casts doubt on his historicity. His murder was, according to tradition, closely followed by the Bacchiadae (Paus. 2,4,4). Patzek, Barbara (Wiesbaden) Bibliography J. B. Salmon, Wealthy Corinth, 1984, 47; 55. [German version] [2] From Selinus, dithyramb poet, c. 400 BC Dithyrambic poet from Selinus [4]. The Marmor Parium (65) mentions a victory in Athens in 402/401 BC. Titles of his works are Argo (with cri…

(Ἰοφῶν; Iophôn) [German version] [1] Son of Peisistratus from his second marriage Son of  Peisistratus from his second marriage to the Argive Timonassa, the daughter of Gorgilus and widow of the  Cypselid Archinus of Ambracia. In contrast to his brother  Hegesistratus [1], only I.'s name has survived ([Aristot.] Ath. pol. 17,3; Plut. Cato maior 24,8; Hdt. 5,94f.). Patzek, Barbara (Wiesbaden) Bibliography L. de Libero, Die Archaische Tyrannis, 1996, 88 Traill, PAA 537360. [German version] [2] Athenian tragedian, 5th cent. BC Athenian tragedian (TrGF I 22), a son of  Sophocl…

[German version] (Φερετίμα; Pheretíma). Queen of Cyrene, wife of Battus [3] III the Lame, mother of Arcesilaus [3] III. After Arcesilaus reclaimed royal rights and in about 518 BC was banished, P. fled to Euelthon in Salamis in Cyprus and demanded military assistance. After the reconquest of Cyrene by her son and his flight to Barke she ruled as queen with a seat on the council. After Arcesilaus' murder in Barke she avenged him, helped by the Egyptian satrap Aryandes, with a campaign against the ci…

(Ἀριστόμαχος; Aristómachos). [German version] [1] Great-grandson of Heracles Great-grandson of Hercules, son of Cleodaeus (Hdt. 6,52; Apollod. 2,171; Paus. 2,7,6). His attempt to conquer the Peloponnese failed because an oracle was misunderstood. He fell in the battle and the country was conquered by his sons Temenus, Cresphontes and (in the Spartan version) Aristodemus [1] (Hyg. Fab. 124. 137) [1]. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Healing hero in Rhamnus Healing hero in Rhamnus. His sanctuary lies on a hill south-west of the Rhamnus Acropolis. He …

[German version] (Κυψελίδαι; Kypselídai). Dynasty of the Corinthian tyrant  Cypselus [2], who followed the  Bacchiadae around the mid 7th cent. BC. The rule of the C. (Cypselus,  Periander,  Psammetichus) was limited (probably post-event) by the Delphic oracle to Cypselus and his sons, and was supposed to end with the generation of his grandchildren (Hdt. 5,92e). According to Aristotle (Pol. 1315b 11ff.), the  tyrannis of the C. was the second longest lasting in Greece (73 1/2 years). He explains this long duration with Cypselus' popularity (cf. also Nicolaus of Dam…

(Βάττος; Báttos). [German version] [1] B.I. King of Cyrene, around 630 BC Son of Polymnestus, from the lineage of the Minyan Euphemus of Thera (Hdt. 4,150). Leader of the colonists and King of Cyrene (Hdt. 4,153,3; SEG 9,3: ἡγεμόνα ἀρχαγέταν καὶ βασιλέα). Around 630 BC, he first settled on the island of Platea, then on the Libyan coast, and finally in the town of  Cyrene after reaching an agreement with the local residents (Hdt. 4,153; 156; 158). There he reigned for 40 years according to Herodotus (4,159).…

(Παναίτιος; Panaítios). [German version] [1] Sicilian tyrant, about 700 BC P. of Leontini, established the first known tyrannis in Sicily around 700 BC. P. overthrew the ruling oligarchy, probably by inciting the people (Aristot. pol. 5,10,1310b 29; 5,12,1316a 37; Polyaen. 5,47). Patzek, Barbara (Wiesbaden) Bibliography H. Berve, Die Tyrannis bei den Griechen, 1967, 129; 593  T. J. Dunbabin, The Western Greeks, 1948, 66-68  N. Luraghi, Tirannidi archaiche in Sicilia e Magna Grecia, 1994, 11-20. [German version] [2] Trierarch at Salamis In 480, at the battle of Salamis, P. …

(Κλεισθένης; Kleisthénōs). [German version] [1] Tyrant of Sicyon c. 600-570 BC Tyrant of Sicyon ( c. 600-570 BC), son of Aristonymus, from the family of Orthagoras, whose tyranny lasted about 100 years ( c. 665-565 BC.; Aristot. Pol. 1315b 11ff.; cf. Nicolaus of Damascus FGrH 90 F 61). During the war with Argus C. pursued an anti-Argive domestic ideology, including prohibition of the presentation of the Homeric epics because they favoured Argos. The Argive hero  Adrastus [1] was replaced by the Theban hero  Melanippus (Hdt. 5,6…

Patzek, Barbara (Wiesbaden) Cobet, Justus (Essen) I. General (CT) [German version] A. Introduction (CT) Homer sets his tale of the wrath of Achilles and the battle for Troy (T.) in a memorial landscape whose reality was entirely due to the epic and the history of its reception. Troy was placed on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1998, 130 years after Heinrich Schliemann first appeared on the site (fig. 1). Whoever "henceforth" sails the Hellespont by ship will gaze at the funeral mounds of the heroes, visible from afar, as we read in the Iliad (7,85-91 with reference to Ajax) and the Ody…

(Αἰάκης; Aiákēs). [German version] [1] Father of the tyrants  Polycrates and  Syloson of Samos (6th cent BC) Father of the tyrants  Polycrates and  Syloson of Samos (Hdt. 3,39). His identification with A., son of Brychon, erector of a statue in the Heraeum, is doubtful. Patzek, Barbara (Wiesbaden) [German version] [2] Tyrant of  Samos (beginning of 5th cent, BC) Grandson of the foregoing, son of Syloson. Tyrant of  Samos and vassal of Darius (Hdt. 4,138). Deprived of his power in the Ionian rebellion, by order of the Persians he convinced several Samia…