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[German version] (Ἰνάρως; Inárōs). Libyan king, son of  Psammetichus, called on the Egyptians in 460 BC to revolt against the Persians. The Athenians called by I. to the aid of the Egyptians, participated in the initially successful enterprise and surrounded  Memphis. This siege was drawn out over years. Not until 456 did the Persians send an army to Memphis that surrounded the Athenians on the island of  Prosopis. But it was not until an arm of the Nile was laid dry that they were finally forced t…

(Μυρωνίδης; Myrōnídēs). [German version] [1] Athenian strategos, 479/478 BC Athenian, member of the legation that went to Sparta in 480/479 BC to demand the immediate departure of the Peloponnesian army. In 479/478 M., as one of the strategoi led the contingent at  Plataeae (Plut. Aristeides 10,10; 20,1). Nothing is known about the lineage of M. However, the fact that he was part of the legation of 480/479 and that eleven ostraka with his name were found at the Kerameikos would indicate that he had already enjoyed great personal prestige and political influence earlier on. Persian Wars Ste…

[German version] (Ἀντίφημος; Antíphēmos). Rhodian from Lindus; in 688 BC founded the town of  Gela in Sicily after first consulting the oracle of Delphi. Herodotus (7,153) says an ancestor of a later tyrant,  Gelon, was involved, while Thucydides names Entimus of Crete as a further leader of the colonists. The stronghold was called first Lindioi and then Gela, from the river at the mouth of which it stood, and there Doric customs held sway (Thuc. 6,4,3). Even though several towns may have sent out …

[German version] (Λάβδα; Lábda). Daughter of the Bacchiad Amphion of Corinth. According to Herodotus (5,92), L. was lame and therefore could not find a husband in the strictly endogamous circle of nobility of the Bacchiadae. Therefore she was said to have married Eëtion from the deme of Petra who did not belong this circle. As there had been a prophecy even before the birth of their son Cypselus [2] that he would rule over Corinth, the Bacchiadae were said to have planned his murder. The tradition available to Herodotus says that L. succeeded in hiding the child in a kypsélē (‘chest’) thus sa…

[German version] (Δαμασίας; Damasías). Athenian archon in 582/1 BC. He succeeded in remaining in office for longer than the usual term of a year. Only after a further 14 months could he be driven out of office by violent means. For the remainder of his period in office in 580/79 it is said that a working party of ten archons ruled, five of whom are said to have belonged to the eupatrídai, three to the agroikoí and two to the dēmiourgoí (Aristot. Ath. Pol. 13,2). It is disputed whether the assumption of this ‘archontate compromise’ is historically correct. Traill, PAA 300925.  Archontate Stein-Hö…

[German version] Traditionally, A. is given among others as the name of the mother of  Themistocles (Plut. Themistocles 1, cf. Ath. 13,576). Her Thracian origins were supposedly the reason that Themistocles was not a full citizen.  Themistocles Stein-Hölkeskamp, Elke (Cologne) Bibliography F. J. Frost, Plutarch's Themistocles, 1980, 61-63.

[German version] (Βακχιάδαι; Bakchiádai). Exclusive aristocratic group which ruled over  Corinth from the middle of the 8th cent. BC. The B. derived from the Corinthian King Bacchis and followed their family tree back to  Heracles. 200 families belonged to the group (Diod. Sic. 7,9,6). They were a closed group for members by birthright only and maintained their exclusive status through endogamy (Hdt. 5,92). This practice distinguished them from the general aristocratic ruler classes of other poleis…

[German version] (Δαίφαντος; Daíphantos). Son of Bathyllios from Hyampolis. D. was one of the commanders of the Phocians in the clashes with the Thessalians shortly before the Persian Wars (Hdt. 8,27-31). The brilliant victory won by the Phocian army in these battles was still being commemorated in the home town of D. at the annual festival of the Elaphebolia in the time of Plutarch (Plut. Mor. 244B-C).  Elaphebolos;  Hyampolis Stein-Hölkeskamp, Elke (Cologne)

[German version] The killing of the supporters of the aspiring tyrant  Cylon in the sanctuary of Athena Polias around 630 BC was regarded as a religious outrage. The family of the responsible archon, that of the Alcmaeonid  Megacles, was punished with banishment (Hdt. 5,71; Thuc. 1,126). The sacrilege was repeatedly put forward until the time of  Pericles in order to harm the influential  Alcmaeonidas (Thuc. 1,127; 2,13); Davies 9688. Stein-Hölkeskamp, Elke (Cologne) Bibliography K.-W. Welwei, Athen, 1992, 133 ff.

[German version] (Μέλαγχρος; Mélanchros) was able to establish himself as tyrant during the internal conflicts in Mytilene around 600 BC, probably with the support of a hetairia . Another of these aristocratic groups, to which Pittacus and the brothers of the poet Alcaeus [4] belonged, however, soon managed to overthrow him again (Alc. fr. 331 Voigt; Strab. 13,2,3; Diog. Laert. 1,74). E.S.-H. Stein-Hölkeskamp, Elke (Cologne) Bibliography H. Berve, Die Tyrannis bei den Griechen, 1967, vol. 1, 91f., vol. 2, 572 L. de Libero, Die archaische Tyrannis, 1996, 315.

[German version] Modern term for a military dispute between the Euboean cities of Chalcis [1] and Eretria [1] over the Lelantine Plain ( Lēlántion pedíon ) situated between their respective territories. Today the conflict is generally dated to the period around 700 BC. The Lelantine War (LW) obviously dragged out over several decades. The surrender of the city of Lefkandi on the eastern edge of the plain that is dated to c. 700 on the basis of archaeological findings was probably a consequence of the war. The LW is first mentioned in Archilochus. There he states t…

[German version] (Πυριλάμπης; Pyrilámpēs). Son of Antiphon from Athens, born c. 480 BC, was the second husband of Perictione, the mother of Plato [1], and hence his stepfather (Pl. Chrm. 158a). P. was considered a friend and follower of Pericles [1] (Plut. Pericles 13). In the 440s he travelled as ambassador e.g. to Persia (Lys. 19,25). Valuable gifts of hospitality from the Great King, probably including P.' famous peacock farm, increased his wealth, which was in any case considerable, and his social sta…

[German version] (Ἐλπινίκη; Elpiníkē). Daughter of Miltiades and sister or stepsister of  Cimon. A number of scandalous tales grew up around her. Intimations of an incestuous relationship with Cimon are already found in Eupolis (PCG, fr. 221). Another tradition assumes a legal marriage, which would have been entirely possible between stepsiblings; however, there is no doubt that E. was married to  Callias (Nep. Cimon 1). She was supposed to have had an affair with the painter  Polygnotus (Plut. Cim…

[German version] (Ἀλκμαιονίδαι; Alkmaionídai). Influential aristocratic family, which in archaic times and across several generations played a prominent role in the history of  Athens.  Megacles [1], the first verifiable A., defeated around 630 BC  Cylon's attempt to achieve the tyrannis. The killing of Cylon's supporters represented a sacral outrage ( Alcmaeonid curse), for which the entire family was sentenced a short while later by a special court and sent into exile (Hdt. 5,71; Thuc. 1,126; Plu…

[German version] (Λυκομίδαι; Lykomídai). Priestly family from Athens, responsible for a cult of Demeter. Pausanias (1,22,7; 9,30,12) reports of a hymn that can be read in the Pinakotheca at the entrance to the Acropolis which the L. sang in honour of the goddess. The L. had a sanctuary in Phlya in which secret initiation rites took place (Plut. Themistocles 1,4; Paus. 4,1,7), which probably resembled the Mysteria in Eleusis [1]. In the Roman period links between the L. and the priestly families there are attested (IG II/III2 3559). In the older literature political significance was…

[German version] In summer 415 BC, shortly before the Sicilian expedition, all  Herms in Athens were damaged in one night. The citizens saw in this a bad omen for the enterprise. The posting of high rewards for informers led to the discovery of a further religious heinous deed: the desecration of the Eleusinian Mysteries ( Mysteria) in the private houses of some rich citizens.  Alcibiades [3], initiator of the Sicilian expedition, was accused of participating in both crimes. In the ‘witch hunt’ th…

[German version] The Greek cities in  Ionia were compliant subjects of the Persians from 546/5 BC. Beginning with the further expansion of the Persian empire towards the west, the limitations to their trade as a result, increasing taxes and conscription led many cities to attach themselves in 499 to the initiator of the rebellions,  Aristagoras [2]. The latter had given up the tyranny in  Miletus, proclaimed   isonomía and secured military support from Athens and Eretria for the revolt. In 498 the Milesians and their allies attacked  Sardes …

[German version] (Ἡγητορίδης; Hēgētorídēs). Respected citizen of Cos. The story of his daughter who was abducted by the Persians and who, as a suppliant, is said to have been freed by the Spartan ruler  Pausanias after the battle of Plataeae (479 BC), is one of Herodotus' examples of the moral superiority of the Greeks (Hdt. 9,76; cf. Paus. 3,4,9). Stein-Hölkeskamp, Elke (Cologne)

[German version] (Μνησίφιλος/ Mnēsíphilos). Athenian from the deme of Phrearrii. Immediately before the battle of Salamis (480 BC), he advised Themistocles to assert his influence with the allies in order to prevent their planned retreat to the Isthmus. Later writers generally regarded M. as a teacher of practical wisdom in the tradition of Solon and as an adviser and friend of Themistocles (Plut. Themistocles 2,6; Plut. Mor. 795c). 14 ostraka from the Kerameikos show that in 487/6 BC M. was nominated for ostrakophoria (see ostrakismós ). Whether he himself wa…

[German version] (Ἀλευάδαι; Aleuádai). Aristocratic family from Thessaly, which ruled in  Larissa and surrounding areas. Aleuas ‘the Red’ is supposed to have created the military and political order of the Thessalian federation (Aristot. fragment 497 Rose; Plut. Mor. 492A-B). Numerous A. held the tageia, the highest office of this federation. According to Herodotus (7,6; 130; 9,58) they approached Xerxes before the Persian Wars in order to cause his invasion of Greece; a few even joined the Persian army. From 404 BC the political develop…