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(μεριδάρχης, Meridárchēs). [German version] [1] Ptolemaic administrative official from at least 260 BC Ptolemaic administrative official. The Egyptian district ( nomós ) of Arsinoites was divided up into three merídes (‘parts’), which in turn consisted of tópoi. This subdivision is attested from 260/259 BC at the latest[1. 5]. A meridarches was in charge of a merís and hence of its toparchs; the title is attested from the end of the 2nd century BC (PTebtunis I 66), but the names of the merídes (Ἡρακλείδου, Θεμίστου, Πολέμωνο…

[German version] (Καλλίμανδρος; Kallímandros). Delegate of the Alexandrians who was to offer the Egyptian monarchy to a Seleucid prince in 56 BC. PP 6, 14768. Ameling, Walter (Jena)

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[German version] (Φομμοῦς; Phommoûs) was, as syngenḗs ('king's relative') and epistratēgós (Court titles B 2) of the Thebaid, a predecessor of Plato [3] from c. August/September 115 until at least February 110 BC. In OGIS 168,26f., the king calls him his adelphós ('brother'). P. was an Egyptian, probably from the Delta; his career can perhaps be used as proof that Cleopatra [II 6] III sought indigenous support. Ameling, Walter (Jena) Bibliography E. van't Dack et al., The Judaean-Syrian-Egyptian Conflict of 103-1 BC,…

[German version] Egyptian village scribe ( Komogrammateus ) and owner of a dōreá, an estate awarded by the king (PPetrie II 38 a; III 31; PLille I 47,2 f.; 9 f.; 48,2 f.; 8 f.), of about 27.5 sq km (10,000 árourai; Aroura) in 251/0 BC. PP I 837 f.; 841; IV 8387. Ameling, Walter (Jena)

[German version] (Πάως; Páōs). Egyptian who made a career in Ptolemy VIII's service. P.'s career epitomizes the attempt to mobilize the Egyptian people in the dispute with Cleopatra [II 5] II. In 137/6 BC P. was the tôn prṓtōn phílōn, in 133/2 the (civil) stratēgós of several administrative districts in the Thebais; presumably in 132/1, in the course of the wars, he became syngenḕs kaì stratēgòs tês Thēbaḯdos, and finally in the summer of 129, as the successor of Boethus [1], he was syngenḕs kaì epistratēgòs kaì stratēgòs tês Thebaḯdos but he was replaced by Lochus [2] in 127/6 at …

(Θίβρων/ Thíbrōn). …

(πράκτωρ/ práktōr, πρακτήρ/ praktḗr: Poll. 8,114, 'executor', 'manager', from práttein, 'do'). [German version] I. Classical Period Greek official of a state executory authority, who, on instruction, recovered state claims, particularly fines. In Athens ten práktores chosen by lot annually were in service. Informed by the authorized court magistrate of penalties imposed, they entered them in the list kept on the Acropolis when state debtors did not pay immediately (IG II2 45; And. 1,77-79; Dem. Or. 25,4; 25,28; 43,71) [1. 270 f.]. An authority of the same name with essentially similar functions existed in Amorgos, Imbros, Ios, Ceos, Rhodes, Tenos, Thera, Delphi, Cyme, Medeon, …

[German version] [2] L. Pompeius Satyrist and freedman of Pompey Magnus Suet. Gram. 15 reports, aside from several romantic and improbable occurrences from the life of the young L., that he was a freedman of Pompeius Magnus, accompanied him on almost all his campaigns and after his death and the death of his sons (the last one died in 35 BC) earned his living as a school teacher in Rome. He remained so faithful to Pompey that he reacted to criticism of him in Sallustius' Historiae with an acerbissi…

(Ἡγέλοχος; Hēgélochos). [German version] [1] Fleet officer under Alexander the Great, 4th cent. BC Son of Hippostratus, officer under  Alexander [4]. Initially commander of the vanguard cavalry, he was commissioned to form a Macedonian fleet from ships collected from Greek cities in the summer of 333 BC (Arr. Anab. 2,2,3; inexact Curt. 3,1,19f.; Amphoterus was his subordinate, not his colleague). After the death of  Memnon his fleet dominated the Hellespont, where he i.a. stopped an Athenian grain fleet (Ps.-…

(ξένοι/ xénoi). 'Alien', i.e. free-born person not belonging to the Greek citizenship structure, who voluntarily stayed in a place and enjoyed certain rights there. Non-free aliens (slaves, prisoners of war) were not members of the group of xenoi, which was primarily defined in terms of rights. [German version] I. Classical Greece The term xenoi generally describes large groups of free-born people, staying permanently or temporarily in a particular community, without being citizens of it (Thuc. 2,31,1; 2,36,4; 6,30,2; Aristot. Pol. 1300b 31 f.), often used in contrast to ἀστοί/ ast…

(κληροῦχοι; klēroûchoi, proprietors of a klêros , of a ‘land allotment’). I. Athens [German version] A. 5th cent. BC Apart from its metaphorical meaning in Sophocles (Soph. Aj. 508: ‘having a certain fate’) first mentioned in literature by Herodotus (5,77,2) as a designation of 400 Athenians, who received fields in Chalcis [1] after the Athenian victory over the Chalcidians in 506/505 BC. The number is probably exaggerated, and cannot be corrected from Aelianus (Var. 6,1), who reports that 2,000 Athenians were settled on lands of the Chalcidian …

(Egyptian Ḥrw-m-ḫ.t, ‘Horus in the horizon’). [German version] [1] Name of the great Sphinx Name under which the great  Sphinx of  Gizeh was venerated as the embodiment of the sun god since the beginning of the New Kingdom ( c. 1500 BC). Many votive steles document the popularity of the cult amongst private people as well as kings. Seidlmayer, Stephan Johannes (Berlin) Bibliography …

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(Λεοντίσκος; Leontískos). [German version] [1] Olympic winner from Messana of Messana (Sicily). Two times Olympic winner in wrestling (456, 452 BC) [1]. He won his fights (in a similar manner to the pancratiast Sostratus) by breaking fingers (Paus. 6,4,3). His victor's statue in Olympia is by Pythagoras of Rhegium [2]. Decker, Wolfgang (Cologne) …

(Ἀντιγόνη; Antigónē). [German version] [1] Daughter of Thessalian  Phere Daughter of Thessalian  Phere and mother of the Argonaut Asterion (Hyg. Fab. 14,1). Harder, Ruth Elisabeth (Zürich) [German version] [2] Daughter of king Eurytion of Phthia Daughter of king Eurytion of Phthia, wife of  Peleus, by whom she has a daughter Polydora (Pherec. FGrH 3 F 61a). Peleus accidentally kills Eurytion and therefore flees to Acastus at Iolcus, who exculpates him. Acastu…

(Ἀνδρόμαχος; Andrómachos). [German version] [1] Possessor of a dorea (middle of the 3rd cent. BC) Documented between 253 and 249 BC in Egypt as possessor of a δωρεά ( dōreá) of 10,000 arourai. ‘Father’ of  Ptolemaeus Andromachou (?) [1]. Ameling, Walter (Jena) [German version] [2] Strategos of Syria and Phoenicia (end of 3rd cent. BC) Aspendian, commanded the phalanx in 217 BC at Raphia, later strategos of Syria and Phoenicia. PP 2, 2150. Ameling, Walter (Jena) [German version] [3] Ptolemaean official (1st half of 2nd cent. BC) Son of  Eirene, grandson of  Ptolemaeus Agesarchou; c. 197/8…

(Μυρμιδών/ Myrmidṓn, ‘ant’). [German version] [1] Progenitor of the Myrmidones Eponymous progenitor of the Homeric people of the Myrmidones (Hellanikos FHG 1 F 17); son of Eurymedusa, fathered by Zeus in the guise of an ant (Eratosth. In Serv. Aen. 2,7; Clem. Al. Protreptikos 34). With his wife Pisidice, daughter of Aeolus, M. fathered Antiphus and Actor (Apollod. 1,52) as well as the gluttonous Erysichthon (Hellanikos l.c.). Frey, Alexandra (Basle) [German version] [2] Mi…

[German version] [1] Son of Ptolemy I (Ἀργαῖος; Argaîos). Son of Ptolemy I (and of Eurydice?); murdered by Ptolemy II (because of a conspiracy?) after 282 BC. PP 6, 14489. Ameling, Walter (Jena) Bibliography C.…

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(Γανυμήδης; Ganymḗdēs, Etruscan Catmite, Latin apart from G. also Catamitus). [German version] [1] Cupbearer to Zeus In Greek mythology (main source: Hom. Il 20,231-235) the son of the Dardanian king Tros (Iliad parva 29,4 PEG I: son of Laomedon), who as the most beautiful human was abducted to the Olympus to serve Zeus as cupbearer in eternal youth and to delight the gods with his beauty. He is either abducted in a windstorm (H. Hom. 5,202), by  Iris (in art, possibly already in Ibycus PMG Fr. 289), by  Hermes…

(Ἀγαθόκλεια; Agathókleia). [German version] [1] Mistress of Ptolemy II Mistress of Ptolemy II; her historicity is uncertain. PP 6, 14713; [1]. Ameling, Walter (Jena) [German version] [2] Mistress of Ptolemy IV Daughter of Agathocles [5] and  Oenanthe, sister of  Agathocles [6]. Mentioned 215 BC in possession of several Nile boats, 213/12 kanephore. Mistress of Ptolemy IV; in 204 took part in the murder of  Arsinoe [II 4] III, entrusted with her mother with the young Ptolemy V (as nursemaid?). Murdered by a mob in 203 at the deposition of her brother. PP 3/9, 4984; 6, 14714; [2]. Ameling, W…

(Ἀραβάρχης; Arabárchēs) [German version] [1] Office in roman Egypt…

[German version] [1] From Cyrene, c. 100 BC (Στόλος; Stólos). Son of Theon, probably from Cyrene, later honoured with Athenian citizenship; archedéatros in Cyrene in 108 BC, later admiral of Ptolemaeus [15] IX on Cyprus between 107 and 104.…

(νομογράφος/ nomográphos, ‘law-writer’) [German version] I. Greece In some Greek cities individual, specially qualified men were entrusted during the archaic period with the task of writing laws for the pól…

(Ἐχεκράτης; Echekrátēs). [German version] [1] Thessalian condottierre of Ptolemy IV, c. 217 BC Thessalian condottiere of Ptolemy IV, whose training of the army and especially the cavalry significantly contributed to the victory at Raphia in 217 BC. In that battle, he commanded the right wing of the cavalry. An anecdotally coloured representation of the battle is recorded in Diod. Sic. 16,26,6. PP 2, 2161. Ameling, Walter (Jena) [German version] [2] Pythagorean from Phleius Pythagorean from Phleius, who together with Phanton, Polymnastos and Diocles, who also came from Phleius, as well as Xenophilus from Chalcidice, was one of the last r…

(Ἱππομέδων; Hippomédōn). [German version] [1] One of the Seven against Thebes One of the  Seven against Thebes, brother or nephew of  Adrastus [1], from Lerna, hero of gigantic size. In Aeschylus (Sept. 486ff.), he stands against Hyperbius at the Oncaean Gate, in Euripides (Phoen. 1113ff.; 119ff.), at the Ogygian Gate and at the head of the army. The motif on his shield is  Typhon or  Argus [II]. Euripid…

(Μένυλλος; Ményllos). [German version] [1] Military officer in the Lamian War, 322 BC After the Athenian defeat in the Lamian War by Antipater [1] in 322 BC, M. was appointed commander of the Macedonian garrison at the Munychia fortress in Piraeus (Diod. 18,18,5; Plut. Phocion 28,1 and 7). He was on good terms with Phocion who was then in charge of Athenian policy. After the death of Antipater, Cassander replaced M. with Nicanor. Engels, Johannes (Cologne) Bibliography W. S. Ferguson, Hellenistic Athens, 1911, 20. [German version] [2] Envoy of Ptolemy VI to Rome, 163/2 BC In 163/2 BC, M. of Alabanda went as the envoy of Ptolemy VI to Ptolemy VIII in Rome, where he helped his old and trusted friend, the historian Polybios, arrange the flight of Demetrius [7] I Soter (Pol. 31, 12,8f.; 14,8). In 162/1, M. was back in Rome although without achieving success for his king. Ameling, Walter (Jena) Bibliography E. Olshausen, Prosopographie der hellenistischen Königsgesandten, vol…

(Ἵππαλος; Híppalos). [German version] [1] Son…

(Πολεμαῖος/ Polemaîos). [German version] [1] Macedonian commander, c. 300 BC (also called Ptolemaeus and Polemon in MSS, but correctly P ., IG II2 469 and IK 28,2). Son of one P., Macedonian, nephew of Antigonus [1]. P. was probably already an officer in the Macedonian army under Alexander [4] the Great, possibly sōmatophýlax (Court titles B) of Philippus Arridaeus [4] (Arr. Succ. 1,38). In 319, he went to Eumenes [1] as a hostage of Antigonus (Plut. Eume…

(Κρόνιος; Krónios). [German version] [1] Platonist Platonist (Syranus, In Aristot. Metaph. 109,11) of the Pythagorizing tendency, mostly called a Pythagorean, (perhaps older) contemporary and friend (Porph. De anthro nympharum 21) of  Numenius, about the mid 2nd cent. AD. As a rule C. is only mentione…

(Λεύκιος; Leúkios). [German version] [1] Roman in the Ptolemaic army L. (= Lucius), son of Gaius, Roman, Ptolemaic phroúrarchos on Itanus (between 221-209 BC), thus the first Roman known to have had a higher rank in the Ptolemaic army. PP VI 15117. Ameling, Walter (Jena) [German version] [2] L. Charinus Ostensible author of apocryphal Acts of the Apostles Ostensible author of apocryphal Acts of the Apostles…

(Σώφρων/ Sṓphrōn). [German version] [1] Poet, 2nd half of the 5th cent. BC from Syracuse. According to Suda σ 893, approximately contemporaneous with (Arta)Xerxes in Persia and Euripides in Athens, i.e. from the 2nd half of the 5th cent. BC. This is in keeping with the traditional belief that his son Xenarchus composed a mime that referred to a historical event occurring in 394 or 389 BC (fr. 1; 4 Olivieri; [1. 59]). S. became famous for his mimoi, quasi-dramatic dialogues or monologues in a kind of rhythmic prose that depicted everyday characters for humorous purposes t…

(Εὐλαῖος; Eulaîos). [German version] [1] Main river of the area of Susiana One of the main rivers of the area of Susiana (Arr. Anab. 7,7; Diod. Sic. 19,19,1; Plut. Eumenes 14; Str. 15,3,4; 22; Plin. HN 6,100; 31,35 et al.) on which the metropolis Susa was also situated; it appears in the Hellenistic period as the Greek polis with the name Σελεύκεια ἡ πρὸς τῷ Εὐλαίῳ(Seleucia on the E.). It is indeed certain that E. was named after the river name Ulaï that appears in Mesopotamian and Biblical testimonials; however the identification of E. and the other rivers of Susiana passed down from antiquity ( Choaspes [1], Pasitigris, Kopratas, Hedyphon, Aduna) with rivers of the present day (Karḫe, Āb-e Dēz, Šūr Rūd, Kārūn etc.) is still a matter of debate. The reason for this is both the lack of clarity of ancient nomenclature itself and presumably also hydrographical changes in this region. Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) Bibliography G. Le Rider, Suse sous les Séleucides et l…

(Μενοίτιος; Menoítios). [German version] [1] Son of Actor and Aegina Son of Actor [1] and Aegina, who settled in Opus (Pind. Ol. 9,69f.); husband of Sthenele (or Periopis or Polymele), father of Patroclus and Myrto (Apollod. 3,13,8; Plut. Aristeides 20,7). In the Ilias M. is designated as hḗrōs (Hom. Il. 11,771; 18,325). When Patroclus killed Cleitonymus, son of Aphidamas, in battle, M. fled with him to Peleus in Phthia. From there, he sent his son to Troy, in support of Achilles [1] (Hom. Il. 23,83ff.; 11,765ff.). M. himself remained in Pht…

(Νικοκρέων/ Nikokréōn). [German version] [1] Conspirator against Evagoras, c. 375 BC N. plotted unsuccessfully against Evagoras [1], the king of Salamis on Cyprus (Theopompos FGrH 115 F 103,12), and had to flee (around 375 BC). N.'s daughter became the mistress of Evagoras and of the heir to the throne, Pnytagoras. According to [1. 99-101] the result of this union was the future king Pnytagoras II, whose son was Nicocreon [2]. Dreyer, Boris (Göttingen) Bibliography 1 Beloch, GG 4,2 2 LGPN 1, 335, nr. 1. [German version] [2] King of the town of Salamis on Cyprus, 332/1 BC Son of Pnytagor…

(Εὐμένης; Euménēs). [German version] [1] Chancellor of Philippos II and Alexander the Gr. * 362/1, Son of Hieronymus of Cardia, from 342 onwards chancellor for the Macedonian king Philip II and then for Alexander III, for whom he kept the ephemerides (Nep. Eumenes 1,4-6; Plut. Eumenes 1,4; Arr. Anab. 7,4,6; Ath. 10,434b). In 326, E. was …

(Κομανός; Komanós). [German version] [1] Greek grammarian, 2nd cent. BC C. from Naucratis. Greek grammarian of the 2nd cent. BC, who composed an exegetical work on Homer (an hypómnēma?; Aristarchus [4] of Samothrace challenged i…

(Βερενίκη; Bereníkē). [German version] [1] B. Maternal great niece of Antipater Born c. 340 BC as the daughter of Magas and Antigone, maternal great niece of Antipater [1]. Around 325, she married a certain Philippus, with whom she had two children: Antigone, later t…

(Ἀσκληπιόδοτος; Asklepiódotos). [German version] [1] Ptolemaean governor of Caria after 305 BC After 305 BC Ptolemaean governor (?) of Caria. Ameling, Walter (Jena) Bibliography R. Bagnall, The administration of the Ptolemaic possessions outside Egypt, 1976, 90f. [German version] [2] Military theoretician (1st cent. BC) Author of a treatise in 12 chapters on military theory (Ἀσκληπιοδότου φιλοσόφου τακτικὰ κεφάλαια; transmitted in the cod. Laur. LV-4 (F) and 11 other MSS dependent from it) and identified with a listener of Poseidonius mentioned in Seneca (Sen. Q Nat. 2,26,6; 30,1; 5,15,1; 6,17,3; 22,2). Accordingly, his work should be dated to the 1st cent. BC. His relationship to the …

(Λίχας; Líchas). [German version] [1] Messenger of Hercules Herald of Hercules [1]; he brings Hercules the garment which Deianira, jealous of Iole, had painted with the blood of the centaur Nessus (Hes. Cat. fr. 25,20-25 M-W; Soph. Trach.; Bacchyl. 16; for possible precursors and variants, see [1]). The supposed love charm causes the death of Hercules, who, in his agony, smashes the innocent L. against a rock in the sea (Soph. Trach. 772ff.; Apollod. 2,7,7? corrupt text). Later sources (Ov. Met. 9,2…

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(Μάργος; Márgos). [German version] [1] Strategos 255 BC M. from Carynea, probably serving as nauarch of the Achaean fleet contingent during the Illyrian War, was killed in 229 BC near Paxos ‘after faithfully serving the koinon of the Achaeans ’(Pol. 2,10). During the reformation of the league, he killed the tyrant of Bura in 275, thus forcing Iseas, the tyrant of Carynea, to resign and to have his town join the league (Pol. 2,41). Before Aratus [2] he played a prominent part and in 255 he was the first to be elected sole strategos (Pol. 2,43). Cobet, Justus (Essen) [German version] [2] Ptolemaic strategos 273 BC M. was in office as Ptolemaic strategos in Caria in 273 BC Ameling, Walter (Jena) Bibliography J. and L. Robert, Fouilles d'Amyzon, vol. 1, 1983, 118ff. [German version] [3] River in Moesia superior The most importan…

(Ἱέρων; Hiérōn). [German version] [1] H. I. Tyrant of Syracuse around 500 BC from Gela,  Deinomenid, brother of Gelon [1], born c. 540/530 BC. Married first a daughter of Nicocles of Syracuse (before 485), then of Anaxilaus of Rhegium ( c. 480) and finally of Xenocrates, a brother of Theron of Acragas ( c. 475). He was many times a victor in horse and chariot races in Delphi (482, 478, 470) and Olympia (476, 472, 468) [1. 208ff.]. Entrusted with the rulership o…

(Πάτροκλος/ Pátroklos, also Πατροκλῆς/ Patroklês; Lat. Patroclus). [German version] [1] Companion to Achilleus Son of Menoetius [1] from Opus (Hom. Il. 11,814; his mother's name is not given in Homer, alternative suggestions in Apollod. 3,176), best friend of Achilleus [1]. In his childhood, P. kills a fellow-player out of anger during a game of dice and then flees to Phthia to Peleus, who gives him to Achilleus as a companion (Hom. Il. 23,85-90; Hellanikos FGrH 4 F 145; Apollod. 3,176). According to Pind. O…

(Ξάνθιππος/ Xánthippos). [German version] [1] Athenian from the Cholargos deme, father of Pericles, around 500 BC Athenian from the Cholargos deme, father of Ariphron, Pericles [1] and a daughter, born c. 520 BC, married to Agariste [2], a niece of the Alcmeonid Cleisthenes [2]. In 489 BC X. argued as plaintiff for Miltiades' [2] conviction. In Aristoteles [6] X. therefore appears not only as a leading demagogue but also as an adversary of Miltiades ([Aristot.] Ath. pol. 28,2). In the spring of 484 X. was banished by ostrakismos from Athens, perhaps as an opponent of Themistocles's fle…

(Σωσίβιος/ Sōsíbios). [German version] [1] Egyptian statesman, 3rd cent. BC Son of Dioscurides, father of Ptolemaeus [32], Sosibius [2] and Arsinoe [II 5]; from Alexandria; still under Ptolemaeus [6] III he won victories in the diaulos at the Ptolemaia, in the agéneioi ('beardless') wrestling at the Panathenaea and in chariot racing at the Isthmia and Nemea (Callim. fr. 384 Pfeiffer; [1. 144-149; 2. 79-81]). At the time there was already talk of endowments for Zeus Kasios in Pelusium and the Heraeum (of Argos?). S., who was honoured on Delos c. 240 BC (IG XI 4, 649), was probably…

(Ἕλενος; Hélenos). [German version] [1] One of the great early seers One of the great early seers, more important in the epic kyklos than in Homer; son of  Priamus and  Hecabe (Hom. Il. 6,76; 7,44; Soph. Phil. 605f.; Apollod. 3,151; P Oxy. 56,3829), twin brother of  Cassandra (Anticlides FGrH 140 F 17; P Oxy. 56,3830). According to a probably archaic tradition, H. received his gift of prophecy when he was still a child in the temple of Apollo Thymbraeus, where he and Cassandra had fallen asleep. When their parents re…

(μαχαιροφόροι; machairophóroi). [German version] [1] In the Ptolemaic period, part of the royal guard and especially used for rural policing purposes and for the protection of high civil officials (later also for the kōmárchēs or the práktōr laographías); the members of the guard did not necessarily have to be Egyptians (cf. e.g. OGIS 737). In the Imperial period the term is often simply used as a synonym for ‘soldier(s)’; there were machairophóroi in the service of the imperial household and as bodyguards for officials who had to handle taxes and other monies. To …

(Κινέας; Kinéas). [German version] [1] Of Konde, king of the Thessalians, offered military help to Hippias against the Spartans in 511 BC C. of Konde, king ( basileús) of the Thessalians, in 511 BC offered military help in the form of 1,000 Thessalian horsemen to the Athenian tyrant  Hippias [1] when he was threatened by the Spartans, and defeated them at Phalerum (Hdt. 5,63f.; [Aristot.] Ath. pol. 19,5). Patzek, Barbara (Wiesbaden) [German version] [2] Thessalian (c. 350-277 BC), diplomat of king Pyrrhus, expert on Roman aristocracy The Thessalian C. (about 350-277 BC), diplomat…

(Θρασυκλῆς/ Thrasyklês). [German version] [1] Representative of Athens in the Peace of Nicias, 2nd half of the 5th cent. BC Athenian, who in 421/0 BC requested the proxenía for a resident of the Peloponnese (IG I3 80,7) and belonged to those who swore an oath on the truce and the alliance between Sparta and Athens in the so-called Peace of Nicias [1] in 421 (Thuc. 5,19,2; 24,1). In 412/1, T. was strategos along with Strombichides in the campaign to Asia Minor (Thuc. 8,15,1; 17,3; 19,2). Peloponnesian War Kinzl, Konrad (Peterborough) Bibliography Traill, PAA 517180 Develin 157; 141. …

(Τληπόλεμος/ Tlēpólemos, Doric Τλαπόλεμος/ Tlāpólemos). [German version] [1] Son of Heracles and Astyochia Son of Heracles [1] and Astyochia. After the Heraclidae retreated from the Peloponnese, T. settled in Argos along with Licymnius [1] and killed him there in the midst of an argument (Diod. 4,58,5-8; in Tiryns: Pind. Ol. 7,20-38; unintentionally: Zenon of Rhodos FGrH 523 F 1). As a result, T. fled to Rhodos, where he followed the Doric tradition and "settled three times according to phyle " (Hom. Il. 2,668), that is, he created a new political fo…

(στρατηγός/ stratēgós, 'army leader'; pl. strategoi). In many Greek states the formal title for a military commander. [German version] I. Classical Greece In Athens, strategoi are occasionally mentioned earlier (e.g. Peisistratus [4] as strategos; Hdt. 1,59,4; [Aristot.] Ath. pol. 17,2), but it was only after the tribal reorganization of Cleisthenes [2], probably first in 501/0 BC, that a regular board of strategoi was appointed: one from each of the 10 phylai, elected annually by the assembly (but candidates may have been pre-selected in the phylai, see [2]), and eligible for …

(Λεωνίδης; Leōnídēs). Cf. also Leonidas. [German version] [1] General Ptolemy I, c. 300 BC General of Ptolemy I, stratēgós in Cilicia in 310/309 BC (Diod. Sic. 20,19,4). L. probably consecrated a helmet at Delos in 309/308 (IG XI 2, 161 B 77), and in 308 he was appointed by Ptolemy as commander of his Greek possessions. In 307/306, L. fulfilled the function of stratēgós in Sicyon and Corinth; after 301, together with Philocles (?), he commanded Ptolemaic mercenaries in Pamphylia (SEG 17, 639; Aspendus). It is unclear whether he can be identified with Berve, vol. 2, no. 470. Ameling, Walter (…

(Ἑρμίας; Hermías). [German version] [1] Around 350 BC tyrant over Atarneus and Assos (or Hermeias) Around 350 BC successor of Eubulus as tyrant over  Atarneus and  Assos (Diog. Laert. 5,3), possibly pupil of Plato (Str. 13,1,57; Theopomp. FGrH 115 F 250; by contrast Pl. Ep. 6,322e). Along with other philosophers he brought Aristotle to the court and married him to his niece  Pythias. After the Persians had reconquered Egypt in 343/342, H. considered his region to be under threat and contacted  Philippus II (…

(Θεογένης/ Theogénēs). [German version] [1] Athlete from Thasos, 5th cent. BC Famous fighter from the island of Thasos, Olympic champion in 480 BC (against Euthymus of Locri [1. nos. 191; 214; 222]) in fist-fighting [1. no. 201] and in 476 BC in pankration [1. no. 215]. This constellation of victories was first documented for T. on an inscription in Delphi [2. no. 37] dating from the 2nd cent. BC, which attests that the athlete was adored by his home polis for as long as four generations after his death. Pausanias tells of three victories in Delphi, ten in the Isthmia a…

(νομοφύλακες / nomophýlakes, ‘guardians of the law’) [German version] I. Classical Period In the Classical Period, nomophýlakes were officials responsible for ensuring compliance with the laws ( nómoi). In Athens, the Areopagus (Areios Pagos) was said to have performed the function of the nomophylakía  until the reforms of Ephialtes [2] (462 BC) ([Aristot.] Ath. Pol. 3,6; [4,4]; 8,4; 25,2). According to one version in a fragment of Philochorus (FGrH 328 F 64), Ephialtes appointed a college of seven nomophýlakes, who also held some religious offices, but it is more likely…

(Ἡγησίστρατος; Hēgēsístratos). [German version] [1] Tyrant of Sigeum, around 530 BC Son of  Peisistratus and the Argive Timonassa (Hdt. 5,94; Aristot. Ath. Pol. 17,3). Installed as tyrant of Sigeum by his father around 530 BC, he defended the city as a colony of the Peisistratids against the Mytilenaeans (Hdt. loc. cit.).  Tyrannis Beck, Hans (Cologne) Bibliography Davies 11793,VI (B) M. Stahl, Aristokraten und Tyrannen, 1987, 220f. Traill, PAA 481600. [German version] [2] Seer in the army of Mardonius, 5th cent. BC H. of Elis, son of Tellias. Fled from Spartan captivity an…

(Ἀριστομένης; Aristoménēs). [German version] [1] Messenian hero and freedom fighter (2nd half of 7th cent. BC) Messenian hero and freedom fighter, seen as a descendant of the Aepytids. With the support of Arcadians and Argives, A. was the supposed leader of a Messenian revolt against Sparta which lasted for many years. Paus. 4,14,6-24,3 reports that on his defeat, after initial successes, in the so-called battle of the ‘Great Trench’ because of the treachery of the Arcadian king  Aristocrates [1], A. retreated…

(Λάμπων; Lámpōn). [German version] [1] Son of Pytheas of Aegina, 5th cent. BC Son of Pytheas of Aegina; after the victory at Plataeae (479 BC), he suggested to Pausanias that the body of Mardonius be defiled just like the latter had dishonoured the body of Leonidas [1] at Thermopylae (Hdt. 9,78f.). Stein-Hölkeskamp, Elke (Cologne) [German version] [2] Seer, co-founders of Thurii L. the Seer. He participated in the founding of Thurii (Diod. Sic. 12,10,3; schol. Aristoph. Nub. 332; Phot. s.v. Θουριομάντις; Plut. Mor. 812d). By interpreting an omen (σημείον /sēmeíon: one-horned ram) in…

[German version] A. Antecedents in the ancient Orient Court titles (CT) and court ranks in antiquity, used for the description and creation of personal proximity of members of courtly society to the  ruler or to the hierarchical rank classification of the upper class involved in administration, are a consequence of the emergence of territorial monarchies from the time of Alexander [4] the Great and the resulting organization of  courts as centres of political rule. The question of ancient Oriental antec…

(Κλεόβουλος; Kleóboulos). [German version] [1] Tyrant of Lindus, fl. 7th-6th cent. BC, poet Tyrant of Lindus (Rhodes), flourished in the 7th-6th cent. BC, considered to be one of the  seven wise men [1]. He composed ‘songs and riddles in about 3,000 verses’ (Diog. Laert. 1,89). Apart from 20 sayings (I6 p. 63, 1-12 DK), a short letter to Solon (Epist. p. 207 Hercher), a fragment of a scolion in a moralizing tone (SH 526). Preserved is only a funerary epigram in hexameter for king  Midas (Anth. Pal. 7,153 = GVI 1171a), quoted by Plato (Phaedr. …

(Greek κλῆρος/ klêros , Lat. sors). I. Political [German version] A. Greece The lot was used especially in democracies, but not only in such, as a means to distribute office among those who were equally eligible, rather than appointing the best candidate under the circumstances. For Athens, the Aristotelian Athenaion Politeia states that Solon introduced the selection of the archons by lot from a short list of pre-selected candidates ([Aristot.] Ath. pol. 8,1; but differing: Aristot. Pol. 2,1273b 35-1274a 3; 1274a 16-17; 3,1281b 25-34). In the…

(Πολυκράτης; Polycrátēs). [German version] [1] Tyrant of Samos, 540-522 BC Son of Aeaces [1], tyrant of Samos c. 540-522 BC, initially together with his brothers Pantagnostus and Syloson; he killed the former and expelled the latter (Hdt. 3,39). Aristotle calls major constructions comparable to the pyramids [6] 'the works of P.' (Aristot. Pol. 1313b 24); Herodotus pinpoints three buildings on Samos as the largest among those of the Greeks: the Temple of Hera, the harbour mole and the aqueduct of the architect Eu…

(Εὔφρων; Eúphrōn). [German version] [1] Sculptor from Paros, 5th cent. BC Sculptor from Paros who worked in Athens in the middle of the 5th cent. BC. Based on the evidence from extant sculpture pedestals, he created votive reliefs. The bearded head of a herm dedicated in Piraeus is extant. Neudecker, Richard (Rome) Bibliography Jeffery, 363, no. 29 C. Karouzos, En feuilletant les vieilles publications, in: BCH 70, 1946, 263-270 A. E. Raubitschek, Dedications from the Athenian Akropolis, 1949, no. 298, 304. [German version] [2] Pro-Spartan Theban, succesful in a democratic coup Afte…

(Ἱέραξ; Hiérax). [German version] [1] H. of Antiochia, strategos of Ptolemy VI after 146 BC H. of Antiochia, deserted Demetrius [7] I for Alexander [13] Balas (Diod. Sic. 33,3), and then deserted him in 146 BC for Ptolemy VI, whom he had proclaimed king by the Antiochenes (Diod. Sic. 32,9 c). He had a high position at the court and, as strategos (?) of Ptolemy VIII, he foiled the uprising of  Galestes, but then was eliminated by the king (Diod. Sic. 33,22; FGrH 87 F 4). PP 1/8,264; 2, 2163; 6, 17012. Ameling, Walter (Jena) [German version] [2] Commander in chief of Ptolemy IX in 88 BC Sent by Ptolemy…

(Διονυσόδωρος; Dionysódōros). [German version] [1] Taxiarch to Theramenes c. 400 BC Taxiarch to Theramenes, betrayed to the Thirty by Agoratus (Lys. or. 13,30; 39-42). The latter was taken to court in 399/98 BC by D.'s brother and brother-in-law, Dionysius, the speaker of the 13th oration written by Lysias. Strothmann, Meret (Bochum) [German version] [2] Theban and Olympic winner, envoy and participant in the battle of Issus Theban and Olympic winner. Sent as an ambassador to  Darius [3] and taken prisoner together with other Greek ambassadors by Parmenion in …

(Κάστωρ; Kástōr). [German version] [1] see Dioscuri see  Dioscuri Geus, Klaus (Bamberg) [German version] [2] C. of Rhodos Greek historian, 1st cent. BC Greek historiographer of the first half of the 1st cent. BC, whose vita in Suda s.v. is confused with that of the homonymous Galatian dynast, author of Chronicle in six books from Belus ( Baal) and  Ninus (2123/2 BC) on until the restructuring of the Near East by Pompey (61/0 BC), with lists of kings and officials from Assyria, Sicyon, Argus, Athens, Alba and Rome. The structure of his many-stra…

(Πέλοψ; Pélops). [German version] [1] Son of Tantalus Son of Tantalus (Cypria fragment 13 EpGF; in Hyg. Fab. 82 from his liaison with Dione), husband of Hippodamia [1], father of Atreus, Thyestes, Pittheus and other children (Pind. O. 1,88f. with schol.). P.'s original homeland was Asia Minor (cf. Pind. Ol. 1,24; Hdt. 7,8).  P.'s father Tantalus chops him into pieces, cooks him and serves him up to the gods. Demeter is the only one who fails to notice the horrendous deed and eats part of his shoulder (A…

(Μανία; Manía). [German version] [1] Greek personification of madness Greek personification of madness. Cultic worship as Maníai (plural!) in the place of that name near Megalopolis. According to Paus. 8,34,1-3, Orestes went mad there (identification with Erinyes/Eumenides? Erinys). In the singular M. is found only in Quint. Smyrn. 5,451ff. for the rage of Ajax [1]. M. appears with an annotation of the name on a Lower Italian vase by Asteas depicting Hercules's infanticide ( Lyssa, Oestrus). Käppel, Lutz (Kiel) [German version] [2] Name of the Roman goddess Larunda Another name for…

(Καλλικλῆς; Kalliklês). [German version] [1] Collocutor in Plato's Gorgias Collocutor in Plato's ‘ Gorgias; taking it as his premise that nature ranks above the law, he advocates the right of the stronger (Pl. Grg. 483 c-d). This is the lesson of the  Gorgias (Gorg. Encomium Helenae 6), understood by Aristotle (Aristot. Soph. el. 12,173a 8-16) as the conflict between truth and the opinion of the majority. C. is, however, no Sophist: on the contrary, he distances himself from them (Pl. Grg. 520a). From his So…

(Ἐπιγένης; Epigénēs). [German version] [0] Of Sicyon, Greek tragedian, 6th cent. BC E. of  Sicyon. According to the Suda s. v.  Thespis (θ 282 = TrGF I 1 T 1), the first tragedian (6th cent. BC). The audience supposedly reacted to the lack of Dionysiac content in his plays with the proverbial exclamation οὐδὲν πρὸς τὸν Διόνυσον ( oudèn pròs tòn Diónyson, ‘But this has nothing to do with  Dionysus!’; TrGF I 1 T 18,3). Perhaps E.'s activity may be related to the τραγικοὶ χοροί ( tragikoì choroí, ‘tragic choruses’) attested for Sicyon in Hdt. 5,67 [2. 21-23].  Tragedy I Zimmermann, Bernhard (Fr…

(Σεραπίων; Serapíōn). [German version] [1] S. of Antioch Mathematical geographer, 1st cent. BC Mathematical geographer to whom Plin. HN 1,2 referred to as gnomonicus ('measurer of shadows'). In 59 BC, Cicero (who was his contemporary) received S.'s geographical treatise from Atticus as the newest source for his planned Geographica but was hardly able to understand the content (Cic. Att. 2,4,1). In the treatise, Cicero encountered S.'s fierce criticism of Eratosthenes [2] (ibid. 2,6,1). S. estimated the circumference of the sun to be 18 times t…

(Τίμαρχος/ Tímarchos). [German version] [1] Athenian from Sphettus, politician, 4th cent. BC Son of Arizelus from the demos of Sphettus, Athenian politician in the 4th cent. BC who held several offices from 361/0 on (member of the council and of the financial office, legate). The speech of Aeschines [2] (who was about the same age as T.) of 345 in which he defended against a parapresbeías graphḗ filed by T. was directed against T., who was a follower of Demosthenes [2] and an adherent of pronounced anti-Macedonian politics. The accusatio…

(Ἡφαιστίων; Hēphaistíōn). [German version] [1] Commander under Alexander the Great, 4th cent. BC H. of Pella, friend and probably lover of  Alexander [4]. Their relationship was soon likened to that of  Patroclus and  Achilles [1] and correspondingly embellished. It is doubtful whether he was a childhood friend of Alexander (Curt. 3,12,16), as he was not banished by  Philippus II in 337 BC. The wreath offered to Patroclus at Troy and the scene described in the vulgate version ( Alexander historians) of the c…

(Ἀριστόβουλος; Aristóboulos). [German version] [1] Judas A. I., High Priest 104-103 BC Judas A. I, son and successor of John  Hyrcanus, High Priest in 104-103 BC, had his mother and brother incarcerated or killed to secure his rule. This and his philhellenic leanings determined his negative image in Jewish tradition. The claim of Josephus that he took on the title of king is thrown into doubt by (rare) coins with the Hebrew legend: ‘Judas the High Priest and the Council of Elders of the Jews’. During his ca…

(Ἡρῴδης; Hērṓidēs). [German version] [1] H. I.; Herod the Great. Born in c. 73 BC, son of  Antipater [4] and the Arabian woman Cyprus. In 47 appointed strategos of Galilaea, he came into conflict with the Sanhedrin of Jerusalem because of the execution on his own authority of persons involved in a revolt. The Roman governor of Syria Sex.  Iulius [I 11] Caesar made him the strategos of Coilesyria and Samaria. In 43 he proved himself to be indispensable to one of the murderers of Caesar, C.  Cassius [I 10], in the exploitation of the land, likewise in 41 after …

[German version] [1] Nomos, nomoi (ὁ νόμος/ ho nómos, pl. οἱ νόμοι/ hoi nómoi). Siewert, Peter (Vienna) [German version] A. General In Greek, nómos (pl. nómoi) refers to customary conduct or a behavioural norm observed by members of a community; depending on the context it can be translated with ‘custom’, ‘habit’, ‘practice’, ‘rule’, ‘order’, ‘institution’, ‘constitution’, ‘law’ etc. (cf. [1. 20-54; 2. 14-19]). The size of the communities where a nómos applied could vary considerably: from married couples and families to cult and settlement communities, from cit…

(Σκόπας/ Skópas). [German version] [1] Sculptor from Paros, mid 4th cent. BC Sculptor from Paros, active in the mid 4th cent. BC, working mostly in marble and very occasionally in bronze. In the opinion of the ancient world, S. was one of the most important masters of Greek sculpture. Written records ascribe to him approximately 25-30 individual works and major projects, which should probably be allotted to several sculptors with the same name of different generations. The extant pediment sculptures from th…

(Μόνιμος/ Mónimos). [German version] [1] From Syracuse, pupil of Diogenes M. from Syracuse, slave of a Corinthian banker, heard Xeniades, a rich citizen of Corinth, extol the virtue of Diogenes [14] of Sinope, who lived with him. In order to be able to leave his master and follow Diogenes, M. made out that he was insane; he was dismissed and so became Diogenes' pupil. He also stayed with Crates [4] for a long time and imitated his way of life (Diog. Laert. 6,82). M. must have been famous, as he appears in…

(Κλεομένης; Kleoménēs). [German version] [1] Athenian, rejected the Spartan terms of peace in 404 BC Athenian who rejected the Spartan terms of peace in the popular assembly in 404 BC (Plut. Lysandros 14). Welwei, Karl-Wilhelm (Bochum) [German version] [2] Member of a Spartan court of arbitration concerning Salamis at the end of the 7th cent. BC Spartan, member of a Spartan court of arbitration that allegedly awarded the island of  Salamis to the Athenians at the end of the 7th cent. BC (Plut. Solon 10). Welwei, Karl-Wilhelm (Bochum) [German version] [3] C. I. Spartan king, probably …

(κώμη; kṓmē, plural κῶμαι; kômai). [German version] A. Greece in the 5th and 4th cents. BC With the meaning ‘village’, kome signified in the Greek world a small community. Thucydides regarded life in scattered, unfortified kômai as the older and more primitive form of communal living in a political unit (Thuc. 1,5,1; on Sparta: 1,10,1; on the Aetolians: 3,94,4). Under the Aristotelian model of pólis formation, families first group together in a kṓmē, and then the kômai group together in a pólis (Aristot. Pol. 1,1252b 15-28; cf. 3,1280b 40-1281a 1). Scattered living in a kome is typical f…

(Παγκράτης/ Pankrátēs). [German version] [1] Musician, archaic style Musician; according to Aristoxenus [1] an enthusiast of the archaic style ( trópos) of Pindar and Simonides (Plut. De Musica 1137f). Harmon, Roger (Basle) [German version] [2] Poet, 3rd-2nd cent. BC Hellenistic poet (3rd-2nd cent. BC), author of the didactic poem Θαλάσσια ἔργα ( Maritime works), of which three fragments, dealing with the pilotfish, the wrasse and the salp and their 'common' names, are preserved by Athenaeus (who always refers to him as Arkás). Identification with the homonymous author of a Bokchorē…

(Ζωίλος/ Zōílos). [German version] [1] Greek Sophist from Amphipolis, 4th cent. BC Greek Sophist from Amphipolis, 4th cent. BC; active in the area of historiography [1], rhetoric [3] and philology; pupil of Polycrates [3], teacher of Anaximenes [2] from Lampsacus and Demosthenes [2]. However, Z. owes his fame to his criticism of Homerus [1] in his work Κατὰ τῆς Ὁμήρου ποιήσεως/ Katà tês Homērou poiḗseōs ('Against Homer's verse'; 9 books; fragments in [2]) which earned him the epithet Ὁμηρομάστιξ ( Homēromástix, 'Scourge of Homer'). Motivated by the Cynic approach, Z. endeav…

(Χαιρέας; Chairéas). [German version] [1] Strategos at Cyzicus, 410 BC Son of Archestratus (Lycomide?) of Athens. In 411/10 BC co- strategos in Samos, sent to Athens on the  Paralus, but was able to return (Thuc. 8,74,1-3; 86,3). In 410 strategos at Cyzicus (Diod. Sic. 13,49,6; 50,7; 51,3). PA 15093. Kinzl, Konrad (Peterborough) Bibliography Davies, 9238 Fraser/Matthews, GPN 2, 1994, 469, no. 3 A. W. Gomme et al., Historical Commentary on Thucydides, 5, 1981, 266-268. [German version] [2] Nauarch of Ptolemy IX, 1st cent. BC Nauarch of Ptolemy IX; perhaps strategos of Cyprus; 88 BC…

(Ἀθηνίων; Athēníōn). [German version] [1] Peripatetic rhetorician in Athens Peripatetic rhetorician in Athens (different from  Aristion [1. 341-343]), only known from the polemic party of  Posidonius (FGrH 87 fr. 36). Sent from Athens to  Mithridates VI in 88 BC, taken up by him among his φίλοι ( phíloi, friends), he won the support of the people with Mithridates' support and had as στρατηγὸς ἐπὶ τὰ ὅπλα ( strategòs epì tà hópla) a decisive influence on Athenian politics (‘tyrant’). A failed raid on Delos seems to have ended his political career. Olshausen, Eckart (Stuttgart) Bibliogra…

(Πρώταρχος/ Prṓtarchos). [German version] [1] Comic poet from Thespiae, 1st cent. BC Comic poet from Thespiae, victorious on one occasion in the 1st cent. BC at the Soteria of Acraephia, and son or father of the epic poet Protogenes; otherwise, nothing is known of him. Nesselrath, Heinz-Günther (Göttingen) Bibliography PCG VII, 1989, 583. [German version] [2] Epicurean from Bargilia, 2nd cent. BC P. of Bargilia. Teacher of Demetrius [21] Lacon (Str. 14,20; 2nd cent. BC), perhaps in Miletus. It is unlikely that he was the head of the Epicurean 'Garden' ( kḗpos ). Dorandi, Tiziano (Paris) Bi…

(Φιλοκράτης; Philokrátēs). [German version] [1] Athenian politician (beginning of the 4th cent. BC) Athenian who advised the Athenians at the negotiations in 392/1 BC to reject a peace treaty with Sparta (Dem. Or. 23,116f.). As stratēgós, P. in the summer of 390 BC commanded ten ships that were sent to Cyprus to help Evagoras [1] but were captured by the Spartan Nauarch Teleutias (Xen. Hell. 4,8,24). Schmitz, Winfried (Bielefeld) Bibliography P. Funke, Homónoia und Arché, 1980, 95; 144f.; 150. [German version] [2] Athenian rhetor and envoy, 4th cent. BC Son of Pythodorus from the de…

(Δημαίνετος; Dēmaínetos). [German version] [1] Epithet of Asclepius in Elis Epithet of  Asclepius in Elis, from the name of the cult founder (Paus. 6,21,4). Bloch, René (Berne) [German version] [2] From Parrhasia, allegedly transformed into a wolf D. from Parrhasia, a town in Arcadia. He is said to have been transformed into a wolf after he ate the flesh of a boy whom the Arcadians had sacrificed to Jupiter Lycaeus. After 10 years he became human again and was victorious in boxing at Olympia (Scopas FGrH 413 F 1; Varro in Aug. Civ. 18,17). In Paus. 6,8,2 he is called Damarchos. Bloch, René (Ber…

(Σωσιγένης; Sōsigénēs). [German version] [1] S. of Caunus is attested as oikonómos of Ptolemaeus [1] I in Lycia (SEG 27,929, Limyra) in 288/7 BC. Ameling, Walter (Jena) [German version] [2] Comedy writer, 2nd cent. BC Comedy writer, only attested epigraphically as a participant of the Attic Dionysiac agon in 157 BC, where he took sixth place with the play Λυτρούμενος ( Lytroúmenos, 'The ransomed man'). Nesselrath, Heinz-Günther (Göttingen) Bibliography 1 PCG VII, 1989, 603. [German version] [3] Astronomer, computed the Julian calendar for Caesar Astronomer charged by Caesar w…

(Ἑρμοκράτης; Hermokrátēs). [German version] [1] Syracusan statesman, 424 BC Syracusan statesman and general. Became prominent for the first time at the peace conference of Gela in 424 BC and successfully invited the Sicilian Greeks with the slogan ‘Sicily to the Siceliots’ to settle the internal disputes (Thuc. 4,58-64). In 415 he recommended the formation of a coalition against Athens reaching beyond Sicily (Thuc. 6,32,3-34). Initially chosen as one of three authorized strategoi, but soon, like his colleagues, deposed because of his lack of success (Thuc. 6,73,1; …

(Ζήνων/ Zḗnōn.) [German version] [1] Z. of Elea Eleatic philosopher, 5th cent. BC (Son of Teleutagoras). Eleatic philosopher of the 5th cent. BC; a pupil and intimate friend of Parmenides who became famous for his paradoxes. According to the Suda (29 A 2 DK), Z. wrote many books; but his Λόγοι ( Lógoi, 'Arguments', 40 according to Proclus, 29 A 15 DK) probably belonged to a single book, the one he read aloud to his closest circles in Athens (cf. Pl. Prm. 127c-d). In the lost dialogue Sophistes, Aristotle (Aristoteles [6]) declares Z. to have been the 'inventor' ( protos heuretes …

(Πλάτων/ Plátōn). [German version] [1] The philosopher, 428/7 - 348/7 BC Athenian philosopher, 428/7 - 348/7 BC Szlezák, Thomas A. (Tübingen) [German version] A. Life The Seventh Letter (which is not intended to constitute a complete autobiography) and scattered reports from various ancient authors (of these, Plutarchus' [2] Life of Dion and Philodemus' Academica Gaiser/ Academicorum Historia Dorandi are particularly instructive) are our most important sources of information on the life of P. To these should be added the chronological accounts in Apuleius, De Platone et eius d…

(Νικόλαος/ Nikólaos). [German version] [1] Strategos of Ptolemy IV in Coele Syria, 219 BC Aetolian, stratēgós of Ptolemy IV in Coele Syria. In 219 BC, he unsuccessfully besieged the dissident Theodotus in Ptolemais,  but succeeded in preventing the encirclement of Dora by Antiochus [5] III. Made supreme commander in 218, he occupied the coastal pass north of Sidon, but was repelled by Antiochus at the Damuras river. N. then probably defected to Antiochus, whom he accompanied in 209 to Hyr…

(Νουμήνιος/Noumḗnios). [German version] [1] Author of didactic poems from Heraclea, c. 300 BC N. from Heraclea, physician and poet, end of the 4th cent. BC. He was a pupil of the physician Dieuches [1] (Ath. 1,5), wrote on cookery and composed didactic poems on fishing (Ἁλιευτικόν/ Halieutikón, SH 568-588), on the theriac (Θηριακόν/ Thēriakón: SH 589-594), on medicinal prescriptions (SH 595) and ‘On Banquets (Δείπνων ἀναγραφαί/ Deípnōn anagraphaí: Ath. 1,5a). He may be the source on Nicander [4] (cf. schol. Theriakon 237; 257; 519; 637) and Archigenes. Fornaro, Sotera (Sassari) Bibl…

(Μελέαγρος/ Meléagros, Lat. Meleager). [German version] [1] Hero from the pre-Trojan period, Argonaut Mythological hero. Hero from the generation before the Trojan War, from Calydon [3], the capital city of the Aetolians. As one the Argonauts ( Argonautae) M. participated in the funereal games for Pelias (Stesich. PMG 179; Diod. 4,48,4). As the brother of Deianeira he is also linked with the Hercules cycle (Bacchyl. 5,170-175; Pind. fr. 70b). First and foremost, however, he is associated with the local legend of Calydon. In the archaic period there were two variations of the …

(μητρόπολις/ mētrópolis, literally ‘mother city’). [German version] [1] Mother city of colonies in the era of the ‘Great’ Colonisation (c. 750-500 BC) Since the so-called Great Colonisation (c. 750-500 BC, Colonization IV, cf. the overview there), in numerous Greek communities an oikistḗs (‘founder’) and further ápoikoi (‘settlers’, ‘colonists’) were selected from the citizenry of the future metropolis as starting point for a colonisation enterprise (or they left on their own initiative) and entrusted with the establishment of an apoikía outside the …

(Πύθων/ Pýthōn). [German version] [1] Dragon killed by Apollo near Delphi An enormous dragon killed by Apollo near Delphi with his arrows. The oldest version of the story is offered by H. Hom. 3,300-374: Apollo overcomes a female dragon who perpetrates her mischief in the vicinity of Delphi and into whose care Hera had given her son Typhon (Typhoeus, Typhon). The town and the god receive the nickname Pythṓ (cf. also the name of the female seer at Delphi, Pythía [1]) from its decaying (πύθεσθαι/ pýthesthai) corpse. According to Eur. IT 1245-1252, the dragon is male and guards the…

(Ἀριστόνικος; Aristónikos). [German version] [1] Athenian politician (2nd half 4th cent. BC) of Marathon, a wealthy man whose political allegiances lay with  Lycurgus and  Demosthenes (Plut. Mor. 846a); in 336/335 BC, he proposed the act about the  Panathenaea (LSCG no. 33), in 335/334 BC, together with Lycurgus, the psephisma for the deployment of the Athenian fleet against pirates (IG II2 1623, B 276-285), and prior to 322 BC, several laws to the   nomothetai (Alexis PCG 2, fr. 131,2). In 324/323 BC, A. faced prosecution in the trials of Harpa…