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Anaxilas Of Rhegium
Anaxilas or Anaxilaus ( grc-gre, Ἀναξίλας, Ἀναξίλαος), son of Cretines, was a tyrant of Rhegium (modern Reggio Calabria). He was originally from Messenia, a region in the Peloponnese. Life Anaxilas was master of Rhegium in 494 BC, when he encouraged the Samians and other Ionian fugitives to seize Zancle, a city across the strait in Sicily which was then under the rule of the tyrant Scythes. Shortly after the Samian takeover, Anaxilas besieged the city himself, drove the Samians out, peopled it with fresh inhabitants, and changed its name to Messana, after his native Messene. Pausanias tells a somewhat different story. After the second war with the Spartans, Anaxilas assisted the refugees from Messina in the Peloponnese to take Zancle in Sicily. Anaxilas married Cydippe, daughter of Terillus, tyrant of Himera. In 480 BC he obtained the assistance of the Carthaginians for his father-in-law, who had been expelled from his city by Theron, tyrant of Agrigent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tyrant
A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to repressive means. The original Greek term meant an absolute sovereign who came to power without constitutional right, yet the word had a neutral connotation during the Archaic and early Classical periods. However, Greek philosopher Plato saw ''tyrannos'' as a negative word, and on account of the decisive influence of philosophy on politics, its negative connotations only increased, continuing into the Hellenistic period. The philosophers Plato and Aristotle defined a tyrant as a person who rules without law, using extreme and cruel methods against both his own people and others. The ''Encyclopédie'' defined the term as a usurper of sovereign power who makes "his subjects the victims of his passions and unjust desires, which he substitutes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Micythus
Micythus ( grc, Μίκυθος), son of Choerus, was a 5th-century BC tyrant of Rhegium (modern Reggio Calabria), Zancle (modern Messina). He also founded the city of Pyxus (c. 471 BC). He was at first a slave in the service of Anaxilas, tyrant of Rhegium, but gradually rose to so high a place in the confidence of his master, that at his death (476 BC) Anaxilas left him guardian of his infant sons, with the responsibility of holding sovereign power in trust for them until they should attain manhood. The administration of Micythus appears to have been both wise and vigorous. He gained the affection of his subjects, and managed the government of both Rhegium and Messana undisturbed by any popular commotions. One of the principal events of his reign was the assistance he provided to the Tarentines in their war against the Iapygians (473 BC), which was terminated by a disastrous defeat, in which 3000 Rhegians perished, with the survivors being pursued by the Iapygians up to the ve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scholiast
Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of the manuscript of ancient authors, as glosses. One who writes scholia is a scholiast. The earliest attested use of the word dates to the 1st century BC. History Ancient scholia are important sources of information about many aspects of the ancient world, especially ancient literary history. The earliest scholia, usually anonymous, date to the 5th or 4th century BC (such as the ''scholia minora'' to the ''Iliad''). The practice of compiling scholia continued to late Byzantine times, outstanding examples being Archbishop Eustathius' massive commentaries to Homer in the 12th century and the ''scholia recentiora'' of Thomas Magister, Demetrius Triclinius and Manuel Moschopoulos in the 14th. Scholia were altered by successive copyists an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epicharmus Of Kos
Epicharmus of Kos or Epicharmus Comicus or Epicharmus Comicus Syracusanus ( grc-gre, Ἐπίχαρμος ὁ Κῷος), thought to have lived between c. 550 and c. 460 BC, was a Greek dramatist and philosopher who is often credited with being one of the first comic writers, having originated the Doric or Sicilian comedic form. Literary evidence Most of the information about Epicharmus comes from the writings of Athenaeus, '' Suda'' and Diogenes Laërtius, although fragments and comments come up in a host of other ancient authors as well. The standard edition of his fragments was made by Kaibel (1890) to which there has been various additions and emendments. There have also been some papyrus finds of longer sections of text, but these are often so full of holes that it is difficult to make sense of them. Plato mentions Epicharmus in his dialogue '' Gorgias''Plato, ''Gorgias'' 05e "So that, in Epicharmus's phrase, 'what two men spake erewhile' I may prove I can man ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hiero I Of Syracuse
Hieron I ( el, Ἱέρων Α΄; usually Latinized Hiero) was the son of Deinomenes, the brother of Gelon and tyrant of Syracuse in Sicily from 478 to 467 BC. In succeeding Gelon, he conspired against a third brother, Polyzelos. Life During his reign, he greatly increased the power of Syracuse. He removed the inhabitants of Naxos and Catania to Leontini, peopled Catania (which he renamed Aetna) with Dorians, concluded an alliance with Theron, the tyrant of Acragas ( Agrigentum), and espoused the cause of the Locrians against Anaxilas, tyrant of Rhegium. His most important military achievement was the defeat of the Etruscans at the Battle of Cumae (474 BC), by which he saved the Greeks of Campania from Etruscan domination. A bronze helmet (now in the British Museum), with an inscription commemorating the event, was dedicated at Olympia. Hieron's reign was marked by the creation of what is believed to be the first secret police in Greek history, yet he was a liberal patron o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Locrians
The Locrians ( el, Λοκροί, ''Locri'') were an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the region of Locris in Central Greece, around Parnassus. They spoke the Locrian dialect, a Doric-Northwest dialect, and were closely related to their neighbouring tribes, the Phocians and the Dorians. They were divided into two geographically distinct tribes, the western Ozolians and the eastern Opuntians; their primary towns were Amphissa and Opus respectively, and their most important colony was the city of Epizephyrian Locris in Magna Graecia, which still bears the name "Locri". Among others, Ajax the Lesser and Patroclus were the most famous Locrian heroes, both distinguished in the Trojan War; Zaleucus from Epizephyrian Locris devised the first written Greek law code, the Locrian code. Mythology In Greek mythology, the Locrians were the descendants of Locrus, great-grandson of Deucalion and Pyrrha, the founders of the Greek race. According to some traditions, Deucalion was a native of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gelo
Gelon also known as Gelo (Greek: Γέλων ''Gelon'', ''gen.'': Γέλωνος; died 478 BC), son of Deinomenes, was a Greek tyrant of the Sicilian cities Gela and Syracuse, and first of the Deinomenid rulers. Early life Gelon was the son of Deinomenes. According to Herodotus, Gelon's ancestors came from the island of Telos in the Aegean Sea and were the founders of the city of Gela in southern Sicily.De Sélincourt's ''Herodotus'', p. 494. One of his later ancestors, Telines, was said to have reconciled his people after a period of civil strife through the divine rites of the Earth Goddesses; Herodotus infers that all of Telines' descendants, including Gelon, were priests of this cult. Gelon's three brothers were Hieron, Thrasybulus and Polyzalos.Bury & Meiggs, p. 189. Deinomenes consulted an oracle about the fates of his children, and was told that Gelon, Hieron and Thrasybulus were all destined to become tyrants. Gelon fought in a number of the conflicts between the va ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agrigentum
Agrigento (; scn, Girgenti or ; grc, Ἀκράγας, translit=Akrágas; la, Agrigentum or ; ar, كركنت, Kirkant, or ''Jirjant'') is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. It was one of the leading cities of Magna Graecia during the golden age of Ancient Greece BC. History Akragas was founded on a plateau overlooking the sea, with two nearby rivers, the Hypsas and the Acragas, after which the settlement was originally named. A ridge, which offered a degree of natural fortification, links a hill to the north called Colle di Girgenti with another, called Rupe Atenea, to the east. According to Thucydides, it was founded around 582-580 BC by Greek colonists from Gela in eastern Sicily, with further colonists from Crete and Rhodes. The founders ( ''oikistai'') of the new city were Aristonous and Pystilus. It was the last of the major Greek colonies in Sicily to be founded. Archaic period The territory under A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theron Of Acragas
Theron ( el, Θήρων, ''gen''.: Θήρωνος; died 473 BC), son of Aenesidamus, was a Greek tyrant of the town of Acragas in Sicily from 488 BC. According to Polyaenus, he came to power by using public funds allocated for the hire of private contractors meant to assist with a temple building project, to instead hire a personal group of bodyguards. With this force at his disposal, he was able to seize control of the town's government.Polyaenus. "Stratagems in War." 6.51 He soon became an ally of Gelo, who at that time controlled Gela, and from 485 BC, Syracuse. Gelo later became Theron's son-in-law. Theron went to war with the city of Selinunte and the tyrant of Himera, Terillus. The latter, expelled from his city, therefore sought an alliance with Carthage through his son-in-law Anaxilas, tyrant of Rhegium. Theron occupied Himera but was then besieged in this city by a Carthaginian army, assisted by Terillus. In 480 BC, Theron, with the support of Gelo, won a great victo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classical world. The city developed from a Canaanite Phoenician colony into the capital of a Punic empire which dominated large parts of the Southwest Mediterranean during the first millennium BC. The legendary Queen Alyssa or Dido, originally from Tyre, is regarded as the founder of the city, though her historicity has been questioned. According to accounts by Timaeus of Tauromenium, she purchased from a local tribe the amount of land that could be covered by an oxhide. As Carthage prospered at home, the polity sent colonists abroad as well as magistrates to rule the colonies. The ancient city was destroyed in the nearly-three year siege of Carthage by the Roman Republic during the Third Punic War in 146 BC and then re-developed as Roman Car ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Himera
Himera (Greek language, Greek: ), was a large and important ancient Greece, ancient Greek city, situated on the north coast of Sicily at the mouth of the river of the same name (the modern Imera Settentrionale), between Panormus (modern Palermo) and Cephaloedium (modern Cefalù) in the ''comune'' of Termini Imerese. Many of its remains can be visited and there are two museums on the site. History Foundation and earliest history image:Imera tempio della vittoria mod.jpg, 250px, Ideal reconstruction of the Temple of Victory. Himera was the first Greek settlement on this part of the island and was a strategic outpost just outside the eastern boundary of the Ancient Carthage, Carthaginian-controlled west. Thucydides says it was the only Greek city on this coast of Sicily, which must however be understood with reference only to independent cities. Mylae, which was also on the north coast and certainly of Greek origin, was a dependency of Zancle (modern Messina). All authorities agre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
