Amphicrates ( grc, Ἀμφικράτης) was an early king of

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate ...

(fl. 700 BC or 600 BC or 550 BC). He is known only from a brief reference in

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...

and his date is much disputed. Herodotus mentions Amphicrates in passing to explain why the people of

Aegina Aegina (; el, Αίγινα, ''Aígina'' ; grc, Αἴγῑνα) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina (mythology), Aegina, the mother of the hero Aeacus, who was born ...

enslaved a group of Samian exiles around 525 BC. He says that they did this because they remembered that King Amphicrates of Samos had led an attack on Aegina in which he "did the Aeginetans great harm and suffered great harm in turn." There have been three proposals for the context of this event. * The first was proposed by J. P. Barron and followed by Graham Shipley. They link the event with the

Lelantine War The Lelantine War was a military conflict between the two ancient Greek city states Chalcis and Eretria in Euboea which took place in the early Archaic period, between c. 710 and 650 BC. The reason for war was, according to tradition, the strugg ...

waged between the

Euboea Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest poin ...

n cities of

Chalcis Chalcis ( ; Ancient Greek & Katharevousa: , ) or Chalkida, also spelled Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief town of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from ...

and

Eretria Eretria (; el, Ερέτρια, , grc, Ἐρέτρια, , literally 'city of the rowers') is a town in Euboea, Greece, facing the coast of Attica across the narrow South Euboean Gulf. It was an important Greek polis in the 6th and 5th centur ...

around 700 BC, in which Samos is meant to have supported the Chalcideans. It is not clear why this would lead to an invasion of Aegina. The date and even existence of the Lelantine War has been questioned in recent scholarship. * T. J. Figueira and Aideen Carty proposed that Amphicrates' invasion of Aegina was connected to a conflict in which the Aeginetans attempted to win independence from

Epidaurus Epidaurus ( gr, Ἐπίδαυρος) was a small city (''polis'') in ancient Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros: ''Palaia Epidavros'' and ''Nea Epidavros''. Since 2010 they belong to the ...

, with the help of

Periander Periander (; el, Περίανδρος; died c. 585 BC) was the Second Tyrant of the Cypselid dynasty that ruled over ancient Corinth. Periander's rule brought about a prosperous time in Corinth's history, as his administrative skill made Corinth o ...

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...

. Epidaurus was Samos' mother city and Amphicrates might have led an invasion in order to support the Epidaurians. This event would have taken place a little before 600 BC. Carty suggests that it explains an episode recorded without context in Herodotus, in which the Samians seized a convoy of slaves sent by Periander to King

Alyattes Alyattes (Lydian language: ; grc, Ἀλυάττης ; reigned c. 635-585 BC), sometimes described as Alyattes I, was the fourth king of the Mermnad dynasty in Lydia, the son of Sadyattes, grandson of Ardys, and great-grandson of Gyges. He ...

of Lydia. * G. Schmidt and

Robert Drews Robert Drews (born March 26, 1936) is an American historian who is Professor of Classical Studies Emeritus at Vanderbilt University. He received his B. A. from Northwestern College, his M. A. from University of Missouri and his Ph.D. from Johns Ho ...

propose the Amphicrates ruled in mid-sixth century BC, as the immediate predecessor of

Polycrates Polycrates (; grc-gre, Πολυκράτης), son of Aeaces, was the tyrant of Samos from the 540s BC to 522 BC. He had a reputation as both a fierce warrior and an enlightened tyrant. Sources The main source for Polycrates' life and activit ...

of Samos. This proposal has found little support, because it does not seem possible to fit Amphicrates into what is known about the chronology of Samos in this period from other sources. At some point, the Samian kingship was overthrown and replaced with an

oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...

ruled by a group called the Geomoroi ('land-sharers'). The date of Amphicrates is important, because he must pre-date this event. J. P. Barron and G. Shipley suggest that the Geomoroi overthrew the Samian in response to Amphicrates' failure on Aegina; but another source,

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

, says that the king that they overthrew was called Demoteles (perhaps Amphicrates' successor).Plutarch, ''Greek Questions'' 57

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{cite book , last1=Carty , first1=Aideen , title=Polycrates, Tyrant of Samos: New Light on Archaic Greece , date=2015 , publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag , location=Stuttgart , isbn=9783515108980, pages=25–28 Ancient Greek rulers Ancient Samians 7th-century BC Greek people 6th-century BC Greek people