Arcesilaus II of Cyrene, surnamed ''the Oppressor'', ''the Severe'' or ''the Harsh'' ( el, Ἀρκεσίλαος ὁ Χαλεπός, flourished 6th century BC), was the fourth Greek king of

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή ��παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...

and was a member of the

Battiad dynasty The Battiadae, or Battiads ( gr, Βαττιάδαι), were the ruling dynasty of the Greek city-state of Cyrene, in modern Libya. Battus I, who founded Cyrene in 631 BC, was also the founder of the dynasty. The Battiads were overthrown in 440 BC. ...

. It was from his reign that the dynasty began to fall into decline.

Ancestry and Relations

Arcesilaus II was the son of the third

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Cyrenaean King Battus II, while his mother is unknown. His paternal aunt was the Greek Cyrenaean Princess

Critola Critola ( grc, Κρίτολα, flourished 550 BC) was a Libyan Greek princess of Cyrenaica and its capital Cyrene and was a member of the Battiad dynasty. She was the daughter of Arcesilaus I, the second king of Cyrenaica, while her mother is un ...

and his paternal grandfather was the second Greek Cyrenaean King Arcesilaus I. Arcesilaus’ wife

Eryxo {{no footnotes, date=May 2012 Eryxo ( grc, Ἐρυξώ; flourished 6th century BC) was a Greek woman, who was a Queen of Cyrenaica and was a member of The Battiads dynasty, the family that ruled Cyrenaica and Cyrene. From the ancient Greek source ...

was his paternal cousin, and was Critola’s youngest child. Arcesilaus and Eryxo had married before he succeeded his father. His father died in 560 BC and Arcesilaus ascended the throne. Arcesilaus and Eryxo had a child who was the future Cyrenaean King Battus III.

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 ...

states Arcesilaus had another paternal cousin called Polyarchus, who was Eryxo’s eldest brother. Arcesilaus also had other paternal male cousins, though the historian doesn’t give their names.

Character

Plutarch states that Arcesilaus' character was different from his father’s and received the surname ‘The Oppressor‘, because his character and appearance was of a rugged deposition. During his father’s reign Arcesilaus had built fortifications around his house and became known throughout Cyrenaica for doing this.

Learchus

When Arcesilaus became King he had a man called

Learchus In Greek mythology, Learchus (Ancient Greek: Λέαρχος) or Learches was a Boeotian prince as the son of King Athamas and Ino, daughter of King Cadmus of Thebes. He was the brother of Melicertes. Mythology The story of Learchus is part of ...

or Laarchus, who became his advisor.

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 ...

states that Learchus was his brother, however Plutarch states that Learchus was an ill-mannered and vicious friend. Arcesilaus followed the counsels of Learchus and became more of a tyrant than a king. Learchus was secretly plotting behind Arcesilaus to become Cyrenaica’s new king. Learchus had ordered the banishment and deaths of noble Cyrenaeans. When Arcesilaus had found out about Learchus’ plotting, Arcesilaus had quarrelled with Learchus about the kingship and Learchus falsely blamed his plotting on him. Arcesilaus had ordered Learchus and his supporters to be exiled from Cyrenaica. Learchus and his supporters left Cyrene and created their own settlement called Barca, (sometimes known as Meri,

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...

). During the construction of Barca, Learchus was able to persuade local Libyans to withdraw their allegiance from Cyrene and encourage them to come with him and to declare war on Arcesilaus. Learchus and the local Libyans were alarmed of the Cyrenaean troops approaching them and they hastily withdrew. Arcesilaus and the Cyrenaean troops chased Learchus and his supporters as far as Leucon, when Learchus and his supporters decided to attack the king and his army. Arcesilaus and the Cyrenaean troops were defeated and he lost up to 7,000

hoplite Hoplites ( ) ( grc, ὁπλίτης : hoplítēs) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Polis, city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with ...

Death and burial

Not so long after the defeat, near Leucon Arcesilaus became very ill after drinking a poisonous drink containing a deadly fish called a sea-hare. According to

this fish when consumed is fatal to people. Learchus strangled and killed Arcesilaus in 550 BC. Learchus returned to Cyrene and after his attempt to become the new king, Eryxo and Polyarchus successfully plotted to have Learchus murdered. Then Battus III was proclaimed king by Polyarchus. Arcesilaus’ body was returned to Cyrene and was buried near his paternal ancestors.

Ancestry and Relations

Character

Learchus

Death and burial

See also

Sources