Codrus (; ;

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 ...

: , ''Kódros'') was the last of the semi-mythical Kings of Athens (r. ca 1089– 1068 BC). He was an ancient exemplar of

patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

and self-

sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...

. He was succeeded by his son

Medon Medon may refer to: * Medon (mythology), any of several persons with the name in Greek mythology * Medon (beetle), a genus in the family Staphylinidae * Médon, a town in Ivory Coast * Medon, Tennessee, a city in Madison County * Medon, a synonym ...

, who it is claimed ruled not as king but as the first

Archon of Athens In ancient Greece the chief magistrate in various Greek city states was called eponymous archon (ἐπώνυμος ἄρχων, ''epōnymos archōn''). "Archon" (ἄρχων, pl. ἄρχοντες, ''archontes'') means "ruler" or "lord", frequentl ...

. He was said to have traced his descent to the sea-God

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as ...

through his father Melanthus. The earliest version of the story of Codrus comes from the 4th oration ''Against Leocrates'' by Lycurgus of Athens. During the time of the Dorian Invasion of

Peloponnesus The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge wh ...

(c. 1068 BC), the Dorians under

Aletes, son of Hippotes Aletes ( grc, Ἀλήτης) was a son of Hippotes, of Dorian ancestry, and a fifth-generation descendant of Heracles. He is said to have defeated in battle the Corinthians, taken possession of Corinth, and to have expelled the Sisyphids thirt ...

had consulted the

Delphic Oracle Pythia (; grc, Πυθία ) was the name of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as the Pythone ...

, who prophesied that their invasion would succeed as long as the king was not harmed. The news of this prophecy, that only the death of an

Athenian Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

king would ensure the safety of

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

, quickly found its way to the ears of the king of Athens, Codrus. In devotion to his people, Codrus disguised himself as a peasant and made it to the vicinity of the Dorian encampment across the river, where he provoked a group of Dorian soldiers. He was put to death in the quarrel, and the Dorians, realizing Codrus had been slain, decided to retreat in fear of their prophesied defeat. In the aftermath of these events, it was claimed that no one thought himself worthy to succeed Codrus and so the title of king was abolished, and that of

archon ''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...

substituted for it.

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...

, in the '' Constitution of the Athenians'', presents an alternative view that Codrus was succeeded as king by his sons Medon, and then Acastus.Aristotle ''Constitution of Athens'' 3

References

{{Authority control Kings of Athens Iron Age Greece 2nd millennium BC Family of Plato Ancient Greek rulers Attican characters in Greek mythology