Geomori (Samos)
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The Geomori (, 'land-sharers') were a group of wealthy aristocrats who ruled
Samos Samos (, also ; , ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese archipelago, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the Mycale Strait. It is also a separate reg ...
as an
oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or t ...
in the seventh or sixth century BC. They remained an important political group on Samos into the fifth century BC.


History


Rise and fall

The main source for the rule of the Geomori is a passage in the ''Greek Questions'', written by the philosopher
Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...
, in which he attempts to explain the name of a banqueting hall in Samos. Although Plutarch lived in the
Roman Imperial period The Roman imperial period is the expansion of political and cultural influence of the Roman Empire. The period begins with the reign of Augustus (), and it is taken to end variously between the late 3rd and the late 4th century, with the beginnin ...
, he had access to earlier sources, such as
Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...
and Duris and may be reliable. According to Plutarch, the Geomori murdered the last king of Samos, Demoteles, and established an oligarchy. The date of this event is uncertain - it must fall after the reign of Amphicrates (fl. 700 or 600 BC). The name of the group, 'land-sharers', is one associated with aristocratic groups in
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
and
Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...
in the same period, so they are usually interpreted as a group of landed aristocrats. Aideen Carty argues that they were a lower-ranking group in the aristocracy, who had received land in the territory seized by the Samians on mainland Asia Minor after the destruction of the city of Melia. She places their rise to power around 590 BC and links it to the decline of the Klima cemetery near the Heraion and the erection of the Kouros of Samos. At some point between 600 BC and 570 BC, the people of
Megara Megara (; , ) is a historic town and a municipality in West Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis Island, Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being taken ...
launched an attack on the Samian
colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...
of
Perinthus Perinthus or Perinthos () was a great and flourishing town of ancient Thrace, situated on the Propontis. According to John Tzetzes, it bore at an early period the name of Mygdonia (Μυγδονία). It lay west of Selymbria and west of Byzanti ...
. The Geomori appointed nine generals to take a force of thirty ships to help Perinthus. These generals were successful and took six hundred Megarians prisoner. The Geomori commanded that the prisoners be brought to them in chains, but the nine generals secretly made a deal with the prisoners and removed the pins from their shackles. When the prisoners were brought into the
council house A council house, corporation house or council flat is a form of British Public housing in the United Kingdom, public housing built by Local government in the United Kingdom, local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing ...
where the Geomori met, they killed them. The nine generals then took control of the city and granted the Megarian prisoners citizenship. The government that replaced the Geomori has often been interpreted as a
democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
, but Aideen Carty argues that it is more likely that it was another oligarchy. Carty also connects this new regime with the start of sumptuous burials in the West Cemetery, near Samos town, and suggests that this new government was responsible for the
Tunnel of Eupalinos The Tunnel of Eupalinos or Eupalinian aqueduct () is a tunnel of length running through Mount Kastro in Samos Island, Samos, Greece, built in the 6th century BC to serve as an Aqueduct (water supply), aqueduct. The tunnel is the second known tunn ...
, which was designed by a Megarian. It is not clear how long this government lasted.
Polycrates Polycrates (; ), son of Aeaces (father of Polycrates), 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 activi ...
established a tyranny around 540 BC and his father Aeaces may have reigned before that.


Subsequent history

The Geomori remained a force in Samian politics after their overthrow. In the fifth century, when Samos was part of the
Athenian empire The Delian League was a confederacy of Polis, Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, founded in 478 BC under the leadership (hegemony) of Classical Athens, Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Achaemenid Empire, Persian ...
, there was an ongoing conflict between a democratic and an oligarchic faction. Late in the
Peloponnesian war The Second Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), often called simply the Peloponnesian War (), was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek war fought between Classical Athens, Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Ancien ...
, the oligarchic group was in power and from
Thucydides Thucydides ( ; ; BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts Peloponnesian War, the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been d ...
we know that this group was called the Geomori. In 412 BC, Samian democrats, with the help of some Athenian naval crews stationed on the island, overthrew these oligarchs, killing two hundred of them and exiling four hundred others. The Geomoroi were barred from Samian citizenship and forbidden to intermarry with Samian citizens. However, in 411 BC there was an oligarchic coup in Athens, and the new government attempted to establish oligarchic governments in the cities under Athenian control. In Samos this could have returned the Geomori to power, but the Samian democrats and the Athenian naval crews on Samos joined forces against the oligarchs.Thucydides 8.74 This marked a significant setback for the Athenian oligarchic government and the Athenian naval crews subsequently played an important role in the fall of the oligarchy in Athens.


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=28–34 Ancient Samians Military coups in Greece Oligarchy Ancient Greek titles Social classes in ancient Greece