Lycophron of Corinth (; grc-gre, Λυκόφρων) was the second son of the

Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...

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 rep ...

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 ...

. Periander beat his wife, Melissa, to death in a fit of anger. Lycophron, on learning of the cause of his mother's death through his grandfather Procles, ruler of

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 ...

, refused to speak to Periander. Periander punished Lycophron by first throwing him out of the palace, then forbidding any Corinthian to speak with him. Finally, Periander sent Lycophron in exile to

Corcyra Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

. Many years later, Periander asked Lycophron to return to Corinth to inherit his tyranny, but he refused; eventually Lycophron agreed on the condition that Periander would take his place in Corcyra. On learning that Periander would be coming to Corcyra, the inhabitants of that island murdered Lycophron. In revenge, Periander had 300 sons of the people of Corcyra sent to

Alyattes of Lydia Alyattes (Lydian language: ; grc, wikt:Ἀλυάττης, Ἀλυάττης ; reigned c. 635-585 BC), sometimes described as Alyattes I, was the fourth king of the List of kings of Lydia#Mermnadae, Mermnad dynasty in Lydia, the son of Sadyatt ...

to be made into

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millennium ...

s. The story of Periander and Lycophron parallels a number of other stories in Herodotus where a son is killed because of their father's actions, such as those of the sons of Harpagus and of Prexaspes.

References

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 ...

III 50-53 *

Diogenes Laërtius Diogenes Laërtius ( ; grc-gre, Διογένης Λαέρτιος, ; ) was a biographer of the Ancient Greece, Greek philosophers. Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving ''Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers'' is a ...

I 94, 95 7th-century BC births 6th-century BC deaths Ancient Corinthians Ancient Corcyrans Archaic tyrants 7th-century BC Greek people {{AncientGreece-bio-stub