Prokles (circa 400 BC) was a descendant of the exiled Spartan king

Demaratus Demaratus ( el, Δημάρατος ; Doric: ) was a king of Sparta from around 515 BC to 491 BC. The 15th of the Eurypontid line, he was the first son born to his father, King Ariston. As king, Demaratus is known chiefly for his opposition t ...

, and ruler of

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a ...

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

under the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Based in Western Asia, it was contemporarily the largest em ...

. He was a brother of

Eurysthenes Eurysthenes ( el, Εὐρυσθένης, "widely ruling") was king of Sparta and one of the Heracleidae in Greek mythology. He was a son of Aristodemus and Argia, daughter of Autesion. He had a twin brother, Procles. Together they received the l ...

, with whom he was a joint ruler. After his deposition in 491 BC Demaratus had fled to

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, where king

Darius I Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his ...

made him ruler of the cities of

Teuthrania Teuthrania ( grc, Τευθρανία) was a town in the western part of ancient Mysia, and the name of its district about the river Caicus, which was believed to be derived from a legendary Mysian king Teuthras. This king is said to have adopte ...

and

Halisarna Halisarna ( grc, Ἁλίσαρνα) was a town of ancient Mysia on the north bank of the river Caïcus. The nearby towns of Halisarna, Pergamum, and Teuthrania had been given by the Persian king Darius I to the Spartan king Demaratus about the ye ...

. About a hundred years later Eurysthenes and his brother Prokles reigned over the same cities; their joint rule is at least attested for the year 399 BC.

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...

and the

Ten Thousand The Ten Thousand ( grc, οἱ Μύριοι, ''oi Myrioi'') were a force of mercenary units, mainly Greeks, employed by Cyrus the Younger to attempt to wrest the throne of the Persian Empire from his brother, Artaxerxes II. Their march to the Bat ...

received some support from Prokles in facing Achaemenid troops, at the beginning of their campaign into Asia Minor. According to

(''Anabasis'', 7.8.8-17), when he arrived in

Mysia Mysia (UK , US or ; el, Μυσία; lat, Mysia; tr, Misya) was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor (Anatolia, Asian part of modern Turkey). It was located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. It was bounded by Bithynia on the ...

in 399, he met Hellas, the widow of

Gongylos Gongylos ( grc, Γογγύλος), from Eretria in Euboea, was a 5th-century Greek statesman who served as an intermediary between the Spartans and Xerxes I of the Achaemenid Empire, and was a supporter of the latter. After the defeat of the ...

and probably daughter of

Themistocles Themistocles (; grc-gre, Θεμιστοκλῆς; c. 524–459 BC) was an Athenian politician and general. He was one of a new breed of non-aristocratic politicians who rose to prominence in the early years of the Athenian democracy. A ...

, who was living at Pergamon. His two sons, Gorgion and Gongylos the younger, ruled respectively over the cities of

Gambrium Gambrium or Gambrion ( grc, Γάμβριον and Γάμβρειον), also Gambreium or Gambreion (Γάμβρειον), was a town of ancient Aeolis and of ancient Mysia, Mysia, quite close to Pergamum. Its location is near Kınık and Bergama in � ...

Palaegambrium Palaegambrium or Palaigambrion ( grc, Παλαιγάμβριον, 'Old Gambrium') was a town of ancient Aeolis, close to Pergamum. Palaegambrium is first mentioned in the ''Hellenica (Xenophon), Hellenica'' of Xenophon which gives knowledge about th ...

for Gorgion, and Myrina and Grynium for Gongylos. Xenophon received some support from the descendants of Gongylos for his campaign into Asia Minor, as well as from the descendants of

Demaratos Demaratus ( el, Δημάρατος ; Doric: ) was a king of Sparta from around 515 BC to 491 BC. The 15th of the Eurypontid line, he was the first son born to his father, King Ariston. As king, Demaratus is known chiefly for his opposition t ...

, a Spartan exile who also had become a satrap for the Achaemenids, in the person of his descendant Prokles. The coinage of Prokles displays one of the earliest portraits of a Greek ruler on a coin. The city of Pergamon was later taken over by the Spartan general

Thibron ''Thibron'' is a genus of insect in the family Tetrigidae (the groundhoppers), tribe Tetrigini, from the central part of Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At abou ...

, who was fighting against the Achaemenid Satrap of Lydia and Ionia

Tissaphernes Tissaphernes ( peo, *Ciçafarnāʰ; grc-gre, Τισσαφέρνης; xlc, 𐊋𐊆𐊈𐊈𐊀𐊓𐊕𐊑𐊏𐊀 , ; 445395 BC) was a Persian soldier and statesman, Satrap of Lydia and Ionia. His life is mostly known from the works of Thucy ...

Notes

References

Benedikt Niese Jürgen Anton Benedikt Niese (24 November 1849 – 1 February 1910), also known as Benedict, Benediktus or Benedictus Niese, was a German classical scholar. Niese was born in Burg, on the island of Fehmarn, then part of the German Confederat ...

: ''Eurysthenes 4)''. In: '' Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft''. Vol. VI, 1 (1907), col. 1353-1354. {{Achaemenid rulers 5th-century BC births 4th-century BC deaths 4th-century BC Greek people 4th-century BC rulers Rulers in the Achaemenid Empire Ancient Greeks from the Achaemenid Empire Eurypontid dynasty