Telesarchus of Samos
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In ''The Histories'' of
Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...
, Telesarchus ( el, Τελέσαρχος, ''Telesarkhos'') was a 6th-century BC aristocrat who played a role in the political upheavals of
Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greece, Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a se ...
during its conquest by Darius and the
Persians The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian. ...
.


A story of power struggles

After the
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 re ...
Polycrates Polycrates (; grc-gre, Πολυκράτης), son of 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 activit ...
was killed, following talks with the Persians, his secretary Maeandrius seized power over Samos but attempted to restore a democratic form of government (ἰσονομίη, "rule of equals"). Telesarchus, representing the aristocratic faction, asserted that Maeandrius was "not fit to rule" and accused him of fiscal impropriety. To silence his criticism, Maeandrius arrested him. Nothing further was heard from Telesarchus, but the confrontation causes Maeandrius to become aware of and fear an opposition movement. He arrested a number of aristocrats on suspicion, abandoned his efforts toward democratic reform, and resolves to hold power as a tyrant: "Telesarchus' contemptuous refusal of democracy thus produces exactly what it endeavours to prevent: the rule of Maeandrius." The opinion that Telesarchus had of Maeandrius may be unwarranted; Herodotus said that Maeandrius's intention was "to become the most righteous of men," and Telesarchus's characterization of him as a scoundrel (ὄλεθρος, 3.142.5) is contradicted by his actions up to that point. At the same time, neither man has a clear view of what the political situation requires in the face of the Persian threat. Maeandrius appeared to be more interested in asserting himself as the liberator of Samos than in actually securing liberty. In its examination of the complex dynamics and psychology of power, the account in Herodotus can be read as "one of his many political essays." The story is replete with political irony. Despite Maeandrius's efforts to impose order, the political dispute left the Samians too disorganized to resist the Persians. When the Samian aristocrats oppose Maeandrius and his offer to become their liberator, they are arrested and subsequently killed; Herodotus remarked dryly that "apparently they did not want to be free." The Persians who conquered the island were led by
Otanes Otanes ( Old Persian: ''Utāna'', grc-gre, Ὀτάνης) is a name given to several figures that appear in the ''Histories'' of Herodotus. One or more of these figures may be the same person. In the ''Histories'' Otanes, son of Pharnaspes H ...
, a champion of democracy, who nevertheless placed Samos under the tyrannical rule of
Syloson Syloson ( grc-gre, Συλοσών, ''gen''.: Συλοσῶνος) governed Samos as a vassal ruler on behalf of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. He was appointed by king Darius I and was the brother of Polycrates of Samos. When Polycrates became ty ...
, brother of Polycrates and a traitor to his fellow Samians. It is possible that Telesarchus is a composite created by Herodotus to represent a point of view; his name can be translated as "End-Rule."


A political fable

Marcel Detienne Marcel Detienne (October 11, 1935 in Liège, Belgium – March 21, 2019 in Nemours, France) was a Belgian historian and specialist in the study of ancient Greece. He was a professor at Johns Hopkins University, where he held the Basil L. Gildersl ...
, a specialist in the anthropological approach to Greek culture, writing with Jesper Svenbro, used the story of Maeandrius and Telesarchus in conjunction with Aesopic fable to explore the theme of "the wolf longing for the city," summarizing the account in Herodotus as: In his opposition, Telesarchus seems to have recognized the paradox of "wolf turned lawgiver," the appropriation of power through appearing to offer its redistribution, but his aristocratic status caused him to attack Maeandrius on the basis of his inferior birth.Elizabeth Irwin, ''Solon and Early Greek Poetry: The Politics of Exhortation'' (Cambridge University Press, 2005), p. 25
online.
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Notes

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Sources

*
Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...
, ''Histories'' 3.142–143; for translation by Robin Waterfield, see ''Herodotus: The Histories'' (Oxford University Press, 1998), pp. 228–22
online.


Further reading

* J. Roisman, “Maeandrius of Samos,” ''Historia'' 34 (1985) 257–277. Ancient Samians Greco-Persian Wars