The Bacchiadae ( grc, Βακχιάδαι ''Bakkhiadai''), a tightly knit
Doric clan, were the ruling family of
ancient Corinth in the eighth and seventh centuries BCE, a period of Corinthian cultural power.
History
Corinth had been a backwater in eighth-century Greece. In 747 BCE (a traditional date) an
aristocratic revolution ousted the Bacchiad kings of Corinth, when the royal clan of Bacchiadae, numbering perhaps a couple of hundred adult males and claiming descent from the Dorian
hero
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...
Heracles through the seven sons and three daughters of a
legend
A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...
ary king Bacchis, took power from the last king, Telestes. Practising strict
endogamy, which kept clan outlines within a distinct extended ''
oikos'', they dispensed with kingship and ruled as a group, governing the city by electing annually a ''
prytanis
The ''prytaneis'' (πρυτάνεις; sing.: πρύτανις ''prytanis'') were the executives of the '' boule'' of ancient Athens.
Origins and organization
The term (like ''basileus'' or '' tyrannos'') is probably of Pre-Greek etymology (pos ...
'' who held the kingly position for his brief term, no doubt a council (though none is specifically documented in the scant literary materials) and a ''
polemarch
A polemarch (, from , ''polemarchos'') was a senior military title in various ancient Greek city states (''poleis''). The title is derived from the words ''polemos'' (war) and ''archon'' (ruler, leader) and translates as "warleader" or "warlord" ...
os'' to head the army.
In 657 BCE, the Bacchiadae were expelled in turn by 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 ...
Cypselus
Cypselus ( grc-gre, Κύψελος, ''Kypselos'') was the first tyrant of Corinth in the 7th century BC.
With increased wealth and more complicated trade relations and social structures, Greek city-states tended to overthrow their traditional her ...
, who had been polemarch. The exiled Bacchiadae fled to
Corcyra (a colony of Corinth) and to
Magna Graecia, traditionally to found
Syracuse in Sicily, and to
Etruria, where Demaratus installed himself at
Tarquinia, founding a dynasty of Etruscan kings. The royal line of the
Lynkestis of
Macedon
Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled ...
was also of Bacchiad descent. The
foundation myths of Corcyra, Syracuse, and Megara Hyblaea contain considerable detail about the Bacchiadae and the expeditions of the Bacchiad
Archias of Corinth, legendary founder of Syracuse in 734–33 BCE, and Philolaos, lover of
Diocles of Corinth, victor at Olympia in 728 BCE and a ''nomothete'' (lawgiver) of
Thebes.
Some of the Bacchiadae also fled to
Sparta, for which they possibly fought against the
Messenians
Messenia or Messinia ( el, Μεσσηνία) was an ancient district of the southwestern Peloponnese, more or less overlapping the modern Messenia region of Greece. To the north it had a border with Elis along the Neda river. From there the bord ...
during the
Second Messenian War.
[Wickert, ''Der peloponnesische Bund'', p. 15 (note 35).]
List of the Bacchiad kings of Corinth
* Aletes 1073 - 1035 BCE
* Ixion 1035 - 997 BCE
* Agelas I 997 - 960 BCE
* Prymnis 960 - 925 BCE
* Bacchis 925 - 890 BCE
* Agelas II 890 - 860 BCE
* Eudemus 860 - 835 BCE
* Aristomedes 835 - 800 BCE
* Agemon 800 - 784 BCE
* Alexander 784 - 759 BCE
* Telestes 759 - 747 BCE
See also
*
Aristoi
The Aristoi ( Greek: ἄριστοι) was the label given to the noblemen in ancient Greek society, and in particular ancient Athens. The term literally means "best", with the denotation of best in terms of birth, rank, and nobility, but also u ...
References
Bibliography
*Édouard Will, ''Korinthiaka: recherches sur l'histoire et la civilisation de Corinth des origines aux guerres médiques'', Paris, Boccard, 1955.
*Konrad Wickert, ''Der peloponnesische Bund von seiner Entstehung bis zum Ende des Archidamischen Krieges'', Erlangen, 1961.
{{Rulers of Corinth
Corinthian mythology
Dorian mythology
Mythology of Macedonia (region)
Ancient Greek patronymics
Heracleidae
Ancient Greek dynasties