Gorgippus ( grc, Γοργιππος, Gorgippos) was a son of

Satyrus I Satyrus I (, died 389 BC) was the Spartocid ruler of the Bosporan Kingdom from 432 BC to 389 BC. During his rule he built upon the expansive foreign policy of his father, Spartocus I. He conquered Nymphaion, became involved in the political deve ...

and was a Spartocid joint ruler with his brother

Leucon In Greek mythology, the name Leucon (; Ancient Greek: Λεύκων) may refer to: *Leucon, a son of Themisto by either Athamas or Poseidon. His children were Erythras, Pisidice, Hyperippe and Euippe (mother of Eteocles by Andreus). He was said t ...

(389–349

BCE Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the or ...

) of the

Bosporan Kingdom The Bosporan Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus (, ''Vasíleio toú Kimmerikoú Vospórou''), was an ancient Greco-Scythian state located in eastern Crimea and the Taman Peninsula on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus, ...

. He situated himself on the

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

tic side of the kingdom, in

Gorgippia Anapa (russian: Ана́па, ) is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the northern coast of the Black Sea near the Sea of Azov. Population: History The area around Anapa was settled in antiquity. It was originally a major seaport (Sin ...

where he ruled until, presumably, his death in 349 BCE.

Wars of Expansion

Gorgippus was a prominent figure of the

Bosporan Wars of Expansion The Bosporan Kingdom waged a series of wars of expansion in the Cimmerian Bosporus and the surrounding territories from around 438 BC until about 355 BC. Bosporan expansion began after Spartokos I, the first Spartocid (and after whom the dynasty ...

, after he became joint-ruler of the Bosporan Kingdom alongside his brother Leukon upon the death of their father Satyros I. He seems to have ended the war his father had unsuccessfully began with queen

Tirgatao Tirgatao (Scythian: ; Ancient Greek: , romanized: ) was a princess of the Maeotes mentioned by Polyaenus. She was the first wife of the Sindian king Hecataeus, and was a notable participant of the Bosporan wars of expansion. Name The name Tir ...

of the

Maeotians The Maeotians (; grc, Μαιῶται, translit=Maiōtai; la, Maeōtae) were an ancient people dwelling along the Sea of Azov, which was known in antiquity as the " Maeotian marshes" or " Lake Maeotis".James, Edward Boucher"Maeotae" and "Maeoti ...

, who had been wronged by Satyrus earlier on in diplomatic relations with Hecataeus. Additionally, he seems to have renamed Sindia, the capital of the Sindike Kingdom, to

, after himself. In a speech against the

Athenian Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

orator

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; el, Δημοσθένης, translit=Dēmosthénēs; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prow ...

, Gorgippus was described as one of the "detested tyrants", alongside

Paerisades I Paerisades I ( el, Παιρισάδης) also known as Birisades, Pairisades, and Parysades was a Spartocid king of the Bosporan Kingdom from 342 to 310/9 BC. His father was Leukon I, a Bosporan king who was responsible for establishing and expa ...

and

for whom Demosthenes had erected statues in Athens due to his grandfather's relation with the

Spartocids The Spartocids () or Spartocidae was the name of a Hellenized Thracian dynasty that ruled the Hellenistic Kingdom of Bosporus between the years 438–108 BC. They had usurped the former dynasty, the Archaeanactids, a Greek dynasty of the Bospor ...

. The same speech claimed that Demosthenes received a thousand bushels of grain from Gorgippus annually. Gorgippus' daughter, Comosarye, may have been of Sindian descent. She married her cousin

, a son of Leucon and later ruler of the Bosporan Kingdom.

References

{{Bosporan kings 4th-century BC rulers Rulers of the Bosporan Kingdom 349 BC deaths Spartocid dynasty