Tyranny and Samos Flashcards
Herodotus on the tyranny of Samos
Book 3, Histories of Herodotus
Herodotus probably spent some time on Samos, and perhaps lived their, as he almost always shows the Samians in a good light, and shows a very detailed knowledge of Samos
Polycrates’ rise to power
“some local bloke is currently in charge of it after leading a revolt with fifteen hoplites”
Suggests he was welcomed
Possible that his father was tyrant before him, as Polycrates was not the first tryant of Samos
Once he gained power he was ruthless, he divided Samos into 3 parts, with him and his brothers taking one each. He then had one killed and the other exiled. He then allied himself with Amasis of Egypt
He was the first tyrant to create a large navy, and used it to extend his influence
Date Polycrates came to power
c. 535 BC
Polycrates’ army, Herodotus 3.39
150 triremes and 1000 archers
Who did Polycrates defeat?
All his campaigns were sucessful, making him famous
He concquered the islands Lesbos, Rhenea near Delos, and Miletus
What does Thucydides say Polycrates did with Rhenea
Dedicated it to the Delian Apollo
Delos
An island in the Aegean believed to have been the birthplace of Apollo; there was a sanctuary to the god there, and the island had great religious significance for all Greeks
Reasons for the accessions of tyrannies
Perhaps due to rise in wealth
In Samos there was good acces to trade
In both Athens and Samos tyrants needed the help of fellow tyrants to stay in power
Lygdamis of Naxos helped both Peisistratus and Polycrates in their attempts to gain power
However, it also comes down to local reasons, and it is hard to find an over arching reason for the sudden shift of power
Polycrates and Egypt
- Innitially he created a pact, sealed by the exchange of gifts, with Amasis
- By 525 Cambyses was Pharaoh of Egypt and the pact had finished sometime before
- According to Herodotus Amasis ended the alliance because Polycrates’ luck never ran out
- Reality, Polycrates probably ended it because he saw Persia was going to win against Amasis – he may indeed have been forced by Persia to abandon it
- After this, Polycrates is a servant of Persia and sends 40 triremes to aid in the conquest of Egypt
The 40 Triremes
Polycrates invited Cambyses to ask him to send a request for troops
Cambyses complied, asking for a fleet.
Polycrates picked out all the men he thought would rebel against his rule, put them in 40 triremes, and sent them to Cambyses with orders not to return them
Some stories say the Samians never reached Egypt, others that they did, escaped, and made their way back, defeating Polycrates’ fleet
They landed on the island and lost a battle. They then went to Sparta to ask for help.
Polycrates took the wives and children of those still loyal and put them in the boathouses with the threat that he would burn them if their husbands and brothers rebelled
Who allied with the Samian rebels?
Sparta and Corinth
Why did the Spartans claim they helped the rebels, why do the Samians say they helped
Polycrates had stolen a linen breastplate which Amasis had given them as a gift and a bowl the Spartans were transporting to Croesus
The Samians claimed it was returning a favour
Why did Corinth suppport the expedition against Samos?
Why did this influence Sparta’s decision?
A generation before, Periander had sent 300 Corcyran boys to Alyattes at Sardis to be made eunuchs. The Corinthians that were bringing the boys docked at Samos. The Samians ordered the boys to take sanctuary in the temple of Artemis. The Corinthians tried to starve the boys, but the Samians celebrated a festival throughout the boy’s stay at which it was the custom to bring cakes, which the boys then snatched and ate.
The Spartans were allies with Corinth so would join in against Corinth’s enemies
What does Herodotus’ story of Periander show us?
His opinion on another tyrant
He follows the the same pattern as other sources in being hostile to Periander
His story is a long digression, so is important to him
Also perhaps shows Athen’s and the rest of Greece’s opion on Periander
What is the story that Herodotus tells to give reason behind Periander sending the 300 boys to become eunuchs?
- Periander killed his wife
- His sons Lycophorn and Cypselus visit their maternal grandfather, Procles. When they leave he implies their father killed their mother
- Lycophoron refuses to speak to his father, and is eventually banished. He stays at a friend’s house, but Periander declares no one can house him or talk to him. He continues to refuse to speak, even when Periander tries to convince him to return and is eventually banished to Corcyra
- In his old age, Periander tries to persuade Lycophoron to take over the tyranny.
- Having failed, he sends his daughter in the hopes he will listen to her
- He agrees to a swap, where he goes to Corinth and his father goes to Corcyra.
- The Corcyrans, not wanting Periander, kill Lycophoron. In revenge, Periander sends 300 noble boys to become eunuchs
True causes for Sparta’s attack on Samos
Hard to tell which (if any) of the reasons were given at the time, and if they were, were they just pretexts.
Herodotus liked to give interesting, moral, stories, and to record every story without necessarily choosing one over the other
However, Herodotus claims the Dorians from Lacedaemonia had never sent an expedition to Asia
Perhaps it was because Polycrates was a servant of Persia, and that he was a greater threat than Persia due to how close he was to Greece.
Summarise Herodotus’ account of the Spartan siege of Samos
- Spartans marched to the wall and infiltrated the seaside tower on the outskirts of the city, from where Polycrates drove them back
- The defenders ruched out near the high tower on the ridge of the hill and held the Spartans back, before fleeing
- The Spartans pursued – if all had been like Archias and Lycopas, Sparta would have won. They entered the city with the fleeing enemy and were killed. The Samians honoured them with a state funeral
- After 40 days the Spartans left – a story claims that Polycrates bribed them, but Herodotus dismisses it
- The rebel Samians sailed off too
Herodotus’ account of Archias and Lycopas
Herodotus says they entered the city without support and were killed
Herodotus had met Archias son of Samius son of Archias who was killed at Samos. Archias recounted the story, explained that his father Samius was named after Samos where his father died, and that Archias had been given a state funeral by the Samians and that he subsequently honoured them
Summarise what happened to the Samian rebels after they left Samos the last time
They sailed. to Siphnos as they needed money. Siphnos was the richest island because of its gold and silver mines
The Siphnians had asked Delphi how long their wealth would last. The oracle gave them a befuddled reply
The Samians arrived and sent ambassadors to the city in one of their ships (painted red, made of wood, as the oracle prophesised). They were denied a loan.
The Samians began laying waste to the land, and defeated the Siphnians in battle, taking 100 talents
The Samians then captured teh island of Hydrea and put it under the control of men of Troezen
The Samians settled Cydonia in Crete, living there for 5 years and creating many temples. In the 6th year, vengeful Aeginetans beat them at sea and enslaved them all.
Message the oracle of Delphi allegedly told the Siphnians
“When the town hall of Siphnos turns white
And the market goes white-brown, then it needs a clever man indeed.
Beware a wooden attack, and a red herald.”
The town hall was made with Persian marble
All ships were painted red at this time
Aeginetan attack on Cydonia on Crete
Defeated the Samians in a naval battle and enslaved them all
Cutt of the ships’ boar head shaped prows and dedicated them to the temple of Athena in Aegina
The Aeginetans were acting on a grudge as when Amphicrates was king of Aegina the Samians and Amphicrates had engaged in naval combat with mutual losses
Wealth, prosperity, and revenge in Herodotus
- Siphnians at height of prosperity when Samians arrive. The fact they ask if it will last implies they do not believe it will (or at least that is what Herodotus thinks) It does not last, and likewise the Samians suffer the same punishment. The idea the gods are jealous and punish the successful is a theme Herodotus dwells on, along with many other Greek writers
- Herodotus clearly shows that the Aeginetans attack out of revenge. The theme is that all actions have consequences, and that negative actions will lead to revenge being taken. Another frequent Greek literary idea
Polycrates’ navy
Mentioned by Herodotus and Thucydides. Both writing during a time when Athens was the greatest naval power in Greece, therefore they portray the navy of Samos as being beneficial to the Samians and to all poleis that follow their example
Herodotus on Polycrates’ buildings
Herodotus uses them to justify the length of his disgressions about Samos
Three major structures:
- A tunnel that supplies water through a hill,
- A breakwater surrouneding the harbour,
- A temple built by Rhoecus
