Nicocles (Paphos)
Nicocles (ancient Greek Νικοκλής; † 306 BC ) was an ancient king of Paphos in Cyprus . He was initially allied with Ptolemy I , with whom he had been since 321 BC. Fought against Perdiccas . Later he allied himself with the Diadoch Antigonus I.
When Ptolemy I heard about it, he sent in 306 BC. BC troops under Argeios and Kallikrates against Nicocles, who received additional troops from the strategist Menelaus . They broke into the palace to hold Nicocles accountable for his betrayal, whereupon Nicocles and his brothers hanged themselves.
His wife Axiothea stabbed her daughters "so that their virgin body would not be given up to the enemies to shame ...", as Johann Gustav Droysen describes it. Then she called her sisters-in-law to the palace, where they gathered on the roofs of the women's chambers, strangled their children and set fire to the palace. Axiothea killed herself with a dagger and fell into the flames.
Diodorus falsely narrates this story for King Nikokreon of Salamis . The description of the flame death can also be found in the fall of Babylon ( Sardanapal ) and Carthage , so it is perhaps primarily a literary topos .
Except for one, inscriptions by Nicocles are written in Greek in the Cypriot script . Possibly he founded the port of New Paphos.
literature
- Helga Gesche: Nikokles of Paphos and Nikokreon of Salamis. In: Chiron . Volume 4, 1974, pp. 103-125.
Individual evidence
- ^ Johann Gustav Droysen: History of Hellenism , Tübingen 1953, Volume 2, p. 263.
- ↑ Diodor Library 20:21. See also Polyainos Strategika 8.48
- ↑ Arrian succ. 15-24.6
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Nicocles |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | last king of Paphos |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 5th century BC Chr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | 306 BC Chr. |
| Place of death | Paphos |