Doris (Lokroi)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Doris ( Greek  Δωρίς Dōrís ) was one of the wives of the founder of the "younger tyranny " in Syracuse , Dionysius I († 367 BC), and the mother of his successor Dionysius II. She came from the city populated by Greeks Lokroi in Calabria and was a daughter of Xenetus, a prominent aristocrat who was said to be the city's most respected citizen at the time of their marriage. Her exact life dates are unknown.

When Dionysius I in the summer of 405 BC When he came to power in Syracuse, he was married to a daughter of the aristocratic politician and commander Hermocrates , of whom he had been a party member. In the autumn a revolt broke out among aristocratic circles against the newly established tyrant rule. Dionysius was able to put down the rebellion, but his wife, who had been mistreated by the insurgents, took her own life. This gave him the opportunity to engage in foreign marriage policy.

Because of the military confrontation with the Carthaginians , against which Dionysius waged several wars, the alliance policy of the Syracuse tyrant aimed to prevent the Greek cities of Lower Italy from allying themselves with his enemies. Therefore, he first offered the city of Rhegion an alliance, which he wanted to strengthen by marrying a Rhegierin. Only after the people's assembly of Rhegier had rejected this, he concluded an alliance with Lokroi. As part of this political maneuver, he married the Locrian Doris. At the same time, or soon after, he concluded another marriage with the Syracuse Aristomache , the daughter of Hipparinos, who was one of his most important followers. Such bigamy was unusual among the Greeks at the time.

According to the historian Diodorus , the wedding with Doris took place in 398, before the beginning of the second Carthaginian War. In more recent research, however, a later date - 393 - is sometimes favored. It is unclear whether it is a double wedding with both women on the same day or whether Doris was married first and Aristomache a few days, weeks or months later. Doris soon gave birth to a son, while Aristomache remained childless for a long time. Plutarch reports that Dionysius treated the two wives equally and assigned them the same rank.

The marriage of Doris and Dionysios I resulted in two sons and a daughter. The first-born son Dionysius II took over at the death of his father in 367 BC. The rule. The son Hermokritus, who was probably named after his paternal grandfather, is only known from an inscription from 368; at that time he received honorary citizenship in Athens. The daughter Dikaiosyne married her uncle Leptines , a half-brother of her father who played an important role in the battles against the Carthaginians as a fleet commander ( Nauarch ).

literature

  • Ignazio D'Angelo: Locri Epizefirii e Dionigi I di Siracusa. In: Aevum 84, 2010, pp. 41-60
  • Karl Friedrich Stroheker : Dionysios I .: figure and history of the tyrant of Syracuse. Wiesbaden 1958.

Remarks

  1. ↑ Diodor, Libraries 14,44,6.
  2. ↑ Karl Friedrich Stroheker: Dionysios I figure and history of the tyrant of Syracuse , Wiesbaden 1958, pp. 47, 68.
  3. ↑ Karl Friedrich Stroheker: Dionysios I figure and history of the tyrant of Syracuse , Wiesbaden 1958, p. 68.
  4. ↑ Diodor, Libraries 14.44.6-14.45.2.
  5. ↑ Ignazio D'Angelo: Locri Epizefirii e Dionigi I di Siracusa. In: Aevum 84, 2010, pp. 41–60, here: 49.
  6. ↑ Ignazio D'Angelo: Locri Epizefirii e Dionigi I di Siracusa. In: Aevum 84, 2010, pp. 41–60, here: 47–49.
  7. ↑ Plutarch, Dion 3.
  8. ↑ Karl Friedrich Stroheker: Dionysios I figure and history of the tyrant of Syracuse , Wiesbaden 1958, p. 143 f. and p. 244, note 98.
  9. ↑ Debra Nails: The People of Plato , Indianapolis 2002, pp. 133, 138, 186 f.
personal data
SURNAME Doris
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Wife of the tyrant Dionysius I of Syracuse
DATE OF BIRTH 5th century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 4th century BC Chr.