Eurycles of Sparta

Eurykles ( Greek Εὐρυκλῆς ; † probably before 2 BC) was a dynast in Sparta who was exiled after an indictment by Emperor Augustus , but rehabilitated after his death.

Life

As the son of Lachares, Eurykles came from a leading Spartan family who derived their origins from the Dioscuri . The Roman triumvir Mark Antony had Lachares executed for piracy. Therefore Eurykles was hostile to Antony and stood 31 BC. Chr. As the highest official in Sparta in Greece winamp end armed conflict of the triumvirate to the supremacy of the Roman Empire on the side of Octavian, the future Emperor Augustus. After Antony and his lover Cleopatra succeeded in breaking through the enemy fleet in the decisive naval battle at Actium , Eurykles and his ships were one of the couple's pursuers and had enemy contact with them on the high seas. However, Antony and Cleopatra managed to flee to Egypt . Eurykles was granted Roman citizenship and he has been called Gaius Iulius Eurykles ever since . He was given a ruler-like position in Sparta and was allowed to take possession of the island of Kythera, 10 kilometers off the southeastern tip of the Peloponnese .

At 8 BC BC Eurykles visited the rulers' residences of the Orient, stayed with Herod the Great and exacerbated the conflict between the Jewish king and his sons. After receiving 50 talents from Herod, he left Judea, then managed to gain the favor of the king of Cappadocia, Archelaus , and again reaped ample income at his court through intrigues similar to those of Herod. After he returned to his homeland, he worked as a builder and had a gymnasium built in Sparta and the most handsome of Corinth's numerous baths . Athens paid him homage by erecting a statue.

Eurykles, however, also created enemies, including a descendant of the Spartan general Brasidas . Thus Eurycles faced two charges against Augustus. He was accused of disturbing the peace in Achaia , causing stasis and robbing cities. After the second trial, he was exiled on the orders of the Princeps . He probably died before 2 BC. Some time afterwards his rehabilitation took place, so that later a festival named Eurycleia in his honor was held in the laconic port city of Gytheion and in Sparta.

A son of Eurycles, Gaius Iulius Laco , was able to occupy a position similar to that of his father. Also in the next generations Eurykles' descendants remained a leading family in Sparta, related to the dynasty of Kommagene , which only lost its dominant position in the city under Nero .

literature

Dietmar Kienast : Eurykles. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 4, Metzler, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-476-01474-6 , Sp. 299.
Benedikt Niese : Eurykles 5 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume VI, 1, Stuttgart 1907, column 1330 f.
Hans Volkmann : Eurykles. In: The Little Pauly (KlP). Volume 2, Stuttgart 1967, column 453.

Remarks

^ Inscriptiones Graecae (IG) II² 3885 = Wilhelm Dittenberger , Sylloge inscriptionum Graecarum , 3rd edition, volume 2, Hirzel, Leipzig 1917, no. 786 ( digitized version ).
↑ Plutarch , Antonius 67, 2ff.
↑ Plutarch, Antonius 67, 2ff .; Strabon 8, 5, 1, p. 363 and 8, 5, 5, p. 366; on this Helmut Halfmann , Marcus Antonius , Darmstadt 2011, ISBN 978-3-89678-696-8 , pp. 203f. and 213f .; Michael Grant , Kleopatra , 1974, German 1998, ISBN 3-404-61416-X , pp. 282 and 292.
↑ Flavius Josephus , Jüdische Altertümer 16, 301; 16, 306; 16, 309f .; Jewish War 1, 513ff; 1, 530f.
↑ Pausanias 3, 14, 6 and 2, 3, 5.
^ Inscriptiones Graecae (IG) II² 3926a = Wilhelm Dittenberger, Sylloge inscriptionum Graecarum , 3rd edition, volume 2, Hirzel, Leipzig 1917, no. 787 ( digitized version ).
↑ Plutarch, Moralia 207f.
↑ Josephus, Jüdische Antiquities 16, 310; Jewish War 1, 531; Plutarch, Moralia 208a.
↑ Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum (SEG) 11, 922f .; Inscriptiones Graecae (IG) V 71 ; V 86 ; V 168 ; V 550 ; V 664 .
^ Wilhelm Dittenberger, Die Insschriften von Olympia , No. 426 = ders., Sylloge inscriptionum Graecarum , 3rd edition, Volume 2, Hirzel, Leipzig 1917, No. 789 ( digitized version ).
↑ With references to Eurykles' descendants Edmund Groag : Iulius 220 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume X, 1, Stuttgart 1918, column 580.

personal data
SURNAME	Eurycles of Sparta
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Eurycles
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Ruler of Sparta
DATE OF BIRTH	1st century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	between 8 BC BC and 2 BC Chr.

[1] Inscriptiones Graecae (IG) II² 3885 = Wilhelm Dittenberger , Sylloge inscriptionum Graecarum , 3rd edition, volume 2, Hirzel, Leipzig 1917, no. 786 ( digitized version ).

[2] Plutarch , Antonius 67, 2ff.

[3] Plutarch, Antonius 67, 2ff .; Strabon 8, 5, 1, p. 363 and 8, 5, 5, p. 366; on this Helmut Halfmann , Marcus Antonius , Darmstadt 2011, ISBN 978-3-89678-696-8 , pp. 203f. and 213f .; Michael Grant , Kleopatra , 1974, German 1998, ISBN 3-404-61416-X , pp. 282 and 292.

[4] Flavius Josephus , Jüdische Altertümer 16, 301; 16, 306; 16, 309f .; Jewish War 1, 513ff; 1, 530f.

[5] Pausanias 3, 14, 6 and 2, 3, 5.

[6] Inscriptiones Graecae (IG) II² 3926a = Wilhelm Dittenberger, Sylloge inscriptionum Graecarum , 3rd edition, volume 2, Hirzel, Leipzig 1917, no. 787 ( digitized version ).

[7] Plutarch, Moralia 207f.

[8] Josephus, Jüdische Antiquities 16, 310; Jewish War 1, 531; Plutarch, Moralia 208a.

[9] Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum (SEG) 11, 922f .; Inscriptiones Graecae (IG) V 71 ; V 86 ; V 168 ; V 550 ; V 664 .

[10] Wilhelm Dittenberger, Die Insschriften von Olympia , No. 426 = ders., Sylloge inscriptionum Graecarum , 3rd edition, Volume 2, Hirzel, Leipzig 1917, No. 789 ( digitized version ).

[11] With references to Eurykles' descendants Edmund Groag : Iulius 220 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume X, 1, Stuttgart 1918, column 580.