Gaius Julius Eurycles or Eurycles of Sparta (b.

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referr ...

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

1st century BCE), was "''

hegemon Hegemony (, , ) is the political, economic, and military predominance of one state over other states. In Ancient Greece (8th BC – AD 6th ), hegemony denoted the politico-military dominance of the ''hegemon'' city-state over other city-states. ...

'' of the Lacedaemonians" (Λακεδαιμονίων ἡγεμών), a benefactor of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

cities, and founder of the family of the

Euryclids The Euryclids ( la, Euryclidae) were a prominent Spartan family holding important offices starting in the 1st century BC. History The founder of the family was Gaius Julius Eurycles, the son of Lachares. Eurycles was a Spartan commander who obt ...

Life

Eurycles was the son of Lachares. His father was executed on charges of piracy by

Marcus Antonius Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...

. Eurycles led a small naval contingent provided by Sparta to

Octavian Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

at the

battle of Actium The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between a maritime fleet of Octavian led by Marcus Agrippa and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII Philopator. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, ...

. He also outfitted his own ship from his own money. For his distinction in battle he was rewarded with

Roman citizenship Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...

and the title of Λακεδαιμονίων ἡγεμών by emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

. In the late 1st century BCE, Eurycles behaved strangely and caused trouble in many Greek cities, which led to his banishing by Augustus. In the early years of

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

' reign, after his death, Eurycles was fully rehabilitated in Sparta. Gaius Julius Laco was his son. Josephus mentions a Eurycles (probably the same Eurycles mentioned by Tacitus referring to the Antony connection) living around 4 BC as a "vile Lacemedonean" partan (''Wars of the Jews'', Book 1 Chapter 26)

Sources

* Zoumbaki, Sophia B. "The Composition of the Peloponnesian Elites in the Roman period and the Evolution of their Resistance and Approach to the Roman Rulers".

* Grier, Elizabeth. "Certain Rich Men of the 2nd century after Christ," ''Classical Weekly'', 23, No. 15 (Feb. 24, 1930), pp. 113-115

* Piper, Linda J. ''Spartan Twilight'', Aristide D. Caratzas Publisher, 1986. {{DEFAULTSORT:Eurycles, Caius Iulius 1st-century BC Greek people 1st-century BC Romans Ancient Spartans Augustus