Mytilos or Mytilus (; ; ruled 270231 BC) was an Illyrian

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

who reigned in southern

Illyria In classical and late antiquity, Illyria (; , ''Illyría'' or , ''Illyrís''; , ''Illyricum'') was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by numerous tribes of people collectively known as the Illyrians. The Ancient Gree ...

, around the hinterland of Dyrrhachion and Apollonia. He was the successor of Monunios, and probably his son. Mytilus is mentioned by

Pompeius Trogus Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus also anglicized as was a Gallo-Roman historian from the Celtic Vocontii tribe in Narbonese Gaul who lived during the reign of the emperor Augustus. He was nearly contemporary with Livy. Life Pompeius Trogus's grandfathe ...

(1st century BC) and

Frontinus Sextus Julius Frontinus (c. 40 – 103 AD) was a Roman civil engineer, author, soldier and senator of the late 1st century AD. He was a successful general under Domitian, commanding forces in Roman Britain, and on the Rhine and Danube frontier ...

(1st century AD) reporting the events of the military conflict between the Illyrians and the

Epirotes Epirus () is a geographical and historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay of Vlorë and the Acroceraunian Mountains in ...

under Alexander II, son of Pyrrhus.; . From around 270 BC Mytilus minted in Dyrrhachion his own bronze coins bearing the king's name and the symbol of the city.

Biography

Mytilus reigned in the hinterland of Dyrrachion and Apollonia. Mytilus minted his own bronze coins dating back to around 270 BC, with the symbols of Dyrrhachion and the king's name. The fact that his coins were struck in the city mint of Dyrrhachion stresses that he exercised to some extent his authority over the city, as had done his predecessor Monunios. After Monunios, Mytilus is the second Illyrian king to have struck coins bearing his name. Coinage of Apollonia from the same period bore only his monogram, as well as symbols similar to those of the Aetolian League, an adversary of

Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...

. Copies of the Illyrian coins are kept at the

Archaeological Museum in Zagreb The Archaeological Museum () in Zagreb, Croatia is an archaeological museum with over 450,000 varied artifacts and monuments, gathered from various sources but mostly from Croatia and in particular from the surroundings of Zagreb. Its predecessor ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. The bronze coins had the head of Hercules on the obverse and on the reverse, Heracles' symbols: quiver, bow and mace with the words ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΜΥΤΙΛ. The Illyrian king Mytilus also appears in the historical accounts of ancient writers

(1st century BC) and

(1st century AD), which describe the war he waged around 270 BC against the successor of Pyrrhus,

Alexander II of Epirus Alexander II (Greek: Άλέξανδρος) was a king of Epirus, and the son of Pyrrhus and Lanassa, the daughter of the Sicilian tyrant Agathocles. Reign He succeeded his father as king in 272 BC, and continued the war which his father had be ...

. Mytilus, presumably, retained his authority in Durrës after Alexander II invaded his territory in or around 270 BC. On one occasion, some Epirotes were dressed in Illyrian clothes and were put them to plunder their own sites. Unsuspecting, the Illyrians relaxed their defences and rushed to emulate them, believing that men in front of them were just their own probes. So they were easy victims of Epirus. The control of Durrës and Apollonia means that at the time of Mytilus, the Illyrians had regained the extent and authority it enjoyed in the time of Glaucias. Mytilus had even taken an excursion into the territory of Epirus. It is during this time that

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

was first invited to intervene against the Illyrians, Epirotes and the Aetolians in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

.Cass. Dio. Fr 42.1

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{Illyrians Illyrian kings 3rd-century BC monarchs in Europe Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown

Biography

See also

References

Bibliography