Sicyon (; el, Σικυών; ''gen''.: Σικυῶνος) or Sikyon was an
ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...
city state
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
situated in the northern
Peloponnesus
The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge wh ...
between
Corinth
Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part ...
and
Achaea on the territory of the present-day regional unit of
Corinthia. An ancient monarchy at the times of the
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans ( Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ...
, the city was ruled by a number of tyrants during the Archaic and Classical period and became a democracy in the 3rd century BC. Sicyon was celebrated for its contributions to ancient Greek art, producing many famous painters and sculptors. In Hellenistic times it was also the home of
Aratus of Sicyon, the leader of the
Achaean League
The Achaean League ( Greek: , ''Koinon ton Akhaion'' "League of Achaeans") was a Hellenistic-era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea in the northwestern P ...
.
History
Sicyon was built on a low triangular
plateau
In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ...
about 3 kilometres (two miles) from the
Corinthian Gulf
The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf ( el, Κορινθιακός Kόλπος, ''Korinthiakόs Kόlpos'', ) is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the ...
. Between the city and its port lay a fertile plain with
olive
The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ' ...
groves and orchards.
In
Mycenean times Sicyon had been ruled by a line of twenty-six mythical kings and then seven priests of Apollo. The king-list given by
Pausanias comprises twenty-four kings, beginning with the
autochthonous Aegialeus. The penultimate king of the list,
Agamemnon, compels the submission of Sicyon to
Mycenae
Mycenae ( ; grc, Μυκῆναι or , ''Mykē̂nai'' or ''Mykḗnē'') is an archaeological site near Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about south-west of Athens; north of Argos; and south of Corinth. ...
; after him comes the
Dorian usurper
Phalces. Pausanias shares his source with
Castor of Rhodes, who used the king-list in compiling tables of history; the common source was convincingly identified by
Felix Jacoby as a lost ''Sicyonica'' by the late 4th-century poet
Menaechmus of Sicyon.
After the
Dorian invasion the city remained subject to
Argos, whence its Dorian conquerors had come. The community was now divided into the ordinary three Dorian tribes and an equally privileged tribe of
Ionians, besides which a class of
serf
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which developed ...
s (, or , ) lived on and worked the land.
[
For some centuries the suzerainty of Argos remained, but after 676 BC Sicyon regained its independence under a line of tyrants called the Orthagorides after the name of the first ruler Orthagoras. The most important however was the founder's grandson ]Cleisthenes
Cleisthenes ( ; grc-gre, Κλεισθένης), or Clisthenes (c. 570c. 508 BC), was an ancient Athenian lawgiver credited with reforming the constitution of ancient Athens and setting it on a democratic footing in 508 BC. For these accomplishm ...
, the grandfather of the Athenian legislator Cleisthenes
Cleisthenes ( ; grc-gre, Κλεισθένης), or Clisthenes (c. 570c. 508 BC), was an ancient Athenian lawgiver credited with reforming the constitution of ancient Athens and setting it on a democratic footing in 508 BC. For these accomplishm ...
, who ruled from 600 to 560 BC. Besides reforming the city's constitution to the advantage of the Ionians and replacing Dorian cults with the worship of Dionysus
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; grc, wikt:Διόνυσος, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstas ...
, Cleisthenes gained a reputation as the chief instigator and general of the First Sacred War (590 BC) in the interests of the Delphi
Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The orac ...
ans.[
His successor Aeschines was expelled by the Spartans in 556 BC and Sicyon became an ally of the Lacedaemonians for more than a century. During this time, the Sicyonians developed the various industries for which they were known in antiquity. As the abode of the sculptors Dipoenus and Scyllis it gained pre-eminence in woodcarving and bronze work such as is still to be seen in the archaic metal facings found at Olympia. Its pottery, which resembled ]Corinthian ware
Ancient Greek pottery, due to its relative durability, comprises a large part of the archaeological record of ancient Greece, and since there is so much of it (over 100,000 painted vases are recorded in the Corpus vasorum antiquorum), it has exe ...
, was exported with the latter as far as Etruria. In Sicyon also the art of painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and a ...
was supposed to have been invented. After the fall of the tyrants their institutions survived until the end of the 6th century BC, when Dorian supremacy was re-established, perhaps by the agency of 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 ...
under the ephor Chilon
Chilon of Sparta ( grc, Χείλων) (fl. 6th century BC) was a Spartan and one of the Seven Sages of Greece.
Life
Chilon was the son of Damagetus, and lived towards the beginning of the 6th century BC. Herodotus speaks of him as contemporary ...
, and the city was enrolled in the Peloponnesian League
The Peloponnesian League was an alliance of ancient Greek city-states, dominated by Sparta and centred on the Peloponnese, which lasted from c.550 to 366 BC. It is known mainly for being one of the two rivals in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 ...
. Henceforth, its policy was usually determined either by 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 ...
or Corinth
Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part ...
.[
During the Persian Wars, the Sicyonians participated with fifteen triremes in the ]Battle of Salamis
The Battle of Salamis ( ) was a naval battle fought between an alliance of Greek city-states under Themistocles and the Persian Empire under King Xerxes in 480 BC. It resulted in a decisive victory for the outnumbered Greeks. The battle was ...
and with 3,000 hoplites in the Battle of Plataea
The Battle of Plataea was the final land battle during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place in 479 BC near the city of Plataea in Boeotia, and was fought between an alliance of the Greek city-states (including Sparta, Athens, ...
. On the Delphi
Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The orac ...
c Serpent Column celebrating the victory Sicyon was named in fifth place after Sparta, Athens, Corinth and Tegea. In September 479 BC a Sicyonian contingent fought bravely in the Battle of Mycale
The Battle of Mycale ( grc, Μάχη τῆς Μυκάλης; ''Machē tēs Mykalēs'') was one of the two major battles (the other being the Battle of Plataea) that ended the second Persian invasion of Greece during the Greco-Persian Wars. It ...
, where they lost more men than any other city.
Later in the 5th century BC, Sicyon, like Corinth, suffered from the commercial rivalry of Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...
in the western seas, and was repeatedly harassed by squadrons of Athenian ships.[ The Sicyonians fought two battles against the Athenians, first against their admiral ]Tolmides Tolmides, (Greek: Τολμίδης), son of Tolmaeus, was a leading Athenian general of the First Peloponnesian War. He rivalled Pericles and Myronides for the military leadership of Athens during the 450s and early 440s BC.
In 455 BC, Tolmides wa ...
in 455 BC and then in a land battle against Pericles with 1000 hoplites in 453 BC.
In the Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of ...
Sicyon followed the lead of Sparta and Corinth. When these two powers quarrelled during the peace of Nicias
The Peace of Nicias was a peace treaty signed between the Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta in March 421 BC that ended the first half of the Peloponnesian War.
In 425 BC, the Spartans had lost the battles of Pylos and Sphacteria, a severe ...
, it remained loyal to the Spartans.[ At the reprise of the war, during the Athenian expedition in Sicily, the Sicyonians contributed 200 pressed hoplites under their commander Sargeus to the force that relieved ]Syracuse
Syracuse may refer to:
Places Italy
* Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa''
* Province of Syracuse
United States
*Syracuse, New York
**East Syracuse, New York
** North Syracuse, New York
* Syracuse, Indiana
*Syracuse, Kansas
*Syracuse, M ...
. At the beginning of the 4th century, in the Corinthian war
The Corinthian War (395–387 BC) was a conflict in ancient Greece which pitted Sparta against a coalition of city-states comprising Thebes, Athens, Corinth and Argos, backed by the Achaemenid Empire. The war was caused by dissatisfaction with ...
, Sicyon sided again with Sparta and became its base of operations against the allied troops round Corinth.[
In 369 BC Sicyon was captured and garrisoned by the Thebans in their successful attack on the Peloponnesian League.][ From 368 to 366 BC Sicyon was ruled by ]Euphron
Euphron was a tyrant of the ancient Greek city-state of Sicyon between 368 and 364 BC.
Euphron was a citizen of Sicyon, who held the chief power during the period of its subjection to Sparta. In 368 BC the city was compelled by Epaminondas t ...
who first favoured democracy, but then made himself tyrant. Euphron was killed in Thebes by a group of Sicyonian aristocrats, but his compatriots buried him in his home town and continued to honour him like the second founder of the city.
During the 4th century BC, the city reached its zenith as a centre of art: its school of painting gained fame under Eupompus and attracted the great masters Pamphilus and Apelles
Apelles of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἀπελλῆς; fl. 4th century BC) was a renowned painter of ancient Greece. Pliny the Elder, to whom much of modern scholars' knowledge of this artist is owed ('' Naturalis Historia'' 35.36.79–97 and ''passim' ...
as students, while Lysippus and his pupils raised the Sicyonian sculpture to a level hardly surpassed anywhere else in Greece.[ The tyrant Aristratus, a friend of the Macedonian royal family, had himself portrayed by the painter Melanthius aside the goddess of victory Nike on a chariot. In this period Sicyon was the undisputed center of Greek painting with its school attracting famous artists from all over Greece, including the celebrated ]Apelles
Apelles of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἀπελλῆς; fl. 4th century BC) was a renowned painter of ancient Greece. Pliny the Elder, to whom much of modern scholars' knowledge of this artist is owed ('' Naturalis Historia'' 35.36.79–97 and ''passim' ...
and Pausias.
In 323 BC Euphron the Younger
Euphron was a tyrant of the ancient Greek city-state of Sicyon between 368 and 364 BC.
Euphron was a citizen of Sicyon, who held the chief power during the period of its subjection to Sparta. In 368 BC the city was compelled by Epaminondas t ...
, a grandson of the tyrant Euphron, reintroduced a democracy, but was soon conquered by the Macedon
Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled ...
ians during the Lamian War. When the Macedonian commander Alexander was murdered in Sicyon in 314 BC, his wife Cratesipolis took control of the city and ruled it for six years, until she was induced by king Ptolemy I to hand it over to the Egyptians. Between 308 and 303 BC Sicyon was ruled by two Ptolemaic commanders, first Cleonides and then Philip.
In 303 BC Sicyon was conquered by Demetrius Poliorcetes who razed the ancient city in the plain and built a new wall on the ruins of the old Acropolis on the high triangular plateau which resulted sufficient for the reduced populace. The new agora was adorned by a "Painted Stoa" attributed to the king's mistress Lamia, a flute player. For a short time the town was now called "Demetrias", but eventually the old name prevailed.
Demetrius left a garrison in the castle to control the city, and the commander Cleon established another tyrannical regime. After some twenty years he was killed by two rivals, Euthydemus and Timocleidas
Timocleidas ( el, Τιμοκλείδας) was a tyrant of the ancient Greek city-state of Sicyon in the 3rd century BC. After the violent death of the previous tyrant Cleon, he ruled jointly with Euthydemus, until the two were deposed by the citi ...
, who became the new joint tyrants of Sicyon. Their rule ended, probably around the start of the Chremonidean War in 267 BC, when they were expelled by the people who elected their leader Cleinias to govern the city on a democratic ground. Two magistrates of these years were the hieromnemoi Sosicles and Euthydamos, known from an inscription at Delphi
Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The orac ...
. The democratic government's most important achievement was the construction of the gymnasium which is attributed to Cleinias. During the same time Xenokrates of Sicyon
Xenocrates
Xenocrates (; el, Ξενοκράτης; c. 396/5314/3 BC) of Chalcedon was a Greek philosopher, mathematician, and leader ( scholarch) of the Platonic Academy from 339/8 to 314/3 BC. His teachings followed those of Plato, which he ...
published his history of art which contributed to spread the fame of Sicyion as an undisputed capital of ancient art.
Even this time democracy did not last more than a few years, and in 264 BC Cleinias was slain by his cognate Abantidas
Abantidas (in Greek Ἀβαντίδας), the son of Paseas, became tyrant of the ancient Greek city-state of Sicyon in 264 BC after murdering Cleinias, the father of Aratus. After the assassination, Abantidas had the remaining friends and rela ...
, who established his tyranny for twelve years. In 252 BC Abantidas was murdered by two rhetoricians, Aristotle the Dialectician
Aristotle the Dialectician (or Aristoteles of Argos, el, Ἀριστοτέλης; fl. 3rd century BC), was an ancient Greek dialectic philosopher from Argos. In 252 BC, together with the historian Deinias of Argos, he contrived a plot to overth ...
and Deinias of Argos
Deinias of Argos (Δεινίας) was an ancient Greek philosopher and historian of the 3rd century BC. In 252 BC he joined with Aristotle the Dialectician in an attempt to overthrow the rule of the tyrant Abantidas of Sicyon. The two philosopher ...
, and his father Paseas
Paseas (Πασέας) was a tyrant of the ancient Greek city-state of Sicyon
Sicyon (; el, Σικυών; ''gen''.: Σικυῶνος) or Sikyon was an ancient Greek city state situated in the northern Peloponnesus between Corinth and Achae ...
took over, only to be murdered after a short rule by another rival named Nicocles.
In 251, Aratus of Sicyon, the 20-year-old son of Cleinias, conquered the city with a night assault and expelled the last tyrant. Aratus re-established democracy, called back the exiles and brought his city into the Achaean League
The Achaean League ( Greek: , ''Koinon ton Akhaion'' "League of Achaeans") was a Hellenistic-era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea in the northwestern P ...
. This move ended the internal strife and Aratus remained the leading figure of Achaean politics until his death in 213 BC, during a period of great achievements. The prosperity and peaceful condition of Sicyon was only interrupted by an Aetolia
Aetolia ( el, Αἰτωλία, Aἰtōlía) is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania.
Geography
The Achelous River separates Aetoli ...
n raid in 241 BC and an unsuccessful siege at the hands of king Cleomenes III
Cleomenes III ( grc, Κλεομένης) was one of the two kings of Sparta from 235 to 222 BC. He was a member of the Agiad dynasty and succeeded his father, Leonidas II. He is known for his attempts to reform the Spartan state.
From 229 to ...
of Sparta in early 224 BC.
As a member of the Achaean federation Sicyon remained a stable democracy until the dissolution of the League by the Romans in 146 BC. In this period Sicyon was damaged by two disastrous earthquakes in 153 BC and 141 BC.
The destruction of Corinth (146 BC) brought Sicyon an acquisition of territory and the presidency over the Isthmian games; yet in Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
's time it had fallen deep into debt. Under the Roman empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
it was quite obscured by the restored cities of Corinth and Patrae; in Pausanias' age (150 AD) it was almost desolate. In Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
times it became a bishop's seat, and to judge by its later name Hellas it served as a refuge for the Greeks from the Slavonic invasions of the 8th century.[
In the 4th century BC the people of Sicyon were the subject of a popular comedy by ]Menander
Menander (; grc-gre, Μένανδρος ''Menandros''; c. 342/41 – c. 290 BC) was a Greek dramatist and the best-known representative of Athenian New Comedy. He wrote 108 comedies and took the prize at the Lenaia festival eight times. His ...
titled Sikyonioi.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, in his 1606 play '' Antony and Cleopatra'' (Act I, Scene 2), notes that Marc Antony
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 auto ...
's wife, Fulvia died in Sicyon. Historically, she died there in 40 BC while in rebellion against Octavius Caesar.
Friedrich Hölderlin
Johann Christian Friedrich Hölderlin (, ; ; 20 March 1770 – 7 June 1843) was a German poet and philosopher. Described by Norbert von Hellingrath as "the most German of Germans", Hölderlin was a key figure of German Romanticism. Part ...
's novel '' Hyperion'' from 1797 starts at the "paradisiac plain of Sicyon".
Monuments
* Temple of Apollo or Artemis
* Theatre of Sikyon
* Palaestra - Gymnasium
* Stadium of Sikyon
* Bouleuterion of Sikyon
A village named until 1920 ''Vasiliko'' (described by the 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica
The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...
'' as "insignificant") now occupies the site.
Mythological Rulers
Rulers according to Eusebius's chronicle and other greek sources are:
*1st: Aegialeus
*2nd: Europs
*3rd: Telchis
*4th: Apis of Sicyon
*5th: Thelxion of Sicyon
*6th:Aegyrus In Greek mythology, Aegyrus ( Ancient Greek: Αἴγυρος) or Aegydrus was the sixth king of Sicyon who reigned for 34 years.
Family
Aegyrus was the son and heir of King Thelxion, descendant of the city's founder Aegialeus (an autochthon) ...
*7th:Thurimachus
In Greek mythology, Thurimachus ( Ancient Greek: Θουρίμαχος) was the seventh king of Sicyon who reigned for 45 years. Eusebius, ''Chronographia'63/ref>
Family
Thurimachus was the son and heir of King Aegyrus, descendant of the city's ...
*8th: Leucippus
*9th: Messapus or Peratus In Greek mythology, Peratus ( Ancient Greek: Πέρατος means "wanderer, emigrant"), also called Eratus (Ἔρατος means "lovely"), was the 10th king of Sicyon who reigned for 46 years.Eusebius, ''Chronographia'63/ref>
Family
Peratus was ...
*10th:Plemnaeus In Greek mythology, Plemnaeus ( Ancient Greek: Πλημναῖον or Πλημναίῳ) was the 11th king of Sicyon who reigned for 48 years.
Family
Plemnaeus was the son and heir of King Peratus, son of Poseidon. He was the father of Orthopol ...
*11th: Orthopolis
*12th: Marathonius or Coronus
*13th:Marathus
*14th:
*15th: Coronus or Echyreus
*16th: Corax
*17th :Epopeus of Sicyon
In Greek mythology, Epopeus (; Ancient Greek: Ἐπωπεύς) was the 17th king of Sicyon, with an archaic bird-name that linked him to ''epops'' (ἔποψ), the hoopoe, the "watcher". A fragment of Callimachus' ''Aitia'' ("Origins") appears to ...
*18th: Lamedon
*19th: Sicyon
*20th:Polybus of Sicyon
In Greek mythology, Polybus ( Ancient Greek: Πόλυβος) was the 20th king of Sicyon who reigned for 40 years. Eusebius, ''Chronographia'63/ref>
Family
Polybus was the son of Hermes and Chthonophyle, daughter of the eponym of Sicyon. He ...
*21st: Adrastus
*Before Agammemnon:Polypheides In Greek mythology, the name Polypheides or Polyphides (; Ancient Greek: Πολυφείδης) may refer to:
*Polypheides, son of Mantius and brother of Cleitus. He was granted prophetic skills by Apollo and became the best seer among mortals aft ...
Notable people
Ancient
* Aegialeus (21st century BC) legendary founder
* Tellis (8th century BC), runner (Olympic victor 708 BC)
* Butades (7th century BC) sculptor
* Canachus (6th century BC) sculptor
* Aristocles (5th century BC) sculptor
* Praxilla (5th century BC) poetess
* Ariphron (5th century BC) poet
*Alypus
Alypus ( grc-gre, Ἄλυπος) was a sculptor of ancient Greece, a native of Sicyon. He studied under Naucydes of Argos. His age may be fixed from his having executed bronze statues of some Spartans who shared in the victory of Lysander at A ...
(5th to 4th century BC) sculptor
* Alexis (5th or 4th century BC) sculptor
* Eupompus (4th century BC) painter
* Pamphilus (4th century BC) painter
* Melanthius (4th century BC) painter
* Pausias (4th century BC) painter
* Eutychides (4th century BC) sculptor
* Lysippos (4th century BC) sculptor
*Lysistratus
Lysistratus ( el, Λυσίστρατος Σικυώνιος) was a Greek sculptor of the 4th century BC, brother of Lysippos
Lysippos (; grc-gre, Λύσιππος) was a Greek sculptor of the 4th century BC. Together with Scopas and Praxit ...
(4th century BC) sculptor
* Sostrates (4th century BC) pankratiast (thrice Olympic champion)
* Xenokrates (3rd century BC) sculptor and art historian
* Machon (3rd century BC) playwright
* Timanthes (3rd century BC) painter
*Nealkes
Nealkes was an ancient Greek painter from Sicyon who flourished in the 3rd century BC.
He was a friend of Aratus of Sicyon and after the liberation of their city in 251 BC he interceded to save an artful painting by Melanthius showing the former ...
(3rd century BC) painter
*Anaxandra
Anaxandra ( grc-gre, Ἀναξάνδρα; fl. 220s BC) was an ancient Greek female artist and painter from Greece. She was the daughter and student of Nealkes, a painter of mythological and genre scenes. She painted circa 228 B.C. She is mentio ...
(3rd century BC) female painter
* Pythocles (3rd century BC), runner (Olympic victor 236 BC)
* Aratus of Sicyon (271–213 BC) strategos of the Achaean League
* Baccheidas, a dancer and teacher of music
* Daetondas of Sicyon, sculptor
Modern
*Sotirios Krokidas
Sotirios G. Krokidas ( el, Σωτήριος Γ. Κροκίδας; 1852 in Sikyona – July 29, 1924 in Perigiali) was an interim List of Prime Ministers of Greece, Prime Minister of Greece in 1922. He was a law professor in Athens.
When the G ...
, jurist and PM
Mythology: Identification with Mecone
Sicyon has been traditionally identified with the mythical Mecone or Mekone, site of the trick at Mecone
The trick at Mecone or Mekone was an event in Greek mythology first attested by Hesiod in which Prometheus tricked Zeus for mankind's benefit, and thus incurred his wrath. It is unusual among Greek myths for being etiological, i.e. explaining th ...
carried out by Prometheus. Mecone is also described by Callimachus
Callimachus (; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works in a wide varie ...
as "the seat of the gods", and as the place where the gods Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek relig ...
Poseidon
Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as ...
and Hades
Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...
cast lots for what part of the world they ruled.[Quoted st page 115, M.L. West, The Journal of Hellenic Studies Vol. 122 (2002), pp. 109-133]
See also
*List of ancient Greek cities
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
References
External links
"Sicyon: The most ancient Greek city-state (via archive.org)"
Ellen Papakyriakou/Anagnostou. Contains a great deal of information on ancient and present-day Sicyon.
The Ancient Theatre Archive. Theatre specifications and tour of the ancient theatre.
{{Authority control
Greek city-states
Former populated places in Greece
Cities in ancient Peloponnese
Populated places in ancient Peloponnese
Ancient Greek cities
Locations in the Iliad