The Bacchiadae ( grc, Βακχιάδαι ''Bakkhiadai''), a tightly knit
Doric clan, were the ruling family of
ancient Corinth
Corinth (American English: ) (British English: ) ; grc-gre, Κόρινθος ; grc, label= Doric Greek, Ϙόρινθος; la, label= Latin, Corinthus) was a city-state ('' polis'') on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that ...
in the eighth and seventh centuries BCE, a period of Corinthian cultural power.
History
Corinth had been a backwater in eighth-century Greece. In 747 BCE (a traditional date) an
aristocrat
The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient R ...
ic revolution ousted the Bacchiad kings of Corinth, when the royal clan of Bacchiadae, numbering perhaps a couple of hundred adult males and claiming descent from the Dorian
hero
A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...
Heracles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptiv ...
through the seven sons and three daughters of a
legend
A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human values, and possess ...
ary king Bacchis, took power from the last king, Telestes. Practising strict
endogamy
Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific social group, religious denomination, caste, or ethnic group, rejecting those from others as unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships.
Endogamy is common in many cultu ...
, which kept clan outlines within a distinct extended ''
oikos
The ancient Greek word ''oikos'' (ancient Greek: , plural: ; English prefix: eco- for ecology and economics) refers to three related but distinct concepts: the family, the family's property, and the house. Its meaning shifts even within texts.
The ...
'', they dispensed with kingship and ruled as a group, governing the city by electing annually a ''
prytanis
The ''prytaneis'' (πρυτάνεις; sing.: πρύτανις ''prytanis'') were the executives of the '' boule'' of ancient Athens.
Origins and organization
The term (like ''basileus'' or '' tyrannos'') is probably of Pre-Greek etymology (pos ...
'' who held the kingly position for his brief term, no doubt a council (though none is specifically documented in the scant literary materials) and a ''
polemarch
A polemarch (, from , ''polemarchos'') was a senior military title in various ancient Greek city states (''poleis''). The title is derived from the words ''polemos'' (war) and ''archon'' (ruler, leader) and translates as "warleader" or "warlord" ...
os'' to head the army.
In 657 BCE, the Bacchiadae were expelled in turn by the
tyrant
A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to ...
Cypselus
Cypselus ( grc-gre, Κύψελος, ''Kypselos'') was the first tyrant of Corinth in the 7th century BC.
With increased wealth and more complicated trade relations and social structures, Greek city-states tended to overthrow their traditional her ...
, who had been polemarch. The exiled Bacchiadae fled to
Corcyra (a colony of Corinth) and to
Magna Graecia
Magna Graecia (, ; , , grc, Μεγάλη Ἑλλάς, ', it, Magna Grecia) was the name given by the Romans to the coastal areas of Southern Italy in the present-day Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania and Sicily; the ...
, traditionally to found
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 ...
in Sicily, and to
Etruria
Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria.
Etruscan Etruria
The ancient people of Etruria
are identified as Etruscans. Thei ...
, where Demaratus installed himself at
Tarquinia, founding a dynasty of Etruscan kings. The royal line of the
Lynkestis
Lynkestis, Lyncestis, Lyngistis, Lynkos or Lyncus ( grc, Λυγκηστίς or Λύγκος la, Lyncestis or ''Lyncus'') was a region and principality traditionally located in Upper Macedonia. It was the northernmost mountainous region of Upper ...
of
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 ...
was also of Bacchiad descent. The
foundation myth
An origin myth is a myth that describes the origin of some feature of the natural or social world. One type of origin myth is the creation or cosmogonic myth, a story that describes the creation of the world. However, many cultures have sto ...
s of Corcyra, Syracuse, and Megara Hyblaea contain considerable detail about the Bacchiadae and the expeditions of the Bacchiad
Archias of Corinth, legendary founder of Syracuse in 734–33 BCE, and Philolaos, lover of
Diocles of Corinth, victor at Olympia in 728 BCE and a ''nomothete'' (lawgiver) of
Thebes.
Some of the Bacchiadae also fled to
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 ...
, for which they possibly fought against the
Messenians
Messenia or Messinia ( el, Μεσσηνία) was an ancient district of the southwestern Peloponnese, more or less overlapping the modern Messenia region of Greece. To the north it had a border with Elis along the Neda river. From there the bord ...
during the
Second Messenian War
The Second Messenian War was a war which occurred ca. 660–650 BC between the Ancient Greek states of Messenia and Sparta, with localized resistance possibly lasting until the end of the century. It started around 40 years after the end of the F ...
.
[Wickert, ''Der peloponnesische Bund'', p. 15 (note 35).]
List of the Bacchiad kings of Corinth
* Aletes 1073 - 1035 BCE
* Ixion 1035 - 997 BCE
* Agelas I 997 - 960 BCE
* Prymnis 960 - 925 BCE
* Bacchis 925 - 890 BCE
* Agelas II 890 - 860 BCE
* Eudemus 860 - 835 BCE
* Aristomedes 835 - 800 BCE
* Agemon 800 - 784 BCE
* Alexander 784 - 759 BCE
* Telestes 759 - 747 BCE
See also
*
Aristoi
The Aristoi ( Greek: ἄριστοι) was the label given to the noblemen in ancient Greek society, and in particular ancient Athens. The term literally means "best", with the denotation of best in terms of birth, rank, and nobility, but also u ...
References
Bibliography
*Édouard Will, ''Korinthiaka: recherches sur l'histoire et la civilisation de Corinth des origines aux guerres médiques'', Paris, Boccard, 1955.
*Konrad Wickert, ''Der peloponnesische Bund von seiner Entstehung bis zum Ende des Archidamischen Krieges'', Erlangen, 1961.
{{Rulers of Corinth
Corinthian mythology
Dorian mythology
Mythology of Macedonia (region)
Ancient Greek patronymics
Heracleidae
Ancient Greek dynasties