Phrynon of Athens ( el, Φρύνων ο Αθηναίος;

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 ...

; before 657 BC –

Sigeum Sigeion (Ancient Greek: , ''Sigeion''; Latin: ''Sigeum'') was an ancient Greek city in the north-west of the Troad region of Anatolia located at the mouth of the Scamander (the modern Karamenderes River). Sigeion commanded a ridge between the Aeg ...

; c. 606 BC) was a general of ancient Athens, and a winner in

ancient Olympic Games The ancient Olympic Games (Ὀλυμπιακοὶ ἀγῶνες; la, Olympia, neuter plural: "the Olympics") were a series of athletic competitions among representatives of city-states and were one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece ...

.''

Great Greek Encyclopedia The ''Great Greek Encyclopedia'' (Greek: ''Μεγάλη Ελληνική Εγκυκλοπαίδεια'') is a general knowledge Greek-language encyclopedia, printed initially between 1926 and 1934. The encyclopedia was founded in 1926 by Pavlo ...

'', Pavlos Drandakis, ed., el, «Φρύνων ο Αθηναίος» vol. 24, p. 231.

Biography

Phrynon was born in

before 657 BC. In 636 BC, he won the stadion or

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of ...

in the Olympic Games (36th

Olympiad An olympiad ( el, Ὀλυμπιάς, ''Olympiás'') is a period of four years, particularly those associated with the ancient and modern Olympic Games. Although the ancient Olympics were established during Greece's Archaic Era, it was not unti ...

). Later he became a general of Athens. In the period 608–606 BC, a war was conducted by Athens against

Mytilene Mytilene (; el, Μυτιλήνη, Mytilíni ; tr, Midilli) is the capital of the Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University o ...

over control of

. Phrynon was the general of the Athenians. In order to end the conflict quickly, Phrynon accepted the invitation to duel made by the Mytilenean general

Pittacus Pittacus (; grc-gre, Πιττακός; 640 – 568 BC) was an ancient Mytilenean military general and one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Biography Pittacus was a native of Mytilene and son of Hyrradius. He became a Mytilenaean general who, with ...

(one of the

Seven Sages of Greece The Seven Sages (of Greece) or Seven Wise Men ( Greek: ''hoi hepta sophoi'') was the title given by classical Greek tradition to seven philosophers, statesmen, and law-givers of the 7–6th century BC who were renowned for their wisdom. T ...

). Phrynon was defeated at the duel because Pittacus had a hidden net beneath his shield and with it caught and killed him.''Philosophes de Diogène Laërce'' (in

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

)
Chapter IV (Pittacus), p. 74
Pittacus thus won the war for his homeland. The aristocrat and poet

Alcaeus of Mytilene Alcaeus of Mytilene (; grc, Ἀλκαῖος ὁ Μυτιληναῖος, ''Alkaios ho Mutilēnaios''; – BC) was a lyric poet from the Greek island of Lesbos who is credited with inventing the Alcaic stanza. He was included in the canonical ...

wrote several poems about this conflict. The Athenian soldiers received the corpse of their general and, withdrawing from Mytilene, carried it back to Athens, where Phrynon was buried with honors.

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria (Italy). He is known fo ...

mentions the struggle between Athens and Mytilene in the context of

Peisistratos Pisistratus or Peisistratus ( grc-gre, Πεισίστρατος ; 600 – 527 BC) was a politician in ancient Athens, ruling as tyrant in the late 560s, the early 550s and from 546 BC until his death. His unification of Attica, the triangular ...

and does not restrict himself to the time of Peisistratos, but freely goes back to an earlier stage of what he says was a protracted struggle.

Theodore Wade-Gery Theodore may refer to: Places * Theodore, Alabama, United States * Theodore, Australian Capital Territory * Theodore, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Banana, Australia * Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada * Theodore Reservoir, a lake in Saskatche ...

notes Phrynon as founder of colonies at

and

Elaious Elaeus ( grc, Ἐλαιοῦς ''Elaious'', later ''Elaeus''), the “Olive City”, was an ancient Greek city located in Thrace, on the Thracian Chersonese. Elaeus was located at the southern end of the Hellespont (now the Dardanelles) near t ...

—instead of Achilleion by tradition—and accepting the emendation which produces Phrynon's name at Ps. ''Skymnos'' 707f.

Biography

References

See also