Battus III of Cyrene, surnamed The Lame (, flourished 6th century BC) was the fifth Greek Cyrenaean king and a member of the

Battiad dynasty The Battiadae, or Battiads (), were the ruling dynasty of the Greek city-state of Cyrene, in modern Libya. Battus I, who founded Cyrene in 631 BC, was also the founder of the dynasty. The Battiads were overthrown in 440 BC. List of members ''T ...

. Battus was the son and only child of king Arcesilaus II and queen Eryxo. His paternal grandfather was the third Cyrenaean King, Battus II, while his paternal grandmother is unknown. His maternal grandmother was the princess Critola, while his maternal grandfather was a noble whose name is unknown and was murdered by

Learchus In Greek mythology, Learchus (Ancient Greek: Λέαρχος) or Learches was the son of King Athamas and Ino, daughter of King Cadmus of Thebes. He was the brother of Melicertes.Grimal, s.v. Learchus, p. 254. Mythology The story of Learchus i ...

(a rival to Arcesilaus II) in 550 BC. Battus II and Critola were siblings and were children to the second Cyrenaean King Arcesilaus I. Their paternal grandfather was the first Cyrenaean King, Battus I. Battus received the surname ''The Lame'' because he was born with a defective leg that caused him to limp. Battus was proclaimed King in 550 BC by his maternal uncle Polyarchus, when his uncle and his mother Eryxo had successfully plotted to kill Learchus, who murdered Arcesilaus II and attempted to become king. During his reign, Battus realised that Cyrenaica had become an unstable state, from the unstable relations with the

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

ns, Egyptian Pharaoh

Amasis II Amasis II ( ; ''ḤMS'') or Ahmose II was a pharaoh (reigned 570526 BCE) of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt, the successor of Apries at Sais, Egypt, Sais. He was the last great ruler of Ancient Egypt, Egypt before the Achaemenid Empire, Persian ...

and the attempted overthrow of his late father and himself from Learchus. He visited the Oracle at

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...

for advice and consulted the priestess, on what he could do about Cyrenaica. The priestess advised Battus to go and visit

Mantineia Mantinea (; ''Mantineia''; also Koine Greek ''Antigoneia'') was a city in ancient Arcadia, Greece, which was the site of two significant battles in Classical Greek history. In modern times it is a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, ...

in Arcadia and ask for a man called Demonax, who could assist him to reform the Cyrenaean constitution. Demonax was held in high regard by the Mantineians and held a high position there. Battus returned to Cyrene with Demonax to assist him in reforming the constitution. Demonax reformed the Cyrenaean constitution and did the following. He divided Cyrenaica into three groups: * Greeks from Thera (modern

Santorini Santorini (, ), officially Thira (, ) or Thera, is a Greek island in the southern Aegean Sea, about southeast from the mainland. It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago formed by the Santorini caldera. It is the southern ...

) * Greeks from the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

and

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

* Greeks from the other Aegean Islands Demonax created a Senate which controlled Cyrenaica. The senate's members were representatives from the three groups and the king was the senatorial president. The new constitution reduced the powers, responsibilities and authority of the king. The monarchy remained, but the king had only the authority to grant land to citizens and to function as a high priest in charge of religious duties. Demonax also put in place

ephor The ephors were a board of five magistrates in ancient Sparta. They had an extensive range of judicial, religious, legislative, and military powers, and could shape Sparta's home and foreign affairs. The word "''ephors''" (Ancient Greek ''éph ...

s to punish impostors and created a 300-strong armed police force patrolling and protecting Cyrenaica. To further protect Cyrenaica from the Libyans and their aristocracy, Battus made an alliance with the Egyptian Pharaoh

. As a sign of gratitude, Battus allowed Amasis to marry a Greek woman from Cyrenaica. Amasis chose Battus' daughter, Ladice, and they married after 548 BC. Battus reigned until his death in 530 BC, and was buried near his paternal ancestors. He was survived by his wife, queen

Pheretima ''Pheretima'' is a genus of earthworms found mostly in New Guinea and parts of Southeast Asia. Species belonging to the genus ''Pheretima'' have a clitellum, which is a band of glandular tissue present on segments 14 to 16. Individuals are her ...

, their son Arcesilaus III and their daughter Ladice. He was succeeded by Arcesilaus III.

Sources

*Herodotus, The Histories, Book 4.

*https://www.livius.org/ct-cz/cyrenaica/cyrenaica.html *http://www.mediterranees.net/dictionnaires/smith/cyrene.html {{s-end 6th-century BC Greek people 6th-century BC births 530s BC deaths Kings of Cyrene 6th-century BC monarchs

See also

Sources