Gorgippus ( grc, Γοργιππος, Gorgippos) was a son of
Satyrus I and was a
Spartocid joint ruler with his brother
Leucon (389–349
BCE) of the
Bosporan Kingdom
The Bosporan Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus (, ''Vasíleio toú Kimmerikoú Vospórou''), was an ancient Greco-Scythian state located in eastern Crimea and the Taman Peninsula on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporu ...
. He situated himself on the
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...
tic side of the kingdom, in
Gorgippia where he ruled until, presumably, his death in 349 BCE.
Wars of Expansion
Gorgippus was a prominent figure of the
Bosporan Wars of Expansion, after he became joint-ruler of the Bosporan Kingdom alongside his brother Leukon upon the death of their father Satyros I. He seems to have ended the war his father had unsuccessfully began with queen
Tirgatao
Tirgatao (Scythian: ; Ancient Greek: , romanized: ) was a princess of the Maeotes mentioned by Polyaenus. She was the first wife of the Sindian king Hecataeus, and was a notable participant of the Bosporan wars of expansion.
Name
The name Ti ...
of the
Maeotians, who had been wronged by Satyrus earlier on in diplomatic relations with
Hecataeus. Additionally, he seems to have renamed Sindia, the capital of the
Sindike Kingdom, to
Gorgippia, after himself.
In a speech against the
Athenian
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...
orator
Demosthenes
Demosthenes (; el, Δημοσθένης, translit=Dēmosthénēs; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual pro ...
, Gorgippus was described as one of the "detested tyrants", alongside
Paerisades I and
Satyrus I for whom Demosthenes had erected statues in Athens due to his grandfather's relation with the
Spartocids
The Spartocids () or Spartocidae was the name of a Hellenized Thracian dynasty that ruled the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic Bosporan Kingdom, Kingdom of Bosporus between the years 438–108 BC. They had usurped the former dynasty, the Archaean ...
. The same speech claimed that Demosthenes received a thousand bushels of grain from Gorgippus annually.
Gorgippus' daughter, Comosarye, may have been of Sindian descent. She married her cousin
Paerisades I, a son of Leucon and later ruler of the Bosporan Kingdom.
References
{{Bosporan kings
4th-century BC rulers
Rulers of the Bosporan Kingdom
349 BC deaths
Spartocid dynasty