Leophron was the son of Anaxilas, tyrant of

Rhegium Reggio di Calabria (; ), commonly and officially referred to as Reggio Calabria, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, is the List of cities in Italy, largest city in Calabria as well as the seat of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria. As ...

and Messana in

Magna Graecia Magna Graecia refers to the Greek-speaking areas of southern Italy, encompassing the modern Regions of Italy, Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, and Sicily. These regions were Greek colonisation, extensively settled by G ...

. According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, he succeeded his father in the sovereign power. It is therefore probable that he was the eldest of the two sons of Anaxilas, in whose name

Micythus Micythus (), son of Choerus, was a 5th-century BC tyrant of Rhegium (modern Reggio Calabria) and Zancle (modern Messina) in Magna Graecia. He also founded the city of Pyxus (c. 471 BC). He was at first a slave in the service of Anaxilas, tyrant ...

assumed the sovereignty, and who afterwards, at the instigation of Hieron of Syracuse, dispossessed the latter of his authority. Diodorus, from whom we learn these facts, does not mention the name of either of the young princes. According to the same author, their reign lasted six years (467–461 BC), when they were expelled by a popular insurrection both from Rhegium and Zancle. Leophron is elsewhere mentioned as carrying on war against the neighbouring city of Locri, and as displaying his magnificence at the

Olympic games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

, by feasting the whole assembled multitude. His victory on that occasion was celebrated by

Simonides Simonides of Ceos (; ; c. 556 – 468 BC) was a Greek lyric poet, born in Ioulis on Kea (island), Ceos. The scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria included him in the canonical list of the nine lyric poets esteemed by them as worthy of criti ...

. Justin XXI 3;

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (, or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; ) was an ancient Greek rhetorician and Grammarian (Greco-Roman), grammarian, flourishing about the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd century ...

I p. 3.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leophron Ancient Rhegians Ancient Messenians Ancient Greek monarchs Ancient Olympic competitors 5th-century BC Greek people Sicilian tyrants Year of birth unknown