Pheidon
Encyclopedia
Pheidon was a king
of Argos
, Greece
in the 7th century BC. At that time, the monarch was purely a traditional figurehead with almost no genuine power. Pheidon seized the throne from the reigning aristocracy. He is seen in the tradition of other tyrant
s, like Gyges of Lydia
, as an outsider to the ruling caste in some ways even though a fragment of the Parian Chronicle
confirms him to have been a noble and places him as eleventh in line from Heracles
.
According to tradition he flourished during the first half of the 7th century BC. He was a vigorous and energetic ruler and greatly increased the power of Argos. He gradually regained sway over the various cities of the Argive confederacy, the members of which had become practically independent, and (in the words of Ephorus
) reunited the broken fragments of the inheritance of Temenus
. His object was to secure predominance for Argos in the north of Peloponnesus. According to Plutarch
, he attempted to break the power of Corinth
, by requesting the Corinthians to send him 1000 of their picked youths, ostensibly to aid him in war, his real intention being to put them to death; but the plot was revealed. Pheidon assisted the Pisatans to expel the Eleian
superintendents of the Olympian Games and presided at the festival himself. The Eleians, however, refused to recognize the Olympiad or to include it in the register, and shortly afterwards, with the aid of the Sparta
ns, who are said to have looked upon Pheidon as having ousted them from the headship of Greece, defeated Pheidon and were reinstated in the possession of Pisatis and their former privileges.
During his probable reign, the battle of Hysiae
(in 669/8 BC) was fought in which the Argives defeated the Spartans. This is also about the time period that hoplite
warfare was becoming current, particularly in Argos. It is probable that he was the originator of hoplite phalanx
.
Aristotle
, in "Politics
", claims that he made changes to land reforms “family plots and the number of citizens should be kept equal, even if the citizens had all started with plots of unequal size.” We see a staunch tyrannical rule-giver. Does this correspond with him acting as champion of the people (a common theme running through ancient tyranny), making sure everyone has the same land rights? He also claims that Pheidon started off as a king (basileus) and ended up a tyrant (tyrannos). The balance between these two types of ancient 'kingship' seem to have vague boundaries. When discussing the phenomenon of tyranny Aristotle comes to vague conclusions and such contradictions are often observed.
Pheidon is said to have lost his life in a faction fight at Corinth, where the monarchy had recently been overthrown. The affair of the games has an important bearing on his date. Pausanias
(vi. 22, 2) definitely states that Pheidon presided at the festival in the 8th Olympiad (i.e. in 748 BC), but in the list of the suitors of Agariste
, daughter of Cleisthenes of Sicyon
, given by Herodotus
, there occurs the name of Leokedes or Lakedas, son of Pheidon of Argos. According to this, Pheidon must have flourished during the early part of the 6th century BC. It has therefore been assumed that Herodotus confused two Pheidons, both kings of Argos. The suggested substitution in the text of Pausanias of the 28th for the 8th Olympiad (i.e. 668 instead of 748) would not bring it into agreement with Herodotus, for even then, Pheidon's son could not have been a suitor in 570 for the hand of Agariste. But the story of Agariste's wooing resembles romance and has slight chronological value. On the whole, modern authorities assign Pheidon to the first half of the 7th century. Herodotus further states that Pheidon established a system of weights and measures
throughout Peloponnesus, to which Ephorus and the Parian Chronicle
add that he was the first to coin silver money, and that his mint was at Aegina
. But according to the better authority of Herodotus (i. 94) and Xenophanes of Colophon, the Lydians were the first coiners of money at the beginning of the 7th century, and, further, the oldest known Aeginetan coins are of later date than Pheidon. Hence, unless a later Pheidon is assumed, the statement of Ephorus must be considered unhistorical. No such difficulty occurs in regard to the weights and measures; it is generally agreed that a system was already in existence in the time of Pheidon, into which he introduced certain changes. A passage in the Aristotelian Constitution of Athens states that the measures used before the Solonian period of reform were called Pheidonian. He mentions "a pheidon would be a jar of olive oil, named from the Pheidonian measures." It is mentioned that Solon
reformed these measurements from the 70 drachmae of the Pheidonian coins to the 100 drachmae coins.
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
of Argos
Argos
Argos is a city and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. It is 11 kilometres from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
in the 7th century BC. At that time, the monarch was purely a traditional figurehead with almost no genuine power. Pheidon seized the throne from the reigning aristocracy. He is seen in the tradition of other tyrant
Tyrant
A tyrant was originally one who illegally seized and controlled a governmental power in a polis. Tyrants were a group of individuals who took over many Greek poleis during the uprising of the middle classes in the sixth and seventh centuries BC, ousting the aristocratic governments.Plato and...
s, like Gyges of Lydia
Gyges of Lydia
Gyges was the founder of the third or Mermnad dynasty of Lydian kings and reigned from 716 BC to 678 BC . He was succeeded by his son Ardys II.-Allegorical accounts of Gyges' rise to power:...
, as an outsider to the ruling caste in some ways even though a fragment of the Parian Chronicle
Parian Chronicle
The Parian Marble or Parian Chronicle is a Greek chronological table, covering the years from 1581 BC to 264 BC, inscribed on a stele...
confirms him to have been a noble and places him as eleventh in line from Heracles
Heracles
Heracles ,born Alcaeus or Alcides , was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus...
.
According to tradition he flourished during the first half of the 7th century BC. He was a vigorous and energetic ruler and greatly increased the power of Argos. He gradually regained sway over the various cities of the Argive confederacy, the members of which had become practically independent, and (in the words of Ephorus
Ephorus
Ephorus or Ephoros , of Cyme in Aeolia, in Asia Minor, was an ancient Greek historian. Information on his biography is limited; he was the father of Demophilus, who followed in his footsteps as a historian, and to Plutarch's claim that Ephorus declined Alexander the Great's offer to join him on his...
) reunited the broken fragments of the inheritance of Temenus
Temenus
In Greek mythology, Temenus was a son of Aristomachus and brother of Cresphontes and Aristodemus. He was a great-great-grandson of Heracles and helped lead the fifth and final attack on Mycenae in the Peloponnese. He became King of Argos. He was the father of Ceisus, Káranos, Phalces, Agraeus,...
. His object was to secure predominance for Argos in the north of Peloponnesus. According to Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
, he attempted to break the power of Corinth
Corinth
Corinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
, by requesting the Corinthians to send him 1000 of their picked youths, ostensibly to aid him in war, his real intention being to put them to death; but the plot was revealed. Pheidon assisted the Pisatans to expel the Eleian
Elis
Elis, or Eleia is an ancient district that corresponds with the modern Elis peripheral unit...
superintendents of the Olympian Games and presided at the festival himself. The Eleians, however, refused to recognize the Olympiad or to include it in the register, and shortly afterwards, with the aid of the Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
ns, who are said to have looked upon Pheidon as having ousted them from the headship of Greece, defeated Pheidon and were reinstated in the possession of Pisatis and their former privileges.
During his probable reign, the battle of Hysiae
Battle of Hysiae
The term Battle of Hysiae refers to two battles at the ancient location of Hysiae , located to the southwest of Argos, near the modern village of Achladokampos. The first battle took place in 669/8 BC, another in 417 BC...
(in 669/8 BC) was fought in which the Argives defeated the Spartans. This is also about the time period that hoplite
Hoplite
A hoplite was a citizen-soldier of the Ancient Greek city-states. Hoplites were primarily armed as spearmen and fought in a phalanx formation. The word "hoplite" derives from "hoplon" , the type of the shield used by the soldiers, although, as a word, "hopla" could also denote weapons held or even...
warfare was becoming current, particularly in Argos. It is probable that he was the originator of hoplite phalanx
Phalanx
Phalanx, from Ancient Greek , may refer to:-Military:* Phalanx formation, in ancient Greek warfare* Phalanx CIWS, a U.S. Navy defense system to protect against an anti-ship missile-Politics:...
.
Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
, in "Politics
Politics (Aristotle)
Aristotle's Politics is a work of political philosophy. The end of the Nicomachean Ethics declared that the inquiry into ethics necessarily follows into politics, and the two works are frequently considered to be parts of a larger treatise, or perhaps connected lectures, dealing with the...
", claims that he made changes to land reforms “family plots and the number of citizens should be kept equal, even if the citizens had all started with plots of unequal size.” We see a staunch tyrannical rule-giver. Does this correspond with him acting as champion of the people (a common theme running through ancient tyranny), making sure everyone has the same land rights? He also claims that Pheidon started off as a king (basileus) and ended up a tyrant (tyrannos). The balance between these two types of ancient 'kingship' seem to have vague boundaries. When discussing the phenomenon of tyranny Aristotle comes to vague conclusions and such contradictions are often observed.
Pheidon is said to have lost his life in a faction fight at Corinth, where the monarchy had recently been overthrown. The affair of the games has an important bearing on his date. Pausanias
Pausanias (geographer)
Pausanias was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for his Description of Greece , a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from firsthand observations, and is a crucial link between classical...
(vi. 22, 2) definitely states that Pheidon presided at the festival in the 8th Olympiad (i.e. in 748 BC), but in the list of the suitors of Agariste
Agariste of Sicyon
Agariste was the daughter, and possibly the heiress, of the tyrant of Sicyon, Cleisthenes. Her father wanted to marry her to the best of the Hellenes and, subsequently, he organized a competition, whose prize was his own daughter...
, daughter of Cleisthenes of Sicyon
Cleisthenes of Sicyon
Cleisthenes was the tyrant of Sicyon from c. 600–570 BC, who aided in the First Sacred War against Kirrha that destroyed that city in 595 BC. He is also told to have organized with success a war against Argos because of his anti-Dorian feelings...
, given by Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
, there occurs the name of Leokedes or Lakedas, son of Pheidon of Argos. According to this, Pheidon must have flourished during the early part of the 6th century BC. It has therefore been assumed that Herodotus confused two Pheidons, both kings of Argos. The suggested substitution in the text of Pausanias of the 28th for the 8th Olympiad (i.e. 668 instead of 748) would not bring it into agreement with Herodotus, for even then, Pheidon's son could not have been a suitor in 570 for the hand of Agariste. But the story of Agariste's wooing resembles romance and has slight chronological value. On the whole, modern authorities assign Pheidon to the first half of the 7th century. Herodotus further states that Pheidon established a system of weights and measures
Units of measurement
A unit of measurement is a definite magnitude of a physical quantity, defined and adopted by convention and/or by law, that is used as a standard for measurement of the same physical quantity. Any other value of the physical quantity can be expressed as a simple multiple of the unit of...
throughout Peloponnesus, to which Ephorus and the Parian Chronicle
Parian Chronicle
The Parian Marble or Parian Chronicle is a Greek chronological table, covering the years from 1581 BC to 264 BC, inscribed on a stele...
add that he was the first to coin silver money, and that his mint was at Aegina
Aegina
Aegina is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina, the mother of Aeacus, who was born in and ruled the island. During ancient times, Aegina was a rival to Athens, the great sea power of the era.-Municipality:The municipality...
. But according to the better authority of Herodotus (i. 94) and Xenophanes of Colophon, the Lydians were the first coiners of money at the beginning of the 7th century, and, further, the oldest known Aeginetan coins are of later date than Pheidon. Hence, unless a later Pheidon is assumed, the statement of Ephorus must be considered unhistorical. No such difficulty occurs in regard to the weights and measures; it is generally agreed that a system was already in existence in the time of Pheidon, into which he introduced certain changes. A passage in the Aristotelian Constitution of Athens states that the measures used before the Solonian period of reform were called Pheidonian. He mentions "a pheidon would be a jar of olive oil, named from the Pheidonian measures." It is mentioned that Solon
Solon
Solon was an Athenian statesman, lawmaker, and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic and moral decline in archaic Athens...
reformed these measurements from the 70 drachmae of the Pheidonian coins to the 100 drachmae coins.