Dandes of Argos
Dandes of
The poem, an epitaph preserved in the Greek Anthology, reads:
Ἀργεῖος Δάνδης σταδιοδρόμος ἐνθάδε κεῖται,
νίκαις ἱππόβοτον πατρίδ᾿ ἐπευκλεΐσας, Ὀλυμπίᾳ δίς,
ἐν δὲ Πυθῶνι τρία, δύω δ᾿ ἐν Ἰσθμῷ, πεντεκαίδεκ᾿ ἐν Νεμέᾳ
τὰς δ᾿ ἄλλας νίκας οὐκ εὐμαρές ἐστ᾿ ἀριθμῆσαιHere lies Dandes of Argos, the stadion racer, who gained honour
by his victories for his fatherland, rich in pasture for horses. Twice did he conquer at Olympia,
thrice at Delphi, twice at the Isthmus, and fifteen times at Nemea,
and it is not easy to count his other victories.— Simonides, Greek Anthology XIII.14[4]
Dandes is notable not only as an athlete, but for the frame of reference his various victories provide to such events as the death of tyrant Theron of Acragas (also an Olympic competitor and victor) and the beginning of the war between Theron's son Thrasydaeus and Hiero I of Syracuse (chariot victor in the 78th Olympiad), events recorded by Dionysius of Halicarnassus and Diodorus Siculus with Dandes's victory as a starting point.[2]
That same year in
Diodorus reports unequivocally only that there was a battle and that the Romans were defeated, using the phrase "ὧν φασί τινες", translated "according to some"[5] three hundred Fabians (Livy says three hundred-and-six) killed there and states the Year 177th Olympiad/472-1 BCE date; thus he seems to disagree not only with the chronology, but also seems to be unwilling to take the legend of the Fabians at face value. Dionysius goes even further, calling one part of the Livian narrative, concerning stories of the survival of one lone Fabian boy who was too young to join the battle "μύθοις γὰρ δὴ ταῦτά γε καὶ πλάσμασιν ἔοικε θεατρικοῖς", "myths and theatrical fabrications".[6] Either the Roman three hundred-or-so were defeated coincidentally just after the famous Three Hundred Spartans, or coincidentally just after a major war erupted in Sicily. This is an interesting problem in synchronicity for modern scholars who have analysed the topic, and also an insight into possible manipulation of historical events by an aristocratic Roman clan for propaganda purposes.
See also
References
- Eusebius of Caesarea, Chronicle [1].
- ^ a b c Diodorus Siculus. Diodorus of Sicily in Twelve Volumes with an English Translation by C. H. Oldfather. Vol. 4–8. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989, 11.53. Available at:[2]. Accessed 10 June 2015
- ^ Dionysii Halicarnasei Antiquitatum Romanarum quae supersunt, Vol I-IV. Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Karl Jacoby. In Aedibus B.G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1885., 9.37.1, Available at:[3]. Accessed 10 June 2015
- ^ Simonides (1918). The Greek Anthology: Books 13–16. Translated by Paton, W.R. Loeb Classical Library. p. 9. – via digital Loeb Classical Library (subscription required)
- ^ Dillery 2009, p. 89, after Diodorus 11.53.6.
- ^ Dillery 2009, p. 90, after Dionysius 9.22.3.
Works cited
- Dillery, John (2009). "Roman Historians and the Greeks: Audiences and Models". In Feldher, Andrew (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Historians. New York: Cambridge University Press.