Phrynon
Phrynon | |
|---|---|
| Born | before 657 BC Athens |
| Died | c. 606 BC Sigeion |
| Allegiance | Athens |
Phrynon of Athens (Greek: Φρύνων ο Αθηναίος; Athens; before 657 BC – c. 606 BC) was a general of ancient Athens, and a winner in ancient Olympic Games.[1][2]
Biography
Phrynon was born in Athens before 657 BC. In 636 BC, he won the stadion or pentathlon in the Olympic Games (36th Olympiad).[1][3] Later, he became a general of Athens.[4]
In the period 608–606 BC, a war was conducted by Athens against
Sigeum.[1] Phrynon was the general of the Athenians.[2] In order to end the conflict quickly, Phrynon accepted the invitation to duel made by the Mytilenean general Pittacus (one of the Seven Sages of Greece).[1][2] Phrynon was defeated at the duel because Pittacus had a hidden net beneath his shield and with it caught and killed him.[5] Pittacus thus won the war for his homeland. The aristocrat and poet Alcaeus of Mytilene wrote several poems about this conflict.[4]
The Athenian soldiers received the corpse of their general and, withdrawing from Mytilene, carried it back to Athens, where Phrynon was buried with honors.[2]
Elaious—instead of Achilleion by tradition—and accepting the emendation which produces Phrynon's name at Ps. Skymnos 707f.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d Karl Otfried Müller, ed. (1839). The history and antiquities of the Doric race. Vol. 2. Translated by Lewis, George Cornewall; Tufnell, Henry. London: Murray (Robarts - University of Toronto). pp. 452-453 App. VI.
- ^ a b c d Great Greek Encyclopedia, Pavlos Drandakis, ed., Greek: «Φρύνων ο Αθηναίος» vol. 24, p. 231.
- Eusebius of Caesarea, Chronicle.
- ^ ISBN 0-521-32880-2. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ Philosophes de Diogène Laërce (in French). Chapter IV (Pittacus), p. 74.
See also
- Olympic winners of the Stadion race
