Introduction:
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Cypselus was a tyrant at Corinth from c. 655 to c. 625 B.C. and his powerful presence in the archaic Greek world is manifested through both his and his descendants' dedications at the pan-hellenic sites of Delphi and Olympia. Not only did these dedications display the power and wealth of Cypselus, but they also reflect the influence that these sites held in the social and political life of Greece at the time.
Both Herodotus and Pausanias, in their anecdotal evidence of events and artefacts relevant to our discussion, give us an idea of the tightly woven connections between the sites of Delphi and Olympia and the political, social and historical context of dedications made there. In the case of Cypselus, his rise to power was influenced by the predictions of the oracle at Delphi, and his usurpation of an oligarchic regime at Corinth reflected the growing prevalence of tyrannies in the 7th century Greek world. The nature of Cypselus' dedications at Olympia and Delphi reflect both the growing wealth and power of the city-state of Corinth and Cypselus' desire to be recognized and remembered by the rest of the Greek world.
Click on text links below to go to:
- Introduction
Background: tyrants of archaic city-states Brief biography of Cypselus
The Chest of Cypselus at Olympia
Other dedications of Cypselus and the Cypselids at Pan-Hellenic sites
Conclusion
Bibliography
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