Sicyon

The acropolis of Sicyon was built on a low triangular plateau about 3 km (two miles) from the Corinthian Gulf on which was originally located the city and port, according to ancient sources. Between the acropolis and the city lay a fertile plain with olive groves and orchards. In Mycenean times, according to Eusebius, Sicyon had been ruled by a line of twenty-six mythical kings and then seven priests of Apollo. The king-list given by Pausanias comprises twenty-four kings, beginning with the autochthonous Aegialeus. The penultimate king of the list, Agamemnon, compelled the submission of Sicyon to Mycenae; after him came the Dorian usurper Phalces. Pausanias shared his source with Castor of Rhodes, who used the king-list in compiling tables of history; the common source was convincingly identified by Felix Jacoby as a lost Sicyonica by the late 4th-century poet Menaechmus of Sicyon. The community was divided into the ordinary three Dorian tribes and an equally privileged tribe of Ionians, besides which a class of serfs (, or , ) lived on and worked the land. Besides reforming the city's constitution to the advantage of the Ionians and replacing Dorian cults with the worship of Dionysus, Cleisthenes gained a reputation as the chief instigator and general of the First Sacred War (590 BC) in the interests of the Delphians. == Ancient monuments ==

• Temple of Apollo or Artemis • Theatre • Palaestra - Gymnasium • Stadium • Bouleuterion • West stoa • South stoa • Roman baths == Medieval history ==

During the early Middle Ages, Sikyon continued to decline. It became a bishop's seat and, judging by its later designation "Hellas," it appears to have become a haven for populations seeking refuge from the settlement of Slavic groups in Greece during the 7th century. By 1369, many villages in the vicinity of Vasilika were abandoned due to the raids of Turkish pirates. Together with Corinth, Vasilika was acquired by the Florentine in Angevin service Niccolò Acciaioli, from whom it passed to Donato Acciaioli in 1362. Donato's son Angelo Acciaioli mortgaged Corinth and Vasilika to his cousin Nerio I Acciaioli, the future duke of Athens, by 1372. When Nerio died in 1394, Corinth and Vasilika were inherited by his daughter, Francesca Acciaioli, who had recently married Carlo I Tocco, the count palatine of Cephalonia and Zante. These provisions were contested by Nerio's other daughter, Bartolomea Acciaioli, and her husband, Despot Theodore I Palaiologos of the Morea. Following the ensuing conflict, Francesca and Carlo were only able to retain Vasilika and Megara, while Corinth passed to the Despot Theodore. Finally, Despot Theodore II Palaiologos of the Morea seized Vasilika in 1427, alongside other gains from the Principality of Achaia. The Ottoman Turks invaded and subjugated Corinth and Vasilika, alongside other northern Moreot towns and fortresses, in 1458, two years before completing the conquest of the Morea in 1460–1461. A village named until 1920 Vasiliko (described by the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica as "insignificant") lies next to the site of ancient and medieval Sikyon. It is now named Sikyona, reflecting the name of the ancient city. ==Mythological rulers==

Kings largely according to Eusebius's chronicle and other Greco-Roman sources are: • Aegialeus • Europs • Telchis • Apis of Sicyon • Thelxion of Sicyon • Aegyrus • Thurimachus • Leucippus • Messapus • Eratus • Plemnaeus • Orthopolis • Marathonius or Coronus • Marathus • Echyreus or alternatively Coronus (which claims descent from Orthopolis according to Pausanias) • Corax • Epopeus of Sicyon • Lamedon • Sicyon • Polybus of Sicyon (succeeded by Adrastus according to Pausanias) • Inachus • Phaestus • Adrastus • Zeuxippus of Sicyon (some sources see as direct succession of Phaestus) • Pelasgus • Polypheides, lord Before Agammemnon Seven priests of Apollo Carneius ruled that follow these kings as rulers according to Eusebius are: • Archelaus, who ruled one year. • Automedon, one year. • Theoclytus, four years. • Euneus, six years. • Theonomus, nine years. • Amphigyes, twelve years. • Charidemus, one year. He could not bear the expense, and went into exile. He was priest 352 years before the first Olympiad (i.e. 1128 BCE). The list of Orthagorides goes as follows: • Orthagoras:founder of the dynasty Fought in the city of Pellene • Myron: Won the 648 Olympic Games • Aristonymos:Reigned briefly • Myron II::debauched, was murdered • Isodeme:dethroned after two years of reign • Cleisthenes:The most famous member of the dynasty, he died childless, ending the dynasty. == Notable people ==

Ancient • Aegialeus (21st century BC) legendary founder • Tellis (8th century BC), runner (Olympic victor 708 BC) • Butades (7th century BC) sculptor • Canachus (6th century BC) sculptor • Aristocles (5th century BC) sculptor • Praxilla (5th century BC) poet • Ariphron (5th century BC) poet • Alypus (5th to 4th century BC) sculptor • Alexis (5th or 4th century BC) sculptor • Eupompus (4th century BC) painter • Pamphilus (4th century BC) painter • Melanthius (4th century BC) painter • Pausias (4th century BC) painter • Eutychides (4th century BC) sculptor • Lysippos (4th century BC) sculptor • Lysistratus (4th century BC) sculptor • Sostrates (4th century BC) pankratiast (thrice Olympic champion) • Canachus the Younger (4th century BC) sculptor • Xenokrates (3rd century BC) sculptor and art historian • Machon (3rd century BC) playwright • Timanthes (3rd century BC) painter • Nealkes (3rd century BC) painter • Anaxandra (3rd century BC) painter • Pythocles (3rd century BC), runner (Olympic victor 236 BC) • Aratus of Sicyon (271–213 BC) strategos of the Achaean League • Baccheidas, a dancer and teacher of music • Daetondas of Sicyon, sculptor who made a statue of an Elean boxing athlete Theotimus • Bycelus, Olympic victor, who was the first Sicyonian to win the boys' boxing-match. Modern • Sotirios Krokidas, jurist and PM ==Mythology: Identification with Mecone==

Sicyon has been traditionally identified with the mythical Mecone or Mekone, site of the trick at Mecone carried out by Prometheus. Mecone is also described by Callimachus as "the seat of the gods", and as the place where the brother deities Zeus, Poseidon and Hades cast lots for what part of the world each would rule. ==Mentions in literary works==

In the 4th century BC the people of Sicyon were the subject of a popular comedy by Menander titled Sikyonioi. William Shakespeare, in his 1606 play Antony and Cleopatra (Act I, Scene 2), notes that Marc Antony's wife, Fulvia died in Sicyon. Historically, she died there in 40 BC while in rebellion against Octavius Caesar. Friedrich Hölderlin's novel Hyperion from 1797 starts at the "paradisiac plain of Sicyon". ==See also==