Polycrates of Samos

Tyrant of Samos (r. c. 540-c. 522 b. c.e.)

Born: Date unknown; place unknown Died: c. 522 b. c.e.; Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece Category: Government and politics

Life Polycrates of Samos (puh-LIHK-ruh-teez of SAY-mahs), supported by Lygdamis the tyrant of Naxos, seized Samos with his two brothers in about 540 b. c.e. but not long after became sole ruler. His was the most famous of all the Aegean tyrannies. Polycrates of Samos aimed to maintain an independent Samos and to establish a Samian thalassocracy. He pursued an aggressive foreign policy, annexing neighboring islands and making treaties with Egypt and Cyrene. He also made the Samian navy a formidable force and was responsible for large-scale harbor fortifications. In 522 b. c.e., Oroetes, satrap of Sardis, who seems to have seen Polycrates’ power as a threat, tricked him into leaving Samos with promises of money and other support. When Polycrates arrived in Magnesia, he was crucified.

Polycrates’ reign was also one of culture. At his court were craftsmen such as Theodorus and the poet Anacreon of Teos, whom Polycrates wished to teach his son music. There is some chronological doubt as to whether he was responsible for the two great public works on Samos: the temple of Hera and the construction of the water tunnel through Mount Ampelus, which brought water into the city and took ten years to build.

Influence Polycrates may have been the first Greek ruler to adopt triremes as the battleship for his navy, therefore changing the face of Greek naval warfare.

Further Reading

Barron, J. P. “The Sixth Century Tyranny at Samos.” Classical Quarterly 14 (1964): 210-230.

Shipley, G. A History of Samos, 800-188 B. C. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1987.

Ian Worthington

See also: Navigation and Transportation; Trireme.