Ancient evidence on the archaic tyranny of Sicyon includes two unconnected Delphic oracles addressed to different consultants. In the form in which it reached us, one dates back to the fourth century BC, predicts the advent of the tyranny of the Orthagorids and asserts that they would rule the city by the whip for a hundred years. The other oracle, mentioned by Herodotus, denies the title of king to Clisthenes, the most famous exponent of this dynasty of tyrants, and ambiguously qualifies him as “stoner” or “stoned”. In examining the traditions in which the two predictions are inserted, this article aims at focusing on the function that whipping and stoning assume in them. It is also suggested that the two oracles were originally part of a single narrative about the tyranny of Sicyon dating back to the Archaic period and that this narrative may have followed a pattern of oriental origin, of which there is a trace in the biblical First Book of Kings.

“Fustigare” e “lapidare”. Forme di violenza nelle storie oracolari sulla tirannide degli Ortagoridi

Marcello Lupi
2024

Abstract

Ancient evidence on the archaic tyranny of Sicyon includes two unconnected Delphic oracles addressed to different consultants. In the form in which it reached us, one dates back to the fourth century BC, predicts the advent of the tyranny of the Orthagorids and asserts that they would rule the city by the whip for a hundred years. The other oracle, mentioned by Herodotus, denies the title of king to Clisthenes, the most famous exponent of this dynasty of tyrants, and ambiguously qualifies him as “stoner” or “stoned”. In examining the traditions in which the two predictions are inserted, this article aims at focusing on the function that whipping and stoning assume in them. It is also suggested that the two oracles were originally part of a single narrative about the tyranny of Sicyon dating back to the Archaic period and that this narrative may have followed a pattern of oriental origin, of which there is a trace in the biblical First Book of Kings.
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11591/540908
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