List of kings of Athens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Before the Athenian democracy, the tyrants, and the Archons, the city-state of Athens was ruled by kings. Most of these are probably mythical or only semi-historical. The following lists contain the chronological order of the title King of Athens (also prescribed earlier as kings of Attica), a semi-mythological title.
Earliest kings
These three kings were supposed to have ruled before the flood of Deucalion.
Other sources mentioned two other ancient rulers of Athens:
- Porphyrion - an earlier Athenian king than Actaeus. He was the reputed founder of the sanctuary of Heavenly Aphrodite on Athmoneis, an Athenian deme.[4]
- Colaenus - Hellanicus, the Mitylenian historian, tells that this surname of Artemis is derived from Colænus, King of Athens before Cecrops and a descendant of Hermes. In obedience to an oracle he erected a temple to the goddess, invoking her as Artemis Colænis (the Artemis of Colænus).
Erechtheid dynasty
The early Athenian tradition, followed by the 3rd century BC Parian Chronicle, made Cecrops, a mythical half-man half-serpent, the first king of Athens.[5] The dates for the following kings were conjectured centuries later, by historians of the Hellenistic era who tried to backdate events by cross-referencing earlier sources such as the Parian Chronicle. Tradition says that King Menestheus took part in the Trojan War.
The following list follows that of 1st Century BC Castor of Rhodes (FGrHist 250), with Castor's dates given in modern terms.[6]
| Reign | King | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 1556–1506 BC | Cecrops I | Born from the Earth, he married Actaeus' daughter Agraulus and succeeded him to the throne |
| 1506–1497 BC | Cranaus | Earth-born, deposed by Amphictyon son of Deucalion |
| 1497–1487 BC | Amphictyon | Either son of Deucalion or Earth-born, he deposed Cranaus and was in turn deposed by Erichthonius |
| 1487–1437 BC | Erichthonius | Earth-born son of Hephaestus and either Gaia, Athena or Atthis |
| 1437–1397 BC | Pandion I | Son of Erichthonius |
| 1397–1347 BC | Erechtheus | Son of Pandion I |
| 1347–1307 BC | Cecrops II | Son of Erechtheus; omitted in Heraclides' epitome of Aristotle's Constitution of the Athenians[7] |
| 1307–1282 BC | Pandion II | Son of Cecrops II |
| 1282–1234 BC | Aegeus | Son of Pandion II; construction of Trojan Walls by Poseidon, Apollo and the mortal Aeacus (c. 1282 BC) |
| 1234–1205 BC | Theseus | Son of Aegeus |
| 1205–1183 BC | Menestheus | Trojan War and the Sack of Troy[8] (c. 1183 BC)[9] |
| 1183–1150 BC | Demophon | Son of Theseus |
| 1150–1136 BC | Oxyntes | Son of Demophon |
| 1136–1135 BC | Apheidas | Son of Oxyntes |
| 1135–1127 BC | Thymoetes | Son of Oxyntes and brother of Apheidas |
Melanthid dynasty
Melanthus was the Neleides king of Pylos in Messenia. Being driven out by the Dorian and Heraclidae invasion, he came to Athens where Thymoetes resigned the crown to him. Codrus, the last king, repelled the Dorian invasion of Attica.
After Codrus's death, his sons Medon and Acastus either reigned as kings, or became hereditary archons.[10][11] In 753 BC the hereditary archonship was replaced by a non-hereditary system (see Archons of Athens).