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Alcaeus on the career of Myrsilos: Greeks, Lydians and Luwians at the east Aegean-west Anatolian interface

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 November 2011

Alexander Dale
Affiliation:
New York University

Abstract

This paper examines the evidence for the life and career of the Lesbian tyrant Myrsilos. Following an examination of the ancient testimonia for Myrsilos in the text of Alcaeus and later sources, the name Myrsilos is then considered in relation to the Hittite royal name Muršiliš, Myrsilos as an alternate name for the Lydian king Kandaules and various toponyms in Lydia and Caria that appear to be derived from the same underlying name or title. The consequences of the distribution of these names is then considered in the cultural and historical context of the Aegean-Anatolian interface, with implications for early Lesbian history and cultural continuity from the Late Bronze Age down to the Archaic period.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies 2011

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