BOLMARCICH
Arizona State University
There are two basic words for “ally” in Herodotus: symmachos (σύμμαχος) and epikouros (ἐπίκουρος), as well as the more technical term parastatēs (παραστάτης). The first of these words is by far the most common, not only in Herodotus’ narrative but in classical Greek literature in general.
A parastatēs is literally one’s neighbor in the line of battle; the term comes from the verb paristēmi, “to stand beside.” Herodotus uses the word in this sense, for example in an anecdote about the Battle of MARATHON in which a soldier named EPIZELUS, before being blinded, sees a giant who bypasses him only to kill his neighbor in the battle‐line (6.117).
The noun epikouros derives from the verb meaning “to give aid” or “to come to the rescue of.” While it can be used to mean a generic ally, it generally does not refer to a person or a group of men who are legally bound by treaty to fight with another party, but a person who comes to someone’s aid under another compulsion, such as PRAYER (thus BOREAS, the north wind, is summoned as an epikouros by the Athenians during the Battle of ARTEMISIUM: 7.189) or financial obligation. The word is most commonly used of MERCENARIES, as when PEISISTRATUS re‐establishes himself as TYRANT at ATHENS with their aid (1.64), or when MILTIADES THE YOUNGER, the Athenian tyrant of the Hellespontine CHERSONESE, maintains his power by means of the 500 mercenaries he employs (6.39). The word can also refer to auxiliary troops, e.g., the Egyptian auxiliaries used by the Persians to help them control MEMPHIS (3.91). Epikouros is much more common in the first few books of the Histories than the last six, where Herodotus prefers the word symmachos as a reference to the Greek allies, to indicate that the Greeks fight on equal terms with one another.
The literal meaning of symmachos was “a co‐fighter,” hence “ally.” The relationship could be a formal one, determined by the existence of a treaty between two or more allied states, or by membership in a league of states, such as the HELLENIC LEAGUE. Confusion arises, however, because the word is also used in a general sense of those who fight together without any evidence or implication of a formal relationship between the states these troops represent.
The most common use of the word symmachos in the Histories is as a reference to members of an interstate league. We have mentions of the PELOPONNESIAN LEAGUE (“the Spartans sent for envoys from the remainder of their allies,” 5.91), and of the Hellenic League (“the allies said they would not follow the Athenians as leaders,” 8.2). It should be noted that these leagues were not formalized in the sense that an interstate organization like NATO or the United Nations is today, with a formal charter laying out the obligations of the alliance. There is no indication that members of either league ever signed any sort of treaty with each other; but it is clear that there were expectations of members of the league, such as participating in league military expeditions or attending strategic meetings held by the military leaders of each state.
A treaty agreement was called a symmachiē (συμμαχίη), so it is natural to assume that anyone referred to as a symmachos was party to such an arrangement. This is certainly true in some of Herodotus’ uses of the word, such as when the Tegeans argue for the position of HONOR on the right flank of the battle line at PLATAEA because of their relationship with the Spartans: “Always we have been deemed worthy of the first place in the ranks, we among all your [Peloponnesian League] allies” (9.26). There certainly was a formal treaty arrangement between TEGEA and SPARTA, attested by ARISTOTLE (F592 Rose). But, given the paucity and inconsistency of ancient literary or documentary evidence, we cannot say that every symmachos had a symmachiē behind it; for instance, the Corinthians are also Spartan allies, but there is absolutely no mention in the historical record of a formal treaty between the two states.
SEE ALSO: Libations; Persian Wars; polis; Warfare
FURTHER READING
1 Adcock, Frank E., and Derek J. Mosley. 1975. Diplomacy in Ancient Greece. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
2 Baltrusch, Ernst. 1994. Symmachie und Spondai: Untersuchungen zum griechischen Völkerrecht der archaischen und klassischen Zeit. Berlin: De Gruyter.
3 Low, Polly. 2007. Interstate Relations in Classical Greece: Morality and Power. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
ALOPECE (Ἀλωπεκή, ἡ)
CHRISTOPHER BARON
University of Notre Dame
A DEME (district, precinct) of ancient ATHENS, just south of the city center (BA 59 B3), also spelled Alopeke or Alopekai. Herodotus mentions Alopece (5.63.4) as the location of the grave of the Spartan ANCHIMOLUS, who led a failed invasion of Attica c. 511 BCE in an attempt to drive out the PEISISTRATIDAE. Alopece was a fairly large deme population‐wise; it was home to numerous members of the ALCMAEONIDAE and a number of other famous Athenians, including ARISTEIDES and Socrates.
SEE ALSO: Cynosarges
FURTHER READING
1 Bicknell, Peter J. 1970. “The Exile of the Alkmeonidai during the Peisistratid Tyranny.” Historia 19.2: 129–31.
2 Whitehead, David. 1986. The Demes of Attica, 508/7–ca. 250 B.C.: A Political and Social Study. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
ALOS , see HALOS
ALPENUS (Ἀλπηνός) or ALPENOI (Ἀλπηνοί)
MELODY WAUKE
University of Notre Dame
A settlement in Opountian (Eastern) Locris (BA 55 D3; Müller I, 292–93). Herodotus places Alpenus (or Alpenoi) east of THERMOPYLAE where the ANOPAEA path ends, and notes that it is the first Locrian city one reaches when traveling to LOCRIS (Opountian) from Malis. He adds that it is near Melampygus (“Black‐Bottom”) Rock and the seats of the Cercopes (7.216). Herodotus refers to Alpenus here as a POLIS, but elsewhere as a village called Alpenoi (κώμη Ἀλπηνοί, 7.176.5), which is likely more fitting. It served as a base camp for the Greeks during the Thermopylae campaign in 480 BCE: they counted on getting supplies from Alpenus (7.176.5), and two Spartans who missed the battle due to a DISEASE of the eye were convalescing here (7.229.1).
SEE ALSO: Aristodemus the Spartan; Eurytus; Malians; Persian Wars
FURTHER READING
1 IACP no. 379 (667).
2 Pritchett, W. Kendrick. 1982. Studies in Ancient Greek Topography, Part IV (Passes), 159–66. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.
ALPHABET , see CADMEIANS; WRITING
ALPHEOS (Ἀλϕεός, ὁ) and MARON (Μάρων, ὁ)
CHRISTOPHER BARON
University of Notre Dame
Spartan
