Aegisthus, Peleus, Periander, Archelaus, and Hippias

Use in the book

The sequence follows Theages' acceptance that the desired wisdom governs craftsmen, private persons, women, and men together. Socrates asks whether each named ruler governed those same categories or some different people (124c–d). Theages consistently accepts the common population. The series gives his abstract ambition recognizable human instances before asking for a collective title.

The opening figure is ominous: Aegisthus is explicitly identified as the killer of Agamemnon. The text therefore includes violence within its chosen examples without yet making violence part of the definition of rule. Peleus is then introduced through his father and place, without a corresponding crime. The sequence is heterogeneous, drawing on figures of heroic narrative and more recent rulers. Treating all five as one historically uniform constitutional class would flatten the passage.

Socrates finally asks for the title of Hippias and Periander, not expressly for a common title borne by all five (124e). Theages answers “tyrants.” This narrowing is essential to reconstructing the argument. The earlier series established that many rulers governed the same broad human categories; the final pair supplies an especially recognizable tyrannical designation. Moving from that pair to every desired comprehensive rule remains a further inference.

Archelaus' being “this new ruler” contributes to the dialogue's dramatic chronology. The edition places his accession about 413 BC and combines this with the later campaign references to locate the conversation. The dialogue itself supplies the relative description, not a numbered calendar date. Likewise, the historical dates attached to Periander and Hippias belong to the notes rather than to Socrates' speeches.

The rulers are therefore more than antiquarian decoration, but less than a complete political typology. Their common subjects prepare the pressure put on Theages; their differences, and the restriction of the final title question to two names, limit what that pressure establishes. A lexicon should preserve both functions.

Places to read

1. 124cΑἴγισθος ὁ Ἀγαμέμνονα ἀποκτείνας; ἐν Ἄργει — Aegisthus is identified through the killing and its setting
2. 124cΠηλεὺς ὁ Αἰακοῦ ἐν Φθίᾳ — Peleus is identified through parentage and locality
3. 124cΠερίανδρον … τὸν Κυψέλου; ἐν Κορίνθῳ — Periander's rule provides a third case
4. 124dἈρχέλαον τὸν Περδίκκου; ἐν Μακεδονίᾳ — The contemporary or recent Macedonian ruler
5. 124dἹππίαν … τὸν Πεισιστράτου — Athens' former ruler supplies the local case
6. 124eἹππίας καὶ Περίανδρος — The final title question expressly names this pair

Translation in this edition

Notes 10–142345 supply the mythic and historical identifications, including Aegisthus' rule of Mycenae in Homer and the Argive setting in Aeschylus. That distinction should remain visible rather than “correcting” the dialogue's Argos to Mycenae. Burnet's printed τοῦτον at 124d follows a correction against τούτων; the translation accordingly says “this new ruler.”

Aeacus — Αἰακός (Aiakos)

Αἰακός (Aiakos)

Aeacus. The father whose name identifies Peleus. Attested: Αἰακοῦ (124c). Aegisthus, Peleus, Periander, Archelaus, and Hippias.

Aegisthus — Αἴγισθος (Aigisthos)

Αἴγισθος (Aigisthos)

Aegisthus. The ruler introduced as the killer of Agamemnon and ruler in Argos. Attested: Αἴγισθος (124c). Aegisthus, Peleus, Periander, Archelaus, and Hippias.

Agamemnon — Ἀγαμέμνων (Agamemnōn)

Ἀγαμέμνων (Agamemnōn)

Agamemnon. The victim whose killing identifies Aegisthus in Socrates' question. Attested: Ἀγαμέμνονα (124c). Aegisthus, Peleus, Periander, Archelaus, and Hippias.

Archelaus — Ἀρχέλαος (Archelaos)

Ἀρχέλαος (Archelaos)

Archelaus. The recent ruler in Macedonia included in the same-population comparison. Attested: Ἀρχέλαον (124d). Aegisthus, Peleus, Periander, Archelaus, and Hippias.

Argos — Ἄργος (Argos)

Ἄργος (Argos)

Argos. The place in which the dialogue asks about Aegisthus' rule. Attested: Ἄργει (124c). Aegisthus, Peleus, Periander, Archelaus, and Hippias.

Corinth — Κόρινθος (Korinthos)

Κόρινθος (Korinthos)

Corinth. The city in which Periander is said to rule. Attested: Κορίνθῳ (124c). Aegisthus, Peleus, Periander, Archelaus, and Hippias.

Cypselus — Κύψελος (Kypselos)

Κύψελος (Kypselos)

Cypselus. Periander's identifying father. Attested: Κυψέλου (124c). Aegisthus, Peleus, Periander, Archelaus, and Hippias.

Having killed — ἀποκτείνειν (apokteinein)

ἀποκτείνειν (apokteinein)

Having killed. The violent action explicitly attached to Aegisthus, not to every named ruler. Attested: ἀποκτείνας (124c). Aegisthus, Peleus, Periander, Archelaus, and Hippias.

Hippias — Ἱππίας (Hippias)

Ἱππίας (Hippias)

Hippias. Athens' former ruler, later explicitly classified as a tyrant with Periander. Attested: Ἱππίαν (124d). Aegisthus, Peleus, Periander, Archelaus, and Hippias.

Macedonia — Μακεδονία (Makedonia)

Μακεδονία (Makedonia)

Macedonia. The region assigned to Archelaus' rule. Attested: Μακεδονίᾳ (124d). Aegisthus, Peleus, Periander, Archelaus, and Hippias.

Peleus — Πηλεύς (Pēleus)

Πηλεύς (Pēleus)

Peleus. The ruler in Phthia, identified through Aeacus. Attested: Πηλεὺς (124c). Aegisthus, Peleus, Periander, Archelaus, and Hippias.

Perdiccas — Περδίκκας (Perdikkas)

Περδίκκας (Perdikkas)

Perdiccas. The father identifying Archelaus. Attested: Περδίκκου (124d). Aegisthus, Peleus, Periander, Archelaus, and Hippias.

Periander — Περίανδρος (Periandros)

Περίανδρος (Periandros)

Periander. The Corinthian ruler who later forms one half of the explicitly tyrannical pair. Attested: Περίανδρον (124c). Aegisthus, Peleus, Periander, Archelaus, and Hippias.

Phthia — Φθία (Phthia)

Φθία (Phthia)

Phthia. The place assigned to Peleus' rule. Attested: Φθίᾳ (124c). Aegisthus, Peleus, Periander, Archelaus, and Hippias.

Pisistratus — Πεισίστρατος (Peisistratos)

Πεισίστρατος (Peisistratos)

Pisistratus. Hippias' identifying father. Attested: Πεισιστράτου (124d). Aegisthus, Peleus, Periander, Archelaus, and Hippias.

Recently — νεωστί (neōsti)

νεωστί (neōsti)

Recently. The relative chronology attached to Archelaus' rule, without a numerical date in the speech. Attested: νεωστὶ (124d). Aegisthus, Peleus, Periander, Archelaus, and Hippias.