Evagoras I

Who is Evagoras I?

Evagoras I was king of the city of Salamis on the eastern coast of Cyprus, ruling from about 411 to 374 BC during a turbulent period when the island lay at the crossroads of Greek and Persian influence. He is known largely through the writings of the Athenian orator Isocrates, who composed an admiring encomium praising Evagoras as an exemplary ruler who restored Greek culture, language, and institutions to Salamis after a period of foreign domination. Evagoras allied himself at different times with Athens and with the Persian Empire, using these relationships to expand his authority over much of Cyprus and to support Athenian military efforts in the region, including aiding the Athenian general Conon. From around 391 BC he found himself in open conflict with the Persian king, resisting a large Persian force for several years before eventually coming to terms in 380 BC while retaining his throne at Salamis. He was assassinated in a palace conspiracy in 374 BC. Evagoras is remembered in Cypriot history as a ruler who strengthened Hellenic identity on the island and skillfully balanced the competing powers of his era, and Isocrates' portrait of him became a model of kingship studied for centuries afterward.

Sources: Isocrates, Evagoras (4th century BC) · Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica · Britannica, "Evagoras I"