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TYPHAINE HAZIZA

Université de Caen NormandieBattus I, son of POLYMNESTUS, was the founder of the Greek colony of CYRENE in LIBYA (North Africa) in 631 BCE and reigned there as its first king. Herodotus relates two accounts of the process of the foundation of Cyrene, in which the role of Battus is not exactly the same: the version from THERA, the mother‐city (4.150–53), and that of the colony itself (4.154–58). While he appears only in a secondary role in the first account—the Theraean king GRINNUS passes off to him the mission which is given by the ORACLE at DELPHI—Battus occupies the central place in the second account: APOLLO directly tasks him with leading the successful foundation of Cyrene. However, Battus does not seem in a hurry to obey. After a reminder from the god, and a vain attempt to return to Thera, the colonists installed themselves for two years on an ISLAND off the Libyan coast named PLATEA. Then, still receiving warnings from the oracle, they finally established themselves on the continent. The city of Cyrene was founded eight years later, thanks to the help of a local tribe, the GILIGAMAE. Battus ruled Cyrene for forty years (4.159.1) until his death around 599, after which he was buried in the AGORA. In both versions of the story, Battus appears as the son of an elite Theraean, Polymnestus, descendent of the Argonaut EUPHEMUS. The Cyrenaean version gives his mother as a Cretan princess (PHRONIME) and insists upon the child’s stammer, which is perhaps the origin of the name Battus, although Herodotus thinks that it derives from a Libyan term meaning “king” (4.155).

SEE ALSO: Arcesilaus I; Colonization; Disabilities; Heroes and Hero Cult; Sources for Herodotus