- King of Athens
Before the
Athenian democracy , thetyrant s, and thearchon s, thecity-state ofAthens was ruled by kings. Most of these are probably mythical or only semi-historical. This list is based on that given byEusebius of Caesarea .Earliest kings
These two kings were supposed to have ruled before the flood of the
Deucalion story.*
Ogygus
*Actaeus Erechthids or Cecropidae
Cecrops was considered the first true king of Athens, although he was a mythical half-man half-serpent. The dates for the following kings were conjectured centuries later.
*Cecrops I 1556 -1506 BC .
*Cranaus 1506 -1497 BC .
*Amphictyon 1497 -1487 BC .
*Erichthonius 1487 -1437 BC .
*Pandion I 1437 -1397 BC .
*Erechtheus 1397 -1347 BC .
*Cecrops II 1347 - 1307 BC.
*Pandion II 1307 - 1282 BC.
*Aegeus 1282 - 1234 BC.
*Theseus 1234 - 1204 BC. (or 1213 BC).
*Menestheus 1204 - 1181 BC (or 1213 - 1191 BC).
*Demophon 1181 - 1147 BC.
*Oxyntes 1147 - 1135 BC.
*Apheidas 1135 - 1134 BC.
*Thymoetes 1134 - 1126 BC.Melanthids or Codridae
*
Melanthus 1126 - 1089 BC.
*Codrus 1089 - 1068 BC.After Codrus's death, his heirs ceased to be kings, and became hereditary
archons . In753 BC the hereditary archonship was replaced by a non-hereditary system (seeArchons of Athens ).Further reading
* Felix J., "Die Attische Königsliste," Klio 3 (1902), 406-439.
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