Prytanis and the Bosporan Kingdom: A Historical Overview

Introduction

Prytanis was king of the Bosporan Kingdom from 310 to 309 BC, the youngest son of Paerisades I and the younger brother of Satyros II and Eumelos. He came to power after the death of Satyros II during the dynastic struggle of 309 BC, when the mercenary commander Meniscus returned Satyros’ body to Panticapaeum via Gargaza; Prytanis held an extended funeral, assumed royal authority and took command of the army, leaving a garrison at Gargaza as he secured the capital.

Prytanis’s brief rule unfolded amid the Bosporan civil war between rival brothers. He refused offers from Eumelos to divide power, and while he was in Panticapaeum Eumelos, backed by Aripharnes of the Siraces, seized Gargaza and other towns. Prytanis marched out to confront Eumelos near the Maeotic Lake (the Sea of Azov) but suffered defeat, was compelled to surrender command of the army and to abdicate in Eumelos’s favor. After a failed attempt to reclaim the throne in Panticapaeum he was overwhelmed; sources report he fled to a place described as “The Gardens” (Greek: Κήποι) or to the city Kepa, where he was cornered and killed in 309 BC. In the aftermath Eumelos executed families and supporters of Satyros and Prytanis, while Satyros’s young son Paerisades escaped to Scythia.