Polycrates
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Polycrates, son of Aeaces, was the tyrant of Samos from the 540s BC to 522 BC. He had a reputation as both a fierce warrior and an enlightened tyrant.
Polycrates with Pharaoh Amasis II (19th century illustration).
Coinage of Samos at the time of Polycrates. Circa 530-528 BC.
Coinage of Samos at the time of Polycrates. Forepart of winged boar with lion scalp facing in dotted square within incuse square. Circa 526-522 BC.
Samos, Temple of Hera, Statue of a warrior, 530 BC
Amasis II
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Amasis II or Ahmose II was a pharaoh of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt, the successor of Apries at Sais. He was the last great ruler of Egypt before the Persian conquest. He was also the first phar
Polycrates
…and some other historians. Thucydides emphasises his conquest of Delos, the key religious centre of the Aegean. Polycrates formed an alliance with King Amasis of Egypt and A. Carty suggests that Polycrates assisted Amasis in the conquest of Cyprus. In general, though, the ancient sources stress not specific…
Head of Amasis II, c. 550 BCE
Statue of Tasherenese, mother of king Amasis II, 570–526 BCE, British Museum
This head probably came from a temple statue of Amasis II. He wears the traditional royal nemes head cloth, with a protective uraeus serpent at the brow. Circa 560 BCE. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.