Apollodoro tiranno di Cassandreia da nemico di Antigono Gonata a exemplum di crudeltà tirannica

Apollodorus has been tyrant of Cassandreia since about 279 until 276 BCE. In the first section of this paper, I will attempt to retrace the events through the investigation of the sources and I will argue that he represented a serious threat for Antigonos Gonatas. In the second section I will focus on the two main literary traditions about Apollodorus, arguing that Hieronymus of Cardia and Lycophron the tragedian elaborated the first one in order to discredit him. Later, anonymous λογογρὰφοι elaborated the second one, which compares Apollodorus to Phalaris and considers the first one just as an exemplum of tyrannical cruelty. I will argue that the two tyrants were compared because they share two features typical of tyrants: human sacrifice and cannibalism. Probably, rhetorical schools contributed to the widespread celebrity of the couple Apollodorus – Phalaris. Indeed, many authors quoted it until 2nd century AD.