Galaurus
Encyclopedia
Galaurus was an Illyria
Illyria
In classical antiquity, Illyria was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by the Illyrians....

n king of the Taulantii
Taulantii
Taulantii was the name of a cluster of Illyrian tribes. According to Greek mythology Taulas , one of the six sons of Illyrius, was the eponymous ancestor of the Taulanti. They lived on the Adriatic coast of Illyria , between to the vicinity of the city of Epidamnus...

 State who reigned in the middle of the 7th century BC
7th century BC
The 7th century BC started the first day of 700 BC and ended the last day of 601 BC.The Assyrian Empire continued to dominate the Near East during this century, exercising formidable power over neighbors like Babylon and Egypt. In the last two decades of the century, however, the empire began to...

. After the first Illyrian invasion of Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....

ia in 691 BC because of the interruption of friendly relations, the Illyrians did considerable damage by their ravages. Galaurus invaded Macedonia somewhere between 678-640 BC during the reign of Argaeus I. However the invasion was unsuccessful as Argaeus cut off great numbers and forced the remaining Illyrians to leave, although further invasions continued right to the time of Philip II
Philip II
-People:* Philip II of Macedon * Philip II Philoromaeus * Philip II of France * Philip II of Navarre * Philip II of Taranto * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy * Philip II, Duke of Savoy...

.
The historian Polyaenus
Polyaenus
Polyaenus or Polyenus vs. e]]; , "many proverbs") was a 2nd century Macedonian author, known best for his Stratagems in War , which has been preserved. The Suda calls him a rhetorician, and Polyaenus himself writes that he was accustomed to plead causes before the emperor...

 relates this battle:

"In the reign of Argaeus
Argaeus I of Macedon
Argaeus I of Macedon was a king of Macedon of the Argead dynasty from about 678 BC to about 640 BC. He succeeded in the throne his father Perdiccas I. Argaeus left as successor his son Philip I...

, the Illyria
Illyria
In classical antiquity, Illyria was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by the Illyrians....

n Taulantii
Taulantii
Taulantii was the name of a cluster of Illyrian tribes. According to Greek mythology Taulas , one of the six sons of Illyrius, was the eponymous ancestor of the Taulanti. They lived on the Adriatic coast of Illyria , between to the vicinity of the city of Epidamnus...

 under Galaurus invaded Macedonia. Argaeus, whose force was very small, directed the Macedonian virgins (parthenoi), as the enemy advanced, to show themselves from mount Ereboea ( Ἐρέβοια ). They accordingly did so; and in a numerous body they poured down , covered by wreaths, and brandishing their thyrsi
Thyrsus
In Greek mythology, a thyrsus or thyrsos was a staff of giant fennel covered with ivy vines and leaves, sometimes wound with taeniae and always topped with a pine cone. These staffs were carried by Dionysus and his followers. Euripides wrote that honey dripped from the thyrsos staves that the...

instead of spears. Galaurus, intimidated by the numbers of those, whom instead of women he supposed to be men, sounded a retreat; whereupon the Taulantii, throwing away their weapons, and whatever else might retard their escape, abandoned themselves to a precipitate flight. Argaeus, having thus obtained a victory without the hazard of a battle, erected a temple to Dionysus Pseudanor; and ordered the priestesses of the god, who were before called Klοdones by the Macedonians, to ever afterwards be distinguished by the title of Mimallones."
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