• Conclusions:

    The place of the Corinthian tyrant Cypselus in the archaic Greek world and his symbiotic relationship with pan-hellenic sites is best seen in his dedications at Delphi and Olympia. The interdependence of these sanctuaries on powerful persons and vice versa is seen in the role that the Delphic oracle played in Cypselus' rise to power. The dedication of the Corinthian treasury at Delphi and the wealth of offerings from Croesus and Gyges housed there attests to the wealth of the state of Corinth in the early part of the Archaic period and the cultural and political situation thus established that gave rise to tyrannical rule.

    The chest of Cypselus, as a commemorative dedication at Olympia, is an example of the genre of such objects. Like the poetry of Pindar and the statues of athletes at Olympia, which memorialized the feats of athletes at pan-hellenic competitions, the decoration of the chest recalls the historical and mythological references to the person to whom it is dedicated. However, an important difference in mythological allusion is that none of the scenes depicted redound to the glory of the city of Corinth itself by references to its usual mythology. All of the stories are references to the story of Cypselus or are merely of colorful, sensational nature. The accomplishments of Cypselus in war, i.e., usurping the Bacchiads and thus establishing himself as ruler of Corinth, is described in visual, rather than verbal images. As a visual metaphor, the chest of Cypselus represents the person of the tyrant, memorialized at a pan-hellenic site. The materials with which the chest is adorned, i.e., gold and ivory, were typically reserved for the decoration of cult statues of the deities. By his commissioned use of this material on his self-portrait, albeit a non-anthropomorphic identity, Cypselus is the first ruler in the Greek world to attribute to himself aspects understood as appropriate for deities alone. For the first time, although cloaked in a suitable degree of ambiguity, a ruler of a Greek city-state dared to equate his power with that of the gods through the dedication of his symbolic self-portrait at Olympia, a site of pan-hellenic assembly ostensibly dedicated to Zeus.

    The dedications of Cypselus and his descendants at pan-hellenic sites, recounted by Herodotus and Pausanias, help to recreate a sense of the balance of power apparent in the archaic Greek world. Through the commemoration of the life of Cypselus, his descendants no doubt hoped that his story and the wealth and the power that he enjoyed would be remembered in future ages by all of the Greek world. The successes of his children, minor in comparison, are reflected in the quality of their dedications as well. Their power did not last long, and the Cypselid reign of Corinth ended with Cypselus' son. But their father's legend lives on, thanks to the material record as well as the descriptive accounts of ancient authors. For language can be highly pictorial, as in the case of Pausanias, and visual images themselves are capable of relating their own narratives, as in the instance of the chest of Cypselus.

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