city state · Greece and the Aegean
Lampsacus
Origins
Lampsacus was founded by Phocaea c. 654 BCE on the Asian shore of the Hellespont, on a site said to have been offered by a local king. Its fertile hinterland produced wine that became the city's main export.
Rule and society
In the late 6th century BCE the tyrant Hippoclus and his son Aeantides ruled Lampsacus under Persia; Aeantides married a daughter of Hippias of Athens. Artaxerxes I granted the exiled Themistocles the city's revenues for wine. Lampsacus paid large tribute in the Delian League. Anaxagoras spent his last years there, and Epicurus taught in the city before moving to Athens.
Decline and legacy
Lampsacus appealed to Rome against Antiochus III in 196 BCE and became an ally. It passed into the Roman province of Asia in 129 BCE. The modern town of Lapseki stands on the site.
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (3)
- Lampsacus was part of Achaemenid Empire546 BCE – 478 BCE
- Lampsacus was part of Delian League478 BCE – 411 BCE
- Lampsacus was part of Roman Republic129 BCE
More states of Greece and the Aegean →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Lampsacus. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lampsacus
- MLA
- “Lampsacus.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lampsacus. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Lampsacus.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lampsacus.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Lampsacus’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lampsacus (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻