Evagoras I in Cyprus in place of the older Cypriot syllabary. Evagoras I Evagoras or Euagoras (Ancient/Modern Greek: Εὐαγόρας) was the king of Salamis (411–374 BC) in Cyprus, known especially from the work of Isocrates, who presents him as a model ruler. The spelling "Evagoras" reflects the Latin transliteration of the name. Coincidentally, it also reflects Modern Greek pronunciation. He claimed descent from Teucer, the son of Telamon and half-brother of Ajax, and his family had long been rulers of Salamis, although during his childhood Salamis came under Phoenician control, which resulted in his exile. While in Cilicia, Evagoras gathered the support
Greek hero cult Greek hero cult Hero cults were one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion. In Homeric Greek, "hero" (, ) refers to a man who fought (on either side) during the Trojan War. By the historical period, however, the word came to mean specifically a "dead" man, venerated and propitiated at his tomb or at a designated shrine, because his fame during life or his unusual manner of death gave him power to support and protect the living. A hero was more than human but less than a god, and various kinds of supernatural figures came to be