# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/polycrates
# Generated: 2026-08-12T18:52:05.187Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/polycrates"
name: "Polycrates"
slug: "polycrates"
description: "The tyrant who ruled Samos for two decades in the 6th century BC, known equally for violence in battle and a sharp eye for governing—a combination rare enough to be remembered 2,500 years later."
tagline: "6th century BC tyrant of Samos"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Polykrates_with_Pharao_Amasis_II.jpg"
gender: "male"
category:
  name: "Politicians"
  slug: "politicians"
profileType:
  name: "Politician"
  slug: "politician"
birthDate: "-574"
deathDate: "-522"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           56.45
  momentum:             15
  historical:           22.82981866666667
  currentAttention:     0
  sourceConfidence:     60
  profileCompleteness:  60
  trendDirection:       "BREAKOUT"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
tags:
  - name: "Politicians"
    slug: "politicians"
  - name: "Politician"
    slug: "politician"
  - name: "Politics"
    slug: "politics"
  - name: "Ancient History"
    slug: "ancient-history"
sources:
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q294840"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycrates"
    title: "Wikipedia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Polycrates"
    title: "Pantheon 2.0"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82"
    title: "Поликрат"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pol%C3%ADcrates_de_Samos"
    title: "Polícrates de Samos"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polykrat%C3%A9s_ze_Samu"
    title: "Polykratés ze Samu"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polykrates"
    title: "Polykrates"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polykrates_(Tyrann_von_Samos)"
    title: "Polykrates (Tyrann von Samos)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%A0%CE%BF%CE%BB%CF%85%CE%BA%CF%81%CE%AC%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%82"
    title: "Πολυκράτης"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polikrato_el_Samoso"
    title: "Polikrato el Samoso"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pol%C3%ADcrates_de_Samos"
    title: "Polícrates de Samos"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%BE%D9%88%D9%84%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA%D8%B3"
    title: "پولیکراتس"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polykrates"
    title: "Polykrates"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycrate_de_Samos"
    title: "Polycrate de Samos"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pol%C3%ADcrates_de_Samos"
    title: "Polícrates de Samos"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%98%D7%A1"
    title: "פוליקרטס"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polikrat"
    title: "Polikrat"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pol%C3%BCkrat%C3%A9sz"
    title: "Polükratész"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polikrates"
    title: "Polikrates"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policrate"
    title: "Policrate"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%9D%E3%83%AA%E3%83%A5%E3%82%AF%E3%83%A9%E3%83%86%E3%82%B9"
    title: "ポリュクラテス"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%ED%8F%B4%EB%A6%AC%ED%81%AC%EB%9D%BC%ED%85%8C%EC%8A%A4_(%EC%82%AC%EB%AA%A8%EC%8A%A4)"
    title: "폴리크라테스 (사모스)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycrates_Samius"
    title: "Polycrates Samius"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82"
    title: "Поликрат"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycrates"
    title: "Polycrates"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Polycrates"
    title: "Wikiquote"
    type:  "WEBSITE"
  - url: "https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A8%D9%88%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B7"
    title: "بولقراط"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%96%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82"
    title: "Палікрат"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Polycrates, son of Aeaces, seized control of Samos in the 540s BC and held it until 522 BC. His rule earned him a double reputation: as a warrior who struck fear, and as a tyrant who somehow governed with intelligence and vision. That duality—brutality paired with enlightenment—made him an outlier among Greek strongmen. He died in 522 BC, but the contradiction at the heart of his reign kept his name in circulation long after the island moved on.