Antiochus of Arcadia

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Antiochus of Arcadia was a Greek envoy from Arcadia who went to the Persian court at Susa in 367 BCE, during a time when many Greek states sent embassies there. The Arcadians, perhaps influenced by the Theban ambassador Pelopidas, were treated as less important than the Eleans, and Antiochus resented this and refused the king’s gifts. Xenophon notes that Antiochus had won the pankration, an ancient fighting contest. Pausanias adds that Antiochus, the pankratiast, was from Lepreum and won at the Olympic Games once, the Nemean Games twice, and the Isthmian Games twice. A statue of him was made by Nicodamus. Lepreum was claimed by the Arcadians as their town, which is why Xenophon calls Antiochus an Arcadian, though Lepreum is usually listed as part of Elis.