Athens under the Tyrants Flashcards

Question

Peisistratus' social reform

Answer 1

Various aristocratic families exiled to limit aristocratic power within Attica | Alcmaeonids

Answer 2

* **Large scale building projects**, continued by his sons. **For public use,** included **temples** (such as a large temple **to Athena** on the Acropolis built by Peisistratus), and **acqueducts** (Hippias and Hipparchus) * Peisistratus introduced the **Panathenaia** * Introduced the **CIty Dionysia** * **His sons promoted artistic projects** – Aristotle says Hipparchus was keen on literature and the arts and invited famous poets to Athens

Answer 3

* Promoted peace, allowing economic growth, and religious and cultural reform * Made links with important overseas powers, including other tyrants. Improved trade and exchange of skills. A lot of Athenian pottery started to be circulated abroad

Answer 4

* Not all positive – **early on he did much to just consolidate his power** **Long-lasting effects** 1.**poetry, drama, art, scuplture flourished,** raising cultural and relifious profile of Athens across Greece, and benefitted the lives of Athenians 2. **Encouraged foreigners to visit**, and so increased money generated by trade * **Political, economic, and legal reforms** were just as significant 1. Economic reforms made **more people able to hold office of archon because they met Solon's wealth criteria**. **Crucial for the democracy of the next centuary**

Answer 5

Still held some of the ideals of the oligarchy * Relatives and friends had major offices, Thucydides * Therefore they ruled with the support of many of the aristocratic families that had ruled Athens before * Many of Solon's political changes kept, so giving the changes time to settle

Answer 6

**9 magistrates who supervise religious, legal, cultural, and economic affairs of the polis** * A **chief magistrate** (later gives his name to the year) * a magistrate in charge of military affairs and the army (**polemarch**) * a magistrate in charge of **religious affairs and trials for murder** * **6 magistrates** in charge of **legal affairs** * **Only pentacosiomedimnoi and hippeis could become archons**

Answer 7

* **Counsil of ex-archons**, * **Conduct in office investigated**, those that past joined the council * Serve **for life** * **Elected archons** and acted as **judge and jury for high-profile trials** * Later sources suggest they **acted as guardians of the law** * **Membership controlled by the Peisistratids** as they made sure their allies were archons

Answer 8

* **Council** of 400 male citizens * **Created by Solon** (Aristotle) * **Advised the ecclesia** and responsible for the **day-to-day running of the city** * **Membership less restricive** than the Areopagus, but the thetes were not eligible

Answer 9

* **Assembly** of citizens who had completed 2 years militery service * Solon created it, **all Athenian male citizens** participated * Eventually **voted on all important matters** of state, but probably had very **little power in this period**

Answer 10

* **Little known of years after his death** * Seems that at **least some of his projects continued by Hippias** * Thucydides gives evidence that **the regime was still popular** * **514, things start to go wrong,** recounted by Herodotus, Thucydides, and Aristotle

Answer 11

* **Harmodios and Aristogeiton**

Answer 12

Brother of Hippias Thucydides outlines that Hippias, not Hipparchus was the tyrant

Answer 13

Hippias becomes more oppressive, the tyranny is overthrown, and democracy is created in the next century

Answer 14

Herodotus: mentions it twice, both in passing Thucydides and Aristotle agree on the main sequence, so it is likely that Aristotle based his account on Thucydides'.

Answer 15

* Harmodios and Aristogeiton were in love * Hipparhcus was also in love with Harmodios, he attempts to approach Harmmodios, but was rejected * Aristogeiton was worried that Hipparchus might force Harmodios to become his lover as Hipparchus was so powerful * Aristogeiton therefore started to come up with a plan to overthrow the tyranny * After being rejected again by Harmodios, Hipparchus decided to humiliate him in public. He invited Harmodios' sister to carry a basket in a procession. When she turned up, she was told that she was not suitable for the procession and was asked to leave * Harmodios and Aristogeiton decided to take revenge at the Panathenaia, as they could walk around with weapons without being noticed (weapons were commonly carried by those in the religious procession of this festival)

Answer 16

Herodotus does not mention that they were lovers, he says they were from teh same family

Answer 17

* Aristotle says Thessalos, another Peisistratus brother, was the one who was in love with Harmodios * Aristotle does not mention that Aristogeiton worried Hipparchus would force Harmodios to be his lover * Aristotle states Thessalos insulted Harmodios by calling him effeminate and that Thessalos prevented his sister from carrying the basket for this reason

Answer 18

* On the day of the festival procession, the tyrant Hippias was outside the city preparing for the procession. Harmodios and Aristogeiton were ready with daggers. The number of conspirators was small, for reasons of safety – they hoped others would join in once the attack begun * Harmodios and Aristogeiton saw that one of their fellow plotters was chatting with Hippias. They were frightened, beleiving that someone had betrayed them by revealing their plan * They deided to get on with taking revenge on Hipparchus straight away. They ran up to Hipparchus and killed him. * Hippias' bodygaurd caught up with them. Harmodios was killed on the spot. Aristogeiton escaped but was later arrested. * Hippais then examined those in the religious porcession who were still bearing arms, and picked out those whom he believed to have been part of the plot, as well as all those carrying daggers

Answer 19

* Aristotle states the number of conspirators was large * Aristotle explicitly states that the version of Hippias picking out conspirators randomly is incorrect. He alleges that in order to get the names of the conspirators, Hippias tortured Aristogeiton. Hippias eventually killed him in a fit of rage. Aristotle mentions that the democratic writers claim Aristogeiton blamed friends of the tyranny to stir up trouble, but there are contrasting accounts in which he only told the truth.

Answer 20

At the start of his *History* he claims he is writing an **accurate account.** His aim was; however, to lay out what he saw as the causes of the Peloponnesian War. **Athenian politics is not his main focus**

Answer 21

* It is a digression from his story, and is mainly **unrelated to his main narrative** * He aims to **correct various mistakes** which were floating around in his day * Many Athenians believed Hipparchus, not Hippias, to have been the tyrant at that time * The pleople believed that the assassination was an attempt to overthrow the tyranny. **The democracy of Thucydides' time also wanted to show them as the tyrannicides in order to downplay Cleisthenes' reforms** that helped lead to the democracy. * Thucydides also wants to show that the **the tyranny under Hippias was popular until 514.**

Answer 22

Saw it as an attempt to overthrow the tyranny, therefore making Harmodios and Aristogeiton much more to blame for the fall of thePeisistratids than the Spartan/Alcmaeonid plot.

Answer 23

Aristototle clearly states that Hippias did not pick out the other conspirators in the way described (calling the armed men as if to give a speach, telling them to leave their weapons, and then picking out those he believed to be part of the conspiracy, and all that carried daggers) Thucydides might have invented this part to discreddit Hippias, as by this point the Athenians had been permanently put off tyrants.

Answer 24

4 years (removed in the 4th)

Answer 25

reforms of Cleisthenes and the creation of democracy

Answer 26

The Alcmaeonids with the eventual help of the Spartans

Answer 27

Herodotus gives a long, detailed, account, which is summarised later by Aristotle

Answer 28

* Alcmaeonids might wish to drive out the peisistratids due to the relationship of the families * Alcmaonids might gain power by taking out hte tyranny * Herodotus restates that the Alcmraeonids were responisble at another point in his work * Herodotus makes the Alcmaeonids responsible for freeing Athens, not Harmodios and Aristogeiton * The idea the Spartans act on the advice of the Oracle of Delphi is plausible – it was the most famous and taken seriously

Answer 29

* He was writing much later * Based on what he saw and heard, not written evidence – oral, which gets modified by generations * Interested in religion, believing the gods played a major role. Perhaps he heard an implausible account, but wrote of it because if fit his ideals? * Was he trying to entertain the reader with a slightly bizzare story he did not believe? * By focusing on the Oracle of Delphi he does not give more plausible reasons for Sparta helping – if they did

Answer 30

* Tyranny harsher under Hippias after his brother's death * In the fourth year since, Hippias attempted to fortify Mounicha, in order to make a move there, but got overthrown first. * The Alcmaeonids had fortified Lipsydrium, but were beseiged and expelled by the tyrants * They had then been hired to build the temple at Delphi * The Oracle always told the Spartans to free Athens, and so eventually they decided to, despite the Peisistratids being friends of Sparta. The Peisistratids were growing close to Argos, which was also a reason for the Spartans to attack. * They sent Anchimoius by sea, but he was defeated by Thessalian cavalry * The Spartans sent King Cleomenes, who defeated the Thessalians and beseiged Hippias in the Pelasgic Wall. * Hippias tried to smuggle his children out, but they were captured. hippias agreed to leave in return for his children's safety. * In 5 days they removed themselves.

Answer 31

Cineas brought a thousand cavalry and defeated Anchimoius' invasion force. Cleomenes; however, defeated the Thessalians

Answer 32

Anchimoius invaded by sea, but was killed by Thessalian cavalry Cleomenes took a larger force and defeated the Thessalians. He then beseiged Hippias, captured the Peisistratid children, and forced the Peisistratids to leave

Answer 33

* Hippias even nastier * Alcmaeonids had been banished and tried to force their way back along with other exiles * Alcmaeonids fotified Lipsydrium, and leant their services to the Amphictyons in building the temple of Delphi, making a beautiful temple that was better than agreed * The Alcmaeonids then bribed the Pythia to tell all Spartan visitors to set Athens free * The Spartans eventually sent Anchimolius to drive out the Peisistratids * The gods willed it that Anchimolius failed. He docked at Phaleron and his army disembarked * Peisistratids had learnt of the danger, sent King Cineas of Condia, king of Thessaly with 1000 cavalry. The tyrants prepared the ground at Phaleron for cavalry. The Spartans are defeated * Cleomenes sent over land. Bursts into Attica, routs the Thessalians, killing 40 men, the rest return to Thessaly * Spartans and Athenian allies drive the tyrants into the Acropolis * Cleomenes would not have won: no intention to blockade, enemy had plenty of provisions * However, sons of the Peisistratids are. captured as they are being smuggled out. The Peisistratids agree to leave within 5 days provided their children are released * They had ruled for 36 years

Answer 34

fort on the spur of Mount Parnes north of the *deme* Paeonidae

Answer 35

son of Aster Sent by Sparta to drive out the Peisistratids Sent by sea, defeated by Thessalian cavalry

Answer 36

King of Thessaly Successful against Anchimolius using 1000 cavalry Beaten by second Spatan attack

Answer 37

Neleus of Pylos, same family tree as Codrus and Malenthus who came from abroad to rule Athens Hippocrates names his sone Peisistratus in Nestors' memory

Answer 38

Sometimes allies, sometimes enemies The Alcmaeonids were blamed for the execution of Cylon's allies, and cursed and exiled as they killed men under divine protection as they were seeking shelter by the statue of Athena Solon let them back into Athens Assisted in Peisistratus' first return Peisistratus married an Alcmaeonid girl, daughter of Megacles, but refused to have children with her. When Peisistratus god back again, he had the Alcmaeonids exiled Later the Alcmaeonids pretended to have been exiled for the whole tyrannny, however some were archons in this time period

Answer 39

Harmodios and Aristogeiton Roman copy of statues that stood in the agora