Bust of Cleisthenes
Democracy in Athens started with the rise of Cleisthenes to power, around 507 BC. Cleisthenes worked with the noble family Alcmaeonidae to overthrow the tyrant ruler Hippias, but he did not receive the throne. Isagoras won the upper hand by appealing to the Spartan king, Cleomenes, and expelled Cleisthenes from the city. Manuscript fragment written by Thucydides, an Athenian general in the Peloponnesian War
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Hippias was the son of Peisistratus, a tyrant who ruled Athens for most of the time from 561 to 527 BC. In 527 BC Hippias came to power after his father’s death. He ruled with his brother, Hipparchus, until Hipparchus was murdered by Harmodius and Aristogeiton. As a result, Hippias became bitter - and his reign was cruel and brutal. A drawing of the Battle of Marathon
Isagoras tried to set himself up as the new leader, but the Athenian citizens did not want another tyrant. The Boule resisted Isagoras’ beginning tyranny and - backed by the Athenian people - forced him out of the city. Then Cleisthenes took leadership of Athens and began his reforms. During this time Athens had two dangerous neighbors: Sparta and Persia. The Spartans feared that a democracy in Athens would be threatening to them. The Persians attacked Athens with the intent of restoring Hippias to power, but they were defeated at the Battle of Marathon. This, and another victory against the Persians at Salamis, helped solidify democratic Athens’ place as a leading role in the Greek world. |