Transcript Alcmaeonidae

The tangled web that becomes the story of democracy is easier to
follow if we pay attention to just one Greek family…the Alcmaeonidae.
The first notable Alcmaeonid was Megacles, Megacles was Archon
Eponymous and he and his cronies were tired of being bullied by Cylon –
the tyrant of Athens at the time (632). Megacles followed Cylon and
some of his followers into the temple of Athena and murdered them.
This was thought to be sacrilegious, so – even though he got rid of Cylon – the
people had him ostracized. From then on it was said that the Alcmaeonid
carried a curse. The miasma or “stain” was to be carried by everyone in his
family for evermore. Bodies of the buried Alcmaeonid family were dug up and
removed from the city.
The Alcmaeonids were allowed back into the city in 594 BCE, during the
archonship of Solon…Solon was all about forgiving and forgetting.
30 years after Solon introduced his reforms, Megacles and the Alcmaeonidae
had gained support from the general populous of Athens. So had another
aristocrat – Pisistratus. Pisistratus had gained popularity after defeating the
Megarans in 565 BCE – thus freeing Athens of a trade blockage.
One day, Pisistratus rolled into the market place on a chariot making wild
claims about having been attacked by men who admitted they had been
hired by the Alcmaeonidae.
As a result of these claims, Pisistratus was given the special permission to
establish a private guard for protection. The original number of 50 was later
extended. Before long, Pisistratus’ private army had occupied the ports in
Attica. He then seized the acropolis and declared himself tyrant. Megacles
left town, but only temporarily.
Megacles returned 6 years later with a plan. Pisistratus had stepped down
as tyrant after 3 years to appease the people. He agreed to marry
Megacles’ daughter. In return, Megacles helped Pisistratus regain control
of Athens.
They hired a woman to dress up like Athena and ride around town on the
back of a golden chariot praising Pisistratus’ name. She also threw coins to
the crowd. People believed Pisistratus had regained the favour of the
Gods. As a result, there was no opposition when he declared himself
tyrant. He also declared that he had no intention of fathering Megacles’
grandchildren. Megacles turned the public’s opinion against Pisistratus and
he was exiled again for ten years.
In that time he made mad coin from a Laurion silver mine and used the
cash to build the army he used to take over Athens for the third time in 546
BCE. He did two things as soon as he “took office”. He banished the
Alcmaeodinae and re-instituted Solons reforms in order to appease the
common people with the forgiveness of debt.
While he was exiled, Megacles married a third time. He married Agarista,
the daughter of the tyrant Cleisthenes of Sicyon. They had two sons,
Hippocrates and Cleisthenes, the reformer of the Athenian democracy.
Pisistratus died in 527 BCE and left the rule of Athens to his two sons
Hippias (the elder) and Hipparchus.