Peisistratus (disambiguation)

Peisistratos or Peisistratus or Pisistratus (in Greek, Πεισίστρατος), traditionally Template:PronEng in English, is the name of several personalities of the ancient Greek world.

Pisistratus

The Rise of Peisistratos as Tyrant of Athens

• Peisistratos and the Megarians - Peisistratos was the tyrant of Ancient Athens from 560 till 527 BCE. He first came to power after winning victory over the Megarians circa 565 BCE. The war with the Megarians had been drawn out for centuries and was probably due to land disputes over the territories of Eleusis and Salamis between Athens and Megara. Peisistratos, as head of the Athenian army routed the Megarians and in doing so opened up the unofficial trade blockage that had been contributing to the food shortage in Athens during the past several decades.
• Peisistratos' Party - In the period after the Megarians were defeated, there were two primary political factions competing for control in the aristocratic government of Athens. These two groups were both economically and geographically partitioned.

1. Pedieis - The first, and more powerful party were the Pedieis, generally meaning the plain party, referring to the population that resided on the plains. Lycurgus was the leader of this fortuitous party. These were the select people who could grow grain for food, making them economically superior to the other citizens since the food shortage created a great demand for their chief product.
2. Paralioi - The less fortunate party in Athens was the Paralioi party. Paralioi generally means coastal dwellers and referred to the population living along the coast. Led by Megacles, the Paralioi party was not as strong as the Pedieis primarily because they did not have the same ability to produce grain as did the plainsmen. With the Megarians patrolling the sea, much of the import/export possibilities were limited.
3. Hyperakrioi - The last group of people who were not previously represented by formal party dwelled primarily in the hills and were by far the poorest of the Athenian population. Their only products that could be bartered were items like honey and wool. Peisistratos organized them into the Hyperakrioi, or hill dwellers. In the grand scheme of things, this party was grossly outnumbered by the Plain party (even when combined with the Coastal party).

• Soon after the war, Peisistratos began to gain popularity in Athens, mainly due to his role in the Megarian conflict. He did not have the political advantage, however to gain power. Peisistratos did the next best thing: he made an attempt on his own life, and in the chaos that followed, he managed to persuade the Athenian assembly to issue him a posse of grunts as his bodyguard. Peisistratos, much like his predecessor, Kylos, used his bodyguard to capture and hold the acropolis. With this in his possesion, he held the government of Athens in his hand, and declared himself tyrant.

Periods of Power

• Peisistratos was ousted from political office and exiled twice during his reign. The first occurance happened circa 555 BCE after the two original parties, who normally were terribly at odds with each other, joined forces and removed Peisistratos from power. The actual dates after this point become hazy. Peisistratos was exiled for 3 to 6 years during which the agreement between the Pedieis and the Paralioi fell apart, as could have been predicted. Peisistratos returned to Athens in a pact with Megacles that joined the Paralioi and the Hyperakrioi together against the Pedieis. Depending on which source you use, Peisistratos kept his regained tyranny for one to six years before he was exiled once more. During his second exile, he gathered support from local cities and from the silver mines near Athens. After 10 years he returned with force, regained his tyranny and held his power until 527 BCE, the date of his death.

Peisistratos' Popularity

• As opposed to the contemporary definition of a tyrant, which is a single ruler, often times violent and oppressive, Peisistratos was the ideal of a classical tyrant, which was a non-heritable position which a person took purely by personal ability. Peisistratos' often tried to distribute power and benefits, rather than hoard them, with the intent of releasing stress between the economic classes. For the elites, who used to hold power in the Assembly, he gave them archonships, a semblance of the power they used to posses. For the lower classes, he cut taxes and created a band of traveling judges to provide justice for the citizens of Athens. A further cause for the Athenian society to respect Peisistratos were the sweeping reforms in the artistic arena enacted by him. The tyrant promoted the first instance of the beautification of Athens. He introduced two new forms of poetry: Dithryamb and Tragic drama, and prompted the growth of the theater arts and sculpture.

• Peisistratus (Orchomenus), king of Arcadian Orchomenus during the Peloponnesian War;
• Peisistratus (Lapithos), king during the middle of the 4th century BC

In Greek mythology

• Peisistratus (Odyssey), a son of Nestor character who appears in The Odyssey