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Tyrants - Coggle Diagram
Tyrants
Peisistratids, 546-510
herodotus, the AthPol and Thucydides all agree that Pisistratus ruled well after he seized power finally in 546
however, after the tyrannicides in 514, the tyranny became more harsh
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hard to attribute many buildings to them, but we do know that Peisistratus was 'popular' AthPol
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Thucydides
'generally their government was not grievous to the multitude, or in any way odious in practice' book 6
they continued the wars, continued sacrifices in sanctuaries, and 'embellished the city'
tells us that peisistratus the younger, who was son of Hippias, dedicated the altar of the twelve gods and the altar to Apollo pythios
Gelon
when Hippocrates, the tyrant of Gela, died in 491, Gelon succeeded him
development of Syracuse
in 485 he made himself tyrant of Syracuse, and left his brother Hieron to rule Gela
Under Gelon, Syracuse grew rapidly in population and power. Mercenaries were recruited widely, and a strong fleet was built up.
he brought peoples from Gela, Kamarina, and groups of mercenaries to settle in Syracuse, to boost the economy and strengthen his seat of power
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when a polis mints its own coinage it is evidence of authority, increased trade etc.
the tyrant commemorates his victorious quadriga as a symbol of his power and the power of syracuse itself, akin to victory odes or the delphi charioteer
use of dolphins, protectors of sea travel and 'sacred fish', links with Arion story and imbues Syracuse with a sort of magical power
in war
it seems that the Hellenic League had appealed to Gelon for help in the Persian Wars, but he rejected the demands, allegedly because he demanded to lead the troops himself and the Spartans denied this request
although he didnt take part, the forces he initially offered were as such: 20 000 hoplites, 2000 cavalrymen, 2000 archers and a further 2000 slingers. shows he had huge military power
in the battle of Himera in 480, Gelon defeated the Carthaginians, and after this he became virtually the overlord of Sicily
after the victory at Himera, Gelon dedicated a huge statue of Zeus at Olympia
building projects
after the battle of Himera, Gelon used the captured slaves to build the temple of Nike there, along with various temples in Syracuse
Gelon made huge donations to Olympia and Delphi, pan-hellenic sanctuaries so showed his prowess on a wide scale
Temple of Olympian Zeus, Agrigento was built to commemorate Himera, largest Doric temple ever built
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offerings
he dedicated a golden tripod worth sixteen talents in the sanctuary at Delphi after the battle of Himera
Hieron I
helmet dedicated at Olympia after the Battle of Cumae in 474 BC, in which the Syracusans and Cumae defeated the Etruscans in a naval battle
Bronze Etruscan helmet of the Negau type with an inscribed text in the Syracusan Greek alphabet; 'Hieron, son of Deinomenes, and the Syracusans, [dedicated] to Zeus Etruscan [spoils] from Cumae':
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dedication at a pan-hellenic sanctuary shows that Hieron wished to show his military prowess on a global scale
Cypselus
first tyrant of Corinth in the 7th century, and described to us by Herodotus in book 5
outside of our period, but Herodotus felt compelled to shoe-horn it in
he has a corinthian go to Sparta to try and persuade Cleomenes not to reinstate Hippias in Athens following his expulsion
therefore, all this info is in the voice of a Corinthian, someone with knowledge of living under a tyranny
'many of the Corinthians he drove into exile, many he deprived of their wealth, and by far the most he had killed'
clearly his tyranny was not popular, as it remains in the consciousness of this Corinthian over a century later
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Asia Minor
Strattis of Chios
tyrant of Chios, an Ionian island
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When a debate arose as to whether or not to destroy the bridge over the Danube and leave Darius stranded, Strattis supported Histiaeus of Miletus who convinced the Greeks not to destroy the bridge
When the Persian general Mardonius removed the Ionian tyrants and restored democracy to the region in 492 BC, Strattis of Chios was the only tyrant known to retain his position
he was loyal to the Persian king, representing the benefits of patronage and the close personal relationships Darius had forged
Coes of Mytilene
when he was offered back to his people amidst the Ionian revolt, they chose to stone him to death
Mania
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she lubricated her relationship with Pharnabazus, the local satrap, with gifts and tribute
she was seemingly popular - when she was murdered, the demos refused to accept her (male) murderer as ruler, and soon surrendered to the Spartans instead
she was said to be an excellent general, participating in putting down the rebellion of the Mysians
what is tyranny?
H. Sancisi-Weerdenburg recently defined tyranny as “a process of accumulating informal power and personal resources which eventually, but slowly and gradually, without a clear demarcation point, led to a dominant position in the community and to a monopoly of power”
tyranny was a major step in the process of politization, i.e. of
transformation of a social community into a political State
Archaic tyranny seems to have been a response to the development of the city-states: typically a fringe member of the ruling aristocracy would seize power with the support of discontented members of the community; but after a time the rule of the tyrant in turn became a cause of discontent, and tyranny hardly ever lasted more than two generations.
