Pisistratus

Tyrant of Athens (r. 560-552 b. c.e. and 541-527 b. c.e.)

Born: c. 612 b. c.e.; near Athens, Greece Died: 527 b. c.e.; Athens, Greece Also known as: Peisistratus; Peisistratos Category: Government and politics

Life Son of Greek physician Hippocrates and friend and kinsman of Athenian lawgiver Solon, Pisistratus (pi-SIHS-treht-uhs) distinguished himself as a soldier in the war against the Megarians (c. 570-565 b. c.e.) and became a leader of the citizens of northern Attica in their fight for equality. In 560 b. c.e., he seized power, ruling as tyrant for eight years until driven into exile on the island of Euboea by the aristocrats he had displaced. By

Pisistratus is carried through the streets by Athenians celebrating his return. (F. R. Niglutsch)

541 b. c.e., with the help of Thebes and Argos, he was able to defeat his enemies and return to power. According to historian Herodotus, Pisistratus accomplished his return with the help of Megacles on condition that he marry Megacles’ daughter. Pisistratus arrived with an unusually tall woman from the Paeanian district and tricked the Athenians into believing she was Athena herself bringing back her favorite to rule her city. He ruled undisturbed until his death in 527 b. c.e., passing on his supremacy over Athens to his son, Hippias of Athens.

Influence Herodotus noted that Pisistratus ruled according to established norms and that “his arrangements were wise and salutary.” Pisistratus also improved the lot of Athens’ poorest inhabitants. Among his accomplishments, Pisistratus stopped debt slavery, set up a court of appeals for citizens, reduced taxes on the poor, redistributed land, erected public buildings, decreed that those wounded in war should be supported by the state, and patronized the arts and literature.

Further Reading

Herodotus. The Histories: Book One. Translated by David Grene. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.

Lavelle, B. M. Fame, Money, and Power: The Rise of Peisistratos and ‘Democratic’ Tyranny at Athens. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2005.

Plutarch. “Solon.” In The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives by Plutarch. Translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert. London: Penguin, 1960. Sancisi-Weerdenburg, Heleen, ed. Peisistratos and the Tyranny: A Reappraisal of the Evidence. Amsterdam: J. C. Gieben, 2000.

Michael C. Paul

See also: Athens; Herodotus; Hippias of Athens; Hippocrates; Solon.