Cleisthenes

Cleisthenes ( ; ), or Clisthenes (), was an ancient Athenian lawgiver credited with reforming the constitution of ancient Athens and setting it on a democratic footing in 508 BC. For these accomplishments, historians refer to him as "the father of Athenian democracy". He was a member of the aristocratic Alcmaeonid clan. He was the younger son of Megacles and Agariste making him the maternal grandson of the tyrant Cleisthenes of Sicyon. He was also credited with increasing the power of the Athenian citizens' assembly and for reducing the power of the nobility over Athenian politics.

OverviewAI-generated

Cleisthenes was a male politician from Classical Athens, belonging to the Alcmaeonidae family. He was the son of Megacles and Agariste of Sicyon, and the sibling of Hippocrates. Born in Classical Athens, he held the position of eponymous archon. His notable work is the Athenian Revolution. He spoke Ancient Greek and died in Classical Athens.

Historical sources describe him in Pauly–Wissowa, the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, The Nuttall Encyclopædia, and the Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition. Records indicate varying dates for his birth, including 565 BCE and 570 BCE, and his death, listed as 492 BCE, 508 BCE, or 500 BCE. He is distinct from Cleisthenes of Sicyon.

Synthesized by Vinony from 25 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, Crossref, Last.fm, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Key facts

Officeholder.name: Cleisthenes
Officeholder.native_name: Κλεισθένης
Officeholder.image: Cleisthenes.jpg
Officeholder.caption: Modern bust of Cleisthenes, known as "the father of Athenian democracy", on view at the Ohio Statehouse, Columbus, Ohio
Officeholder.office: Eponymous archon of Athens
Officeholder.termstart: 525
Officeholder.termend: 524 BC
Officeholder.predecessor: Hippias
Officeholder.successor: Miltiades
Officeholder.birth_date: c. 570 BC
Officeholder.death_date: c. 508 BC
Officeholder.relatives: Alcmaeonidae

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Gender: male
Citizenship: Classical Athens
Place of birth: Classical Athens
Place of death: Classical Athens
Father: Megacles
Mother: Agariste of Sicyon
Occupation: politician
Position held: eponymous archon
Languages spoken: Ancient Greek
Notable work: Athenian Revolution
Family: Alcmaeonidae
Image: Cleisthenes.jpg

Show 6 more facts

Commons category: Cleisthenes
date of birth: 0570-00-00
date of death: 0500-00-00
name in native language: Κλεισθένης
different from: Cleisthenes of Sicyon
significant place: Classical Athens

Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

~10 min read

Encyclopedic overview

12 sections

Contents

Biography
Rise to power
Reformations and governance of Athens
Political reorganization
Introduction of ostracism
Attempt to obtain Persian support
Citations
References
Primary sources
Secondary sources
Further reading
External links

In 510 BC, Spartan hoplites helped the Athenians overthrow the tyrant Hippias, son of Peisistratus. Cleomenes I, king of Sparta, put in place a pro-Spartan oligarchy headed by Isagoras. However, Cleisthenes, with the support of the middle class and aided by democrats, took over. Cleomenes intervened in 508 and 506 BC, but could not stop Cleisthenes and his Athenian supporters. Through Cleisthenes' reforms, the people of Athens endowed their city with isonomic institutions—equal rights for all citizens (though only free men and women were citizens)—and established ostracism as a punishment.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Cleisthenes” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.