Ephialtes of Athens

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Ephialtes ( Greek Ἐφιάλτης Ephiáltēs ; † 461 or 457 BC) was an Athenian statesman in ancient Greece .

He belonged to the group of politicians who, in opposition to the leading politician Kimon, wanted to advance democratic rights even further than had previously happened and at the same time represented a new foreign policy course - their main opponent was no longer the Persians, but Sparta . Ephialtes campaigned for the disempowerment of the Areopagus , who mainly consisted of members of the nobility. First he led some trials against members of this body, in which he criticized the corruption prevailing there. So he achieved a loss of reputation of the Areopagus. In 462/61 Kimon was in Messenia to help the Spartans put down an uprising; Ephialtes took advantage of this and ensured that the Areopagus was deprived of its powers over state administration and largely also over the judiciary. Instead, these powers were transferred to the People's Assembly , the Council of 500, and the Heliaia . When Kimon returned, he tried to reverse this, but was ostracized (banished from Athens by a broken dish). That meant the final victory for Ephialtes. But soon afterwards he was killed - presumably by a hit man; his ideal successor was Pericles .

An important source is the book The State of Athens , written by Aristotle or one of his students.

See also

literature