Kleisthenes of Sicyon

Kleisthenes of Sikyon ( Greek Κλεισθένης Kleisthénēs ) was a tyrant from the family of the Orthagorids in the Peloponnesian polis of Sikyon during the first half of the 6th century BC. He was the grandfather of the Athenian reformer Kleisthenes from the Alkmeoniden family .

Life

Around 600 BC Chr. Was Kleisthenes tyrant over Sicyon. After a brief joint rule with Isodamus, he became sole ruler. Isodamos was guilty of the murder of his brother Myron II and was therefore no longer able to carry out the religious duties of the basileus . It is recorded through Nikolaos of Damascus that Kleisthenes convinced Isodamos to leave the city for a year to make atonement for the murder. Isodamus went to Corinth while Kleisthenes took over the rule. Isodamus may have been supported by the Kypselids in Corinth . Kleisthenes allegedly had already prepared for an attack from Corinth, but such an attack is nowhere mentioned.

There are contradicting reports about the character of his rule: Aristotle reports of the Orthagorids in general that they treated their subjects with moderation and that they themselves respected the laws. He writes about Kleisthenes that he rewarded a referee who denied him the victory. In contrast, Ephorus describes Kleisthenes as raw and violent.

After Hammond, Kleisthenes ended his rule in 570 BC. Chr. Kinzl suspects that Kleisthenes lived between approx. 570 BC. BC and approx. 545 BC Chr. Died.

The first holy war

Shortly after Kleisthenes took over the leadership of Sicyon, the so-called First Holy War began . The city of Krissa controlled access to the sanctuary of Apollo in Delphi via its port . She also tried to expand her influence through Delphi. Because of the many political inquiries that were directed to the oracle, the place was of great importance for all Greek poleis . Therefore, an amphictyony was formed , a kind of covenant that was supposed to protect Delphi. Members of this amphictyony were Thessaly and smaller peoples. According to Gehrke, the amphictyony preserved the sanctuary's independence. The activity of the amphictyony was not selfless: the members wanted to gain influence over the oracle themselves. Sikyon and Athens joined them for the same motive .

Kleisthenes had another goal: Krissa was an important trading town and was on the other side of the Corinthian Gulf . At that time the bay was still called Krisas , which shows the influence the city exercised there. The destruction of this port was in Sicyon's interests. So Kleisthenes took on the task of destroying the Krissa fleet. In addition, however, Kleisthenes had to satisfy his followers, aristocrats and others capable of military service. These received a share of the booty for their use in the war. Last but not least, Kleisthenes himself must have been interested in his share of the booty. After Pausanias , the Amphictyony determined Kleisthenes to be military leader, who then convinced Solon to join Athens as well. Plutarch reports, however, that Solon, according to Aristotle, convinced Amphictyonia of war, while Delphic documents prove that Alkmaion and not Solon was the general of the Athenians. Krissa was defeated and destroyed, Delphi slammed its territory, and Kleisthenes was rewarded with a third of the spoils of war.

582 BC Kleisthenes won the chariot race of the reorganized Phytic Games . According to de Libero, he is said to have set up Pythian games with the spoils of war in Sikyon. On the other hand, there is an indication in Pindar that the Sicyon Games were originally dedicated to the hero Adrastus.

The war against Argos

Nothing is known per se about the war that Kleisthenes waged against Argos : we know neither its reasons, nor its course, nor its duration. On the other hand, we are comparatively well informed about the internal political conditions in Sicyon at the time. Kleisthenes went to great lengths to cut the cultural ties that existed between the two cities. The commonalities of the two cities lay mainly in the identical phyle names and the Adrastos cult and was expressed in the rhapsodic songs in Sikyon. In Homer's Rhapsodes , the city of Argos and its inhabitants were praised, so Kleisthenes forbade the chants.

The Adrastos cult

Herodotus provides evidence of the way in which Kleisthenes ended the cult of Adrastus. The temple of Adrastos, whose cult played an important role there, was located on the market square in Sikyon. According to legend, he was once King of Sicyon and was therefore venerated. Kleisthenes ended this cult because Adrastus was an argeier. He turned to the Delphic Oracle for permission to expel Adrastus from the city. Delphi decidedly refused this request. According to Herodotus , the Pythia is said to have said, “Adrastus is king, he is only the torturer of Sicyon”. This harsh rejection shows that this event took place before the holy war, because after the victory over Krisa, Delphi's tone of voice changed.

After this saying, Kleisthenes did not dare to expel Adrastus from Sikyon, but ended the cult around him in another way. He had the bones of Melanippus transferred from Thebes. This was Adrastos' mortal enemy, because Adrastos had killed his brother and father-in-law. The place of worship for Melanippos was set up in the immediate vicinity of the prytaneion and, according to Herodotus, Kleisthenes had a temple built for Melanippos. Most of the festivals and sacrifices that had previously been dedicated to Adrastus were now offered to Melanippos. The chants that deplored Adrastus' suffering were transferred to Dionysus . Herodotus indicates that these choirs were originally consecrated to Dionysus: “Instead of Dionysus, they celebrated Adrastus. Kleisthenes now transferred the tragic performances to Dionysus […]. ”After de Libero, however, the choirs arose from the adoration of Adrastus.

De Libero also emphasizes that Dionysus was a deity of the aristocrats. Berves' view that the promotion of a Dionysus cult expresses consideration for the peasants of Sikyon, rejects them as "outdated". But Dionysus was not the god of the aristocrats, but a god who was worshiped by all sections of the population. So Berve has to agree here, because Kleisthenes did not push back the peasants with the establishment of the Dionysus cult.

However, Herodotus does not mention the games that were dedicated to Adrastus. Pindar refers to this in the Nemeen. He writes: “So the roaring Phorminx, so the flute - well then! - Let us wake up the selected one for the horse competition, which Adrastos Apolln used on Asopos' stream. ”These games were transferred to Apollo after the holy war. All of the ritual acts of Adrastus were rededicated and Adrastos lost its importance for the city. In addition, Kleisthenes had his name deleted from the king's list. Thus a Sicyon royal house came into being and the Argive tradition disappeared.

The Phylenreform

With "Phylenreform" the renaming of the Sicyonischen Phylen is called. Kinzl dates it to the 50s of the 6th century BC. It is controversial whether it is only a differentiation from the Argeians, whose phyls had the same name, or whether they had social backgrounds. The second proposition is Sealey. In his opinion, was Cleisthenes non Dorer and improved with the renaming of the four tribes the status of non-Doric Sicyonians by their tribe name Archelaoi was (ruler of the people). The Dorians, however, were dishonored by pejorative names: their phylums were given the names Hyatai (wild boar-like), Onetai (donkey-like) and Choireatai (piglet-like).

Bicknell argues against this. According to him, there were only three phyls at the time of the Orthagorids, to which Kleisthenes gave new names, which were not dishonorable. Kleisthenes had no social reform intentions, but only wanted to distance himself from Argos.

Kinzl supports this view by referring to the political situation. Sicyon was at war then. It is therefore unlikely that Kleisthenes risked offending a large part of the population in this way. In addition, there is no evidence from Herodotus, who handed down the Phylenreform, that Kleisthenes had this intention. Kinzl points out that phyle names are usually derived from hero names. Archelaoi should not be interpreted as "ruler over the people", but can be traced back to the hero Archelaos. According to legend, he was expelled from Argos. This story can therefore also be woven into the anti-Argive propaganda aimed at Kleisthenes. According to Kinzl, the other names can also be traced back to heroes, although it is no longer possible to identify which ones. The fact that the new phyle names were only given up around 60 years after Kleisthenes' death, i.e. after the fall of the Orthagorid rule, speaks against the fact that these were derogatory names. The thesis that the Orthagorids were a non-Doric family is based essentially on the allegedly anti-Doric policy of Kleisthenes, which is particularly evident in the “Phylenreform”. However, on closer inspection one recognizes that this policy was probably not directed against the Dorians at all, but exclusively against the Argives. It also shows that the term “Phylenreform” was chosen incorrectly, only a name change took place.

The marriage of Agariste

Agariste was Kleisthenes' daughter. With their marriage, Kleisthenes wanted to form a strategic alliance. Herodotus reports that after being at the Olympic Games in 572 BC , Kleisthenes He had won a victory in the chariot race, invited all Greeks to free his daughter. They were supposed to arrive at his court in 60 days and undergo a one-year selection procedure. The list of applicants to Herodotus is long. It is noticeable that they come from the west, u. a. from Italy , Aitonia and the Ionian Gulf . This shows that Kleisthenes' policy was westward.

Herodotus describes the test very clearly. Discussions took place as well as sporting competitions and banquets at which the table manners of the applicants were examined. This shows the aristocratic way of life of Kleisthenes. De Libero takes this as another indication of noble ancestry, but the family may have acquired this lifestyle during their reign. Bury and Meiggs, however, question whether Herodotus' description is to be taken literally. In their opinion, Herodotus embellished events.

Kleisthenes finally chose the Athenian Megakles from the Alkmaionid family as his future son-in-law. From this marriage two sons were born: Kleisthenes and Hippocrates. Kleisthenes carried out a Phylenreform in Athens. Through his daughter Agariste, Hippocrates was the grandfather of the later Attic politician Pericles .

Remarks

1. ↑ Nikolaos of Damascus Fr. Gr. H. 90 F 61, 1ff., Quoted from de Libero: Archaische Tyrannis , p. 187
2. ↑ Nikolaos of Damascus, Fr. Gr. H. 90 F 61, 4f., Quoted from de Libero: Archaische Tyranni s, p. 188
3. ↑ Arist. pole. 1315b
4. ↑ Quoted from Berve: Tyrannis , p. 29
5. ^ Hammond: The Family of Orthagoras. P. 47
6. ↑ Kinzl: Tyrannis. P. 303
7. ^ Hans Joachim Gehrke: Beyond Athens and Sparta: The third Greece and its world of states. Munich 1986, p. 167
8. ↑ Bury / Meiggs: History of Greece. P. 110
9. ↑ Andrewes: Tyrants. P. 60
10. ↑ de Libero: Tyrannis. Pp. 198-199. De Libero assumes that personal gain was Kleisthenes' main motive. The other goals are too important for Kleisthenes to have neglected. Especially his experience with the oracle regarding Adrastos will have made the political influence of Delphi clear to him (see chapter V. 2. 1).
11. ↑ Pausania's description of Greece X 37, 5-6.
12. ↑ Parallel Lives: Solon 11.
13. ↑ Pausania's description of Greece X 37.6, Solon had insisted on it because the Pythian oracle had said before the war that Krissa would not be defeated until Delphi's territory was extended to the sea.
14. ↑ de Libero: Tyrannis. P. 198
15. ↑ Pind. Nem IX, s. also Chapter V. 2. 1.
16. ↑ Herodot V 67: "[...] During a war against Argos, Kleisthenes forbade the rhapsodes to hold their contest chants in Sikyon, because in Homer's epic songs almost everywhere the Argeier and the city of Argos are sung about."
17. ↑ ^{a b c} Herodotus V 67
18. ↑ Andrewes: Tyrants. P. 59
19. ↑ de Libero: Tyrannis. P. 199: This statement by Herodotus has not yet been confirmed by archaeological finds.
20. ↑ ^{a b} de Libero: Tyrannis. P. 202
21. ↑ Berve: Tyrannis. P. 31
22. ^ Renate Schlesier: Dionysus (Art.). In: DNP, Vol. 3, Stuttgart, Weimar 1997, Sp. 651-662, Sp. 657.
23. ↑ Pindar, Nemeische Oden 9; Translation by Tycho Mommsen : Des Pindaros works in the meter of the original. Leipzig 1846, p. 154.
24. ↑ de Libero: Tyrannis. P. 197
25. ↑ Kinzl: Tyrannis. P. 304
26. ^ Raphael Sealey: A History of the Greek City States approx. 700-338 BC Berkley, Los Angeles, London 1976, pp. 45-46.
27. ↑ The third phyle was not named Choireatai, but Archelaoi, since Choireatai was obscene. Cf. Bicknell: Herodotos 5.68. P. 196
28. ↑ Peter J. Bicknell: Herodotos 5.68. P. 196
29. ↑ Kinzl: Tyrannis. Pp. 304-305
30. ↑ Herodotus V 68
31. ^ Winners list at the Foundation of the Hellenic World
32. ↑ ^{a b} Herodotus VI 127
33. ↑ Andrewes: Tyrants. P. 61
34. ↑ Herodotus VI 128
35. ↑ de Libero: Tyrannis. P. 194
36. ↑ Bury / Meiggs: History of Greece. P. 112
37. ↑ Herodotus Histories 6: 130-131

literature

• A. Andrewes: The Greek Tyrants. Hutchinson, London 1966.
• Helmut Berve : The tyranny among the Greeks. Volume 1: Presentation . Beck, Munich 1967.
• Peter J. Bicknell: Herodotos 5.68 and the Racial Policy of Kleisthenes of Sicyon. In: Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies 23, 1982, 3, ISSN  0017-3916 , pp. 193-201
• JB Bury , Russel Meiggs: A History of Greece to the death of Alexander the Great. 4th edition. Macmillan, London et al. 1975.
• NGL Hammond: The Family of Orthagoras . In: The Classical Quarterly 50 = NS 6, 1956, No 1/2, ISSN  0009-8388 , pp. 45-53
• Konrad H. Kinzl: reflections on older tyranny. In: Konrad H. Kinzl (ed.): The older tyranny up to the Persian wars. Contributions to Greek history . Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1979, ISBN 3-534-07318-5 , ( Paths of Research 510), pp. 302-325
• Loretana de Libero : The Archaic Tyranny. Steiner, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-515-06920-8 .
• Malcolm F. McGregor: Cleisthenes of Sicyon and the Panhellenic Festivals. In: Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association 72, 1941, ISSN  0065-9711 , pp. 266-287.