Megacles or Megakles (Ancient Greek : Μεγακλῆς) was the name of several notable men of ancient Athens, as well as an officer of Pyrrhus of Epirus.
The first Megacles was possibly a legendary archon of Athens from 922 BC to 892 BC.
The second Megacles was a member of the Alcmaeonidae family, and the archon eponymous in 632 BC when Cylon made his unsuccessful attempt to take over Athens. Megacles was convicted of killing Cylon's supporters (who had taken refuge on the Acropolis as suppliants of Athena) and was exiled from the city, along with all the other members of his genos, the Alcmaeonidae. The Alcmaeonidae inherited a miasma ("stain") that lasted for generations among Megacles' descendants.
The third Megacles, the grandson of the above eponymous archon, son of Alcmaeon and member of the Alcmaeonidae family, was an opponent of Pisistratus in the 6th century BC. He drove out Pisistratus during the latter's first reign as tyrant in 560 BC, but the two then made an alliance with each other, and Pisistratus married Megacles' daughter. Herodotus says that they also tricked the Athenians into believing Athena herself had arrived to proclaim Pisistratus tyrant, by dressing up a woman named Phye as the goddess, although Herodotus himself casts doubt on the truth of this story. [1] However, Megacles turned against Pisistratus when Pisistratus refused to have children with Megacles' daughter, which brought an end to the second tyranny. [2]
This Megacles earlier had competed with Hippocleides, a future archon of Athens, to marry Agarista, the daughter of Cleisthenes of Sicyon. They had two sons. The elder was Hippocrates, whose children were another Megacles (ostracized 486 BC) and a daughter Agariste, the mother of Pericles and Ariphron (himself the father of Hippocrates of Athens who died 424 BC). The younger son was Cleisthenes, who was allegedly the grandfather of Deinomache (or Dinomache), mother of Alcibiades (d. 404 BC). Thus, Megacles the elder was great-grandfather of Pericles and the great-great-grandfather of Alcibiades.
The fourth Megacles, grandson of the above, son of Hippocrates, and nephew of Cleisthenes is sometimes described as the father of Deinomache and thus the maternal grandfather of Alcibiades. Other sources, notably William Smith, insist that his uncle Cleisthenes was the grandfather of Alcibiades.
In 490 BC, in the aftermath of the Battle of Marathon, a shield-signal was raised on Mount Pentelicon above Marathon supposedly to signal the Persians to sail around Cape Sounion and attack the unguarded city of Athens. Herodotus reports that the Alcmaeonidae were widely believed to have been behind this act of treachery. [3] With Megacles being the leading figure of the Alcmaeonid clan at the time, a lingering suspicion of medism hung over him.
In 486 BC, Megacles was ostracised. Numerous ostraca have been found with comments on them making reference to his ostentatious wealth and love of luxury. [4]
He was honored by Pindar as exiled winner in the chariot race of Pythian Games 486 BC. [5]
Megacles of Epirus was an officer in the service of Pyrrhus of Epirus, who accompanied that monarch on his expedition to Italy, 280 BC. He is mentioned as accompanying Pyrrhus when he reconnoitered the Roman camp previous to the battle of Heraclea; and in that action was the means of saving the king's life, by exchanging armour with him, and thus directing the efforts of the assailants upon himself, instead of Pyrrhus. He fell a victim to his devotion, being slain by a Roman named Publius Decius Mus.
The 5th century BC started the first day of 500 BC and ended the last day of 401 BC.
The 6th century BC started on the first day of 600 BC and ended on the last day of 501 BC.
This article concerns the period 499 BC – 490 BC.
This is a timeline of ancient Greece from its emergence around 800 BC to its subjection to the Roman Empire in 146 BC.
Cylon was an Athenian of the archaic period in Ancient Greece, primarily known for the events of the Cylonian Affair, an attempted seizure of power in the city. Cylon, one of the Athenian nobles and a previous victor of the Olympic Games in 640 B.C., attempted a coup in either 636 B.C. or 632 B.C. with support from Megara, where his father-in-law, Theagenes, was tyrant.
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.
The Alcmaeonidae or Alcmaeonids were a wealthy and powerful noble family of ancient Athens, a branch of the Neleides who claimed descent from the mythological Alcmaeon, the great-grandson of Nestor.
Hippias was the last tyrant of Athens, ruling from 527 to 510 BC. He was one of the Peisistratids, a group of tyrants from the same family in Ancient Greece. His father was Pisistratus, who preceded him as ruler of Athens, while his brother Hipparchus may have ruled jointly with him. Hippias also had an illegitimate son, Hegesistratus, whom he made tyrant of Sigeion. He was deposed when Cleomenes I of Sparta successfully invaded Athens and forced him to flee to Persia.
Hippocleides, the son of Teisander (Τείσανδρος), was an Athenian nobleman, who served as Eponymous Archon for the year 566 BC – 565 BC.
Isagoras, son of Tisander, was an Athenian aristocrat in the late 6th century BC.
Cleisthenes was the tyrant of Sicyon from c. 600–560 BC, who aided in the First Sacred War against Kirrha that destroyed that city in 595 BC. He was also said to have organized a successful war against Argos because of his anti-Dorian feelings. After his victory he abolished all the rhapsodes of Homer, because they praised the citizens of Argos. The key innovation of his reign, which Herodotus mentions, was the reformation of the tribal system in the city of Sicyon. Herodotus states that he gave new names to the four tribes of Sicyon, calling his own tribe "Rulers of the People" and naming the other three tribes after swine, donkeys, and pigs. However, Herodotus does not describe the nature of Cleisthenes' reform. Whatever it was, all the tribes kept their new names for sixty years after Cleisthenes' death.
Cleinias, father of Alcibiades, brother of Axiochus, and member of the Alcmaeonidae family, was an Athenian who married Deinomache, the daughter of Megacles, and became the father of the famous Alcibiades. Plutarch tells us that he traced his family line back to Eurysaces, the son of Telamonian Ajax. Cleinias died at the Battle of Coronea in 447 BC.
Agariste was the daughter, and possibly the heiress, of the tyrant of Sicyon, Cleisthenes. Her father wanted to marry her to the "best of the Hellenes" and organized a competition whose prize was her hand in marriage. According to his declaration, all the eligible young men had to appear in Sicyon within 60 days. Twelve competitors appeared and Cleisthenes held a banquet in his guests' honour.
Pisistratus was a politician in ancient Athens, ruling as tyrant in the late 560s, the early 550s and from 546 BC until his death. His unification of Attica, the triangular peninsula of Greece containing Athens, along with economic and cultural improvements laid the groundwork for the later pre-eminence of Athens in ancient Greece. His legacy lies primarily in his institution of the Panathenaic Games, historically assigned the date of 566 BC, and the consequent first attempt at producing a definitive version of the Homeric epics. Pisistratus' championing of the lower class of Athens is an early example of populism. While in power, he did not hesitate to confront the aristocracy and greatly reduce their privileges, confiscating their lands and giving them to the poor. Pisistratus funded many religious and artistic programs, in order to improve the economy and spread the wealth more equally among the Athenian people.
The city of Athens during the classical period of ancient Greece was the major urban centre of the notable polis (city-state) of the same name, located in Attica, Greece, leading the Delian League in the Peloponnesian War against Sparta and the Peloponnesian League. Athenian democracy was established in 508 BC under Cleisthenes following the tyranny of Isagoras. This system remained remarkably stable, and with a few brief interruptions, it remained in place for 180 years, until 322 BC. The peak of Athenian hegemony was achieved in the 440s to 430s BC, known as the Age of Pericles.
The Altar of the Twelve Gods, was an important altar and sanctuary at Athens, located in the northwest corner of the Classical Agora. The Altar was set up by Pisistratus the Younger, during his archonship, in 522/1 BC. It marked the central point from which distances from Athens were measured and was a place of supplication and refuge.
The Philaidae or Philaids were a powerful noble family of ancient Athens. They were conservative land owning aristocrats and many of them were very wealthy. The Philaidae produced two of the most famous generals in Athenian history: Miltiades the Younger and Cimon.
Phye was a young woman from Paeania who accompanied the tyrant Pisistratus in a chariot during his return to Athens in 546/5 BCE. Phye was dressed as the goddess Athena in order to deceive the people of Athens into believing that Peisistratos' return to Athens was divinely sanctioned.
The Athenian Revolution was a revolt by the people of Athens that overthrew the ruling aristocratic oligarchy, establishing the almost century-long self-governance of Athens in the form of a participatory democracy – open to all free male citizens. It was a reaction to a broader trend of tyranny that had swept through Athens and the rest of Greece.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Megacles". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology . (Plut. Pyrrh. 16, 17; Zonar. viii. 3.)