Pisistratus

Pisistratus (pīsĭs`trətəs), 605?–527 B.C., Greek statesman, tyrant of Athens. His power was founded on the cohesion of the rural citizens, whom he consolidated with farseeing land laws. His coup (c.560 B.C.) was probably not unpopular. His rivals, the Alcmaeonidae and the aristocracy, managed to exile him twice, but in his last years he established himself sufficiently to leave Athens in the hands of his sons, Hippias and Hipparchus. He first won Salamis for Athens and established Attic hegemony in the Dardanelles. He did much to enhance Athenian cultural prestige, held great festivals like the Panathenaea, and beautified the city. His building efforts included fountains and temples, such as the great temple of Zeus at Athens. He had an official text of Homer written down. His name also appears as Peisistratus.

---

Peisistratus

 or Pisistratus

(died 527 BC) Tyrant of Athens (c. 560–559, 556–555, 546–527). Born an aristocrat, he gained military honours early. He first became tyrant in 560 after claiming an attempt had been made on his life and appealing to the people to grant him a bodyguard, which he used to help seize the Acropolis. His reign was short-lived, but he gained power again briefly in 556, before being ousted by Lycurgus and Megacles. After several years in exile, he returned with an army in 546, took control, and remained in power until his death. A patron of the arts, he executed many public works and tried to help small farmers. His unification of Attica and improvement of Athens's prosperity helped make the city preeminent in Greece.

---

Pisistratus

?600--527 bc, tyrant of Athens: he established himself in firm control of the city following his defeat of his aristocratic rivals at Pallene (546)

---

Pisistratus 

(also Peisistratos). Lived in the sixth century B.C., in Athens. Athenian tyrant; ruled 560–527 B.C., with interruptions.

Pisistratus acted in the interests of the peasantry and the artisan and trader strata of the demos and was opposed to the interests of the clan aristocracy. Evidently he distributed to the rural poor lands that were confiscated from the eupatridae, the Athenian landholding aristocracy, and he organized a system for extending state credit on favorable terms. The large amount of public construction during Pisistratus’ reign ensured work for the poor, and state subsidies for disabled soldiers were established. State coins—the Pisistratean tetradrachm, for example— were minted from ores obtained from expanded operation of the Lavrion Mines and the Pangaean silver and gold mines, which had been seized by Pisistratus.

During the reign of Pisistratus a mercenary army was created. Solon’s constitution was retained, but civic and religious positions were filled by supporters of Pisistratus. Athens was transformed into the cultural center of Greece: the temples of Pallas Athena and the Pythian Apollo were erected on the Acropolis and the Temple of Demeter in Eleusis. A new marketplace was built, as was the Enneakrounos fountain house, which remained in service to the 18th century. Construction of the harbor at Piraeus also progressed.

REFERENCES

Khvostov, M. M. “O sotsial’nom kharaktere afinskoi tiranii VI v.” In Sbornik statei v chest’D. A. Korsakova. Kazan, 1913.
Nikol’skaia, R. A. “Rannegrecheskaia tiraniia.” Uch. zap. Belorusskogo gos. un-ta: Ser. ist., 1953, FASC. 16.
Skrzhinskaia, M. V. “Ustnaia traditsiia o Pisistrate.” Vestnik drevnei istorii, 1969, NO. 4.

L. M. GLUSKINA