Cleisthenes

History

Founders of democracy unsung | Part 3: Lack of historical recognition

Cleisthenes and Thrasybulus played important roles in the independence of Athens, and its existence as a democracy. Yet their roles were downplayed by succeeding generations. Athens indeed spun the murder of the tyrant Hipparchus by a pair of disgruntled lovers into a fight against tyranny, but neglected Cleisthenes’ place in the true origins of the democracy. The citizens of the polis welcomed the freedom and democracy restored by Thrasybulus, but… Read more

History

Founders of democracy unsung | Part 1: Cleisthenes’ democracy

In ancient Athens, the founder of its democracy, Cleisthenes son of Megacles, and the re-founder of the democracy after the terror of the “Thirty”, Thrasybulus son of Lycus, were barely celebrated by their fellow citizens, if at all, and then their names were allowed to fall into obscurity. In part 1 we start by looking at Cleisthenes' democracy. Read more