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Hippias

(Encyclopedia)Hippias hĭpˈēəs [key], tyrant (527 b.c.–510 b.c.) of Athens, eldest son of Pisistratus. Hippias governed Athens after the death of his father. His younger brother Hipparchus was closely associat...

Harmodius and Aristogiton

(Encyclopedia)Harmodius and Aristogiton härmōˈdēəs, ârˌĭstōjīˈtən [key], d. c.514 b.c., Athenian tyrannicides. Provoked by a personal quarrel, the two friends planned to assassinate Hipparchus and his b...

Hipparchus, Athenian political figure

(Encyclopedia)Hipparchus hĭpärˈkəs [key], c.555–514 b.c., Athenian political figure, son of Pisistratus. After the death of his father, he was closely associated with his brother Hippias, tyrant of Athens, in...

Cleisthenes

(Encyclopedia)Cleisthenes, fl. 510 b.c., Athenian statesman. He was the head of his family, the Alcmaeonidae, after the exile of Hippias, and with Spartan help had made himself undisputed ruler of Athens by 506 b.c...

Pisistratus

(Encyclopedia)Pisistratus pīsĭsˈtrətəs [key], 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...

Cleomenes I

(Encyclopedia)Cleomenes I klēŏmˈĭnēz [key], d. c.489 b.c., king of Sparta after 518 b.c. In accordance with Sparta's policy of helping oligarchies in other states at the expense of the tyrants or the people, C...

tyrant

(Encyclopedia)tyrant, in ancient history, ruler who gained power by usurping the legal authority. The word is perhaps of Lydian origin and carried with it no connotation of moral censure. With the growth of the con...

Darius I

(Encyclopedia)Darius I (Darius the Great) dərīˈəs [key], d. 486 b.c., king of ancient Persia (521–486 b.c.), called also Dariavaush and Darius Hystaspis (after his father, Hystaspes or Vishtaspa). A distant c...

archons

(Encyclopedia)archons ärˈkŏnz, –kənz [key] [Gr.,=leaders], in ancient Athens and other Greek cities, officers of state. Originally in Athens there were three archons: the archon eponymos (so called because th...

Sophists

(Encyclopedia)Sophists sŏfˈĭsts [key], originally, itinerant teachers in Greece (5th cent. b.c.) who provided education through lectures and in return received fees from their audiences. The term was given as a ...

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