CLAS 2220 Lecture 30: The Eumenides
4 Apr 2018
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Document Summary
Eumenides means sweet ones" and refers to the furies. In the later 6th century tyrants ruled athens. Peisistratos was the most famous tyrant of ancient athens. He instituted the popular festivals and may have been responsible for the creation of our texts of homer. In 510 the tyrants were expelled and aristocratic factions vied for power. Hippias, peisistratos"s son, was deposed and in 490 he helpepd a persian force to attack athens. The athenians beat the persian in the battle of marathon. This is the origin of our word for a long running race. 1 faction courted the demos, general populace, for support, and their victory led to demokratia. Cleisthenes is credited w/ establishing the basic framework of democracy in athens. In aeschylus"s lifetime, athens became the dominant naval force in the mediterranean basin. In 483 athens acquired a massive new revenue stream.
