24. Ancient Athens’ Wildly Popular Tyrant
After fleeing Athens, Peisistratos bought silver and gold mines in northern Greece and got rich off their proceeds. Then, investing his wealth in mercenaries, he returned to Athens and tried again, this time with a well-equipped private army instead of a girl dressed up as a goddess. It worked, and in 546 BC, Athens’ overthrew the government and had himself proclaimed tyrant. Peisistratos championed the lower classes, and his tyranny became a wild success.
He suppressed the feuding factions, exiled his aristocratic enemies and confiscated their land holdings. He broke the confiscated land into small farms, and redistributed them to his followers, thus cementing their support. He also loaned small farmers money for tools, lowered taxes, standardized currency, and enforced the laws even-handedly. Peisistratos also promoted the growing of olives and grapes, encouraged commerce and craftsmen, and funded popular religious rites such as the Dionysia. He promoted theater, culture, and the arts, built an aqueduct, implemented a public buildings program, and beautified the city. By the time Peisistratos died, circa 527 BC, Athens was peaceful and more prosperous than it had ever been, with a growing and increasingly affluent middle class.
