Megacles or Megakles ( grc, Μεγακλῆς) was the name of several notable men of ancient

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

, as well as an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus (; grc-gre, Πύρρος ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greek king and statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. '' Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house, and later he be ...

First archon

The first Megacles was possibly a legendary

archon of Athens In ancient Greece the chief magistrate in various Greek city states was called eponymous archon (ἐπώνυμος ἄρχων, ''epōnymos archōn''). "Archon" (ἄρχων, pl. ἄρχοντες, ''archontes'') means "ruler" or "lord", frequentl ...

from 922 BC to 892 BC.

Archon eponymous

The second Megacles was a member of the Alcmaeonidae family, and the archon eponymous in 632 BC when Cylon made his unsuccessful attempt to take over Athens. Megacles was convicted of killing Cylon's supporters (who had taken refuge on the

Acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...

as suppliants of

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of v ...

) and was exiled from the city, along with all the other members of his

genos In ancient Greece, a ''genos'' ( Greek: γένος, "race, stock, kin", plural γένη ''genē'') was a social group claiming common descent, referred to by a single name (see also Sanskrit " Gana"). Most ''gene'' were composed of noble families& ...

, the Alcmaeonidae. The Alcmaeonidae inherited a '' miasma'' ("stain") that lasted for generations among Megacles' descendants.

Alcmaeonidae

The third Megacles, the grandson of the above eponymous archon, son of Alcmaeon and member of the Alcmaeonidae family, was an opponent of

Pisistratus Pisistratus or Peisistratus ( grc-gre, wikt:Πεισίστρατος, Πεισίστρατος ; 600 – 527 BC) was a politician in ancient Athens, ruling as tyrant in the late 560s, the early 550s and from 546 BC until his death. His unificat ...

in the 6th century BC. He drove out Pisistratus during the latter's first reign as

tyrant A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to ...

in 560 BC, but the two then made an alliance with each other, and Pisistratus married Megacles' daughter.

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria (Italy). He is known fo ...

says that they also tricked the Athenians into believing Athena herself had arrived to proclaim Pisistratus tyrant, by dressing up a woman named

Phye Phye ( gr, Φύη, Phýē) was a young woman from Paeania who accompanied the tyrant Pisistratus in a chariot during his return to Athens in 546/5 BCE. Phye was dressed as the goddess Athena in order to deceive the people of Athens into believing ...

as the goddess, although Herodotus himself casts doubt on the truth of this story. However, Megacles turned against Pisistratus when Pisistratus refused to have children with Megacles' daughter, which brought an end to the second tyranny. This Megacles earlier had competed with

Hippocleides Hippocleides (also Hippoclides) ( grc-gre, Ἱπποκλείδης), the son of Teisander (Τείσανδρος), was an Athenian nobleman, who served as Eponymous Archon for the year 566 BC – 565 BC. He was a member of the Philaidae, a wealthy ...

, a future

archon ''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...

of Athens, to marry Agarista, the daughter of

Cleisthenes of Sicyon Cleisthenes ( ; grc-gre, Κλεισθένης) was the tyrant of Sicyon from c. 600–560 BC, who aided in the First Sacred War against Kirrha that destroyed that city in 595 BC. He was also said to have organized a successful war against Argos ...

. They had two sons. The elder was

Hippocrates Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history o ...

, whose children were another Megacles (ostracized 486 BC) and a daughter Agariste, the mother of

Pericles Pericles (; grc-gre, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Pelo ...

and Ariphron (himself the father of

Hippocrates of Athens Hippocrates of Athens ( grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης, ''Hippokrátēs''; c. 459 – 424 BC), the son of Ariphron, was a strategos of the Athenians in 424 BC, serving alongside Demosthenes. In the summer of 424, Hippocrates and Demosthenes set ...

who died 424 BC). The younger son was

Cleisthenes Cleisthenes ( ; grc-gre, Κλεισθένης), or Clisthenes (c. 570c. 508 BC), was an ancient Athenian lawgiver credited with reforming the constitution of ancient Athens and setting it on a democratic footing in 508 BC. For these accomplishm ...

, who was allegedly the grandfather of Deinomache (or Dinomache), mother of

Alcibiades Alcibiades ( ; grc-gre, Ἀλκιβιάδης; 450 – 404 BC) was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. He was the last of the Alcmaeonidae, which fell from prominence after the Peloponnesian War. He played a major role in t ...

(d. 404 BC). Thus, Megacles the elder was great-grandfather of

and the great-great-grandfather of

Battle of Marathon

The fourth Megacles, grandson of the above, son of Hippocrates, and nephew of

is sometimes described as the father of Deinomache and thus the maternal grandfather of

. Other sources, notably William Smith, insist that his uncle

was the grandfather of Alcibiades. In 490 BC, in the aftermath of the

Battle of Marathon The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. The battle was the culmination o ...

, a shield-signal was raised on Mount Pentelicon above Marathon supposedly to signal the Persians to sail around

Cape Sounion Cape Sounion (Modern Greek: Aκρωτήριο Σούνιο ''Akrotírio Soúnio'' ; grc, Ἄκρον Σούνιον ''Άkron Soúnion'', latinized ''Sunium''; Venetian: ''Capo Colonne'' "Cape of Columns") is the promontory at the southernmost ...

and attack the unguarded city of Athens.

reports that the Alcmaeonidae were widely believed to have been behind this act of treachery. With Megacles being the leading figure of the Alcmaeonid clan at the time, a lingering suspicion of medism hung over him. Ostraka_against_Megacles

In 486 BC, Megacles was ostracised. Numerous

ostraca An ostracon ( Greek: ''ostrakon'', plural ''ostraka'') is a piece of pottery, usually broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel. In an archaeological or epigraphical context, ''ostraca'' refer to sherds or even small pieces of ...

have been found with comments on them making reference to his ostentatious wealth and love of luxury. He was honored by

Pindar Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar ...

as exiled winner in the chariot race of

Pythian Games The Pythian Games ( grc-gre, Πύθια;) were one of the four Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. They were held in honour of Apollo at his sanctuary at Delphi every four years, two years after the Olympic Games, and between each Nemean and ...

486 BC.Pythian eleven By Pindar, Patrick Finglass Page 25

Megacles of Epirus

Megacles of Epirus was an officer in the service of

, who accompanied that monarch on his expedition to Italy, 280 BC. He is mentioned as accompanying Pyrrhus when he reconnoitered the Roman camp previous to the

battle of Heraclea The Battle of Heraclea took place in 280 BC between the Romans under the command of consul Publius Valerius Laevinus, and the combined forces of Greeks from Epirus, Tarentum, Thurii, Metapontum, and Heraclea under the command of Pyrrhus, kin ...

; and in that action was the means of saving the king's life, by exchanging armour with him, and thus directing the efforts of the assailants upon himself, instead of Pyrrhus. He fell a victim to his devotion, being slain by a Roman named Publius Decius Mus.

Bibliography

* Monica Berti, "L’antroponimo Megakles sugli ostraka di Atene. Considerazioni prosopografiche, storiche e istituzionali". ''Minima Epigraphica et Papyrologica'' 5 (2001), pp. 8-69 * Monica Berti, "‘Megakles, non eretrizzare!’ Una nuova proposta di lettura e d’interpretazione di un ostrakon attico". In ''Syggraphé. Materiali e appunti per lo studio della storia e della letteratura antica''. Ed. D. Ambaglio. Como: Edizioni New Press, 2001, pp. 41-57

References

{{SmithDGRBM, title=Megacles (Plut. Pyrrh. 16, 17 ; Zonar. viii. 3.) 892 BC deaths Ancient Athenians Kings of Athens Alcmaeonidae Ancient Greeks accused of sacrilege Ostracized Athenians Ancient Greek chariot racers Year of birth unknown Eponymous archons Ancient Epirotes Ancient Greeks who were murdered Ancient Greek generals Pyrrhic War