Theagenes of Megara () ruled the

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

city of

Megara Megara (; el, Μέγαρα, ) is a historic town and a municipality in West Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being take ...

in the seventh century BC. The only sources for his life are anecdotes recorded by authors several centuries after his death, whose reliability is uncertain. Although very little is known of his life, he is considered one of the archetypal early Greek

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 ...

s (''tyrannoi'').

Life

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...

claims that Theagenes of Megara convinced the Megarians to give him a bodyguard, which he then used to seize control of the city. Elsewhere Aristotle claims that Theagenes came to power by slaughtering the flocks of the rich by a river. It is unclear how reliable these stories are: the bodyguard is a stereotypical trope in accounts of ancient tyrants' seizures of power and the meaning of the slaughter of the flocks is disputed. Aristotle presents the event as an example of a tyrant gaining power by intervening in social conflict between the rich aristocracy and the poor masses on the side of the latter.E. Stein-Hölkeskamp (2009) 107-8. Recent scholarship has suggested that this interpretation may be anachronistic and questioned whether such social conflict actually existed in archaic Megara. Greg Anderson suggests that it was part of Theagenes' efforts to assert his dominance over the Megaran aristocracy, while Thomas Figueira has proposed that the episode reflects a religious conflict over the ownership of sacred flocks. The geographer

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

attributes a fountain in Megara to Theagenes, as well as the long underground aqueduct that fed it. He said that it was "worth seeing for its size and ornament and the number of columns." Archaeologists have unearthed this fountain, but the surviving structure dates to the early fifth century BC. It thus cannot be the work of Theagenes, although it is possible that there was an earlier structure on the same site which was.

Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His '' History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of " scienti ...

states that Theagenes married his daughter to Cylon of

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 ...

, a victor in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

. Having consulted the

Delphic Oracle Pythia (; grc, Πυθία ) was the name of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as the Pythone ...

, Cylon decided to take control of Athens by seizing 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, ...

during the Olympic Games in 630 BC, with a force provided by Theagenes. The attempt was unsuccessful; Cylon and his followers were besieged and killed. It is unclear what the consequences were for Theagenes and Megara. Some scholars connect the failure of this enterprise with Theagenes' fall from power.

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

says that Theagenes was overthrown and exiled, but he does not say how this happened. After his expulsion Megara was ruled by an

oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate ...

. Theagenes is also mentioned in

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his ...

' ''

Peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

''.Aristophanes. ''Peace'', 927. When the chorus are persuading Trygaeus not to sacrifice a fat swine because they would be associating with the 'swinishness' of Theagenes.

References

Bibliography

* * {{cite journal , last1=Oost , first1=Stewart Irvin , title=The Megara of Theagenes and Theognis , journal=Classical Philology , date=1973 , volume=68 , issue=3 , page=186-196 7th-century BC Greek people 7th-century BC rulers Ancient Megarians Ancient Greek rulers Archaic tyrants