Cylon of Croton () was a leading citizen of Croton,

Magna Graecia Magna Graecia refers to the Greek-speaking areas of southern Italy, encompassing the modern Regions of Italy, Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania, and Sicily. These regions were Greek colonisation, extensively settled by G ...

, who led a revolt against the

Pythagoreans Pythagoreanism originated in the 6th century BC, based on and around the teachings and beliefs held by Pythagoras and his followers, the Pythagoreans. Pythagoras established the first Pythagorean community in the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek co ...

, probably around 509 BC. According to

Iamblichus Iamblichus ( ; ; ; ) was a Neoplatonist philosopher who determined a direction later taken by Neoplatonism. Iamblichus was also the biographer of the Greek mystic, philosopher, and mathematician Pythagoras. In addition to his philosophical co ...

' ''De Vita Pythagorae'', Cylon had previously tried and failed to be accepted into the Pythagorean order (''VP'' 248); however, the clearly pro-Pythagorean bias of Iamblichus' work means we should take this with a grain of salt. In the climactic moment of the revolt, a meeting house was set on fire as the Pythagoreans were debating inside - according, again, to Iamblichus (''VP'' 249). After the success of the rebellion, all debts owed were eliminated and property was seized for redistribution; this arguably resulted in

Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos (; BC) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher, polymath, and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His political and religious teachings were well known in Magna Graecia and influenced the philosophies of P ...

being expelled from Croton.

References

{{AncientGreece-bio-stub Ancient Crotonians 6th-century BC Greek people Greek rebels Ancient rebels 6th-century BC rebels