Cylon (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Κύλων ''Kylon'') was an

Athenian 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 ...

associated with the first reliably dated event in Athenian history, the Cylonian Affair, an attempted seizure of power in the city. Cylon, one of the Athenian nobles and a previous victor of 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 vari ...

, attempted a coup in 632 BC with support from Megara, where his father-in-law, Theagenes, was

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 re ...

. The oracle at Delphi had advised him to seize Athens during a festival of

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

, which Cylon understood to mean the Olympics. However, the coup was opposed, and Cylon and his supporters took refuge in

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

's temple on the Acropolis. Cylon and his brother escaped, but his followers were cornered by Athens' nine archons. According to

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 ...

and

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 ...

(1.126), they were persuaded by the archons to leave the temple and stand trial after being assured that their lives would be spared. In an effort to ensure their safety, the accused tied a rope to the temple's statue and went to the trial. On the way, the rope (again, according to Plutarch) broke of its own accord. The Athenian archons, led by

Megacles Megacles or Megakles ( grc, Μεγακλῆς) was the name of several notable men of ancient Athens, as well as an officer of Pyrrhus of Epirus. First archon The first Megacles was possibly a legendary archon of Athens from 922 BC to 892 BC. A ...

, took this as the goddess's repudiation of her suppliants and proceeded to stone them to death (on the other hand,

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...

, 5.71, and Thucydides, 1.126, do not mention this aspect of the story, stating that Cylon's followers were simply killed after being convinced that they would not be harmed). Most likely, the story found in Plutarch is a later invention.

Cylonian curse

Megacles and 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 or Alcmaeonids ( grc-gre, Ἀλκμαιωνίδαι ; Attic: ) were a wealthy and powerful noble family of ancient Athens, a branch of the Neleides who claimed descent from the mythological Alcmaeon, the great-grandson of Nes ...

, were exiled from the city for violating the laws against killing suppliants. The Alcmaeonidae were cursed with a '' miasma'' ("stain" or "pollution"), which was inherited by later generations, even after the ''genos'' retook control of Athens. Thucydides cited that aside from the nine archons and their descendants, one unidentified family was also included in the curse. Athens was purified from it by

Epimenides Epimenides of Cnossos (or Epimenides of Crete) (; grc-gre, Ἐπιμενίδης) was a semi-mythical 7th or 6th century BC Greek seer and philosopher-poet, from Knossos or Phaistos. Life While tending his father's sheep, Epimenides is said ...

of Phaestus. This Cretan seer was known as a close associate of

Solon Solon ( grc-gre, Σόλων; BC) was an Athenian statesman, constitutional lawmaker and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic and moral decline in Archaic Athens.Aristotle ''Politics'' ...

and a hermit who lived in a cave of Zeus. What would later be referred to as the Cylonian curse () was used by the Spartans as a political tool to expel the families who opposed their ally

Isagoras Isagoras ( grc-gre, Ἰσαγόρας), son of Tisander, was an Athenian aristocrat in the late 6th century BC. He had remained in Athens during the tyranny of Hippias, but after Hippias was overthrown, he became involved in a struggle for power ...

. These families, led by Cleisthenes, were descended from the families accursed for slaying the followers of Cylon. In April 2016, two mass graves containing 80 bodies, some shackled, were found in Palaio Faliro, a suburb of Athens. The skeletons date from the third quarter of the seventh century BC, and it has been suggested that they were the supporters of Cylon killed in the aftermath of his attempted coup.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cylon of Athens 632 BC deaths 7th-century BC Athenians Ancient Olympic competitors Government of ancient Athens Archaic Athens Year of birth unknown