Eucleides ( grc-gre, Εὐκλείδης) was

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 towards the end of the fifth century BC. He contributed towards the re-establishment of democracy during his years in office (403–402 BC). He is also believed to have contributed to the new political order, with proposals that sought to deal with the challenge of the potentially disruptive minority who had supported oligarchy in the previous years.

Work

During his archonship many Greek poleis changed their

epichoric alphabet Many local variants of the Greek alphabet were employed in ancient Greece during the archaic and early classical periods, until around 400 BC, when they were replaced by the classical 24-letter alphabet that is the standard today. All form ...

adopting the Ionic script. He supported a decree to change the alphabet and adopt Ionian script. Athenians accepted a spelling reform, adopting the

Ionian Ionic or Ionian may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Ionic meter, a poetic metre in ancient Greek and Latin poetry * Ionian mode, a musical mode or a diatonic scale Places and peoples * Ionian, of or from Ionia, an ancient region in western ...

alphabet, which included eta and omega. There are inscriptions from Athens which used Ionian spelling before it was official and others which continued to use the old

Attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...

spelling after it was repudiated. Eucleides was involved in adoption of the new spelling form that was acceptable to Athenians. The reform meant that the old Attic alphabet traditionally used in all official documents had to be changed in order to conform to Ionic usage, which had become a standard alphabet for the Greeks.

Archinus Archinus ( grc, Ἀρχῖνος) was an Athenian democratic politician who wielded substantial influence between the restoration of democracy in 403 BC and the beginning of the Corinthian War in 395 BC. In the early days of the restored democrac ...

, a political ally of Eucleides, was conspicuously involved in turbulent politics of Athens. It is believed that a decree on adoption of Ionic alphabets was based on political consideration rather than artistic or language development. However, during Eucleides's year as archon, Athenian experienced a spirited attempt to end the civil strife and the contemplation of a new constitution.

Success and legacy

The credit for the success of the reconciliation during archonship of Eucleides is accorded to his most prominent political colleague, Archinus. He is further believed to have come up with the proposal to adopt Ionic alphabets that was decreed by Eucleides during his tenure as archon of Athens. Under the archonship of Eucleides, Athens was recovering from horror; it was threatened with extinction because of the attacks by Sparta and the

Peloponnesian League The Peloponnesian League was an alliance of ancient Greek city-states, dominated by Sparta and centred on the Peloponnese, which lasted from c.550 to 366 BC. It is known mainly for being one of the two rivals in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC ...

Prior to the archonship of Eucleides, Athens was humiliated and had no empire to finance its democratic structures due to persistent civil wars that had threatened to tear it apart. However, peace returned following the amnesty between the enemy parties and the plans of restoration were initiated under the leadership of Eucleides. Consequently, the clamour for alphabet reform could be traced to the end of the hostilities between democrats and oligarchs. After the overthrow of the

Thirty Tyrants The Thirty Tyrants ( grc, οἱ τριάκοντα τύραννοι, ''hoi triákonta týrannoi'') were a pro-Spartan oligarchy installed in Athens after its defeat in the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC. Upon Lysander's request, the Thirty were elec ...

, the new democratic government declared the year 403–402 BC under Eucleides as the inauguration of a new era of harmony. The amnesty, also referred as ‘acts of oblivion’, was designed to heal the wounds caused by the previous years' civil war. The amnesty prevented the prosecution of those considered as political enemies through having supported the Thirty Tyrants. Conclusively, Eucleides supported political tolerance and it was said that he could not be corrupted or commit atrocities like those experienced during the reign of the Thirty Tyrants.

References

{{s-end 5th-century BC Athenians 5th-century BC births 4th-century BC deaths Greek alphabet Year of birth unknown Place of birth unknown Year of death unknown Place of death unknown Eponymous archons