Megacles (Μεγακλῆς) was the
name of several notable men of ancient Athens
:
1. Megacles was possibly a legendary
Archon of Athens from 922 BC to 892
BC.
2. 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 (who
had taken refuge on the
Acropolis
as a suppliant of
Athena) and was exiled from
the city, along with all the other members of his
genos,
the Alcmaeonidae. The Alcmaeonidae inherited a
miasma
("stain") that lasted for generations among Megacles'
descendants.
3. Megacles, the grandson of the above and member of the
Alcmaeonidae family, was an opponent of
Pisistratus in the 6th century
BC. He drove out Pisistratus during the latter's first reign as
tyrant in 560 BC, but the two then made an
alliance with each other, and Pisistratus married Megacles'
daughter.
Herodotus claims that they also
tricked the Athenians into believing Athena herself had arrived to
proclaim Pisistratus tyrant, by dressing up a woman named Phye as
the goddess. This event is subject to debate as to whether
Herodotus has interpreted this episode correctly.
However, Megacles turned against Pisistratus when Pisistratus
refused to have children with Megacles' daughter, which brought an
end to the second tyranny.
This
Megacles later competed circa 560 BC or later with Hippocleides, a former archon of Athens, to marry Agarista, the daughter of Cleisthenes of Sicyon
. They
had two sons; the elder
Hippocrates was father of another
Megacles (ostracized 486 BC) and a daughter
Agariste was mother of
Pericles and
Ariphron (himself the father of
Hippocrates of Athens who died 424
BC). The younger son
Cleisthenes was
allegedly father of
Deinomache (or
Dinomache), mother of
Alcibiades (d. 404
BC). Thus, Megacles the elder was great-grandfather of
Pericles and
Alcibiades.
4. Megacles, grandson of the above, son of Hippocrates, and brother
of
Cleisthenes was ostracized in 486 BC.
He is sometimes described as the father of
Deinomache and thus the maternal grandfather of
Alcibiades. Other sources, notably
William Smith, insist
that his uncle
Cleisthenes was the
grandfather of Alcibiades. He was honored by
Pindar as exiled winner in the chariot race of
Pythian Games 486 BC
References
- Pythian eleven By Pindar, Patrick Finglass Page 25
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