Tyrannicides

We will be discussing the origins and nature of the Athenian democracy in length in class. Your task is to think about one particular way the Athenians told this complex story -- through the image of the tyrannicides. During the sixth century BCE, Athens, like many archaic city-states, was ruled by a "tyrant," the Greek word for a ruler who had not inherited his throne. At the end of the century, one of this tyrant Peisistratus' sons, Hipparchus, was killed. Later Athenians came to celebrate the killers, Harmodius and Aristogeiton, as leaders in the fight for democracy, although their story is quite separate from slightly later institutional changes in the Athenian state. As you look at the following accounts, statues and vase paintings, think about why Harmodius and Aristogeiton were useful symbols of the democracy. What does their story say about the nature of the new Athenian state? How does the imagery associated with them help express this?

1. Read Thucydides' account of the assassination (i.20.2-20, vi.54.1-6, 55-59; these are on pages12 and 125-6 in the Woodruff translation). Given our studies of archaic poetry and politics, is Thucydides being fair when he describes the assassination of Hipparchus as the result of ‘just a love affair'?
2. Read Amy Smith's account of the sculptural group of Harmodius & Aristogeiton in the Athenian agora.
3. View the following vase paintings produced in fifth century Athens and which feature tyrannicide iconography from the sculptural group. Think about what the combination of references on the vases indicate. (Hint: if you don't recognize the characters, explore some of the hyperlinks to find out more about them.)

• Wurzburg L 515
• Boston 95.48
• London 1899.7-21.5
• Boston 00.345: Side B, Side A
• London B 605 (sorry, no images available, but description is useful)

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