Page:Outlines of European History.djvu/201

 The Age of the Nobles and the Tyrants in Greece 157 we obtain an authentic picture, chiefly through those poems of his which have survived to our day. The leading trait of his character was moderation, combined with unfailing decision. When all expected that he would assume permanent authority over the Athenian State and make himself " tyrant " at the end of his official term, he laid down his archonship without a moment's hesitation and left the city for several years, to give his constitution a fair chance to work. Solon saved Attica from a great social catastrophe, and it was Pisistratus chiefly due to his wise reforms that Athens achieved her Indus- tyrants of ' trial and commercial triumphs. But his work, though it deferred Athens the humiliation, could not save the Athenian State from sub- jection to^ the tyrant. After an unsuccessful attempt to seize the government, Pisistratus, a member of one of the powerful eupatrid families, returned from exile and gained control of the Athenian State. He ruled with great sagacity and success, and many of the Athenians gave him sincere allegiance. But his two sons, Hippias and Hipparchus, though able men, were un- able to overcome the prejudice against a ruler on whom the people had not conferred authority. One of the earliest exhi- bitions of that love of the State which we call patriotism is the outburst of enthusiasm at Athens when two youths, Harmodius and Aristogiton (Fig. 79), at the sacrifice of their own lives, struck down one of the tyrants (Hipparchus). Hippias, the other one, was eventually obliged to flee. Thus, shortly before 500 B.C., Athens was freed from her tyrants. The people were now able to gain new power against the The reforms eupatrids by the efforts of a noble friendly to the lower classes, named Clisthenes. He broke up the old tribal divisions of blood and established purely local lines of division, so cleverly adjusted that city and country communities were combined to form part of each tribe. This gave the country communities an equal chance with the city. Moreover the development of tactics of war under the leadership of the Spartans had produced close masses of spearmen, each mass (phalanx) remaining an