Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/82

* FISGAH. 60 PISISTRATUS. in connection with 'top' or 'slopes.' In Deut. xxxiv. 1, the 'top of the I'isgah.' from which Moses viewed the proiiiiseil hin<I, is iilentific'il with Mount Nebo (ij-v.), anil in the days of Kusehius I'^anga was still used for the region of JIdunt Xebo. The doulde name may, for all that, point to varyinji traditions in regard to the incident in the career of .Moses. PISIDES, pisa-dez (Lat., from Gk. IlurlSrjs), GEOKiiios. A Byzantine poet of the seventh cen- tury A.D. He ^•as a Pisidian by birth, as his name signifies, but attained fame as a deacon of the Church of Saint Sophia in Constantinople, and as a keeper of the records in the same church. His poems, all in excellent iambic trimeters, are a IlrxiiDicioit, a didactic coMnolof.n': some liymns and epigrams; and three historical poems deal- ing with the wars against Persia, the siege of Constantinople in (>2t>, and the victory of Hera- clias over Khosru, and furnishing important data for the reign of Meraclias. The complete works are to be found in Migne, Patioloyia Grwca. vol. xcii. PISIB'IA (Lat.. from (Ik. m<nSla). An an- cient division of Asia ilinor, bounded (in the north by Pbrygia, on the east by t'ilicia. on the .south by Pamphylia. and on the west by Lycia. It belongs to the modern Turkish Vilayet of Konieh. It was drained by the Cestrus, Eurynie- d<in, and Melas, the chief rivers uf Pamphylia. The principal towns were Sclge, Termessns, and Sagalassus. Antioch. sometimes called the Pisi- dian, seems to have been really in Phrv-gia. The wines of Amblada were celebrated, and salt and olives were chief productions. The country is wild and moiintaiiKius. aljounding in pic- turesque scenery, and the inhabitants were bold and lawless freebooters who defied subjugation. The cities, however, were gradually llcllenized, and in Roman times the country seems to have enjoyed great prosperity, as is indicated by the splendid ruins at several places. Consult Lanckoronski, filiidte I'amphi/Iieiis und Pisidicns (Vienna. 1S!I0). PISIS'TRATTJS (Lat., from Gk. ncKriVrparos, Pdsi^tratox) ( ?c..")27 B.C.). The famous ty- rant of Athens, son of Ili]ipocratcs and intimate friend of the lawgiver .Solon, with whom he was closely related on his mother's side. He re- ceived an excellent education, and the charm of his manners as well as the generosity of his spirit was so great that, according to Solon, had he not liecn ambitious he would have been the best of the Athenians. But his desire for sovereign power led him to adopt a policy of artifice to attain his ends, which has deprived him of the reputation that the kindly character of his government might otherwise have ob- tained for him. Pisistratus first became promi- nent in connection with the war between Jlegara and Athens, which culminated in the capture of the ilcgarian seaport Xis.-ea and the island Salamis by Athens about n.c. .570.565. In this struggle he may have held the olTice of pole- march, and his ambition then spurred him to take advantage of the popularity thus gained to seize the sovereign power. He came forward as leader of one of the three parties into which Attica was then divided. These were the Pe- diaci (IleS'ttKoi), or the Party of the Plain, consisting of the well-to-do landed proprietors; the Parali (IldpoXoi), the Party of the Sea- board, to which belonged the wealthy merchant classes; and the Diacrii (Aid/tpioi), the Party of the Highlanils, chielly a laboring popula- tion, jealous of the rich and eager for political ei|iiality. Pisistratus joined the Party of the Highlands, and attached to himself all the poorer citizens and the discontented by his liberal beneficence. When the time came for a decisive step, he drove into the market-place, and there, exhibiting certain selfinllicted wounds, called upon the people to jirotcct him against his and their enemies, alleging that he had been attacked on account of his iiatriotism. Thereupon his followers, according to Plutarch, were ready to take up arms for him, a general assembly of the citizens was summoned on motion of Aris- tion, one of his supporters, and it was voted to allow him a bodyguard of fifty clubmen. Tra- dition says that Solon charged him with hypoc- risy, but in vain. Pisistratus gradually in- creased the number of his armed attendants, and about B.C. .560., when he felt himself strong enough, he seized the Acropolis and established himself as tyrant over Athens. The leaders of the aristocratic party immediately lied from the city. 'hat action Solon took is not definitely known: he died within two years after the es- tablishment of Pisistratus's irresponsible rule. This rule, however, was not harsh or vindictive. Pisistratus attempted to continue unchanged the constitution laid down by Solon himself, and conferred many benefits upon the poorer citizens. But the parties of the Plain and the Seashore united against him, and in five years succeeded in driving him out. This coalition in turn was soon broken up, and ^legacies, one of the leaders, made overtures to Pisistratus and secured his return. A family quarrel between them, however, caused a second expulsion of the tyrant about .550. He retired to Eubcea, where he remained for ten years, watching for his opportunity and making preparations to secure his return. He gained a following in many of the Greek cities, exploited the gold mines of Mount Pangseus, near the Strymon, and collected .a force of mercenary soldiers. At length he was strong enough in friendship with other Greek States to attack Athens. Wlien he landed at Marathon his adhei-ents flocked to his standard, and after defeating the constitutional party he ree.stablished himself for the third time as tyrant about 540. He continued to hold this position without interruption until his death in 527 (528?). Then his power passed into the hands of his sons Hippias and Hipparchus (q.v. ). Pisistratus's rule was mild and beneficent. He reduced taxes, established the poorer citizens on estates, supplying them with the needed re- sources, eared for the old and the disabled, and extended Athenian inlluence abroad. He re- covered Sygeum, which commanded the entrance to the Hellespont, and accjuired the Thracian Chersonese. His administration is also famous for his encouragement of literature and the arts. Under his direction a splendid temple to Athena was erected on the Acropolis, the Lyceum was built, also a temple to Dionysus in Limnae, and he established a new sanctuary for this god at the foot of the Acropolis. He began the great temple of Ol.^nupian Zeus, which was not finished till the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. He also carried through many internal improvements.