Kylon: The Man Who Changed Athens.

Abstract

Who was this Kylon and why did he bring about change in Athens in the mid-seventh century BC? The aim of this discussion will endeavour to focus briefly on Kylon himself and why he caused such a stir at Athens at the time. This event, now known as the 'Kylonian Conspiracy' is the earliest attested historical event in Athenian history which will be briefly outlined. The main focus though will be on the close of events and how the Conspiracy ended, and what became of Kylon, his supporters and his opponents. The Kylonian Conspiracy brought about a lot of political turmoil that embroiled one of Athens’ leading families, the Alkmeonidai. Their role in the whole affair will be discussed as they were accused of dealing with Kylon’s supporters heavy handedly. As this event is strictly based on literary traditions, the evidence that will be used primarily to illustrate certain points is in literary works of well known status, namely Herodotos, Thoukydides (Thucydides) and Ploutarkhos (Plutarch). The source traditions as presented by the literary accounts preserve differing aspects of the Conspiracy which will be examined to explain the differences.