Clearly modeled on Egyptian predecessors. But unlike the Egyptian models, nude and
striding with one foot forward. These were the characteristic markers of
the elite at this time. The Kouro began earlier than this, this is
a very well developed one. From the late 6th century.
And there's attached to it a, an inscription that says, stop and mourn
beside the memorial of dead Croesus, whom fierce Aries cut down in the front ranks
of battle. It has been quite plausibly suggested that
Croesus was a soldier fighting against Peisistratus, who died in that battle of
Pallene. There's also one other thing that we can
note here, which was his name, it had been thought that perhaps he was some sort of
mercenary from Asia Minor. And that's where Lidia is and that's where
King Croesus ruled. But he seems likelier to have been a Greek
member of an elite family which may have had some sort of friendly relations with
the Lydian king. Peisistratus established his rule very
quickly. And seemingly without resorting to
violence, there must have been a lot of popular support.
He levied a small tax on agricultural produce, and from that he started a set of
public works, among them improving the water supply to Athens.
By installing public fountains, as in this wonderful, black-figure, vase painting,
with women carrying jugs to and from a fountain.
He allowed for state-supported agricultural loans to small farmers.
He set up circuit judges. That is, judges who would go out into the
countryside. And hear cases, and we are told that he
preserved Solon's constitution. Except that he took care that his own
followers hold the highest offices. We know that he also cleared the agora of
private dwellings, and began to make it a place for the gathering, the truly
gathering of the citizens for the major kind of public buildings and the like.
And major public construction also took the form, and now I'm just showing a
little bit anachronistically, because this we think was actually started by his sons.
But this massive temple of Zeus olympias down next to the Acropolis.
You can see it there in the background. Which was begun by the Peisistratus but
wasn't really completed until the reign of the roman emperor Hadrian some 6 centuries
later. And here is a wonderful 19th century
photograph by the French photographer Baltese.
And you can see that some enterprising restaurateur has established a cafe among
the columns. But monumental building as a sign of
individual pride and of civic identity is something that the Peisistratus clearly
understood. Also civic religion and especially cults
in honor of Athena. It was the Peisistratus who seemed to, it
was Peisistratus who seems to have established the Panathenain games.
These are the games for all of Athens. And among the evidence we have for them
are these extraordinary, huge, they're called the Panathenaic amphora.
These big vases, which held the, the victor's share, and a lot of olive oil, a
very valuable commodity. And on one side, they would depict the
event, that the competitor had taken part in.
And on the other side our patron Godess, Athena.
You just saw some runners, there's also the extremely prestigious chariot race.
There's wonderful depiction here of a 2 horse Chariot, and again with Athena on
the reverse. If this weren't enough, Peisistratus also
bit[UNKNOWN]. A festival in honor of Dionysus, the
Dionysia. Seems to have taken the form of
competitions of choruses and eventually it evolved into the great tragic and conic
festivals in honor of Dionysus, the city Dionysia.
And the Lenaia. And it was also under Peisistratus that
the Athenians seem to have issued their first coinage with Athena on one side.
You can see her initials here, or the first letters of her name Athe here, and
her owl on the other. First these would have circulated only
within Athens and eventually they came to be used as currency throughout the Greek
world. What were seeing here is an extremely
ambitious capable, and I might say, ethical ruler.
A sign of his popularity is that he died in 5287 of a peaceful old age.
We're told that he never had to use a bodyguard.
And one of the things that he left as his legacy, is Athenian civic identity in the
form of buildings, ceremonies, coinage, the circuit-riding judges.
All of these things together now were seeing Athens growing a sense of itself
and the Athenians as a special people. I'm not saying we have to accept this, I'm
saying that this was how they felt. And yet when a tyrant dies there is, as we
have seen, often some problem afterward and that's what we will go on to.