When was cleisthenes born

Cleisthenes active 6th century B. The first avowed democratic leader, he introduced important changes into the Athenian constitution. Son of Megacles, leader of the powerful Alcmeonid clan in Athens, and of Agariste, daughter of Cleisthenes, the tyrant of Sicyon, Cleisthenes was destined for a public career.

Accommodating himself to the regime of the tyrants, he was chief magistrate of Athens in B. Cleisthenes ran for leadership of Athens at the head of a noble faction favoring oligarchy; he was defeated by Isagoras, a friend of the Spartan king Cleomenes. Cleisthenes then turned democrat, threatening the position of Isagoras, who asked Cleomenes for help.

The Spartan king arrived with troops and tried to disband the Council of and install Isagoras as head of a new council, but the people rose and forced Cleomenes and Isagoras to withdraw. In the political ebb and flow that followed, Cleisthenes had a brief stint as chief archon, in B. More than a decade later, Cleisthenes and the rest of the Alcmaeonids defeated the faction led by self-appointed tyrant Isagoras and returned to Athens in triumph, thanks to some support from both Delphi and Sparta.

In , Cleisthenes, as newly installed leader of Athens, introduced his reforms, primary of which was the destruction of hereditary privilege. The public rights and duties of a citizen, Cleisthenes reasoned, should stem from membership in a location, not from possession of a certain bloodline.

The reforms replaced the traditional four area tribes with 10 geographically based "tribes. The guiding principle in these reforms was isonomia, equal rights for all, a concept first championed by Solon. The most glaring example of this idea was the new policy of sortition, the random selection of citizens for government roles. Up to this point, governmental leaders had handed out political appointments to relatives and friends.

After him is Anaxandridas II. Among people deceased in BC, Cleisthenes ranks 1. Among people born in Greece , Cleisthenes ranks 32 out of Among politicians born in Greece , Cleisthenes ranks 8. Read more on Wikipedia Since , the English Wikipedia page of Cleisthenes has received more than , page views.