Statue of Harmodius and Aristogeiton, Naples. This is a Roman copy of the Athenian copy (by
Kritios and
Nesiotes, in 477 BC) of the original bronze by
Antenor, stolen by the Persians in 480 BC, now lost
Harmodius (c. 530-514 BC) and Aristogeiton (c.
550-514 BC), known as "the Liberators" and "the Tyrannicides", became heroes in Athens through their role in the overthrow
of the Tyranny of the Peisistratid family. They were the first two Greeks considered by their
countrymen worthy of having statues raised to them.[1]
Background
Peisistratus seized power in 561 and established a radical regime. Peisistratus
is usually called a tyrant, but the Greek word tyrannos does not mean a cruel and despotic ruler, merely one who took
power by force. Peisistratus was in fact a very popular ruler, who made Athens wealthy and powerful, although the old
aristocratic families he had driven from power hated him. When Peisistratus died in 527/528, his sons Hippias and Hipparchus succeeded him. They
continued their father's policies, but their popularity declined after Hipparchus began to abuse the power of his position.
In 514 Hipparchus sought the sexual favours of Harmodius, who was, the
historian Thucydides tells us, "then in the flower of youthful beauty," which would have made
him about fifteen [citation needed]. Harmodius was the eromenos
(younger lover) of Aristogeiton, whom Thucydides describes as "a citizen then in middle rank of life" - possibly aged about 35
and a member of one of the old aristocratic families.
Romantic, erotic and sexual relationships between an adult man (the erastes) and a
youth (the eromenos) were sanctioned by custom in Athens and other Greek cities, and
Hipparchus's actions in trying to steal Aristogeiton's eromenos was a definite breach of the rules. (Thucydides says
bluntly that Aristogeiton "was his lover and possessed him.")
Harmodius rejected Hipparchus and told Aristogeiton what had happened. Hipparchus, spurned, avenged himself by having
Harmodius' young sister disqualified from carrying a ceremonial offering basket (Kanephoros)
at the Panathenaea festival on the pretext she was not a virgin, as required. This was
such a mortal offence to Harmodius's family that he and Aristogeiton resolved to assassinate both Hippias and Hipparchus and thus
to overthrow the tyranny.
The assassination
The plot – to be carried out by means of daggers hidden in the ceremonial myrtle wreaths – involved a number of other
co-conspirators, but seeing one of these greet Hippias in a friendly manner on the assigned day, the two thought themselves
betrayed and rushed into action, ruining the carefully laid plans. They managed to kill Hipparchus, stabbing him to death as he
was organizing the Panathenaean processions at the foot of the Acropolis, but the two lovers
were killed on the spot by Hipparchus's guards, and there was no revolt.
Aristotle in the Constitution of Athens preserves a tradition that Aristogeiton died
only after being tortured in the hope that he would reveal the names of other conspirators. During his ordeal, personally
overseen by Hippias, he feigned willingness to betray his co-conspirators, claiming only Hippias' handshake as guarantee of
safety. Upon receiving the tyrant's hand he is reputed to have berated him for shaking the hand of his own brother's murderer,
upon which the tyrant wheeled and struck him down on the spot. [2] Likewise, there is a tradition that Aristogeiton was in love with a courtesan (see hetaira) by the name of Leæna (lioness) who also was kept by Hippias
under torture – in a vain attempt to force her to divulge the names of the other conspirators – until she died. It was said that
it was in her honor that Athenian statues of Aphrodite were from then on accompanied by stone lionesses [after Pausanias].[citation needed]
His brother's murder led Hippias to establish an even stricter dictatorship, which proved very unpopular and was overthrown,
with the help of an army from Sparta, in 510. This was followed by the reforms of
Cleisthenes, who established a democracy in
Athens.
Apotheosis of the couple
Subsequent history came to identify the romantic figures of Harmodius and Aristogeiton as martyrs to the cause of Athenian
freedom, possibly for political and class reasons, and they became known as "the Liberators" (eleutherioi) and "the
Tyrannicides" (tyrannophonoi). According to later writers, descendants of Harmodius and Aristogeiton were given hereditary
privileges, such as sitesis (the right to take meals at public expense in the town hall), ateleia (exemption from
certain religious duties), and proedria (front-row seats in the theater). Since it is not known if Aristogeiton had any
descendants (it is most unlikely that Harmodius did), this may be a later invention, but it illustrates their posthumous
status.
After the establishment of democracy, the sculptor Antenor was commissioned to produce a
statue group of Harmodius and Aristogeiton that was erected in
the Agora. Special laws prohibited the erection of any other statues in their vicinity. The
cenotaph of the couple was erected in the Kerameikos, and
annual offerings (enagismata) were presented there by the Athenian minister of war (polemarch). [3]
Another tribute to the two heroes was a hymn sung as a drinking song (skolion) at the symposia, written by Callistratus, an Athenian poet known
only for this work.[citation needed] This ode, found in Athenaeus, has been
translated by many modern poets such as Edgar Allan Poe, who composed his Hymn to Aristogeiton
and Harmodius in 1827.[4] Other skolia existed, of
which a few have survived, such as the following:
Harmodius, most beloved. Surely you are not at all dead,
But on the Isles of the Blessed you abide, they
say,
The same place where swift-footed Achilles is,
Where roams worthy Diomedes, son of Tydeus, they
say.[5]
The story of Harmodius and Aristogeiton, and its treatment by later Greek writers, is illustrative of attitudes to
pederasty in ancient Greece. Both Thucydides and Herodotus say that the two were lovers, without making any comment on this fact: clearly they assumed that
their readers would be familiar with the institution and find nothing remarkable about it. Further confirming the status of the
two as paragons of pederastic ethics, a domain forbidden to slaves, a law was passed prohibiting slaves from being named after
the two heroes.[6]
The story continued to be cited as an admirable example of heroism and devotion for many years. In 346 BC, for example, the
politician Timarchus was prosecuted (for political reasons) on the grounds that he had
prostituted himself as a youth. The orator who defended him, Demosthenes, cited Harmodius
and Aristogeiton, as well as Achilles and Patroclus, as
examples of the beneficial effects of same-sex relationships.[citation needed] Aeschines offers them as an
example of dikaios erōs, “just love”, and as proof of the boons such love brings the city.[7] The fact that the statues of the Liberators were still being copied in Roman
times shows the durability of their legend.
See also
References
- ^ W.E.H. Lecky History of European Morals, (ed. 1898), II, 274-95
- ^ Aristotle, Athenian Constitution 18.1 (ed. H. Rackham) [1]
- ^ Nigel Spivey, Understanding Greek Sculpture; p.114-5
- ^ [2]
- ^ Skolion 894P. D. I. Page, Poetae Melici Graeci; Oxford, 1962
- ^ Aul. Gel. 9.2.10; Lib. Decl. 1.1.71
- ^ Victoria Wohl, Love among the Ruins: The Erotics of Democracy in
Classical Athens p. 5
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
