Die Entstehung eines politischen Mythos in Athen. Von der Tyrannis zur Demokratie

Abstract

The choice of the heroes Harmodius and Aristogeiton as the symbol of a founding myth – unencumbered by previous conflicts after the victory of Salamis in the Persian wars – represents the belief of the Athenians that tyranny was finally defeated. The Athenians declared Harmodius and Aristeigeiton as founders and ascribed them the merit of having introduced the new political order rather than Cleisthenes, the reformer, who had introduced it and who was, together with the Spartan king Cleomenes, largely responsible for the overthrow of tyranny some years before the Persian wars. After Salamis this phase was completed, the new founding fathers Harmodius and Aristogeiton were successfully established and with them the conflicts of previous decades were covered over, or in the strict sense of the word, rendered invisible – in the truest sense this is then one of the most spectacular examples of counterfactual history.