Alkaios - a true citizen of Mytilene

Abstract

The article is devoted to the civic position and political views of Alkaios, a fighter against tyranny, and his opponent Pittacus, the tyrant of Mytilene. The purpose of the study is to identify the presence or absence of political differences between Alkaios and Pittacus based on an analysis of all available sources. The author proves that the political views of Alkaios and Pittacus coincided and did not change throughout the entire period of their joint actions. According to the author, the situation changed due to the role of Pittacus in the victorious end of the first stage of the Sigean War. Conclusions: Pittak decided to seize power by changing allies. Having established tyranny, he did not radically reform the state system, supplementing the traditional regime with personal authoritarian power.

Keywords

• pittacus
• heteria
• political views
• political struggle
• aristocracy
• tyranny
• sigei
• archaeanactides