Cleisthenes (Sikyon)

Family: Sikyonian · Role: despot · First appears: Book 5 · §63–69

Life events

• Cleisthenes sought to expel Adrastos from Sikyon, but the Oracle refused to permit it.(Book 5 · §63–69 · 📍 Sikyon)
  • With: Adrastos
  • “So having come to Delphi he consulted the Oracle as to whether he should cast out Adrastos; and the Pythian prophetess answered him saying that Adrastos was king of the Sikyonians, whereas he was a stoner of them.”
• Cleisthenes brought Melanippos to Sikyon and established a sacred enclosure for him.(Book 5 · §63–69 · 📍 Sikyon)
  • With: Melanippos Astacos Adrastos Mekisteus Tydeus
  • “So since the god did not permit him to do this, he went away home and considered means by which Adrastos should be brought to depart of his own accord: and when he thought that he had discovered them, he sent to Thebes in Boeotia and said that he desired to introduce into his city Melanippos the son of Astacos, and the Thebans gave him leave. So Cleisthenes introduced Melanippos into his city, and appointed for him a sacred enclosure within the precincts of the City Hall itself, and established him there in the strongest position.”
• Cleisthenes transferred Adrastos's sacrifices and festivals to Melanippos.(Book 5 · §63–69 · 📍 Sikyon)
  • With: Adrastos Melanippos
  • “and when he had appointed the sacred enclosure for him, he took away the sacrifices and festivals of Adrastos and gave them to Melanippos.”
• Cleisthenes reassigned Adrastos's tragic choruses to Dionysos.(Book 5 · §63–69 · 📍 Sikyon)
  • With: Adrastos
  • “Cleisthenes however gave back the choruses to Dionysos, and the other rites besides this he gave to Melannipos.”
• Cleisthenes changed the names of the Dorian tribes in Sikyon.(Book 5 · §63–69 · 📍 Sikyon)
  • “and he also changed the names of the Dorian tribes, in order that the Sikyonians might not have the same tribes as the Argives;”
• The Sikyonians later replaced Cleisthenes's tribal names with new names.(Book 5 · §63–69 · 📍 Sikyon)
  • “then however they considered the matter and changed them into Hylleis, Pamphyloi, and Dymanatai, adding to these a fourth, to which they gave the name Aigialeis after Aigialeus the son of Adrastos.”

Book 5 · §63–69

• enemies with Adrastos “Cleisthenes had a desire to cast him forth out of the land, because he was an Argive.”
• protégé: Melanippos “So Cleisthenes introduced Melanippos into his city, and appointed for him a sacred enclosure within the precincts of the City Hall itself”
• elder kin: Cleisthenes (Athens) “the Athenian Cleisthenes, who was his daughter's son and was called after him”
• parent: Cleisthenes (Athens) “this Cleisthenes was imitating his mother's father Cleisthenes the despot of Sikyon”
• with Melanippos (Cleisthenes arranged for Melanippos to be brought into Sikyon.) “he sent to Thebes in Boeotia and said that he desired to introduce into his city Melanippos the son of Astacos”

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Extracted from the original text of The Histories. Made with Rho MD.