The first tyrant of ancient Athens (6th century
BCE) Peisistratos, won power twice, first by cutting himself all over his body
and claiming that enemies had attacked him and he needed a protective guard.
With this personal guard, he seized control of the city. He was eventually
chased out, but returned to power when he went to a mountain village, dressed up a very tall woman in armor, and
said she was the goddess Athena and wanted him to rule. The people allowed him
to take power, perhaps because he represented a counter to traditional
aristocratic power and presented them with a pageant, a spectacle, a contract
that pleased them, acknowledging the
necessity of their approval as he seized power. Eventually he died, his sons
were assassinated or defeated, various reforms were instituted, and the full or
radical or “extreme” democracy was established.
