Pisistratus's Defense LetterἘπιστολή
Pisistratus Letters Pisistratus's Defense Letter PDF
No specific work titled "Pisistratus's Defense Letter" or any epistle authored by the Athenian tyrant Pisistratus is attested in the historical record. The primary accounts of his life, from historians like Herodotus and Aristotle, detail his political career but do not mention any surviving writings, letters, or speeches. Any purported defense would logically relate to one of Pisistratus's political crises, such as defending his actions during a period of opposition or exile following his forcible seizures of power. No manuscript tradition, fragments, or ancient references to a letter or written defense by Pisistratus are recorded. If such a document ever existed, it is now lost and left no trace in the extant historical tradition. While Pisistratus's political actions were influential, no specific "Defense Letter" has a reception history. His historical significance derives from his role in Athenian history, including his patronage of cultural institutions like the Panathenaic festival.
| [25] | Σόλωνι. Οὔτε μόνος Ἑλλήνων τυραννίδι ἐπεθέμην οὔτε οὐ προσῆκόν μοι, γένους ὄντι τῶν Κοδριδῶν. ἀνέλαβον γὰρ ἐγὼ ἃ ὀμόσαντες Ἀθηναῖοι παρέξειν Κόδρῳ τε καὶ τῷ ἐκείνου γένει ἀφείλοντο. τά τε ἄλλα ἁμαρτάνω οὐδὲν ἢ περὶ θεοὺς ἢ περὶ ἀνθρώπους, ἀλλὰ καθ’ ὅ τι σὺ διέθηκας τοὺς θεσμοὺς Ἀθηναίοις ἐπιτρέπω πολιτεύειν. καὶ ἄμεινόν γε πολιτεύουσιν ἢ κατὰ δημοκρατίαν· οὐκ ἐῶ γὰρ οὐδένα ὑβρίζειν, καὶ ὁ τύραννος ἐγὼ οὐ πλέον τι φέρομαι τἀξιώματος καὶ τῆς τιμῆς, ὁποῖα δὲ καὶ τοῖς πρόσθεν βασιλεῦσιν ἦν τὰ ῥητὰ γέρα. ἀπάγει δὲ ἕκαστος Ἀθηναίων τοῦ αὑτοῦ κλήρου δεκάτην, οὐκ ἐμοί, ἀλλ’ ὁπόθεν ἔσται ἀναλοῦν εἴς τε θυσίας δημοτελεῖς καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο τῶν κοινῶν καὶ ἢν πόλεμος ἡμᾶς καταλάβῃ. σοὶ δ’ ἐγὼ οὔτι μέμφομαι μηνύσαντι τὴν ἐμὴν διάνοιαν· εὐνοίᾳ γὰρ τῆς πόλεως μᾶλλον ἢ κατὰ τὸ ἐμὸν ἔχθος ἐμήνυες, ἔτι τε ἀμαθίᾳ τῆς ἀρχῆς, ὁποίαν τινὰ ἐγὼ καταστήσομαι. ἐπεὶ μαθὼν τάχ’ ἂν ἠνέσχου καθισταμένου, οὐδ’ ἔφυγες. ἐπάνιθι τοίνυν οἴκαδε, πιστεύων μοι καὶ ἀνωμότῳ ἄχαρι μηδὲν πείσεσθαι Σόλωνα ἐκ Πεισιστράτου· ἴσθι γὰρ μηδ’ ἄλλον τινὰ πεπονθέναι τῶν ἐμοὶ ἐχθρῶν. εἰ δὲ ἀξιώσεις τῶν ἐμῶν φίλων εἷς εἶναι, ἔσῃ ἀνὰ πρώτους· οὐ γάρ τι ἐν σοὶ ἐνορῶ δολερὸν ἢ ἄπιστον· εἴτε ἄλλως Ἀθήνῃσιν οἰκεῖν, ἐπιτετράψεται. ἡμῶν δὲ οὕνεκα μὴ ἐστέρησο τῆς πατρίδος. |