Famous Men of Greece · Ch. XII · Unit 4: Sparta and Athens
17. Pisistratus the Tyrant
Goal: Your child can explain how Pisistratus made himself master of Athens and name good things he did for the city.
You'll need
- A notebook or paper and colored pencils
- Your timeline (a long strip of paper on the wall, or a notebook page)
What's in the book
Pisistratus wins the people with kindness, then wounds himself and gets a bodyguard, which he uses to seize the Acropolis. Twice banished, he comes back, once with a tall girl dressed as Minerva. As "tyrant" he puts idle people to work, opens his library, and has Homer's poems put in order as the Iliad and the Odyssey. He died in 527 B.C.
The lesson, step by step
Set the scene
Look at a picture of the Acropolis of Athens (search for one): a high, rocky hill with flat top, the citadel of the city.
Read the chapter together
Read pages 123–127 aloud, or let your child read and help with the hard names.
Narration
Close the book. Ask your child to tell the story back in their own words, from the beginning. Don't correct as they go; just listen. If they get stuck, use a prompt:
- How did Pisistratus make the people love him?
- What trick did he play with his wounds?
- How did he come back to Athens the first time he was banished?
- What did he do with Homer's poems?
Talk it over
Ask:
1. Why did Solon beg the people not to give Pisistratus a guard?
2. In Greece, a "tyrant" was anyone who took the power of a king. Was Pisistratus a cruel ruler?
3. Is it all right to trick people if you then rule them well?
Remember it
"Men of Athens!" he cried, "See what my enemies have done to me because I am a friend of the people."
Athens never had a wiser or better ruler than Pisistratus.
Add to your timeline
Add "527 B.C.: death of Pisistratus." Notice how it comes after Solon.
Afterwards
Your child adds the word "tyrant" to the Greek words page, with both meanings: the Greek one and today's.
Answers to the book's problems
1. He saw that Pisistratus would use the guard to make himself master of Athens. 2. No; the book says he was not as harsh as the word suggests, but he was strict. 3. Let your child think it through; there is no single right answer, but trickery broke the trust of the people.
Worked out for this site from the scan. If a number in your copy differs, trust the book.