Today's Passage
This passage occurs as tensions escalate between Athens and Sparta before the Peloponnesian War.
Crawley Translation (1910)
This interval was spent in sending embassies to Athens charged with complaints, in order to obtain as good a pretext for war as possible, in the event of her paying no attention to them. The first Lacedaemonian embassy was to order the Athenians to drive out the curse of the goddess; the history of which is as follows. In former generations there was an Athenian of the name of Cylon, a victor at the Olympic games, of good birth and powerful position, who had married a daughter of Theagenes, a Megarian, at that time tyrant of Megara. Now this Cylon was inquiring at Delphi; when he was told by the god to seize the Acropolis of Athens on the grand festival of Zeus. Accordingly, procuring a force from Theagenes and persuading his friends to join him, when the Olympic festival in Peloponnese came, he seized the Acropolis, with the intention of making himself tyrant, thinking that this was the grand festival of Zeus, and also an occasion appropriate for a victor at the Olympic games. Whether the grand festival that was meant was in Attica or elsewhere was a question which he never thought of, and which the oracle did not offer to solve. For the Athenians also have a festival which is called the grand festival of Zeus Meilichios or Gracious, viz., the Diasia. It is celebrated outside the city, and the whole people sacrifice not real victims but a number of bloodless offerings peculiar to the country. However, fancying he had chosen the right time, he made the attempt. As soon as the Athenians perceived it, they flocked in, one and all, from the country, and sat down, and laid siege to the citadel. But as time went on, weary of the labour of blockade, most of them departed; the responsibility of keeping guard being left to the nine archons, with plenary powers to arrange everything according to their good judgment. It must be known that at that time most political functions were discharged by the nine archons. Meanwhile Cylon and his besieged companions were distressed for want of food and water. Accordingly Cylon and his brother made their escape; but the rest being hard pressed, and some even dying of famine, seated themselves as suppliants at the altar in the Acropolis. The Athenians who were charged with the duty of keeping guard, when they saw them at the point of death in the temple, raised them up on the understanding that no harm should be done to them, led them out, and slew them. Some who as they passed by took refuge at the altars of the awful goddesses were dispatched on the spot. From this deed the men who killed them were called accursed and guilty against the goddess, they and their descendants. Accordingly these cursed ones were driven out by the Athenians, driven out again by Cleomenes of Lacedaemon and an Athenian faction; the living were driven out, and the bones of the dead were taken up; thus they were cast out. For all that, they came back afterwards, and their descendants are still in the city.
Modern Translation
During this period, the Spartans sent multiple delegations to Athens with various grievances, aiming to establish the strongest possible justification for war should the Athenians refuse their demands. The first Spartan embassy demanded that the Athenians expel those under the curse of the goddess. The background of this curse is as follows: In an earlier era, there lived an Athenian named Cylon, an Olympic champion of noble lineage and considerable influence, who had married the daughter of Theagenes, then the tyrant of Megara. When Cylon consulted the oracle at Delphi, the god instructed him to seize the Athenian Acropolis during the great festival of Zeus. Having secured troops from Theagenes and convinced his associates to join him, Cylon seized the Acropolis during the Olympic festival in the Peloponnese, intending to establish himself as tyrant. He believed this timing fulfilled the oracle's command, as it was a major festival of Zeus and seemed fitting for an Olympic victor. However, he never considered whether the oracle meant a festival in Attica or elsewhere, nor did the oracle clarify this ambiguity. The Athenians also celebrate a great festival of Zeus—the Diasia, honoring Zeus Meilichios (the Gracious)—held outside the city where citizens offer bloodless sacrifices traditional to their region rather than animal victims. Nevertheless, believing he had interpreted correctly, Cylon proceeded with his coup. When the Athenians discovered the plot, they rushed en masse from the countryside and besieged the citadel. As the blockade dragged on, most citizens grew weary and departed, leaving the nine archons with full authority to manage the situation as they saw fit. It should be noted that during this period, the nine archons exercised most governmental powers. Meanwhile, Cylon and his trapped supporters suffered from lack of food and water. Eventually, Cylon and his brother managed to escape, but the remaining conspirators, facing starvation with some already dying, took sanctuary as suppliants at the Acropolis altar. The Athenians responsible for the siege, seeing the suppliants near death in the sacred precinct, persuaded them to leave under guarantee of safety, then led them out and killed them. Some who sought refuge at the altars of the dread goddesses were murdered where they stood. Because of this sacrilege, those who committed these killings were declared accursed and guilty of offense against the goddess—both they and their descendants. The Athenians subsequently exiled these accursed individuals, and later Cleomenes of Sparta, allied with an Athenian faction, drove them out again. The living were banished and the bones of the dead exhumed and cast out. Despite these measures, they eventually returned, and their descendants remain in Athens to this day.
Historical Context
This passage occurs as tensions escalate between Athens and Sparta before the Peloponnesian War. The Spartans are manufacturing pretexts for conflict by demanding Athens expel the 'Alcmaeonid curse'—descendants of those who committed sacrilege during Cylon's failed coup attempt around 632 BCE. The demand targets Pericles, whose mother was an Alcmaeonid, attempting to undermine his political position. Thucydides provides the historical background of this curse, explaining how Cylon, misinterpreting a Delphic oracle, attempted to become tyrant of Athens. The resulting siege and sacrilegious murder of suppliants created a hereditary pollution that the Spartans now exploit for diplomatic advantage. This exemplifies how religious pretexts mask political motivations in interstate relations.
Key Themes
Annotations & References
The Alcmaeonid Curse
The curse originated from the sacrilegious killing of Cylon's supporters who had taken sanctuary. The Alcmaeonid family, particularly Megacles the archon, bore responsibility for this violation of religious asylum. The curse became a recurring political weapon against the family, including against Pericles.
Learn more →Delphic Oracle Ambiguity
The oracle's ambiguous instruction to seize the Acropolis 'at the greatest festival of Zeus' demonstrates typical Delphic obscurity. Cylon's misinterpretation—choosing the Olympic festival rather than the Athenian Diasia—illustrates how oracle recipients often heard what they wanted to hear.
Learn more →Athenian Archons
The nine archons were the chief magistrates of early Athens, exercising executive, judicial, and religious functions. Their role in suppressing Cylon's coup and the subsequent sacrilege shows their extensive powers before democratic reforms reduced their authority.
Learn more →Sacred Asylum in Greek Religion
Suppliants who took refuge at altars were considered under divine protection. Violating this sanctuary was severe sacrilege, creating ritual pollution (miasma) that could affect entire communities and persist through generations, as seen in the Alcmaeonid curse.
Learn more →Parallel Ancient Sources
Herodotus: Histories (Book 5.71)
Herodotus describes Cleomenes' expulsion of the accursed Alcmaeonidae from Athens, providing additional details about the political manipulation of the curse and its use by Spartan interests against Athenian leaders.
Read passage →Plutarch: Life of Solon (Chapter 12)
Plutarch recounts the Cylonian affair and its aftermath, including Solon's role in resolving the religious pollution through purification rituals performed by Epimenides of Crete, offering a resolution narrative absent from Thucydides.
Read passage →Aristotle: Constitution of the Athenians (Chapter 1)
Aristotle briefly mentions Cylon's conspiracy as part of early Athenian political development, contextualizing it within the transition from aristocracy toward democracy and the subsequent reforms of Draco and Solon.
Read passage →Discussion Questions
- How does the ambiguity of the Delphic oracle serve as a literary device to explore themes of interpretation, ambition, and divine will?
- What does the violation of sacred asylum reveal about the tension between political necessity and religious obligation in ancient Greek society?
- How does Sparta's manipulation of an ancient religious curse for contemporary political ends reflect patterns in the use of historical grievances in diplomacy?
- In what ways does the hereditary nature of the curse challenge modern notions of individual responsibility and collective guilt?