410 empires and dynasties: Greece this last fact he concluded that the long-dead inhabitants of these structures were confident in their security, and he speculated that such security must have come from a solid military command of the sea These speculations led him to think of the legendary king Minos, who was said to have ruled the Aegean Sea and eastern Mediterranean, and he named the civilization he uncovered “Minoan.” We know very little of this period apart from what archaeology can tell us, but we know that these palaces had a complex bureaucracy and great wealth Archaeologists have also uncovered the remains of an “empire” on the southern mainland of Greece, dating to the second millennium b.c.e Marked by immense, strongly fortified palaces, this civilization is known as “Mycenaean,” after Mycenae, one of the principal settlements of the period Mycenae was also the home of Agamemnon, the mythological king who, according to the Homeric Iliad and Odyssey, was the chief basileus, or “king,” of all the Greek kings who went to war against Troy Historians are quick to point out that Homeric poetry is not history and that there is no archaeological evidence that Agamemnon was a historical figure Still, mythology, poetry, and archaeology tend to support each other on broad points: The cities mentioned in the Iliad and Odyssey were major settlements during the Mycenaean Period (1600–1100 b.c.e.); the king of Mycenae claims supremacy in the Iliad and Odyssey; and the network of roads between Bronze Age settlements in southern Greece seem to converge on Mycenae It is therefore reasonable to assume that Mycenae was politically central and thus perhaps the center of something we can call an empire The palace at Mycenae was destroyed by forces unknown around 1150 b.c.e During the next few centuries the Greek world entered a “dark age,” so called because of the modesty of the archaeological remains and the lack of written sources Between 750 and 700 b.c.e the Greeks adapted the Phoenician alphabet for their own use, and the historical period began The archaeology of this period and accounts of oral traditions written centuries later point to an empire of sorts during the dark ages Around 800 b.c.e Greeks from Euboea, the long island that runs along the east coast of the Greek mainland, founded a trading colony at Al Mina, in what is now Syria Later in the eighth century b.c.e they founded another colony near the Bay of Naples During this period widespread finds of Euboean pottery throughout the Mediterranean suggest that the Euboean cities of Khalkís and Eretria were significant economic powers, and later accounts of a war between the two—the so-called Lelantine War that involved many other Greek cities—would suggest political and military power as well But the Lelantine War seems to have brought an end to Euboean power, and Euboea ceased to be a political force after around 680 b.c.e TYRANTS In 776 b.c.e the first Olympic Games were held in the Peloponnese, in southern Greece This marks a clear beginning of a consciousness among Greek speakers that despite their political disunity they were in some sense a single people The eighth through sixth centuries b.c.e were the so-called Archaic Period of Greece, and during this period many citystates underwent political revolutions At Corinth, Sicyon, Megara, Miletus, Mytilene, Sámos, and finally Athens, the rule of aristocratic families was overthrown, to be replaced by rule by tyrants According to the philosopher Aristotle, who wrote on political systems in the fourth century b.c.e., tyranny in Greece was a step away from monarchy and aristocracy and toward democracy The common people of a city, unhappy with their aristocratic rulers, would choose a “champion” and give him (they were always men) absolute authority; this new tyrannos (the Greek word that gives us “tyrant”) would enact economic and social reforms An example of this trend was the establishment of tyranny at Corinth around 650 b.c.e This city had long been ruled by the aristocratic family of the Bacchidae Cypselus (r ca 657–627 b.c.e.) himself was the son of a Bacchiad woman, Labda When the common people of Corinth revolted against the perceived injustice of Bacchiad rule, Cypselus emerged as their champion Ancient sources differ on the nature of his rule, with some saying that he was bloodthirsty but others noting that he never employed bodyguards, which would indicate that he enjoyed popular support Like many tyrants, he founded a dynasty, with his son Periander (r 627–586 b.c.e.) following him in rule As was often the case, the second generation of a tyrannical dynasty was less benign, and ancient sources universally describe Periander’s rule as one of violence and oppression Periander passed the tyranny to his son Psammetichus, who called himself Cypselus II This man was murdered, bringing an end to tyranny and ushering in a period of constitutional government with many democratic features At Athens tyranny came later, at the end of the sixth century b.c.e., after at least two close calls earlier In 632 b.c.e a man named Cylon attempted to set himself up as tyrant after winning fame at the Olympic Games His efforts were thwarted by members of the aristocratic family of the Alcmaeonidae, and Cylon was murdered in a temple—a scandalous violation of religious laws that would haunt the Alcmaeonidae for centuries Around 594 b.c.e a period of conflict between the aristocrats and the common citizens could easily have led to tyranny, following the pattern at Corinth But in this case both sides of the dispute agreed to allow Solon (ca 630–ca 560 b.c.e.), a prominent Athenian, to reform the constitution along more equitable, if not fully democratic, principles Then, in 546 b.c.e., Peisistratus established himself as tyrant in Athens by “taking the people into his party,” according to Aristotle, and disarming the aristocrats As with Cypselus, ancient writers disagree on the nature of Peisistratus’s reign, but Aristotle states that he ruled according to the laws Peisistratus also entertained dynastic ambitions, leaving power to his sons Hippias and Hipparchus These men, like