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org/stable/3296986 +DD'(('&)*IQWPIWIPMP*PH)MO
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LYKOPODES:A CONTRIBUTIONTO ATHENIAN MILITARY HISTORYFROM PEISISTRATOSTO KLEISTHENES* The Peisistratidtyrannycontributedin a numberof ways to the growthof a centralizedAthenianpolis. Although this was the resultof the policies of the tyrants, it was by no means a conscious objective. On the contrary, the evolutionof the centralized of polis was an unintentional outgrowth a deliberate to reduce the power which the clans exercised within Attic society, attempt since the weakening of these clans was one effective means by which the Peisistratidscould maintaintheir rule without serious challenge inside Attica. Crucialto this general policy was the disarmingof the Atheniancitizenry, a process that involved forbiddingthe mobilizationand probablyeven the training of the levies of the clans as well as the phratries,their dependentmilitary units.2The Peisistratidsreplacedthe local clan and phratrymilitias with their own personal army and bodyguard.This was probablythe first time a centralized military institutionwas maintainedby the polis of Athens. Given the obvious importanceof the militaryto the Peisistratidregime, the This paperwill information concerningtheirarmyis somewhatdisappointing.3 attempt to throw some light on the Peisistratid army by arguing that the of lykopodeswere the bodyguards the Atheniantyrants.By proposingan ethnic identificationfor thelykopodes,theirlegacy for the militaryinstitutionsas well as the culturaldevelopmentof Athens can be suggested. In the process, a new perspectiveon the historicalandpoliticalreferencesin Lysistrataemerges-the chorusof old men representan example of political reconciliationin Athenian history. Informationaboutthe lykopodes is found in Aristophanes,Lysistrata 66466, the scholia to line 665, and lexicographers who appear to be largely to dependentupon the scholia. In Lysistratathe chorusof old men, preparing and stormthe gates of the Akropolis,siezed by Lysistrata herfollowers, referto themselves as leukopodes: "But come on, Leukopodes!We who against Leipsydrioncame, when
*I wish to thankProfessorRalphHaskinsfor readingthis paperand makinga numberof helpful suggestions. 'For variousaspectsof the clan-stateand the conflicts within it, see R. Sealey, "Regionalism in ArchaicAthens" Historia 9 (1960) 155-80, and J.R. Ellis and G.R. Stanton, "FactionalConflict and Solon's Reforms" Phoenix 22 (1968) 95-110. C. Hignett,A Historyof theAthenianConstitution (Oxford 1952) 114ff., discusses the Peisistratidcontributionto the centralizationof the Athenianstate. 20n the relationship between the clans and phratries, see A. Andrewes, "Philochorus on Phratries"JHS 81 (1961) 1-14. 3Themilitaryforces amassedby Peisistratospriorto the battleof Pallene aredescribedin Hdt. 1. 61-2, and Ath. Pol. 15.7. But little is known aboutthe army used by the Peisistratidsto maintain theirpower for over thirtyyearsexcept for generalreferencesto bodyguards,foreign mercenaries, Cretanarchers,and Thessaliancavalry. For a bibliography,see Helmut Berve, Die Tyrannisbei den Griechen Vol. 2 (Munich 1967) 547.

308

MILITARY A CONTRIBUTION ATHENIAN TO HISTORY

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we were still (men). Now it is necessary to grow young again, and to rouse the entire body, and to shake off this old age!"4 It must be stressed that the manuscriptsread lykopodes, and the generally It acceptedemendationto leukopodesis baseduponmetricalconsiderations.5 is thatthe corruption occurredas a resultof marginalor interlinear very probable notations identifying leukopodes as lykopodes. To our knowledge Aristophanes, the playwright, never used the word lykopodes, a significant point which should be kept in mind when reading the scholia to Lys. 665: "lykopodes. They called the bodyguards(doruphorous)of the tyrants lykopodes, according to Aristotle. They took the young men of the household (tin oiki_tJ_n) physical protection. And they were called for becausethey always coveredtheirfeet with wolfskins so as not lykopodes to be scorchedby the ground. But some say (they were called)lykopodes because they had a wolf emblem on their shields. But Aristophanessays now that they meant the Alkmaionids. For the latter, when they undertook the war against Hippias the tyrant and the Peisistratids, fortified Leipsydrion.6
4

~X'ayETre, ~)dikkl I~

olnep bri AEtniWpLtov

iJLIEV 77X0,.LEV, o"r' ETL,

XEVK61T08Er9,, K~OGQ

yviv &Z~,
viv dPrnqfjaL 7rdktXLv, Kaya7rrTepi6aat 7r(iV TO o(iJ-ta Kahroo-euaOc-GaL TO yjqpaq ;oTi.

B. B. Rogers, The Comedies of Aristophanes Vol. IV (London 1911), Lysistrata, 664-71. Henceforth, all references to Lysistrata will be according to the line numeration in this edition. 5J. Van Leewen, Aristophanis Lysistrata (Leiden 1903), notes to lines 664-5, briefly discusses the basis for the emendation. XevK67ro&8- is based on Hesychius: XVK61ro08L. ol 'AXKK.Lauvi8aL,o01 LAiv 7TLtve 8wi 7Trjv 7oW Tro&aTvXLVK6rTqTa . . . '4oav ycip dci iinroWe&p.voL. See KurtLatte, HesychiiAlexandriniLexicon Vol. B (Copenhagen1966)613, no.

1392. 6V. Rose, Aristoteles Fragmenta (Teubner, Stuttgart1966), no. 394: : Schol. in Aristoph. Lysistr. 665 (Suidas) XvK61ro&8:

10

11 iXa(3ov Suidae cod. Brux. et edd. post Kuesterum:iftaXXov Schol. (codd. Suid. vulg. et Apostol. 10, 91) 112 KEKaXt. sic Rav. (Martin), Suid. 1 13 67nKvailc-OaL Naber 14-17 om. cod. Rav. See also the text providedby R.J. Hopper, "A Note on Aristophanes,Lysistrata665-70" CQ 10 (1960) 243. This brief article is mainly an effective attack on C.T. Seltman's manipulationof Lysistrata 665-70 and the scholia on 665 to support his contention that the triskeles was the shield-blazonof the Alkmaionids.The main short-comingof Hopper'snote is thatit does not deal with all the scholia and the informationthey contain pertainingto lykopodes.

Jutv 'AptLcr0ToT6., roz)q 7TIV TvpdvXvK6o70ag E'KaXovV,ccOs TOV aYKCpad4oPTa9 OV 80opV(p6pov0W ya.13 TOMOLKET(O E7T EiTi T-o) o o46araoT oTo oqvXaKc- iXa,6ov. XVK6Iro&eq & kako&ro T 0V9 XKO &Ci 7TttTO6 dxov TIovq rT68a9Q jKV Fp/LaoL KEKaXVUL/.EVO (XTTCE ILTlfTLKaa&EcrOa EK T0) 7LEPtLEXoVTO3.TLV' &i XVKo'T8aXq 8&dtT6 ixetv Eri TUjvdo-i-ri&w ioC9qAoV XVKOV. 6 & ApLVi 15 roTPdvqT iV-qr Toit3 vh'v XeyoLCAvovw 'AXK,atawviv8a' 013T0L yaip 7r6Xqtov capaiLevot trp&q '1r77riav TOP r.6pavvov Kai Tov'1 T6 HInrLrTpaTi8a9 E'TEiXuaaV AeLui8pLov. - (ad. v. 666)

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to It is necessary to deal first with the informationin the scholia attributed Aristophanes,since this is the sourceof muchconfusionandmisunderstanding; namely, thatthe lykopodeswere the Alkmaionidswho foughtagainstHippiasat Severalpossible reasonscan be given for rejectingthis identificaLeipsydrion.7 tion. If "Aristophanes" is the playwrighthimself, then there is no evidential basis for it, since the author of Lysistrata did not actually use the term lykopodes. If the sourcefor the scholium was Aristophanesof Byzantium,the identificationmay still be derived ultimatelyfrom a corruptedtext of Lysistrais ta, since the grammarian known to have writtena commentaryon the works of the more famous playwright. On the otherhand, it can be arguedthatleukopodesin Lys. 665 was intended by Aristophanesas a pun on lykopodes. And since the old men seem to be Alkmaionids,the term lykopodesmust be a nicknamefor these clansmen.8The is weakness of this interpretation that it rests upon an inference drawn from several statementsmade by the old men in Lysistrata. In lines 274-86 they allude to the time they besieged Kleomenes who had just intervened in Athenianaffairs against Kleisthenes, the head of the Alkmaionidclan. Lines 619-26 appearto referto a time when the choruswas opposed to the tyrannyof Hippias. The most importantpassage occurs in lines 665-66, which refer to Leipsydrion where the Alkmaionids fought valiantly against the army of Hippias. Finally lines 632-34 find the old men strikingthe pose of the so-called tyrannicides,andquotingthe Harmodiosskolia in a flurryof patrioticrhetoric. Yet it must be insisted that Aristophanesdid not identify the chorus of old men in the text of Lysistrata, much less call them Alkmaionids. Nor do these passagesjustify such an identificationfor reasons to be discussed below. The referenceto Leipsydrion,however, merits special consideration,since it proif vides the primarybasis for identifying the lykopodesas Alkmaionids;9 they were in fact, this would be a very troublesome passage. Leipsydrion repforces opposingtyrannyin Athens, so why resenteda defeat for the aristocratic should the chorus have sought inspirationby alluding to it??1Indeed, if the analogy between the old men besieging the women on the Akropolis and the historicalbattle of Leipsydrionis strictly maintained,then the chorus, as the besiegers, must be comparedto the soldiers of the Peisistratidsattackingthe Alkmaionids,who were amongthe fortifiersat Leipsydrion.This identification is supportedby the text itself which explicitly portraysthe old men as the The at attackers Leipsydrion,not its defenders.11 identificationof thelykopodes of as the bodyguards the tyrantsfound in the scholia can now be consideredfor its historical value. The information concerningthe lykopodesfollowing Aristotlein the scholia is independentof any historicaldatarelatingto the old men in Lysistrata, and,
7Cf. Photius in Rose, op. cit. XvKOTroSa;: 'ApU'T7oparrod TOV; AvcrLo-rTparr. 7rp6d'I7rTriav CEri dywvLrac.LEvov,s AelivSpiV Wq yevvaiovs. SSuggestedby Rogers, op. cit., 84, note on line 664. 9See note 7 above. 1?Seethe discussion by Hopper, op. cit., 254-6, and especially note 7. Hopper's discussion, however, does not satisfactorilyeliminate the problem. in Eri "Lys. 665-6: diTfrEp AEiLnSopLov rji'h6oov. See i7ri LS, whereparallelpassagesarecited in whicheiri with the accusativeis used in a hostile sense. Note thatPhotiuschangesLeipsydrionto the dative. See note 7 above.

A CONTRIBUTION TO ATHENIAN MILITARY HISTORY

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as will be shown below, is to a remarkable degree historicallycoherent.First, the lykopodesweredoruphoroiof the tyrants;second, they were also oiketai of the tyrants;third, the name lykopodes is derived eitherfrom the fact thatthese soldiers wore wolfskin shoes, or placed a wolf emblem on their shields. Except for the scholium describing the lykopodes as oiketai, the literary evidence concerning the doruphoroi, and in fact all the Peisistratidsoldiers after546 B.C., supportsthe view thatthey were of foreign origin.12Although the tyrantsmay have used Athenianswho were "household retainers"in their bodyguardand army, the literaturedoes not mention them. It does indicate, however, that Peisistratosobtained soldiers from several foreign sources during his second exile, and thatthese were crucialto his victory at Pallene when he became tyrantfor the thirdtime.'3 After this battlePeisistratosdisarmedthe Athenian citizens and firmly established his tyranny by employing many (epikouroipolloi). Moreover,Thucydidesappearsto make foreignmercenaries no distinctionbetweenthedoruphoroiandepikouroiwho were servingHippias late in his reign.14With the weight of the literary evidence supportingthe foreign origins of the Peisistratidmilitarypersonnel, how could the lykopodes be doruphoroi and oiketai at the same time? The answervery likely is thatthe lykopodeswere Argive soldiers. The family ties between Peisistratos and Argos are well known; he was marriedto an Argive noble womannamedTimonassawhose handhadbeen soughtmorethan ambitions.15 once by men with tyrannical Accordingto theAthenaionPoliteia, this union was directlyresponsiblefor his obtainingat Pallene the service of a sizable force of one thousand Argives-soldiers whom Herodotos called no misthotoi, i.e., mercenaries;16 matterhow strong their family ties with the Peisistratids,it is unlikely that their supportwent unrewarded.Peisistratosis also said to have had two sons by Timonassa;one of these, Hegesistratos, is supposedto have led the Argive soldiers into battleat Pallene. This latterclaim has certainchronologicaldifficulties; however, for the purposesof the present argumentit serves to strengthenthe Peisistratidfamily links with this substantial Argive force which saw service under the tyranny.'7Moreover, its con'2Martin Ostwald, Nomos and the Beginnings of the AthenianDemocracy (Oxford 1969) 141, cites Hdt. 1. 59. 5 in stressing the foreign origin of the 8opv,o6poL. '3Hdt. 1. 61-2, and Ath. Pol. 15. 2. O4n the disarming of the Athenians, see Hdt. 1. 64. 1, and Ath. Pol. 15.3. Hdt. 1. 64. 1 mentionsthe manymercenaries used to securefirmly Peisistratos'tyranny.See Thuc. 6. 57. 4, and 58. 2, for the 8opvyopoL ande'triKovpot. Anotherexample of foreign troopsin the tyrants'employ is the Thessaliancavalrywhich Hippiasused to defend Attica againstSpartanefforts to overthrow him, according to Hdt. 5. 63. 3-63, and Ath. Pol. 19. 5-6. 15Ath. Pol. 17. 3-4. 16Ath. Pol. 17. 4, Hdt. 1. 64. 1. the "7For half-Argive sons of Peisistratos, Iophon and Hegesistratos, see Ath. Pol. 17. 3-4, which also mentionsHegesistratos'commandat Pallene. Forthechronologicalproblemssurrounding Hegesistratos' tender age in 546 B.C.,cf. G.V. Sumner, "Notes on the Chronological Problemsin the Aristotelian'AOQvaciwv IIoXtrEia" CQ 11 (1961) 47-8, andhis proposedchanges in the chronology of the Peisistratidtyranny;also cf. Mabel Lang, "The Generationof Peisistratus" AJP 75 (1954) 61, and 67. See more recently, James S. Ruebel, "The Tyrannies of Peisistratos" GRBS 14 (1973) 133-34, who proposes 534 for Pallene when Hegesistratoswould have been at least 18 years of age.

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commission given Hegesistinuedservice may be inferredfrom the important tratosto defend the newly-acquiredAthenian territoryat Sigeion, as well as fromthe fact thatSpartan militaryintervention againstthe tyrannyof Hippiasis attributed the friendship(philia) between the Peisistratidsand Argos.18 to Finally, the identificationof the lykopodes as Argive bodyguardshelps to explain the origin of the name. The scholia state that lykopodes was derived eitherfromthe fact thatthese soldiers wore wolfskin shoes or thatthey borethe wolf as an emblem on their shields. On the face of it, the latterexplanation derivationfor the nameof an important seems a moreplausibleand appropriate infantryunit with a large wolf head blazonon its shields.19On the basis of this proposedArgive identificationfor the lykopodes, theiremblem becomes quite a meaningful-for the wolf was as important symbol to Argos as the owl was to Athens. Argos adopted the wolf as her national emblem because one of the oldest and most important religious sanctuaries there was that of Apollo Lykeios; Sophokles called the agora of Argos tou lykoktonoutheou agora Lykeios since that was the location of the temple of the god.20 The wolf on prominently Argivecoins fromthe time of theirearliestminting.21 appeared To summarize,thereis a historicalcompatibilitywith regardto almostall of the information given in the scholia on lykopodes prior to the citing of Aristophanes.This not only serves to lend credenceto the identificationof the lykopodesas the doruphoroiof the Peisistratids,but also tends to confirmtheir Argive nationality. The relianceuponArgive bodyguardswhose use of the wolf emblemreflects theircontinueddevotionto the homeland'smajorcult providesa very practical motive for Peisistratos' constructionof the Athenian Lykeion,22a structure of builtin the proximityof a sanctuary Apollo Lykeiosfrom which the Lykeion

i8Hdt. 5. 94 describes Hegesistratos'command at Sigeion. Ath. Pol. 19. 4-5 emphasizes the continuingfriendshipbetween the Peisistratidsand Argos in 511/10 B.C. The reason for Argives seeking lengthy military service in Athens in addition to family connections is difficult to determine,since the local historyof Argos is even less knownthanthatof Athens. Domestic issues were, however, sometimes resolved by the exiling of an entire clan which might also include associatedretainersor phratries.Political, social, andeconomic dislocationsfollowing a periodof war or a serious militarydefeat might have occasioned such a development. are 19They supposedto have wornshoes to protecttheirfeet from being burnt;but why wolfskin shoes? -ro8eS may be explained as analagous to pedites with the meaning "foot soldiers." Elektra6; cf. PausaniasII. 19, and K. Wernicke, "Apollon," RE 2, coll. 58-59. 20Sophokles 21BarclayV. Head, Historia Numorum(2nd ed., Oxford 1911), 437. 22F. Jacoby, FGrH 115, F 136: ev r7cv trap' 'AFOrvaiovqs yvzvaoriwvIEa7rlTr AVKE?OV, 6 4LX6XopoS 8' ev rq 8 HeptKXeovVs(ipr-iV OE6ro/ltroq iJLVev Tr. Ka nHurTo-TpaTov 7ro&tora&, E7rTLaTaTovvTO5 avto yevEa-OaL. Moder scholarshave tendedto favor Philochoros'datingof the Lykeion. Cf. W. Judeich, Topographievon Athen (2nd ed., Munich 1931) 415. Jacoby, FGrH 328, F 37, also has more confidence in Philochoros. W. Robert Connor, Theopompos and Fifth-CenturyAthens (Washington, D.C. 1968) 46, believes that Theopompos should not be discounted:"The matteris, however, still open and any suspicion that Theopompusdeliberately an transferred accomplishmentof Pericles to Pisistratus, either to detract from his glory or to suggest a comparisonbetween him and Pisistratus,would be premature."One might add thatthe and militaryfunction of the AVKeLOV the legendaryaccount preservedin Aristotleregardingthe residenceof the Polemarchsuggest a datemuchearlierthanPericlesfor Epilykeionas the traditional this gymnasium. See below, note 24.

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derived its name.23During the era of the tyrants, resident aliens of Argive descent such as the lykopodes would naturallyhave opted to worship at the temple of Apollo Lykeios. Recognizing the popularityof this shrineamonghis Argive bodyguards,Peisistratosembellished the sanctuaryarea with the constructionof the gymnasium. This area very likely became the center of their daily activity. It is now apparentwhy the Lykeion became the focal point for the military activities of Athens. The long association of the Argive soldiers with this particulargymnasium during the Peisistratid tyranny gave the Lykeion its permanentmartial character.The gymnasium became the residence for the Polemarch,the militaryparadegroundas well as the point of mobilizationfor the Athenian army.24 Finally, the Argive bodyguardmay also have hadan influenceon the cultural development of Athens. The prominence of these soldiers within the Peisistratidregime suggests an immediatereason for the tyrants'interestin Homeric and rhapsodiccontests in the recently createdAthenianpublic festivals.25An alliance with Argos and the presence of Argive soldiers in the armymust have influenced the natureand content of literarymaterialused or producedduring the Peisistratid at least as muchas any otherpossible politicalconsideration. era The ideological value andthe spiritualsupportwhich the Homericepics gave to Argos had already been recognized by Kleisthenes, the tyrant of Sikyon. Engaged in a war with Argos about 570 B.C., he forbadethe public competitions of the rhapsodesin Sikyon because Argos and the Argives were continually glorified in Homer's poems.26 It is at least plausible that the opposite attitudeof the Peisistratidswas due to their own close ties with Argos, the heroic home of Apollo Lykeios, and with the lykopodes in their own army. An objectionmight be raisedagainstthe view thatpermanent long lasting or Athenian military and cultural features developed from such a tyrannical institutionas the lykopodes;indeedsuch an impactis all the less likely given the fact that these bodyguardswere of foreign origin. A reaction following the tyrannywould have negated whatever innovationsforeign troops might have introduced.One rejoinder might stressthe manyknownexamplesof permanent
23PausaniasI, 19. 3-4; see also K. Wernicke, "Apollon," RE 2, coll. 58-59. Peisistratos at possibly introducedthe cult of Apollo AVKfILO Athens as a gestureto accommodatehis Argive soldiers and to secure their loyalty to his regime. This could explain why the temple and the gymnasium associated with it were located outside the city walls. Foreignersand Athenians of mixed or alien parentagecustomarilyused gymnasiaoutside the city limits:Plutarch,Themistokles 1. 24For the residence of the Polemarch see Ath. Pol., 3, and Suidas, s.v. dpxov; cf. K. of Wachsmuth,"Epilykeion," RE 6, col. 158. For the militarycharacter the Lykeion, see Suidas, s.v. AVKeLOv;Aristophanes, Peace, 358; Xenophon, Hellenika 1. 33. 25Itnow appearsdoubtful that Peisistratos was responsible for an Athenianedition of Homer which he adoptedfor the Panathenaic festival: J.A. Davison, "Peisistratosand Homer" TAPA86 (1955) 1-21. However, familiaritywith Homeric themes, especially those of the Iliad, appeared earliest in Athens only with the Peisistratidtyranny. See Davison, 14. Peisistratos'regulationof the rhapsodicrecitationsseems to be a generally acceptedfact. For a bibliography,see H. Berve, op. cit. II, 552-53. 26Hdt.5. 67. 1; see also Jacoby, FGrH 328, F 209, regardingthe laterclaims thatHomerwas in fact from Argos.

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tyranny;moreover,a case could be madefor the legacies left by the Peisistratid of the tyrannyespecially within the broader(or lower) elements of popularity privilege. Yet these rebuttals society outsidethe narrowconfines of aristocratic need only be mentioned, since emphasis here will be given to the more significant continuity which characterizedthe military institutionof Athens from the era of the tyrannyinto that of the Kleisthenic reforms. has Recentscholarship shownthattheforeignsoldiersin the Peisistratid army survived the fall of the tyranny, and remained to form the core of the new Kleisthenicarmyof Atheniancitizens. Afterthe fall of Hippias, Kleisthenes, in orderto compete successfully for political power againstIsagoras,offered the rights of citizenship to certain "slaves" and many "foreigners" (douloi metoikoi and polloi xenoi) living in Athens.27These foreigners have been regardedas alien craftsmenwho were encouragedto immigrateto traditionally Athens duringthe tyranny.28 However, ProfessorPeterJ. Bicknell has argued thatthe polloi xenoi were foreign mercenariesto whom the quiteconvincingly had Peisistratids very likely given politicalrights-privileges of which they had been deprivedupon the overthrowof Hippias.29Bicknell's thesis furnishesa of betterunderstanding why Isagorasfelt compelled to appealto Kleomenesof Spartajust after Isagoras had been elected to the chief archonshipover the Alkmaionid; for, as a result of his offer of enfranchisement, Kleisthenes obtained the supportof professionally trained soldiers. One might add that since Kleomenes' interventionagainst Hippias is in part explained by the latter's friendship with Argos, the same motive might have applied to Kleomenes' quick response to Isagoras' appeal against Kleisthenes who had obtainedthe political supportof the Argive bodyguardof the Peisistratids.30 Otherdevelopments which Bicknell's hypothesis helps to clarify include the defeat of Kleomenes and his Spartans, together with Isagoras and his three hundredsupporters,certain features of Kleisthenes' tribal reforms, and the early military successes of the new Kleisthenic army with its core of exPeisistratidmercenariesagainst Boiotia and Chalkis.31 On the basis of Bicknell's thesis, it is now quite apparenthow the cultural legacy of the Argive lykopodes could survive the Peisistratidtyranny and become a permanent featureof Athenianlife. The lykopodes, the very soldiers who had protectedthe tyrantsagainst noble assassins and may have fought of againstthe Alkmaionidsat Leipsydrion,became the active supporters Kleisthenes along with other xenoi whom this ambitious noblemanenfranchised. Such a dramaticexample of political reconciliationcould hardlyhave been lost on a keen observerof political behavior like Aristophanes.Throughthe Lysistrata, a play in which the principleof diallage occupied so prominenta
of 27Aristotle,Politics, 1275b, 36-37, and Donald Kagan, "The Enfranchisement Aliens by Cleisthenes" Historia 12 (1963) 41-46. 28Hignett,op. cit., 133. 29Peter Bicknell, "Whom Did KleisthenesEnfranchize?"La Parola del Passato 124 (1969) J. 34-37. Bicknelltakesfevot in "its latertechnicalsense of foreignmercenaries."Also cf. Ostwald, op. cit. 30Ath.Pol. 19. 4-5. 31Bicknell, op. cit., 36-37.

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role, the comedian was attemptingto persuadehis audience of the wisdom of peace with Sparta.Certainlythe reconciliationof the lykopodes(and the other xenoi) with Kleisthenes and his Alkmaionid political faction after Hippias' downfall would have furnisheda perfect example of the political behaviorhe recommendedin this play. Keeping such a perspectivein mind helps to clarify severalkey passagesin Lysistrata, as well as to bringout hithertounrecognized humor. 11.274-286 The women seizing the Akropolisremindedthe old men of the time they had besieged Kleomenes there. Neither Kleisthenes nor the Alkmaionids were presenton that historical occasion (508/7 B.C.), since the formerhad fled, and Kleomenes had expelled the Alkmaionids.32 Moreover, line 282 indicates a considerable degree of military organizationfor those remaining in Athens, which is quite surprisingsince the citizens had been disarmed and untrainedfor at least a generation. The old men appearto be professional soldiers, the xenoi or ex-mercenaries, of the Peisistratidarmy. I. 614 eleutheros, on the lips of former douloi metoikoi, might have been amusing to the audience. Note also that at least some of the chorus wore the exomis, commonly used by slaves: 1. 662. 11.615-618 This is a very importantpassage for the identityof the old men, and, given the thesis of this paper, reflects considerableirony. Strippingoff theiroutergarments,they preparefor the immediatebattleagainstthe women, toutoi toi pragmati. The tadi in 1. 616, however, must referto the clothes they hold in their hands, a reality probably made obvious to the audience by a gesture.33Smelling the stench of their own garments, the old men recall the numerousother more importantbattles, pragmaton, they have fought as a group. The following line (618), which contains a significant double entendre--" andmost of all I smell the tyrannyof Hippias-" refersnot only to the presentsituationand theirfear thatthe women are conspiringto establisha tyranny, but is also (given the interpretationhere of the previous lines) a reflectionuponthe old men themselves and theirclothes. The humorcould not be missed by the audience. 11. 627-631 This passage serves to prepare the audience for the pun on lykopodes, the tyrants' bodyguard, in lines 664-5: aspidas (line 627), lykoi (line 629), tyrannidi (line 630), phylaxomai (line 631). Despite the general sense of the situationin the play, the wordsaredesigned to remindthe audience that, ironically, at least some of these old men had been lykopodes underthe Peisistratidtyranny.kai diallatteinpros hemas andrasinLakonikoisin line 628 expressesthe mainidea of the play for the first time. Despite theiroppositionto the idea, the old men standbefore the audience symbolically representing this concept in Athenian history. 11.632-634 A directquotationfrom the Harmodiosskolia, it is in this context a source of amusement,constitutinga strikingreminderof the political switch madeby the tyrants'ex-mercenaries,who undoubtedlyembracedthe ideology
32Hdt.5. 71. 1, andAth. Pol. 20. 2. The storyof the siege of Kleomenesis told in Hdt. 5. 72, and Ath. Pol. 20. 3, wherethe besiegersare described, respectivelyas Athenaionde hoi loipoi, and ho demos. the 3Compare parallelra&i in line 637, where the women take off their cloaks for the fight.

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of the Kleisthenic reform including the glorification of the so-called tyrannicides.34 11.664-666 Finally, afterfurtherprovocation,the old men prepareto storm within. Leukopodesmeans "white the Akropolis with the women barricaded a feet" andmay referto the old men being bare-footed.It is undoubtedly punon and its usage here bringsout once again not only the ironicrole the lykopodes, old men play in this comedy but also the historicalambiguitythey represent. hoiper epi Leipsydrionelthomen. The lykopodescame against Leipsydrionas attackers;they were not its aristocraticdefenders. In conclusion, the lykopodes were Argive bodyguards of the Athenian tyrants; they acquiredthis name fromthe emblem of Apollo Lykeiosupontheir shields. Their presence in Athens may perhapshave resultedin the establishment of a sanctuaryto this divinity, but most certainlyfurnishesan explanation for the militarycharacterof the Lykeion. The Lykeion became a lasting focal point for the militarylife of the city because the foreign soldiers of the Peisistratidsprovided the foundation for the Kleisthenic army of Athenian citizens following the overthrow of Hippias. Aristophanes recognized the the utility of this historicalexample of reconciliationin Lysistrata, portraying chorus of old men as the Peisistratid douloi metoikoi, polloi xenoi, and lykopodes, all of whom Kleisthenes made neopolitai. The chorus, thereby, became not only a vehicle for ironic humor, but also provided a significant example of the political policy of reconciliation which Aristophanes was advocating in an attemptto ward off disaster from the city. The Universityof Tennessee, Knoxville J. D. BING

34See Ostwald, op. cit., 121-136, for a discussion of the HarmodiosSkolia.