Person

Cylon of Athens

fl. c. 640–632 BCE · 7th century BCE

Cylon was an Athenian noble and Olympic victor who tried to make himself tyrant of Athens, probably in 632 BCE, with help from his father-in-law Theagenes, tyrant of Megara. The coup failed; Cylon escaped, but his followers were killed after taking sanctuary, and the curse laid on the Alcmaeonid family, blamed for the killings, troubled Athenian politics for generations.

Mentioned in 1 state history

Megara

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Cylon of Athens. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/cylon-of-athens
MLA
“Cylon of Athens.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/cylon-of-athens. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Cylon of Athens.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/cylon-of-athens.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Cylon of Athens’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/cylon-of-athens (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻