Megacles orMegakles (Ancient Greek:Μεγακλῆς) was the name of several notable men of ancientAthens, as well as anofficer ofPyrrhus of Epirus.
The first Megacles that appears was legendaryarchon of Athens from 922 BC to 892 BC.
The second Megacles was a member of theAlcmaeonidae family, and thearchon eponymous in 632 BC whenCylon made his unsuccessful attempt to take over Athens. Megacles was convicted of killing Cylon's supporters (who had taken refuge on theAcropolis as suppliants ofAthena) and was exiled from the city, along with all the other members of hisgenos, the Alcmaeonidae. The Alcmaeonidae inherited amiasma ("stain") that lasted for generations among Megacles' descendants.
The third Megacles, the grandson of the above eponymous archon, son ofAlcmaeon and member of theAlcmaeonidae family, was an opponent ofPisistratus in the 6th century BC. He drove out Pisistratus during the latter's first reign astyrant in 560 BC, but the two then made an alliance with each other, and Pisistratus married Megacles' daughter.Herodotus says that they also tricked the Athenians into believing Athena herself had arrived to proclaim Pisistratus tyrant, by dressing up a woman namedPhye as the goddess, although Herodotus himself casts doubt on the truth of this story.[1] However, Megacles turned against Pisistratus when Pisistratus refused to have children with Megacles' daughter, which brought an end to the second tyranny.[2]
This Megacles earlier had competed withHippocleides, a futurearchon of Athens, to marryAgarista, the daughter ofCleisthenes of Sicyon. They had two sons. The elder wasHippocrates, whose children were another Megacles (ostracized 486 BC) and a daughter Agariste, the mother ofPericles andAriphron (himself the father ofHippocrates of Athens who died 424 BC). The younger son wasCleisthenes, who was allegedly the grandfather ofDeinomache (or Dinomache), mother ofAlcibiades (d. 404 BC). Thus, Megacles the elder was great-grandfather ofPericles and the great-great-grandfather ofAlcibiades.
The fourth Megacles, grandson of the above, son of Hippocrates, and nephew ofCleisthenes is sometimes described as the father ofDeinomache and thus the maternal grandfather ofAlcibiades. Other sources, notablyWilliam Smith, insist that his uncleCleisthenes was the grandfather of Alcibiades.
In 490 BC, in the aftermath of theBattle of Marathon, a shield-signal was raised onMount Pentelicon above Marathon supposedly to signal the Persians to sail aroundCape Sounion and attack the unguarded city of Athens.Herodotus reports that the Alcmaeonidae were widely believed to have been behind this act of treachery.[3] With Megacles being the leading figure of the Alcmaeonid clan at the time, a lingering suspicion ofmedism hung over him.
In 486 BC, Megacles wasostracised. Numerousostraca have been found with comments on them making reference to his ostentatious wealth and love of luxury.[4]
He was honored byPindar as exiled winner in the chariot race ofPythian Games 486 BC.[5]
Megacles of Epirus was an officer in the service ofPyrrhus of Epirus, who accompanied that monarch on hisexpedition to Italy, 280 BC. He is mentioned as accompanying Pyrrhus when he reconnoitered the Roman camp previous to thebattle of Heraclea; and in that action was the means of saving the king's life, by exchanging armour with him, and thus directing the efforts of the assailants upon himself, instead of Pyrrhus. He fell a victim to his devotion, being slain by a Roman namedPublius Decius Mus.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Megacles".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. (Plut. Pyrrh. 16, 17; Zonar. viii. 3.)