Making History Mythical: The Golden Age of Peisistratus

This paper examines the association in Aristotle (Ath. Pol. 16.7) of the mythical Golden Age with the tyranny of Peisistratus and, by means of an array of both iconographic and textual evidence, suggests that Peisistratus made use of Golden Age imagery during his regime. This paper also discusses the tyrant's attempts to relieve the twin problems of overpopulation in the city and lack of cultivation of the countryside, and addresses the overall policy of coordination between astu and chōra.