22. A Good Tyrant Removed the Obstacle of Aristocratic Power From the Path of Democracy, and a Bad Tyrant Triggered a Democratic Revolution
One of the exiles chased out of Athens by Hippias was Cleisthenes (flourished late 6th Century, BC). He began plotting with other exiles to overthrow the city’s tyrant. Invasion was considered, but Hippias had a well-equipped army, while the exiles did not, and lacked the funds for an army of their own. So they sought to enlist the help of Sparta, which had the Greek world’s best army, to liberate Athens.
To get help from the Spartans, who were known for their piety, the exiles bribed the priests of Delphi, the Greek world’s most important religious site and home of the Oracle of Delphi. For centuries, the Oracle had given petitioners cryptic answers that could be interpreted in a variety of ways. Soon as Cleisthenes bribed the priests, the Oracle suddenly began giving every Spartan petitioner who showed up the same straightforward and decidedly not cryptic answer: “Liberate Athens!“. So the Spartans marched into Attica in 508 BC, chased out Hippias and liberated Athens, then marched back home. The victors then began the messy process of creating democracy.