Cylon, an Athenian noble and Olympic victor…
633 BCE to 622 BCE
Cylon, an Athenian noble and Olympic victor during the archonship of Megacles, probably in 632 BCE, had attempted to solve social discontent in Athens by establishing a tyranny, which ends in failure.
Megacles directs the treacherous and sacrilegious slaughter of Cylon and his supporters at an altar sanctuary on the Acropolis (632 BCE), which bloody act brings a curse on the murderers, leads to a vendetta, and results in the banishment of Megacles' family.
Megacles is convicted of killing Cylon (who had taken refuge on the Acropolis as a suppliant of Athena) and is exiled from the city, along with all the other members of his genos, the Alcmaeonidae.
The Alcmaeonidae inherit a miasma ("stain") that will last for generations among Megacles' descendants.
Megacles' son Alcmaeon may have taken refuge at this time in …