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The power of Athens had been great before; but, now that the tyrants
were gone, it became greater than ever. The chief authority was
lodged with two persons, Clisthenes, of the family of the
Alcmaeonids, who is said to have been the persuader of the
Pythoness, and Isagoras, the son of Tisander, who belonged to a
noble house, but whose pedigree I am not able to trace further.
Howbeit his kinsmen offer sacrifice to the Carian Jupiter. These
two men strove together for the mastery; and Clisthenes, finding
himself the weaker, called to his aid the common people. Hereupon,
instead of the four tribes among which the Athenians had been divided
hitherto, Clisthenes made ten tribes, and parcelled out the
Athenians among them. He likewise changed the names of the tribes;
for whereas they had till now been called after Geleon, Aegicores,
Argades, and Hoples, the four sons of Ion, Clisthenes set these
names aside, and called his tribes after certain other heroes, all of
whom were native, except Ajax. Ajax was associated because,
although a foreigner, he was a neighbour and an ally of Athens.
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