Gli esordi politici di Cleone (Theop. FGrHist 115 FF 92-94)

Three of the surviving fragments of Theopompus’ Philippika X, also known as the digression On the Demagogues, concern the demagogue Cleon. The author’s moralistic attitude toward history, particularly regarding the biographies of 6th and 5th century B.C. politicians, allow us to shed light on the first stage of Cleon’s politics. FF 93 and 94 are particularly useful to reconstruct the timing and the methods of the struggle between the demagogue and the horsemen that took place from Pericles’death until the definitive achievement of prostasia, obtained by Cleon thanksto the victory at Sphacteria. Furthermore, the analysis of the struggle aids better understanding of Cleon’s social origins