B.C. During the whole of the intervening period the Messenians
disappear from history. The country called Messenia in the map
became a portion of Laconia, which thus extended across the south
of Pelponnesus from the eastern to the western sea.



CHAPTER V.

THE EARLY HISTORY OF ATHENS, DOWN TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF
DEMOCRACY BY CLISTHENES, B.C. 510.

Sparta was the only state in Greece which continued to retain the
kingly form of government during the brilliant period of Grecian
history. In all other parts of Greece royalty had been abolished
at as early age, and various forms of republican government
established in its stead. The abolition of royalty was first
followed by an Oligarchy or the government of the Few.
Democracy, or the government of the Many, was of later growth.
It was not from the people that the oligarchies received their
first and greatest blow. They were generally overthrown by the
usurpers, to whom the Greeks gave the name of TYRANTS. [The
Greek word Tyrant does not correspond in meaning to the same word
in the English language. It signifies simply an irresponsible
ruler, and may, therefore, be more correctly rendered by the term
Despot.]

The rise of the Tyrants seems to have taken place about the same
time in a large number of the Greek cities. In most cases they
belonged to the nobles, and they generally became masters of the