Kemeng's life

His ancestors were a famous noble family in Athens. According to Herodotus' records, his uncle's grandfather, the elder Mitterrand, was a very powerful figure in Athens when he was a tyrant in peisistratus. In 524 BC, the old Mithiades served as consul. Because of his disagreement with peisistratus, he called a group of people who were willing to leave Athens with him to establish a colony in Thrace. Kemeng's grandfather, also known as Kemeng, is a monopoly in Athens. He once won the racing car three times with a team of horses at the Olympia. Kemeng's father, Mithiades, was also the consul of Athens, and later became the tyrant of Nessus, Hellson, a colony in Thrace. Mithiades married Hegsipilie, the daughter of King Thrace. Rong Meng was born by Hegesipilie. Thucydides, a famous historian, is a relative of Kemeng.

In 489 BC, Mitterrand was fined 5 talents for failing to attack Palos Island, and died in prison because he could not pay the money. According to the laws of Athens, when the father dies, the children are responsible for paying the fine. Kemeng was jailed for this. Only because his half-sister, Erpini Ka, married Carias, a famous rich man in Athens, who paid the fine on his behalf, did he regain his freedom and regain his citizenship. Kemeng married Aesop, the granddaughter of Megacles. A contemporary poet of Kemeng said that Kemeng was not interested in the skills studied by ordinary Greeks at that time, and he didn't like dancing and writing. He is not good at words and indulges in debauchery, but he is bold, open-minded and sincere.

in 48 BC, on the eve of the battle of Salamis, when most Athenians were very reluctant to leave their homeland for generations, Kemeng resolutely supported the plan of Temistocles to abandon the city and fight at sea. Plutarch gave a very vivid account of Kemeng's actions at that time. He wrote that when most Athenian citizens were shocked by Temistocles' bold plan, Kemeng, surrounded by his companions, appeared in the Acropolis with a big smile. He dedicated the bit in his hand to Athena, took out a shield hanging from the temple as a weapon, and resolutely went down to the sea, setting a fearless example for everyone. In the battle of Salamis, Kemon won the public's trust for his bravery. Soon, he was elected to the post of "general". After that, he was elected every year until 461 BC. In the long years, Kemeng has been brave and brave, and has made great achievements for Athens. In 478 BC, he assisted Aristides, an Athenian politician and general, to seize the leadership of the Greek coastal gangs from Sparta, thus becoming the commander-in-chief of the Tyrol League. Later, he drove the suspected Spartan general Pausanias out of Byzantium, cleared the Persians from most of the strongholds along the Thrace coast, suppressed the pirates on the island of Skiros, and moved the Athenian residents here.

Plutarch repeatedly praised Ke Mengxian for his praise with the most beautiful words. For example, in terms of bravery, he is no less than his father, Mittaedes; In terms of ingenuity, it is no less than Temistocles. There is no denying that besides being able to fight, Kemeng also has certain political talents. Plutarch said that he showed his bravery in the struggle against barbarians, but at home he showed his love for peace and tried to make his motherland enjoy peace. This statement is basically in line with reality. In the process of seizing the leadership of the anti-Persian Greek allies from Sparta and establishing and consolidating the Tyrol Alliance, Kemeng and Ariste Ides played a great role together. When Paishanias of Sparta was overbearing and bullied his allies repeatedly, Kemeng restrained the Athenian army to strictly observe discipline, dare to fight and treat its allies humbly. The victorious war against Persia made more and more Greek city-states that were originally attached to Persia join the Tyrol League. The elimination of pirates ensured the safety of navigation in the Aegean Sea and promoted the consolidation of the Tyrol Alliance.

There are two detailed examples in the history books that he fought against Persians. One was the capture of Aeon in Thrace in 476 BC. Kemeng besieged the Persians in the city, drove away the Thracians living in the suburbs who provided food for the Persians, and finally forced the enemies who had no food to set themselves on fire and died in the sea of fire. For this victory, the Athenians set up a stone tablet to commemorate his exploits. In 458 BC, Kemeng once again won a great victory at the mouth of the Ayulu medon River in the Zimfelia region of Asia. When he learned that the Persians had assembled a large number of army and navy at the mouth of medon River in Egypt, he quickly led 2 warships there. This kind of warship has been improved by Kemeng on the structure of the ship built by Temistocles, which is fast and can accommodate more heavy infantry, so it has greater combat effectiveness. He first used siege to force a Greek city-state loyal to Persia [French city of celis] to surrender. Then, in the naval battle, the Persian army was defeated, and about 2 enemy ships were captured and destroyed. When the enemy abandoned the ship and fled, he followed and chased the Persian army. In this campaign, there were only 2, prisoners, and countless possessions were obtained. Kemeng won two great victories at sea and on land in one day, and his command art and brave spirit left a deep impression on the Greek masses. The battle at the mouth of the medon River in Egypt was one of the epoch-making battles in the Persian War. Since then, the Persians have never taken any major counter-offensive. Aristotle wrote about the internal affairs of Athens after the Battle of Salamis in the Political System of Athens. "In about 17 years, the members of the Council located in the God of War Mountain are in a leading position, and the political system remains the same, although it is slowly declining." Kemeng is a staunch supporter of the God of War Mountain Council. In order to have peace with the family, he not only supported the God of War Mountain Council to maintain the existing political system, but also tried his best to win the favor of the broad masses of people and eliminate their dissatisfaction by various means. When the Athenian countries can expand outward, the people's life will be improved, and the outstanding military exploits and the means to win over the people will have an impact, short peace at home will undoubtedly be maintained.

Plutarch said that when Temistocles had bored the Athenian citizens, they were willing to let Kemeng take the highest post in the country and award him the greatest honor, because he was good at doing things according to the situation and won the love of the general public with his frankness and humility. In view of these qualities, Ariste and Ides tried their best to flatter him and support him in his struggle against Temistocles.

The fact that theseus's legacy was transported back to Athens for burial shows that Kemeng is good at winning people's hearts. According to Plutarch, in 476 BC, the priestess of Apollo Temple in Delphi declared God's will to Athens, asking the Athenians to welcome the remains of theseus, the mythical king of Athens, who was killed on the island of Shrewsbury, back to Athens for burial. Kemeng actively searched for theseus's grave after occupying Skiros Island, and finally found it after many twists and turns. He put theseus's remains on a richly decorated boat. When his ship arrived in Athens, the Athenians gave it a grand welcome just as theseus himself returned to Athens. Because of this, the Athenians greatly appreciated Kemeng. Whether theseus really exists or not is still an unsolved case in history.

The successful campaign made Kemeng a rich man in Athens. He spends money like water and tries his best to win the favor of citizens. Gorki AS said that Kemeng accumulated money for use, and used it to win honor. According to Plutarch's records, Kemeng ordered the fence in his garden to be demolished so that everyone could freely take the fruits produced in his home. His family always has a ready-made meal, which is not rich, but it is enough to satisfy the hunger, and any poor person can freely go in and out for dinner. He often goes out with several well-dressed servants. If Lu Yu is poor, he makes the servants exchange clothes with the people he meets.

Organizing grand festival performances is not only an important means for Athens to publicize and educate the people, but also a good opportunity for wealthy citizens to win over and win over the people. Kemeng is very concerned about this kind of performance. It is said that in one case, when the audience had different opinions on Aeschylus and Sophocles' plays, Kemeng intervened and Sophocles won. It is said that Aeschylus was deeply distressed and indignant about this, and soon after staying in Athens, he went to Sicily with anger, where he died and was buried near a place called Guerra.

For a long time, the literary circles have different opinions about Ke Meng, but generally speaking, there is a lack of correct evaluation of his historical role in developing the Athenian city-state system. Throughout his political career, it should be said that he did a lot of paving work for the high prosperity of Athens in Pericles' era.

The existence of a strong working class of citizens is the social basis for the development of Athens city-state system. The special environment of the Persian War promoted the development of this class. Specifically, the successive victories in foreign wars and the implementation of the military colonial system provided land for those who lacked land, stimulated the development of handicrafts and commerce, and ensured the source of livelihood for citizens of the fourth grade. The prosperity of national strength, the improvement of life, and domestic peace ensure citizens' high political enthusiasm.

The victory of the Athenian army under Kemeng's command brought a lot of trophies to Athens. The spoils of the battle of Ayurmaiton not only filled the Athenians' current needs, but also left some money to build the walls of the Acropolis. In a battle in Thrace, Kemeng got enough property to support the Athenian navy for four months, and also paid a lot of gold to the state treasury. Kemeng regards plundering property from Persians and other tribes as a consistent policy.

Rong Meng resolutely pursued the policy of military colonization. After the occupation of Ion, he settled the Athenian immigrants there. On the island of Skiros, he sold the local residents as slaves and let the Athenians live there. He once sent a large team of 1, Athenians and citizens of other city-states in the Tyrol League to establish a colony in the place called Nine Roads in Thrace. This move ended in failure.

For the city-states in the Tyrol League who dared to leave Athens, Kemeng adopted a firm policy of repression. In 465 BC, Tassos Island withdrew from the Tyrol Alliance, and Kemeng led an army to impose a long-term siege on it, and finally forced it to surrender. According to the peace treaty, all the defense facilities on Tassos Island were demolished, and all the gold mines and silver mines in Thrace were handed over to Athens to compensate for the war expenses and increase the annual payment to the treasury of Tyrol Alliance.

Kemeng carried out the policy of building in Athens. He followed in the footsteps of Temistocles and continued to build the walls of Athens. He built some places for citizens' entertainment and planted trees in the city square. Under his care, Akademia, which used to be desolate and short of water, has become a leisure place with trees and good forest roads. Plato founded a famous institution of higher learning, and later settled here. An important aspect of Kemeng's foreign policy is to get along well with Sparta. He has been an ardent admirer of Sparta since his youth [Haas family] and often praises Sparta in front of the Athenians. Spartans once supported him in his struggle against Temistocles.

Kemeng's policy, like that of his political opponent Temistocles, only met the needs of Athens for a period of time, and with the change of the situation, it was bound to become obsolete. And the great man who represents this policy has also become a loser in political struggle. The pro-Spartan policy was an extremely important factor that contributed to the failure of Kemeng.

When Kemon returned to Athens after suppressing the Sassos uprising, Pericles and other democratic politicians accused him of taking bribes instead of attacking the kingdom of Macedonia. Although he was acquitted, his reputation no longer rose, and his optimates was losing power. Optimates's supporters are wealthy citizens, who are heavily armored infantry in battle, and they appreciate Sparta's conservative land power; But the victory was mainly achieved by the fleet, while the sailors were relatively poor Athenians, who had no affection for Sparta; Encouraged by their success, they began to feel their own strength, so they supported Ephialtes and Pericles, who shared their distrust of Sparta and ensured that they had a greater say in the government, as leaders. These new leaders will soon appear.

in 465 BC, an unprecedented earthquake occurred in Sparta, which caused great losses. Many citizens living in Sparta died. Most of the houses collapsed, only five were in good condition. Exploited and oppressed, Black Labors took advantage of the difficult situation of Spartans at that time and set off a large-scale uprising. Some freemen without civil rights also took part in the uprising. The insurgents are based in Mount Itomai, and they often go out to harass. The Spartans were unable to attack this base area for a long time and were forced to seek help from other city-States, including Athens.

At the citizens' meeting in Athens, there was a heated debate about whether to send reinforcements to Sparta. Ephialtes and others fully opposed it, pointing out that Sparta was against Athens in many ways, just taking advantage of this opportunity to make it decline. Kemeng urged the Lord to agree. He compared Athens and Sparta to two cows under a set, both working for the welfare of Greece. Kemeng used his great prestige to finally make the citizens' assembly pass a resolution and send 4, heavy infantry to support Sparta. The reinforcements headed by Kemeng played an important role in saving the crisis in Sparta. However, the Athens heavy infantry, which is famous for its siege, failed to capture the fortress of the Shiloh people in Itomai Mountain for a long time. The Spartans, who were suspicious, sent the guest away on the pretext that they no longer needed the help of the Athenians. This insulting practice immediately caused Kemeng's political reputation to plummet. In 461 BC, Ke Meng was exiled for ten years because of the pottery exile law (the least popular citizen who voted), which won the most votes.

carrying out democratic reform and abandoning the alliance with Sparta marked the end of the dominance of the guest Mongolia. The Battle of Salamis and a series of victories in the 197s and early 196s enabled wealthy citizens with great military exploits to influence the political situation in Athens for a time, and enabled members of the Council of God of War Mountain with serious conservative tendencies to master the state affairs. However, with the growth of the third-class citizens and the increasing role of the fourth-class citizens in the country's political life, the further democratization of political life has become an irresistible historical trend with the further development of commodity-currency relations and the emergence of some rich citizens from non-noble families in politics. During his stay in Sparta in Kemeng, Ephialtes actively carried out the struggle against the Council of God of War Mountain. He shook the people's dependence on the whole Council by investigating the illegal behavior of individual members of the Council; Because in a peaceful and affluent environment, the corruption of nobles is a common phenomenon. According to the resolution of the citizens' assembly, the God of War Mountain Council only reserves the right to try cases of revenge, arson and murder by blood relatives. In this way, the power and role of democratic organs such as the 5-member conference and the jury court will be greatly enhanced. The nobles who lost power and influence hated Ephialtes so much that they sent someone to assassinate him. However, the assassination of individual leaders cannot change the historical trend. Perikles inherited Ephialtes's career and continued to carry out reforms. A war broke out between In 457 Bc, Athens and Sparta, and the two sides fought in the tower of nagra in Vestia. Kemeng asked to participate in the war, but was rejected. He ordered his followers (suspected of being pro-Spartan like him) to fight bravely, and all of them were killed. Perhaps this incident caused a fierce emotional reaction. Later, Perikles personally suggested shortening Kemeng's exile and got approval. After his return, he was still committed to the cause of making peace with Sparta. When peace came (451 BC), he was allowed to lead a new huge fleet to explore Persia. On his way to Cyprus, he sent 6 ships to help Egypt.