The Image of the Past as Political Myth: Athenian autochthony

Abstract

Myth of autochthony was very popular in Athens in the 5th and 4th centuries B.C. It states that the ancestors of the Athenians allegedly inhabited this territory from the most ancient times and were born by the Earth itself. Autochthony became a part of the national image and state propaganda. In the 4th century B.C. it was an integral part of the Funeral speeches that praised the exploits of the lost Athenians. The birth from earth and residence in one territory were different aspects of autochthony, which were merging into a single whole in the 5th century B.C. The integration of these myths occurred, perhaps, in the 5th century B.C. and was associated with the development of democracy. We however believe that it was a consequence of the Persian wars and the transformation of Athens into the Empire (arche).