Les Eupatrides d'Athènes, « nobles défenseurs de leur patrie »

Eupatridai have often been conceived as a gentilician group, whether as the whole Athenian nobility or as a cast-like genos. However, close examination of all occurrences shows that the word does not appear before the end of the 6th century and that 95 % of them actually come from much later litterature. Moreover, the first occurrences clearly indicate that besides the praise of fathers there is also a clear anti-tyrannical connotation implying the preservation of the patris. Indeed, all individually known Eupatridai of the 5th and 4th centuries have ancestors involved in the strike against Peisistratos. Classical theatre and political thought explain how this concept evolved to a generic nobility wiping out its contextual political meaning.Duplouy Alain. Les Eupatrides d'Athènes, « nobles défenseurs de leur patrie ». In: Cahiers du Centre Gustave Glotz, 14, 2003. pp. 7-22