Clitophon (Athenian)
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Clitophon, son of Aristonymus (Ancient Greek: Κλειτόφων Ἀριστωνύμου, Kleitóphōn Aristōnúmou, also transliterated as Cleitophon; mid-5th century – late 5th or early 4th century BCE) was an ancient Athenian oligarchic statesman and intellectual. His involvement in Athenian politics helped pave the way for the rule of the Four Hundred following the Athenian coup of 411 BCE.[1] Clitophon also appears in the writing of Plato, and presents a philosophy of "thoroughgoing normative relativism"[1] in a brief role in the Republic.[2]
Little is known of Clitophon's early life. His participation in Athenian government reform following the calamitous Sicilian Expedition of 413 BCE dates his birth to 452 or earlier, as the council assembled to do so of which he was a part was composed of men aged over forty.[1] The Constitution of Athens attributed to Aristotle names Clitophon as an early proponent of a return to the ancestral constitution (patrios politeia),[3] a decisive move towards the oligarchy of the Four Hundred.[1] The work also records his later serving as an ambassador to Lysander in 404,[4] representing a brand of moderate oligarchy associated with figures like Theramenes.