Ariston of Cyrene

Ariston was the leader of the democratic political party in Cyrene, Libya in the late 6th and early 5th centuries BCE, and a leader in the civil war that broke out around the turn of the century.

After an election that led to a tie between the democratic party and the party of the aristocratic nobles, Ariston led an insurrection against the aristocratic party. He obtained possession of the town and executed about 50 of the nobles (Diodorus Siculus gives the number as 500), and expelled a great deal more from the city, most of whom decamped to the nearby city of Euesperides.

There the nobles raised an army of 3000 Messenian mercenaries, and marched on Cyrene. The fighting was severe, but ended in a stalemate. Ariston of Cyrene, son of Menon, mentioned in an epigram of Theaetetus of Cyrene as having died at sea.