Peisistratus was the Greek tyrant of Athens known for public works and patronage of the arts. He ruled Athens in the 6th century BC through several periods of power, finally establishing a stable tyranny around 546 BC that lasted until his death in 528 or 527 BC.
Although the word tyrant later acquired a strongly negative meaning, in archaic Greece it originally meant a ruler who seized power outside the normal aristocratic system. Peisistratus governed with a mixture of firmness and pragmatism. He preserved many existing institutions while strengthening central authority and supporting farmers, trade, and public religious festivals.
His administration improved roads and water access, developed fountain houses, and began major building projects in Athens. He also promoted the Panathenaic Festival and is traditionally associated with arranging a written edition of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey. Work on the enormous Temple of Olympian Zeus was begun during his era, though it was completed centuries later.
Peisistratus is often confused with Solon, whose earlier reforms helped reshape Athenian society, or Cleisthenes, who introduced reforms associated with the development of democracy. Peisistratus's sons Hippias and Hipparchus succeeded him, but their rule eventually collapsed.