OHIO STATEHOUSE Busts depict Greek credited with founding democracy

Harry Meshel was involved in getting the bust put on display.
By JEFF ORTEGA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBUS -- A couple of years ago, Aristotle Hutras saw a special on PBS on government reforms in ancient Greece.
The show described how Cleisthenes, in the sixth century B.C., raised the ire of fellow Athenian aristocrats by instituting a government operated by the people.
Hutras, who's the executive director of the Ohio Retirement Study Council, immediately got an idea.
"That's the first bust that should be back in the Statehouse," said Hutras, who's also a past executive secretary of the Ohio House of Representatives.
In March, Hutras will get his wish.
On March 24 in the Statehouse, Hutras and several others of Greek ancestry will unveil the bust of what is believed to be the first likeness of Cleisthenes.
Hutras, who is on the Cleisthenes Project Host Committee, said project supporters will be unveiling one bust to be on display in the Ohio House chambers and one for the Ohio Senate chamber.
Project backers will also unveil a bust of Thomas Jefferson, who was president of the United States when Ohio achieved statehood.
'Father of democracy'
"He was the father of democracy," Hutras said of Cleisthenes. "We've been working on this for a while."
According to the group's research, Cleisthenes is credited with creating the model of modern-day democracy.
In ancient Greece, Cleisthenes received the backing of the common people in Athens by promising them the right to vote in an assembly, according to the group's research.
Hutras' idea immediately found a backer in Harry Meshel, a former president of the Ohio Senate from Youngstown who is of Greek ancestry.
"I thought it was outstanding," said Meshel, who is also a past chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party and is on the state board that oversees the Statehouse grounds.
"What [Cleisthenes] came up with was really the root basis for representative democracy," Meshel said.
Columbus-based artist Anna Christoforidis crafted the plaster bust.
There was a problem, however, for the artist and backers of the project: They were flying blind because they were unable to find any description of the pioneer of democracy.
Christoforidis said the lack of any description or likeness to study was challenging. Christoforidis said her portrayal is what a person who lived in that area at that time looked like.
"I tried to get the style of the sculpture in this general area and then I tried to get the character of the person," Christoforidis said.
"I think it works."
Backers are raising about $50,000 to pay for the project.
Hutras said he and others believe it's important to honor Cleisthenes.
"You want people to know who was responsible for this system of democracy," Hutras said.
"It just didn't happen. Somebody had to risk a lot," he said.