Hippias of Athens
Hippias of Athens was the son of the tyrant Pisistratus and inherited the rule of Athens after his father's death in 527 BCE. Initially, he ruled alongside his brother Hipparchus and continued policies that promoted Athenian development, gaining a degree of popularity. However, after his brother's assassination in 516 BCE, Hippias's regime became more oppressive. The exiled Alcmaeonid family, led by Cleisthenes, played a crucial role in rallying support against him, leading to Spartan intervention. Although Hippias managed to defeat a smaller Spartan force around 511 BCE, he ultimately surrendered to a larger Spartan army in 510 BCE and fled to Sigeum. Seeking assistance, he approached the Persian court, which backed his attempts to restore tyranny in Athens. His involvement in the Persian expedition to Marathon in 490 BCE marked his decline, as the increasingly democratic city had little interest in reinstating him. Hippias's legacy is often viewed as that of a historical figure who symbolized the transition from tyranny to democracy in ancient Athens.
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Hippias of Athens
Related civilizations: Classical Greece, Athens, Persia
Major role/position: Political leader
Life
A son of the tyrant Pisistratus, Hippias (HIHP-ee-uhs) of Athens inherited the tyranny upon his father’s death in 527 b.c.e., apparently establishing a joint rule with his brother Hipparchus. He continued his father’s policies for Athenian development, and his administration was mild and perhaps even popular until 516 b.c.e., when an attempted assassination resulted in his brother’s death. His regime became harsher, and the exiled Alcmaeonid family, led by Cleisthenes of Athens, managed to convince the Spartans to overthrow the tyranny. Hippias’s allied Thessalian cavalry defeated a small Spartan force at Phaleron, possibly in 511 b.c.e., but in 510 b.c.e., a much larger Spartan army drove them off and Hippias capitulated, leaving Athens for Sigeum (Yenişehir). After the failure of King Cleomenes’ invasion of Attica, Hippias appealed to the Persian court at Sardis, which adopted the restoration of the tyranny as its official policy toward Athens. Hippias was consequently with the Persian expedition to Marathon in 490 b.c.e., but an increasingly democratic Athens had no interest in the old tyrant. He found no support and no coup in his favor and accompanied the defeated Persian army back to Asia, dying on the way.
Influence
To Hippias fell the sad lot of being a historical relic, a figure whose most important role was to succumb to Cleisthenes and the forces that would ultimately shape a powerful and democratic Athens.
Bibliography
Burn, A. R. Persia and the Greeks: The Defense of the West, 546-478 b.c. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1984.
Herodotus. The Histories. Translated by Robin Waterfield. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.