See Also: Hippias(encyclopedia)

Hippias (sh)




died 490 BC

Tyrant of Athens (528/527-510).

He succeeded his father, Peisistratus, as tyrant. Hippias was a patron of poets and craftsmen, and Athens prospered under his rule, but he became repressive after the assassination of his brother Hipparchus (514). He was overthrown by the Spartans (510) and went into exile in Asia Minor. He went with the Persians to attack the Athenians, and it was he who advised Darius I in 490 to land at Marathon, which resulted in a major Persian defeat.