:
For Hippias of Elis, the sophist and friend of Socrates, see Hippias.
'Hippias of Athens''' was one of the sons of
Peisistratus, and was
tyrant of
Athens in the
6th century BC. He was also the
eromenos of
Charmus, whose
erastes had been Pisistratus.
Hippias succeeded Peisistratus in
527 BC, and in
525 BC he introduced a new system of coinage in Athens. His brother
Hipparchus, who may have ruled jointly with him, was murdered by
Harmodius and Aristogeiton (the Tyrannicides) in
514 BC. The Tyrannicides were executed by Hippias. After this, Hippias became a bitter and cruel ruler. He was expelled from Athens in 510. Shortly before the end of his rule he married his daughter, Archedike, to Aiantides, son of Hippoklos, the tyrant of
Lampsakos, to facilitate his acces to
Darius' court at
Susa.
In
508 BC the Athenians decided to recall the
Alcmaeonidae family, who had been exiled by Pisistratus in
546 BC. The Alcmaeonidae set about building a new temple at
Delphi, then bribed the priestess to command the
Spartans to help them overthrow Hippias. A Spartan force under Anchimolius was sent to help, but Hippias and his family, the Pisistratidae, allied with Cineas of
Thessaly, and the Spartans and Alcmaeonidae were at first defeated. A second attempt, led by
Cleomenes I of Sparta, successfully entered Athens and trapped Hippias on the
Acropolis. They also took the Pisistratidae children hostage, and Hippias was forced to leave Athens in order to have them returned safely.
The Spartans later thought that a free,
democratic Athens would be dangerous to Spartan power, and attempted to recall Hippias and reestablish the tyranny. Hippias had fled to
Persia, and the Persians threatened to attack Athens if they did not accept Hippias; nevertheless the Athenians preferred to remain democratic despite the danger from Persia. Soon after this, the
Ionian Revolt began. It was put down in
494 BC, but
Darius I of Persia was intent on punishing Athens for their role in the revolt. In
490 BC Hippias, still in the service of the Persians, led Darius to
Marathon, Greece. According to
Herodotus, Hippias had a dream that the Persians would be defeated, and they in fact were defeated at the
Battle of Marathon although many historical texts believe that
Hippias saw many omens for victory on both sides.