Hippias / Athenian Tyrant

Overview

Hippias appears in the wiki as the former Athenian tyrant who accompanies the Persian expedition back to Attica and turns Marathon into a political-restoration threat as well as an invasion.

Current Profile

The source says Hippias had been expelled from Athens in 510 BC and returned with the Persians in 490 BC. Persian hopes for internal division and betrayal make him dangerous because he offers a local alternative to the existing Athenian order. The episode even notes that Hippias believed he was helping Athens by bringing it into submission to Persia.

Hippias therefore personifies the fear that Athens might fall from within. Marathon is not only about hoplites against Persian infantry; it is also about whether Athenian factions, exiles, and betrayal could undo the city’s fragile autonomy.

Key Characteristics

• Hippias is an exiled Athenian tyrant attached to the Persian expedition.
• He makes the invasion a possible restoration of tyranny rather than only foreign conquest.
• His presence links Persian strategy to Athenian internal division.
• The source treats him as sincerely self-justifying rather than only as a flat villain.

Evidence

• Exile and return: 669. Greece vs. Persia: The Battle of Marathon (Part 2) says Hippias was expelled in 510 BC and accompanied the Persians back to Attica.
• Betrayal risk: 669. Greece vs. Persia: The Battle of Marathon (Part 2) says the Persians expected internal divisions in Athens to create opportunities.
• Self-understanding: 669. Greece vs. Persia: The Battle of Marathon (Part 2) says Hippias believed he was helping Athens by submitting it to Persia.

Qualifications

This page covers Hippias only as he appears in the Marathon episode. It does not reconstruct the full Peisistratid tyranny or all later traditions about his role.

What Changed

• Created Hippias as the political-betrayal and restored-tyranny figure in the Marathon branch.

Relationships

• Athens / 雅典 - city Hippias seeks to re-enter under Persian backing.
• Achaemenid Empire / Persian Empire - imperial force with which Hippias returns.
• Battle of Marathon - crisis in which his presence raises the internal-collapse threat.
• Athenian Democracy - political order threatened by possible tyrant restoration.