# Hippias — Histories character guide

> Hippias in Histories by Herodotus.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0007-book-vi-erato

## Snapshot

Exiled Athenian tyrant who returns with the Persian expedition, hoping to reclaim the city he once ruled.

## Who they are

Hippias, son of Peisistratos, was expelled from Athens when the democracy was established, and he has spent his exile scheming to return. He accompanies the Persian expedition to Marathon, guiding Datis and Artaphrenes with intimate knowledge of the terrain and the political divisions within Athens. He matters because his presence transforms the Persian invasion from a distant threat into a civil conflict, and because the battle at Marathon becomes a referendum on whether Athens will remain free or submit again to tyranny.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/histories_se/characters/hippias
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