# Histiaios — Histories character guide

> Histiaios in Histories by Herodotus.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Histiaios the Milesian, Histiaios of Miletos

**First appearance:** 0006-book-v-terpsichore

## Snapshot

Milesian tyrant who helped Darius hold the Danube bridge, then spent years scheming to claw back the city he lost.

## Who they are

Histiaios once served Darius loyally, but his reward was being kept at the Persian court while his son-in-law Aristagoras ruled Miletus in his place. Desperate to return, he sends coded letters to Persians at Sardis and tries to raise ships from Chios and Lesbos, only to be wounded and turned away by the Milesians themselves. His restless plotting helps ignite the Ionian Revolt and shows how personal ambition could destabilize an entire frontier.

## In the story

### [Book IV: Melpomene](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/histories_se/chapters/book-iv-melpomene)

Milesian despot who opposes Miltiades, arguing that Darius's power secures their own rule; his opinion prevails.

### [Book V: Terpsichore](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/histories_se/chapters/book-v-terpsichore)

Milesian who fortifies Myrkinos, is recalled by Darius, and later deceives Xerxes to return to Ionia.

### [Book VI: Erato](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/histories_se/chapters/book-vi-erato)

Histiaios the Milesian, after the fall of Miletos, seizes merchant vessels at Byzantion, fights the Chians, and is eventually captured by the Persian commander Harpagos.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/histories_se/characters/histiaios
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/histories_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/histories_se/characters