# Periander — Histories character guide

> Periander in Histories by Herodotus.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0002-book-i-clio

## Snapshot

Tyrant of Corinth whose reputation for wisdom sits uneasily beside the violence and grief that mark his household.

## Who they are

Periander belongs to the age of Greek tyrants, a ruler whose counsel is sought and whose cruelty is remembered. He appears in Herodotus as a node in the web of guest-friendship and vengeance that links Corinth, Miletus, and the doomed house of the Bacchiads. His presence early in the Histories sets the tone for how Herodotus treats power: as something brilliant, useful, and quietly corrosive to the men who hold it.

## Links

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