# Periander — Histories character guide

> Periander in Histories by Herodotus.

**Role:** supporting

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

## Snapshot

Tyrant of Corinth whose advice to Thrasybulus of Miletus is delivered by a messenger who cannot believe what he is told to report.

## Who they are

Periander stands among the earliest and most notorious of Greek tyrants, a ruler whose counsel is sought by other strongmen and whose methods are as cold as they are effective. When he sends a herald to Thrasybulus asking how to hold power securely, the answer comes back not in words but in a walk through a field, where Thrasybulus silently cuts down every stalk that rises above the rest. The story captures the logic of tyranny in a single image and makes Periander a byword for the kind of ruler who trusts no one and spares no one.

## Links

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