Hipparchos, son ofPeisistratosB. M. LAVELLE

Nothing is known about his early life and

sources are divided as to whether Hipparchos

(ca. 565–514 BCE) succeeded PEISISTRATOS in

528/7 as sole tyrant of ATHENS, as co-ruler

with his brother Hippias (see HIPPIAS, SON OF

PEISISTRATOS), or whether Hippias ruled alone

after Peisistratos. Notwithstanding that con-

troversy, Hipparchos certainly acted the part,

maintaining a coterie of eminent poets, includ-

ing Lasos of Hermione, SIMONIDES, and Anakr-

eon. (The last was fetched from SAMOS to

Athens on a PENTEKONTER dispatched by

Hipparchos.) He was also credited with intro-

ducing Homeric recitations into the Panathen-

aic festival. Moreover, Hipparchos set up HERMS

throughout the Attic countryside under his

own name, upon which were written Delphic-

style maxims; and he was said to have built

a substantial wall around the ACADEMY just out-

side of Athens. Furthermore, according to

HERODOTUS (7.6.3), Hipparchos exiled the ora-

cle-interpreter Onomakritos for tampering

with the store of prophecies kept by the

Peisistratids on the Athenian ACROPOLIS,

a dangerous threat to the regime. Such recol-

lections support the popular Athenian belief,

vigorously attacked by THUCYDIDES (1.20.2,

6.54.1–55.4), that Hipparchos was actually

the tyrant.

It was when he was marshaling the

Panathenaic procession for 514 thatHipparchos

was killed by Harmodios and his lover, Aristo-

geiton. According to Thucydides (6.54.2–59.2),

Hipparchos made sexual advances to Harmod-

ios and, when rebuffed, dishonored the boy’s

sister publicly by refusing her the privilege of

carrying a basket for the goddess during the

procession – a deadly insult. The “tyrannicide”

was later politicized and magnified into a great

patriotic service for Athens’ democracy: it

became the first blow struck against tyranny.

Heroic statues were set up in the AGORA

depicting Harmodios and Aristogeiton in the

act of murder, a deed that the Athenians (erro-

neously) made synonymous with the tyranny’s

demise. Positive memories of Hipparchos nev-

ertheless survived among the Athenians to

emerge in Herodotus, Thucydides, and the

Platonic dialogue Hipparchos.

SEE ALSO: Tyrannicides; Tyranny.

REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS

de Libero, L. (1996) Die archaische Tyrannis:

116–17, 128–32. Stuttgart.

Lavelle, B. M. (1985) “Hipparchos’ herms.” Echos

du Monde Classique 29: 411–20.

Lavelle, B. M. (1986) “The nature of Hipparchos’

insult to Harmodios.” American Journal of

Philology 107: 318–31.

Lewis, D. M. (1988) “The tyranny of the

Peisistratidae.” In Cambridge ancient history,

vol. 4: 287–302. 2nd ed. Cambridge.

The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, First Edition. Edited by Roger S. Bagnall, Kai Brodersen, Craige B. Champion, Andrew Erskine,

and Sabine R. Huebner, print pages 3223–3224.

© 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2013 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

DOI: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah04133

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