Hipparchus (son of Pisistratus)

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For the astronomer and mathematician, see Hipparchus (astronomer).

Hipparchus was one of the sons of Pisistratus. He was said tyrant of Athens along with his brother Hippias when Pisistratus died, about 527 BC. While Hippias was responsible for the political and economic aspects of the tyranny, Hipparchus was a patron of the arts; and it was Hipparchus who invited Simonides of Ceos to Athens.

In 514 BC Hipparchus was murdered by the Tyrannicides, Harmodius and Aristogeiton. This was apparently a personal dispute, according to Herodotus and Thucydides; Hipparchus had fallen in love with Harmodius, who was already the lover of Aristogeiton. When Harmodius rejected him, Hipparchus refused to allow Harmodius' sister to participate in a religious festival, insinuating that she was not a virgin. As a result, Harmodius and Aristogeiton assassinated him.

After the assassination, Hippias became a bitter and cruel tyrant, and was overthrown a few years later. Modern scholarship generally ascribes the tradition that Hipparchus was a tyrant himself - as opposed to having a privileged position as the tyrant's brother - to the cult of Harmodius and Aristogeiton established after the revolution.

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