| One of the two sons of the Athenian tyrant Peisistratus, who succeeded him after his death in 528 BC. Hipparchus shared the government with his brother Hippias, being responsible mainly for the cultural and religious activity in Athens. He fell in love with the nobleman Hermodius who was already the lover of Aristogeiton (another nobleman). when he tried to force himself on Hermodius, he and Aristogeiton murdered the tyrant (518 BCE). Both Hermodius and Aristogeiton were executed by Hippias. In Athenian tradition the lovers were represented as the victims of the struggle for liberty, statues were erected in their honour in the agora (the centre of ancient Athens), the descendants of the two got the rare right to eat on the expanse of the state. |
