Miltiades the Younger
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Miltiades the Younger |
Miltiades the Younger (c.
550 BC–
489 BC) was the step-nephew of
Miltiades the Elder. He made himself the
tyrant of the Greek colonies on the
Thracian Chersonese around
516 BC, forcibly seizing it from his rivals and imprisoning them. He also married
Hegesipyle, the daughter of king
Olorus of
Thrace. Their son
Cimon was a major Athenian figure of the
470s and
460s BC.
He became a vassal of
Darius I of
Persia, joining Darius' expedition against the
Scythians around
513 BC. He joined the
Ionian revolt of
499 BC against Persian rule, establishing friendly relations with Athens and capturing the islands of
Lemnos and
Imbros (which he eventually ceded to Athens). However, the revolt collapsed in
494 BC and in
492 BC Miltiades fled to Athens to escape a retaliatory Persian invasion. His son
Metiochos was captured by the Persians and made a lifelong prisoner, but was nonetheless treated honourably as a
de facto member of the Persian nobility.
Arriving in Athens, Miltiades initially faced a hostile reception for his tyrannical rule in the Chersonese. However, he successfully presented himself as a defender of Greek freedoms against Persian despotism and escaped punishment. He was elected to serve as one of the 10 generals (
strategoi) for
490 BC. He is often credited with devising the tactics that defeated the Persians in the
Battle of Marathon later that year.
The following year,
489 BC, Miltiades led an Athenian expedition of 70 ships against the Greek-inhabited islands that were deemed to have supported the Persians. The expedition was not a success. The fleet attacked
Paros, which had been conquered by the Persians, but failed to take the island. Miltiades suffered a bad leg wound during the campaign and became incapacitated. His failure prompted an outcry on his return to Athens, enabling his political rivals to exploit his fall from grace. Charged with treason, he was sentenced to death, but the sentence was converted to a fine of 50
talents. This was a huge and unaffordable sum by the standards of the time. He was sent to prison where he died, probably of
gangrene from his wound.
*Hammond, N.G.L., Scullard, H.H. eds.,
Oxford Classical Dictionary, Second Edition; Oxford University Press 1970; ISBN 0198691173
*
Photo essay of Miltiades helmet - found in Olympia and identified by an inscription
*
Livius,
Miltiades by Jona Lendering
