Harmodius

The assassin of Hipparkhus (Hipparchus).

After the death of the tyrant, Pisistratus (Peisistratos), one of his sons, Hippias, took control of the government of Athens; his younger brother, Hipparkhus might be thought of as co-tyrant and was thus a powerful man in Athens.

Hipparkhus was in love with a young man named Harmodius but his affection was not returned; Hipparkhus sought to humiliate Harmodius by publicly slandering Harmodius’ sister.

In 514 BCE, as an act of revenge, Harmodius and his friend, Aristogiton, devised a plan to assassinate the two tyrants but the plan went awry and only Hipparkhus was killed.

Soldiers executed Harmodius immediately but Aristogiton was captured and tortured to death; Hippias was never a very popular or effective ruler and he was eventually deposed and sent into exile; after Hippias was exiled, Harmodius and Aristogiton were honored by the citizens of Athens with statues and their relatives were given benefits such as tax exemption.