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.