Tom Holland

And then Hippias, the exiled tyrant, turns up in Sardis.

And Artafernes loves a tyrant.

I mean, this is what they always do.

They always install tyrants to rule Greek cities.

And so Artafernes sends a message to Athens saying, you should take Hippias back.

This is my order as your overlord.

And of course, there's no way the Athenians are going to do this.

They've got their democracy.

They've thrown the tyrant out.

They don't want him back.

And so they say no.

And there's no response to this from Artafernes.

But there is a kind of nagging anxiety that...

well, perhaps the Persians will come and punish us for this.

And so I think that the arrival of Aristagoras with his suggestion that the Athenians join the Ionian revolt, it seems to offer the Athenians a chance to get onto the front foot.

And it has to be emphasised that the Athenians don't really know anything about the Persians.

And also Aristagoras is telling them, oh, the Persians are absolute wusses.

You know, they're a bunch of women.

They wear trousers.

Greeks are pretty insular.