Tom Holland

I know these people.

Send me back.

And so Darius does.

And Hestias turns up in Sardis very coolly.

And Artafernes has entirely sussed him out.

And he says to him, Aristagoras may have worn the shoe, but you were the one who made it.

In other words, you are the guy who fostered this rebellion.

Herodotus tells a brilliant story about how actually it was Hystaius who had persuaded Aristagoras to launch the rebellion.

Hystaius had done this by getting a slave, shaving his head, tattooing a message on the scalp, basically, let's have a revolt, letting the hair back, and then sending the slave to Aristagoras.

The slave has to say, shave my head.

Um, so whether that's true or not, most historians, I think, uh, probably think that's a tall story, but there are some who, who, who give it credence and his day is when he arrives in Iona, he's been playing a kind of very shrewd double game, but very perilous because he's fomenting rebellion.

not just among the Ionians, but among Artafernes' own court, because Artafernes really hates him.

So Hestiaus thinks, if I can get rid of Artafernes, that'll be brilliant.

It doesn't work out.

He gets captured.

He gets taken to Sardis.

Hestiaus says, look, send me to Darius.

I'll be able to explain everything.

Artafernes says, no way.

Has him impaled, chops off his head, has it pickled.