Constitution of the Athenians

​XVII. Peisistratus, then, grew old in his rule and died of an illness during the archonship of Philoneos, having lived thirty-three years from the time he first became tyrant, and of these he remained in power for nineteen years, for he was in exile during the rest. Therefore those who say that Peisistratus was the beloved of Solon and held a generalship in the war against the Megarians over Salamis are clearly talking nonsense; for it is not possible on account of their ages, if one calculates the life of each, and the archonship under which he died. When Peisistratus died, his sons held the power, conducting affairs in the same manner. There were two from his lawful wife, Hippias and Hipparchus, and two from the Argive woman, Iophon and Hegesistratus, who had the nickname Thessalus. For Peisistratus married a woman from Argos, Timonassa, the daughter of an Argive man named Gorgilus, whom Archinus the Ambraciote, one of the Cypselids, had previously had as his wife; whence also his friendship with the Argives arose, and a thousand of them fought as allies in the battle of Pallene, brought by Hegesistratus. Some say he married the Argive woman when he was first expelled, others when he held the rule.

​XVIII. Hipparchus and Hippias were in control of affairs because of their standing and their ages, but Hippias being the older and by nature political and sensible directed the government. Hipparchus was playful, amorous, and fond of the arts (it was he who invited Anacreon, Simonides, and the other poets); while Thessalus was much younger, and bold and insolent in his life, from whom indeed arose for them the beginning of all their evils. For having fallen in love with Harmodius, and failing to obtain his friendship, he could not restrain his anger, but showed it bitterly in other ways, and finally, when Harmodius’ sister was about to be a basket-bearer at the Panathenaia, he prevented her, insulting Harmodius as being effeminate; whence it happened that Harmodius and Aristogeiton, being provoked, carried out their deed with many sharing in it. Already watching Hippias on the acropolis during the Panathenaia (for he happened to be receiving the procession, while Hipparchus was sending it off), and seeing one of those sharing in the deed conversing in a friendly manner with Hippias, and thinking he was informing, wishing to do something before being arrested, they went down, and starting before the others, killed Hipparchus who was arranging the procession by the Leocoreium, but ruined their entire plot. Of them, Harmodius was immediately killed by the bodyguards, and Aristogeiton was arrested later and tortured for a long time. Under compulsion, he accused many who were both of noble birth by nature and friends to the tyrants. For they could not find any trace of the plot immediately, but the story told that Hippias made the procession-goers stand away from their arms and detected those who had daggers is not true; for they did not march with arms at that time, but the people established this later. He accused the friends of the tyrant, as the democratic party says, on purpose, in order that they might commit an impiety and at the same time become weak by destroying the innocent and their own friends, but as some say, he was not fabricating but informing on those who were in the conspiracy. And finally, when he could not die despite doing everything, promising to inform on many others and persuading Hippias to give him his right hand as a pledge of faith, when he received it, he reproached him for having given his right hand to the murderer of his brother, and so provoked Hippias that in his anger he could not restrain himself, but drawing his dagger, killed him.