Herodotus" work, The Histories, has become a major reference work used by historians, giving an unparalleled account of Greek history before c.420BC. Only Herodotus, of all the Greek writers, provides a historical narrative from archaic times to the 5th century BC. When examining the archaic period in Greece, therefore, The Histories is the principal reference work. Major themes include that of retribution for past deeds and the fallibility of human nature. However its main theme is the Greek-Persian wars. Herodotus" opening states, he would examine "especially why the two peoples fought with each other." (1.0) To that end, Herodotus describes archaic Greek tyrants and great Persian kings, giving context to and explaining the major occurrences of the war between the Greek states and Persia. It is beneficial to look at some of these individuals in greater detail, in order to obtain insight as to why Herodotus deemed them to be important.
Greek tyrants included Periandros of Corinth. Periandros inherited rule of Corinth from his father Kypselos, who had seized power. Herodotus states that Periandros was "to begin with less violent than his father, but soon surpassed him in bloody-mindedness" (5.92f) and "anything that Kypselos had left undone in the way of killing or banishing, Periandros completed." (5.92g). He was also vengeful, on one occasion he took 300 boys "from Corcyra, and sent them to Sardis [to become] eunuchs in revenge for a brutal crime." (3.48-9) Periandros" brutality is again shown when he murders his wife, Melissa. (3.50).
Another Greek tyrant was Histiaeos of Miletus, whose power lay in his appointment by the Persian king Darius - his overlord and protector. However, Histiaeos, with others, plotted to take power in areas held by Persia. To do so, he was forced to be very devious. To initiate the revolt from where Darius had detained him, he sent a message to his deputy, tattooed on the head of a slave, where it would be unseen by any intercepting Persian soldiers.
