Miltiades
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Miltiades
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| Native name | Μιλτιάδης |
| Born | 550 BC Athens |
| Died | 489 BC Athens |
| Allegiance | Athens |
| Rank | General (Strategos) |
| Battles/wars |
First Persian invasion of Greece Other
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First Persian invasion of Greece
Other
Miltiades (/mɪlˈtaɪəˌdiːz/; Greek: Μιλτιάδης; c. 550 – 489 BC), also known as Miltiades the Younger, was the son of Cimon Coalemos, a renowned Olympic chariot-racer. He was an Athenian citizen and considered himself a member of the Aeacidae, as well as a member of the prominent Philaid clan. He is known mostly for his role in the Battle of Marathon, as well as for his downfall afterwards. His son Cimon was a major Athenian figure of the 470s and 460s BCE. His daughter Elpinice is remembered for her confrontations with Pericles, as recorded by Plutarch.
Miltiades was a well-born Athenian who came of age during the tyranny of the Peisistratids. His family was prominent, due in good part to their success with Olympic chariot-racing. Plutarch claimed that Cimon, his father, was known as "Coalemos," meaning simpleton, because he had a reputation for being rough around the edges. But his 3 successive chariot-racing victories at the Olympics made him popular; so popular, in fact, that Herodotus claims that Peisistratos murdered him out of jealousy. Miltiades was named after his father's maternal half-brother, Miltiades the Elder, who was also a victor at Olympic chariot-racing. (The name "Miltiades" derives from miltos, a red ochre clay used as paint. It was a name often given to red-haired babies). In c.555 BCE Miltiades the Elder left Athens to establish a colony on the Thracian Chersonese (now the Gallipoli Peninsula), setting himself up as a semi-autonomous tyrant under the protection of Athens. Meanwhile, contrary to what one would expect from a man whose father was rumoured to have been murdered by the city leaders, Miltiades the Younger rose through the ranks of Athens to become eponymous archon under the rule of the Peisistratid tyrant Hippias in 524/23 BCE.
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