HISTIAEUS (d. 494 B.c.)  , tyrant of Miletus under the Persian king Darius Hystaspis . According to Herodotus he rendered great service to Darius while he was campaigning in Scythia by persuading his fellow-despots not to destroy the bridge over the Danube by which the Persians must return . Choosing his own reward for this service, he became possessor of territory near Myrcinus (afterwards Amphipolis), rich in timber and minerals . The success of his enterprise led to his being invited to Susa, where in the midst of every kind of honour he was virtually a prisoner of Darius, who had reason to dread his growing power in Ionia . During this period the Greek cities were left under native despots supported by Persia, Aristagoras; son-in-law of Histiaeus, being ruler of Miletus in his stead . This prince, having failed. against Naxos in a joint expedition with the satrap Artaphernes, began to stir up the Ionians to revolt, and this result was brought to pass, according to Herodotus, by a secret message from Histiaeus . The revolt assumed a formidable character and Histiaeus persuaded Darius that he alone could quell it . He was allowed to leave Susa, but on his arrival at the coast found himself suspected by the satrap, and was ultimately driven to establish himself (Herodotus says as a pirate; more probably in charge of the Bosporus route) at Byzantium . After the total failure of the revolt at the battle of Lade, he made various attempts to re-establish himself, but was captured by the Persian Harpagus and crucified by Artaphernes at Sardis . His head was embalmed and sent to Darius, who gave it honour-able burial . The theory of Herodotus that the Ionian revolt was caused by the single message of Histiaeus is incredible; there is evidence to show that the Ionians had been meditating since about 512 a patriotic revolt against the Persian domination and the " tyrants" on whom it rested (see Grote, Hist. of Greece, ed . 1907, especially p .

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note; art . IONIA, and authorities; also S . Heinlein in Klio, 1909, pp . 341-351) .