Strattis of Chios was an ancient Greek

tyrant A tyrant (), in the modern English usage of the word, is an absolute ruler who is unrestrained by law, or one who has usurped a legitimate ruler's sovereignty. Often portrayed as cruel, tyrants may defend their positions by resorting to ...

who ruled the Aegean island of

Chios Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...

during the late 6th and early 5th centuries BC. Strattis was one of a group of Greek tyrants from

Ionia Ionia ( ) was an ancient region encompassing the central part of the western coast of Anatolia. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionians who ...

and the

Hellespont The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey t ...

who were vassals of the Persian king

Darius I Darius I ( ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE. He ruled the empire at its territorial peak, when it included much of West A ...

and accompanied him on his Scythian campaign in 513 BC. The Greeks were ordered to guard the bridge over the

Danube River The Danube ( ; see also other names) is the second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest south into the Black Sea. A large and historically important riv ...

in order to secure it for Darius's return. When a debate arose among the Greeks as to whether or not to destroy the bridge and leave Darius stranded, Strattis supported Histiaeus of

Miletus Miletus (Ancient Greek: Μίλητος, Mílētos) was an influential ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in present day Turkey. Renowned in antiquity for its wealth, maritime power, and ex ...

who convinced the Greeks not to destroy the bridge. When the Persian general Mardonius removed the Ionian tyrants and restored democracy to the region in 492 BC, Strattis of Chios was the only tyrant known to retain his position. This was possibly because of the fierce resistance to the Persians put up by the Chian fleet at the Battle of Lade (494 BC), when Chios had a democratic government. In 480 BC, there was a conspiracy by seven Chians who plotted to kill Strattis, but when one of their number betrayed the plot, the other six fled to

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

and

Aegina Aegina (; ; ) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina (mythology), Aegina, the mother of the mythological hero Aeacus, who was born on the island and became its king. ...

.Herodotus 8.132

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strattis of Chios Vassals of the Achaemenid Empire Archaic tyrants Ancient Chians 6th-century BC Greek people 5th-century BC Greek people Ancient Greeks from the Achaemenid Empire Military personnel of the Achaemenid Empire