His elder brother, the king, had already been deposed on grounds of purported insanity, and had fled into exile when Athens sought assistance against the First Persian invasion of Greece, that ended at Marathon (490 BC).
Kakak laki-lakinya, raja, telah dipecat karena dasar kegilaan yang konon, dan telah melarikan diri ke pengasingan saat Athena mencari bantuan untuk melawan invasi Persia Pertama ke Yunani, yang berakhir di Marathon (490 SM).