Aracus ( grc-gre, Ἄρακος ; 409–370 BC) was a Spartan military commander and statesman. He served as
ephor
The ephors were a board of five magistrates in ancient Sparta. They had an extensive range of judicial, religious, legislative, and military powers, and could shape Sparta's home and foreign affairs.
The word "''ephors''" (Ancient Greek ''ép ...
in 409–408 BC, and seems to have been a supporter of the foreign policy championed by
Lysander during the
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of th ...
. In 406, Aracus received the nominal command (
navarchy) of the Spartan fleet, with Lysander as his secretary (
''epistoleus'') or deputy. Lysander held the actual command of the fleet, and had only been assigned a position subordinate to Aracus because Spartan law did not allow the same man to hold the office of navarch twice.
In 398, Aracus led a commission to inspect Sparta's conquests in
Asia Minor, to prolong the command of
Dercylidas, and to negotiate with the Achaemenid king
Artaxerxes II, though his mission failed completely. In 369, he was one of the ambassadors sent to
Athens, as which he had greater success.
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5th-century BC Spartans
4th-century BC Spartans
Ancient Spartan admirals
Ephors
Spartans of the Peloponnesian War