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Astyochus or Astyochos ( gr, Ἀστύοχος) was a
Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...
n
navarch Navarch ( el, wikt:ναύαρχος, ναύαρχος, ) is an Anglicisation of a Greek word meaning "leader of the ships", which in some states became the title of an office equivalent to that of a modern admiral. Historical usage Not all st ...
who served as commander of the collective Spartan naval forces along the coast of
Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
from 412–411 BC. He is regarded by many contemporaries and modern scholars as a key reason for Sparta's early failures in the Ionian War. His expeditions consisting of involvements in
Lesbos Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Anatolia, Asia Minor ...
,
Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mastic ...
,
Erythrae Erythrae or Erythrai ( el, Ἐρυθραί) later Litri, was one of the twelve Ionian cities of Asia Minor, situated 22 km north-east of the port of Cyssus (modern name: Çeşme), on a small peninsula stretching into the Bay of Erythrae ...
and
Clazomenae Klazomenai ( grc, Κλαζομεναί) or Clazomenae was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia and a member of the Ionian League. It was one of the first cities to issue silver coinage. Its ruins are now located in the modern town Urla n ...
all proved unsuccessful. He also refused requests for help from Chios, causing the Spartan administration to become increasingly dissatisfied with his leadership.
Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of "scientifi ...
portrays Astyochus as timid and inept, and also depicts him often in conflict with his peers in Ionia. Toward the end of his role of commander, he exhibited great reluctance to attack the Athenians and also failed to properly pay his troops, leading to riots and violence, and eventually, his removal as commander in 412 BC, to be replaced by the Spartan
Mindarus Mindarus ( grc, Μίνδαρος) was a Spartan navarch who commanded the Peloponnesian fleet in 411 and 410 BC, during the Peloponnesian War. Successful in shifting the theatre of war into the Hellespont, he then experienced a string of defeats; ...
.


Involvement in the Peloponnesian War

In 412 BC, Astyochus replaced Melancridas as the leader of the naval forces, and was assigned to assist the cities on the mainland of Asia Minor, as well as the surrounding islands along the coast. His immediate task was to advance the Spartan agenda by weakening the allegiances of these areas to
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, as well as to demonstrate the continued support of Spartan control and assistance through his presence. At this time, the Athenians had already lost their position in
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
for a year, and had also just lost their foothold in Chios due to revolt. Astyochus arrived off Chios with four galleys. However, Lesbos had recently transformed into a war zone, as the Chians had incited revolts in the key cities of
Methymna Mithymna () ( el, Μήθυμνα, also sometimes spelled ''Methymna'') is a town and former municipality on the island of Lesbos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2019 local government reform it is part of the municipality of West Lesbos, of whic ...
and
Mytilene Mytilene (; el, Μυτιλήνη, Mytilíni ; tr, Midilli) is the capital of the Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of ...
. The Athenians stormed Mytilene in response, and Astyochus, upon his arrival, found that he could offer no help. The resulting Athenian recapture of Lesbos occurred as Astyochus withdrew to Chios. Athens' next move was to launch an attack on Chios in an attempt to restore its sovereignty. The attack was so successful that some Chians began plotting and conspiring to restore Athenian leadership in Chios. Astyochus was then accordingly summoned by the government when they learned of news of the revolt and was therefore tasked with neutralising the threat posed by the conspirators. The revolt was somewhat suppressed due to some of the conspirators being taken hostage by Astyochus and his Chian supporters. During this time,
Theramenes Theramenes (; grc-gre, Θηραμένης; died 404 BC) was an Athenian statesman, prominent in the final decade of the Peloponnesian War. He was particularly active during the two periods of oligarchic government at Athens, as well as in the tr ...
, a Lacedaemonian, delivered to Astyochus a large fleet of 55 Peloponnesian and Sicilian ships. This reinforcement to the Spartan forces removed Astyochus' worry about the Chian revolt, so he instead turned his attention to Clazomenae, where he made an unsuccessful attempt to capture the area. Following his failed attempt at Clazomenae, Astyochus' assistance in a second uprising against Athens was requested by Spartan representatives at Lesbos. While Astyochus was eager to provide help, he was nevertheless forced to return to Chios after the plans for insurrection were opposed by the Corinthians and other Spartan allies. Now back at Chios, Astyochus listened to new proposals for a revolt from the people of Lesbos. While Astyochus supported these new plans, he was once again forced into inaction as the plans were opposed by the Chians and Pedaritus, the commander of the Spartan land force. The opposition that he was receiving greatly angered Astyochus, and he vowed to never come to the assistance of the Chians again. He then sailed to take command of the Peloponnesian and Sicilian fleet, recently delivered by Theramenes. On his journey, he narrowly escaped capture by the Athenians and eventually assembled his forces at Miletus. In Miletus, a recently signed treaty between the Kings of
Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and Sparta was revised with Astyochus' assistance. The revised treaty contained updated terms that were skewed toward Spartan interest. Meanwhile, Chios came under attack by Athenians, prompting them to request Miletus for aid. However, per his last vow, Astyochus denied this request for assistance, causing Pedaritus to report his conduct to Sparta. The worsening plight of the Chian position meant that Pedaritus continued to urge Astyochus for his aid, while Chios could still be saved. However, when Astyochus was finally preparing to aid the Chians, he suddenly gave up the expedition, and proceeded southwards to escort a fleet with 11 Spartan commissioners to Miletus. This fleet of 27 galleys and 11 commissioners originated from Peloponnesus, and were tasked to decide to either aid or depose of Astyochus. On the journey to Miletus, Astyochus attacked and sacked the island of Cos. He then sailed to
Cnidus Knidos or Cnidus (; grc-gre, Κνίδος, , , Knídos) was a Greek city in ancient Caria and part of the Dorian Hexapolis, in south-western Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey. It was situated on the Datça peninsula, which forms the southern side o ...
, after defeating the Athenian admiral, Charminus, with minimal casualties. At Cnidus, the Spartan commissioners questioned
Tissaphernes Tissaphernes ( peo, *Ciçafarnāʰ; grc-gre, Τισσαφέρνης; xlc, 𐊋𐊆𐊈𐊈𐊀𐊓𐊕𐊑𐊏𐊀 , ; 445395 BC) was a Persian soldier and statesman, Satrap of Lydia and Ionia. His life is mostly known from the works of Thucy ...
, a Persian satrap under the Spartan-Persian alliance, angering him so greatly in the process that he left them soon after. It was around this time, at Miletus, that Astyochus appeared to sell himself to Tissaphernes, and also did not play a pivotal role in the successful revolt of the
Rhodians Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
from Athens by the united Peloponnesian fleet. The increasing suspicion of the Spartans on
Alcibiades Alcibiades ( ; grc-gre, Ἀλκιβιάδης; 450 – 404 BC) was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. He was the last of the Alcmaeonidae, which fell from prominence after the Peloponnesian War. He played a major role in t ...
and his interest among the Asiatic Greeks meant that Astyochus eventually received orders to kill Alcibiades. However, Astyochus betrayed this agenda. When he received a letter from Phrynichus, the Athenian commander, informing him that Alcibiades was exerting influence over Tissaphernes to the detriment of Sparta, Astyochus instead travelled to Magnesia to deliver this letter to Alcibiades and Tissaphernes at their residence. Furthermore, when Astyochus received a second letter from Phrynichus offering to betray the Athenian stronghold at
Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate ...
, he did the same. Thucydides offers further evidence of Astyochus' defection to Tissaphernes: his submission to the pay cut of Peloponnesian sailors, and his lack of action in capitalising on the weakened and disorganised Athenian forces in Samos and the
Hellespont The Dardanelles (; tr, Çanakkale Boğazı, lit=Strait of Çanakkale, el, Δαρδανέλλια, translit=Dardanéllia), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli from the Gallipoli peninsula or from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont (; ...
during 411 BC. In addition, Astyochus not only failed to pay the troops, but also refused to attack the Athenians at Samos under the guise of waiting for further reinforcement in the form of a
Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...
n armament that Tissaphernes had promised. However, Astyochus eventually did set sail with 112 galleys to attack the Athenians at Samos, as he had faced strong pressure and complaints from the
Syracusan Syracuse ( ; it, Siracusa ; scn, Sarausa ), ; grc-att, Συράκουσαι, Syrákousai, ; grc-dor, Συράκοσαι, Syrā́kosai, ; grc-x-medieval, Συρακοῦσαι, Syrakoûsai, ; el, label=Modern Greek, Συρακούσε ...
sailors and the Peloponnesian soldiers at Miletus. Nevertheless, the fighting never ensued, and it is almost certain that Astyochus did not desire engagement. Meanwhile, the troops' wages, both that of common soldiers and higher-ranked officers, continued to be neglected by Tissaphernes. Soon, Astyochus was charged with having sold the troops' interests to Tissaphernes, and Astyochus' threats towards some of the Syracusans demanding their wages only served to incite a riot, in which he was almost killed. It was at this point in time which Astyochus set sail for home, and was relieved of his duties after 8 months in command, and was succeeded by Mindarus, arriving from Sparta.


References

{{Reflist Ancient Spartan admirals Spartans of the Peloponnesian War 5th-century BC births Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown