Anaxibius ( grc, Ἀναξίβιος), was the

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 admiral stationed at

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...

in 400 BC, to whom the Greek troops of

Cyrus the Younger Cyrus the Younger ( peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ''Kūruš''; grc-gre, Κῦρος ; died 401 BC) was an Achaemenid prince and general. He ruled as satrap of Lydia and Ionia from 408 to 401 BC. Son of Darius II and Parysatis, he died in 401 BC i ...

, on their arrival at

Trapezus Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the Bl ...

on the

Euxine The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

, sent their general, Cheirisophus, to obtain a sufficient number of ships to transport them to Europe. However, when Cheirisophus met them again at Sinope, he brought back nothing from Anaxibius but civil words and a promise of employment and pay as soon as they came out of the Euxine. On their arrival at Chrysopolis, on the Asiatic shore of the

Bosporus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern T ...

, Anaxibius, being bribed by Pharnabazus with great promises to withdraw them from his

satrapy A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with consid ...

, again engaged to furnish them with pay, and brought them over to Byzantium. Here he attempted to get rid of them, and to send them forward on their march without fulfilling his agreement. A fight ensued, in which Anaxibius was compelled to flee for refuge to the

Acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...

, and which was quelled only by the remonstrances of Xenophon. Soon after this the Greeks left the town under the command of the adventurer Coeratades, and Anaxibius issued a proclamation, subsequently acted on by the

harmost Harmost ( el, , "joiner" or "adaptor") was a Spartan term for a military governor. The Spartan general Lysander instituted several harmosts during the period of Spartan hegemony after the end of the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC. They were sent int ...

Aristarchus of Sparta Aristarchus ( grc, Ἀρίσταρχος) was a man of ancient Sparta who in 400 BC was sent out to succeed Cleander of Sparta as harmost of Byzantium. The Greeks who had accompanied Cyrus the Younger in his expedition against his brother Artaxerxe ...

, that all of Cyrus's soldiers found in Byzantium should be sold as slaves. However, soon after Anaxibius was superseded in command. So finding himself neglected by Pharnabazus, he attempted to revenge himself by persuading Xenophon to lead the Greek army to invade Pharnabazus's satrapy. But the enterprise was stopped by the threats by Aristarchus. In 389, Anaxibius was sent out from Sparta to supersede

Dercyllidas Dercylidas (Greek: Δερκυλίδας) was a Spartan commander during the 5th and 4th century BC. For his cunning and inventiveness, he was nicknamed Sisyphus. In 411 BC he was appointed harmost at Abydos. In 399 BC, he was advised by Antisthe ...

in the command at Abydus, and to check the rising fortunes of

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 ...

in 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 (; ...

. Here he met at first with some success, until 388 when

Iphicrates Iphicrates ( grc-gre, Ιφικράτης; c. 418 BC – c. 353 BC) was an Athenian general, who flourished in the earlier half of the 4th century BC. He is credited with important infantry reforms that revolutionized ancient Greek warfare by ...

, who had been sent against him by the Athenians, contrived to intercept him on his return from seeking to take possession of the city of

Antandrus Antandrus or Antandros ( grc, Ἄντανδρος) was an ancient Greek city on the north side of the Gulf of Adramyttium in the Troad region of Anatolia. Its surrounding territory was known in Greek as (''Antandria''),Aristotle, ''Historia Anim ...

, which had promised to revolt and join Anaxibius. Anaxibius, coming suddenly on the Athenian ambush, and foreseeing the certainty of his own defeat, told his men to save themselves and flee. His own duty, he said, required him to die there; and, with a small body of comrades, he remained on the spot, fighting till he fell.

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, wikt:Ξενοφῶν, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Anci ...

, ''

Hellenica ''Hellenica'' ( grc, Ἑλληνικά) simply means writings on Greek (Hellenic) subjects. Several histories of 4th-century Greece, written in the mould of Thucydides or straying from it, have borne the conventional Latin title ''Hellenica''. Th ...

'' Hell. iv. 8. ~ 32-39

Notes

{{authority control Anabasis (Xenophon) Ancient Spartan admirals 5th-century BC Spartans 4th-century BC Spartans Military personnel killed in action Spartan hegemony