Anytus (; grc-gre, Ἄνυτος, Ánytos; c. 5th–4th century BC), son of Anthemion, was an ancient Athenian politician. He served as a general in 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 t ...

, and was later a leading supporter of the democratic movements in Athens opposed to the

oligarchic Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...

forces behind the

Thirty Tyrants The Thirty Tyrants ( grc, οἱ τριάκοντα τύραννοι, ''hoi triákonta týrannoi'') were a pro-Spartan oligarchy installed in Athens after its defeat in the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC. Upon Lysander's request, the Thirty were ele ...

. He is best remembered as one of the prosecutors of the

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...

, and is depicted as an interlocutor in

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, wikt:Πλάτων, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greeks, Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical Greece, Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thou ...

's ''

Meno ''Meno'' (; grc-gre, Μένων, ''Ménōn'') is a Socratic dialogue by Plato. Meno begins the dialogue by asking Socrates whether virtue is taught, acquired by practice, or comes by nature. In order to determine whether virtue is teachable ...

''.

Life

Political career

Anytus came from a

Euonymeia Euonymeia ( el, Ευωνύμεια, ''Evonímia''), also known by its medieval name Trachones ( el, Τράχωνες), and by its modern colloquial Ano Kalamaki ( el, Άνω Καλαμάκι, Upper Kalamaki), is a historic settlement in Athens a ...

n family of tanners, successful from the time of his grandfather. He was a powerful, upper-class politician in ancient Athens, one of the

nouveaux riches ''Nouveau riche'' (; ) is a term used, usually in a derogatory way, to describe those whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. The equivalent English term is the "new rich" or "new money" ( ...

. While a general in the Peloponnesian War, he lost

Pylos Pylos (, ; el, Πύλος), historically also known as Navarino, is a town and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is ...

to 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 referred t ...

ns and was charged with treason. According to the '' Constitution of the Athenians'' associated with Aristotle, he was later acquitted by bribing the jury. Anytus later won favour by playing a major role in the overthrow of the Thirty Tyrants. In 403 BC, he supported the amnesty of

Eucleides Eucleides ( grc-gre, Εὐκλείδης) was archon of Athens towards the end of the fifth century BC. He contributed towards the re-establishment of democracy during his years in office (403–402 BC). He is also believed to have contributed to ...

, which prohibited the punishment of anyone who committed a crime before or during the time of the Thirty Tyrants.

Relationship with Alcibiades

Numerous ancient sources, including

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ' ...

's ''Life of

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 th ...

'', preserve stories of Anytus' tumultuous relationship with the young Alcibiades, who was a disciple of Socrates. Alcibiades seems to have treated Anytus with great contempt: on one occasion upon which Anytus had invited him to dinner, Alcibiades arrived late and drunk. Seeing the table laid with gold and silver dishes, Alcibiades ordered his slaves to take half of the dishes back to his own house. Having played this prank, Alcibiades departed immediately, leaving Anytus and his other guests greatly surprised. When the guests began to rebuke Alcibiades, Anytus excused him, saying that he loved the boy so much that he would have suffered Alcibiades to take the other half of the dishes, too.

Trial of Socrates and aftermath

Plato's '' Apology'', and likewise that of

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, 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 Greek mercenary armies o ...

, lists Anytus as one of the primary prosecutors in the

trial of Socrates The trial of Socrates (399 BC) was held to determine the philosopher's guilt of two charges: '' asebeia'' (impiety) against the pantheon of Athens, and corruption of the youth of the city-state; the accusers cited two impious acts by Socrate ...

. Ancient and modern commentators have suggested at least two motivations for Anytus' role in Socrates' trial: # Socrates constantly criticized the democratic government of which Anytus was a leader. Anytus may have been concerned that Socrates' criticism was a threat to the newly re-established democracy. # Socrates taught Anytus' son and Anytus perhaps blamed Socrates' teachings for poisoning his son's mind or taking him away from the career path his father had set for him. Xenophon has Socrates forecast that the boy will grow up vicious if he studies a purely technical subject such as tanning. Xenophon also tells us that the son became a drunk. An unsubstantiated legend has it that Anytus was banished from Athens after the public felt guilty about having Socrates executed.

Oxford Classical Dictionary The ''Oxford Classical Dictionary'' (''OCD'') is generally considered "the best one-volume dictionary on antiquity," an encyclopædic work in English consisting of articles relating to classical antiquity and its civilizations. It was first pub ...

, 3rd edition., p. 117.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anytus 5th-century BC Athenians Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 4th-century BC Athenians Socrates Athenians of the Peloponnesian War Ancient Athenian generals

Life

Political career

Relationship with Alcibiades

Trial of Socrates and aftermath

See also

References