Cleon (; grc-gre,
Κλέων
Cleon (; grc-gre, Κλέων, ; died 422 BC) was an Athenian general during the Peloponnesian War. He was the first prominent representative of the commercial class in Athenian politics, although he was an aristocrat himself. He strongly advocat ...
, ; died 422 BC) was an
Athenian
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 ...
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
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 ...
. He was the first prominent representative of the commercial class in Athenian politics, although he was an
aristocrat
The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Ro ...
himself. He strongly advocated for an offensive war strategy and is remembered for being ruthless in carrying out his policies. He was often depicted in a negative way, predominantly by
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 ...
and the comedic playwright
Aristophanes
Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme
In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...
, who both represent him as an unscrupulous, warmongering
demagogue
A demagogue (from Greek , a popular leader, a leader of a mob, from , people, populace, the commons + leading, leader) or rabble-rouser is a political leader in a democracy who gains popularity by arousing the common people against elites, e ...
.
Cleon was the son of Cleaenetus.
Public service
Opposition to Pericles
Cleon came to notice as an opponent of
Pericles
Pericles (; grc-gre, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Pelopo ...
in the late 430s BC through his opposition to Pericles' strategy of refusing battle against the
Peloponnesian League
The Peloponnesian League was an alliance of ancient Greek city-states, dominated by Sparta and centred on the Peloponnese, which lasted from c.550 to 366 BC. It is known mainly for being one of the two rivals in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC ...
invaders in 431 BC. As a result, he found himself acting in concert with the Athenian aristocratic parties, who stood against the "leaders of the demos", which included
Isagoras
Isagoras ( grc-gre, Ἰσαγόρας), son of Tisander, was an Athenian aristocrat in the late 6th century BC.
He had remained in Athens during the tyranny of Hippias, but after Hippias was overthrown, he became involved in a struggle for power ...
,
Miltiades
Miltiades (; grc-gre, Μιλτιάδης; c. 550 – 489 BC), also known as Miltiades the Younger, was a Greek Athenian citizen known mostly for his role in the Battle of Marathon, as well as for his downfall afterwards. He was the son of Cimon C ...
, Thucydides,
Nicias
Nicias (; Νικίας ''Nikias''; c. 470–413 BC) was an Athenian politician and general during the period of the Peloponnesian War. Nicias was a member of the Athenian aristocracy and had inherited a large fortune from his father, which was inve ...
,
Theramenes
Theramenes (; grc-gre, Θηραμένης; died 404 BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian statesman, prominent in the final decade of the Peloponnesian War. He was particularly active during the two periods of Oligarchy, oligarchic government at ...
, and Pericles. During 430 BC, after the unsuccessful expedition by Pericles to the
Peloponnesus
The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge which ...
, and when the city was devastated by the
plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pes ...
, Cleon headed the opposition to Pericles' rule. At this time, Pericles was accused by Cleon of maladministration of public money, with the result of Pericles being found guilty and removed from office. However, Pericles' setback was temporary and he was soon reinstated.
Rise in popularity
The death of
Pericles
Pericles (; grc-gre, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Pelopo ...
from the plague in 429 BC left the field clear for new leadership in
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 ...
. Hitherto Cleon had only been a vigorous opposition speaker, a trenchant critic and accuser of state officials, but he came forward as the professed champion and leader of the
democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
and rapidly came to dominate Athenian politics. Although rough and unpolished, he was charismatic, with natural eloquence and a powerful voice, and he knew how to work upon the emotions of the Athenian populace. He strengthened his support amongst the poorer citizens by increasing the pay for jury work, which provided a livelihood for many of the poorer Athenians.
The fondness of the Athenians for litigation increased his power; and the practice of "
sycophancy
In modern English, sycophant denotes an "insincere flatterer" and is used to refer to someone practising sycophancy (i.e., insincere flattery to gain advantage). The word has its origin in the legal system of Classical Athens. Most legal cases o ...
" (raking up material for false charges) enabled him to remove those who were likely to endanger his ascendancy. In 426 BC, Cleon brought an unsuccessful prosecution against
Laches based on his
generalship in the unsuccessful first Sicilian expedition. This is one of the very few times that an Athenian general escaped civil punishment for a defeat. Having no further use for his former
aristocratic
Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'.
At the time of the word's ...
associates, he broke off all connection with them, and thus felt at liberty to attack the secret combinations for political purposes, the oligarchical clubs to which they mostly belonged. He was elected one of the ten ''
strategos
''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek language, Greek to ...
'' for 424–423 BC.
Whether he also introduced a property-tax for military purposes, and even held a high position connected with the treasury, is uncertain.
War against Sparta, subsequent death
Cleon's ruling principles were an inveterate hatred of the nobility, and an equal hatred of Sparta. It was mainly through him that the opportunity of concluding an honourable peace (in 425 BC) was lost, and in his determination to see
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 ...
defeated, often spoke of dazzling future benefits. He insisted upon Athenian security via strategic possession of territories rather than by Spartan goodwill.
In 427 BC, Cleon urged his Athenian countrymen to put to death the whole adult male population of
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 ...
, which had put itself at the head of a revolt. His proposal, though at first accepted, was soon rescinded due to a protracted rebuttal by
Diodotus. Nonetheless approximately one thousand chief leaders and prominent men of Mytilene were executed. In 425 BC, Cleon reached the summit of his fame by capturing and transporting to Athens the Spartans who had been blockaded at the
Battle of Sphacteria
The Battle of Sphacteria was a land battle of the Peloponnesian War, fought in 425 BC between Athens and Sparta. Following the Battle of Pylos and subsequent peace negotiations, which failed, a number of Spartans were stranded on the island of ...
. Much of the credit was probably due to the military skill of his colleague
Demosthenes
Demosthenes (; el, Δημοσθένης, translit=Dēmosthénēs; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prow ...
(not the orator); but it was due to Cleon's determination that the
Ecclesia sent out the additional force that was needed.
It was almost certainly due to Cleon that the tribute of the "allies" was doubled in 425 BC. He was not reelected as strategos for 423–22 BC after his strategy suffered a setback when Sparta invaded Amphipolis.
In 422 BC he was sent to recapture
Amphipolis
Amphipolis ( ell, Αμφίπολη, translit=Amfipoli; grc, Ἀμφίπολις, translit=Amphipolis) is a municipality in the Serres (regional unit), Serres regional unit, Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is ...
. This development came with the resurgence of Athenian aggressive policy toward Sparta after the revolt of
Scione
Scione or Skione ( grc, Σκιώνη) was an ancient Greek city in Pallene, the westernmost headland of Chalcidice, on the southern coast east of the modern town of Nea Skioni.
Scione was founded by settlers from Achaea; the Scionaeans claimed ...
, an Athenian allied city.
During his campaign, however, Cleon was outmaneuvered by the Spartan general
Brasidas
Brasidas ( el, Βρασίδας, died 422 BC) was the most distinguished Spartan officer during the first decade of the Peloponnesian War who fought in battle of Amphipolis and Pylos. He died during the Second Battle of Amphipolis while winning ...
. He was killed by a
peltast
A ''peltast'' ( grc-gre, πελταστής ) was a type of light infantryman, originating in Thrace and Paeonia, and named after the kind of shield he carried. Thucydides mentions the Thracian peltasts, while Xenophon in the Anabasis disting ...
when his army was routed at the
Battle of Amphipolis
The Battle of Amphipolis was fought in 422 BC during the Second Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. It was the culmination of events that began in 424 BC with the capture of Amphipolis by the Spartans.
Prelude
In 424 BC, in response t ...
. Brasidas also died at Amphipolis and their deaths removed the chief obstacle to peace. Thus, in 421 BC the
peace of Nicias
The Peace of Nicias was a peace treaty signed between the Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta in March 421 BC that ended the first half of the Peloponnesian War.
In 425 BC, the Spartans had lost the battles of Pylos and Sphacteria, a severe d ...
was signed.
Aristophanes and Thucydides on Cleon
The character of Cleon is represented by
Aristophanes
Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme
In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...
and
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 ...
in a very unfavourable light. Their portrayals may be justified considering he instilled a feeling of mistrust within Athens through a kind of Athenian "
McCarthyism
McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner.
The term origin ...
", caused by the excessive number of informants he employed to keep watch on the city. Yet, both have been suspected of being prejudiced witnesses: The playwright Aristophanes had a grudge against Cleon, who may have accused him before the Council of having ridiculed (in his lost play ''Babylonians'') the policy and institutions of his city in the presence of foreigners and at the time of a great national danger. Thucydides, believing in the shortcomings of
democratic government
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choose gover ...
, had also been prosecuted (unjustly, his ships arriving two days after a town was occupied by Spartan forces) for military incapacity and exiled by a decree proposed by Cleon. Indeed, of all the persons who appear in Thucydides' ''History'', Cleon is treated with the least impartiality. It is therefore possible that Cleon has had injustice done to him in the portraits handed down by these two writers.
His influence lay in his forceful and bullying style of oratory, anti-intellectual and anti-aristocratic in tone, and his
populism
Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...
. This might have brought him many enemies. He seems to have aimed at short-term goals, but Athens' poor stood to benefit by his policies, at the expense of heavy taxes levied onto her allies.
["Cleon", ''Oxford Companion to Classical Literature'', edited by M.C. Howatson and Ian Chilvers, Oxford University Press]
Authorities
For the literature on Cleon see
Karl Friedrich Hermann, ''Lehrbuch der griechischen Antiquitäten'', i. pt. 2 (6th ed. by V. Thumser, 1892), p. 709, and
Georg Busolt
Georg Busolt (13 November 1850 – 2 September 1920) was a German historian of Classical history.
Busolt, born at Gut Kepurren near Insterburg, was the son of the East Prussian landowner Adolf Julius Busolt (1818–1900). He attended the Gymnasium ...
, ''Griechische Geschichte'', iii. pt. 2 (1904), p. 988, note 3.
The following are the chief authorities:
*Favorable to Cleon
**
C. F. Ranke, ''De Aristophanis Vita Commentatio'' (Leipzig, 1845)
**
J. G. Droysen, ''Aristophanes'', ii., ''Introd. to the Knights'' (Berlin, 1837)
**
G. Grote, ''History of Greece''. chs. 50, 54
**
W. Oncken, ''Athen und Hellas'', ii. p. 204 (Leipzig, 1866)
**
H. Müller-Strübing, ''Aristophanes und die historische Kritik'' (Leipzig, 1873)
**
J. B. Bury
John Bagnell Bury (; 16 October 1861 – 1 June 1927) was an Anglo-Irish historian, classical scholar, Medieval Roman historian and philologist. He objected to the label "Byzantinist" explicitly in the preface to the 1889 edition of his ''Lat ...
, ''Hist, of Greece'', i. (1902)
*Unfavorable
**
J. F. Kortüm, ''Geschichtliche Forschungen'' (Leipzig, 1863), and ''Zur Geschichte hellenichen Statsverfassungen'' (Heidelberg, 1821)
**
F. Passow, ''Vermischte Schriften'' (Leipzig, 1843)
**
C Thirlwall, ''History of Greece'', ch. 21
**
E. Curtius, ''History of Greece'' (Eng. tr. iii. p. 112)
**
J. Schvarcz, ''Die Demokratie'' (Leipzig, 1882)
**
H. Delbrück, ''Die Strategie des Perikles'' (Berlin, 1890)
**
E. Meyer, ''Forschungen zur alten Geschichte'', ii. p. 333 (Halle, 1899)
*Balance between the two extreme views:
**
K. J. Beloch, ''Die attische Politik seit Perikles'' (Leipzig, 1884), and ''Griechische Geschichte'', i. p. 537
**
A. Holm, ''History of Greece'', ii. (Eng. tr.), ch. 23, with the notes.
**
H. Bengtson, ''History of Greece: From the Beginnings to the Byzantine Era'', Cleon p. 140
In Popular Culture
Cleon is present in the video game
Assassin's Creed Odyssey
''Assassin's Creed Odyssey'' is a 2018 action role-playing video game developed by Ubisoft Quebec and published by Ubisoft. It is the eleventh major installment in the '' Assassin's Creed'' series and the successor to 2017's ''Assassin's Creed ...
as a
non-player character
A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster o ...
. He appears as a political adversary to
Pericles
Pericles (; grc-gre, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Pelopo ...
, as well as the ruler 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 ...
. Certain aspects of his life are changed however, such as his death circumstances.
Notes
References
*
External links
Livius.org: Cleon
{{Authority control
422 BC deaths
5th-century BC Athenians
Sicilian Greeks
Athenians of the Peloponnesian War
Ancient Greeks killed in battle
Ancient Greek merchants
Year of birth unknown