Endius (''Endios'') 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

(431–404 BC). Endius was a son of Alcibiades, member of a family whose connection with that of the Athenian

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 ...

had in a previous generation introduced into the latter this

Lacedaemonian 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 ...

name. Apparently he was one of the three ambassadors sent by Sparta in 420 BC to dissuade

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 ...

from entering into an alliance with

Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece ** Ancient Argos, the ancient city * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses * ...

. They were chosen, says

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 ...

, from the belief of their being acceptable to the Athenians, and possibly in particular with a view to conciliate his guest, Alcibiades, who probably made use of this very advantage in effecting the deception by which he defeated their purpose. He was elected ephor in the autumn of 413 BC, the time of the Athenian disaster at

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

. And through him Alcibiades now inflicted on his country the severe blow of bringing the Lacedaemonians to the coast of

Ionia Ionia () was an ancient region on the western coast of Anatolia, to the south of present-day Izmir. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionian ...

, which otherwise may have been postponed. His influence decided the government to lend its support to

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 ...

; and when the blockade of their ships in

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...

seemed likely to put a stop to all operations, he again persuaded Endius and his colleagues to make the attempt. Thucydides says that Alcibiades was his ''patrikos es ta malista xenos''; so that probably it was with him that Alcibiades resided during his stay at Sparta. To these facts we may venture to add from Diodorusxiii. 52, 53 (cited by Clough) the further statement, that after the defeat at Cyzicus in 410 BC, he was sent from Sparta at the head of an embassy to Athens with reasonable proposals for peace, which were rejected thanks to the influence of the presumptuous demagogue Cleophon. Endius, as the friend of Alcibiades, the victor of Cyzicus, would naturally be selected; and the account of Diodorus, with the exception of the oration he writes for Endius, may, notwithstanding the silence of

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 ...

, be regarded as generally true.

References

Footnotes

5th-century BC Spartans Spartans of the Peloponnesian War Ephors {{AncientGreece-bio-stub