Hegesandridas or Agesandridas ( grc, Ἡγησανδρίδας or Ἀγησανδρίδας), son of a "Hegesander" or "Agesander", who could have been a member of the last

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 ...

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...

sent 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 ...

before 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 ...

. Hegesandridas was a Spartan general in the Peloponnesian War. In 411 BC he was placed in command of a fleet of 42 ships instructed to further a revolt in

Euboea Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest poin ...

. News of their being seen off Las of

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word ''laconic''—to speak in a blunt, c ...

arrived in Athens at the time when the Four Hundred were building their fort of Eëtioneia on a promontory commanding

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 ...

, and the coincidence was used by

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 ...

as evidence of their treasonable intentions. Further intelligence that the same fleet had sailed over from

Megara Megara (; el, Μέγαρα, ) is a historic town and a municipality in West Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis Island, Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, befo ...

to Salamis coincided again with the riot in Piraeus, and was held to be certain proof of Theramenes' allegations.

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 ...

thought it possible that the movement was really made in concert with the Athenian

oligarchs Oligarch may refer to: Authority * Oligarch, a member of an oligarchy, a power structure where control resides in a small number of people * Oligarch (Kingdom of Hungary), late 13th–14th centuries * Business oligarch, wealthy and influential bu ...

, but it is far more probable that Hegesandridas was merely prompted by the hope of profiting by the existing dissensions at play in Athens. Hegesandridas' desired destination was soon seen to be

; the fleet doubled around

Sunium Cape Sounion (Modern Greek: Aκρωτήριο Σούνιο ''Akrotírio Soúnio'' ; grc, Ἄκρον Σούνιον ''Άkron Soúnion'', latinized ''Sunium''; Venetian: ''Capo Colonne'' "Cape of Columns") is the promontory at the southernmost ...

, and finally came to harbour at

Oropos Oropos ( el, Ωρωπός) is a small town and a municipality in East Attica, Greece. The village of Skala Oropou, within the bounds of the municipality, was the site an important ancient Greek city, Oropus, and the famous nearby sanctuary of Am ...

in September 411 BC. A great alarm went up on behalf of the threatened island of Euboea, and a fleet was hastily manned, which amounted to thirty-six galleys, and the

Battle of Eretria The naval Battle of Eretria, between Sparta and Athens, took place in September 411 BC, off the coast of Euboea. Background During the spring of 411 BC, the Eretrians drove the Athenians out of Oropos with the help of the Boeotians. This city ...

began. But the new crews were inexperienced and poorly equipped; a stratagem of the

Eretria Eretria (; el, Ερέτρια, , grc, Ἐρέτρια, , literally 'city of the rowers') is a town in Euboea, Greece, facing the coast of Attica across the narrow South Euboean Gulf. It was an important Greek polis in the 6th and 5th centur ...

ns kept the soldiers at a distance, at the very moment when, in response to a signal from the town, the Spartan admiral moved to attack. Hegesandridas obtained an easy victory: the Athenians lost 22 ships, and all of Euboea, except

Oreus Oreus or Oreos ( grc, Ὠρεός, Ōreos), prior to the 5th century BC called Histiaea or Histiaia (Ἱστίαια), also Hestiaea or Hestiaia (Ἑστίαια), was a town near the north coast of ancient Euboea, situated upon the river Ca ...

revolt Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

ed. Extreme consternation seized the city. Athens,

adds, had now once again to thank their enemy's tardiness. Had the victors attacked Piraeus, either the city would have fallen victim to its distractions, or by the recall of the fleet from Asia, everything except

Attica Attica ( el, Αττική, Ancient Greek ''Attikḗ'' or , or ), or the Attic Peninsula, is a historical region that encompasses the city of Athens, the capital of Greece and its countryside. It is a peninsula projecting into the Aegean Se ...

would have been placed in their hands. Hegesandridas was content with his success. However, after the Spartan defeat at Cynossema, Hegesandridas was ordered to reinforce 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 (; ...

ine fleet under the Spartan admiral

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; ...

. Fifty of Hegesandridas' ships (partly Euboean) were dispatched, but all were lost in a storm off

Athos Athos may refer to: Fictional or mythical characters * Athos (character), one of the title characters in the novel ''The Three Musketeers'' (1844) by Alexandre Dumas père * Athos (mythology), one of the Gigantes in Greek mythology * Athos Fadiga ...

(according to

Ephorus Ephorus of Cyme (; grc-gre, Ἔφορος ὁ Κυμαῖος, ''Ephoros ho Kymaios''; c. 400330 BC) was an ancient Greek historian known for his universal history. Biography Information on his biography is limited. He was born in Cyme, A ...

). On hearing of this disaster, Hegesandridas appears to have sailed with what ships he could gather to the

and was at that location at the opening 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 ...

's ''

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 ...

''. While at the

, he defeated a small squadron that had recently arrived from Athens under Thymochares, his opponent at Eretria. Hegesandridas is mentioned once again as an ''epibates'' (Spartan naval commander) on the

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...

coast in 408 BC.

, ''

'' i.3.17. For the epibates, see D. H. Kelly, ''Xenophon’s Hellenika: a Commentary'' (ed. J. McDonald), Amsterdam, 2019, p, 130.

References

{{SmithDGRBM, title=Agesandridas, author=AHC Ancient Spartan admirals 5th-century BC Spartans Spartans of the Peloponnesian War