Laches (; grc, Λάχης Μελανώπου Αἰξωνευς, Lachēs Melanōpou Aixōneus; c. 475 – 418 BCE) 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 ...
aristocrat (son of Melanopos) and
general
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
during the
Peloponnesian War.
Life
His date of birth is unknown, but Plato asserts that he was distinctly older than
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 ...
, who was born around 470 BCE. According to Thucydides, he was the son of Melanopus of Aexone, The family belonged to the Cecropis tribe.
In 427 BCE, Laches and Charoeades were sent to
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
with a fleet of 20 ships in order to support Athenian allies against
Syracuse. When Charoeades was killed by the
Syracusans in battle in 426 BCE, Laches took over the supreme command of the fleet. Under his command, the army sailed to
Mylae
Milazzo ( Sicilian: ''Milazzu''; la, Mylae; ) is a town (''comune'') in the Metropolitan City of Messina, Sicily, southern Italy; it is the largest commune in the Metropolitan City after Messina and Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto. The town has a p ...
, a territory of
Messana
Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in t ...
and was defended by two battalions of Messanians.
The enemies tried to ambush the Athenians and when this failed, Laches was able to force the cities of Mylae and Messana to surrender.
However, due to the annual reappointment of generals, at the beginning of 425 BCE he was replaced by Pythodoros as supreme commander. The first Athenian expedition to Sicily ended badly. Upon Laches' return to Athens he was prosecuted by
Cleon
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 ...
, but was acquitted of any wrongdoing. His trial was satirized by
Aristophanes
Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his for ...
in his play ''
The Wasps
''The Wasps'' ( grc-x-classical, Σφῆκες, translit=Sphēkes) is the fourth in chronological order of the eleven surviving plays by Aristophanes. It was produced at the Lenaia festival in 422 BC, during Athens' short-lived respite from the ...
'', which is the main source for its historicity.
In 424 BCE, Laches negotiated a treaty of alliance with
Halieis
Halieis ( grc, Ἁλιεῖς), or Halice or Halike (Ἁλίκη), or Halia (Ἁλία), or Alycus or Alykos (Ἄλυκος), or Haliai (Ἁλιαί), was a port town of Hermionis, in ancient Argolis at the mouth of the Argolic Gulf. The distri ...
, a Spartan ally on the
Argolid Peninsula
The Argolid Peninsula is a peninsula situated in Greece in the Peloponnese, much of which is contained in the modern region of Argolis. One of the first major Greek settlements, Mycenae, is situated on this peninsula. During the Classical G ...
, which the Athenians had been raiding since 425 BCE. This treaty allowed the Athenians to establish a garrison at Halieis and committed the Halieians to "do well to the Athenians as far as we can at every opportunity". In 423 BCE, Laches successfully moved for a one year truce with
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 ...
in the
Athenian Assembly
The ecclesia or ekklesia ( el, ) was the assembly of the citizens in city-states of ancient Greece.
The ekklesia of Athens
The ekklesia of ancient Athens is particularly well-known. It was the popular assembly, open to all male citizens as so ...
. After Cleon died in 422 BCE, Laches, together with
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 ...
, was able to negotiate 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 ...
. In 418 BCE the peace broke down because of Athens’s support for Spartan rebels. Laches was again appointed general and was killed in the Athenian defeat at the
Battle of Mantinea.
The Platonic dialogue ''
Laches'' features Laches as a stereotypical conservative general.
Others named Laches
Laches was a common name at Athens; the archon of 400/399 BCE, the year of Socrates' execution, was another Laches.
Johannes Kirchner's ''
Prosopographia Attica'' lists eighteen men of the name of Laches, including the general's son, grandson, and great-grandson, who appear in
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 pr ...
' speech against Timocrates and in his letters. There was also another Laches, son of Demochares, who was Demosthenes' cousin and brother-in-law, but he was of another
deme
In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside seem to have existed in the 6th century BC and ear ...
and family. There was also a captain at the battle of Coronea (394 BCE);
[Against Simon: Defense 45 ] and an Athenian commander who fought (and lost to)
Epaminondas
Epaminondas (; grc-gre, Ἐπαμεινώνδας; 419/411–362 BC) was a Greek general of Thebes and statesman of the 4th century BC who transformed the Ancient Greek city-state, leading it out of Spartan subjugation into a pre-eminent posit ...
in 364 BCE.
See also
*
List of speakers in Plato's dialogues
following is a list of the speakers found in the dialogues traditionally ascribed to Plato, including extensively quoted, indirect and conjured speakers. Dialogues, as well as Platonic '' Epistles'' and '' Epigrams'', in which these individuals ...
References
Sources
*
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 ...
, ''
History Of The Peloponnesian War
The ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' is a historical account of the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), which was fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) and the Delian League (led by Athens). It was written by Thucydides, an ...
''
*Harold B Mattingly, ''The Athenian Empire Restored: Epigraphic and Historical Studies'', University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, ;
{{DEFAULTSORT:Laches
470s BC births
418 BC deaths
5th-century BC Athenians
Athenians of the Peloponnesian War
Ancient Athenian generals
Ancient Greeks killed in battle