Tamos ( grc, Ταμώς), was a mercenary

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

from Memphis in Egypt, hired by

Cyrus the Younger Cyrus the Younger ( peo, 𐎤𐎢𐎽𐎢𐏁 ''Kūruš''; grc-gre, Κῦρος ; died 401 BC) was an Achaemenid prince and general. He ruled as satrap of Lydia and Ionia from 408 to 401 BC. Son of Darius II and Parysatis, he died in 401 BC i ...

, during his campaign to claim the Persian Throne. It is not known if Tamos served in the entire campaign during 401 BC. Tamos led a fleet of 25

trireme A trireme( ; derived from Latin: ''trirēmis'' "with three banks of oars"; cf. Greek ''triērēs'', literally "three-rower") was an ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean S ...

s as a backup to Cyrus's mercenary Ten Thousand

hoplite Hoplites ( ) ( grc, ὁπλίτης : hoplítēs) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Polis, city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with ...

s and Persian troops. Tamos was Cyrus's secondary admiral, his first being

Pythagoras the Spartan Pythagoras, or Pythagoras the Spartan ( grc, Πυθαγόρας), was a mercenary Greek admiral hired to command the first fleet of Cyrus the Younger during his campaign to claim the Persian throne during 401 BC. Pythagoras led a fleet of 35 tr ...

, who led the first fleet of 35 triremes.

Biography

Tamos's early life is mostly unknown. He first appears on record when he was called for by

Cyrus Cyrus (Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus t ...

. Tamos mostly acted as a terror commander, sailing his fleet to hostile areas, quelling unrest by his mere presence. Tamos first saw action when his fleet blockaded the city of

Miletus Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in a ...

when it allied itself with Artaxerxes II. He later piloted both fleets to join Cyrus.

Personal life

Tamos is known to have a son named Glus (Γλοῦς), who was also an officer in Cyrus's army.A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Glus
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References

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 ...

'' Anabasis'' Ancient Egyptian soldiers Anabasis (Xenophon) Admirals of the Achaemenid Empire 5th-century BC people Naval history of Egypt {{AncientEgypt-bio-stub