Timotheus ( el, Τιμόθεος; died 354 BC) was a Greek statesman and general who sought to revive Athenian imperial ambitions by making

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 ...

dominant in a

Second Athenian League The Second Athenian League was a maritime confederation of Aegean city-states from 378 to 355 BC and headed by Athens, primarily for self-defense against the growth of Sparta and secondly, the Persian Empire. Background In 478 BC, Athens founded ...

. He was the son of the Athenian general,

Conon Conon ( el, Κόνων) (before 443 BC – c. 389 BC) was an Athenian general at the end of the Peloponnesian War, who led the Athenian naval forces when they were defeated by a Peloponnesian fleet in the crucial Battle of Aegospotami; later he c ...

Isocrates Isocrates (; grc, Ἰσοκράτης ; 436–338 BC) was an ancient Greek rhetorician, one of the ten Attic orators. Among the most influential Greek rhetoricians of his time, Isocrates made many contributions to rhetoric and education throu ...

considered that Timotheus was superior to the other commanders of his time and showed all the requisites and abilities of a good general.Isocrates. ''Antidosis'', Section 117.

Strategos

From 378 BC to 356 BC, Timotheus frequently held command as "

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 ...

" in the wars between Athens (in alliance with Thebes), and

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 ...

. At this time, Athens' ambition was to revive the

Delian League The Delian League, founded in 478 BC, was an association of Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Persian Empire after the Greek victory in the Battle of Pl ...

and to regain command of the sea. In 375 BC, during the

Boeotian War The Boeotian War broke out in 378 BC as the result of a revolt in Thebes against Sparta. The war saw Thebes become dominant in the Greek World at the expense of Sparta. However, by the end of the war Thebes’ greatest leaders, Pelopidas and Ep ...

, Timotheus was sent with a fleet to sail round

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 ...

by way of a demonstration of Athens' power against

. He persuaded Cephallenia to side with Athens and secured the friendship of the

Acarnania Acarnania ( el, Ἀκαρνανία) is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today i ...

ns and Molossians. In 373 BC, Timotheus was appointed to the command of a fleet for the relief of Corcyra, then beleaguered by the Spartans, but his ships were not fully manned, and to increase their manpower he cruised in the Aegean. The delay upset the Athenians, who brought him to trial; but, thanks to the intervention of his allies – Jason, tyrant of Pherae, and Alcetas I of Epirus, King of the Molossians, both of whom went to Athens to plead his cause he was acquitted. In way of support, Amyntas, King of Macedon, sent timber to Timeotheus' house in the Piraeus. Upon his acquittal, he went to sea with his fleet and captured Corcyra and then defeated the Spartans at sea off Alyzia (Acarnania). However, with little money to his name—for he had used his own funds to build up the Athenian fleet—he left Athens and took service with the king of

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

as a mercenary.

Asia Minor

Having returned to Athens, in 366 BC he was sent to support Ariobarzanes,

satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with consid ...

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; grc, Φρυγία, ''Phrygía'' ) was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. After its conquest, it became a region of the great empires ...

. But, finding that the satrap was in open rebellion against Persia ( Revolt of the Satraps), Timotheus, in line with his instructions, abstained from helping him and rather used his army against

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate ...

, then occupied by a Persian garrison, and took it after a ten months' siege (366 BC-365 BC). He then took

Sestus Sestos ( el, Σηστός, la, Sestus) was an ancient city in Thrace. It was located at the Thracian Chersonese peninsula on the European coast of the Hellespont, opposite the ancient city of Abydos, and near the town of Eceabat in Turkey. In ...

, Crithote,

Torone Toroni ( grc, Τορώνη, ''Toróne'', modern pronunciation ''Toróni'') is an ancient Greek city and a former municipality in the southwest edge of Sithonia peninsula in Chalkidiki, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of ...

Potidaea __NOTOC__ Potidaea (; grc, Ποτίδαια, ''Potidaia'', also Ποτείδαια, ''Poteidaia'') was a colony founded by the Corinthians around 600 BC in the narrowest point of the peninsula of Pallene, the westernmost of three peninsulas at ...

, Methone, Pydna and many other cities; but two attempts to capture Amphipolis failed.

Court case

An action was brought against him by

Apollodorus Apollodorus (Ancient Greek, Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to: ...

, the son of the banker

Pasion Pasion (also Pasio; grc, Πασίων; before 430 – 370 BC) was a slave in Ancient Athens in the early 4th century BC, who rose to become a successful banker and Athenian citizen. Life Pasion was born some time before 430 BC. It is unkn ...

, for the return of money lent by his father. The speech for the plaintiff is still extant, and is attributed to

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 ...

(see also Pseudo-Demosthenes). It is interesting as it describes the manner in which Timotheus had exhausted the large fortune inherited from his father and the straits to which he was reduced by his sacrifices in the public cause.

The Social War

In 358 BC or 357 BC, an Athenian force, in response to a spirited appeal from Timotheus, crossed over to

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 ...

and expelled the Thebans in three days. In the course of the Social War Timotheus was dispatched with

Iphicrates Iphicrates ( grc-gre, Ιφικράτης; c. 418 BC – c. 353 BC) was an Athenian general, who flourished in the earlier half of the 4th century BC. He is credited with important infantry reforms that revolutionized ancient Greek warfare by ...

, Menestheus, son of Iphicrates, and Chares to put down the revolt. The hostile fleets sighted each other in 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 (; ...

; but a gale was blowing, and Iphicrates and Timotheus decided not to engage. Chares, disregarding the advice of his colleagues, lost many ships.

Final years

In his dispatches after the battle, Chares complained so bitterly about Iphicrates and Timotheus that the Athenians put them on their trial. The accusers were Chares and Aristophon. Iphicrates, who had fewer enemies than Timotheus, was acquitted; but Timotheus, who had always been disliked for his perceived arrogance, was condemned to pay a very heavy fine. Being unable to pay, he withdrew to

Chalcis Chalcis ( ; Ancient Greek & Katharevousa: , ) or Chalkida, also spelled Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief town of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from ...

, where he died soon afterwards. The Athenians later showed their sorrow over the treatment of Timotheus by forgiving the greater part of the fine that had passed onto his son Conon to pay. Timotheus was buried in the

Ceramicus Kerameikos (, ) also known by its Latinized form Ceramicus, is an area of Athens, Greece, located to the northwest of the Acropolis, which includes an extensive area both within and outside the ancient city walls, on both sides of the Dipylon G ...

and statues were erected to his memory in the

Agora The agora (; grc, ἀγορά, romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states. It is the best representation of a city-state's response to accommodate the social and political order of t ...

and the

Acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...

Reputation

Timotheus inspired much jealousy among his rivals, his reputation somewhat tarnished by the record of his final years.

Claudius Aelianus Claudius Aelianus ( grc, Κλαύδιος Αἰλιανός, Greek transliteration ''Kláudios Ailianós''; c. 175c. 235 AD), commonly Aelian (), born at Praeneste, was a Roman author and teacher of rhetoric who flourished under Septimius Severus ...

sums up much of the negative perception of Timotheus' generalship. ''Note that the Athenian general Timotheus was reckoned to be fortunate. People said fortune was responsible, and Timotheus had no part in it. They ridiculed him on the stage, and painters portrayed him asleep, with Tykhe (Fortune) hovering above his head and pulling the cities into her net.'' This commentary is balanced by the credible picture (presented by

) of a skilled and cautious general, magnanimous victor and low-key diplomat.

References

Sources

*Se
Life by Cornelius Nepos

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...

xv., xvi.;

, ''De permutatione''; Pseudo-Demosthenes
Timotheum''
C. Rehdantz, ''Vitae Iphicratis, Chabriae, Timothei'' (1845); and especially Holm, ''History of Greece'' (English translation, Volume III.). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Timotheus 350s BC deaths Ancient Athenian admirals Ancient Athenian generals 4th-century BC Athenians Year of birth unknown Ancient Greek mercenaries in Achaemenid service