Timocrates of Rhodes ( grc-gre, Τιμοκράτης ὁ Ῥόδιος) was a Rhodian Greek sent by the Persian satrap Pharnabazus in 396 or 395 BC to distribute money to

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

city state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...

s and foment opposition to

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 referr ...

. He visited

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 a ...

, Thebes,

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part ...

, and Argos. His encouragement prompted Thebes to provoke Sparta into war, beginning the

Corinthian War The Corinthian War (395–387 BC) was a conflict in ancient Greece which pitted Sparta against a coalition of city-states comprising Thebes, Athens, Corinth and Argos, backed by the Achaemenid Empire. The war was caused by dissatisfaction with ...

, which dragged on from 395 to 387 BC. The primary aim of Timocrates' mission, which he accomplished, was to force the withdrawal of the Spartan king

Agesilaus Agesilaus II (; grc-gre, Ἀγησίλαος ; c. 442 – 358 BC) was king of Sparta from c. 399 to 358 BC. Generally considered the most important king in the history of Sparta, Agesilaus was the main actor during the period of Spartan hegemo ...

and his army from

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 Ionia ...

. Timocrates's success in this mission was the basis for the famous statement, recorded by

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

, that "a thousand Persian archers had driven gesilausout of Asia," referring to the archer that was stamped on Persian gold coins.Plutarch, ''Life of Agesilaus''

Notes

References

*Fine, John V.A. ''The Ancient Greeks: A critical history'' (Harvard University Press, 1983) *

,
Life of Agesilaus
' *{{cite wikisource , title=Hellenica , wslink=Hellenica (Xenophon) , author=Xenophon , author-link=Xenophon , translator=

Henry Graham Dakyns Henry Graham Dakyns, often H. G. Dakyns (1838–1911), was a British translator of Ancient Greek, best known for his translations of Xenophon: the ''Cyropaedia'' and '' Hellenica'', '' The Economist'', '' Hiero'' and '' On Horsemanship''. Life ...

, year=1890s , origyear=original 4th century BC 4th-century BC Rhodians People of the Corinthian War Medism Ambassadors in Greek Antiquity Ancient Greek emigrants to the Achaemenid Empire