Sicinnus ( el, Σίκιννος), a Persian according to Plutarch, was a slave of the Athenian leader Themistocles and

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

to his children. He is known for his actions as a negotiator between Themistocles and the Persian ruler Xerxes I during the

Second Persian invasion of Greece The second Persian invasion of Greece (480–479 BC) occurred during the Greco-Persian Wars, as King Xerxes I of Persia sought to conquer all of Greece. The invasion was a direct, if delayed, response to the defeat of the first Persian invasio ...

. Sicinnus deceived Xerxes into sending his fleet into Themistocles' trap.

Battle of Salamis

In 480 BC, he was employed by his master in a stratagem directed against the Persian king, Xerxes, before the Battle of Salamis. The Greek fleet, which had assembled at Salamis, was composed of several contingents. Although the

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 a ...

was the largest, command was held by the

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 ...

Eurybiades Eurybiades (; grc-gre, Εὐρυβιάδης) was the Spartan navarch in charge of the Greek navy during the Second Persian invasion of Greece (480–479 BC). Biography Eurybiades was the son of Eurycleides, and was chosen as commander in 48 ...

. He and other Peloponnesian leaders desired to withdraw from Salamis towards the Peloponnese, while Themistocles insisted that they stay and fight at Salamis, where the straits would negate the Persian numerical superiority. In order to avoid a possible withdrawal and commit his allies to the fight, Themistocles sent Sicinnus to Xerxes, who convinced the Persian king that the Greeks were in near panic, and that if he wanted them not to escape, the Persian fleet should blockade the escape route on the southwestern side of Salamis. Herodotus
VIII, 75
Themistocles thus attracted Xerxes into his trap: the Persian fleet was lured into the straits, while at the same time, the Egyptian squadron, one of the best in the Persian navy, remained committed in the blockade and absent from the battle.

Aftermath

After their victory at Salamis, the Greeks pursued the Persian fleet as far as Andros, but then came to the resolution to continue the chase no further, lest they should inspire the enemy with the courage of despair. Hereupon Themistocles, according to

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria (Italy). He is known fo ...

, again sent Sicinnus, with others on whom he could depend, to Xerxes, to claim merit with him for having dissuaded the Greeks from intercepting his flight. As a reward for his services, Themistocles afterwards enriched Sicinnus, and obtained for him the citizenship of Thespiae.

Sikinnis dance

Some have identified the subject of the present article with the Sicinnus who is mentioned by

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of ...

as the reputed inventor of the Sikinnis dance (ἡ σίκιννις, ''gen''.: σικίννιδος) in the

satyr play The satyr play is a form of Attic theatre performance related to both comedy and tragedy. It preserves theatrical elements of dialogue, actors speaking verse, a chorus that dances and sings, masks and costumes. Its relationship to tragedy is stro ...

. Athenaeus tells us that, according to some, he was a barbarian, according to others, a Cretan. The dancers were called Sikinnistai (Σικιννισταί).

Lucian Lucian of Samosata, '; la, Lucianus Samosatensis ( 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer who is best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, with which he frequently ridiculed supersti ...

states that the dance (which was initially dedicated to

Sabazios Sabazios ( grc, Σαβάζιος, translit=Sabázios, ''Savázios''; alternatively, ''Sabadios'') is the horseman and sky father god of the Phrygians and Thracians. Though the Greeks interpreted Phrygian Sabazios as both Zeus and Dionysus, ...

) was invented by the deity Sikinnis, a nymph of Kybele (Lucian, ''Dialogue on Dance'', 22).

References

{{SmithDGRBM Ancient Greek slaves and freedmen Battle of Salamis Persian people of the Greco-Persian Wars Metics in Classical Athens