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Cleon
Cleon (; ''Kleon'' ; died 422 BCE) was an Athenian politician and general (''strategos'') during the Peloponnesian War. The son of Cleaenetus, a wealthy tanner, Cleon was among the first prominent Athenian politicians of the 5th century BCE to obtain power from outside the established elite. As a political leader, Cleon aligned aligned himself with the poor citizens and emerging commercial class of Athens, while also advocating for an aggressive military strategy against Sparta and its allies. He rose to prominence after the death of Perciles and was subsequently one of the most influential figures in Athenian politics, playing a central role in the Battle of Sphacteria, the Mytilenean Debate, and the failed Athenian campaign to retake Amphipolis in 422 BCE, where he was killed. Cleon was a deeply polarizing figure, portrayed harshly by the two principal contemporary sources on his life - the historian Thucydides and the playwright Aristophanes - both of whom had reasons t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Knights
''The Knights'' ( ''Hippeîs''; Attic: ) was the fourth play written by Aristophanes, who is considered the master of Old Comedy. The play is a satire on the social and political life of classical Athens during the Peloponnesian War, and in this respect it is typical of all the dramatist's early plays. It is unique, however, in the relatively small number of its characters, and this was due to its vitriolic preoccupation with one man, the pro-war populist Cleon. Cleon had prosecuted Aristophanes for slandering the polis with an earlier play, ''The Babylonians'' (426 BC), for which the young dramatist had promised revenge in '' The Acharnians'' (425 BC), and it was in ''The Knights'' (424 BC) that his revenge was exacted. ''The Knights'' won first prize at the Lenaia festival when it was produced in 424 BC. Plot ''The Knights'' is a satire on political and social life in 5th-century BC Athens. The characters are drawn from real life, and Cleon is clearly intended to be the villa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
ΚλÎων
Cleon (; ''Kleon'' ; died 422 BCE) was an Athenian politician and general (''strategos'') during the Peloponnesian War. The son of Cleaenetus, a wealthy tanner, Cleon was among the first prominent Athenian politicians of the 5th century BCE to obtain power from outside the established elite. As a political leader, Cleon aligned aligned himself with the poor citizens and emerging commercial class of Athens, while also advocating for an aggressive military strategy against Sparta and its allies. He rose to prominence after the death of Perciles and was subsequently one of the most influential figures in Athenian politics, playing a central role in the Battle of Sphacteria, the Mytilenean Debate, and the failed Athenian campaign to retake Amphipolis in 422 BCE, where he was killed. Cleon was a deeply polarizing figure, portrayed harshly by the two principal contemporary sources on his life - the historian Thucydides and the playwright Aristophanes - both of whom had reasons to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicias
Nicias (; ; 470–413 BC) was an Athenian politician and general, who was prominent during the Peloponnesian War. A slaveowning member of the Athenian aristocracy, he inherited a large fortune from his father, and had investments in the silver mines around Laurion, in south-east Attica. Following the death of Pericles in 429 BC, Nicias became the principal rival of Cleon and the democrats in the struggle for political leadership of the Athenian state. Politically a moderate conservative, he opposed the aggressive imperialism of Cleon and Alcibiades. Despite his political views, Nicias served as ''strategos'' (general) during the Peloponnesian War, and led a number of expeditions which were mostly successful, although he had a reputation for being over-cautious. Nicias' goal was to conclude a peace with Sparta on terms favourable to Athens, and he was largely responsible for negotiating the short-lived Peace of Nicias in 421 BC. In 415 BC, Nicias was appointed commander of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mytilenean Debate
The Mytilenean Debate (also spelled "Mytilenaean Debate") was an Athenian Assembly concerning reprisals against the city-state of Mytilene, which had attempted unsuccessfully to revolt against Athenian hegemony and gain control over Lesbos during the Peloponnesian War. The debate occurred in 427 BC. In the immediate aftermath of the revolt, the Athenians had decided to execute all Mytilenean men and enslave the women and children, but gathered the next day to reconsider. Thucydides reports the revolt and the resultant debate in book three of his ''History of the Peloponnesian War'', and the opposing viewpoints concerning the warranted retributive justice are reflected in two speeches given by prominent Athenians. The events and speeches serve as an opportunity to explore the political and ideological impact of the war, and provide reflections on democracy and imperial policy. Causes for the revolt Mytilene had joined in alliance with Athens as a member of the Delian League, whic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Sphacteria
The Battle of Sphacteria was a land battle of the Peloponnesian War, fought in 425 BC between Athens and Sparta. Following the Battle of Pylos and subsequent peace negotiations, which failed, a number of Spartans were stranded on the island of Sphacteria. An Athenian force under Cleon and Demosthenes attacked and forced them to surrender. Overview In the wake of the failed peace negotiations, Demosthenes initially attempted to starve out the Spartans on Sphacteria, but was unable to blockade the island tightly enough. In Athens there was concern that the approach of winter would necessitate abandoning the blockade, unless the impasse was swiftly broken. The politician Cleon took out reinforcements from Athens and joined forces with Demosthenes, and the Athenians launched an assault on Sphacteria. Landing in great force on a weakly defended point, the Athenians swamped the beachfront defenses and moved inland, harassing the Spartans by using bows and spears whenever they att ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Amphipolis
The Battle of Amphipolis was fought in 422 BC during the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. It was the culmination of events that began in 424 BC with the capture of Amphipolis by the Spartans. Prelude In 424 BC, in response to the Athenian harassments of the Peloponnese from Pylos and Cythera after the Battle of Pylos, Spartan general Brasidas gained permission to take an army north to attack Athenian holdings in Thrace. Brasidas gathered an army of 700 helots armed as hoplites and 1,000 mercenary hoplites from the Peloponnese near Corinth. After foiling an Athenian attempt to capture Megara, Brasidas marched his army through Thessaly and linked up with Perdiccas II of Macedon, one of Sparta's northern allies. In late August, the Brasidians arrived at and took Acanthus on the Chalcidice. Early December 424, Brasidas set out for his main objective: Amphipolis. Capture of Amphipolis, 424–423 BC In the winter of 424–423, around the same time as the Battle of Del ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peloponnesian War
The Second Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), often called simply the Peloponnesian War (), was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek war fought between Classical Athens, Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Ancient Greece, Greek world. The war remained undecided until the later intervention of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Empire in support of Sparta. Led by Lysander, the Spartan fleet (built with Persian subsidies) finally defeated Athens which began a period of Spartan hegemony over Greece. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases. The first phase (431–421 BC) was named the Ten Years War, or the Archidamian War, after the Spartan king Archidamus II, who invaded Attica several times with the full hoplite army of the Peloponnesian League, the alliance network dominated by Sparta (then known as Lacedaemon). The Long Walls of Athens rendered this strategy ineffective, while the superior navy of the Delian League (Athens' all ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Classical Athens, Athens). The account, apparently unfinished, does not cover the full war, ending mid-sentence in 411. It was written by Thucydides, an Classical Athens, Athenian historian who also served as an Athenian general during the war. His account of the conflict is widely considered to be a classic and regarded as one of the earliest scholarly works of history. The ''History'' is divided into eight books. Analyses of the ''History'' generally occur in one of two camps. On the one hand, some scholars such as J. B. Bury view the work as an objective and scientific piece of history. The judgment of Bury reflects this traditional interpretation of the ''History'' as "severe in its detachment, written from a purely intellectual point of view, unencumbered with platitudes an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brasidas
Brasidas (, died 422 BC) was the most distinguished Spartan officer during the first decade of the Peloponnesian War. He died during the Second Battle of Amphipolis while winning one of his most spectacular victories. Biography Brasidas was the son of Tellis (ΤÎλλις) and Argileonis, and won his first laurels by leading the relief of Methone, which was besieged by the Athenians (431 BC). During the following year he seems to have been eponymous ephor, and in 429 BC he was sent out as one of the three commissioners to advise the admiral Cnemus. As trierarch he distinguished himself in the assault on the Athenian position at the Battle of Pylos, during which he was severely wounded. In 424 BC, while Brasidas mustered a force at Corinth for a campaign in Thrace, he frustrated an Athenian attack on Megara. Immediately afterwards he marched through Thessaly at the head of 1,700 hoplites (700 helots and 1000 Peloponnesian mercenaries) and joined Perdiccas II of Macedon. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Demosthenes (general)
Demosthenes (, died 413 BC), son of Alcisthenes, was an Athenian general during the Peloponnesian War. Early military actions The military activities of Demosthenes are first recorded from 426 BC when he led an Athenian invasion of Aetolia. This was a failure. Demosthenes lost about 120 Athenians along with his second-in-command, Procles. Demosthenes' allies also suffered heavy losses. As a result of this loss, Demosthenes did not return to Athens, fearing for his life. However, later that year, Ambracia invaded Acarnania. The Acarnanians sought help from Demosthenes, who was now patrolling the coast of the Ionian Sea with twenty Athenian ships. He landed at Olpae and defeated a Spartan army under Eurylochus, which had come to assist the Ambraciots. Eurylochus was killed in the Battle of Olpae and the Acarnanians and Ambraciots signed a peace treaty. Success in the Peloponnese In 425 BC, while still with his fleet in the Ionian Sea, Demosthenes was ordered by Cleon to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Pylos
The naval Battle of Pylos took place in 425 BC during the Peloponnesian War at the peninsula of Pylos, on the present-day Navarino Bay, Bay of Navarino in Messenia, and was an Athens, Athenian victory over Sparta. An Athenian fleet had been driven ashore at Pylos by a storm, and, at the instigation of Demosthenes (general), Demosthenes, the Athenian soldiers fortified the peninsula, and a small force was left there when the fleet departed again. The establishment of an Athenian garrison in Spartan territory frightened the Spartan leadership, and the Spartan army, which had been ravaging Attica under the command of Agis II, Agis, ended their expedition (the expedition only lasted 15 days) and marched home, while the Spartan fleet at Corcyra sailed to Pylos. Demosthenes had five triremes and their complements of soldiers as a garrison, and was reinforced by 40 hoplites from a Messenian ship that happened to stop at Pylos. In total, Demosthenes probably had about 600 men, only 90 o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diodotus (son Of Eucrates)
Diodotus (), son of Eucrates, was an opponent to the proposal of Cleon – leader of the radical, imperialist faction in Athens – in 427 BC to kill all adult Mytilenean males and to enslave their women and children after the defeat of Mytilene (see also Mytilenean revolt). He seems to represent the moderate faction in Athens (in favour of Pericles' policy). Diodotus' proposal won in the assembly, so that in the end only Cleon's next proposal was carried out: to punish by death those Mytileneans who were sent by Paches to Athens (which were a little over a thousand; this was probably about 10% of the adult male population of the rebelling cities on Lesbos). The execution took place without proper trial. Diodotus' one speech in Thucydides Thucydides ( ; ; BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts Peloponnesian War, the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
