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'{{Other uses}} [[File:Lysander-Sparta.jpg|thumb|220px|Lysander.]] '''Lysander''' (died 395 BC, {{lang-el|''Λύσανδρος''}}, '''Lýsandros''') was a [[Sparta]]n general who commanded the Spartan fleet in the Hellespont which defeated the [[Ancient Athens|Athenians]] at [[battle of Aegospotami|Aegospotami]] in 405 BC. The following year, he was able to force the Athenians to capitulate, bringing the [[Peloponnesian War]] to an end; he organized the dominion of Sparta over Greece in the last decade of his life. ==Early life== Little is known of Lysander's early life. Lysander's father was Aristocleitus, who was a member of the Spartan [[Heracleidae]]; that is, like most [[Dorian]] men of good family, he claimed descent from [[Heracles]]. Nevertheless, Lysander was a [[mothax]]: his family was poor and when he was young he needed sponsorship to be able to participate in the Spartan training to be a soldier. ==The Battle of Notium== {{Main|Battle of Notium}} [[File:Lysanderaegeansea.jpg|thumb|right|320px|Most important geographical sites, during the life of Lysander]] Lysander was appointed Spartan [[navarch]] (admiral) for the [[Aegean Sea]] in 407 BC. It was during this period that he gained the friendship and support of [[Cyrus the Younger]], a son of [[Darius II of Persia]] and [[Parysatis]]. Lysander then undertook the major project of creating a strong Spartan fleet based at [[Ephesus]] which could take on the Athenians and their allies.<ref name="lys-lives">[[Plutarch]], [[Parallel Lives|Lives]]. Life of Lysander. ([http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/lysander.html University of Massachusetts]/[[s:Lives/Cimon|Wikisource]])</ref><ref name="lys-xen">[[Xenophon]], [[Hellenica]]. ([[s:Hellenica|Wikisource]]/[http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1174 Gutenberg Project])</ref> [[Alcibiades]] was appointed commander-in-chief with autocratic powers and left for [[Samos Island|Samos]] to rejoin his fleet and try and engage Lysander in battle. The Spartan navarch Lysander refused to be lured out of Ephesus to do battle with Alcibiades. However, while Alcibiades was away seeking supplies, the Athenian squadron was placed under the command of Antiochus, his helmsman. During this time Lysander managed to engage the Athenian fleet and they were routed by the Spartan fleet (with the help of the Persians under Cyrus) at the Battle of Notium in 406 BC. This defeat by Lysander gave the enemies of Alcibiades the excuse they needed to strip him of his command. He never returned again to Athens. He sailed north to the land he owned in the [[Thracian Chersonese]]. ==Lysander out of office== However, Lysander ceased to be the Spartan [[Nauarchia|nauarch]] after this victory and, in accordance with the Spartan law, was replaced by [[Callicratidas]]. Callicratidas' ability to continue the war at sea was neatly sabotaged when Lysander returned all the cash in hand to Cyrus when he left office<ref>"Spartans, a new history", Nigel Kennell, 2010, p126</ref> In 406 BC, Callicratidas assembled a fleet and sailed to [[Mithymna|Methymna]], [[Lesbos Island|Lesbos]], which he then besieged. This move threatened the Athenian grain supply. Athens sent their admiral, [[Conon]], to relieve the siege. When Callicratidas attacked him, Conon retreated to [[Mytilene]], where he was blockaded by Callicratidas’ Spartan fleet. To relieve Conon, the Athenians assembled a new fleet composed largely of newly constructed ships manned by inexperienced crews. While this fleet was inferior to the Spartans, the Athenians employed new and unorthodox tactics, which allowed them to secure a dramatic and unexpected victory in the [[Battle of Arginusae]], near Lesbos. The blockade of Conon by the Spartans was broken, the Spartan force was soundly defeated and Callicratidas was killed during the battle. == Lysander returns to command == After Sparta was severely defeated at the [[Battle of Arginusae]] and with the death of the Spartan [[Nauarchia|nauarch]], Callicratides, Sparta's allies sought to have Lysander reappointed as nauarch. However, Spartan law did not allow the reappointment of a previous nauarch, so Aracus was appointed as nauarch with Lysander as his deputy. Nonetheless, Lysander was effectively the commander of the Spartan fleet.<ref name="lys-lives"/><ref name="lys-xen"/> Cyrus, being especially pleased, once again started to supply the Spartan fleet with cash - even allowing Lysander to run his satrapy in his absence.<ref>"Spartans, a new history", Nigel Kennell, 2010, p127</ref> Once back in command, Lysander directed the Spartan fleet towards the [[Hellespont]]. The Athenian fleet followed him there. In 404 BC, the Athenians gather their remaining ships at [[Aegospotami]] (near the [[Thracian Chersonese]]). The Athenian fleet under Admiral Conon was then destroyed by the Spartans under Lysander in the [[Battle of Aegospotami]]. Conon withdrew to [[Cyprus]]. Then, Lysander's forces went to the [[Bosporus]] and captured both [[Byzantium]] and [[Chalcedon]]. They expelled the Athenians living in those States. Lysander also captured [[Lesbos Island]].<ref name="lys-lives"/><ref name="lys-xen"/> ==The defeat of Athens== Following the victory at Aegospotami, the Spartans were in a position to finally force Athens to capitulate. The Spartan king, [[Pausanias of Sparta|Pausanias]], laid siege to Athens while Lysander's fleet blockaded the port city of [[Piraeus]]. This action effectively closed the grain route to Athens through the Hellespont, thereby starving Athens. Realising the seriousness of the situation, [[Theramenes]] started negotiations with Lysander. These negotiations took three months, but in the end Lysander agreed to terms at Piraeus. An agreement was reached for the capitulation of Athens and the cessation of the Peloponnesian War in 404 BC. The Spartans required the Athenians to raze the walls of Piraeus as well as the [[Long Walls]] which connected Athens and Piraeus; that the Athenians should abandon their colonies, and that Athens should surrender all but twelve of their ships to the Spartans. However, Theramenes did secure terms that saved the city of Athens from destruction. Greek towns across the [[Aegean Sea]] in [[Ionia]] were again to be subject to the [[Achaemenid Empire]]. ==Lysander in Command in Athens== Lysander then put in place a puppet government in Athens with the establishment of the [[oligarchy]] of the [[Thirty Tyrants]] under [[Critias]] which included Theramenes as a leading member. The puppet government executed a number of citizens and deprived all but a few of their former rights as citizens of Athens. Many of Athens' former allies were now ruled by boards of ten (decarchy), often reinforced with garrisons under a Spartan commander (harmost). The practice started the period of [[Spartan hegemony]]. After storming and seizing [[Samos Island|Samos]], Lysander returned to Sparta. Alcibiades, the former Athenian leader, emerged after the Spartan victory at Aegospotami and took refuge in [[Phrygia]], northwestern [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]] with [[Pharnabazus]], its Persian [[satrap]]. He sought Persian assistance for the Athenians. However, the Spartans decided that Alcibiades must be removed and Lysander, with the help of Pharnabazus, arranged the assassination of Alcibiades.<ref name="lys-lives"/><ref name="lys-xen"/> Lysander was able to gain a huge fortune from his victories against the Athenians and their allies. Nonetheless, in accord with Spartan tradition, he wished to transfer this fortune to the [[ephor]]s at Sparta. Lysander commanded the Spartan general [[Gylippus]] to undertake this task. However, Gylippus could not resist the temptation to enrich himself and stole a significant amount. When it was discovered what had happened, Gylippus went into exile and was condemned to death in his absence. ==Resistance by Athens== The Athenian general [[Thrasybulus]], who had been exiled from Athens by the Spartans' [[puppet government]], led the democratic resistance to the new oligarchic government. In 403 BC, he commanded a small force of exiles that invaded [[Attica]] and, in successive battles, defeated first a Spartan garrison and then the forces of the oligarchic government (which included the Spartan general, Lysander) in the [[Battle of Munychia]]. The leader of the Thirty Tyrants, Critias, was killed in the battle. The [[Battle of Piraeus]] was then fought between Athenian exiles who had defeated the government of the Thirty Tyrants and occupied Piraeus and a Spartan force sent to combat them. In the battle, the Spartans narrowly defeated the exiles, with both sides suffering large numbers of casualties. Despite opposition from Lysander, after the battle Pausanias the [[Kings of Sparta|Agiad King of Sparta]], arranged a settlement between the two parties which allowed the reunification of Athens and Piraeus, and the re-establishment of democratic government in Athens. The remaining oligarchic Thirty Tyrants were allowed to flee to [[Eleusina|Eleusis]]. Thrasybulus restored democratic institutions to Athens and granted amnesties to all except the oligarchic extremists. ==Involvement in Cyrus' revolt against the Persian King Artaxerxes II== During 401 BC Lysander still had a continuing influence in Sparta despite his setbacks in Athens. He was able to persuade the Spartans to select Agesilaus II as the new Eurypontid Spartan king following the death of [[Agis II]]. He was also able to persuade the Spartans to support Cyrus the Younger in his unsuccessful rebellion against his older brother, [[Artaxerxes II of Persia]]. Cyrus started out with about 20,000 men, of whom around [[Ten Thousand (Greek)|10,000]] were Greek mercenaries, including Spartans. When he reached the [[Euphrates]] River at [[Thapsacus]], he announced that he was marching against Artaxerxes II. He advanced unopposed into [[Babylonia]]; but Artaxerxes II, warned at the last moment by [[Tissaphernes]], hastily gathered an army. The two forces met at the [[Battle of Cunaxa]], north of [[Babylon]], where Cyrus was slain. The Greek mercenaries fighting for Cyrus were left stranded after Cyrus’ defeat. They fought their way north through hostile Persians, Armenians, and Kurds to [[Trabzon|Trapezus]], on the coast of the [[Black Sea]] under [[Xenophon]]. He was an Athenian who became their leader when Tissaphernes, Persian satrap of [[Caria]] and [[Lydia]], had [[Clearchus of Sparta]] and the other senior Greek captains captured and executed by Artaxerxes. Xenophon's men made their way back to Greece, with most of the men enlisting with the [[Spartan Army]]. Xenophon's [[Anabasis (Xenophon)|successful march]] through the Achaemenid Empire encouraged Sparta to turn on the Persians and begin a series of wars against the Persians in Asia Minor. ==Lysander's final years== Hoping to restore the juntas of oligarchic partisans that he had put in place after the defeat of the Athenians in 404 BC, Lysander arranged for Agesilaus II, the Eurypontid Spartan king, to take command of the Greeks against Persia in 396 BC. The Spartans had been called on by the Ionians to assist them against the Persian King Artaxerxes II. Lysander was arguably hoping to receive command of the Spartan forces not joining the campaign. However, Agesilaus II had become resentful of Lysander's power and influence. So Agesilaus II frustrated the plans of his former mentor and left Lysander in command of the troops in the Hellespont, far from Sparta and mainland Greece. Back in Sparta by 395 BC, Lysander was instrumental in starting a war with [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]] and other Greek cities to be known as the [[Corinthian War]]. The Spartans prepared to send out an army against this new alliance of Athens, Thebes, [[Corinth]] and [[Argos]] (with the backing of the Achaemenid Empire) and ordered Agesilaus II to return to Greece. Agesilaus set out for Sparta with his troops, crossing the Hellespont and marching west through [[Thrace]]. ===Death=== {{Main|Battle of Haliartus}} The Spartans arranged for two armies, one under Lysander and the other under [[Pausanias of Sparta]], to rendezvous at and attack the city of Haliartus, [[Boeotia]]. Lysander arrived before Pausanias and persuaded the city of [[Orchomenus (Boeotia)|Orchomenus]] to revolt from the Boeotian confederacy. He then advanced to Haliartus with his troops. In the [[Battle of Haliartus]], Lysander was killed after bringing his forces too near the walls of the city. Following his death, an abortive scheme by Lysander to increase his power by making the Spartan kingships collective and that the Spartan king should not automatically be given the leadership of the army, was "discovered" by Agesilaus II.<ref name="lys-lives" /><ref name="lys-nepos">[[Cornelius Nepos]], Life of Eminent Greeks .[http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/nepos.htm]</ref> There is argument amongst historians as to whether this was an invention to discredit Lysander after his death. However in the view of Nigel Kennell, the plot fits with what we know of Lysander.<ref>"Spartans, a new history", Nigel Kennell, 2010, p134</ref> Lysander remains an ambiguous figure. While the Roman biographer [[Cornelius Nepos]] charges him with "cruelty and perfidy",<ref name="lys-nepos"/> Lysander &ndash; according to Xenophon &ndash; nonetheless spared the population of captured Greek [[Polis|poleis]] such as [[Lampsacus]],<ref name="lys-xen"/> perhaps in order to gain a useful reputation for mildness. ===Cult=== According to [[Duris of Samos]], Lysander was the first Greek to whom the cities erected altars and sacrificed to him as to a god and the Samians voted that their festival of Hera should be called Lysandreia.<ref>The hellenistic world By Frank William Walbank Page 213 ISBN 0674387260</ref> == Sources == {{reflist}} ==See also== *[[Battle of Aegospotami]] *[[Lycurgus (Sparta)|Lycurgus]] *[[Agesilaus II|King Agesilaus II]] *[[Aegean Sea]] *[[Ephesus]] *[[Cyrus the Younger|Cyrus]] *[[Battle of Notium]] *[[Harmost]] *[[Peloponnesian War]] *[[Pausanias of Sparta|King Pausanias]] *[[Theramenes]] *[[Thirty Tyrants]] *[[Ephor]] *[[Corinthian War]] *[[Battle of Haliartus]] ==External links== *[http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/people/a/lysander.htm Ancient/classical history (Lysander)] – About.com *[http://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/lysander.html Lysander by Plutarch] – The Internet Classics Archive on MIT {{Plutarch}} {{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. --> | NAME = | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH = | PLACE OF BIRTH = | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = }} [[Category:5th-century BC births]] [[Category:395 BC deaths]] [[Category:Ancient Spartan admirals]] [[Category:People of the Peloponnesian War]] [[Category:Ancient Greeks killed in battle]] [[Category:5th-century BC Greek people]] [[Category:4th-century BC Greek people]] [[Category:Greek ruler cult]] [[Category:Spartan hegemony]] [[Category:Heracleidae]] [[Category:Ancient Spartans]] [[br:Lisandros]] [[ca:Lisandre]] [[cs:Lýsandros]] [[de:Lysander]] [[el:Λύσανδρος]] [[es:Lisandro]] [[eu:Lisandro]] [[fr:Lysandre]] [[ko:리산드로스]] [[is:Lýsandros]] [[it:Lisandro]] [[la:Lysander]] [[hu:Lüszandrosz]] [[nl:Lysander (admiraal)]] [[ja:リュサンドロス (提督)]] [[no:Lysandros]] [[pl:Lizander]] [[pt:Lisandro]] [[ru:Лисандр]] [[sl:Lizander]] [[sh:Lisandar]] [[fi:Lysandros]] [[sv:Lysandros]] [[tl:Lysander]] [[uk:Лісандр]] [[vi:Lysandros]] [[zh:吕山德]]'