Callicratidas () was a

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

n navarch during the

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 Ancien ...

. He belonged to the

mothax Mothax (, ''mothax'', pl.: μόθακες, ''mothakes'') is a Doric Greek word meaning "stepbrother". The term was used for a sociopolitical class in ancient Sparta, particularly during the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC). The mothakes were prima ...

class so he was not a

Spartiate A Spartiate (, ''Spartiátēs'') or ''Homoios'' (pl. ''Homoioi'', , "alike") was an elite full-citizen men of the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta. Spartiate-class men (including boys) were a small minority: estimates are that they made up b ...

, despite his status he had risen to prominence. In 406 BC, he was sent to the Aegean to take command of the Spartan fleet from the navarch

Lysander Lysander (; ; 454 BC – 395 BC) was a Spartan military and political leader. He destroyed the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Aegospotami in 405 BC, forcing Athens to capitulate and bringing the Peloponnesian War to an end. He then played ...

Biography

Callicratidas's tenure as navarch was short, and he encountered a number of difficulties. Chief among these were the intrigues of his predecessor, who had apparently returned the money from which the fleet was supposed to be paid for to its source, the

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

n prince

Cyrus Cyrus () is a Persian-language masculine given name. It is historically best known as the name of several List of monarchs of Iran, Persian kings, most notably including Cyrus the Great, who founded the Achaemenid Empire in 550 BC. It remains wid ...

. Callicratidas needed money from Cyrus to pay his men, but, as a traditionalist Spartan, he was loath to request it from a Persian. His halfhearted attempts to secure funding from Cyrus fell through, and he was forced to find an alternative source of funds, which the city of

Miletus Miletus (Ancient Greek: Μίλητος, Mílētos) was an influential ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in present day Turkey. Renowned in antiquity for its wealth, maritime power, and ex ...

eventually provided. After winning an initial victory against the

Athenian Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

admiral Conon at

Mytilene Mytilene (; ) is the capital city, capital of the Greece, Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of the Aegean. It was fo ...

, Callicratidas came up against a sizable Athenian force sent out to relieve Conon. He met this force at the Battle of Arginusae in 406 BC. His force was soundly defeated, and Callicratidas himself was killed. After his death, Lysander returned from Sparta to take command of Sparta's naval efforts in the Aegean. Callicratidas is remembered as a Spartan of the old school. He disdained the policy of alliance with Persia that had come into favor under Lysander, and he stated that if the choice were his, he would seek peace with Athens. The increasing role of money in Spartan politics and diplomacy offended his traditionalist, antimaterialist sensibilities. Although unsuccessful in his command, he won the respect of many Spartans and allies, and was well regarded after his death.

Pseudo-Callicratidas

Callicratidas is not to be confused with Pseudo-Callicratidas, the pseudonymous author of the Neo-Pythagorean treatise ''On the Felicity of Families''.Callicratidas - Brill Online Reference Works
/ref> The treatise puts forward the idea that remarked that a wife's wealth may thwart her husband's rule.Korinna Zamfir, ''Men and Women in the Household of God: A Contextual Approach to Roles and Ministries in the Pastoral Epistle'', Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2013, pp. 374–5.

Notes

References

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

, ''Parallel Lives'' *Kagan, Donald. ''The Peloponnesian War'' (Penguin Books, 2003). *Fine, John V.A. ''The Ancient Greeks: A critical history'' (Harvard University Press, 1983)

External links

*A
excerpt
from Plutarch's life of Lysander, which deals with Callicratidas's time as navarch. {{Authority control 406 BC deaths Ancient Spartan admirals 5th-century BC Spartans Ancient Greeks killed in battle Spartans of the Peloponnesian War Year of birth unknown