Cleinias (), father of Alcibiades, brother of Axiochus, and member of the

Alcmaeonidae The Alcmaeonidae (; , ; Attic: , ) or Alcmaeonids () were a wealthy and powerful noble family of ancient Athens, a branch of the Neleides who claimed descent from the mythological Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narrati ...

family, was an

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 ...

who married Deinomache, the daughter of Megacles, and became the father of the famous

Alcibiades Alcibiades (; 450–404 BC) was an Athenian statesman and general. The last of the Alcmaeonidae, he played a major role in the second half of the Peloponnesian War as a strategic advisor, military commander, and politician, but subsequently ...

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'', ...

tells us that he traced his family line back to Eurysaces, the son of Telamonian Ajax. Cleinias died at the Battle of Coronea in 447 BC. He is also credited with the Cleinias Decree, which involved the tightening up of the process of tribute collection in the

Athenian Empire The Delian League was a confederacy of Polis, Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, founded in 478 BC under the leadership (hegemony) of Classical Athens, Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Achaemenid Empire, Persian ...

. Attributing this inscription to this particular Cleinias, the father of Alcibiades, places the decree in the early 440s, usually given as 447, as Cleinias died at the Battle of Coronea in 447 BC. Although more recently, scholars have argued the Cleinias Decree was made in the 420s following Athens running low on money. Thus we cannot be certain this is the same Cleinias.Terry Buckley, Aspects of Greek History 750–323BC: A Source-Based Approach, 2010

References

447 BC deaths 5th-century BC Athenians Ancient Greek monarchs Ancient Greeks killed in battle Alcmaeonidae Year of birth unknown {{AncientGreece-royal-stub