Strombichides () was an Athenian admiral and politician who lived during the late 5th century BC. A son of Diotimus, Strombichides was appointed to command the eight ships which the Athenians sent to the coast of Asia Minor, following the news of the revolt of

Chios Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...

in 412 BC. On his arrival at Samos he added a Samian

trireme A trireme ( ; ; cf. ) was an ancient navies and vessels, ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean Sea, especially the Phoenicians, ancient Greece, ancient Greeks and ancient R ...

to his squadron and sailed to

Teos Teos () or Teo was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, on a peninsula between Chytrium and Myonnesus. It was founded by Minyans from Orchomenus, Ionians and Boeotians, but the date of its foundation is unknown. Teos was one of the t ...

to check on the rebellion there. But soon after, he was compelled to flee to

Samos Samos (, also ; , ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese archipelago, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the Mycale Strait. It is also a separate reg ...

from a superior Peloponnesian fleet, under Chalcideus and

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 ...

and, as a result, Teos revolted. Not long after this Strombichides seems to have returned to Athens, and later in the same year he was one of three commanders who were sent to the Athenians at Samos with a reinforcement of thirty-five ships, which increased their whole force to 104. This they now divided, retaining the greater part of the fleet at Samos to command the sea, and to carry on the war against Miletus, while Strombichides and two others were despatched to Chios with thirty triremes. On their way they lost three of their vessels in a storm. However, with the rest of the fleet they proceeded to Lesbos, and made preparations for the Siege of Chios, to which island they then crossed over, fortified a strong post named

Delphinium ''Delphinium'' is a genus of about 300 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the family (biology), family Ranunculaceae, native species, native throughout the Northern Hemisphere and also on the high mountains of tropical Africa. T ...

, and reduced, for a time, the population of Chios to great extremities. In 411 BC, following the revolt of Abydos and

Lampsacus Lampsacus (; ) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek city located in modern day Turkey, strategically situated on the eastern side of the Hellespont in the northern Troad. An inhabitant of Lampsacus was called a Lampsacene. The name has been trans ...

, Strombichides sailed from Chios with twenty four ships and recovered Lampsacus, but was unable either to persuade or compel Abydos to return to its allegiance. Accordingly he crossed over to Sestus, and there established a garrison to command the whole of the Hellespont. Soon after this, he was summoned to reinforce the Athenians at Samos, who were unable, before his arrival, to make headway against the superior force of the Peloponnesians under Astyochus.

Lysias Lysias (; ; c. 445 – c. 380 BC) was a Logographer (legal), logographer (speech writer) in ancient Greece. He was one of the ten Attic orators included in the "Alexandrian Canon" compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrac ...

c. Agor. pp. 130—133) regarded Strombichides as was one of the friends of democracy who expressed their indignation at the terms of the peace with which

Theramenes Theramenes (; ; died 404/403 BC) was an Athenian military leader and statesman, prominent in the final decade of the Peloponnesian War. He was active during the two periods of oligarchic government at Athens, the 400 and later the Thirty Tyrants, ...

and his fellow-ambassadors returned to Athens from Lacedaemon in 404 BC. Having thus made himself an enemy of the oligarchs, he was involved with the other prominent men of his party, in the accusation brought against them by Agoratus before the council, of a conspiracy to oppose the peace. They were all accordingly thrown into prison, and not long after were put to death following a mockery of a trial under the government of the Thirty. Strombichides is believed to have been the father of the Athenian statesman, Autocles. With Strombichides' father, Diotimus, being head of the fleet as Nauarch, himself being a

Taxiarch The word taxiarch ( ; ) is used in the Greek language to mean "brigadier". The term derives , in military context meaning 'an ordered formation'. It is cognate with the scientific term taxonomy. In turn, the rank has given rise to the Greek term ...

, and his son, Autocles rising to lead the army as

Strategos ''Strategos'' (), also known by its Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized form ''strategus'', is a Greek language, Greek term to mean 'military General officer, general'. In the Hellenistic world and in the Byzantine Empire, the term was also use ...

, this family from the southern

Deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or (, plural: ''demoi'', δήμοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Classical Athens, Athens and other city-states. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside existed in the 6th century BC and earlier, bu ...

Euonymeia Euonymeia (, ''Evonímia''), also known by its medieval name Trachones (), and by its modern colloquial Ano Kalamaki (, Upper Kalamaki), is a historic settlement and currently a residential neighborhood within the suburban town of Alimos in the ...

was one of the most influential of Athenian politics and military hierarchy.

References

* Thuc. viii. 15, 16, 17, 30, 34, 38, 40, 55, 60, 61, 62, 79 ; *The Fall of the Athenian Empire By Donald Kagan Page 51 {{SmithDGRBM, article=Strombichides Ancient Athenian admirals Athenians of the Peloponnesian War 5th-century BC Athenians Executed ancient Greek people People executed by ancient Athens