Cleophon ( Greek: , ''Kleophōn''; died 405 BC) was an

Athenian Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

politician and

demagogue A demagogue (from Greek , a popular leader, a leader of a mob, from , people, populace, the commons + leading, leader) or rabble-rouser is a political leader in a democracy who gains popularity by arousing the common people against elites, ...

, who was of great influence during the Peloponnesian War. He was a staunch democrat and vehement opponent of the oligarchs; his sparring with Critias rated a mention in

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...

's ''

Rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate par ...

''. On three separate occasions, he inspired the citizens of Athens to reject the Spartans' attempts to make peace; once after the Athenian victory at Cyzicus (410 BC), again after the Athenian victory at Arginusae (406 BC), and once again after the decisive Spartan naval victory at

Aegospotami Aegospotami ( grc, Αἰγὸς Ποταμοί, ''Aigos Potamoi'') or AegospotamosMish, Frederick C., Editor in Chief. “Aegospotami.” '' Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary''. 9th ed. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster Inc., 1985. , (ind ...

(405 BC). During Lysander's ensuing

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

, the tide of opinion turned against the democrats, and the oligarchs used the opportunity to rid themselves of their rival. One of their members, Satyrus, brought a charge against Cleophon of neglect of military duty, leading to his arrest. Since it was by no means certain that Cleophon could be convicted of this, the commissioner for the publication of the Athenian laws,

Nicomachus Nicomachus of Gerasa ( grc-gre, Νικόμαχος; c. 60 – c. 120 AD) was an important ancient mathematician and music theorist, best known for his works '' Introduction to Arithmetic'' and '' Manual of Harmonics'' in Greek. He was bo ...

, was persuaded by bribery or partisanship to exhibit a "law" allowing the oligarch-dominated Boule to oversee Cleophon's trial by lot-chosen jury. Lysias. "Against Nicomachus." ''Lysias'', xxx.11. Nevertheless, the only reference mentioning the bribery was from a court speech in which the litigant was trying to execute Nicomachus, because of an issue regarding the revision of Sacrificial Calendar, it is highly possible that this accusation was made in order to discredit Nicomachus before the jury and the accusation itself has not secure proofs. The oligarchs used this assessorship () over the jurors to ensure the conviction of Cleophon and his death sentence. Cleophon was made the object of satire by the comic poet

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

in an eponymous play (now lost), and by

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his ...

in ''

The Frogs ''The Frogs'' ( grc-gre, Βάτραχοι, Bátrakhoi, Frogs; la, Ranae, often abbreviated ''Ran.'' or ''Ra.'') is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus i ...

''. Both made fun of Cleophon's

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

origins and accent: since his father is known to have been an Athenian citizen, his mother is conjectured to have been Thracian and Plato of his low Athenian birth (

Andocides Andocides (; grc-gre, Ἀνδοκίδης, ''Andokides''; c. 440 – c. 390 BC) was a logographer (speech writer) in Ancient Greece. He was one of the ten Attic orators included in the "Alexandrian Canon" compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium an ...

says that Cleophon was a harp-maker by trade, and Aelian comments on the poverty of his early life).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleophon 5th-century BC Athenians Ancient Thracian Greeks Ancient Greek merchants Year of birth unknown 405 BC deaths Athenians of the Peloponnesian War