Hipponicus (; el, Ἱππόνικος; ±485 – 422/1 BCE) 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 ...

military commander. He was the son of

Callias II Callias ( gr, Καλλίας, Kallias) was an Ancient Greek statesman, soldier and diplomat, active in 5th century BC. He is commonly known as Callias II to distinguish him from his grandfather, Callias I, and from his grandson, Callias III, who ...

of the deme Alopece and

Elpinice Elpinice ( grc-gre, Ελπινίκη ''Elpiniki'', flourished c. 450 BC ancient Greece) was a noblewoman of classical Athens. She was the daughter of Miltiades, tyrant of the Greek colonies on the Thracian Chersonese, and half sister of Cimon, a ...

of Laciadae (sister of

Cimon Cimon or Kimon ( grc-gre, Κίμων; – 450BC) was an Athenian ''strategos'' (general and admiral) and politician. He was the son of Miltiades, also an Athenian ''strategos''. Cimon rose to prominence for his bravery fighting in the naval Batt ...

). He was known as the "richest man in Greece". Shortly after 455 Hipponicus married the former wife of

Pericles Pericles (; grc-gre, Περικλῆς; c. 495 – 429 BC) was a Greek politician and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Pelo ...

, whose name is unknown. By her he had two children:

Callias III Callias ( el, Kαλλίας) was an ancient Athenian aristocrat and political figure. He was the son of Hipponicus and an unnamed woman (she later married Pericles), an Alcmaeonid and the third member of one of the most distinguished Athenian ...

and a daughter, Hipparete who later married

Alcibiades Alcibiades ( ; grc-gre, Ἀλκιβιάδης; 450 – 404 BC) was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. He was the last of the Alcmaeonidae, which fell from prominence after the Peloponnesian War. He played a major role in t ...

. A second son, Hermogenes was probably illegitimate since he received none of his father's estate. Hipponicus' wealth came, from among other things, the fact that he owned six hundred slaves working at the silver mines at

Laurion Laurium or Lavrio ( ell, Λαύριο; grc, Λαύρειον (later ); before early 11th century BC: Θορικός ''Thorikos''; from Middle Ages until 1908: Εργαστήρια ''Ergastiria'') is a town in southeastern part of Attica, Gree ...

in southern Attica. In 445/4 he was secretary of the Athenian Council (''boule'') and was still active as late as 426 when he,

Nicias Nicias (; Νικίας ''Nikias''; c. 470–413 BC) was an Athenian politician and general during the period of the Peloponnesian War. Nicias was a member of the Athenian aristocracy and had inherited a large fortune from his father, which was inve ...

, and Eurymedon commanded Athenian regiments in an incursion into

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its ...

n territory where they successfully engaged Tanagran and Theban forces at

Tanagra Tanagra ( el, Τανάγρα) is a town and a municipality north of Athens in Boeotia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is the town Schimatari. It is not far from Thebes, and it was noted in antiquity for the figurines named after it. The T ...

. Hipponicus was reported by

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 ...

to have been slain at the

Battle of Delium The Battle of Delium (or Delion, a city in Boeotia) took place in 424 BC, during the Peloponnesian War. It was fought between the Athenians and the Boeotians, who were allies of the Spartans, and ended with the siege of Delium in the following ...

in 424, but this appears to have been an error, either on Andocides part or a later transcriber, for Thucydides reports that the general at Delium was Hippocrates. According to

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of ...

, Hipponicus died shortly before

Eupolis Eupolis ( grc-gre, Εὔπολις; c. 446c. 411 BC) was an Athenian poet of the Old Comedy, who flourished during the time of the Peloponnesian War. Biography Nothing whatsoever is known of his personal history. His father was named Sosipolis. ...

exhibited his comedy ''Flatterers'' in the archonship of Alcaeus ( 422/1). Aelian, in his Varieties of History, reports this anecdote about Hipponicus:

''Hipponicus'' son of ''Callias'' would erect a Statue as a Gift to his Countrey. One advised him that the Statue should be made by '' Polycletus''. He answered, "I will not have such a Statue, the glory whereof will redound not to the Giver, but to the Carver. For it is certain that all who see the Art, will admire '' Polycletus'' and not me."

References

Sources

* Aelian. ''Varieties of History.'' http://penelope.uchicago.edu/aelian/index.xhtml * Athenaeus. ''The Deipnosophists''. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a2013.01.0003 http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/collection?collection=Perseus:collection:Greco-Roman *Davies, J. K. ''Athenian Propertied Families''. Oxford: OUP, 1971. * Nails, Debra. ''The People of Plato: A Prosopography of Plato and Other Socratics''. Indianapolis, Hackett Publishing, 2002. * Thucydides. ''History of the Peloponnesian War''. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999.01.0200 * Xenophon. ''Ways and Means''. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999.01.0210%3atext%3dWays {{DEFAULTSORT:Hipponicus 3 5th-century BC Athenians Ancient Athenian generals