Anaxibius (), was the

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 admiral stationed at

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion () was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' continued to be used as a n ...

in 400 BC, to whom the Greek troops of

Cyrus the Younger Cyrus the Younger ( ''Kūruš''; ; died 401 BC) was an Achaemenid prince and general. He ruled as satrap of Lydia and Ionia from 408 to 401 BC. Son of Darius II and Parysatis, he died in 401 BC in battle during a failed attempt to oust his ...

, on their arrival at

Trapezus Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid Em ...

on the

Euxine The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

, sent their general, Cheirisophus, to obtain a sufficient number of ships to transport them to Europe. However, when Cheirisophus met them again at Sinope, he brought back nothing from Anaxibius but civil words and a promise of employment and pay as soon as they came out of the Euxine. On their arrival at Chrysopolis, on the Asiatic shore of the

Bosporus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...

, Anaxibius, being bribed by Pharnabazus with great promises to withdraw them from his

satrapy A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Persian (Achaemenid) Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. A satrapy is the territory governed by a satrap. ...

, again engaged to furnish them with pay, and brought them over to Byzantium. Here he attempted to get rid of them, and to send them forward on their march without fulfilling his agreement. A fight ensued, in which Anaxibius was compelled to flee for refuge to the

Acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens ...

, and which was quelled only by the remonstrances of Xenophon. Soon after this the Greeks left the town under the command of the adventurer Coeratades, and Anaxibius issued a proclamation, subsequently acted on by the harmost Aristarchus of Sparta, that all of Cyrus's soldiers found in Byzantium should be sold as slaves. However, soon after Anaxibius was superseded in command. So finding himself neglected by Pharnabazus, he attempted to revenge himself by persuading Xenophon to lead the Greek army to invade Pharnabazus's satrapy. But the enterprise was stopped by the threats by Aristarchus. In 389, Anaxibius was sent out from Sparta to supersede Dercyllidas in the command at Abydus, and to check the rising fortunes of

Athens 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 ...

in the

Hellespont The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey t ...

. Here he met at first with some success, until 388 when Iphicrates, who had been sent against him by the Athenians, contrived to intercept him on his return from seeking to take possession of the city of Antandrus, which had promised to revolt and join Anaxibius. Anaxibius, coming suddenly on the Athenian ambush, and foreseeing the certainty of his own defeat, told his men to save themselves and flee. His own duty, he said, required him to die there; and, with a small body of comrades, he remained on the spot, fighting till he fell. Anaxibius is described as having died fighting with a

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...

he loved by his side, though the origin or social status of this youth is unclear as he is not described as a soldier. This relationship may have been an uncharacteristic extension of pederastic feeling to a youth who was not necessarily Spartan and possibly a slave, considering how he was accompanying rather than fighting alongside Anaxibius.

Notes

{{authority control Anabasis (Xenophon) 5th-century BC Spartans 4th-century BC Spartans Ancient Greek LGBTQ people Ancient Spartan admirals Military personnel killed in action Spartan hegemony