Callias () was an

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), 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 apparently squandered the family's fortune.

Life

Born to the wealthy

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 ...

family that provided

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

to the state-owned silver mine of

Laurion Lavrio, Lavrion or Laurium (; (later ); from Middle Ages until 1908: Εργαστήρια ''Ergastiria'') is a town in southeastern part of Attica Region, Attica, Greece. It is part of Athens metropolitan area and the seat of the municipalit ...

, Callias was one of the richest men in Athens. He fought at the

Battle of Marathon The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens (polis), Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Achaemenid Empire, Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaph ...

(490) in priestly attire.

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'', ...

relates that after the battle, an enemy soldier confused Callias for a king and showed him where a large quantity of gold had been hidden in a ditch. Callias is said to have killed the man and secretly taken the treasure, but rumour later spread of the incident, and comic poets gave his family the name ''Laccopluti'', or "enriched by the ditch". Around the time of the death of

Miltiades Miltiades (; ; c. 550 – 489 BC), also known as Miltiades the Younger, was a Greek Athenian statesman known mostly for his role in the Battle of Marathon, as well as for his downfall afterwards. He was the son of Cimon Coalemos, a renowned ...

, Callias offered to pay the debt that

Cimon Cimon or Kimon (; – 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 Battle of Salamis ...

had inherited from his father in exchange for Cimon's sister Elpinice's hand in marriage, and Cimon agreed. A supporter of

Pericles Pericles (; ; –429 BC) was a Greek statesman and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Ancient Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War, and was acclaimed ...

, who was the effective leader of Athens during this period, Callias took on the role of diplomat and ambassador of Athens and of the

Delian League 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 ...

. In about 461 BC, he made at least one journey as ambassador to Persian King

Artaxerxes I Artaxerxes I (, ; ) was the fifth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, from 465 to December 424 BC. He was the third son of Xerxes I. In Greek sources he is also surnamed "Long-handed" ( ''Makrókheir''; ), allegedly because his ri ...

. Sometime after the death of Cimon, probably about 449 BC he went to

Susa Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...

to conclude with Artaxerxes a peace treaty, which became known as the Peace of Callias. The treaty ended the Greco-Persian War and safeguarded the Greek city-states in

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

from Persian attacks. Callias may also been responsible for peace treaties with Rhegion and Leontinoi, as well as the later peace treaty with

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 ...

that is known as the Thirty Years' Peace. Callias' fate upon his return to Athens remains a mystery, and information about his later years remain only fragmentary. According to Demosthenes, he was fined fifty talents on his return to Athens. Other sources claim that the Athenians dedicated an altar of peace and voted special honours to Callias. Callias' son Hipponicus was also a notable military leader was known as the "richest man in Greece".

Notes

References

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

vii. 151;

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...

xii. 4;

Demosthenes Demosthenes (; ; ; 384 – 12 October 322 BC) was a Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide insight into the politics and cu ...

, ''De Falsa Legatione'', p. 428; Grote recognizes the treaty as a historical fact, ''History of Greece'', ch. xlv, while Curtius, bk. iii. ch. ii, denies the conclusion of any formal treaty; see also Ed. Meyer, ''Forschungen.'', ii.; JB Bury in ''Hermathena'', xxiv (1898). {{DEFAULTSORT:Callias 02 Battle of Marathon Ancient Greek ambassadors 5th-century BC Athenians Athenians of the Greco-Persian Wars 5th-century BC diplomats