Coeratadas (Greek: ) was a Theban who commanded some

Boeotian 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 lar ...

forces under Clearchus, the Spartan harmost at

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) 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'' cont ...

, when the city was being besieged by the

Athenians 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 ...

in 408 BC. He was a general in the

Peloponnesian War The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided for a long time until the decisive intervention of th ...

and made a "sensational" escape from Athens as a prisoner of war. When Clearchus crossed over to Asia to obtain money from Pharnabazus, and to collect forces, he left the command of the garrison to Helixus, a

Megarian Megara (; el, Μέγαρα, ) is a historic town and a municipality in West Attica, Greece. It lies in the northern section of the Isthmus of Corinth opposite the island of Salamis, which belonged to Megara in archaic times, before being taken ...

, and Coeratadas, who, soon after, were compelled to surrender themselves as prisoners when certain parties within the town opened the gates to

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 ...

. They were sent to Athens, but during the disembarkation at Piraeus, Coeratadas managed to escape into the crowd, and made his way safely to Decelea. In 400 BC, when the

Cyrean Greeks The Ten Thousand ( grc, οἱ Μύριοι, ''oi Myrioi'') were a force of mercenary units, mainly Greeks, employed by Cyrus the Younger to attempt to wrest the throne of the Persian Empire from his brother, Artaxerxes II. Their march to the ...

arrived at Byzantium, Coeratadas, who was seeking employment as a general, prevailed on them to choose him as their commander, promising to lead them into Thrace on a profitable expedition and to supply them with plentiful provisions. However, almost immediately it was discovered that he had no means of supporting them for even a single day, and accordingly he was obliged to relinquish his command.

References

{{SmithDGRBM, title = Coeratadas

Sources

The expedition of Cyrus
By Xenophon, Robin Waterfield, Tim Rood Ancient Theban generals 5th-century BC Greek people 4th-century BC Greek people People of the Peloponnesian War