Gylippus (; was a Spartan general (

strategos ''Strategos'' (), also known by its Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized form ''strategus'', is a Greek language, Greek term to mean 'military General officer, general'. In the Hellenistic world and in the Byzantine Empire, the term was also use ...

) of the 5th century BC; he was the son of Cleandridas, who was the adviser of King Pleistoanax and had been expelled from

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 ...

for accepting

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 ...

bribes in 446 BC and fled to Thurii, a pan-Hellenic

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

then being founded in the instep of Italy with Athenian help and participation. His mother may have been a helot, which meant he was not a true Spartiate but a

mothax Mothax (, ''mothax'', pl.: μόθακες, ''mothakes'') is a Doric Greek word meaning "stepbrother". The term was used for a sociopolitical class in ancient Sparta, particularly during the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC). The mothakes were prima ...

, a man of inferior status. Despite this, from an early childhood he was trained for war in the traditional Spartan fashion and on reaching maturity had been elected to a military mess, his dues contributed by a wealthier Spartiate patron. For an individual of marginal origins, war was an opportunity to gain honor and eminence. When Alcibiades urged the Spartans to send a general to lead the Syracusan resistance against the Athenian expedition, Gylippus was appointed (414 BC), his arrival was a turning point of the struggle. More daring than Nicias, the Athenian commander he faced, he was able to gain an upper hand by driving the Athenians from key strategic locations and essentially breaking the

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

. When Athens sent

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 ...

with reinforcements, he too was defeated by Gylippus, which ultimately led to the downfall of the Athenian campaign in Syracuse. Diodorus, probably following Timaeus, represents him as inducing the Syracusans to pass sentence of death on the captive Athenian generals, but there is also the statement of Philistus (

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'', ...

, Nicias, 28), a Syracusan who himself took part in the defence, and

Thucydides Thucydides ( ; ; BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian historian and general. His ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts Peloponnesian War, the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been d ...

(vii. 86), that he tried, though without success, to save their lives, wishing to take them to Sparta as a signal proof of his success. Gylippus, like his father, met his downfall in a financial

scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way a ...

; entrusted by Lysander with a treasure of

silver coin Silver coins are one of the oldest mass-produced form of coinage. Silver has been used as a coinage metal since the times of the Greeks; their silver drachmas were popular trade coins. The ancient Persians used silver coins between 612–330 B ...

s for delivery to the ephors at Sparta, he could not resist the temptation to embezzle part of the shipment. Upon discovery of this theft, Gylippus fled Sparta and went into exile. He was condemned to death ''

in absentia ''In Absentia'' is the seventh studio album by British progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, first released on 24 September 2002. The album marked several changes for the band, with it being the first with new drummer Gavin Harrison and the f ...

'' and disappears from historical records.

Notes

References

* This work in turn cites: **

vi. 93, 104, vii. **

, ''Nicias'', 19, 21, 27, 28, ''Lysander'', 16, 17 ** Diodorus xiii. 7, 8, 28–32 ** Polyaenus i. 39, 42

External links

Livius
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130907010157/http://www.livius.org/gs-gz/gylippus/gylippus.html , date=7 September 2013 by Jona Lendering
Syracuse Expedition on Lycurgus.org
Ancient Spartan generals Spartans of the Peloponnesian War 5th-century BC Spartans