Hegetorides ( grc, Ἡγητορίδης) was a

citizen Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

island of

Thasos Thasos or Thassos ( el, Θάσος, ''Thásos'') is a Greek island in the North Aegean Sea. It is the northernmost major Greek island, and 12th largest by area. The island has an area of and a population of about 13,000. It forms a separate r ...

during the Peloponnesian War between

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

and

Sparta Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred ...

(431-404 BC), mentioned by the 2nd-century historian

Polyaenus Polyaenus or Polyenus ( ; see ae (æ) vs. e; grc-gre, Πoλύαινoς, Polyainos, "much-praised") was a 2nd-century CE Greek author, known best for his ''Stratagems in War'' ( grc-gre, Στρατηγήματα, Strategemata), which has been pr ...

.Stratagems 2.33 Lemprière's ''Classical Dictionary'' claims that when Hegetorides saw that his city was besieged by Athenian forces and that there was a law declaring death to anyone who spoke of peace, he went into the

agora The agora (; grc, ἀγορά, romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Greek city-states. It is the best representation of a city-state's response to accommodate the social and political order ...

with a rope tied around his neck. He told his fellow citizens to do whatever they wished with him, provided that they saved the city from the starvation and death that the continued war promised. The Thasians were shocked from their determination, sued for peace, and pardoned Hegetorides. The main classical authority on the Peloponnesian War,

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

, does not mention Hegetorides at all, and appears to mention Thasos itself only once, in the context of Galepsus, a colony of Thasos (Book V of his ''History of the Pelponnesian War''). It is possible that the story of Hegetorides originates prior to the Peloponnesian War, as Thasos revolted from the Athenian alliance around 463 BC and was attacked by Athens. Unfortunately, as respects the legitimacy of the tale, the Thasians do not appear to have sued for peace. When, in 411 BC, Thasos revolted again during the Peloponnesian War, a Spartan governor assumed power on the island, suggesting the Thasians, rather than suing for peace, prevailed over Athens.

References

*''Lempriere's Dictionary'' 3rd ed. 1843. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hegetorides Ancient Thasians Greek pacifists People of the Peloponnesian War 5th-century BC Greek people

See also

References