Laches (; ; 475 – 418 BCE) was an

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 ...

aristocrat (son of Melanopos) and

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

during the

Peloponnesian War The Second Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), often called simply the Peloponnesian War (), was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek war fought between Classical Athens, Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Ancien ...

Life

His date of birth is unknown, but Plato asserts that he was distinctly older than

Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...

, who was born around 470 BCE. According to Thucydides, he was the son of Melanopus of Aexone. The family belonged to the Cecropis tribe. In 427 BCE, Laches and Charoeades were sent to

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

with a fleet of 20 ships in order to support Athenian allies against Syracuse. When Charoeades was killed by the Syracusans in battle in 426 BCE, Laches took over the supreme command of the fleet. Under his command, the army sailed to Mylae, a territory of Messana and was defended by two battalions of Messanians. The enemies tried to ambush the Athenians and when this failed, Laches was able to force the cities of Mylae and Messana to surrender. However, due to the annual reappointment of generals, at the beginning of 425 BCE he was replaced by Pythodoros as supreme commander. The first Athenian expedition to Sicily ended badly. Upon Laches' return to Athens he was prosecuted by Cleon, but was acquitted of any wrongdoing. His trial was satirized by

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...

in his play '' The Wasps'', which is the main source for its historicity. In 424 BCE, Laches negotiated a treaty of alliance with

Halieis Halieis (), or Halice or Halike (Ἁλίκη), or Halia (Ἁλία), or Alycus or Alykos (Ἄλυκος), or Haliai (Ἁλιαί), was a port town of Hermionis, in ancient Argolis at the mouth of the Argolic Gulf. The district is called Halias (� ...

, a Spartan ally on the

Argolid Peninsula The Argolid Peninsula is a peninsula situated in Greece in the Peloponnese, much of which is contained in the modern region of Argolis. One of the first major Greek settlements, Mycenae, is situated on this peninsula. During the Classical Gree ...

, which the Athenians had been raiding since 425 BCE. This treaty allowed the Athenians to establish a garrison at Halieis and committed the Halieians to "do well to the Athenians as far as we can at every opportunity". In 423 BCE, Laches successfully moved for a one-year truce 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 ...

in the

Athenian Assembly The ecclesia or ekklesia () was the assembly of the citizens in city-states of ancient Greece. The ekklesia of Athens The ekklesia of ancient Athens is particularly well-known. It was the popular assembly, open to all male citizens as soon a ...

. After Cleon died in 422 BCE, Laches, together with Nicias, was able to negotiate the Peace of Nicias. In 418 BCE, the peace broke down because of Athens's support for Spartan rebels. Laches was again appointed general and was killed in the Athenian defeat at the Battle of Mantinea. The Platonic dialogue '' Laches'' features Laches as one of

' main interlocutors.

Others named Laches

Laches was a common name at Athens; the archon of 400/399 BCE, the year of Socrates' execution, was another Laches. Johannes Kirchner's '' Prosopographia Attica'' lists eighteen men of the name of Laches, including the general's son, grandson, and great-grandson, who appear in

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 ...

' speech against Timocrates and in his letters. There was also another Laches, son of Demochares, who was Demosthenes' cousin and brother-in-law, but he was of another

deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or (, plural: ''demoi'', δήμοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Classical Athens, Athens and other city-states. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside existed in the 6th century BC and earlier, bu ...

and family. There was also a captain at the battle of Coronea (394 BCE);Against Simon: Defense 45 and an Athenian commander who fought (and lost to)

Epaminondas Epaminondas (; ; 419/411–362 BC) was a Greeks, Greek general and statesman of the 4th century BC who transformed the Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek polis, city-state of Thebes, Greece, Thebes, leading it out of Spartan subjugation into a pre ...

in 364 BCE.

References

Sources

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 ...

, ''

History Of The Peloponnesian War The ''History of the Peloponnesian War'' () is a historical account of the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), which was fought between the Peloponnesian League (led by Sparta) and the Delian League (led by Classical Athens, Athens). The account, ...

'' *Harold B Mattingly, ''The Athenian Empire Restored: Epigraphic and Historical Studies'', University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, ; {{DEFAULTSORT:Laches 470s BC births 418 BC deaths 5th-century BC Athenians Athenians of the Peloponnesian War Ancient Athenian generals Ancient Greeks killed in battle

Life

Others named Laches

See also

References

Sources