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The navarch ( gr, ναύαρχος, nauarchos) was the magistrate who commanded the fleet in
Ancient 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 referre ...
.


History and role

The powers of the navarch were extensive and were not subordinate to the two Spartan kings.Thommen, "Xenophon und die spartanische Nauarchie", p. 314. The navarch commanded the fleet, but could also lead his embarked troops on land, performed the sacrifices, distributed wages and booty, negotiated with foreign states, and even administered the territories he captured. An ambitious man such as
Lysander Lysander (; grc-gre, Λύσανδρος ; died 395 BC) was a Spartan military and political leader. He destroyed the Athenian Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital a ...
could therefore yield formidable influence in Sparta through his time as navarch at the end of the Peloponnesian War (431–404). As a result,
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical Greece, Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatet ...
rightly described the navarchy as another kingship.Sealey, "Die spartanische Nauarchie", p. 337. Indeed, the navarch's powers were probably taken away from the kings at some point during the 6th century, because they had no authority on the sea. For example,
Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known for ...
writes that in 480 king Leotychidas was also navarch at the
Battle of Salamis The Battle of Salamis ( ) was a naval battle fought between an alliance of Greek city-states under Themistocles and the Persian Empire under King Xerxes in 480 BC. It resulted in a decisive victory for the outnumbered Greeks. The battle was ...
, so it means he had to be navarch to be able to command the fleet. Herodotus' description of Leotychidas as navarch in 480 is furthermore the first mention of the navarchy in the sources, but it was likely created earlier, perhaps in 512 for the first attack of Sparta against Athens by Anchimolus, likely the first navarch.Sealey, "Die spartanische Nauarchie", pp. 339–340.Cartledge, ''Sparta and Lakonia'', p. 126. In the beginning the office was probably irregular and no navarch was appointed for most of the
Pentecontaetia ''Pentecontaetia'' ( el, πεντηκονταετία, "the period of fifty years") is the term used to refer to the period in Ancient Greek history between the defeat of the second Persian invasion of Greece at Plataea in 479 BC and the beginni ...
(479–431), as the Spartans did not launch any navy during this period. In addition, the navarch was not a yearly magistrate; it depended on the mission given, because Cnemus—the first navarch of the Peloponnesian War—was elected in summer 430, but remained in power for more than 12 months, until the winter of 429/428. Following the defeat of the Spartan navy at
Cyzicus Cyzicus (; grc, Κύζικος ''Kúzikos''; ota, آیدینجق, ''Aydıncıḳ'') was an ancient Greek town in Mysia in Anatolia in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the present Kapıdağ Peni ...
in 410, a law was passed an established fixed terms from spring to spring.Cartledge, ''Agesilaos'', p. 79.Thommen, "Xenophon und die spartanische Nauarchie", p. 315. In about 400 another law forbade iteration of the office, but repetition was apparently allowed, since Teleutias was probably navarch three times. This law could furthermore be bypassed by appointing a secretary (, )—in effect vice-admiral—to the navarch; the influential Lysander therefore became secretary twice. The navarchs were elected for one year by the Spartan assembly, supervised by the
ephors The ephors were a board of five magistrates in ancient Sparta. They had an extensive range of judicial, religious, legislative, and military powers, and could shape Sparta's home and foreign affairs. The word "''ephors''" (Ancient Greek ''ép ...
.Sealey, "Die spartanische Nauarchie", p. 338, still mentions the possibility that the navarch was appointed, but does not really support it. One exception took place in 395, when the king
Agesilaus II Agesilaus II (; grc-gre, Ἀγησίλαος ; c. 442 – 358 BC) was king of Sparta from c. 399 to 358 BC. Generally considered the most important king in the history of Sparta, Agesilaus was the main actor during the period of Spartan hegemo ...
was granted the privilege to appoint the navarch. It seems the navarchy disappeared after the catastrophic defeat of Leuctra in 371.


List of Spartan navarchs


References


Bibliography


Ancient sources

*
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical Greece, Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatet ...
, ''
Politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...
''.


Modern sources

*
Paul Cartledge Paul Anthony Cartledge (born 24 March 1947)"CARTLEDGE, Prof. Paul Anthony", ''Who's Who 2010'', A & C Black, 2010online edition/ref> is a British ancient historian and academic. From 2008 to 2014 he was the A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek C ...
, ''Sparta and Lakonia, A Regional History 1300–362 BC'', London, Routledge, 2002 (originally published in 1979). * Caroline Falkner,
Astyochus, Sparta's Incompetent Navarch?
, ''Phoenix'', Vol. 53, No. 3/4 (Autumn - Winter, 1999), pp. 206–221. *
Simon Hornblower Simon Hornblower, FBA (born 1949) is an English classicist and academic. He is Professor of Classics and Ancient History in the University of Oxford and senior research fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. Biography Born in 1949, he was educate ...
, ''A Commentary on Thucydides, Volume I, Books I-III'', Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1991. * Paul Poralla & Alfred S. Bradford, ''Prosopographie der Lakedaimonier, bis auf die Zeit Alexanders des Grossen'', Chicago, 1985 (originally published in 1913). * Paul A. Rahe, ''Sparta's First Attic War, The Grand Strategy of Classical Sparta, 478–446 B.C.'', New Haven, Yale University Press, 2019. * Raphael Sealey, " Die spartanische Nauarchie", ''Klio'', 58, 1976, pp. 335–358. {{doi, 10.1524/klio.1976.58.12.335 * Lukas Thommen,
Xenophon und die spartanische Nauarchie
, ''Historika, Storia Greca i Romana, V. 5: Great is the power of the sea'', 2015, pp. 313–320. Military history of Sparta Admirals Military ranks of Sparta