Phrynichus (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: Φρύνιχος; died 411 BC) 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 ...

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 ...

'') 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 ...

(431–404 BC), who supported the

Athenian coup of 411 BC The Athenian coup of 411 BC was the result of a revolution that took place during the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. The coup overthrew the democratic government of ancient Athens and replaced it with a short-lived oligarchy known ...

which briefly replaced the

Athenian democracy Athenian democracy developed around the 6th century BC in the Ancient Greece, Greek city-state (known as a polis) of Classical Athens, Athens, comprising the city of Athens and the surrounding territory of Attica, and focusing on supporting lib ...

with an

oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or t ...

. He was the son of Stratonides. In 412 BC, he was sent out with two others in command of a fleet of 40 ships to the coast of

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. The troops encamped in the territory of

Miletus Miletus (Ancient Greek: Μίλητος, Mílētos) was an influential ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in present day Turkey. Renowned in antiquity for its wealth, maritime power, and ex ...

. A battle ensued in which the Athenians were victorious. A

Peloponnesian The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge ...

fleet having arrived soon after, the colleagues of Phrynichus were for risking an engagement, from which Phrynichus (wisely, as

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 ...

thinks) dissuaded them. In 411 BC, proposals were made to the Athenians at the island of

Samos Samos (, also ; , ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese archipelago, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the Mycale Strait. It is also a separate reg ...

on behalf of

Alcibiades Alcibiades (; 450–404 BC) was an Athenian statesman and general. The last of the Alcmaeonidae, he played a major role in the second half of the Peloponnesian War as a strategic advisor, military commander, and politician, but subsequently ...

(an Athenian). He offered to secure

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

aid for them if an oligarchy was established instead of a democracy. Phrynichus again offered some sagacious advice, pointing out the dangers of such a course. He expressed his belief that Alcibiades was not at heart more friendly to an oligarchy than to a democracy. Phrynichus also had doubts as to whether Alcibiades had the ability to deliver on his promises.

Peisander Peisander (; ) of Camirus in Rhodes, Ancient Greek epic poet, supposed to have flourished about 640 BC. Biography Peisander was the author of a ''Heracleia'' (Ἡράκλεια), in which he introduced a new conception of the hero Heracles' cost ...

and the other members of the Athenian oligarchic faction, however, ignored his advice, and sent a deputation to Athens. Phrynichus, fearing for his safety in case Alcibiades should be restored, sent a letter to Astyochus (a

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 ...

n), informing him of Alcibiades' machinations. Astyochus betrayed Phrynichus by passing on the communication to

Tissaphernes Tissaphernes (; ; , ; 445395 BC) was a Persian commander and statesman, Satrap of Lydia and Ionia. His life is mostly known from the works of Thucydides and Xenophon. According to Ctesias, he was the son of Hidarnes III and therefore, the gre ...

(a Persian) and to Alcibiades. The latter complained to his Athenian friends about what he regarded as the treason of Phrynichus, and demanded that he should be put to death. The 19th-century historian

Connop Thirlwall Connop Thirlwall (11 January 1797 – 27 July 1875) was an English bishop (in Wales) and historian. Early life Thirlwall was born at Stepney, London, to Thomas and Susannah Thirlwall. His father was an Anglican priest who claimed descent from ...

could not decide whether Phrynichus' conduct was the result of a complete lack of caution, or a bold and subtle artifice. Phrynichus wrote again to Astyochus, offering to betray the Athenian armament into his hands. Once more Astyochus showed Phrynichus' letter to Alcibiades, who laid a fresh charge against Phrynichus. In the meantime, Phrynichus warned the Athenians that the enemy were preparing to surprise their encampment. He argued that the Alcibiades' charges against Phrynichus were groundless, and were based on personal enmity. Soon afterwards Peisander, wishing to get Phrynichus out of the way, procured his recall. Subsequently, when the oligarchic faction found that the hopes held out to them by Alcibiades were groundless, and that they could get on better without him than with him, Phrynichus again joined them, and, in conjunction with

Antiphon An antiphon ( Greek ἀντίφωνον, ἀντί "opposite" and φωνή "voice") is a short chant in Christian ritual, sung as a refrain. The texts of antiphons are usually taken from the Psalms or Scripture, but may also be freely compo ...

, Peisander, and

Theramenes Theramenes (; ; died 404/403 BC) was an Athenian military leader and statesman, prominent in the final decade of the Peloponnesian War. He was active during the two periods of oligarchic government at Athens, the 400 and later the Thirty Tyrants, ...

, took a prominent part in the revolution which led to the establishment of the oligarchy of the Four Hundred. When considering how to respond to the meeting between Alcibiades and the Athenians at Samos, Theramenes and others counselled the oligarchs to make the best terms they could with their antagonists. However, Phrynichus was one of the foremost in opposing anything of that kind, and with Antiphon and ten others was sent to Sparta to negotiate a peace. On his return he was assassinated in the

agora The agora (; , romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Ancient Greece, Greek polis, city-states. The literal meaning of the word "agora" is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the center ...

by a young Athenian, who was assisted by an

Argive Argos (; ; ) is a city and former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and the oldest in Europe. It is the largest city in Argolis and a major center in the same pr ...

. The former escaped, but the latter was seized and tortured. It appeared that the assassination was the result of a conspiracy among those opposed to the oligarchs, but the latter decided that it was most prudent not to pursue the investigation. Lycurgus gives a different account of his assassination.

References

* Retrieved from

archive.org The Internet Archive is an American non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including websites, software applic ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Phrynichus Date of birth unknown 411 BC deaths 5th-century BC Athenians Ancient Athenian generals Athenians of the Peloponnesian War Assassinated Greek people