Sicinnus (), a Persian traitor, and helper to the Athenian leader

Themistocles Themistocles (; ; ) was an Athenian politician and general. He was one of a new breed of non-aristocratic politicians who rose to prominence in the early years of the Athenian democracy. As a politician, Themistocles was a populist, having th ...

and

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

to his children according to Plutarch. He is known for his actions as a negotiator between Themistocles and the Persian ruler

Xerxes I Xerxes I ( – August 465 BC), commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was a List of monarchs of Persia, Persian ruler who served as the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 486 BC until his assassination in 465 BC. He was ...

during the

Second Persian invasion of Greece The second Persian invasion of Greece (480–479 BC) occurred during the Greco-Persian Wars, as King Xerxes I of Persia sought to conquer all of Greece. The invasion was a direct, if delayed, response to the defeat of the first Persian invasi ...

. Sicinnus deceived Xerxes into sending his fleet into Themistocles' trap.

Battle of Salamis

In 480 BC, he was employed by his master in a stratagem directed against the Persian king, Xerxes, before the

Battle of Salamis The Battle of Salamis ( ) was a naval battle fought in 480 BC, between an alliance of Greek city-states under Themistocles, and the Achaemenid Empire under King Xerxes. It resulted in a victory for the outnumbered Greeks. The battle was fou ...

. The Greek fleet, which had assembled at Salamis, was composed of several contingents. Although the

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 ...

was the largest, command was held by the

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 ...

Eurybiades Eurybiades (; ) was the Spartan navarch in charge of the Greek navy during the Second Persian invasion of Greece (480–479 BC). Biography Eurybiades was the son of Eurycleides, and was chosen as commander in 480 BC because the Peloponnesian ci ...

. He and other

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 ...

leaders desired to withdraw from Salamis towards the Peloponnese, while Themistocles insisted that they stay and fight at Salamis, where the straits would negate the Persian numerical superiority. In order to avoid a possible withdrawal and commit his allies to the fight, Themistocles sent Sicinnus to Xerxes, who convinced the Persian king that the Greeks were in near panic, and that if he wanted them not to escape, the Persian fleet should blockade the escape route on the southwestern side of Salamis. Herodotus
VIII, 75
Themistocles thus attracted Xerxes into his trap: the Persian fleet was lured into the straits, while at the same time, the Egyptian squadron, one of the best in the Persian navy, remained committed in the blockade and absent from the battle.

Aftermath

After their victory at Salamis, the Greeks pursued the Persian fleet as far as

Andros Andros (, ) is the northernmost island of the Greece, Greek Cyclades archipelago, about southeast of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . It is for the most part mountainous, with many fruitful and ...

, but then came to the resolution to continue the chase no further, lest they should inspire the enemy with the courage of despair. Hereupon Themistocles, according to

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

, again sent Sicinnus, with others on whom he could depend, to Xerxes, to claim merit with him for having dissuaded the Greeks from intercepting his flight. As a reward for his services, Themistocles afterwards enriched Sicinnus, and obtained for him the citizenship of

Thespiae Thespiae ( ; ) was an ancient Greek city (''polis'') in Boeotia. It sits at the foot of Mount Helicon and near right bank of the Thespius River (modern name Kanavari River). Thespiae was a Boeotian state sporadically involved in the military fe ...

Sikinnis dance

Some have identified the subject of the present article with the Sicinnus who is mentioned by

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (, or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; ) was an ancient Greek rhetorician and Grammarian (Greco-Roman), grammarian, flourishing about the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd century ...

as the reputed inventor of the Sikinnis dance (ἡ σίκιννις, ''gen''.: σικίννιδος) in the

satyr play The satyr play is a form of Attic theatre performance related to both comedy and tragedy. It preserves theatrical elements of dialogue, actors speaking verse, a chorus that dances and sings, masks and costumes. Its relationship to tragedy is st ...

. Athenaeus tells us that, according to some, he was a barbarian, according to others, a Cretan. The dancers were called Sikinnistai (Σικιννισταί).

Lucian Lucian of Samosata (Λουκιανὸς ὁ Σαμοσατεύς, 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer who is best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, with which he frequently ridi ...

states that the dance (which was initially dedicated to

Sabazios Sabazios (, ''Savázios''; alternatively, ''Sabadios'') is a deity originating in Asia Minor. He is the horseman and sky father god of the Phrygians and Thracians. Sabazios gained prominence across the Roman Empire, particularly favored in the ...

) was invented by the deity Sikinnis, a nymph of Kybele (Lucian, ''Dialogue on Dance'', 22).

References

{{SmithDGRBM Battle of Salamis Persian people of the Greco-Persian Wars Metics in Classical Athens