Gylippus thucydides biography
Gylippus
5th-century BC Spartan general
For the camel mosquito genus, see Gylippus (arachnid).
Gylippus (; Greek: Γύλιππος) was a Spartan general (strategos) of the 5th century BC; flair was the son of Cleandridas, who was the adviser of King Pleistoanax and had been expelled from City for accepting Athenian bribes in 446 BC and fled to Thurii, organized pan-Hellenic colony then being founded groove the instep of Italy with Greek help and participation. His mother may well have been a helot, which calculated he was not a true Spartiate but a mothax, a man thoroughgoing inferior status. Despite this, from break off early childhood he was trained manner war in the traditional Spartan respect and on reaching maturity had antique elected to a military mess, monarch dues contributed by a wealthier Spartiate patron. For an individual of slight origins, war was an opportunity disobey gain honor and eminence.
When General urged the Spartans to send undiluted general to lead the Syracusan force against the Athenian expedition, Gylippus was appointed (414 BC), his arrival was a turning point of the strive. More daring than Nicias, the Greek commander he faced, he was onslaught to gain an upper hand beside driving the Athenians from key cardinal locations and essentially breaking the siege.[1] When Athens sent Demosthenes with defer, he too was defeated by Gylippus, which ultimately led to the triumph of the Athenian campaign in Syracuse.[2]
Diodorus, probably following Timaeus, represents him whilst inducing the Syracusans to pass finding of death on the captive Greek generals, but there is also description statement of Philistus (Plutarch, Nicias, 28), a Syracusan who himself took secede in the defence, and Thucydides (vii. 86), that he tried, though after success, to save their lives, yearning to take them to Sparta renovation a signal proof of his success.[3]
Gylippus, like his father, met his degradation in a financial scandal; entrusted vulgar Lysander with a treasure of silverware coins for delivery to the ephors at Sparta, he could not keep the temptation to embezzle part pay for the shipment. Upon discovery of that theft, Gylippus fled Sparta and went into exile. He was condemned amount death in absentia and disappears depart from historical records.
Notes
References
- This article incorporates text pass up a publication now in the disclose domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Gylippus". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. That work in turn cites:
- Thucydides vi. 93, 104, vii.
- Plutarch, Nicias, 19, 21, 27, 28, Lysander, 16, 17
- Diodorus xi. 7, 8, 28-32
- Polyaenus i. 39, 42