Brasidas was a Spartan general, and because of his courageous actions during the Archidamian War against the Athenian-led Delian League, was the first man to receive official honors in Sparta, and subsequently had a year named after him.
Brasidas made his name during the conflict between the Spartan alliance, known as the Peloponnesian League, and the Athenian alliance, or The Delian League, that is known as the Peloponnesian War and began in the spring of 431 BC.
The first 10 years of the greater Peloponnesian War is sometimes referred to as the Archidamian War, after the Spartan King Archidamus II, whose plan was to destroy Attica and force the Athenians to fight a land battle.
However, the Athenians – as directed by Pericles – did not fall into this ‘trap’. Instead, the Athenians retreated behind their long walls and used their navy to attack the Peloponnesian coast. They surmised that this would eventually cause a rift in the Spartan alliance because the people of the coastal towns would suffer, and those living in the inland would not.
In the first year of the war, Brasidas was in the southwest of the Peloponnese, serving in what was likely to be the home guard unit, commanding the helots of Messene. When the Athenian fleet sieged the port of Methone, Brasidas rushed to the town’s aid and was able to save it.
It was one of very few Spartan successes during the first year of the war. The ancient Greek historian Thucydides wrote that “because of this, Brasidas was the first man in this war to receive official honors at Sparta,” and the historian Xenophon tells us that in the following year, Brasidas was the eponymous ephor, which means that the year was called after him.
In the years following his bravery and quick action, Brasidas served as an adviser to Cnemus, the admiral of the Peloponnesian League in the naval war against the Athenian commander Phormio, at Naupactus (429 AD). The brave warrior also acted as an adviser to Alcidas, the commander of a Peloponnesian force that intervened at Corcyra (427 AD).
In 425 AD, the war entered its seventh year. The Athenians had already realized that Pericles’ strategy was proving too costly. Sparta was behind in developing its new strategy still, however, and the Athenians first embarked on a new course.
In the spring, the Athenian commander Demosthenes was based in an ancient fort in the southwest of the Peloponnese, called Pylos. It was useful as a base for further raids in the region and offered helots an opportunity to escape, which would cripple the Spartan economy.
Sparta sent soldiers immediately. Among them, Brasidas, who commanded a trireme (warship). Using the isle of Sphacteria as their base, the Spartans attempted to land near Pylos, and Brasidas was one of the most daring captains. Rather than ordering his soldiers to jump into the sea and walk to the land, he simply ran his ship ashore.
The unique assault did not do much. The Spartans fought bravely – with Brasidas being severely wounded – and the Athenians won. The Spartan navy was defeated, and around 292 Spartan soldiers, including 120 elite Spartiates, were cut off on Sphacteria. In a second mission, they were captured by the Athenian commander Cleon.
Brasidas and the Spartan Plan in the North
The Spartan loss made it clear that Sparta had to think of new options. Athens refused to negotiate and pillaging Attica was no longer possible, as the captives would be executed. An opportunity did however arise when the Macedonian King Perdiccas II requested Spartan help.
Brasidas suggested the Spartans should accept the invitation and send an army to the north, where it could also attack the Athenian allies in Chalkidike. If successful, the Spartan army could proceed further to the east and seize the forests where the Athenians harvested the timber to make their ships. Additionally, the Spartan army could cut off the food supply of Athens, which brought in grain from the Black Sea region.
A lot depended on the willingness of the citizens of the northern towns to revolt against Athens. However, even when just a couple of towns were captured, the expeditionary force could inflict losses on the Athenian alliance.
The Spartans could eventually hand the towns over to Perdiccas of Macedonia, and in that case, they no longer belonged to Athens. The plan was a good one, but Sparta was not in a position to send away Spartiates, who were now needed on the Peloponnese to control the helots of Messenia. In the end, Brasidas received an army of 700 loyal, liberated, and armed helots.
Brasidas continued to Sicyon and Corinth, where he aimed to recruit additional forces. Meanwhile, the Athenian commanders Demosthenes and Hippocrates attempted to capture Megara. The surprise attack, however, was foiled when the troops of Brasidas, who had made a march, arrived on the scene.
Still, Megara had lost its port, Pegae, which was another severe blow for a small town that had already been reduced to nearly nothing.
With 1,000 additional men under his command, Brasidas continued on to Thebes, Thessaly, and Macedonia, where King Perdiccas demanded the help he had requested, and ordered Brasidas to march to the country of the Lyncestians, west of the Macedonian heartland.
But losing his men in Macedonia was not in Brasidas’ plans, and he immediately defied Perdiccas’ orders, opening negotiations with the Lyncestian leader Arrhabaeus, and offering to be arbiter in the conflict.
Perdiccas was understandably angry, but Brasidas simply retreated and pushed forward with his campaign against the Athenian possessions in Chalkidike. The alliance was damaged, but still hanging on. Brasidas still received supplies from Perdiccas.
The primary goal of the expeditionary force was Acanthus, the town that controlled the isthmus of the Athos peninsula. Brasidas, who was, according to Thucydides, “not a bad speaker, though a Spartan,” explained that he was there to liberate the Acanthians from Athenian rule. Many allowed themselves to be persuaded – partly out of fear.
Amphipolis
Straight after this, the next town surrendered too – Stagira. Brasidas had created a powerful enclave in Chalkidike. Gradually, the revolt spread. Early in December 424 AD, Brasidas took his men to the east, captured Argilus, and proceeded to the two Athenian strongholds at the mouth of the river Strymon: the port Eion and the city of Amphipolis.
The latter controlled the forests, a handful of mines, and a bridge across the river. Brasidas managed to seize the bridge and capture the Amphipolitans who were outside the walls.
The commander of the garrison sent for the commander of the Athenian forces in the neighborhood, which was none other than Thucydides. He was not at Eion, but in Thasos, and in his narrative of the war he does not explain why.
Brasidas was concerned that Amphipolis would not surrender once its inhabitants knew that Thucydides was on his way, so he offered very fair terms, and the town joined the Spartan side. Thucydides, arriving too late, was able to save Eion, but was held responsible for the fall of Amphipolis, and banished from Athens.
This event was one of the most significant during the war. Other member states of the Delian League now rebelled too: almost every town on the Athos peninsula and Torone on the Sithonia peninsula.
Brasidas was in need of reinforcements, as he couldn’t control so many towns. When the campaign was first launched, it had been thought that there would be enough Macedonian troops to support it, but King Perdiccas was unreliable.
This was also the reason why Sparta was unable to send the reinforcements that were needed. The Athenians would not again allow Spartan soldiers to pass through Thessaly, and it was improbable that the Macedonian ling would again permit a Spartan army to pass through his lands after Brasidas’ failure to follow his orders.
Negotiations Between Athens and Sparta
It would soon be realized that reinforcements were not necessary. The Spartans were unhappy about the loss of Pylos and Sphacteria, and the Athenians regretted the fall of Amphipolis. On both sides, there were people who wanted to make an armistice, and this eventually came into force on the fourteenth of the month of Elaphebolion (c. April) 423 BC.
Following the successes of Demosthenes and Cleon, the Athenians hadn’t felt the need to negotiate or bring about peace, but Brasidas’ military cunning had forced their hand.
During the negotiations, a town on the third peninsula of Chalkidike decided to revolt as well, Skione. The citizens offered Brasidas a golden wreath and called him the “liberator of Greece”. But their rebellion took place after 14 Elaphebolion, which meant that Brasidas was not able to support it.
However, leaving Scione alone would mean the Athenian mercilessly punishing the town that had just asked Brasidas for protection. So, the Spartan general decided to lie. He reported that the revolt had taken place before the fourteenth, which in turn encouraged the people of nearby Mende, who also asked for and received protection from the Athenians.
This was of course a violation of the armistice, and yet more towns may have seen an opportunity to rise up against Athens. The Athenians sent their commanders Nicias and Nicostratus to the north, to lay siege to Mende – which fell. Scione did not. Everything was ready for a renewal of hostilities in which Brasidas would not receive any support from Sparta.
The Final Battle Between Spartan Brasidas and Athenian Cleon
On 14 Elaphebolion, 422 BC, the armistice expired, and the Athenian general Cleon sailed north with an expeditionary force. Cleon understood that Brasidas was not to be underestimated, and patiently waited for reinforcements from Macedonia and Thrace, while also setting up a base at Eion and moving with his army to Amphipolis. Brasidas knew he did not have the numbers to match Cleon, and so retreated into the city.
When Cleon had seen Amphipolis, he began to retreat to the south, to Eion, when he was unexpectedly set upon by Brasidas with a small number of men from the southern gate of Amphipolis.
It was during this small battle that both Brasidas and Cleon were killed.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
