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Thrasybulus (d.388) was a supporter of Athenian democracy who rose to
prominence late in the
Peloponnesian War
and then helped revive Athenian power in the aftermath of that war. In 411
the Athenian democracy was overthrown and replaced by the oligarchy of the
Four Hundred. The main
Athenian fleet, which was then based at Samos, quickly emerged as the main
source of opposition to the new regime. Thrasybulus and Thrasyllus were amongst
the main leaders of this opposition. They helped fight off a takeover attempt
by local oligarchs, and then convinced the Athenians within the fleet to swear
an oath to maintain the democracy and continue with the war. A general assembly
of the fleet then removed those amongst the generals who were suspected of
supporting the oligarchy. New generals were then elected, including
Thrasybulus. The newly promoted Thrasybulus played a part in convincing the
fleet to pardon and recall the controversial Athenian leader
Alcibiades. Thrasybulus
then commanded the ship that carried Alcibiades back to the fleet. Thrasybulus
then led a small flee of five galleys towards the Helleespont. He joined up
with Thrasyllus, and commanded the right wing of the Athenian fleet at the
battle of Cynossema, where
his attack helped win the battle. He was sent to gather money from Thasos, and
rejoined Alcibiades and the main fleet just before the battle of
Cyzicus. During
that battle he was given the task of attacking the Spartan camp on land, and
was hard pressed before reinforcements were sent to aid him. The battle ended
as a crushing Athenian victory but the Spartans were saved from worse by their
Persian allies. In 407 he was given command of thirty ships and sent to Thrace,
where he restored Athenian control over a number of rebel cities. He was also
elected one of the year's generals, alongside Alcibiades. He was then caught up
in Alcibiades's fall from grace. Alcibiades left his fleet to visit Thrasybulus
at Phocaea. While he was absent his deputy fought and lost the battle of
Notium. Alcibiades
realised that he would be very vulnerable if he returned to the fleet, and
decided to go into exile. Thrasybulus was removed from his command, but did
remain with the fleet. He was a subordinate commander at the battle of
Arginusae, most
famous for the execution of several of the victorious Athenian generals in the
aftermath of the battle. Thrasybulus was said to have had a prophetic dream
before the battle that predicted both the Athenian victory and the execution of
the generals. During the battle he served as a ship commander, and was one of
two appointed to carry out rescues after the battle. Instead he returned
directly to Athens to take some of the credit for the victory. The mood soon
turned sour, and Thrasybulus and his colleague
Theramenes were put on
trial after the commanding generals tried to blame them for the failures. This
backfired, and in the end six of the victorious generals were forced to commit
suicide. This probably played a part in the eventual Athenian defeat, both by
removing some of their best commanders from the scene and by convincing other
men not to risk taking up a post. In the aftermath of the final Athenian defeat
in the Great Peloponnesian War the Spartan leader
Lysander set up a new
system of government, with control held by a Board of Thirty, soon known as the
Thirty Tyrants.
Thrasybulus went into exile in Thebes, but he would soon return and play a
major part in restoring the Athenian democracy. With Theban help he captured
the fortress of Phyle. The tyrants sent a force to attack him, but were
defeated. Thrasybulus then went onto the offensive. First he defeated a Spartan
force under Callibius that had been sent to blockade him at Phyle, and then he
captured Piraeus, where he gained the support of most of the population. The
tyrants sent out another army, but this was defeated at
Munychia. A
standoff now developed, with the democrats at Piraeus, and a new oligarchy (The
Ten) in command at Athens, while the survivors of the Thirty fled to Eleusis.
The Ten called for help from Sparta, and an army led by Lysander and Libys was
sent to put down the rebels. The Spartans inflicted a severe defeat on the
democrats (battle of Piraeus, 403), but were then saved by the intervention of
King Pausanias, who arranged an armistice with them. Envoys were then sent to
Sparta, and a general amnesty was agreed. The exiles were allowed to return to
Athens, while the surviving oligarchs fled to Eleusis. Most of the oligarchs
were soon eliminated, and another amnesty agreed with the survivors, for which
Thrasybulus is given the main credit. The democracy was restored at Athens
within a year of its apparent destruction, and Thrasybulus must be given much
of the credit.
In 395 Thrasybulus proposed an alliance between Thebes and Athens, helping to
trigger Athenian involvement in the
Corinthian War. He
then led an army to support Thebes, arriving at
Haliartus in
the aftermath of the battle in which Lysander had been killed. In 394 he
commanded the Athenian continent at the battle of
Nemea, an
inconclusive Spartan victory in which the Athenians were defeated fairly early
in the day. In 390 he was given command of a fleet of forty ships and was sent
to help the democratic elements on Rhodes. When he reached the area it became
clear that the pro-Athenian democrats were fairly secure acoss most of the
islands, while their enemies would be difficult to eliminate from their last
strongholds. Thraysbulus decided not to risk an attack, and instead he moved up
to Thrace, where he was able to bring the Odrysian princes Amadocus and Seuthes
into an alliance with Athens. He then moved to Byzantium, where he helped
restore democratic rule and an alliance with Athens. He then moved south, and
captured Methymna on Lesbos. He then continued south, but was killed in his
tent while camped near Aspendus on the Eurymedon River when the locals reacted
to his men's raids into their territory.
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