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Article

Thebes (1), historic  

John Boardman

Article

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Published online:
07 March 2016
Subjects:
  1. Greek History and Historiography
Thebes was the birthplace of *Heracles, who, as its champion, threw off the tribute imposed upon it by the king of *Orchomenus (1). The legend of Heracles reflects the essence of Boeotian politics, which were moulded by rivalry between Thebes and Orchomenus. *Herodotus(1) (5. 57–61) erroneously attributes to Thebes the introduction of the alphabet to Greece (though he is right to speak in this connection of *Phoenicians; see alphabet, greek; and for the allegedly Phoenician origins of the Thebans, see cadmus). *Aristotle (Pol. 2. 9. 7, 1274a 31) claims that the Bacchiad Philolaus of *Corinth became a lawgiver to Thebes in familial matters and rights of property. By the late 6th cent. bce Thebes had organized an alliance or rudimentary confederacy consisting of its neighbours, with Orchomenus conspicuously absent. Thereafter, it vied for the hegemony of all Boeotia. It maintained friendly relations with the Pisistratids (see athens, History; hippias(1); hipparchus(1); pisistratus), but hostility to Athens arose over *Plataea, which joined Athens in either 519 or 509 bce.

Article

Themistocles, Athenian politician, c. 524–459 BCE  

Andrew Robert Burn and P. J. Rhodes

Article

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Published online:
07 March 2016
Subjects:
  1. Greek History and Historiography
Themistocles (c. 524–459 bce), Athenian politician, was a member of the ancient Lycomid family but by a non-Athenian mother. *Herodotus(1)'s informants accused him of corruption and said that in 480 he had ‘recently come to the fore’, though he was archon in 493/2; but *Thucydides (2) admired him for his far-sightedness and considered him one of the greatest men of his generation.As archon, Themistocles began the development of the *Piraeus as Athens' harbour; it may be that *Phrynichus (1)'s Capture of Miletus and subsequent trial, and Miltiades' return to Athens from the *Chersonesus (1) and his subsequent trial, belong to 493/2 and that Themistocles was involved in these episodes. In the *ostracisms of the 480s he regularly attracted votes but was not himself ostracized (altogether, over 2,175 ostraca against him are known, including a set of 190 prepared by fourteen hands): the expulsion of *Xanthippus(1) in 484 and *Aristides(1) in 482 may represent a three-cornered battle in which Themistocles was the winner.

Article

Theopompus (1), Eurypontid king of Sparta  

Paul Cartledge

Article

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Published online:
07 March 2016
Subjects:
  1. Greek History and Historiography
Theopompus (1), *Eurypontid king of Sparta (reigned ?720–675 bce), was associated by name in the near-contemporary poetry of *Tyrtaeus with two momentous developments: the first conquest of *Messenia (c.710), and the constitutional reform embodied in the ‘Great Rhetra’ otherwise attributed to *Lycurgus (2) (see sparta, § 2).

Article

Theopompus (3), of Chios, Greek historian  

Klaus Meister

Article

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Published online:
07 March 2016
Subjects:
  1. Greek History and Historiography
Theopompus (3) of *Chios, important Greek historian of the 4th cent. bce, the main exponent of rhetorical historiography alongside *Ephorus (see historiography, greek). According to a short vita (life) by *Photius (Bibl. 176 = T 2) he was born in 378/7, and was still young when he and his father Damasistratus were exiled from Chios for lakōnismos (sympathizing with Sparta). At the instigation of *Alexander(3) the Great he was allowed to return in 333/2 when he was 45 years old. After Alexander's death he was exiled a second time; ‘driven out from everywhere’ he eventually reached the court of *Ptolemy I, who wished to have the ‘trouble-maker’ done away with. Theopompus was saved by the intervention of some friends and died probably shortly after 320. According to ancient tradition (cf. T 1, 5 a) he was a pupil of *Isocrates and worked for a long time as an orator (fr.

Article

Theramenes, Athenian politician, d. 404/403 BCE  

Antony Andrewes and P. J. Rhodes

Article

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07 March 2016
Subjects:
  1. Greek History and Historiography
Theramenes (d. 404/3 bce), Athenian politician, son of Hagnon (cf. amphipolis). He played an active part in establishing the *Four Hundred in 411, but four months later he was active in overthrowing them and establishing the Five Thousand, a more moderate but still not fully democratic regime which succeeded the Four Hundred briefly. When full democracy was restored in 410 he was in the *Hellespont, assisting in the recovery of Athens' naval supremacy. At *Arginusae (406) he commanded only a single ship, but was one of those instructed to rescue survivors and corpses after the battle. Failure to achieve that was probably due only to bad weather, but later the blame was disputed between Theramenes and the generals (*stratēgoi), and after a largely illegal trial six generals were put to death. *Xenophon(1) blames Theramenes for orchestrating this miscarriage of justice; but in *Diodorus (3) Siculus' account his role is less sinister, and *Aristophanes (1) in the Frogs next spring treated him lightly, as an adroit politician.

Article

Thermopylae, battle of  

John F. Lazenby

Article

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Published online:
07 March 2016
Subjects:
  1. Greek History and Historiography
In the pass between the mountains and the sea (see preceding entry) 6,000–7,000 Greeks, led by *Leonidas(1) king of Sparta, attempted to hold the invading Persians, probably in August 480 bce. See persian wars. The small size of the army may have been due to religious reasons, or to Peloponnesian reluctance to send troops so far north. The Greeks held their position for two days, but then a local Greek betrayed the existence of an alternative route. The Phocians (see phocis) guarding this route withdrew to the nearest hill, leaving the way open, and when the rest of the Greeks learned of the enemy's approach, most retreated, either in panic, or because Leonidas told them to go. He, with the remnants of the Spartans, Thespians, Thebans, and, possibly, Mycenaeans (see thespiae; thebes(1); mycenae), perhaps acting as a rearguard, fought to the last, except possibly the Thebans, who are said to have surrendered. There was a second battle of Thermopylae in 191 bce, when *Antiochus (3) III was defeated by the Romans (see B.

Article

Theron  

Brian M. Caven

Article

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Published online:
07 March 2016
Subjects:
  1. Greek History and Historiography

Theron, tyrant of *Acragas (Agrigento) in Sicily, c.489–473 bce; see tyranny. Probably *Gelon's ally (his daughter, Damarete, became Gelon's wife) in a war with the Phoenicians of western Sicily (before 485). His seizure of *Himera (483), expelling Terillus, *guest-friend of *Hamilcar(1), led to Hamilcar's invasion of Sicily (480), and his defeat at Himera by Gelon and Theron. After Gelon's death (478/7), Theron fell out with *Hieron(1)—family matters and a dispute over Himera—but actual hostilities were narrowly averted, and Hieron married Theron's niece; Theron largely repeopled Himera. Theron beautified and enriched Acragas (public buildings and an enlightened agricultural policy), using Carthaginian spoils. A just and undespotic ruler and a patron of literature and the arts, he was honoured by the Acragantines as a hero after his death.

Article

Thesproti  

Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière Hammond

Article

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Published online:
07 March 2016
Subjects:
  1. Greek History and Historiography
Thesproti, a people mentioned in Homer's Odyssey with a king of *Ephyra in the Acheron valley (in this region a tholos-tomb and Mycenaean weapons have been found; see mycenaean civilization) and probably extending over *Epirus in the late bronze age. Later confined to south-west Epirus, their territory included for a time *Dodona and always the Nekyomanteion or Oracle of the Dead.

Article

Thibron (1), Spartan general, d. 391 BCE  

Stephen Hodkinson

Article

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Published online:
07 March 2016
Subjects:
  1. Greek History and Historiography
Thibron (1) (d. 391 bce), Spartan general. He was sent to Ionia in 400 bce to protect the Asian Greek cities from the Persian *satrap*Tissaphernes. Deficient in siege-equipment and cavalry, he captured Magnesia but failed at *Tralles and avoided confrontations on level ground until he recruited the survivors of *Cyrus(2)'s Greek mercenaries in spring 399. He won over Pergamus (the later *Pergamum) and some minor cities of Aeolis, took others by storm, but failed again at ‘Egyptian’ Larissa. Ordered to attack *Caria, he was soon replaced by *Dercylidas and exiled for allowing his troops to plunder Sparta's allies. Apparently subsequently recalled, he was sent again in 391 to Asia Minor to operate against the anti-Spartan satrap Strouthas. He was surprised and killed, however, in an enemy cavalry attack on his ill-organized raiding party. He may be the Thibron mentioned by *Aristotle (Pol.

Article

Thibron (2), Spartan mercenary commander, d. 322 BCE  

Albert Brian Bosworth

Article

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Published online:
07 March 2016
Subjects:
  1. Greek History and Historiography
Thibron (2) (d. 322 BCE), Spartanmercenary commander, served under *Harpalus, whom he murdered and supplanted (late 324). He intervened with devastating effect in Cyrenaica and became briefly master of the *Pentapolis, driving the oligarchic exiles into the arms of *Ptolemy (1) I, whose general (*Ophellas) captured Thibron and annexed the territory (322).

Article

Thirty Tyrants  

Michael Gagarin

Article

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Published online:
07 March 2016
Subjects:
  1. Greek History and Historiography
Upon Athens' defeat in the *Peloponnesian War (April 404 bce) Spartan support gave Athenian oligarchs the upper hand (see oligarchy). Under the peace terms imposed by *Lysander thirty men were chosen to run the government and write new laws following the ‘ancestral constitution’ (*patrios politeia). These Thirty, with *Critias leading the extremists and *Theramenes the moderates, appointed sympathetic members to the new boulē, created a board of Ten to rule *Piraeus, abolished the popular juries, and began to remove their democratic opponents and certain *sycophants (malicious prosecutors). The purge soon broadened to include respectable citizens and *metics. When Theramenes tried to broaden the franchise beyond the 3,000 citizens initially approved, Critias had him condemned and executed. 1,500 are said to have been executed in all; many others left Athens. In January 403*Thrasybulus and a few democrats outside the city took up arms against the Thirty, who responded by stationing a Spartan garrison on the Acropolis thereby further alienating the Athenian people. Thrasybulus and his band grew larger and moved to Piraeus, where they defeated the forces of the Thirty in a battle in which Critias was killed (May 403).

Article

Thirty Years Peace  

Simon Hornblower

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07 March 2016
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  1. Greek History and Historiography
Agreement between Sparta and Athens in 446, which ended the First *Peloponnesian War after c.15 years. Its exact terms are unknown but by it Athens (after a recent defeat in *Boeotia, see coronea, battle of) abandoned its recent land acquisitions (Nisaea, Pegae, *Troezen, *Achaea), including and especially Boeotia, effectively in return for a free hand on revolted *Euboea (Thuc. 1. 115. 1). Armed attacks were renounced if the other side was prepared to go to *arbitration (Thuc. 1. 78. 4, 140. 2, 144. 2, 145; 7. 18). There was possibly a general clause stipulating *autonomy; at least, the Aeginetans (see aegina) complain (Thuc. 1. 67) that theirs has been infringed, though this may be a reference to a special guarantee to Aegina. *Argos(1) and other cities not included in the treaty could join whichever side they liked (Thuc. 1. 35; Paus. 5. 23. 4 for Argos). NB there was no general clause of 446 recognizing possessions as they then stood, i.

Article

Thrasybulus, d. 388 BCE  

Henry Dickinson Westlake and Simon Hornblower

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07 March 2016
Subjects:
  1. Greek History and Historiography
Thrasybulus (d. 388 bce), son of Lycus, Athenian general and statesman. (Xen., Hell. 4. 8. 25 calls him Thrasybulus of (the *deme of) Steiria to distinguish him from Thrasybulus of Collytus, Hell. 5. 1. 26, and modern books often do the same.) In 411 he was a leader of the democratic state formed by the navy at *Samos in opposition to the *Four Hundred. He was responsible for the recall of *Alcibiades and contributed largely to the naval success of the following years.He was banished by the *Thirty Tyrants and fled to *Thebes (1), where he organized a band of 70 exiles and occupied *Phyle (late autumn, 404). When his followers had increased to a thousand, he seized the *Piraeus and defeated the troops of the Thirty. Thanks to an *amnesty proclaimed at the instance of Sparta, he led his men to Athens, and the democracy was restored. During the *Corinthian War he played a prominent part in reviving Athenian imperialism, and in 389/8 he commanded a fleet which gained many allies but suffered from lack of financial support.

Article

Thrasyllus, Athenian democratic politician and soldier, 5th cent. BCE  

Simon Hornblower

Article

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Published online:
07 March 2016
Subjects:
  1. Greek History and Historiography
At the time of the Athenian oligarchic coup of 411 bce, he organized democratic support in the fleet at *Samos, where he was elected general (see stratēgoi) for 411/10 by the fleet (Thuc. 8. 76. 2) in the unusual circumstances of the moment; see four hundred; athens (History). He helped *Thrasybulus win at the battle of Cynossema (411 bce), repelled an attack by the Spartan king *Agis II (410), and in 409 fought in mainland Ionia (see ionians), campaigning described by *Xenophon(1) and new fragments of the Oxyrhynchus Historian (see oxyrhynchus, the historian from). (‘In sending Thrasyllus to Ionia rather than the Hellespont the democrats may have hoped for a success there that would balance the glamour of Cyzicus’: Andrewes, CAH 52. 486; Cyzicus was a victory won by *Alcibiades in 410.

Article

Thucydides (1), Athenian politician  

Arnold Wycombe Gomme, Tim Cornell, and P. J. Rhodes

Article

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Published online:
07 March 2016
Subjects:
  1. Greek History and Historiography

Thucydides (1), son of Melesias, Athenian politician (born c.500 bce). He was an aristocrat, connected by marriage with *Cimon. After the death of Cimon he succeeded him as the leading conservative opponent of *Pericles(1): he is said to have objected particularly to the building programme, and to have organized his supporters in a block in the assembly. Possibly he had been involved in the refoundation of *Sybaris in 446/5 and was prosecuted afterwards; his clash with Pericles led to his *ostracismc.443; he presumably returned to Athens after the statutory ten years, and he was prosecuted in old age by one Cephisodemus (Ar.Ach. 676–718). *Thucydides (2) the historian was probably a member of the same family: possibly his mother was a daughter of Thucydides son of Melesias.

Article

Thucydides (2), Athenian historian, 2nd half of 5th cent. BCE  

Henry Theodore Wade-Gery, John Dewar Denniston, and Simon Hornblower

Article

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Published online:
07 March 2016
Subjects:
  1. Greek History and Historiography
  2. Greek Literature
Thucydides (2), author of the (incomplete) History of the War (*Peloponnesian War) between Athens and Sparta, 431–404 bce, in eight books.He was born probably between 460 and 455 bce: he was general (see stratēgoi) in 424 (4. 104) and must then have been at least 30 years old; while his claim in 5. 26. 5 that he was of years of discretion from beginning to end of the war perhaps suggests that he was not much more than grown up in 431. He probably died about 400. He shows no knowledge of 4th-cent. events. The revival of Athenian sea power under *Conon(1) and *Thrasybulus, from 394 on, made the decision of Aegospotami (405: see athens, History) less decisive than it seemed to Thucydides (compare e.g. 5. 26. 1 with Xen. Hell. 5. 1. 35). Of the three writers who undertook to complete his History, only .

Article

Timaeus (2), of Tauromenium, western Greek historian  

Klaus Meister

Article

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Published online:
07 March 2016
Subjects:
  1. Greek History and Historiography
In *Sicily, c.350–260 bce, the most important western Greek historian; son of Andromachus, the dynast who refounded Tauromenium in 358. Andromachus gave *Timoleon a warm welcome in 345 and lent him his support (T 3). Timaeus was exiled in c.315 probably on account of his hostility towards *Agathocles(1) after the tyrant had captured Tauromenium (fr. 124d) and spent at least fifty years of his exile at Athens (fr. 34), where he studied under *Philiscus(1) of Miletus, a pupil of *Isocrates (T 1), and wrote his great work of history. It is conceivable that he returned to Sicily in c.265 but not certain. Timaeus died, allegedly at the age of 96 (T 5), shortly after 264 (see below).1.Olympionikai: a synchronic list of Olympian victors (see olympian games), Spartan kings and *ephors, the Athenian *archontes, and the priestesses of .

Article

Timagenes, of Alexandria (1), Greek rhetor and historian  

Livia Capponi

Article

Publication History:

Published online:
07 March 2016
Subjects:
  1. Greek History and Historiography
  2. Latin Literature
  3. Roman History and Historiography
Timagenes of Alexandria (1), according to Suda the son of a royal banker (βασιλικοῦ ἀργυραμοιβοῦ υἱός), was a Greek rhetor and historian, who came to Rome as a captive in 55 bce with Gabinius(2) and was ransomed and subsequently set free by Sulla’s son Faustus Cornelius Sulla (FGrH 88 T1).1 He lived and worked in Rome, and is mentioned alongside Caecilius (1) of Caleacte and Craton as a distinguished rhetor (T 1 and 2). Initially a favourite of the Emperor Augustus, he later incurred the princeps’ displeasure by his “reckless wit” (temeraria urbanitas) and went to live at the house of C. Asinius Pollio, where he enjoyed continuing popularity (T 2 and 3). “He wrote many books” (T 1), but all that is extant is the title of On Kings (peri basileōn), an attempt at writing a universal history of foreign kings from the earliest times to Augustus. Two historical fragments on papyri of the Roman period, respectively, P.

Article

Timoleon  

John Salmon

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07 March 2016
Subjects:
  1. Greek History and Historiography
Timoleon, Corinthian who expelled *Dionysius (2) II from *Syracuse, put down other tyrants in *Sicily (see tyranny), and defeated *Carthage: the truth about him is not easy to discern behind our adulatory sources. In the mid-360s bce he assassinated his brother Timophanes, who exercised a brief tyranny of uncertain character at Corinth. Nothing more is known of him until two decades later, when Syracusan exiles asked Corinth for help against Dionysius II. Corinth chose Timoleon, and gave him seven ships—without crews; they were joined by two from *Corcyra and one from *Leucas. Some of the 700 mercenaries he recruited were remnants from the Third *Sacred War. He landed at *Tauromenium in 344, defeated Hicetas, tyrant of *Leontini, at Adranum, and made for Syracuse. Corinth and states of north-west Greece sent large reinforcements; Syracuse was taken, and Dionysius sent into exile at Corinth. A large Carthaginian army invaded Sicily, and Timoleon led a smaller force to victory over it at the river Crimisus. Some of the booty was sent to Corinth: part of the inscription recording its dedication is preserved (RO no.

Article

Timotheus (2), Athenian general  

C. J. Tuplin

Article

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Published online:
07 March 2016
Subjects:
  1. Greek History and Historiography
Timotheus (2), son of *Conon(1) (cf. Tod 128), Athenian general. He was a wealthy associate of *Plato(1) and *Isocrates and friend of *Jason(2), notable for modest physique, imaginative military financing (Isocrates praises him as an ‘economical’ general), restraint towards defeated opponents, and élitist disdain (making his eventual rapprochement with the assertively ‘common’ Iphicrates remarkable). He played a major role in establishing the *Second Athenian Confederacy (378–373)—Sparta's defeat at Alyzeia made possible the crucial Peace of 375/4 (‘a new cohabitation of Victory and Dēmos' according to a dedication at *Delphi adorned with Praxitelean statuary; see praxiteles)—but unusual financial disarray in 373 led to prosecution by *Iphicrates and *Callistratus(2) and he entered service with *Artaxerxes (2) II in 372. Restored to solvency and favour, he captured *Samos (366/5) and had many successes in Hellespont, western *Thrace, and *Macedonia (365–362 or later), gaining a reputation for luck (it was said cities fell into his hands while he slept).