Chalcidus

Chalkideus († 412 BC ) was a Spartan military leader in the Peloponnesian War .

He was born at the beginning of the year 412 BC. Sent with a fleet of five ships to the island of Chios , which had linked its readiness to desert Athens to Spartan help. The deserter Alkibiades , who had advised the Spartans to start their offensive in Ionia, accompanied him on the journey . Arrived in Chios, Chalcidus and Alkibiades brought the city to open conversion. While the Chians also passed their Ionian neighboring cities Erythrai , Klazomenai and Teos , Chalcidus and Alcibiades drove on to Miletus , which they could also persuade to apostate from Athens.

Subsequently, Chalcidus met the Lydian satrap Tissaphernes in Miletus and concluded a first alliance between Sparta and the Persian Empire . When an Athenian fleet arrived at Miletus and blocked the port, Chalcidus was in charge of the defense. In the summer the Athenians landed at the Milesian Panormos not far from the sanctuary of Didyma . In the process, Chalcidus, who hurried towards them with a small unit to defend himself, was killed in the fight.

After the death of Chalcidus, the Peloponnesian troops fought at the Battle of Miletus in late summer 412 BC. BC without a military leader and were defeated by the Athenians. Despite the defeat, Ionia remained on the side of Sparta until the end of the war. The treaty of Chalcidus with Tissaphernes was rebuked in detail by his successors for unfavorable conditions, but after several renewals and improvements it ultimately turned out to be the most important basis for the Spartan victory over Athens.

The main source for the life of Chalcidus is Thucydides VIII 6–45.

literature

• Benedikt Niese : Chalkideus. In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume III, 2, Stuttgart 1899, Col. 2068 f.