Erasinides

Erasinides ( Greek Ἐρασινίδης Erasinídēs ) was an Athenian general in the Peloponnesian War (431 - 404 BC). He probably came from a noble family and was close to the oligarchic party in Athens .

407 BC Erasinides was elected to one of the ten Athenian generals who were supposed to replace and replace the commander-in-chief Alcibiades , who had fallen out of favor with the people after the lost sea battle at Notion . No news is known about him from the years before. The historian Thucydides , who reports extensively on the first two decades of the Peloponnesian War, does not mention it.

After his appointment, Erasinides was entrusted with a command in the waters of Asia Minor , where a strong Spartan fleet was staying. Together with his fellow military officers Leon and Konon , Erasinides - as Xenophon reports - had to go there in 406 BC. To flee from an overpowering Spartan association under the Admiral Kallikratidas in the port of Mytilene on Lesbos , which was in Athenian hands. In a sea battle at the entrance to this port, the Athenians lost 30 of their 70 ships and were henceforth besieged by Kallikratidas.

In order to transmit the news of this dangerous situation, which threatened to lead to a catastrophe for the Attic fleet, to Athens and to bring in reinforcements, it was decided that two ships should break through the Spartan siege barrier in front of the port of Mytilene and try to reach Athens reach. Apparently - Xenophon is silent about the details - it was decided that Konon should stay in Mytilene, while Erasinides and Leon should try with one ship each to escape in different directions (out to sea and towards Hellespont ).

The Spartans, surprised by the attempted escape, pursued only the ship commanded by Leon, which was escaping out to sea. This ship was found after a chase and captured in combat. The other ship commanded by Erasinides was able to escape unhindered in the direction of Hellespont and from there to Athens. At the Hellespont, Erasinides seems to have received support to continue his journey and at the same time the money that would later become his undoing. When he arrived in Athens, he reported on the situation in Mytilene. Thereupon, by popular vote, reinforcements were sent to Lesbos, which eventually grew to over 150 ships. Erasinides was given command of some of these ships, which came across the now numerically weaker Spartan fleet near the Arginus Islands.

In the ensuing Battle of the Arginus, the Athenians were victorious and sank 70 Spartan ships, with Erasinides operating on the weaker left wing under the command of Aristocrates . When the generals had gone ashore after the battle, Admiral Diomedon , of whom Xenophon reports that he was politically inclined towards the Democratic Party , advised that all ships should go out again immediately to catch the wreckage and the castaways floating in the waves to recover. But Erasinides advocated that the entire fleet should set out on the fastest route to pursue the enemies who had fled to Mytilene. One must assume that these divergent advice also express the different social positions of the admirals. Erasinides showed with his advice that the fate of the Athenian seamen, who came mainly from the lower class, was less important to him than the pursuit of the enemy. (This suggests that he himself came from a wealthier aristocratic family.) Eventually, however, on the advice of Thrasyllos , it was decided to split the fleet and attempt both actions at the same time. An oncoming storm, however, prevented any further action in one direction as well as in the other. Many Athenian sailors from sunken ships perished helplessly in the floods.

As soon as the news of what had happened reached Athens, all eight generals involved were removed from office. Two of them (Protomachus and Aristogenes) then chose not to return to Athens. Together with his colleague Perikles d. J. , Diomedon, Lysias , Aristocrates and Thrasyllos, however, went to Erasinides on the return journey. The news of the death of many sailors and of the dispute among the generals about the necessity of their rescue had meanwhile (despite the joy of the victory) caused a deep excitement in the ordinary population of Athens, including many families immediately through the loss of relatives were affected. Apparently the impression prevailed that the Admiralty had arrogantly not been interested in saving the lives of the common seamen and had not taken sufficient care to recover the corpses, which was extremely important to the relatives for religious reasons.

The then democratic people's leader Archedemos , to whom part of the Athenian financial administration was also subordinate, therefore, immediately after his arrival in Athens, had Erasinides accused of the sum of money he had received at the Hellespont as well as of his position as general and took him to court. There it was decided to put Erasinides in shackles. Shortly afterwards the other commanders who had been in the army were also arrested.

This marked the beginning of the famous Arginus Trial , which concerned the failure of the generals to provide assistance to the shipwrecked Athenian seamen and the failure to recover the corpses. The judgment, which was passed in disregard of essential procedural provisions and under the pressure of an incited crowd, finally provided for the death penalty for all generals, including Erasinides and Diomedon, despite their very different positions in the event .

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• Diodorus Siculus: Libraries . (Book XIII. 74 and 101).
• Plutarch: Life of Alcibiades . (Chapter 36).
• Xenophon: Hellenika . (Book I Ch. 5,16; as well as: I 6,16; I 6, 24 and 29; I 7,1-34).