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THRASYBULUS. 



THRASYBULUS. 



n 



tributed to the victory which the Athenians gained in the battle of 

 Cyzicus. In B.C. 408, when Alcibiades returned to Athena from 

 Byzantium, Thrasybulus was sent with a fleet of eighty galleys to the 

 coast of Thrace, where he restored the Athenian sovereignty in most 

 of the revolted towns ; and while he was engaged here he was elected 

 at Athens one of the generals, together with Alcibiades and Conon. In 

 B.C. 406 Thrasybulus was engaged as one of tho inferior officers in the 

 Athenian fleet during the battle of Arginusse ; and after the battle he 

 and Theramenes were commissioned by tho generals to save the men 

 on the wrecks; but a storm prevented their executing this order. 

 Respecting the fate of the generals and the conduct of Thoramenes on 

 this occasion, see THERAMENES. Thrasybulus is not charged with any 

 improper act during the proceedings against the generals, and for two 

 years after his name does not occur in the history of Attica. 



During the government of the Thirty Tyrants at Athens, he was 

 sent into exile, and took refuge at Thebes. The calamities under 

 which his country was suffering roused him to exertion. The spirit 

 which prevailed at Thebes against Sparta, and against its partisans at 

 Athens, emboldened him to undertake the deliverance of his country. 

 With a band of about seventy, or, according to others, of only thirty 

 fellow-exiles, he took possession of the^fortress of Phyle, in the north 

 of Attica. The Thirty, sure of victory over so insignificant a garrison, 

 sent out the 3000 Athenians whom they had left in the enjoyment of 

 a, kind of franchise, and the knights, the only part of the population 

 of Athens who were allowed to bear arms. On their approach to 

 Phyle some of the younger men, eager to distinguish themselves, made 

 an assault upon the place, but were repelled with considerable loss. 

 The oligarchs then determined to reduce the fortress by blockade ; but 

 a heavy fall of snow compelled them to return to Athens. During 

 their retreat the exiles sallied forth, attacked the rear, and cut down 

 a great number of them. The Thirty now sent the greater part of 

 the Lacedaemonian garrison of Athens and two detachments of cavalry 

 to encamp at the distance of about fifteen stadia (nearly two miles) 

 from Phyle, for the purpose of keeping the exiles in check. The small 

 baud of Thrasybulus had in the meantime increased to 700, as the 

 Athenian exiles flocked to him from all parts. With this increased 

 force he one morning descended from Phyle, surprised the enemy, and 

 slew upwards of 120 hoplites and a few horsemen, and put the rest to 

 flight. Thrasybulus erected a trophy, took all the arms and military 

 implements which he found in the enemy's camp, and returned to 

 Phyle. 



The Thirty now began to be alarmed at the success of the exiles, 

 and thought it necessary to secure a place of refuge in case the exiles 

 should succeed in getting possession of Athens. For this purpose 

 they, or rather Critias, devised a most atrocious plan. By force and 

 fraud he contrived to secure 300 citizens of Eleusis and Salamia capable 

 of bearing arms ; and after they were conveyed to Athens he compelled 

 the 3000 and the knights to condemn them to death. All were accord- 

 ingly executed, aud Eleusis was deprived of that part of its population 

 to which it might have looked for protection. In the meantime the 

 number of exiles at Phyle had continued to increase, and now 

 amounted to one thousand. With these Thrasybulus marched by 

 night to Piraeus, where he was joyfully received, and great numbers of 

 other exiles immediately increased his army. The Thirty no sooner 

 heard of this movement than they marched against Peirasus with all 

 their forces. Thrasybulus by a skilful manoeuvre obliged the enemy, 

 who was superior in numbers, to occupy an unfavourable position at 

 the foot of the hill of Munychia. In the ensuing battle the army of 

 the tyrants was put to flight and driven back to the city. Critias fell 

 in the contest. 



The consequences of this success showed that there had been little 

 unity among the oligarchs, and that an open breach had only been 

 prevented by fear of Critias. Some of the Thirty and a great many of 

 the 3000 were in their hearts opposed to the atrocities which had been 

 committed, and had avoided, as much as they could, taking part in 

 the rapine and bloodshed. They also were aware that the hatred and 

 contempt under which they were labouring were owing mainly to the 

 violence of their colleagues ; and for the purpose of maintaining their 

 own power they now resolved to sacrifice their colleagues. An assem- 

 bly was held, in which the Thirty were deposed, and a college of ten 

 men, one from each tribe, was appointed to conduct the government. 

 Two of these ten had formerly belonged to the Thirty, and the rest of 

 the Thirty withdrew to Eleusis. As regards the army of exiles under 

 Thrasybulus, the new government of Athens was no less determined 

 to put them down than the Thirty had been. Thrasybulus therefore 

 continued to strengthen himself, aud to prepare for further operations. 

 Hi.s army had gradually become more numerous than that of Athens, 

 for he engaged aliens in his service, and promised them, in case of their 

 success, the same immunities at Athens as those enjoyed by the citizens 

 (iffore'Aeia). Arms, of which ho was still in want, were generally sup- 

 plied by the wealthy citizens of Peirseus and other places, and by the 

 ingenuity of his own men. As the danger from the exiles became at 

 last very imminent, the Ten of Athens applied to Sparta for assistance. 

 At the same time the faction at Eleusis also sent envoys to Sparta ; 

 but the government of Sparta refused to send an army for an under- 

 taking from which it could reap no advantages. However Lysander, 

 as harmostes, obtained leave to levy an army, and his brother Libys 

 was appointed admiral to blockade Peirseus. Lysander went to Eleusip, 



and got together a numerous army. Being thai enclosed by land and 

 by sea, Thrasybulus and his army had no prospect except to surrender. 



But their deliverance came from a quarter whence it could have 

 least been expected. The power and influence which Lysander had 

 gradually acquired, had excited the envy of the leading men at .Sparta, 

 even of the ephors and kings, and they were now bent upon thwarting 

 his plans. King Pausauias was accordingly cent out with an army to 

 Attica, avowedly to assist Lyeander in his operations, but in reality 

 for the purpose of preventing the accomplishment of his designs. He 

 encamped near Pirtoua, as if ho designed to besiege the place in con- 

 junction with Lysander. After several sham manoeuvres against the 

 exiles, Pauaanias gained a victory over them without following it up. 

 He now sent secretly an embassy to them, requesting them to send a 

 deputation to him and the ephors; and he also suggested the language 

 which the deputies should use. At the tame time he invited the 

 pacific party at Athena to meet and make a public declaration of their 

 sentiments. Hereupon a truce was concluded with the exiles, and a 

 deputation of them, as well as of the pacific party at Athens, was 

 sent to Sparta to negociato a general settlement of affairs. Ag soon as 

 the Ten of Athens heard of thia, they also sent envoys to Sparta to 

 oppose the other embassy. But this attempt failed, and the ephors 

 appointed fifteen commissioners with full powers, in conjunction with 

 King Pausanias, to settle all the differences between the parties in 

 Attica. In accordance with the wishes of the exiles and the peaceful 

 party of the city, the commissioners proclaimed a general amnesty, 

 from which none we'-e to be excluded except the Thirty, the Eleven, 

 and the Ten who had formed the government of Peiraeus. Any one 

 who might not think it safe to return to Athens was permitted to take 

 up his residence at Eleusis. This clause is unintelligible, unless we 

 suppose that the Spartans still wished to see Eleusis in the hands of 

 a party which might check the reviving spirit of independence among 

 the Athenians. Sparta guaranteed the execution of the proclamation. 

 Pausanias withdrew his forces, and Thrasybulus at the head of the 

 exiles entered Athens in triumph, and marched up the Acropolis to 

 offer thanks to Athena : an assembly was then held, in which Thrasy- 

 bulus impressed upon all parties the necessity of strictly observing 

 the conditions of the peace. 



Eleusis was now the seat of the most violent of the oligarchical 

 party, and they still indulged some hope of recovering what was lost. 

 They assembled a body of mercenaries to renew the civil war ; but 

 Athens sent out a strong force against them. Xenophon says that the 

 leaders of the Eleusinian party were drawn to a conference and then 

 put to death. This isolated statement is rather surprising, as in all 

 other respects the popular party showed the greatest moderation, and 

 immediately after the quelling of the Eleusinian rebellion Thrasybulua 

 induced the Athenians to proclaim a second amnesty, from which no 

 one was to be excluded. This amnesty was faithfully observed. The 

 first step after the abolition of the oligarchy was the passing of a 

 decree which restored the democratic form of government. 



Thrasybulus acquired the esteem of his fellow-citizens by the 

 courage and perseverance which he had shown in the deliverance of 

 his country, and although for many years he does not come forth very 

 prominently in the history of Attica, he was no less active in restoring 

 Athens to her former greatness than he had been in wresting her from 

 the hands of her enemies. His last military undertaking belongs to 

 the year B.C. 389, when the government of Athens placed a fleet of 

 40 galleys at his command, with which he was to support the demo- 

 cratical party in the island of Rhodes. On his arrival there he found 

 that no protection was needed, and he sailed to the north part of the 

 ^Egean. In Thrace he settled a dispute between two princes, and 

 gained them as allies for Athens. At Byzantium and Chalcedou also 

 the influence of Athena was restored, and with it new sources of 

 revenue to the republic were opened. After this he sailed to Mitylene, 

 the only town in the island of Lesbos in which the Spartan party had 

 not gained the ascendancy. Thrasybulus here fought a battle with 

 Therimachus, the Spartan harmostes, who was defeated and slain. 

 Several towns were now reduced, and after he had plundered the 

 lands of those who refused to submit to Athens, he prepared to sail 

 to Rhodes ; but before ho lauded there he sailed along the southern 

 coast of Asia Minor to levy some contributions there. His fleet cast 

 anchor in the mouth of the river Eurymedon in Pamphylia, near 

 Aspeudus. In consequence of some outrage committed by his soldiers 

 on land, the Aspendiuus were exasperated, and during the night they 

 surprised and killed Thrasybulus in bis tent, B.C. 389. 



(Thucydides, viii. ; Xenophon, Hcllen., i. 1, 12; i. 6, 36; ii. 3, 42; 

 ii. 4, 2, &c. ; iv. 8, 25, &c. ; Diodorus Sic., xiv. 32, &c. ; 94 and 99 ; 

 C. Nepos, Tkrasybulus; compare E. Ph. Hinrichs, De Tlieramenii, 

 Critice, et Thrasybuli Rebus et Ingenio, 4to, Hamburg, 1820; Thirlwall ; 

 Grote.) 



THRASYBU'LUS, of Collytus in Attica, was a contemporary of 

 Thrasybulus the deliverer of Athens, from whom he is usually distin- 

 guished by the epithet of the Collytian. He was one of the Athenian 

 exiles who joined his namesake at Phyle, and afterwards at Peirasus. 

 (Demosthenes, in ' Timocrat.,' p. 742.) In the war against Antalcidas 

 he commanded eight Athenian galleys, with which he was taken 

 prisoner by the Spartan admiral. (Xenophon, Hellen., v. 1, 26, &c. ; 

 compare JEschines, in Ctesiphont., p. 73, ed. Steph.) 



THRASYBU'LUS, a tyrant of Syracuse. He was a son of Gelo, 



