Thrasybulus

Thrasybulus (/ˌθræsɪˈbjuːləs/; Ancient Greek: Θρασύβουλος Thrasyboulos; c. 440 – 388 BC) was a Greek general and democratic leader. In 411 BC, in the wake of an oligarchic coup at Athens, the pro-democracy sailors at Samos elected him as a general, making him a primary leader of the ultimately successful democratic resistance to the coup. As general, he was responsible for recalling the controversial nobleman Alcibiades from exile, and the two worked together extensively over the next several years. In 411 and 410, Thrasybulus was in command along with Alcibiades and others at several critical Athenian naval victories.

After Athens's defeat in the Peloponnesian War, Thrasybulus led the democratic resistance to the new oligarchic government, known as the Thirty Tyrants, imposed by the victorious Spartans upon Athens. In 404 BC, he commanded a small force of exiles that invaded the Spartan-ruled Attica and, in successive battles, first defeated a Spartan garrison and then the forces of the oligarchy. In the wake of these victories, democracy was re-established at Athens. As a leader of this revived democracy in the 4th century BC, Thrasybulus advocated a policy of resistance to Sparta and sought to restore Athens's imperial power. He was killed in 388 BC while leading an Athenian naval force during the Corinthian War.

Almost nothing is known of Thrasybulus's background or early life. His father was named Lycus, and he was a native of the deme of Steiria in Athens. He was probably born between 455 and 441 BC, although dates as late as the later 430s BC have been suggested. He was married, and had two children. Several facts make it clear that he was from a wealthy family; he held the office of trierarch, which involved significant personal expenditures on several occasions, and in the 4th century BC his son was able to pay a substantial fine of 10 talents.

By 411 Thrasybulus had established a reputation as a pro-democracy politician. Throughout his career, Thrasybulus consistently advocated several policies. He was a proponent of Athenian imperialism and expansionism and a strong supporter of Periclean democracy. According to Demosthenes, Thrasybulus was one of the "great and distinguished orators." Plutarch notes that he had "the loudest voice of the Athenians." And the Athenian general Conon described Thrasybulus as a man who was "bold in counsel." During his period of prominence within the democracy, he seems to have led what might now be termed a populist faction. According to the historical account provided by Xenophon, he was murdered by locals during the night while acting as general of a military expedition on its way to Rhodes while on a stopover in Aspendus on the Eurymedon River on account of his soldiers' recent transgressions against local farmers and their farmsteads.

In 413 BC, a massive Athenian expedition force was obliterated in Sicily. In the wake of this defeat, Athens found itself facing a crisis of unprecedented magnitude. Cities throughout its Aegean empire began to rebel, and a Peloponnesian fleet sailed to assist them. Seeking to contain the crisis, Athens tapped its reserve fund to rebuild its fleet and dispatched what ships it had to establish an advance naval base at Samos.

In this general atmosphere of crisis, aristocrats at Athens who had long desired to overthrow the democracy there began to agitate publicly for a change of government, and formed a conspiracy to bring an oligarchy to power in Athens. Their plans included recalling Alcibiades, who had been exiled by the democratic government. These oligarchs initiated their plans at Samos, where they successfully encouraged a number of Samian oligarchs to begin a similar conspiracy.

A dispute has arisen among modern historians over Thrasybulus's involvement in this plot. Donald Kagan has suggested that Thrasybulus was one of the founding members of the scheme and was willing to support moderate oligarchy, but was alienated by the extreme actions taken by the plotters. R. J. Buck, on the other hand, maintains that Thrasybulus was probably never involved in the plot, possibly because he was absent from Samos at the time of its inception.

Upon their return to Athens, the conspirators succeeded in ending democratic rule and imposing an oligarchy of 400 rulers. At Samos, however, the coup did not go forward as smoothly. Samian democrats learned of the conspiracy and notified four prominent Athenians, the generals Leon and Diomedon, Thrasybulus, and Thrasyllus, at that time a hoplite in the ranks. With the support of these men and the Athenian soldiers and sailors in general, the Samian democrats were able to defeat the conspirators when they attempted to seize power.