SocratesSocrates (ˈsɒkrətiːz; Σωκράτης; 470–399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no texts and is known mainly through the posthumous accounts of classical writers, particularly his students Plato and Xenophon. These accounts are written as dialogues, in which Socrates and his interlocutors examine a subject in the style of question and answer; they gave rise to the Socratic dialogue literary genre.
Thirty TyrantsThe Thirty Tyrants (οἱ τριάκοντα τύραννοι, hoi triákonta týrannoi) were a pro-Spartan oligarchy installed in Athens in 404 BC, after the Athenian democracy had been defeated by Sparta in the Peloponnesian War. Upon Lysander's request, the Thirty were elected as a tyrannical government, not just as a legislative committee. Although they maintained power for only a brief eight months, their reign resulted in the killing of 5% of the Athenian population, the confiscation of citizens' property and the exile of other democratic supporters.
Timaeus (dialogue)Timaeus (taɪˈmiːəs; Timaios, tǐːmai̯os) is one of Plato's dialogues, mostly in the form of long monologues given by Critias and Timaeus, written 360 BC. The work puts forward reasoning on the possible nature of the physical world and human beings and is followed by the dialogue Critias. Participants in the dialogue include Socrates, Timaeus, Hermocrates, and Critias. Some scholars believe that it is not the Critias of the Thirty Tyrants who appears in this dialogue, but his grandfather, who is also named Critias.
Battle of AegospotamiThe Battle of Aegospotami was a naval confrontation that took place in 405 BC and was the last major battle of the Peloponnesian War. In the battle, a Spartan fleet under Lysander destroyed the Athenian navy. This effectively ended the war, since Athens could not import grain or communicate with its empire without control of the sea. In 405 BC, following the severe Spartan defeat at the Battle of Arginusae, Lysander, the commander who had been responsible for the first Spartan naval successes, was reinstated in command.
AlcibiadesAlcibiades (ˌælsɪˈbaɪ.ədiːz ; Ἀλκιβιάδης; 450 – 404 BC) was an Athenian statesman and general. The last of the Alcmaeonidae, he played a major role in the second half of the Peloponnesian War as a strategic advisor, military commander, and politician, but subsequently fell from prominence. During the course of the Peloponnesian War, Alcibiades changed his political allegiance several times. In his native Athens in the early 410s BC, he advocated an aggressive foreign policy and was a prominent proponent of the Sicilian Expedition.
XenophonXenophon of Athens (ˈzɛnəfən,zi-,-fɒn; Ξενοφῶν ksenophɔ̂ːn; 430 – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Greek mercenary armies of the Achaemenid Empire, the Ten Thousand, that marched on and came close to capturing Babylon in 401 BC. As the military historian Theodore Ayrault Dodge wrote, "the centuries since have devised nothing to surpass the genius of this warrior".
PiraeusPiraeus (paɪˈriːəs,_pɪˈreɪəs ; Πειραιάς Peiraiás pireˈas; Πειραιεύς Peiraieús; Ancient: peːrai̯eús, Katharevousa: pire̞ˈefs) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Athens Riviera. The municipality of Piraeus and four other suburban municipalities form the regional unit of Piraeus, sometimes called the Greater Piraeus area, with a total population of 448,997.
