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Concept
Lysander
Summary
Lysander (laɪˈsændər,_ˈlaɪˌsændər; Λύσανδρος ; died 395 BC) was a Spartan military and political leader. He destroyed the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Aegospotami in 405 BC, forcing Athens to capitulate and bringing the Peloponnesian War to an end. He then played a key role in Sparta's domination of Greece for the next decade until his death at the Battle of Haliartus.
Lysander's vision for Sparta differed from most Spartans; he wanted to overthrow the Athenian Empire and replace it with Spartan hegemony.
Little is known of Lysander's early life. His year of birth is estimated at 454 BC. Some ancient authors record that his mother was a helot or slave. Lysander's father was Aristocritus, who was a member of the Spartan Heracleidae; that is, he claimed descent from Heracles but was not a member of a royal family. According to Plutarch, Lysander grew up in poverty and showed himself obedient, conformed to norms, and had a "manly spirit".
It was custom in the Spartan upbringing for a young adult to be assigned as the "inspirer" (eispnelas) or "lover" (erastes) of an adolescent, and Lysander was matched in this role with the future king Agesilaus, the younger son of Archidamus II. Nothing is known of Lysander's actual career before he was elected, in 408, to Sparta's annual office of admiral, to conduct the long-running Peloponnesian War against Athens.
From Sparta Lysander set out to gather ships at Rhodes, then sent for more from Chios, made his way through Cos and Miletus, and finally Ephesus, Sparta's main naval base in Ionia. His arrival was shortly followed by that of Cyrus, young son of the Persian king Darius, who had been appointed by his father as governor of the provinces of Asia Minor in response to an earlier Spartan embassy requesting increased aid in the war against Athens. Lysander promptly went to meet Cyrus at his headquarters in nearby Sardis, and with calculated deference made a deep impression on the young prince, developing with him a close friendship that was to have a decisive effect in the course of the war.
Official source
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