Callias
Encyclopedia
Callias was the head of a wealthy Athenian
family, and fought at the Battle of Marathon
(490
) in priestly attire. His son, Hipponicus
, was also a military commander. He is commonly known as Callias II to distinguish him from his grandfather, Callias I, and from his grandson, Callias III
.
Some time after the death of Cimon, probably about 445 BC
, he was sent to Susa
to conclude with Artaxerxes I, king of Persia, a treaty of peace named the Peace of Callias
.
At all events, Callias' mission does not seem to have been successful. He was indicted for high treason
on his return to Athens
and sentenced to a fine of fifty talents
.
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
family, and fought at the Battle of Marathon
Battle of Marathon
The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC, during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. It was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate...
(490
490 BC
Year 490 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Camerinus and Flavus...
) in priestly attire. His son, Hipponicus
Hipponicus
Hipponicus was an Athenian military commander and son of Callias II and father of Callias III and Hipparete, who later married Alcibiades. Together with Eurymedon he commanded the Athenian forces in the incursion into Boeotian territory and was slain at the Battle of Delium ....
, was also a military commander. He is commonly known as Callias II to distinguish him from his grandfather, Callias I, and from his grandson, Callias III
Callias III
Callias , son of Hipponicus by the former wife of Pericles, an Alcmaeonid and the third member of one of the most distinguished Athenian families to bear the name of Callias...
.
Some time after the death of Cimon, probably about 445 BC
445 BC
Year 445 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Augurinus and Philo...
, he was sent to Susa
Susa
Susa was an ancient city of the Elamite, Persian and Parthian empires of Iran. It is located in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris River, between the Karkheh and Dez Rivers....
to conclude with Artaxerxes I, king of Persia, a treaty of peace named the Peace of Callias
Peace of Callias
The Peace of Callias is a purported treaty established around 449 BC between the Delian League and Persia, ending the Persian Wars. The peace was agreed as the first compromise treaty between Achaemenid Persia and a Greek city....
.
At all events, Callias' mission does not seem to have been successful. He was indicted for high treason
High treason
High treason is criminal disloyalty to one's government. Participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplomats, or its secret services for a hostile and foreign power, or attempting to kill its head of state are perhaps...
on his return to Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
and sentenced to a fine of fifty talents
Talent (weight)
The "talent" was one of several ancient units of mass, as well as corresponding units of value equivalent to these masses of a precious metal. It was approximately the mass of water required to fill an amphora. A Greek, or Attic talent, was , a Roman talent was , an Egyptian talent was , and a...
.
Sources
- HerodotusHerodotusHerodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
vii. 151; Diodorus SiculusDiodorus SiculusDiodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...
xii. 4; DemosthenesDemosthenesDemosthenes was a prominent Greek statesman and orator of ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide an insight into the politics and culture of ancient Greece during the 4th century BC. Demosthenes learned rhetoric by...
, De Falsa Legatione, p. 428; GroteGeorge GroteGeorge Grote was an English classical historian, best known in the field for a major work, the voluminous History of Greece, still read.-Early life:He was born at Clay Hill near Beckenham in Kent...
recognizes the treaty as a historical fact, History of Greece, ch. xlv, while CurtiusErnst CurtiusYou may be looking for Ernst Robert Curtius .Ernst Curtius was a German archaeologist and historian.-Biography:...
, bk. iii. ch. ii, denies the conclusion of any formal treaty; see also Ed. Meyer, Forschungen., ii.; JB Bury in Hermathena, xxiv (1898).