Hagnon
Encyclopedia
Hagnon was an Athenian
general and statesman. In 437/6 BC, he led the settlers who founded the city of Amphipolis
in Thrace; in the Peloponnesian War
, he served as an Athenian general on several occasions, and was one of the signers of the Peace of Nicias
and the alliance between Athens and Sparta
. In 411 BC, during the oligarchic coup
, he supported the oligarchy and was one of the ten commissioners appointed to draw up a new constitution.
Hagnon's first appearance in the historical records comes in 437/6 BC, when he led a group of Greek colonists to found a city at the mouth of the river Strymon. Two previous attempts to found an Athenian colony on this valuable location (the site was desirable both because of its strategic position on the trade routes between the Hellespont and mainland Greece and because it was the primary outlet for trade from the wealthy Strymon valley) had been defeated by hostile native populations, but Hagnon, leading a multinational force of settlers, defeated the Edonians who held the location and founded the city of Amphipolis on an island in the river. For a number of years, Hagnon was honored as the founder of Amphipolis, but in 422 BC, with Amphipolis allied to Sparta and at war with Athens, the Amphipolitans transferred that honor to the Spartan general Brasidas
, who died fighting outside that city while preventing an Athenian attempt to recapture it.
Hagnon held military command for Athens on several occasions, sharing in the command of the force that sailed against Samos in the Samian War
of 440 BC and commanding a force that attempted to capture Potidaea
in 430 BC. In 421 BC, he was one of the Athenian signers of the Peace of Nicias
, the treaty, negotiated by his father, that brought an end to the so-called Archidamian War, the first stage of the Peloponnesian War; he also signed the alliance between Athens and Sparta that was concluded in that same year.
In 411 BC, when revolutionary forces at Athens took advantage of the disorder in the wake of the Sicilian Expedition
to overthrow the Athenian democracy and replace it with an oligarchy, Hagnon was a member of the government of 400 oligarchs that was established, and served as one of the ten commissioners charged with drafting a new constitution. His son Theramenes
, meanwhile, played a central role in both the establishment and the overthrow of that government.
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...
general and statesman. In 437/6 BC, he led the settlers who founded the city of Amphipolis
Amphipolis
Amphipolis was an ancient Greek city in the region once inhabited by the Edoni people in the present-day region of Central Macedonia. It was built on a raised plateau overlooking the east bank of the river Strymon where it emerged from Lake Cercinitis, about 3 m. from the Aegean Sea. Founded in...
in Thrace; in the Peloponnesian War
Peloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War, 431 to 404 BC, was an ancient Greek war fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases...
, he served as an Athenian general on several occasions, and was one of the signers of the Peace of Nicias
Peace of Nicias
The Peace of Nicias was a peace treaty signed between the Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta in the March of 421 BC, ending the first half of the Peloponnesian War....
and the alliance between Athens and Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
. In 411 BC, during the oligarchic coup
Athenian coup of 411 BC
The Athenian coup of 411 BC was a revolutionary movement during the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta that overthrew the democratic government of ancient Athens by replacing it with a short-lived oligarchy known as The Four Hundred....
, he supported the oligarchy and was one of the ten commissioners appointed to draw up a new constitution.
Hagnon's first appearance in the historical records comes in 437/6 BC, when he led a group of Greek colonists to found a city at the mouth of the river Strymon. Two previous attempts to found an Athenian colony on this valuable location (the site was desirable both because of its strategic position on the trade routes between the Hellespont and mainland Greece and because it was the primary outlet for trade from the wealthy Strymon valley) had been defeated by hostile native populations, but Hagnon, leading a multinational force of settlers, defeated the Edonians who held the location and founded the city of Amphipolis on an island in the river. For a number of years, Hagnon was honored as the founder of Amphipolis, but in 422 BC, with Amphipolis allied to Sparta and at war with Athens, the Amphipolitans transferred that honor to the Spartan general Brasidas
Brasidas
Brasidas was a Spartan officer during the first decade of the Peloponnesian War.He was the son of Tellis and Argileonis, and won his first laurels by the relief of Methone, which was besieged by the Athenians . During the following year he seems to have been eponymous ephor Brasidas (died 422...
, who died fighting outside that city while preventing an Athenian attempt to recapture it.
Hagnon held military command for Athens on several occasions, sharing in the command of the force that sailed against Samos in the Samian War
Samian War
The Samian War was an Ancient Greek military conflict between Athens and Samos. The war was initiated by Athens' intervention in a dispute between Samos and Miletus...
of 440 BC and commanding a force that attempted to capture Potidaea
Potidaea
Potidaea was a colony founded by the Corinthians around 600 BC in the narrowest point of the peninsula of Pallene, the westernmost of three peninsulas at the southern end of Chalcidice in northern Greece....
in 430 BC. In 421 BC, he was one of the Athenian signers of the Peace of Nicias
Peace of Nicias
The Peace of Nicias was a peace treaty signed between the Greek city-states of Athens and Sparta in the March of 421 BC, ending the first half of the Peloponnesian War....
, the treaty, negotiated by his father, that brought an end to the so-called Archidamian War, the first stage of the Peloponnesian War; he also signed the alliance between Athens and Sparta that was concluded in that same year.
In 411 BC, when revolutionary forces at Athens took advantage of the disorder in the wake of the Sicilian Expedition
Sicilian Expedition
The Sicilian Expedition was an Athenian expedition to Sicily from 415 BC to 413 BC, during the Peloponnesian War. The expedition was hampered from the outset by uncertainty in its purpose and command structure—political maneuvering in Athens swelled a lightweight force of twenty ships into a...
to overthrow the Athenian democracy and replace it with an oligarchy, Hagnon was a member of the government of 400 oligarchs that was established, and served as one of the ten commissioners charged with drafting a new constitution. His son Theramenes
Theramenes
Theramenes was an Athenian statesman, prominent in the final decade of the Peloponnesian War. He was particularly active during the two periods of oligarchic government at Athens, as well as in the trial of the generals who had commanded at Arginusae in 406 BC...
, meanwhile, played a central role in both the establishment and the overthrow of that government.