Statesman and military leader
Born: Late sixth century b. c.e.; place unknown Died: c. 467 b. c.e.; place unknown Also known as: Aristides the Just Category: Military; government and politics
Life Aristides (ar-uh-STID-eez) of Athens commanded his tribal contingent when the Athenians defeated the Persians at the Battle of Marathon (490 b. c.e.), and he served as archon in 489 b. c.e. In 482 b. c.e., political rivalry led to his ostracism. However, he returned to Athens in 480 b. c.e. under the general recall of ostracized citizens at the time of Xerxes I’s invasion of Greece, and he led the Athenian forces that fought as part of the Greek army that defeated the Persians at the Battle of Plataea (479 b. c.e.).
The next year, when the Spartan Pausanias led a naval expedition eastward against the Persians, Aristides was in command of the supporting Athenian fleet. After Pausanias fell from favor, Aristides, who enjoyed the confidence of the allied Greeks, was instrumental in founding (477 b. c.e.) the Delian League, a confederacy whose purpose was to continue the war against Persia under Athenian leadership.
Influence Aristides’ influence was both moral and political. His reputation for integrity provided a paradigm for later generations, and the Delian League became the instrument by which Athens established its maritime empire.
Further Reading
Herodotus. The Histories. Translated by Robin Waterfield. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
Plutarch. The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives by Plutarch. Translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert. London: Penguin, 1960.
Sekunda, Nicholas. Marathon, 490 B. C.: The First Persian Invasion of Greece. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2005.
Hubert M. Martin, Jr.
See also: Athenian Empire; Athens; Marathon, Battle of; Pausanias of Sparta; Plataea, Battle of; Xerxes I.
World History
