Cimon Cimon ( in Greek , " Κίμων " — " Kimōn " ) ( 510 , Athens – 450 BC , Citium , Cyprus ) , was an Athenian statesman , strategos , and major political figure in mid - 5th century BC Greece , the son of Miltiades , and victor of the Battle of Marathon . Cimon played a key role in creating the powerful Athenian maritime empire following the failure of the Persian invasion of Greece by Xerxes I in 480 - 479 BC . Cimon became a celebrated military hero and was elevated to the rank of admiral after fighting in the Battle of Salamis . One of Cimon ’ s greatest exploits was his destruction of a Persian fleet and army at the Battle of the Eurymedon river in 466 BC . In 462 BC , he led an unsuccessful expedition to support the Spartans during the helot uprisings . As a result , he was dismissed and ostracized from Athens in 461 BC ; however , he was recalled from his exile before the end of his ten - year ostracism to broker a five - year peace treaty in 451 BC between Sparta and Athens . For this participation in pro - Spartan policy , he has often been called a laconist . Cimon also led the Athenian aristocratic party against Pericles and opposed the democratic revolution of Ephialtes seeking to retain aristocratic party control over Athenian institutions . Early years . Cimon was born into Athenian nobility in 510 BC . He was a member of the Philaidae clan . His father was the celebrated Athenian general Miltiades and his mother was Hegesipyle , daughter of the Thracian king Olorus and a relative of the historian Thucydides . While Cimon was a young man , his father was fined 50 talents after an accusation of treason by the Athenian state . As Miltiades could not afford to pay this amount , he was put in jail , where he died in 489 BC . Cimon inherited this debt and had to look after his sister Elpinice . According to Plutarch , the wealthy Callias took advantage of this situation by proposing to pay the sum if Elpinice would marry him , to which Cimon agreed . Marriage . Cimon later married Isodice , Megacles ' granddaughter and a member of the Alcmaeonidae family . Their first children were twin boys named Lacedaemonius ( who would become an Athenian commander ) and Eleus . Their third son was Thessalus ( who would become a politician ) . Military career . During the Battle of Salamis , Cimon distinguished himself by his bravery . He is mentioned as being a member of an embassy sent to Sparta in 479 BC . Between 478 BC and 476 BC , a number of Greek maritime cities around the Aegean Sea did not wish to submit to Persian control again and offered their allegiance to Athens through Aristides at Delos . There , they formed the Delian League ( also known as the Confederacy of Delos ) , and it was agreed that Cimon would be their principal commander . As strategos , Cimon commanded most of the League ’ s operations until 463 BC . During this period , he and Aristides drove the Spartans under Pausanias out of Byzantium . Cimon also captured Eion on the Strymon from the Persian general Boges and established an Athenian colony nearby called Amphipolis with 10 , 000 settlers . He also conquered Scyros and drove out the pirates who were based there . On his return , he brought the “ bones ” of the mythological Theseus back to Athens . To celebrate this achievement , three Herma statues were erected around Athens . Battle of the Eurymedon . Around 466 BC , Cimon carried the war against Persia into Asia Minor and decisively defeated the Persians at the Battle of the Eurymedon on the Eurymedon River in Pamphylia . Cimon ' s land and sea forces captured the Persian camp and destroyed or captured the entire Persian fleet of 200 trireme s manned by Phoenicians . Many new allies of Athens were then recruited into the Delian League , such as the trading city of Phaselis on the Lycia n - Pamphylian border . There is a view amongst some historians that while in Asia Minor , Cimon negotiated a peace between the League and the Persians after his victory at the Battle of the Eurymedon . This may help to explain why the Peace of Callias negotiated by his brother - in - law in 450 BC is sometimes called the Peace of Cimon as Callias ’ efforts may have led to a renewal of Cimon ’ s earlier treaty . He had served Athens well during the Persian Wars and according to Plutarch : " In all the qualities that war demands he was fully the equal of Themistocles and his own father Miltiades " . Thracian Chersonesus . After his successes in Asia Minor , Cimon moved to the Thracian colony Chersonesus . There he subdued the local tribes and ended the revolt of the Thasians between 465 BC and 463 BC . Thasos had revolted from the Delian League over a trade rivalry with the Thracian hinterland and , in particular , over the ownership of a gold mine . Athens under Cimon laid siege to Thasos after the Athenian fleet defeated the Thasos fleet . These actions earned him the enmity of Stesimbrotus of Thasos ( a source used by Plutarch in his writings about this period in Greek history ) . Trial for Bribery . Despite these successes , Cimon was prosecuted by Pericles for allegedly accepting bribes from Alexander I of Macedon . During the trial , Cimon said : " Never have I been an Athenian envoy , to any rich kingdom . Instead , I was proud , attending to the Spartans , whose frugal culture I have always imitated . This proves that I don ' t desire personal wealth . Rather , I love enriching our nation , with the booty of our victories . " As a result , Elpinice convinced Pericles not to be too harsh in his criticism of her brother . Cimon was in the end acquitted . Helot Revolt in Sparta . Cimon was Sparta ' s Proxenos at Athens , he strongly advocated a policy of cooperation between the two states . He was known to be so fond of Sparta that he named one of his sons Lacedaemonius . In 462 BC , Cimon sought the support of Athens ’ citizens to provide help to Sparta . Although Ephialtes maintained that Sparta was Athens ' rival for power and should be left to fend for itself , Cimon ' s view prevailed . Cimon then led 4 , 000 hoplite s to Mt . Ithome to help the Spartan aristocracy deal with a major revolt by its helots . However , this expedition ended in humiliation for Cimon and for Athens when , after an attempt to storm Mt . Ithome failed , the Spartans expelled Cimon and his army on suspicion of “ revolutionary tendencies ” . Exile . This insulting rebuff caused the collapse of Cimon ' s popularity in Athens . As a result , he was ostracised from Athens for ten years beginning in 461 BC . The reformer Ephialtes then took the lead in running Athens and , with the support of Pericles , reduced the power of the Athenian Council of the Areopagus ( filled with ex - archon s and so a stronghold of oligarchy ) . Power was transferred to the people , i . e . the Council of Five Hundred , the Assembly , and the popular law courts . Some of Cimon ’ s policies were reversed including his pro - Spartan policy and his attempts at peace with Persia . Many ostraka bearing his name survive ; one bearing the spiteful inscription : " " Cimon , son of Miltiades , and Elpinice too " " ( his haughty sister ) . In 458 BC , Cimon sought to return to Athens to assist its fight against Sparta at Tanagra , but was rebuffed . Return to Athens . Eventually , around 451 BC , Cimon returned to Athens . Although he was not allowed to return to the level of power he once enjoyed , he was able to negotiate on Athens ’ behalf a five - year truce with the Spartans . Later , with a Persian fleet moving against a rebellious Cyprus , Cimon proposed an expedition to fight the Persians . He gained Pericles ' support and sailed to Cyprus with two hundred triremes of the Delian League . From there , he sent sixty ships to Egypt to help the Egyptians under Amyrtaeus , in the Nile Delta . Cimon used the remaining ships to aid the uprising of the Cypriot Greek city - states . Rebuilding Athens . From his many military exploits , and money gained through the Delian League , Cimon funded many construction projects throughout Athens . These projects were greatly needed in order to rebuild Athens after its destruction by the Persians . He ordered : the expanding of the Acropolis , fortifying and expanding the walls around Athens , construction of public roads , construction of public gardens , and the construction of many political buildings . Cyprus and Death of Cimon . Cimon laid siege to the Persian stronghold of Citium on the southwest coast of Cyprus ; however , the siege failed and Cyprus remained under Phoenician ( and Persian ) control . It was during this siege that Cimon either died or was killed . He was later buried in Athens where a monument was erected in his memory .