Conon Conon ( ) ( bef . 444 BC – aft . 394 BC ) was an Athenian general at the end of the Peloponnesian War , who presided over the crucial Athenian naval defeat at Battle of Aegospotami ; later he contributed significantly to the restoration of the political and military power . Defeat at Aegospotami . Conon had been sent out following the recall of Alcibiades in 406 BC , and pursued the Peloponnesian fleet under Lysander to the Hellespont . There it took a strong defensive position at Lampsacus and the Athenians , as they could not lure them out , retreated to Aegospotami . Alcibiades came to warn them of the danger of their position , as they were at an open beach without harbors , and advised them to move to Sestos about two miles distant where they were retrieving supplies from , but was ignored and perhaps ridiculed . On the fifth day of the stand - off , Lysander sent ahead scouts , who signalled the main army once the Athenian crews had disembarked to take their meals . Thus almost the entire navy was caught unprepared and captured without resistance , and all the men taken were put to death . It was generally believed that some kind of treachery was involved , but Conon himself was never implicated . His ship was one of nine which escaped the disaster , boldly rushing to Lampsacus where the Spartans had left their sails ( as was typical before a naval battle ) and so preventing any effective means of pursuit . The Paralus returned to Athens , while Conon with the other eight ships fled to Evagoras of Cyprus , fearing the judgment of the Athenian commons . Aftermath and later career . As a result of this victory , Sparta defeated the Athenians and so attempted to carve out her own empire in the Aegean . Her relationship with Persia deteriorated , and she began raiding the satrapies of Pharnabazus and Tissaphernes in modern Turkey . By 397 BC , Pharnabazus had persuaded the emperor Artaxerxes to prosecute the war by sea , and raised a fleet of 300 Phoenician and Cypriot ships . In sheer numbers they would be overwhelming , but they needed an experienced commander , and so they found Conon at Cyprus , who was only too happy for a chance to take revenge upon the Peloponnesians . First Conon moved up to Caria with a small portion of the fleet , where he was for a time blockaded but then rescued by Pharnabazus and Tissaphernes . He then proceeded to Rhodes , where the pro - Spartan oligarchy was replaced by a democracy , and managed to capture food supplies being sent up from Egypt . At this the Spartans decided to send out their navy , but made the mistake of entrusting it to Peisander , who had no experience . The battle took place at Cnidus in 394 BC , and was an easy and overwhelming Persian success . The Aegean cities expelled the Spartan garrisons and accepted Persian rule . After this Conon felt it safe to return to Athens . Pharnabazus allowed him to retain part of the fleet , and supplied money for the fortification of the Piraeus and the reconstruction of the long walls joining it to the city . So some of the main results of the Peloponnesian War had been undone - Athens regained her position as a major power in Greece , and though she had still lost her empire , Sparta had been prevented from taking it over . The next year the Spartans had opened negotiations with the Persians , and in order to secure their position in Greece offered to abandon all the cities in Asia to them . The Athenians sent delegates to announce this as unacceptable , which Tiribazus understood to mean that they still hoped to recover their empire , and outraged by this about - face threw them in prison , Conon among them . When Tiribazus was replaced by Struthas , a bitter enemy of the Spartan king , Conon was allowed to escape , and died soon afterwards at Cyprus . His son Timotheus later became another prominent general .