Thrasyllus Thrasyllus ( died 406 BC ) was an Athenian strategos ( general ) and statesman who rose to prominence in the later years of the Peloponnesian War . First appearing in Athenian politics in 410 BC , in the wake of the Athenian coup of 411 BC , he played a role in organizing democratic resistance in an Athenian fleet at Samos . There , he was elected strategos by the sailors and soldiers of the fleet , and held the position until he was controversially executed several years later after the Battle of Arginusae . After the coup . Thrasyllus was only a hoplite ( heavy infantryman ) in the ranks in 410 BC , when Athenian oligarchic revolutionaries conspired with their counterparts at Samos in a coup at both locations , but was one of four Athenians ( the others were Thrasybulus , Leon , and Diomedon ) who the Samian democrats trusted for protection from the plot . These leaders were able to thwart the coup at Samos , but the coup at Athens was successful , leaving the democratically - controlled fleet in opposition to its oligarchically - controlled mother city . In the turmoil following these events , the generals at Samos were deposed by the soldiers and sailors of the fleet , and Thrasybulus and Thrasyllus were among those elected to replace them . Thrasyllus continued to hold the position of strategos for several years , over a number of campaigns . Later in 410 BC , he led an Athenian fleet to attack rebellious cities on Lesbos . However , in doing so , allowed Spartan Admiral Mindarus to slip past him into the Hellespont with the Spartan fleet in what historian Donald Kagan considers to be an error in strategic judgment . Thrasyllus pursued Mindarus with his fleet , and combined with other Athenian detachments at Sestos . From there , the Athenians ( with Thrasybulus now in overall command ) sailed into the Hellespont and defeated Mindarus ' s fleet at Cynossema , putting an end to the immediate crisis . Thrasyllus commanded a wing of the fleet in this battle and the later Athenian victory at Abydos , but then left on other detachments ; after his departure Thrasybulus , Theramenes , and Alcibiades destroyed Mindarus and his fleet at Cyzicus . Under the democracy . Later in 410 BC , Thrasyllus returned home to Athens to raise more troops for further campaigning in the Aegean and elsewhere . While he was there , the Spartan king Agis led his army toward the walls of Athens , seeking to frighten the city into capitulating . Thrasyllus marched out with an Athenian army , which , although it did not challenge the Spartans away from the protection of its own walls , did succeed in picking off a number of stragglers when the Spartans withdrew . The next summer , Thrasyllus sailed out from Athens with a sizable force to campaign in Ionia . There , he quickly captured Colophon and raided the Ionian countryside , but was defeated outside Ephesus by a combined Ephesian , Persian , and Syracusan force , and withdrew his troops first to Notium and then later to Lampsacus , where they joined the larger Athenian force operating in the Hellespont . Kagan has again criticized Thrasyllus ' capabilities as a general in this campaign , arguing that Thrasyllus wasted time plundering when more decisive action could have led to the speedy capture of Ephesus , a major strategic prize . At Lampsacus , Thrasyllus ' troops , coming straight from an embarrassing defeat , were at first rejected by the troops who had served at Cynossema and Abydos , who forced them to camp apart . The tension between the groups was eventually dissolved after the Athenians launched an attack on Abydos , in which Thrasyllus commanded thirty ships ; the Athenians defeated a Persian army in battle , but could not take the city . The newly united Athenian army did , however , succeed in retaking Chalcedon , Byzantium , and other cities in the Hellespont in the summer of 408 BC ; Thrasyllus commanded detachments in several operations during this period . He then returned , along with most of the fleet and its commanders , to Athens , where Alcibiades , fresh from these victories , made his triumphal return to the city that had exiled him . Arginusae . Thrasyllus did not hold a generalship in 407 - 6 BC , but was swept back into office in the following year , when Alcibiades and his political associates fell from power after the Athenian defeat at Notium . Thrasyllus remained home during the early part of his generalship , while Conon , another general , went out to Samos to take command of the fleet . He experienced some initial success in raiding enemy - held territory , but the tremendous financial support that the Spartans were receiving from the Persian prince Cyrus enabled them to expand their fleet until the Athenians were heavily outnumbered . Forced to sally forth from Samos with only 70 trireme s to match the Spartans ' 170 , Conon was defeated in battle and bottled up in Mytilene , barely managing to send a trireme to Athens with the news of his predicament . When news of this crisis reached Athens , the city found itself facing a desperate situation . To challenge the superior Peloponnesian fleet , the Athenians had only 40 ready triremes , and most of the experienced crews were at sea with Conon . To rebuild their fleet , the Athenians were forced to melt down golden religious statues from the acropolis , and the 110 ships the city possessed after this construction were crewed by a mix of less - experienced rowers , farmers , wealthy cavalrymen , and emancipated slaves . All eight generals who remained at Athens , Thrasyllus among them , sailed out with this scratch fleet ; none is known to have served as supreme commander . The Athenian fleet , bolstered by 55 ships from allied cities , met a Spartan fleet of 120 ships under Callicratidas at the Arginusae islands , just south of Lesbos . In the resulting battle , the Athenians divided their fleet into 8 autonomous divisions , with Thrasyllus commanding the forward right wing ; by limiting the opportunities for the Spartan crews to exercise their superior seamanship , the Athenians were able to wear their enemies down , and the day ended in a decisive Athenian victory . The remnants of the Peloponnesian fleet fled southward , leaving some 70 ships behind , and the blockading force at Mytilene , upon hearing of the result , also fled . Storm , controversy , trial , and execution . In the wake of this remarkable victory , the eight generals met and decided that all of their number , with the larger part of the fleet , would sail against the blockading force at Mytilene , while the trierarch s Thrasybulus and Theramenes remained with 47 ships to rescue the survivors of disabled Athenian ships . Shortly after the main force had departed , however , a severe storm blew up , and the detachment assigned to rescue duty was unable to carry out its responsibility . The result , for the sailors clinging to disabled and sinking ships , was a disaster ; a great number of Athenians — estimates as to the precise figure have ranged from near 1 , 000 to as many as 5 , 000 — drowned . Soon after the news of this public tragedy reached Athens , a massive controversy erupted over the apportionment of blame for the botched rescue . The public was furious that the dead from the battle had not been recovered for burial ( in the religious atmosphere of ancient Greece , this failing may have been almost as serious as abandoning the survivors in the eyes of the Athenian populace ) ; the generals suspected that Thrasybulus and Theramenes , who had already returned to Athens , might have been responsible for stirring up the assembly against them , and so Thrasyllus and his colleagues wrote letters to the people denouncing the two trierarchs as responsible for the failed rescue . The trierarchs were called before the assembly to account for their actions , but they defended themselves capably , and the generals were deposed from their offices and recalled to Athens . Two fled , but Thrasyllus and five others returned to the city . Their defense initially met with a sympathetic response , but the festival of the Apaturia , on which families were supposed to meet for celebrations , provided an opportunity for their political enemies to remind the populace of the loss it had suffered . In a vicious and emotional meeting of the assembly the next day , the assembly , following the lead of the aggressive Callixeinus , tried the generals " en masse " and condemned them all to die . Although the Athenians soon came to regret their rash decision , it was too late for Thrasyllus and his comrades ; all six were dead before the assembly had a chance to reconsider .