Lysander

Lysander (/laɪˈsændər/ or /ˈlaɪˌsændər/; died 395 BC, Greek: Λύσανδρος, Lýsandros) was a Spartan admiral who commanded the Spartan fleet in the Hellespont which defeated the Athenians at Aegospotami in 405 BC. The following year, he was able to force the Athenians to capitulate, bringing the Peloponnesian War to an end; he organized the dominion of Sparta over Greece in the last decade of his life. 2Early life Little is known of Lysander's early life. Lysander's father was Aristocleitus, who was a member of the Spartan Heracleidae; that is, he claimed descent from Heracles but not a member of a royal family. He grew up in poverty and he showed himself obedient and conformable. According to Plutarch he had a "manly spirit". 2The Battle of Notium Lysander was appointed Spartan navarch (admiral) for the Aegean Sea in 407 BC. It was during this period that he gained the friendship and support of Cyrus the Younger, a son of Darius II of Persia and Parysatis. Lysander then undertook the major project of creating a strong Spartan fleet based at Ephesus which could take on the Athenians and their allies. Alcibiades was appointed commander-in-chief with autocratic powers of the Athenian forces and left for Samos to rejoin his fleet and try and engage Lysander in battle. The Spartan navarch Lysander refused to be lured out of Ephesus to do battle with Alcibiades. However, while Alcibiades was away seeking supplies, the Athenian squadron was placed under the command of Antiochus, his helmsma