'Chabrias' (
Greek: 'Χαβρίας') was a celebrated
Athenian general of the
4th century BC. In
388 BC he defeated the
Spartans at
Aegina and commanded the fleet sent to assist
Evagoras, king of
Cyprus, against the
Persians. In
378, when Athens entered into an alliance with
Thebes against Sparta, he defeated
Agesilaus II near Thebes. On this occasion he invented a manoeuvre, which consisted in receiving a charge on the left knee, with shields resting on the ground and spears pointed against the enemy.
In
376 he gained a decisive victory over the Spartan fleet off
Naxos, but, when he might have destroyed the Spartan fleet, remembering the fate of the generals at
Arginusae, he delayed to pick up the bodies of his dead. Later, when the Athenians changed sides and joined the Spartans, he repulsed
Epaminondas before the walls of
Corinth.
In
366, he and
Callistratus were accused of treachery in advising the surrender of
Oropus to the Thebans. He was acquitted, and soon after he accepted a command under
Teos, king of
Egypt, who was defending his country against Persian reconquest. But on the outbreak of the
Social War (
357), he joined
Chares in the command of the Athenian fleet. He lost his life in an attack on the island of
Chios.
References
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