Hermocrates of Syracuse

Hermocrates (/hɜːrˈmɒkrəˌtiːz/; Greek: Ἑρμοκράτης, c. 5th century – 407 BC) was an ancient Syracusan general during the Athenians' Sicilian Expedition in the midst of the Peloponnesian War. He is also remembered as a character in the Timaeus and Critias dialogues of Plato.

The first historical reference to Hermocrates comes from Thucydides, where he appears at the congress of Gela in 424 BC giving a speech demanding the Sicilian Greeks stop their quarrelling. In 415 BC he proposed a coalition that would even include non-Sicilian cities (as well as non-Greek cities such as Carthage) in an alliance against Athens.

He was elected as one of Syracuse's three strategoi, along with Heracleides and Sicanus, but was dismissed from this position after a short period because of his lack of success in battle. Later he was one of the most important advisers to the Spartan general Gylippus, and thus contributed to the victory over Athens during its siege of Syracuse.

In 412 BC he held the position of admiral during the battle of Cyzicus. In this battle, the Spartans and their allies were badly defeated by the Athenians and, as a result, Hermocrates was banned "". He did not return to Sicily until 408 BC. He died in a street fight after a failed coup in Syracuse in 407 BC.

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