Greatest Ancient Greek General

[ROFL Copter]

Even still, Athens was in charge of the Greek defence.

[grouchy13]

Even still, Athens was in charge of the Greek defence.

only the naval aspect the Peloponnesians were happy to sit behind the isthmus of corinth in my opinion but hey lets agree to disagree

[Spartan198]

There is no evidence what so ever to suggest that Thermistocles was the tactical brains behind Thermopylae there was never a pan hellenic federation as such with one designated command it was more a fluid affiliation with different objectives coming to the for and causing reactions. It was the Spartans piety and a prophecy from delphi in which for Sparta to survive one of there dual kings would have to be killed which prompted his taking of a force to hold off the Persians thus giving time for the Peloponnesians to fortify the istmuth of corinth. As for Thermistocles the only claim that he can have as any sort of barganing chip with the Peloponnesians was the fact that if they did not assist Athens in the campaign leading to Platea he would withdraw the Athenian navy but this in the end would have been a hollow threat as the Peloponnesians would have tipped the balance in the favour of Athens in any land battle against the Persians. The recovery of Athens and the exspulsion of the Persian invader would not have occured with him following that course of action.

Agreed.

Without Sparta, Athens was screwed. Without Athens, Sparta was screwed. Simple as that.

[ROFL Copter]

Right. And the last stand would have been useless without the Athenian fleet.

[Spartan198]

Right. And the last stand would have been useless without the Athenian fleet.

And likewise the Athenian fleet would have been useless without the land defense.

[ROFL Copter]

Agreed. But it was the Athenians that smashed the Persians at Salamis, that was the choice of Themistecles.

[Jarlaxe]

you cannot have a great navy without land support,there is a historical example:Alexander took over all the coastline(ports) from minor asia to egypt ,he didn't had even the 1/10th of the persian navy but he eliminated it without losing one ship...with infantry,so a navy cannot survive without land support,infantry is more needed ...it is a big truth,if you have both is the best but if you have to choose between them then Sparta had a better choise than Athens.

[andrew.murphy1]

Themistocles/ Alexander! It is debatable as to who had more talent. Alexander was born to power, whereas Themistocles had to work his way up from the status of an outsider, practically, to that of the city's leading politician. Therefore, politically, I'd say Themistocles was more gifted. They are both quoted as being superb orators, so there's no real distinction to be made there. I think Alexander was probably the better strategist, although not by stadia. Diodorus Siculus certainly praises Themistocles for his cunning (Salamis, for example). In terms of all round "intelligence", I'd say Themistocles wins, again being praised for his 'serpentine' mind and all-round mental ability.

Alexander achieved astounding military results, Themistocles achieved astounding political results. No general can be truly successful without scoring points in both of these categories.

[ptolemy1989]

i think Archimedes should up there, he might not be a general or strategist but his his mechanical weapons would inspire future militaries to create large complicated machines for warfare that now dominate the battle field of today

[paokmam]

Ι'd say Αγησίλαος and Δημήτριος ο Πολιορκητής. I don't know how they are spelled in English

[Agisilaos]

Ι'd say Αγησίλαος and Δημήτριος ο Πολιορκητής. I don't know how they are spelled in English

you mean these: Agesilaus II, or Agesilaos II
and Demetrius I of Macedon
there were many great Greek generals in my opinion and is a hard decision to choose 1 of them besides Alexander the Great. i certainly liked Agesilaos and that is the reason i chose Agisilaos as my nickname in the site!

[paokmam]

you mean these: Agesilaus II, or Agesilaos II
and Demetrius I of Macedon
there were many great Greek generals in my opinion and is a hard decision to choose 1 of them besides Alexander the Great. i certainly liked Agesilaos and that is the reason i chose Agisilaos as my nickname in the site!

Thanks!

[grouchy13]

one of my personal favorite leaders is Perdicass II of Macedon he might not have the laurels of glory like Alexander and Phillip but his double dealing and playing of both ends to the middle through the Pelopponesian war laid the foundations contributed to growing power of Macedon, i mean this guy makes Alcibiades look like Obama crossed with Kennedy the way he played Athens and Sparta off to ultimatley gain profit and recognition of Macedon as player on the inter polis scene was an example even Machiavelli would have been proud of!

[Huene]

im going to say Alkabaties (spelling) and although he wasnt a greek im going to have to throw in Mithridates IV.

[Honge]

I think Philipoemon was rather good; he was a good statesman, and a good general. I'm also rather keen on Epameinondas as well.

[clone]

nicostratos at the battle of corfu .with a smal number of ships he defeted some spartan ships .also he saved the korkyrian shipss from spartans

[Hopit]

Alexander the Greath (or his father)

[ROFL Copter]

Alexander the Greath (or his father)

Bit of a spelling error?

[Swagger]

Bit of a spelling error?

picky...

[Javierfv1212]

I'd say Philip of macedon, i mean Alexander gets all the glory for conquering persia, but i think Philip deserves more than his share. When he became king macedonia was a small insignificant kingdom with a pretty useless army (except the cavalry). After his death it was the hegemon of greece and the army had been transformed into a fully professional killing machine.