Brasidas was the son of Tellis (Τέλλις) and
Argileonis, and won his first laurels by leading the relief of
Methone, which was besieged by the
Athenians (431 BC). During the following year he seems to have been
eponymous
ephor, and in 429 BC he was sent out as one of the three commissioners to advise the admiral
Cnemus. As trierarch he distinguished himself in the assault on the Athenian position at the
Battle of Pylos, during which he was severely wounded. In 424 BC, while Brasidas mustered a force at
Corinth for a campaign in
Thrace, he frustrated an Athenian attack on
Megara. Immediately afterwards he marched through
Thessaly at the head of 1,700 hoplites (700
helots and 1000
Peloponnesian mercenaries) and joined
Perdiccas II of Macedon. The
Macedonian king tried to use the Peloponnesian task force against the
Lyncestians, a Macedonian tribe that had fallen out with their king, but Brasidas refused to be made a tool for the furtherance of Perdiccas's ambitions; he ignored the king's objections and received and negotiated with
Arrhabaeus, the leader of the Lyncestians. After he settled with Arrhabaeus, Brasidas set about accomplishing his main objective. Partly by the rapidity and boldness of his movements, partly by his personal charm and the moderation of his demands, he succeeded during the course of the winter in winning over the important cities of
Acanthus,
Amphipolis (the main objective),
Stagirus and
Toroni as well as a number of minor towns, and most of the
Chalcidic peninsulas. An attack on
Eion was foiled by the arrival of
Thucydides (the famous historian of the war, who at this time was serving as one of the Athenian generals) at the head of an Athenian squadron. In the spring of 423 BC a truce was concluded between Athens and Sparta, but it was at once imperilled by the city of
Scione, which it transpired had come over to Brasidas two days after the truce began, which led to the Athenian requiring it to be returned to them. Brasidas refused to return Scione while encouraging the revolt of
Mende shortly afterwards. An Athenian fleet under
Nicias and Nicostratus recovered Mende and blockaded Scione, which fell two years later (421 BC). Meanwhile, Perdiccas forced Brasidas to join him in a campaign against Arrhabaeus and the Lyncestians. They soon met the Lyncestians in a pitched battle and were victorious, driving Arrhabaeus into the mountains. and prepared for an attack on Amphipolis, the most important Athenian subject city in Chalcidice. Brasidas personally led the Spartans in a sudden charge from Amphipolis, routing the left wing of the Athenian army. His allies sallied from the north-eastern gate and attacked from the north, breaking the enemy's right wing.
Edonian and Chalcidian cavalry and light infantry pursued the fleeing Athenians, killing 600 men, including Cleon. On the Spartan side only seven fatalities are reported, but one of them was Brasidas, who was mortally wounded while at the head of his Spartan troops. He was buried at Amphipolis within the city limits (an extraordinary honour among the ancient Greeks) At Sparta a
cenotaph was erected in his memory near the tombs of
Pausanias and
Leonidas, and yearly speeches were made and games celebrated in their honour, in which only Spartiates could compete. == Legacy ==