Strategos
Strategos, plural strategoi,
Etymology
Strategos is a compound of two Greek words: stratos and agos. Stratos (στρατός) means "army",[1] literally "that which is spread out",[2] coming from the proto-Indo-European root *stere- "to spread".[3] Agos (ἀγός)[4] means "leader", from agein (ἄγειν) "to lead",[5] from the pelasgic root *ag- "to drive, draw out or forth, move".[6]
Classical Greece
Athens
In its most famous attestation, in
The strict adherence to the principle of a strategos from each tribe lasted until c. 440 BC, after which two strategoi could be selected from the same tribe and another tribe be left without its own strategos, perhaps because no suitable candidate might be available.[7] This system continued at least until c. 356/7 BC, but by the time Aristotle wrote his Constitution of the Athenians in c. 330 BC, the appointments were made without any reference to tribal affiliation. Hence, during the Hellenistic period, although the number of the tribes was increased, the number of strategoi remained constant at ten.[7]
In the early part of the 5th century, several strategoi combined their military office with a political role, with
The Athenian people kept a close eye on their strategoi. Like other magistrates, at the end of their term of office they were subject to
Other Greek states
The title of strategos appears for a number of other Greek states in the Classical period, but it is often unclear whether this refers to an actual office, or is used as a generic term for military commander.[7] The strategos as an office is attested at least for Syracuse from the late 5th century BC, Erythrae, and in the koinon of the Arcadians in the 360s BC.[7]
The title of
Hellenistic and Roman use
Under Philip II of Macedon, the title of strategos was used for commanders on detached assignments as the quasi-representatives of the king, often with a title indicating their area of responsibility, e.g. strategos tes Europes ('general of Europe').[8]
In several Greek city leagues the title strategos was reserved for the head of state. In the
In the
The Odrysian kingdom of Thrace was also divided into strategiai ('generalships'), each headed by a strategos, based on the various Thracian tribes and subtribes. At the time of the kingdom's annexation into the Roman Empire in 46 AD, there were 50 such districts, which were initially retained in the new Roman province, and only gradually fell out of use. It was not until c. 136 that the last of them were abolished.
Under the
Byzantine use
The term continued in use in the Greek-speaking
Throughout the middle Byzantine period (7th–12th centuries), the strategos of the
The Byzantines also used a number of variations of the title strategos: strategetes (στρατηγέτης, "army leader") was an infrequently used alternative term; the term monostrategos (μονοστράτηγος, "single-general") designated a general placed in command over other strategoi or over the forces of more than one theme; the terms strategos autokrator, archistrategos (ἀρχιστράτηγος, "chief-general") and protostrategos (πρωτοστράτηγος, "first-general") designated commanders vested with supreme authority; and the term hypostrategos (ὐποστράτηγος, "under-general") denoted a second-in-command, effectively a lieutenant general.[10]
In Messina
The city of Messina in Sicily also had a Strategos. In 1345 Orlando d'Aragona, illegitimate son of Frederick II of Sicily, held that position.
Modern use
In the modern
All but one of the other Greek general officer ranks are derivations of this word: antistrátigos and ypostrátigos, for
Cypriot Ground Forces[12] (1964–today) |
||||||||
Αντιστράτηγος Antistrátigos |
Υποστράτηγος Ypostrátigos | |||||||
Hellenic Army[13] (1975–today) |
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Στρατηγός Stratigos |
Αντιστράτηγος Antistratigos
|
Υποστράτηγος Ypostratigos
| ||||||
Hellenic Army (1909–1937) |
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---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Στρατηγός Stratigos |
Αντιστράτηγος Antistratigos
|
Υποστράτηγος Ypostratigos
| ||||||
Hellenic Police (1984–today) |
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Αντιστράτηγος Antistratigos
|
Υποστράτηγος Ypostratigos
| |||||||
Hellenic Fire Service | ||||||||
Αντιστράτηγος Antistratigos
|
Υποστράτηγος Ypostratigos
|
NATO code: | OF-1 | OF-2 | OF-3 | OF-4 | OF-5 | OF-6 | OF-7 | OF-8 | OF-9 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Navy: | Simaioforos & Anthypoploiarchos | Ypoploiarchos | Plotarchis | Antiploiarchos | Ploiarchos | Archiploiarchos | Yponavarchos | Antinavarchos | Navarchos |
Army: | Anthypolochagos & Ypolochagos Ypilarchos & Anthypilarchos (Armoured) |
Lochagos Ilarchos (Armoured) |
Tagmatarchis | Antisyntagmatarchis
|
Syntagmatarchis | Taxiarchos | Ypostratigos | Antistratigos | Stratigos |
Air Force: | Anthyposminagos & Yposminagos | Sminagos | Episminagos | Antisminarchos | Sminarchos | Taxiarchos Aeroporias | Ypopterarchos | Antipterarchos
|
Pterarchos
|
Fictional uses
The oldest use of the term strategos in fiction may be found in the Callirhoe of Chariton of Aphrodisias which is dated in the first century A.D. There, Hermocrates is the "strategos" of Syracuse and the father of Callirhoe, living in the 5th century B.C. In fact, he was a historical person, the victor over the Athenians in 413 B.C., an event which stopped Athenian expansion to the West. His role as a character in the novel is rather limited. Although his position in Syracuse gives Callirhoe a background, and he gives consent to her marriage and fulfills a few official duties, his legal or constitutional position is not very clear.
This position was featured in
The dystopian slave-empire of the
The position of 'Strategos' was also featured in the English version of the
It is also used in the webcomic Ava's Demon for Strategos Six.
The term is also used in the 2018 Ubisoft video game Assassin's Creed Odyssey. There is no Athenian variant of them, as they are exclusively Spartan. They are powerful units found in forts and camps, second in power only to that of the Polemarch. They wield heavy blades and shield.
In Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Strategos is the name of an optional character class, given by the character Isurd.
The main protagonist in David Gemmell's Lion of Macedon and Dark Prince, is a half-Spartan, half-Macedonian Strategos, called Parmenion. The real life Parmenion was indeed a Strategos in Ancient Greece.
See also
Footnotes
Citations
- Perseus Project.
- ^ Harper, Douglas. "strategy". Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ Harper, Douglas. "*stere-". Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ ἀγός in Liddell and Scott.
- ^ ἄγειν in Liddell and Scott.
- ^ Harper, Douglas. "*ag-". Online Etymology Dictionary.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rhodes, Peter J. (2015). "Strategos I. Classical Greece". Brill's New Pauly. Brill Online. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
- ^ a b c d e Ameling, Walther (2015). "Strategos II. Hellenistic states". Brill's New Pauly. Brill Online. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
- ^ 1881 Westcott-Hort New Testament, ΠΡΑΞΕΙΣ ΤΩΝ ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΩΝ 16:20 ...καὶ προσαγαγόντες αὐτοὺς τοῖς στρατηγοῖς εἶπαν...
- ^ ISBN 0-19-504652-8.
- ^ Bury, John B. (1911), The Imperial Administrative System of the Ninth Century – With a Revised Text of the Kletorologion of Philotheos, Oxford University Publishing, pp. 39–41
- ^ "Βαθμοί" [Ranks]. army.gov.cy (in Greek). Cypriot National Guard. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
- ^ "Επωμίδες Φ/Π Στολών" [Shoulders for PV Uniforms]. army.gr (in Greek). Hellenic Army. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
General sources
- Hamel, Debra (1998). Athenian Generals: Military Authority in the Classical Period. Leiden.
- Hansen, M. H. (1987). The Athenian Democracy in the Age of Demosthenes. Oxford.
- Krsmanović, Bojana (2008). The Byzantine Province in Change: On the Threshold Between the 10th and the 11th Century. Belgrade: Institute for Byzantine Studies. ISBN 9789603710608.
- Oxford Classical Dictionary, 2nd edition. (1996). "strategoi".
- Roberts, John (2005). Dictionary of the Classical World. Oxford.
External links
- Mitchell, John Malcolm (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 25 (11th ed.). pp. 985–986. .