Waiting for Tissaphernes: Athens and Persia in Thucydides VIII

Abstract

In his portrayal of Tissaphernes in Book Eight, Thucydides addresses a major problem of Athenian politics in the late fifth and early fourth centuries, the hope for alliance with Achaemenid Persia. Tissaphernes’ quarrels with his Spartan allies during the early phase of Persian intervention in the Peloponnesian War led to a wide-spread Greek belief, encouraged by Alkibiades, that Persia might transfer its support to the Athenians. Thucydides, while agreeing with contemporary theories of Tissaphernes’ secret hostility to the Spartan war effort, reconstructs Tissaphernes’ motives in order to challenge Alkibiadean ideas of Persian friendship for Athens.