Chares of Athens

With Chares's support the oligarchs gained control, unfortunately they achieved it only by a lot of bloodshed breeding animosity amongst Corcyra's democratic parties.

[4] Being left in the sole command, and needing funds, which he was unwilling to seek from Athens, Chares and his men entered the service of Artabazus, the rebellious satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia.

The Athenians at first approved of this action, but afterwards ordered him to drop his connection with Artabazus following complaints from the Persian king Artaxerxes III Ochus.

In this regard, it is probable that the threat from Artaxerxes III to support the confederates against Athens hastened the termination of the Social War.

During his second campaign he achieved a small victory against king Philip's mercenaries, and celebrated it by a feast given to the Athenians with a portion of the money which had been sacrilegiously taken from Delphi, and some of which had found its way into his hands.

When the Macedonian king, Philip, was preparing to march against Cersobleptes, complaints arrived at Athens from the Chersonese that Chares had withdrawn and was nowhere to be found.

Athens was obliged to send a squadron in search of him with the extraordinary message, that "the Athenians were surprised that, while Philip was marching against the Chersonese, they did not know where their general and his forces were."

But in a speech by Demosthenes delivered in 341 BC,[11] Chares is spoken of as possessing much influence at that time in the Athenian councils.

[15] When Alexander invaded Asia Minor in 334 BC, Chares was living at Sigeion, and he is mentioned again by Arrian[16] as one of those who came to meet the king and pay their respects to him on his way to Troy.

[18] As a general, Chares has been charged with rashness, especially in the needless exposure of his own person[19]; this said he appears to have been, during the greater portion of his career, the best commander that Athens had.

His bad faith passed into a proverb; and his rapacity was extraordinary, even amidst the system then prevailing, when the citizens of Athens would neither fight their own battles nor pay the men who fought them, and her commanders had to support their mercenaries as best they could.