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Kimon, Master of the Sea (510-450 BC), was an Athenian statesman and general of the first half of the fifth century BC.
At this time the two Greek cities Athens and Sparta were rivals. Athens was a democracy and Sparta a military state. They were allied against the Persian empire and the war between the Greek states and the Persians went on between 500 and 449 BC.
Kimon became renowned for his excellent generalship and innovative stratagems. He was both intelligent and brave. Once after a victory he let the Allied take all adornment from the war prisoners and kept the naked and ill-trained prisoners for the Athenians (presumably as slaves). The Allies made fun of him until the prisoners friends and relatives ransomed every one of them at a great price. This left him with enough money to feed his fleet for four months and yet give some of the money to the city.
In 475 BC, Kimon won the Athenians hearts by avenging Theseus death. Kimon found a tomb with bones alleged to be those of Theseus and he carried these in triumph to Athens.
Kimon was a very wealthy man and had a large estate. Luckily for the Athenians he was a generous man and every day he gave a dinner at his house to any Athenian who wanted it. In addition he took away the fences from his fields for anyone to eat of the fruits of the land. Part of the long wall that once surrounded Athens was financed by Kimon.
As every skilled statesman, though popular, he had enemies. Laying hold of a trifling pretext — Kimon's admiration of the rivalling Spartans — the Athenians banished him for ten years in 461 BC, and he was made a scapegoat for the disastrous Athenian attempt to cooperate militarly with Sparta during the 460s.
Defeated by the Spartans, the Athenian leaders recalled Kimon from his exile in 450 BC. He stopped the war with Sparta and made peace between the rival cities.
In 450 BC he made a final expedition against the Persians at Cyprus, and Kimon, Master of the Sea, died on an island.
Even on his deathbed, he plotted against his enemies by urging those about to conceal his death from both allied and Persians. His crew was brought back in safety under the command of Kimon, whom by then had been dead for thirty days.
After his death he was revered and honored as a superior being.
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