Lysander of Sparta

Lysander (died 395 BC) was a Spartan general and admiral who reshaped the balance of power in the classical Greek world. Born a mothax (Spartan of impoverished aristocratic birth), he secured the financial and diplomatic backing of Persian Prince Cyrus the Younger, enabling Sparta to build and maintain a naval fleet capable of rivaling Athens.

In 405 BC, Lysander orchestrated the ambush at the Battle of Aegospotami in the Hellespont, capturing virtually the entire Athenian fleet without losing a single Spartan ship. Sailing to Piraeus, he starved Athens into unconditional surrender in 404 BC, tore down the Long Walls to the sound of flutes, and installed the pro-Spartan oligarchy of the Thirty Tyrants, establishing Spartan hegemony over Greece.