Bribery of Athenian generals in the 5th - 4th centuries BC.

The classical period in the history of Ancient Athens is the time of the highest flourishing of polis democracy and maximum foreign policy influence of this polis on the rest of the Greek world. During this period, Athens establishes maritime alliances, fights against Persia, Sparta, and Macedonia. The international authority of Athens was ensured, among other things, by the military victories of Athenian strategists. However, the strategists did not always emerge victorious in military confrontations with their adversaries. The focus of this article is on cases of bribery involving Athenian generals in the 5th – 4th centuries BC. The author examines, based on written sources, instances of legal prosecution of generals accused of bribery, as well as mentions of generals accepting bribes. The research component of the work is structured chronologically, addressing cases from earlier to later dates. In addition to general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, the method of systematization is widely used, as mentions of bribery by Athenian strategists are found in various historical sources. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that the author examines bribery as one aspect of the life of Athenian generals in classical times for the first time. Previous researchers studied either the judicial processes against generals in general or bribery as a separate socio-economic phenomenon in the life of the Athenian polis. As a result of the research, the author concludes that most accusations of receiving bribes do not appear well-founded, and the public's desire to find culprits for defeats may have been stronger than the sympathies for a strategist who had previously brought numerous military victories to the polis. The conclusions of researchers regarding the consideration of personal merits when pronouncing verdicts by the Athenian jury and the prevalence of bribery in Athens during the classical period have also been adjusted.