View source for Phormio

{{short description|5th-century BCE Athenian general}}
{{other uses}}
{{primary sources |date=February 2024}}

'''Phormio''' ({{langx|el|Φορμίων}} ''Phormion'', ''gen''.: Φορμίωνος), the son of [[Asopius]], was an [[Athens|Athenian]] general and admiral before and during the [[Peloponnesian War]].<ref>Johnson's Universal Cyclopaedia: A New Edition, Volume 6. [https://books.google.com/books?id=hpeeVlwrcmYC&pg=PA587 Pg 587]</ref> A talented naval commander, Phormio commanded at several famous Athenian victories in 428 BC, and was honoured after his death with a statue on the acropolis and a state funeral. He is considered one of Athens' many great admirals, alongside [[Themistocles]] and [[Cimon]].

==Early commands==
Phormio first appears in the historical record in 440 BC, when he shared with Thucydides, [[Hagnon, son of Nikias|Hagnon]], and others the command of the Athenian fleet in the later part of the [[Samian War]].<ref>Thucydides, ''The Peloponnesian War'', [[s:History of the Peloponnesian War/Book 1#1:117|1.117]]</ref> In 432 BC, he commanded a force of 1600 [[hoplite]]s sent to assist in the [[Battle of Potidaea|siege of Potidaea]]. Phormio led his men up slowly from the side of the city that the Athenians had not yet surrounded and constructed a counter-wall to complete Potidaea's investment.<ref>Thucydides, ''The Peloponnesian War'', [[s:History of the Peloponnesian War/Book 1#1:64|1.64-65]]</ref> After [[Potidaea]] was firmly besieged, Phormio led his men in a successful campaign against Athens' enemies in the [[Chalcidice]],<ref>Thucydides, ''The Peloponnesian War'', [[s:History of the Peloponnesian War/Book 1#1:65|1.65]]</ref> and in the next year he again led an army attacking the Chalcidians, this time alongside [[Perdiccas II of Macedon|Perdiccas II]], king of [[Macedon]].<ref>Thucydides, ''The Peloponnesian War'', [[s:History of the Peloponnesian War/Book 2#2:29|2.29]]</ref>

==Naupactus==
In the winter of 429/8 BC, Phormio was sent out to the [[Corinthian Gulf]] as commander of a fleet of 20 [[trireme]]s; establishing his base at [[Naupactus]], Phormio instituted a blockade of Corinthian shipping.<ref>Thucydides, ''The Peloponnesian War'', [[s:History of the Peloponnesian War/Book 2#2:69|2.69]]</ref> In the summer of 429 BC, however, [[Sparta]] began preparing a sizeable fleet and army to attack Athens' allies in the region, hoping to overrun [[Acarnania]] on land, capture the islands of [[Zacynthus]] and [[Cephallenia]], and possibly even take Naupactus.<ref>Thucydides, ''The Peloponnesian War'', [[s:History of the Peloponnesian War/Book 2#2:80|2.80]]</ref> Phormio was notified of these plans by the concerned Acarnanians, but was initially unwilling to leave Naupactus unprotected.<ref>Thucydides, ''The Peloponnesian War'', [[s:History of the Peloponnesian War/Book 2#2:81|2.81]]</ref> When the Peloponnesian fleet began moving along the south shore of the Corinthian gulf, however, aiming to cross over to Acarnania, the Athenians followed along the north shore and attacked them once they passed out of the Gulf into the open sea and attempted to cross from the south to the north.<ref>Thucydides, ''The Peloponnesian War'', [[s:History of the Peloponnesian War/Book 2#2:83|2.83]]</ref>

In the ensuing [[Battle of Rhium|battle]], Phormio utilized a unique and unorthodox tactic.<ref>Unless otherwise noted, all details of the battle are drawn from Thucydides, ''The Peloponnesian War'', [[s:History of the Peloponnesian War/Book 2#2:83|2.83-4]].</ref> The Peloponnesians, despite their superior numbers (they had 47 ships to the Athenians' 20, although many of their vessels were loaded with heavy infantry) pulled their ships into a defensive circle, prows facing outwards. Phormio with his ships circled around the Peloponnesian fleet, driving the circle ever tighter. The tactic was a risky one—it left the Athenians' flanks utterly vulnerable to ramming—but it paid off when a wind blew up and caused the inexperienced crews of the circled vessels to foul their oars.<ref>Kagan, ''The Peloponnesian War'', 93</ref> In this moment of confusion, the Athenians rushed in and routed the remaining ships of the fleet, seizing 12 of them.

In a [[Battle of Naupactus|second battle]] shortly after this, Phormio and his small force triumphed against an even larger Peloponnesian fleet of 77 ships.<ref>Unless otherwise noted, all details of the battle are drawn from Thucydides, ''The Peloponnesian War'', [[s:History of the Peloponnesian War/Book 2#2:90|2.90-92]].</ref> Drawn into the narrow waters of the Corinthian gulf to protect Naupactus, the Athenians were initially routed and divided, but 11 Athenian ships which were pursued into Naupactus were able to turn about on their pursuers and defeat the numerically superior force opposite them. This victory preserved Athenian naval supremacy in the Gulf and put an end to Peloponnesian attempts to challenge it during this period of the war.<ref>Kagan, ''The Peloponnesian War'', 95-96</ref>

==Legacy==
After a single land campaign in 428 BC in Acarnania, Phormio is not recorded as having held command again. In his few years of activity, however, he had left a deep imprint on the early course of the Peloponnesian War. An Athenian defeat in the Corinthian Gulf in 429/8 BC would have been a devastating blow to Athens' influence in the Greek north-east, and to the city's reputation for naval invincibility.<ref>Kagan, ''The Peloponnesian War'', 95-6</ref> After his death, the Athenians commemorated his service to the state by erecting a statue of him on the acropolis and burying his body in the state cemetery.<ref>Kagan, ''The Peloponnesian War'', 96</ref>

Phormio's son, named [[Asopius]] after his grandfather, also commanded a naval expedition during the war.<ref>Thucydides, ''The Peloponnesian War'', [[s:History of the Peloponnesian War/Book 3#3:7|3.7]]</ref><ref>A history of Greece  By George William Cox. [https://books.google.com/books?id=4IABAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA152 Pg 152]</ref>

==Notes==
<div class="references small">
<references/>
</div>

==References==
*[[Donald Kagan|Kagan, Donald]]. ''The Peloponnesian War'' (Penguin Books, 2003). {{ISBN|0-670-03211-5}}
*{{cite wikisource |title=History of the Peloponnesian War |author=[[Thucydides]] |translator=[[Richard Crawley]]}}

==External links==
*[http://www.livius.org Livius], [https://www.livius.org/phi-php/phormio/phormio.html Phormio] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130519003332/http://www.livius.org/phi-php/phormio/phormio.html |date=2013-05-19 }} by Jona Lendering

{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Ancient Athenian admirals]]
[[Category:5th-century BC Athenians]]
[[Category:Athenians of the Peloponnesian War]]