Strategos facts for kids

A bust of Pericles, a famous leader and general from ancient Athens. This is a Roman copy of a Greek sculpture from around 400 BC.

A Strategos (pronounced stra-tee-GOS), with the plural strategoi (stra-tee-GOY), is a Greek word that means "army leader" or "general." In ancient Greece, it was a very important military title. Later, in the Hellenistic world and the Byzantine Empire, a strategos could also be a military governor, meaning they managed both soldiers and the government of a region. Today, in the modern Hellenic Army (Greece's army), stratigós is the highest rank an officer can achieve.

What Does the Word "Strategos" Mean?

The word Strategos comes from two older Greek words:

• Stratos (στρατός) means "army." Think of it as a group of people spread out for battle.
• Agos (ἀγός) means "leader." This comes from a word meaning "to lead" or "to drive forward."

So, putting them together, Strategos literally means "army leader."

Generals in Ancient Greece

Athens: A Special Kind of General

In Classical Athens, the role of strategos became very famous. Around 501 BC, a leader named Cleisthenes made some big changes. He created a group of ten strategoi who were chosen every year. Each of the ten main tribes in Athens would elect one strategos.

These ten generals were all equal in power. They took over from an older military leader called the polemarchos. For example, at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC, these ten generals worked together to decide their battle plans. Each general took turns being in charge for a day.

Over time, the way strategoi were chosen changed a bit. At first, it was strict that each tribe had one. But later, two generals might come from the same tribe if they were the best choices.

Many famous Athenian leaders, like Themistocles and Pericles, were also strategoi. They were powerful not just because of their military job, but also because people really respected them as political leaders.

The Athenian strategoi were unique because they could command both the army on land and the navy at sea. In other Greek states, there was often a separate leader for the navy.

The people of Athens kept a close watch on their strategoi. At the end of their year in office, generals had to explain how they did their job. If the people thought a general wasn't doing well, they could remove him from office and even put him on trial. This showed how important it was for these leaders to serve the people well.

Generals in Other Greek States

The title strategos was also used in other Greek states, like Syracuse. Sometimes, it just meant "military commander" in general, but in other places, it was a specific official job.

A special title, strategos autokrator, was given to generals with very broad powers. For example, Philip II of Macedon, a powerful king, was chosen as strategos autokrator for the League of Corinth. This meant he was the supreme commander of all their forces.

Generals in Later Empires

Hellenistic and Roman Times

After the time of Alexander the Great, in the Hellenistic empires, the role of strategos changed. For example, in Ptolemaic Egypt, a strategos became more of a governor. They were in charge of both military and civilian duties in a region. They looked after Greek soldiers who had settled there and also helped manage the local government and money.

Later, a new position called epistrategos (meaning "over-general") was created to oversee several strategoi. The strategoi then became mostly civilian officials, while the epistrategos kept the main military command.

When the Roman Empire took over, they sometimes used the Greek word strategos to refer to their own Roman officials, like the praetor, who had both military and legal duties.

The Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire, which was the eastern part of the Roman Empire and spoke Greek, continued to use the term strategos. At first, it was used for top military commanders.

Later, around the 7th century, the Byzantines created a system called the Theme system. Large areas of the empire were called "themes," and each theme had a strategos in charge. These strategoi were very powerful because they commanded the army in their theme and also governed the area. They were like military governors.

Over time, the empire divided the themes into smaller ones, so there were more strategoi, but each had less power. By the 13th century, the word strategos went back to its general meaning of "general" or "commander," without being a specific official title anymore.

The Byzantines also had variations of the title:

• Monostrategos meant a general who commanded other strategoi or armies from several themes.
• Archistrategos or protostrategos meant a chief general with supreme authority.
• Hypostrategos meant an "under-general" or second-in-command.

Modern Use of "Strategos"

In the modern Hellenic Army of Greece, stratigós (στρατηγός) is the highest rank for an officer. It's like a full general in other armies.

Other general ranks in Greece are also based on this word:

• Antistrátigos is like a Lieutenant General.
• Ypostrátigos is like a Major General.

These ranks are also used by the Hellenic Police, the Greek Fire Service, and the Cypriot National Guard.

Cypriot Ground Forces (1964–today)
					Αντιστράτηγος Antistrátigos		Υποστράτηγος Ypostrátigos
Hellenic Army (1975–today)
			Στρατηγός Stratigos		Αντιστράτηγος Antistratigos		Υποστράτηγος Ypostratigos
Hellenic Army (1909–1937)
			Στρατηγός Stratigos		Αντιστράτηγος Antistratigos		Υποστράτηγος Ypostratigos
Hellenic Police (1984–today)
					Αντιστράτηγος Antistratigos		Υποστράτηγος Ypostratigos
Hellenic Fire Service
					Αντιστράτηγος Antistratigos		Υποστράτηγος Ypostratigos

Greek commissioned officer ranks
NATO code:	OF-1	OF-2	OF-3	OF-4	OF-5	OF-6	OF-7	OF-8	OF-9
Navy:	Simaioforos & Anthypoploiarchos	Ypoploiarchos	Plotarchis	Antiploiarchos	Ploiarchos	Archiploiarchos	Yponavarchos	Antinavarchos	Navarchos
Army:	Anthypolochagos & Ypolochagos Ypilarchos & Anthypilarchos (Armoured)	Lochagos Ilarchos (Armoured)	Tagmatarchis	Antisyntagmatarchis	Syntagmatarchis	Taxiarchos	Ypostratigos	Antistratigos	Stratigos
Air Force:	Anthyposminagos & Yposminagos	Sminagos	Episminagos	Antisminarchos	Sminarchos	Taxiarchos Aeroporias	Ypopterarchos	Antipterarchos	Pterarchos

Strategos in Stories and Games

The term strategos has also appeared in many fictional works:

• In the ancient Greek novel Callirhoe, a character named Hermocrates is the "strategos" of Syracuse.
• In Orson Scott Card's novel Ender's Game, the Strategos is a very powerful position. This person is in charge of defending the entire solar system.
• The dystopian empire of the Draka in S. M. Stirling's books uses "Strategos" as a military rank.
• In the anime The Vision of Escaflowne, the character Folken holds the position of 'Strategos'.
• In the webcomic Ava's Demon, there is a character named Strategos Six.
• The 2018 video game Assassin's Creed Odyssey features Spartan strategoi as strong enemies in forts.
• In Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Strategos is the name of a character class.
• In David Gemmell's novels Lion of Macedon and Dark Prince, the main character, Parmenion, is a Strategos.