Callias was a diplomat and a notable member of one of the wealthiest families of ancient Athens, as well as an Athenian leader, he was a general of the Peloponnesian War. He was related to Cimon and also to Aristides. He distinguished himself at the battle of Marathon (490 B.C.) and was a three-time winner of the Olympic chariot races.

Callias was sent to Susa to negotiate for peace c.449 B.C. The result of his work was an agreement usually called the Peace of Callias (or Treaty of Callias); by it Artaxerxes I agreed to respect the independence of the Delian League and its members and to send no warships into Greek waters; in return Athens agreed not to interfere with Persian "influence" in Asia Minor, Cyprus, and Egypt. Callias was also supposed to have been one of the negotiators of a treaty between Athens and Sparta (446–445 B.C.) that resulted in 30 years of peace.

In his old age Callias was one of the ambassadors sent to Sparta with Callistratus to negotiate a peace treaty in 371 BC. The treaty was ineffective, and friction between Epaminondas of Thebes and Agesilaus II of Sparta became acute. Callias was a rich man and his wealth was ridiculed by his contemporaries, including Aristophanes. His house is the scene of Xenophon's Symposium and Plato's Protagoras.

-By Muse Alexandros

Resource material:

www.encyclopedia.com, www.bartleby.com, ahistoryofgreece.com

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classics.mit.edu