strategos

Strategos, or strategos in singular and strategoi in plural, is a Greek term meaning "military general" or "army leader." It derives from the stem stratos (army) and agein (to lead). In antiquity the title signified a high-ranking commander responsible for military operations, and the term later came to designate senior officials in the Byzantine imperial system as well as in other Hellenistic kingdoms.

In classical Athens, ten strategoi were elected annually, one from each of the ten tribes. They held supreme command of the city’s military forces during war and played a prominent political role, proposing policy to the Assembly and exercising influence in naval and civil affairs. Although powerful, their authority operated within the broader constitutional framework, and the office was subject to accountability to the institutions of Athenian democracy. The office produced notable figures, including Pericles, who served multiple terms and helped shape Athenian policy during his tenure.

Beyond Athens, the term was used in various Hellenistic and ancient Greek polities to denote senior generals or regional military leaders, with duties that could vary by state and period. In the Byzantine Empire, from roughly the 7th through the 11th centuries, a strategos was a military governor of a theme (and sometimes held civil authority as well). These officers commanded regional armies and administered their provinces, functioning as a key link between military command and provincial governance. The title gradually evolved and was superseded by other offices as imperial administration changed.

Today, strategos remains primarily a historical term associated with ancient Greek warfare and Byzantine military governance, and it serves as the linguistic root of the modern word strategy.