a distinguished ancient admiral, was the son of Adritmus, and was born in Crete in the former half of the fourth century B.C. Obtaining a high position at the court of Macedon, he became a devoted friend of the young Alexander, and was banished on that account by the suspicious Philip. Alexander, on succeeding to the throne, recalled him; and Nearchus in 335 B.C. set out with the king on his career of conquest. He was left behind in the following year to govern Lycia and Pamphylia. Five years afterwards, however, he joined the conquering prince once more in the far-distant province of Bactria. But it was not until 325 B.C. that a high command was conferred upon him. A fleet was then launched upon the Hydaspes, and Nearchus was appointed to conduct it to the sea. This was effected in safety; but the more difficult task of leading the ships through the unexplored Indian waters to the Persian Gulf remained to be accomplished. Nearchus volunteered his services, which were gladly accepted. He set sail from the mouths of the Indus about the end of September 325 B.C. On approaching nearly opposite the western border of the Indians, the ships were obliged to tarry for twenty-four days in a port, afterwards called Alexander, until the north-east monsoon had set in. From this point the inexperienced mariners began to be encompassed with perils and objects of terror. A storm met them, and destroyed three of the galleys; they were under a perpetual dread of running upon rocks and shoals; huge sea-monsters rose upon the surface of the water, and threatened to overwhelm them; when they drew close to the land, ferocious savages, covered entirely with shaggy hair, and armed with nails like those of wild beasts, glared upon them from the shore. When at length, they arrived opposite the country of the Ichthyophagi, Leonnatus, who at the head of a land army had hitherto supplied them with provisions, could no longer attend them; and the barren sandy plain that extended for hundreds of miles along the shore could afford them no sustenance. The crews, appalled at the inevitable famine and the weary stretch of unknown sea that lay before them, became faint-hearted and refractory. At this crisis the indomitable energy of the admiral saved all from destruction. Overbearing the spirit of disobedience by his commanding firmness, he steered right onwards for many days, in spite of hunger, and danger, and discontent, until he landed his famished sailors on the fertile shores of Carmania. The remainder of the voyage was comparatively easy; and on the 9th December he brought his ships to anchor at the mouth of the River Amnis near the town of Harmozia. He then hastened to the camp of Alexander, which was pitched at a short distance in the interior, to announce his arrival. "By the Grecian Zeus and the Lybian Ammon" exclaimed the king, "I swear to you I am more happy in receiving this intelligence than at being the conqueror of all Asia." From this date the facts known concerning Nearchus are comparatively unimportant. In the beginning of the following year (324 B.C.) he conducted his fleet to Susa. When the empire of Alexander was divided, his old provinces of Lycia and Pamphylia fell to his lot. He became an attached friend of King Antigonus. The latest mention of him in history is in 314 B.C., when he was appointed one of the counsellors of Demetrius, the son of the above-named monarch.

A narrative of the famous voyage of Nearchus is said to have been written by the navigator himself, and to have furnished the materials of Arrian's Indica. This opinion has been contested by Dodwell and other critics; but has been upheld by the generality of authorities, and especially by Dr Vincent in his Commerce and Navigation of the Ancients in the Indian Seas. The work just mentioned also gives a full account of the voyage.