Nearchus, an officer of Alexander the Great, was a native of Crete, who settled in Amphipolis during the reign of Philip, and became the companion and friend of the young prince Alexander.
In 330 he was governor of Lycia and other provinces in Asia Minor. In 329 B.C. he joined Alexander in Bactria with a body of Greek mercenaries, and took part in the Indian campaigns. Having built a fleet on the Hydaspes, Alexander gave Nearchus the command of it. He left the Indus towards the end of November 325, and, skirting the coast all the way, arrived at Susa, in Persia, in February 324. His own narrative of his voyage has been preserved in the Indica of Arrian, the best edition of which is printed in C. Müller's Geographi Græci Minores (Paris, 1855).