§ 8.1.1  Book VIII (Fragmentary)
Since the Eleans were becoming a numerous people and were governing themselves in accordance with law, the Lacedemonians viewed their growing power with suspicion and assisted them in establishing a settled mode of life for the community, in order that they might enjoy the benefits of peace and never experience the activities of war.

§ 8.1.2  And they made the Eleans sacred to the god, with the concurrence of practically the whole Greek world. As a consequence the Eleans took no part in the campaign against Xerxes, but they were relieved of service because of their responsibility for the honour due to the god, and further, in like struggles, when the Greeks were warring among themselves, no state caused them any annoyance, since all Greek states were zealous to preserve the sanctity and inviolability of the land and city. Many generations later, however, the Eleans also began to join in campaigns and to enter upon wars of their own choosing.

§ 8.1.3  The Eleans took no part in the wars in which all the rest of the Greeks shared. In fact, when Xerxes advanced against the Greeks with so many myriads of soldiers, the allies relieved them of service in the field, the leaders instructing them that they would be returning a greater service if they should undertake responsibility for the honour due to the gods.

§ 8.2.1  Nor was she allowed the embraces of a man, even in secret; for no one (Aemulius thought) would ever be so foolish as to exchange the felicities of an entire life for the pleasure of a moment.

§ 8.3.1  Numitor had been deprived of the kingship by his own brother, whose name was Amulius and who was king of the Albans, but when, contrary to his hopes, Numitor recognized his own grandsons, Remus and Romulus, he laid a plot against this same brother to work his death. And the plot worked out: Summoning the herdsmen they marched against the palace, forced their way inside the entrance and slew all who opposed them, and later also Amulius himself.

§ 8.4.1  When these children, Romulus and Remus, who had been exposed in infancy, had attained in the course of time to manhood, they far surpassed all the rest in beauty of body and in strength. Consequently they provided protection for all the herds and flocks, easily repelling those who practised robbery, slaying many of them in their raids and even taking some alive.

§ 8.4.2  In addition to the zeal they displayed in this matters, they were friendly towards all the herdsmen of the region, joining in their gatherings and proving their character, to any who needed their aid, to be modest and sociable. Consequently, since the safety of all hung upon Remus and Romulus, the majority of the people subjected themselves to them and carried out their commands, assembling in whatever place they ordered.

§ 8.5.1  When Remus and Romulus were observing the flight of birds for divination with a view to founding a city, there appeared (to Romulus), as we are told, a favourable omen, and Remus, amazed, said to his brother, “In this city it was happen many a time that clumsy counsels will be followed by a favourable turn of fortune.” The fact was that, although Romulus had been too hasty in dispatching the messenger and, on his own part, had been altogether wrong, yet his ignorance had been made right by mere chance.

§ 8.6.1  Romulus, in connection with his founding of Rome, was hastily throwing a ditch about it, to prevent any of his neighbours from attempting to hinder his undertaking. And Remus, angered at his failure to gain the chief place and jealous of the good fortune of his brother, came up to the labourers and belittled their work; for he declared that the ditch was too narrow and that the city would easily fall, since enemies would have no difficulty in getting over it.

§ 8.6.2  But Romulus replied in anger, “I give orders to all citizens to exact vengeance of any man who attempts to get over the ditch.” And a second time Remus casts insults at the labourers, and said they were making the ditch too narrow. “Why, enemies will get over it with no trouble. See, I can do it myself, easily.” And with these words he leaped over it.

§ 8.6.3  And a certain Celer, one of the labourers, answered him, “I will exact vengeance of the man who jumps over the ditch, even as the king commanded;” and with these words he raised his spade, and striking Remus on the head, slew him.

§ 8.7.1  Polychares, a Messenian of great wealth and conspicuous ancestry, agreed with Euaephnus, a Spartan, to share together the border land.

§ 8.7.2  And when Euaephnus took over the oversight and protection of the flocks and herdsmen, he tried to take advantage of Polychares, but he was found out. The way of it was this: He sold some of the cattle and herdsmen to merchants, on the understanding that they would be taken out of the country, and then alleged that the loss was due to the violent attack of robbers. The merchants, who were going by ship to Sicily, were making their way along the Peloponnesus; and when a storm arose they dropped anchor near the land, whereupon the herdsmen slipped off the boat at night and made their escape, feeling safe in their knowledge of the region.

§ 8.7.3  They then made their way to Messene and revealed to their master all the facts; and Polychares concealed the slaves and then asked his partner to come to him from Sparta.

§ 8.7.4  And when Euaephnus held to his story that some of the herdsmen had been carried off by the robbers and the rest had been killed by them, Polychares produced the men. When Euaephnus saw the men he was struck with consternation, and since his refutation was patent, he turned to entreaties, promising that he would restore the cattle and leaving no word unsaid whereby he might be spared.

§ 8.7.5  And Polychares, in reverence for the obligations of hospitality, made no mention of what the Spartan had done, and sent his son along with him, to receive his dues at his hands. But Euaephnus not only forgot the promises he had made but even slew the youth who had been along with him to Sparta.

§ 8.7.6  At this deed Polychares was so enraged at such acts of lawlessness that he demanded the person of the criminal. The Lacedemonians, however, paid no attention to his demand, but sent the son of Euaephnus to Messene with a reply, to the effect that Polychares should come to Sparta and prefer charges before the ephors and the kings for the wrongs he had suffered. But Polychares, now that he had the opportunity to return like for like, slew the youth and in reprisal plundered the city.

§ 8.8.1  While the dogs were howling and the Messenians were in despair, one of the elders advanced and urged the people to pay no heed to the off-hand pronouncements of the seers. For even in their private affairs, he said, they fall into many errors, by reason of their inability to foresee the future, and in this case, when matters were so involved as only the gods could be expected to know, they, being but men, could not understand them.

§ 8.8.2  He urged the people, therefore, to send a messenger to Delphi. And the Pythia gave them the following answer: They should offer up in sacrifice a maiden from the house of the Aepytidae, any one at all; and if the one on whom the lot fell could not be devoted to the gods, they should sacrifice whatever maiden any father from the same family might freely offer. “If you will do this,” the oracle continued, “you will gain the victory in the war and power.” . . .

§ 8.8.3  For no honour, great as it might be, appeared in the eyes of the parents of equal weight with the life of their own children, since compassion for one of his own blood stole into each man's heart as he pictured to his mind's eye the slaughter, while at the same time he was filled with misgivings that he should, like a traitor, deliver up his child to certain death.

§ 8.9.1  He rushed headlong into errors unworthy of his fame; for the power of love is mighty to trip up youth, especially such youth as are proud of the strength of their bodies. And this is the reason why the ancient writers of myths have represented Heracles, him who was unconquerable by any others, as being conquered by the might of love.

§ 8.10.1  Archias the Corinthian, being seized with love for Actaeon, first of all dispatched a messenger to the youth, making him marvellous promises; and when he was unable to win him over to act contrary to the honourable principles of his father and to the modesty of the youth himself, he gathered together the greater number of his associates, with the intention of using force on the youth who would not yield to favour or entreaty.

§ 8.10.2  And finally once, when Archias had become drunken in the company of the men he had called together, his passion drove him to such madness that he broke into the house of Melissus and began to carry off the boy by force.

§ 8.10.3  But the father and the other inmates of the house held fast to him, and in the violent struggle which ensued between the two groups the boy was found, without any knowing it, to have given up the ghost while in the arms of his defenders. Consequently, when we reflect upon the strange turn of the affair, we are forced both to pity the fate of the victim and to wonder at the unexpected reversal of fortune. For the boy came to the same manner of death as did he whose very name he bore, since they both lost their lives in similar manner at the hands of those who had aided them most.

§ 8.11.1  Agathocles was chosen to be superintendent of the building of the temple of Athena, and picking out the finest blocks of the hewn stone, he paid for them out of his own means, but making an improper use of the stones he built with them a costly house. And at this act of his, we are told, the deity made itself manifest to men; for Agathocles was struck by lightning and he together with his house was consumed in flames.

§ 8.11.2  The Geomori ruled that his property should be confiscated to the state, although his heirs offered evidence that he had taken no money which belonged to either the sanctuary or the state. The house they consecrated to the goddess and forbade that anyone should enter it, and to this day it is called the House Struck by Lightning.

§ 8.12.1  After this the king, when he had recovered from his wounds, proposed that they hold a trial for the meed of valour. And two men entered the contest, Cleonnis and Aristomenes, each of whom possessed his own peculiar claim to fame.

§ 8.12.2  For Cleonnis had covered the king with his shield when he had fallen and had accounted for the death of eight Spartans who charged against him — two of them were distinguished chieftains — and he had stripped the complete armour from all whom he had slain and given it to his shield-bearers, in order that he might have it as evidence of his valour for the trial. And though he had received many wounds, he had got them all in front, thus providing the fullest proof that he had given way before no one of his foes.

§ 8.12.3  And as for Aristomenes, he had slain five Lacedemonians in the struggle over the body of the king and had stripped their complete armour from the foemen who had set upon him. He had also kept his body free from any wound, and on his way back to the city from the battle he had performed a deed which was deserving of praise.

§ 8.12.4  For Cleonnis lay so weakened by his wounds that he could neither walk without support nor be led by the hand; and Aristomenes, raising him on his shoulders, brought him back to the city, notwithstanding that he was also carrying his own complete armour and that Cleonnis surpassed all other men in size and strength of body.

§ 8.12.5  Such were their resources as they came to the trial for the meed of valour, and the king together with his chief captains took his seat as the law prescribed. Thereupon Cleonnis spoke first and addressed them with the following words:

§ 8.12.6  “Only a brief speech is necessary regarding the meed of valour, since the judges are men who themselves have witnessed the exploits of each of us; and I need only to remind you that, as we both fought against the same foemen on this single occasion and in this single place, it was I who killed the greater number. It is obvious, therefore, that he who, under identical circumstances, was first in the number of foemen he slew is also first in his just claim to the meed of valour.

§ 8.12.7  Furthermore, the bodies of the two of us supply the most manifest proofs where is the superiority, for the one came out of the battle covered with wounds which are in front, while the other, returning as from a festive gathering and not from so fierce a pitched battle as that was, did not experience the might of an enemy's sword.

§ 8.12.8  More fortunate Aristomenes may well be, but he may not justly be judged to be the braver of us two. For it is manifest that the man who endured such lacerations of his body offered himself unsparingly for his fatherland; whereas the man who, in close grips with the enemy and amidst such perils, kept himself unwounded was able to do that only because he shunned hurt to his person.

§ 8.12.9  And so it would be absurd if, before judges who have themselves witnessed the battle, that man shall have the preference who slew a smaller number of the foe and exposed his own body to less danger, before the man who holds first place on both these counts. Furthermore, his carrying a body all worn out by its wounds, and when no further peril threatens, is no indication of bravery, though it does perhaps betoken strength of body. What I have said to you is sufficient; for the contest which you are to decide is one, not of words, but of deeds.”

§ 8.12.10  It was now the turn of Aristomenes to speak, and he addressed the judges as follows: “I am astonished that the man who has been saved thinks to strive with his saviour for the meed of valour; for the necessary conclusion is, either that he charges the judges with folly, or that he thinks that the decision will be rendered on the basis of the words spoken now, not of the deeds done then. But it will be shown that Cleonnis is not only inferior to me in bravery, but wholly ungrateful as well. For, omitting to recount his own brave achievements, he set about disparaging my deeds, thrown showing himself to be more grasping for honour than is juts; for from the man to whom he owed the greatest gratitude for saving his life, from him he in his envy has taken away the praise earned by his own noble deeds. I am ready to concede that in the perils encountered in the battle I was fortunate, but I maintain that I showed myself his superior in bravery. If, indeed, I had come off unwounded because I avoided the onslaught of the foe, it would have been more fitting for me to call myself, not fortunate, but cowardly, and not even to plead for the meed of valour, but to have suffered the punishments prescribed by the law. However, since it was while fighting in the front of battle and slaying those who opposed me that I did not suffer what I inflicted on others, the necessary conclusion is that I was not only fortunate but also brave. For if the enemy, in terror, did not dare to face my valour, then am I, whom they feared, deserving of great praise; or else, if they fought with spirit, and yet I slaughtered them as they came on, taking thought at the same time for my body, then am I both courageous and cunning. For the man who, while fighting desperately, meets the threatening danger with calm mind, has a double claim to bravery, that of body and that of soul. And yet these just claims of mine I should plead against other men who are better than my opponent. For when I carried the disabled Cleonnis from the scene of battle to the city, keeping my arms the while, he himself, in my judgment, had acknowledged the justice of my claim. Yet quite possibly, if I had paid no attention to him at that time, he would not now be striving with me for the meed of valour, nor would he be disparaging that great kindness I showed him, by claiming that the great deed I performed was nothing, because by that time the enemy had withdrawn from the field. Who, indeed, does not know that many times armies which have left the battle-field have made it their practice to wheel about and renew the attack, and to win the victory by the use of strategy of this kind? But I have said enough; for I cannot think you have need of further words.” 16 After these speeches the judges with one accord gave their votes for Aristomenes.

§ 8.13.1  The Lacedemonians recovered their zeal; for if men have practised manly virtue and bravery from their youth, even though some turn of fortune has humbled them, yet a brief speech will recall them to their sense of duty. On the other hand the Messenians were not second to them in their zeal; nay rather, confiding in their own valour . . .

§ 8.13.2  Since the Lacedemonians were being worsted by the Messenians, they sent to inquire of Delphi. And the priestess made answer to them: 'Tis not alone the deeds of battle thou Shouldst ply at Phoebus' order. Guile it is Whereby the folk doth hold Messene's land, And by the same device as it was gained Shall it be won. The thought is that it is not alone by deeds of strength but by those of craft as well . . .

§ 8.14.1  Pompilius, the Roman king, lived at peace for his entire life. And certain writers state that he was a pupil of Pythagoras, and that he received from him the ordinances he laid down regarding the worship of the gods and was instructed in many other matters; and it was because of this that he became a man of renown and was summoned by the Romans to be their king.

§ 8.15.1  It is not within our power, much as we may wish it, to honour the deity in a worthy manner. Consequently, if we were not ready, according to our ability, to show ourselves grateful, what hope should we have of the life to come, seeing that we transgress against those whom evil-doers may neither elude nor escape? For, to sum up all, it is evident that, with respect to those in whose power are both unending reward and unending punishment, we should see to it that their anger is not aroused and that their favour is everlasting. —

§ 8.15.2  For so great is the difference between the life of the impious and the life of the pious, that though both expect of the deity the fulfilment of their prayers, the former expect the fulfilment of their own, the latter those of their enemies. . . .

§ 8.15.3  In fine, if we give aid to enemies when they flee for refuge to altars, and if we pledge with oaths to hostile foes that we will do them no wrong, what sort of zeal should we show towards the gods themselves, who show kindnesses to the pious not only in this life, but also after death, and who, if we place confidence in the Mysteries, also have ready for them a happy existence and good fame for all eternity? Consequently there is nothing in this life about which we should be so in earnest as concerning the honour due to the gods.

§ 8.15.4  Our conclusion is that bravery and justice and all the other virtues of mankind the other animals also have acquired, but that reverence for the deity in so far transcends all the other virtues as the gods themselves are in all respects superior to mortals.

§ 8.15.5  While reverence for the deity is a desirable thing for men in private life, far more is it appropriate to states; for states, by reason of their nearer approach to immortality, enjoy a nature akin to that of the gods and, in the considerable length of time they endure, they may expect the reward they merit — sovereignty as the reward for reverence, punishment for slighting the divinity.

§ 8.16.1  Deioces, the king of the Medes, despite the great lawlessness which prevailed, practised justice and the other virtues.

§ 8.17.1  Myscellus, an Achaean by birth, went from Rhype to Delphi and inquired of the god concerning the begetting of children. And the Pythia gave him the following answer: Myscellus, too short of back, beloved art thou
Of him, even Apollo, who works afar, And he will give thee children; yet this first
Is his command, Croton the great to found
Amidst fair fields.
And since he did not understand the reference to Croton, the Pythian priestess gave answer a second time: To thee the Far-darter in person now doth speak, And give thou heed. Here lieth the Taphian land, Untouched by plow, and Chalcis there, and there
The home of the Curetes, sacred soil, And there the isles of the Echinades: And on the islands' left a mighty sea. This way thou can'st not miss the Lacinian Head,
Nor sacred Crimise, nor Aesarus' stream.

§ 8.17.2  Although the oracle thus commanded Myscellus to found Croton, he, because of his admiration of the territory of Sybaris, wished to found a city there; whereupon the following oracle was delivered to him. Myscellus, too short of back, in searching things Other than god commands, thou seekest naught But tears. Approve the gift the god doth give.

§ 8.18.1  The Sybarites are slaves to their belly and lovers of luxury. And so great was their devotion to luxury that of the peoples elsewhere their preference was above all for the Ionians and the Tyrrhenians, because they found that the former surpassed the other Greeks, and the latter the other barbarians, in the extravagance of their manner of life.

§ 8.18.2  We are told that a wealthy Sybarite, on hearing some persons say that man had suffered a rupture at the sight of some men working, begged the speaker not to be astounded at that. “For I,” he said, “at the mere hearing of it, have suffered a stitch in my side.” Of another Sybarite it is told that he remarked after a visit to Sparta that he used to wonder at the bravery of the Spartans, but that now, after witnessing what a frugal and utterly miserable life they led, he could only conclude that they were no better than the lowest of men. “For the most cowardly Sybarite,” he said, “would choose to die thrice rather than to endure a life like theirs.” The man among them who, we are told, indulged in the greatest luxury was known as Mindyrides.

§ 8.19.1  Mindyrides, men say, surpassed the other Sybarites in luxury. For when Cleisthenes, the tyrant of Sikyon, after winning the chariot-race made proclamation that any who purposed to marry his daughter, who was considered a girl of surpassing beauty, should gather at his home, Mindyrides, we are told, set sail from Sybaris in a ship of fifty oars, the rowers being slaves of his own household, some of them fishermen and others fowlers.

§ 8.19.2  And upon his arrival in Sikyon he surpassed, in the equipage his fortune afforded him, not only the rival suitors but also the tyrant himself, although the whole city was participating eagerly in the occasion. And at the dinner which was held after his arrival, when a certain man approached Mindyrides to recline beside him at the table, the latter remarked that he was here in accordance with the proclamation and intended to recline either with the lady or by himself.

§ 8.20.1  The Milesians lived in luxury. And we are told that a Sybarite who had paid them a visit, after he returned to his native city remarked, among other things which he recounted to his fellow-citizens, that in his absence from home he had seen but one free city and that was the city of the Milesians.

§ 8.21.1  The Epeunactae had agreed with Phalanthus that they would rise in revolt in the market-place, as soon as Phalanthus, in full armour, would pull his helmet over his forehead; but a certain man disclosed to the ephors what was going to take place. The majority of the ephors believed that they should put Phalanthus to death, but Agathiadas, who had become a lover of his, stated that if they did this they would plunge Sparta into the greatest civil strife, in which, if they were victorious, they would win a profitless victory, and, if they lost, they would duty destroy their fatherland.

§ 8.21.2  He gave as advice, therefore, that the herald should publicly proclaim that Phalanthus should let his helmet rest as it was. This was done, and the Partheniae gave up the undertaking and began to seek a reconciliation.

§ 8.21.3  The Epeunactae sent envoys to Delphi and inquired of the god if he would give them the territory of Sikyon. And the priestess replied: Fair is the plain 'twixt Corinth and Sikyon; But not a home for thee, though thou wert clad Throughout in bronze. Mark thou Satyrion And Taras' gleaming flood, the harbour on The left, and where the goat catches with joy The salt smell of the sea, wetting the tip Of his gray beard. There build thou Taras firm Within Satyrion's land. When they heard this reply they could not understand it; whereupon the priestess spoke more plainly: Satyrion is my gift to thee wherein To dwell, and the fat land of Taras too, A bane to be to the Iapygian folk.

§ 8.22.1  Hippomenes, the Athenian archon, exacted of his daughter, who had been violated by an unknown person, a punishment which was cruel and extraordinary. He shut her up together with a horse in a small stall, and by keeping the beast without food for some days he forced it, through hunger, to eat the body of the girl who had been thrown to it.

§ 8.23.1  Antiphemus and Entimus, who founded Gela, made inquiry of the Pythian priestess, who gave them the following answer: Entimus and thou, illustrious Craton's son Sagacious, fare ye two forth to Sicele, On her fair soil to dwell, where ye shall build A city, home for men of Crete and Rhodes, E'en Gela, at that sacred river's mouth Whose name it too shall bear.

§ 8.23.2  The Chalcidians, a tenth of whom had been dedicated to Apollo, came to the god to inquire about sending forth a colony, and they received the reply: Where Apsia, most sacred river, falls Into the sea, and as one enters it The female weds the male, a city found Thou there, the land of Auson is thy gift. And they, finding on the banks of the river Apsia a grape-vine entwined about a wild fig-tree, founded there a city.

§ 8.23.3  As he passed by he cried with a loud voice, “Is there anyone who is ready to win immortal glory in exchange for a mortal life Who will be the first to say, 'I give my life for the safety of the commonwealth?'”

§ 8.23.4  Once a worthless fellow, meeting a man on his way to the countryside, asked him whether there was anything unusual taking place in the city. And the fellow was fined by the Locrian magistrates, so intent were they upon the maintenance of justice.

§ 8.24.1  The inhabitants of Sikyon received from the Pythian priestess the oracle that they would be “governed by the scourge” for one hundred years. And when they inquired further who would ply the scourge, she answered the second time that it would be the first man to whom they should hear, after they put ashore, a son had been born. Now it so happened that a cook by the name of Andreas had accompanied the envoys, to have charge of the sacrifices. He was a hired servant of the magistrates, charged with bearing the scourges.

§ 8.25.1  While Tullus Hostilius was king of the Romans, the Albans, viewing with suspicion the rising power of the Romans and wishing to humble them, claimed that the Romans had robbed their territory and sent ambassadors to Rome to demand justice, and, in case the Romans should give them no heed, to declare war.

§ 8.25.2  But Hostilius, the Roman king, learning that the Albans were only seeking a pretext for war, gave orders that his friends should receive the ambassadors and invite them to be their guests; while as for himself, avoiding any meeting with the ambassadors, he sent men to the Albans to make similar demands of them.

§ 8.25.3  This he did in pursuance of an ancient custom, because men of ancient times were concerned about nothing else so much as that the wars they waged should be just ones; for he was cautious lest, if he were unable to discover the men responsible for the robbery and to hand them over to those who demanded them, it should be thought that he was entering upon an unjust war.

§ 8.25.4  But by good fortune his ambassadors to Alba were the first to be refused justice, and they therefore declared war for the thirtieth day following. And the ambassadors of the Albans, therefore, when they presented their demands, received the answer that, since the Albans had been the first to refuse justice, the Romans had declared war upon them. Such, then, was the reason why these two peoples, who enjoyed mutual rights of marriage and of friendship, got at variance with each other.

§ 8.26.1  In former times the Romans, who were by origin Latins, never waged war upon a people without formal announcement; but they would first hurl a spear, as a signal, into the territory of the opposing people, the spear denoting the beginning of the hostilities. After doing this they commenced war upon the people. This is what Diodorus says, as well as every other writer on Latin affairs.

§ 8.27.1  The Spartans, having suffered defeat at the hands of the Messenians, sent to Delphi and asked the god for advice concerning the war. And they were told to get a commander from the Athenians.

§ 8.27.2  The Lacedemonians, under the inspiration of Tyrtaeus, became so eager for battle that, when about to enter the conflict, they wrote their names on little sticks which they fastened to their arms, in order that, if they died, they would not be unidentified by their kinsmen. So ready were they to accept gladly an honourable death, if victory were beyond their grasp.

§ 8.28.1  Terpander, who sang to the cithara, was a native of Methymna. And once, when the Lacedemonians were embroiled in civil strife, an oracle came to them, that they would again be reconciled among themselves if Terpander of Methymna should sing to them to the accompaniment of the cithara. And Terpander did in fact so sing a song to them with an artist's skill, and by his harmonious lay, as Diodorus writes, brought harmony again into their midst. In fact they were entirely changed, and fell to embracing and tearfully kissing one another.

§ 8.29.1  Aristotle, who was also called Battus, wishing to found the city of Cyrene, received an oracle to the following effect: O Battus, thou did'st come about a voice; But Phoebus, even Lord Apollo, sends Thee forth to fair-crowned Libya, there to rule O'er broad Cyrene and enjoy the place Reserved to kings. Barbarian warriors there, Clad in the skins of beasts, will rush against Thee, when thou settest foot on Libyan soil. But pray to Cronus' son, to Pallas who Stirs up the fight, of flashing eyes, withal To Phoebus, ever-young, the son of Zeus, And in thy hand shall lie the victory. And over fair-crowned Libya shalt thou rule Blessed, thou and thy house: Thy guide thereto Is Phoebus Apollo.

§ 8.29.2  For envy by its nature lies in wait for success, and therefore works the destruction of those who are pre-eminent in fame.

§ 8.30.1  Arcesilaus, the king of the Cyrenians, bitterly complaining of his misfortunes, made inquiry of Delphi, and received this reply: The gods were wroth; for the later kings were not ruling after the manner of Battus, the first king. For Battus had contented himself with the appellation alone of king, and had been an equitable ruler, friendly to the people, maintaining the while — the important thing — the honours due to the gods. But the rule of the later kings had taken on more and more the character of tyranny, and they had appropriated to themselves the public revenues and had neglected reverence toward the deity.

§ 8.30.2  For the civil strife which arose among the Cyrenians an arbitrator appeared in the person of Demonax of Mantinea, who was considered to be a man of unusual sagacity and justice. Accordingly he sailed to Cyrene, and receiving from all the stewardship of public affairs, he reconciled the cities on the following conditions.

§ 8.31.1  Lucius Tarquinius, the king of the Romans, received a careful rearing, and since he proved to be an eager seeker after knowledge, his virtue made him the object of no little admiration. For when he had attained to manhood, he became associated with the Roman king Ancus Marcius, grew to be a most intimate friend of his, and aided the king in the administration of many affairs of the kingdom. And growing very wealthy, he aided by gifts of money many who were in need, and mingling as he did in friendly fashion with all men, he lived without reproach and was famed for his wisdom.

§ 8.32.1  The Locrians sent to Sparta asking her aid in war. The Lacedemonians, however, hearing of the great military strength of the inhabitants of Croton, replied, as if responding in a perfunctory manner, and as though the Locrians could be saved only in the way they suggested, that they were giving the Locrians for allies the sons of Tyndareus. And the ambassadors, whether under the guidance of the providence of God or because they took the reply as an omen, accepted the aid they proffered, and after they had received favourable signs in a sacrifice, they prepared a couch on their ship for the Dioscori and sailed back to their native land. 3 How (he asked) will the fathers who have accompanied them feel when they, seeing their sons suffering unspeakable torment at the hands of the barbarians, can bring them no aid, and all they can do is to tear their grey hair and make lament to the deaf ears of Fate?

§ 9.1.1  Solon was the son of Execestides and his family was of Salamis in Attica; and in wisdom and learning he surpassed all the men of his time. Being by nature far superior as regards virtue to the rest of men, he cultivated assiduously a virtue that wins applause; for he devoted much time to every branch of knowledge and became practised in every kind of virtue. [2] While still a youth, for instance, he availed himself of the best teachers, and when he attained to manhood he spent his time in the company of the men who enjoyed the greatest influence for their pursuit of wisdom. As a consequence, by reason of his companionship and association with men of this kind, he came to be called one of the Seven Wise Men and won for himself the highest rank in sagacity, not only among the men just mentioned, but also among all who were regarded with admiration. [3] The same Solon, who had acquired great fame by his legislation, also in his conversations and answers to questions as a private citizen became an object of wonder by reason of his attainments in learning. [4] The same Solon, although the city followed the whole Ionian manner of life and luxury and a carefree existence had made the inhabitants effeminate, worked a change in them by accustoming them to practise virtue and to emulate the deeds of virile folk. And it was because of this that Harmodius and Aristogeiton, their spirits equipped with the panoply of his legislation, made the attempt to destroy the rule of the Peisistratidae.

§ 9.2.1  Croesus, the king of the Lydians, who was possessed of great military forces and had purposely amassed a large amount of silver and gold, used to call to his court the wisest men from among the Greeks, spend some time in their company, and then send them away with many presents, he himself having been greatly aided thereby toward a life of virtue. And on one occasion he summoned Solon, and showing him his military forces and his wealth he asked him whether he thought there was any other man more blest than he. [2] And Solon replied, with the freedom of speech customary among lovers of wisdom, that no man while yet living was blest; for the man who waxes haughty over his prosperity and thinks that he has Fortune as his helpmeet does not know whether she will remain with him to the last. Consequently, he continued, we must look to the end of life, and only of the man who has continued until then to be fortunate may we properly say that he is blest. [3] And at a later time, when Croesus had been taken prisoner by Cyrus and was about to be burned upon a great pyre, he recalled the answer Solon had given him. And so, while the fire was already blazing about him, he kept continually calling the name of Solon. [4] And Cyrus sent men to find out the reason for his continual calling of the name of Solon; and on learning the cause Cyrus changed his purpose, and since he believed that Solon's reply was the truth, he ceased regarding Croesus with contempt, put out the burning pyre, saved the life of Croesus, and counted him henceforth as one of his friends. [5] Solon believed that the boxers and short-distance runners and all other athletes contributed nothing worth mentioning to the safety of states, but that only men who excel in prudence and virtue are able to protect their native lands in times of danger.

§ 9.3.1  When there was a dispute about the golden tripod, the Pythian priestess delivered the following oracle: [2] " Miletus' son, dost ask Apollo's will About the tripod? Who is first of all In wisdom, his the tripod is, I say. “But some writers have a different account, as follows: War had broken out among the Ionians, and when the tripod was brought up in their seine by some fishermen, they inquired of the god how they might end the war. And the priestess replied” Never shall cease the war twixt Meropes And Iones, until that golden stand Hephaestus worked with skill ye send away; And it shall come to that man's dwelling-place Who in his wisdom hath foreseen the things That are and likewise things that are to be. " [3] The Milesians, wishing to follow the injunction of the oracle, desired to award the prize to Thales of Miletus. But Thales said that he was not the wisest of all and advised them to send it to another and wiser man. And in this manner the other six of the Seven Wise Men likewise rejected the tripod, and it was given to Solon, who was thought to have surpassed all men in both wisdom and understanding. And Solon advised that it be dedicated to Apollo, since he was wiser than all of them.

§ 9.4.1  Solon, seeing toward the end of his life how Peisistratus, to please the masses, was playing the demagogue and was on the road to tyranny, tried at first by arguments to turn him from his intention; and when Peisistratus paid no attention to him, he once appeared in the Agora arrayed in full armour, although he was already a very old man. [2] And when the people, the sight being so incongruous, flocked to him, he called upon the citizens to seize their arms and at once make an end of the tyrant. But no man paid any attention to him, all of them concluding that he was mad and some declaring that he was in his dotage. Peisistratus, who had already gathered a guard of a few spearmen, came up to Solon and asked him, “Upon what resources do you rely that you wish to destroy my tyranny?” And when Solon replied, “Upon my old age,” Peisistratus, in admiration of his common sense, did him no harm.

§ 9.5.1  The man who puts his hands to lawless and unjust deeds may never properly be considered wise.

§ 9.6.1  We are told that the Scythian Anacharsis, who took great pride in his wisdom, once came to Pytho and inquired of the oracle who of the Greeks was wiser than he. And the oracle replied:" A man of Oita, Myson, they report, Is more endowed than thou with prudent brains. "Myson was a Malian and had his home on Mt. Oita in a village called Chenae.

§ 9.7.1  Myson was a man of Malis who dwelt in a village called Chenae, and he spent his entire time in the country and was unknown to most men. He was included among the Seven Wise Men in the place of Periander of Corinth, who was rejected because he had turned into a harsh tyrant.

§ 9.8.1  Solon was curious to see the place where Myson spent his days, and found him at the threshing-floor fitting a handle to a plow. And to make trial of the man Solon said, “Now is not the season for the plow, Myson.” “Not to use it,” he replied, “but to make it ready.”

§ 9.9.1  In the case of Chilon his life agreed with his teaching, a thing one rarely finds. As for the philosophers of our time, for instance, most of them are to be seen uttering the noblest sentiments, but following the basest practices, and the solemnity and sagacity expressed in their pronouncements are refuted when the speakers are put to the proof. But as for Chilon, not to mention the virtue which he displayed in every deed throughout his life, he thought out and expressed many precepts which are worthy of record.

§ 9.10.1  When Chilon came to Delphi he thought to dedicate to the god the firstlings, as it were, of his own wisdom, and engraved upon a column these three maxims: “Know thyself”; “Nothing overmuch”; and the third, “A pledge, and ruin is nigh.” Each of these maxims, though short and laconic, displays deep reflection. [2] For the maxim “Know thyself” exhorts us to become educated and to get prudence, it being only by these means that a man may come to know himself, either because it is chiefly those who are uneducated and thoughtless that think themselves to be very sagacious — and that, according to Plato, is of all kinds of ignorance the worst — or because such people consider wicked men to be virtuous, and honest men, on the contrary, to be of no account; for only in this one way may a man know himself and his neighbour — by getting an education and a sagacity that are superior.

§ 9.10.3  Likewise, the maxim “Nothing overmuch” exhorts us to observe due measure in all things and not to make an irrevocable decision about any human affairs, as the Epidamnians once did. This people, who dwelt on the shores of the Adriatic, once quarrelled among themselves, and casting red-hot masses of iron right into the sea they swore an oath that they would never make up their mutual enmity until the masses of iron should be brought up hot out of the sea. And although they had sworn so severe an oath and had taken no thought of the admonition “Nothing overmuch,” later under the compulsion of circumstances they put an end to their enmity, leaving the masses of iron to lie cold in the depths of the sea. [4] And as for the maxim “A pledge, and ruin is nigh,” some have assumed that by it Chilon was advising against marriage; for among most Greek peoples the agreement to marry is also called a “pledge,” and this is confirmed by the common experience of men in that the worst and most numerous ills of life are due to wives. But some writers say that such an interpretation is unworthy of Chilon, because if marriage were destroyed life could not continue, and that he declares that “ruin” is nigh to such pledges as those made in connection with contracts and with agreements on other matters, all of which are concerned with money. As Euripides says: “No pledge I give, observing well the loss Which those incur who of the pledge are fond; And writings there at Pytho say me nay.”

§ 9.10.5  But some also say that it is not the meaning of Chilon nor is it the act of a good citizen, not to come to the aid of a friend when he needs help of this kind; but rather that he advises against strong asseverations, against eagerness in giving pledges, and against irrevocable decisions in human affairs, such as the Greeks once made in connection with their victory over Xerxes. For they took oath at Plataea that they would hand down enmity to the Persians as an inheritance even to their children's children, so long as the rivers run into the sea, as the race of men endures, and as the earth brings forth fruit; and yet, despite the binding pledge they had taken against fickle fortune, after a time they were sending ambassadors to Artaxerxes, Xerxes' son, to negotiate a treaty of friendship and alliance.

§ 9.10.6  Chilon's precepts, though brief, embrace the entire counsel necessary for the best life, since these pithy sayings of his are worth more than all the votive offerings set up in Delphi. The golden bricks of Croesus and other handiwork like them have vanished and were but great incentives to men who chose to lift impious hands against the sanctuary; but Chilon's maxims are kept alive for all time, stored up as they are in the souls of educated men and constituting the fairest treasure, on which neither Phocians nor Gauls would be quick to lay their hands.

§ 9.11.1  Pittacus of Mitylene was not only admired of men for his wisdom, but he was also such a citizen as the island never produced again, nor, in my opinion, could produce in time to come — not until it bears wine both more abundant and more delicious. For he was an excellent law-giver, in his dealings with individual citizens affable and kindly, and he freed his native land from the three greatest evils, from tyranny, civil strife, and war. [2] Pittacus was a man of consequence, gentle and inclined to self-disparagement. Consequently he was regarded by all as a man who, beyond dispute, was perfect in respect of every virtue: for as to his legislation, he showed himself statesmanlike and prudent, as to keeping his plighted faith strictly just, as to his distinction in armed combat, courageous, and as to his greatness of soul in the matter of lucre, having no trace of avarice.

§ 9.12.1  When the inhabitants of Mitylene offered to Pittacus the half of the land for which he had fought in single combat, he would not accept it, but arranged to assign to every man by lot an equal part, uttering the maxim, “The equal share is more than the greater.” For in measuring “the greater” in terms of fair dealing, not of profit, he judged wisely; since he reasoned that equality would be followed by fame and security, but greediness by opprobrium and fear, which would speedily have taken away from him the people's gift. [2] Pittacus acted consistently with these principles toward Croesus also, when the latter offered him as much money from his treasury as Pittacus might desire to take. For on that occasion, we are told, in refusing the gift he said that he already had twice as much as he wished. And when Croesus expressed his surprise at the man's freedom from avarice and inquired of him the meaning of his reply, Pittacus said, “My brother died childless and I inherited his estate, which was the equal of my own, and I have experienced no pleasure in having received the extra amount.” [3] The poet Alcaeus, who had been a most confirmed enemy of Pittacus and had reviled him most bitterly in his poems, once fell into his hands, but Pittacus let him go free, uttering the maxim: “Forgiveness is preferable to punishment.”ConstExc.4, p.285.

§ 9.13.1  The inhabitants of Priene recount that Bias ransomed from robbers some maidens of distinguished families of Messenia and reared them in honour, as if they were his own daughters. And after some time, when their kinsfolk came in search of them, he gave the maidens over to them, asking for neither the cost of their rearing nor the price of their ransom, but on the contrary giving them many presents from his own possessions. The maidens, therefore, loved him as a father, both because they had lived in his home and because he had done so much for them, so that, even when they had departed together with their own families to their native land, they did not forget the kindness they had received in a foreign country. [2] Some Messenian fishermen, when casting their net, brought up nothing at all except a brazen tripod, which bore the inscription, “To the wisest.” And they took the tripod out of the sea and gave it to Bias. [3] Bias was a most able speaker, and surpassed in this respect all his contemporaries. But he used his great eloquence far otherwise than do many men; for he employed it, not to gain fees or income, but to give aid to those who were being wronged. Rarely indeed is a thing like this to be found.

§ 9.14.1  It is no great thing to possess strength, whatever kind it is, but to use it as one should. For of what advantage to Milo of Croton was his enormous strength of body? [2] The death of Polydamas, the Thessalian, when he was crushed by the rocks, made clear to all men how precarious it is to have great strength but little sense.

§ 9.15.1  This Polydamas was of the city of Scotussa, and he used to slay lions with his bare hands as if they were sheep and easily outstrip swift-running chariots with winged feet. He also endeavoured to support with his hand the crumbling roof of a cave, as Diodorus the Sicilian recounts the story.

§ 9.16.1  After the people of Cirrha had been besieged for a long time because they had attempted to plunder the oracle, some of the Greeks returned to their native cities, but others of them inquired of the Pythian priestess and received the following response:" Ye shall not seize and lay in ruins the tower Of yonder city, before the plashing wave Of dark-eyed Amphitrite inundates My sacred precinct, here on these holy cliffs. "

§ 9.17.1  It should be known that Solon lived in Athens in the period of the tyrants before the Persian wars, and that Draco lived forty-seven years before him, as Diodorus says.

§ 9.18.1  The sculptor Perilaus made a brazen bull for Phalaris the tyrant to use in punishing his own people, but he was himself the first to make trial of that terrible form of punishment. For, in general, those who plan an evil thing aimed at others are usually snared in their own devices.

§ 9.19.1  This Phalaris burned to death Perilaus, the well-known Attic worker in bronze, in the brazen bull. Perilaus had fashioned in bronze the contrivance of the bull, making small sounding pipes in the nostrils and fitting a door for an opening in the bull's side and this bull he brings as a present to Phalaris. And Phalaris welcomes the man with presents and gives orders that the contrivance be dedicated to the gods. Then that worker in bronze opens the side, the evil device of treachery, and says with inhuman savagery, “If you ever wish to punish some man, O Phalaris, shut him up within the bull and lay a fire beneath it; by his groanings the bull will be thought to bellow and his cries of pain will give you pleasure as they come through the pipes in the nostrils.” When Phalaris learned of this scheme, he was filled with loathing of the man and says, “Come then, Perilaus, do you be the first to illustrate this; imitate those who will play the pipes and make clear to me the working of your device.” And as soon as Perilaus had crept in, to give an example, so he thought, of the sound of the pipes, Phalaris closes up the bull and heaps fire under it. But in order that the man's death might not pollute the work of bronze, he took him out, when half-dead, and hurled him down the cliffs. This tale about the bull is recounted by Lucian of Syria, by Diodorus, by Pindar, and countless others beside them.

§ 9.20.1  Solon the law-giver once entered the assembly and urged the Athenians to overthrow the tyranny before it became all-powerful. And when no man paid attention to him, he put on his full armour and appeared in the Agora, although an old man, and calling upon the gods as witnesses he declared that by word and deed, so far as in him lay, he had brought aid to the fatherland when it was in peril. But since the populace did not perceive the design of Peisistratus, it turned out that Solon, though he spoke the truth, was disregarded.

§ 9.20.2  And it is said that Solon also predicted the approaching tyranny to the Athenians in elegiac verse: “From cloud is born the might of snow and hail And from bright lightning's flash the thunder comes. And from great men a city finds its doom; The people in their ignorance have bowed In slavery to a monarch's single rule. For him who puts too far from shore 'tis hard The harbour later on to make; but now At once one needs must think of everything.”

§ 9.20.3  And later, when the tyranny was already established, he said:" If now you suffer grievous things because Of your own cowardice, charge not this fate Unto the gods' account; for you yourselves Exalted these men's power by giving them A guard, and on this count have you put on The yoke of evil slavery. Each by each With fox's steps you move, but meeting all Together trifling judgement do you show. For to man's tongue and shifty word you look, But to the deed he does you ne'er give heed."

§ 9.20.4  Peisistratus urged Solon to hold his peace and to share with him in the advantages arising from the tyranny. And when he could find no means to change Solon's purpose, but saw in fact that he was ever more and more aroused and steadfastly threatening to bring him to punishment, he asked him upon what resources he relied in his opposition to his designs. And we are told that Solon replied, “Upon my old age.” [Herodotus, who lived in the time of Xerxes, gives this account: After the Assyrians had ruled Asia for five hundred years they were conquered by the Medes, and thereafter no king arose for many generations to lay claim to supreme power, but the city-states, enjoying a regimen of their own, were administered in a democratic fashion; finally, however, after many years a man distinguished for his justice, named Cyaxares, was chosen king among the Medes. He was the first to try to attach to himself the neighbouring peoples and became for the Medes the founder of their universal empire; and after him each of his successive descendants extended the kingdom by adding a great deal of the adjoining country, until the reign of Astyages, who was conquered by Cyrus and the Persians. We have for the present given only the most important of these events in summary and shall later give a detailed account of them one by one when we come to the periods in which they fall; for it was in the second year of the Seventeenth Olympiad, according to Herodotus, that Cyaxares was chosen king of the Medes.]. [When Astibaras, the king of the Medes, died of old age in Ecbatana, his son Aspandas, whom the Greeks call Astyages, succeeded to the throne. And when he had been defeated by Cyrus the Persian, the kingdom passed to the Persians. Of them we shall give a detailed and exact account at the proper time.]

§ 9.21.1  Cyrus became king of the Persians in the opening year of the Fifty-fifth Olympiad, as may be found in the Library of Diodorus and in the histories of Thallus and Castor and Polybius and Phlegon and all others who have used the reckoning by Olympiads. For all these writers agree as to the date.

§ 9.22.1  Cyrus, the son of Cambyses and Mandane, the daughter of Astyages who was king of the Medes, was pre-eminent among the men of his time in bravery and sagacity and the other virtues; for his father had reared him after the manner of kings and had made him zealous to emulate the highest achievements. And it was clear that he would take hold of great affairs, since he revealed an excellence beyond his years.

§ 9.23.1  When Astyages, the king of the Medes, had been defeated and was in disgraceful flight, he vented his wrath upon his soldiers; and he displaced all who had been assigned positions of command, appointing others in their stead, and he picked out all who were responsible for the flight and put them to the sword, thinking that by punishing them in that way he could force the rest to show themselves brave fighters in times of danger, since he was a cruel man and, by nature, hard. Nevertheless, the people were not dismayed at the harsh treatment he meted out; on the contrary, every man, hating his violent and lawless manner, yearned for a change of affairs. Consequently there were gatherings of small groups and seditious conversations, the larger number exhorting one another to take vengeance on him.

§ 9.24.1  Cyrus, we are told, was not only a courageous man in war, but he was also considerate and humane in his treatment of his subjects. And it was for this reason that the Persians called him Father.

§ 9.25.1  Croesus was once building ships of war, we are told, with the intention of making a campaign against the islands. And Bias, or Pittacus, who happened to be visiting Lydia at the time and was observing the building of the ships, was asked by the king whether he had heard of any news among the Greeks. And when he was given the reply that all the islanders were collecting horses and were planning a campaign against the Lydians, Croesus is said to have exclaimed, “Would that some one could persuade the islanders to fight against the Lydians on horseback!” For the Lydians are skilled horsemen and Croesus believed that they would come off victorious on land.

§ 9.25.2  Whereupon Pittacus, or Bias, answered him, “Well, you say that the Lydians, who live on the mainland, would be eager to catch islanders on the land; but do you not suppose that those who live on the islands have prayed the gods that they may catch Lydians on the sea, in order that, in return for the evils which have befallen the Greeks on the mainland, they may avenge themselves at sea on the man who has enslaved their kinsmen?” Croesus, in admiration of this reply, changed his purpose at once and stopped building the ships.

§ 9.26.2  Croesus used to send for the most distinguished wise men from Greece, to display to them the magnitude of his felicity, and would honour with rich gifts those who lauded his good fortune. And he also sent for Solon as well as for such others as enjoyed the greatest fame for their love of wisdom, wishing to have the witness of these men set the seal of approval upon his own felicity.

§ 9.26.1  And there came to him Anacharsis the Scythian and Bias and Solon and Pittacus, to whom he showed the highest honour at banquets and at his council, and he displayed his wealth before them and the magnitude of his own power.

§ 9.26.3  Now in those days men of learning sought brevity of speech. And Croesus, after he had displayed to the men the felicity of his kingdom and the multitude of the peoples subject to him, asked Anacharsis, who was older than the other men of wisdom, “Whom do you consider to be the bravest of living beings?” He replied, “The wildest animals; for they alone willingly die in order to maintain their freedom.”

§ 9.26.4  And Croesus, believing that he had erred in his reply, and that a second time he would give an answer to please him, asked him, “Whom do you judge to be the most just of living beings?” And Anacharsis again answered, “The wildest animals; for they alone live in accordance with nature, not in accordance with laws; since nature is a work of God, while law is an ordinance of man, and it is more just to follow the institutions of God than those of men.”

§ 9.26.5  Then Croesus, wishing to make Anacharsis appear ridiculous, inquired of him, “And are the beasts, then, also the wisest?” And Anacharsis agreed that they were, adding this explanation: “The peculiar characteristic of wisdom consists in showing a greater respect to the truth which nature imparts than to the ordinance of the law.” And Croesus laughed at him and the answers he had given, as those of one coming from Scythia and from a bestial manner of living.

§ 9.27.1  And Croesus asked Solon who of all living beings he had seen enjoyed the most felicitous life, thinking that Solon would by all means concede this distinction to him. But Solon replied, “I cannot justly apply this term to anyone, since I have not seen the end of life of anyone still living; for until that time no one may properly be considered to be blest. For it often happens that those who have been regarded before then as blest of Fortune all their lives have at the very close of their lives fallen upon the greatest misfortunes.” [2] The king then said, “Do you not judge me to be the wealthiest?” And Solon made the same reply, explaining that not those who have the greatest possessions, but those who consider wisdom to be the most valuable of all possessions, are to be regarded as the wealthiest; and that wisdom, seeing that there is nothing which can be balanced against it, confers upon those who value it highly, and upon them alone, a wealth which is the greatest and most secure.

§ 9.27.3  Croesus then asked Bias whether, in his opinion, Solon had answered correctly or had erred. And he replied, “Correctly; for he wishes to make his decision after he has seen the possessions you have in yourself, whereas up to now he has seen only the possessions which lie about you; and it is through the former, not the latter, that men have felicity.” The king said, “But even if you do not give first honour to wealth in gold, at least you see my friends, so great a multitude as no other man possesses.” But Bias answered, “Even the number of friends is uncertain because of your good fortune.” [4] And Croesus, we are told, asked Pittacus, “What is the best form of government you have seen?” And he replied, “That of the painted wood,” referring to the laws.

§ 9.28.1  Aesop flourished in the same period of time as the Seven Wise Men, and he remarked once, “These men do not know how to act in the company of a ruler; for a man should associate with rulers either as little as possible, or with the best grace possible.”

§ 9.29.1  Adrastus, a man of Phrygia, while out hunting with Atys, as he was called, the son of the Lydian king, Croesus, unwittingly struck and killed the boy while hurling his spear at a boar. And although he had slain the boy unwittingly, he declared that he did not deserve to live; consequently he urged the king not to spare his life, but to slay him at once upon the tomb of the dead youth. [2] Croesus at first was enraged at Adrastus for the murder, as he considered it, of his son, and threatened to burn him alive; but when he saw that Adrastus was ready and willing to give his life in punishment for the dead boy, he thereupon abandoned his anger and gave up his thought of punishing the slayer, laying the blame upon his own fortune and not upon the intent of Adrastus. Nevertheless Adrastus, on his own initiative, went to the tomb of Atys and slew himself upon it.

§ 9.30.1  Phalaris, seeing a multitude of doves being pursued by a single hawk, remarked, “Do you observe, sirs, how fear will make so great a multitude flee before a single pursuer? And yet if they should summon the courage to turn about, they would easily overcome their pursuer.” (But it was Phalaris himself who was falsifying; for the victory was won by courage and not by superiority of numbers.) And as a result of this speech Phalaris lost his dominion, as it is recorded in the section “On the Succession of Kings.”

§ 9.31.1  When Croesus was taking the field against Cyrus the Persian, he made inquiry of the oracle. And the answer ran:" If Croesus crosses Halys, a mighty realm Will he destroy. “He received and interpreted the ambiguous answer of the oracle in the light of his own purpose and so came to grief. [2] Croesus inquired a second time whether he was to enjoy a rule of long duration. And the oracle spoke the following verses:” The day a mule becomes the king of Medes, Then, tender-footed Lydian, do thou flee Along the pebbly bed of Hermus, nor Abide, nor be ashamed a coward to be. “By a ”mule" Cyrus was meant, because his mother was a Mede and his father a Persian.

§ 9.31.3  Cyrus, the king of the Persians, appeared with all his host at the passes of Cappadocia and sent messengers to Croesus both to spy out his power and to declare to him that Cyrus would forgive his previous misdeeds and appoint him satrap of Lydia, provided he presented himself at Cyrus' court and acknowledged, as others did, that he was his slave. But Croesus answered the messengers that it would be more fitting if Cyrus and the Persians should submit to be the slaves of Croesus, reminding them that theretofore they had been slaves of the Medes and that he had never yet taken orders from another.

§ 9.32.1  Croesus, the king of the Lydians, under the guise of sending to Delphi, dispatched Eurybatus of Ephesus to the Peloponnesus, having given him money with which to recruit as many mercenaries as he could from among the Greeks. But this agent of Croesus went over to Cyrus the Persian and revealed everything to him. Consequently the wickedness of Eurybatus became a by-word among the Greeks, and to this day whenever a man wishes to cast another's knavery in his teeth he calls him a Eurybatus.

§ 9.33.1  Although evil men may avoid for the moment punishment at the hands of those whom they have wronged, yet the evil report of them is preserved for all time and punishes them so far as possible even after death. [2] We are told that Croesus, on the eve of his war with Cyrus, dispatched ambassadors to Delphi to inquire by what means it would be possible for his son to speak; and that the Pythian priestess replied:" O thou of Lydian stock, o'er many king, Thou great fool Croesus, never wish to hear Within thy halls the much-desired sound Of thy son speaking. Better far for thee That he remain apart; for the first words He speaks shall be upon a luckless day."

§ 9.33.3  A man should bear good fortune with moderation and not put his trust in the successes such as fall to human beings, since they can take a great shift with a slight turn of the scale. [4] After Croesus had been taken prisoner and the pyre had been quenched, when he observed that the city was being plundered and that much silver and gold, besides everything else, were being carried off, he asked Cyrus, “What are the soldiers doing?” Cyrus laughingly replied, “They are making plunder of your wealth”; whereupon Croesus said, “Not so, by Zeus, but of yours; for Croesus has no longer a thing of his own.” And Cyrus, impressed by his words, at once changed his purpose, and putting a stop to the plundering of the soldiers he took the possessions of the inhabitants of Sardis for the Royal Treasury.

§ 9.34.1  Cyrus, believing Croesus to be a pious man because a rainstorm had burst forth and quenched the flame, and calling to mind the reply of Solon, kept Croesus at his side in a position of honour. He gave him a place also in his council, believing him to be a person of sagacity by reason of his having associated with many men of learning and wisdom.

§ 9.35.1  Harpagus had been appointed commander on the sea by Cyrus the Persian, and when the Greeks of Asia sent an embassy to Cyrus for the purpose of making a treaty of friendship with him, Harpagus remarked to them that what they were doing was very much like a former experience of his own. [2] Once when he wished to marry he had asked a girl's father for the hand of his daughter. At first, however, her father decided that he was not worthy to marry his daughter and betrothed her to a man of higher position, but later, observing that Harpagus was being honoured by the king, he offered him his daughter; but he replied that he would no longer have her as his wife, but would consent to take her as a concubine.

§ 9.35.3  By such words he pointed out to the Greeks that formerly, when Cyrus had urged them to become friends of the Persians, they had been unwilling, but now, after matters had taken a different turn and they were anxious to agree upon relations of friendship, Cyrus would make no terms with them as with allies, but he would receive them as slaves if they would throw themselves upon the good-faith of the Persians.

§ 9.36.1  When the Lacedemonians learned that the Greeks of Asia were in peril, they sent a message to Cyrus stating that the Lacedemonians, being kinsmen of the Greeks of Asia, forbade him to enslave the Greek cities. And Cyrus, marvelling at such words, remarked that he would judge of their valour when he should send one of his own slaves to subdue Greece. [2] When the Lacedemonians were setting out to conquer Arcadia, they received the following oracle:" Arcadia dost thou demand of me? A high demand, nor will I give it thee. For many warriors, acorn-eaters all, Dwell in Arcadia, and they will ward Thee off. Yet for my part I grudge thee not. Tegea's land, smitten with tripping feet, I'll give to thee, wherein to dance and plot The fertile plain with measuring-line for tilth."

§ 9.36.3  The Lacedemonians sent to Delphi to inquire in what place the bones of Orestes, the son of Agamemnon, were buried. And the oracle replied in this wise:" A certain Tegea there is of Arcady In a smooth and level plain, where two winds blow Before a stern necessity, to stroke Comes answering stroke, and bane is heaped on bane. There the life-giving earth holds fast the son Of Agamemnon; bring thou him thence and then The overlord of Tegea thou shalt be. “It was a smithy that was referred to, and the oracle means by the two winds the bellows, signifying by ”stroke" the anvil and the hammers, and by “bane heaped on bane,” the iron upon iron; for iron is called a “bane” because the discovery of it has worked to the hurt of mankind. [4] It is better to die, than to live and witness yourself and your kinsmen meeting misfortune as bad as death.

§ 9.37.1  Once when the daughter of Peisistratus was carrying the sacred basket in procession and she was thought to excel all others in beauty, a young man stepped up and with a superior air kissed the maiden. The girl's brothers, on learning what had been done, were incensed at the youth's insolence, and leading him to their father they demanded that he be punished. But Peisistratus laughingly said, “What shall we do then to those who hate us, if we heap punishments on those who love us?”

§ 9.37.2  Once when Peisistratus was journeying through the country he saw a man on the slopes of Hymettus working in a field where the soil was exceedingly thin and stony. And wondering at the man's zeal for the work, he sent some of his company to inquire of him what return he got from working ground like that. [3] And when the men had carried out the command, the farmer replied that he got from the field only grievous pains; but he did not care, since he gave the tenth part of them to Peisistratus. And the ruler, on hearing the reply, laughed, and made the field exempt from taxation, whence arose the proverb, Even spasms give tax-exemption.

§ 10.1.1  Servius Tullius, on the occasion of the uprising of Tarquinius, came into the Senate, and when he saw the extent of the intrigue against him, he did no more than to say, “What presumption, O Tarquinius, is this?” Tarquinius replied, “Nay, what presumption is yours, who, though slave and son of a slave, have presumed to rule as king over the Romans, and who, although the leadership my father had belongs to me, have illegally taken from me the rule to which you in no single respect have a claim?” With these words he rushed at Tullius, and seizing him by the arm he hurled him down the steps. Tullius picked himself up and, limping from the fall, endeavoured to flee, but was put to death.

§ 10.2.1  Servius Tullius, the king of the Romans, enjoyed a rule of forty-four years, successfully establishing not a few institutions in the commonwealth by virtue of his own high character.

§ 10.3.1  When Thericles was archon in Athens in the Sixty-first Olympiad, Pythagoras, the philosopher, was generally recognized, having already far advanced in learning; for if there is any man of those who have cultivated learning deserving of a place in history, it is he. By birth he was a Samian, though some men say that he was a Tyrrhenian.

§ 10.3.2  And there was such persuasion and charm in his words that every day almost the entire city turned to him, as to a god present among them, and all men ran in crowds to hear him. Not only in eloquence of speech did he show himself great, but he also displayed a character of soul which was temperate and constituted a marvellous model of a life of modesty for the youth to emulate. Whoever associated with him he converted from their ways of extravagance and luxury, whereas all men, because of their wealth, were giving themselves over without restraint to indulgence and an ignoble dissipation of body and soul. 4 Pythagoras, learning that his old teacher Pherecydes lay ill in Delos and was at the point of death, set sail from Italy to Delos. There he took care of the old man for a considerable time and made every effort to bring the aged man safely through his malady. And when Pherecydes was overcome by his advanced years and the severity of the disease, Pythagoras made every provision for his burial, and after performing the accustomed rites for him, as a son would for his father, he returned to Italy. 5 Whenever any of the companions of Pythagoras lost their fortune, the rest would divide their own possessions with them as with brothers. Such a disposition of their property they made, not only with their acquaintances who passed their daily lives with them, but also, speaking generally, with all who shared in their projects.

§ 10.4.1  Cleinias of Tarentum, who was a member of the order of which we have spoken, learning that Prorus of Cyrene had lost his fortune because of a political upheaval and was completely impoverished, went over from Italy to Cyrene with sufficient funds and restored to Prorus his fortune, although he had never seen the man before and knew no more of him than that he was a Pythagorean.

§ 10.4.2  Of many others also it is recorded that they have done something of this kind. And it was not only in the giving away of money that they showed themselves so devoted to their friends, but they also shared each other's dangers on occasions of greatest peril.

§ 10.4.3  So, for example, while Dionysius was tyrant and a certain Phintias, a Pythagorean, who had formed a plot against the tyrant, was about to suffer the penalty for it, he asked Dionysius for time in which to make such disposition as he wished of his private affairs; and he said that he would give one of his friends as surety for his death.

§ 10.4.4  And when the ruler expressed his wonder whether such a friend was to be found as would take his place in prison, Phintias called upon one of his acquaintances, a Pythagorean philosopher named Damon, who without hesitation came forward at once as surety for his death.

§ 10.4.5  Now there were some who expressed approval of so great a love for one's friends, whereas some charged the surety with rashness and folly. And at the appointed hour all the people ran together, anxious to learn whether the man who had provided a surety for himself would keep faith.

§ 10.4.6  When the hour drew close and all were giving up hope, Phintias unexpectedly arrived on the run at the last moment, just as Damon was being led off to his fate. Such a friendship was in the eyes of all men a thing of wonder, and Dionysius remitted the punishment of the condemned man, urging the two men to include himself as a third in their friendship.

§ 10.5.1  The Pythagoreans also insisted upon a very great exercise of the memory, setting up the following way of giving it practice. They would not arise from their beds until they had frankly disclosed to one another everything they had done the day before, beginning with early dawn and closing with the evening. And if they had the time and more leisure than usual, they would add to their account what they had done on the third day past, the fourth, and even earlier days. This practice they followed to gain knowledge and judgement in all matters and experience in the ability to call many things to mind.

§ 10.5.2  The Pythagoreans trained themselves in the exercise of self-control in the following manner. They would have prepared for them everything which is served up at the most brilliant banquets, and would gaze upon it for a considerable time; then, after through mere gazing they had aroused their natural desires with a view to their gratification, they would command the slaves to clear away the tables and would at once depart without having tasted of what had been served.

§ 10.6.1  Pythagoras believed in the transmigration of souls and considered the eating of flesh as an abominable thing, saying that the souls of all living creatures pass after death into other living creatures. And as for himself, he used to declare that he remembered having been in Trojan times Euphorbus, the son of Panthus, who was slain by Menelaus.

§ 10.6.2  We are told that once, when Pythagoras was sojourning in Argos, he saw a shield from the spoils of Troy fastened by nails to the wall and wept. And when the Argives inquired of him the cause of his grief, he replied that he himself had carried this shield in the land of Troy when he was Euphorbus.

§ 10.6.3  And when all were incredulous and judged him to be mad, he replied that he would give them convincing evidence that what he had said was so; for on the inner side of the shield there had been inscribed in ancient characters “of Euphorbus.” At this surprising answer all said to take down the shield, and on the inner side in fact was found the inscription.

§ 10.6.4  Callimachus once said about Pythagoras that of the problems of geometry some he discovered and certain others he was the first to introduce from Egypt to the Greeks, in the passage where he writes: This Phrygian Euphorbus first for men Found out, who taught about triangle shapes And scalenes, aye and a circle in seven lengths, And taught full abstinence from tasting flesh Of living things; but all would not to this Give heed.

§ 10.7.1  Pythagoras urged his followers to cultivate the simple life, since extravagance, he maintained, ruins not only the fortunes of men but their bodies as well. For most diseases, he held, come from indigestion, and indigestion, in turn, from extravagance.

§ 10.7.2  Many men were also persuaded by him to eat uncooked food and to drink only water all their life long, in order to pursue what is in truth the good. And yet, as for the men of our day, were one to suggest that they refrain for but a few days from one or two of the things which men consider to be pleasant, they would renounce philosophy, asserting that it would be silly, while seeking for the good which is unseen, to let go that which is seen. 3 And whenever it becomes necessary to court the mob or to meddle in affairs which are none of their business, they have the time for it and will let nothing stand in their way; whereas, whenever it becomes necessary to bestir themselves about education and the repairing of character, they reply that the matter is not opportune for them, the result of it all being that they busy themselves when they have no business and show no concern when they are concerned. 4 We are told that Archytas of Tarentum, who was a follower of Pythagoras, once became angry with his slaves because of some serious offences; but when he recovered from his rage, he said to them, “You would not have got off without punishment after such misconduct, had I not lost my temper.”

§ 10.8.1  The Pythagoreans laid the greatest store upon constancy toward one's friends, believing as they did that the loyalty of friends is the greatest good to be found in life.

§ 10.8.2  A man may consider that the greatest and most marvellous thing about the Pythagoreans was the cause of their loyalty to their friends. What indeed were the habits, what the manner of their practices, or the powerful arguments which enabled them to inculcate such a disposition in all who joined their common manner of life? Many outsiders, being eager to know the cause, expended great effort on the endeavour, but no man of them was ever able to learn it. The reason why their system of instruction for this purpose was kept inviolate was that the Pythagoreans made it a fundamental tenet to put nothing on this subject in writing, but to carry their precepts only in their memory.

§ 10.9.1  Pythagoras, in addition to his other injunctions, commanded his pupils rarely to take an oath, and, when they did swear an oath, to abide by it under any circumstances and to bring to fulfilment whatever they have sworn to do; and that they should never reply as did Lysander the Laconian and Demades the Athenian, the former of whom once declared that boys should be cheated with dice and men with oaths, and Demades affirmed that in the case of oaths, as in all other affairs, the most profitable course is the one to choose, and that it was his observation that the perjurer forthwith continued to possess the things regarding which he had taken the oath, whereas the man who had kept his oath had manifestly lost what had been his own. For neither of these men looked upon the oath, as did Pythagoras, as a firm pledge of faith, but as a bait to use for ill-gotten gain and deception.

§ 10.9.2  Pythagoras commanded his pupils rarely to take an oath, and when they did swear an oath, to abide by it under every circumstance.

§ 10.9.3  The same Pythagoras, in his reflections upon the pleasures of love, taught that it was better to approach women in the summer not at all, and in the winter only sparingly. For in general he considered every kind of pleasure of love to be harmful, and believed that the uninterrupted indulgence in them is altogether weakening and destructive.

§ 10.9.4  It is told of Pythagoras that once, when he was asked by someone when he should indulge in the pleasures of love, he replied, “When you wish not to be master of yourself.” The Pythagoreans divided the life of mankind into four ages, that of a child, a lad, a young man, and an old man; and they said that each one of these had its parallel in the changes which take place in the seasons in the year's course, assigning the spring to the child, the autumn to the man, the winter to the old man, and the summer to the lad. 6 The same Pythagoras taught that when men approach the gods to sacrifice, the garments they wear should be not costly, but only white and clean, and that likewise they should appear before the gods with not only a body clean of every unjust deed but also a soul that is undefiled. 7 Pythagoras declared that prudent men should pray to the gods for good things on behalf of imprudent men; for the foolish are ignorant of what in life is in very truth the good. 8 Pythagoras used to assert that in their supplications men should pray simply for “all good things,” and not name them singly, as, for example, power, strength, beauty, wealth, and the like; for it frequently happens that any one of these works to the utter ruin of those who receive them in reply to their desire. And this may be recognized by any man who has reflected upon the lines in The Phoenician Maidens of Euripides which give the prayer of Polyneices to the gods, beginning Then, gazing Argos-ward, and ending Yea, from this arm, may smite my brother's breast. For Polyneices and Eteocles thought that they were praying for the best things for themselves, whereas in truth they were calling down curses upon their own heads. 9 During the time that Pythagoras was delivering many other discourses designed to inculcate the emulation of a sober life and manliness and perseverance and the other virtues, he received at the hands of the inhabitants of Croton honours the equal of those accorded to the gods.

§ 10.10.1  Pythagoras called the principles he taught philosophia or love of wisdom, but not sophia or wisdom. For he criticized the Seven Wise Men, as they were called, who lived before his time, saying that no man is wise, being human, and many a time, by reason of the weakness of his nature, has not the strength to bring all matters to a successful issue, but that he who emulates both the ways and the manner of life of a wise man may more fittingly be called a “lover of wisdom.”

§ 10.10.2  Although both Pythagoras himself and the Pythagoreans after his time made such advancement and were cause of so great blessings to the states of Greece, yet they did not escape the envy which besmirches all noble things. Indeed there is no noble thing among men, I suppose, which is of such a nature that the long passage of time works it no damage or destruction.

§ 10.11.1  A certain inhabitant of Croton, Cylon by name, the foremost citizen in wealth and repute, was eager to become a Pythagorean. But since he was a harsh man and violent in his ways, and both seditious and tyrannical as well, he was rejected by them. Consequently, being irritated at the order of the Pythagoreans, he formed a large party and never ceased working against them in every way possible both by word and by deed.

§ 10.11.2  Lysis, the Pythagorean, came to Thebes in Boeotia and became the teacher of Epaminondas; and he developed him, with respect to virtue, into a perfect man and became his father by adoption because of the affection he had for him. And Epaminondas, because of the incitements toward perseverance and simplicity and every other virtue which he received from the Pythagorean philosophy, became the foremost man, not only of Thebes, but of all who lived in his time.

§ 10.12.1  To recount the lives of men of the past is a task which presents difficulties to writers and yet is of no little advantage to society as a whole. For such an account which clearly portrays in all frankness their evil as well as their noble deeds renders honour to the good and abases the wicked by means of the censures as well as the praises which appropriately come to each group respectively. And the praise constitutes, one may say, a reward of virtue which entails no cost, and the censure is a punishment of depravity which entails no physical chastisement.

§ 10.12.2  And it is an excellent thing for later generations to bear in mind, that whatever is the manner of life a man chooses to live while on this earth, such is the remembrance which he will be thought worthy of after his death; this principle should be followed, in order that later generations may not set their hearts upon the erection of memorials in stone which are limited to a single spot and subject to quick decay, but upon reason and the virtues in general which range everywhere upon the lips of fame. Time, which withers all else, preserves for these virtues an immortality, and the further it may itself advance in age, the fresher the youth it imparts to them.

§ 10.12.3  And what we have said is clearly exemplified in the case of these men who have been mentioned; for though they were of the distant past, all mankind speaks of them as if they were alive today.

§ 10.13.1  Cyrus, the king of the Persians, after he had reduced the land of the Babylonians and the Medes, was encompassing in his hopes all the inhabited world. For now that he had subdued these powerful and great nations he thought that there was no king or people which could withstand his might; since of those who are possessed of irresponsible power, some are wont not to bear their good fortune as human beings should.

§ 10.14.1  Cambyses was by nature half-mad and his powers of reasoning perverted, and the greatness of his kingdom rendered him much the more cruel and arrogant.

§ 10.14.2  Cambyses the Persian, after he had taken Memphis and Pelusium, since he could not bear his good fortune as men should, dug up the tomb of Amasis, the former king of Egypt. And finding his mummified corpse in the coffin, he outraged the body of the dead man, and after showing every despite to the senseless corpse, he finally ordered it to be burned. For since it was not the practice of the natives to consign the bodies of their dead to fire, he supposed that in this fashion also he would be giving offence to him who had been long dead.

§ 10.14.3  When Cambyses was on the point of setting out upon his campaign against Ethiopia, he dispatched a part of his army against the inhabitants of Ammon, giving orders to its commanders to plunder and burn the oracle and to make slaves of all who dwelt near the shrine.

§ 10.15.1  After Cambyses, the king of the Persians, had made himself lord of all Egypt, the Libyans and Cyrenaeans, who had been allies of the Egyptians, sent presents to him and declared their willingness to obey his every command.

§ 10.16.1  Polycrates the tyrant of the Samians, used to dispatch triremes to the most suitable places and plunder all who were on the seas, and he would return the booty which he had taken only to those who were allies of his. And to those of his companions who criticized this practice he used to say that all his friends would feel more grateful to him by getting back what they had lost than by having lost nothing in the first place.

§ 10.16.2  Unjust deeds, as a general thing, carry in their train a retribution which exacts appropriate punishments of the wrongdoers. Every act of kindness, since attended by no regret, bears goodly fruit in the praise of those who benefit therefrom; for even if not all the recipients repay the kindness, at least some one of them, it sometimes happens, makes payment on behalf of all. 4 Certain Lydians, who were fleeing from the domineering rule of the satrap Oroetes, took ship to Samos, bringing with them many possessions, and became suppliants of Polycrates. And at first he received them kindly, but after a little time he put them all to the sword and confiscated their possessions.

§ 10.17.1  Thettalus, the son of Peisistratus, was wise enough to renounce the tyranny, and since he strove after equality, he enjoyed great favour among the citizens of Athens; but the other sons, Hipparchus and Hippias, being violent and harsh men, maintained a tyranny over the city. They committed many other acts of lawlessness against the Athenians, and Hipparchus, becoming enamoured of a youth of extraordinary beauty, because of that got into a dangerous situation. . . .

§ 10.17.2  Now the attack upon the tyrants and the earnest desire to achieve the freedom of the fatherland were shared in by all the men mentioned above; but the unyielding steadfastness of soul amid the tortures and the stout courage to endure cruel pains were shown by Aristogeiton alone, who, in the most fearful moments, maintained two supreme virtues, fidelity to his friends and vengeance on his enemies. Aristogeiton made it clear to all men that nobility of soul is able to prevail over the greatest agonies of the body.

§ 10.18.1  When Zeno the philosopher was suffering the agonies of the torture because of the conspiracy he had entered into against the tyrant Nearchus and was being asked by Nearchus who his fellow conspirators were, he replied, “Would that I were as much the master of my body as I am of my tongue!”

§ 10.18.2  When Zeno's native city was being ground down by the tyranny of Nearchus, Zeno formed a conspiracy against the tyrant. But he was found out, and when he was asked by Nearchus, while suffering the agonies of the torture, who his fellow conspirators were, he replied, “Would that I were as much the master of my body as I am of my tongue!”3 And when the tyrant made the torture more and more severe, Zeno still withstood it for a while; and then, being eager to be rid at last of the agony and at the same time to be revenged upon Nearchus, he devised the following plan. 4 During the greatest intensity of the torture, pretending that his spirit was yielding to his bodily pains, he cried out, “Relax it! I will tell the whole truth.” And when they did so, he asked Nearchus to come near and listen to him privately, asserting that many matters he was about to disclose would best be kept secret. 5 When the tyrant came up to him readily and placed his ear close to Zeno's lips, Zeno took the tyrant's ear into his mouth and sank his teeth into it. And when the attendants quickly approached and applied every torment to make Zeno relax his hold, he held on all the tighter. 6 Finally, being unable to shake the fortitude of the man, they stabbed him to death that they might in this way break the hold of his teeth. By this device Zeno got release from the agonies he was suffering and exacted of the tyrant the only punishment within his grasp. [Many generations later Dorieus the Lacedemonian came to Sicily, and taking back the land founded the city of Heracleia. Since the city grew rapidly, the Carthaginians, being jealous of it and also afraid that it would grow stronger than Carthage and take from the Phoenicians their sovereignty, came up against it with a great army, took it by storm, and razed it to the ground. But this affair we shall discuss in detail in connection with the period in which it falls.]

§ 10.19.1  When men make definite pronouncements on certain matters, saying that they can never possibly be brought to pass, their words usually are followed by a kind of retribution which exposes the weakness which is the lot of mankind.

§ 10.19.2  When Megabyzus, who was also called Zopyrus and was a friend of King Darius, had scourged himself and mutilated his countenance, because he had resolved to become a deserter and betray Babylon to the Persians, we are told that Darius was deeply moved and declared that he would rather have Megabyzus whole again, if it were possible, than bring ten Babylons under his power, although his wish could not be achieved.

§ 10.19.3  The Babylonians chose Megabyzus to be their general, being unaware that the benefaction he would render them would be a kind of bait to entice them to the destruction which was soon to follow.

§ 10.19.4  The successful turn of events constitutes a sufficient proof of what has been predicted.

§ 10.19.5  After Darius had made himself master of practically the whole of Asia, he desired to subdue Europe. For since the desires he entertained for further possessions were boundless and he had confidence in the greatness of the power of Persia, he was set upon embracing in his power the inhabited world, thinking it to be a disgraceful thing that the kings before his time, though possessing inferior resources, had reduced in war the greatest nations, whereas he, who had forces greater than any man before him had ever acquired, had accomplished no deed worthy of mention.

§ 10.19.6  When the Tyrrhenians were leaving Lemnos, because of their fear of the Persians, they claimed that they were doing so because of certain oracles, and they gave the island over to Miltiades. The leader of the Tyrrhenians in this affair was Hermon, and as a result presents of this kind have from that time been called “gifts of Hermon.”

§ 10.20.1  Sextus, the son of Lucius Tarquinius (Superbus), the king of the Romans, left and came to the city of Collatia, as it was called, and stopped at the home of Lucius Tarquinius, a cousin of the king, whose wife was Lucretia, a woman of great beauty and virtuous in character. And Lucretia's husband being with the army in camp, the guest, awakening, left his bed-room during the night and set out to the wife who was sleeping in a certain chamber.

§ 10.20.2  And suddenly taking his stand at the door and drawing his sword, he announced that he had a slave all ready for slaughter, and that he would slay her together with the slave, as having been taken in adultery and having received at the hand of her husband's nearest of kin the punishment she deserved. Therefore, he continued, it would be the wiser thing for her to submit to his desires without calling out, and as a reward for her favour she would receive great gifts and be his wife and become queen, exchanging the hearth of a private citizen for the first place in the state.

§ 10.20.3  Lucretia, panic-stricken at so unexpected a thing and fearing that men would in truth believe that she had been slain because of adultery, made no outcry at the time. But when the day came and Sextus departed, she summoned her kinsmen and asked them not to allow the man to go unpunished who had sinned against the laws both of hospitality and of kinship. As for herself, she said, it was not proper for the victim of a deed of such wanton insolence to look upon the sun, and plunging a dagger into her breast she slew herself.

§ 10.21.1  In connection with the violation of Lucretia by Sextus and her suicide because of the wrong done her, we do not believe it would be right to leave no record of the nobility of her choice. For the woman who renounced life of her own will in order that later generations might emulate her deed we should judge to be fittingly worthy of immortal praise, in order that women who choose to maintain the purity of their persons altogether free from censure may compare themselves with an authentic example.

§ 10.21.2  Other women, indeed, even when such an act as this on their part is known, conceal what has been done, as a means of avoiding the punishment which is meted out for guilty acts; but she made known to the world what had been done in secret and then slew herself, leaving in the end of her life her fairest defence.

§ 10.21.3  And whereas other women advance a claim for pardon in matters done against their will, she fixed the penalty of death for the outrage done to her by force, in order that, even if one should wish to defame her, he should not have it in his power to condemn her choice as having been made of her own free will.

§ 10.21.4  For since men by nature prefer slander to praise, she cut the ground from under the accusation men who love to find fault might raise; for she considered it to be shameful that anyone could say that while her husband, to whom she was wedded in accordance with the laws, was still living, she had had relations with another man, contrary to the laws, and shameful also that she who had been involved in an act for which the laws decree the penalty of death upon the guilty should cling to life any longer. And so she chose by a brief anticipation of death, a debt that in any case she owed to nature, to exchange disgrace for the highest approval.

§ 10.21.5  Consequently, not only did she win immortal glory in exchange for mortal life through her own act of virtue, but she also impelled her kinsmen and all the people to exact implacable punishment from those who had committed this lawless act against her.

§ 10.22.1  King Lucius Tarquinius ruled in a tyrannical and violent fashion and made it his practice to slay the wealthy citizens among the Romans, advancing false charges against them in order to appropriate their possessions. Consequently Lucius Junius (Brutus), since he was an orphan and the wealthiest of all the Romans, for both these reasons viewed with mistrust Tarquin's grasping ambition; and because he was the king's nephew and therefore close to him on every occasion, he acted the part of a stupid person, his purpose being both to avoid arousing envy because of any ability of his, and at the same time to observe, without rousing suspicion, whatever was taking place and to watch for the favourable moment to strike at the royal power.

§ 10.23.1  The people of Sybaris who took the field with three hundred thousand men against the inhabitants of Croton and had entered upon an unjust war, were completely unsuccessful; and since they were not shrewd enough to bear their prosperity, they left their own destruction as a sufficient warning example that men should be on their guard far more in times of their own good fortunes than of their afflictions.

§ 10.24.1  Diodorus says with respect to Herodotus, “We have made this digression, not so much out of any desire to criticize Herodotus, as to show by examples that tales of wonder are wont to prevail over tales of truth.”

§ 10.24.2  It is fitting that bravery be honoured, even when it is shown by women.

§ 10.24.3  The Athenians made a clever use of their victory, and after defeating the Boeotians and Chalcidians, they at once after the battle made themselves masters of the city of Chalcis. And as a tenth part of the booty won from the Boeotians they dedicated a bronze chariot on the Acropolis, inscribing upon it the following elegiac lines: Having conquered the tribes of Boeotia and those of Chalcis Midst the labours of war, sons of Athenians quenched Insolence high in dark bonds of iron; and taking the ransom's Tithe set up here these mares, vowed unto Pallas their god.

§ 10.25.1  The Persians learned from the Greeks the burning of sanctuaries, repaying those who had been the first to offend justice with the same wanton act. When the Carians were becoming exhausted in their struggles with the Persians, they made inquiry respecting an alliance, whether they should take the Milesians to be their allies. And the oracle replied: Of old Miletus' sons were mighty men. 3 But the terror which lay close at hand caused them to forget their former rivalry with one another and compelled them to man the triremes with all speed. 4 Hecataeus, the Milesian, whom the Ionians dispatched as an ambassador, asked what cause Artaphernes had to put no faith in them. And when Artaphernes replied that he was afraid that they would harbour resentment because of the injuries they had received during their defeat, Hecataeus said, “Well then, if suffering ill treatment has the effect of creating bad faith, receiving kind treatment will surely cause our cities to be well disposed toward the Persians.” And Artaphernes, approving the statement, restored to the cities their laws and laid upon them fixed tributes according to their ability to pay.

§ 10.26.1  The hatred which those who possessed citizenship held for the commons, though it had been concealed up to this time, now burst forth in full force, when it found the occasion. And because of their jealous rivalry they freed the slaves, preferring rather to share freedom with their servants than citizenship with the free.

§ 10.27.1  Datis, the general of the Persians and a Mede by descent, having received from his ancestors the tradition that the Athenians were descendants of Medus, who had established the kingdom of Media, sent a message to the Athenians declaring that he was come with an army to demand the return of the sovereignty which had belonged to his ancestors; for Medus, he said, who was the oldest of his own ancestors, had been deprived of the kingship by the Athenians, and removing to Asia had founded the kingdom of Media.

§ 10.27.2  Consequently, he went on to say, if they would return the kingdom to him, he would forgive them for this guilty act and for the campaign they had made against Sardis; but if they opposed his demand, they would suffer a worse fate than had the Eretrians.

§ 10.27.3  Miltiades, voicing the decision reached by the ten generals, replied that according to the statement of the envoys it was more appropriate for the Athenians to hold the mastery over the empire of the Medes than for Datis to hold it over the state of the Athenians; for it was a man of Athens who had established the kingdom of the Medes, whereas no man of Median race had ever controlled Athens. Datis, on hearing this reply, made ready for battle.

§ 10.28.1  Hippocrates, the tyrant of Gela, after his victory over the Syracusans, pitched his camp in the sanctuary of Zeus. And he seized the person of the priest and certain Syracusans who were in the act of taking down the golden dedications and removing in particular the robe of the statue of Zeus in the making of which a large amount of gold had been used.

§ 10.28.2  And after sternly rebuking them as temple-robbers, he ordered them to return to the city, but he himself did not touch the dedications, since he was intent upon gaining a good name and he thought not only that one who had commenced a war of such magnitude should commit no sin against the deity, but also that he would set the commons at variance with the administrators of the affairs of Syracuse, because men would think the latter were ruling the state to their own advantage and not to that of all the people nor on the principle of equality.

§ 10.28.3  Theron of Acragas in birth and wealth, as well as in the humanity he displayed towards the commons, far surpassed not only his fellow citizens but also the other Sicilian Greeks.

§ 10.29.1  Gelon of Syracuse cried out in his sleep, for he was dreaming that he had been struck by lightning, and his dog, when he noticed that he was crying out immoderately, did not stop barking until he awakened him. Gelon was also once saved from death by a wolf. As a boy he was seated in a school and a wolf came and snatched away the tablet he was using. And while he was chasing after the wolf itself and his tablet too, the school was shaken by an earthquake and crashed down from its very foundations, killing every one of the boys together with the teacher. Historians, like Timaeus, Dionysius, Diodorus, and also Dio, celebrate the number of the boys, which amounted to more than one hundred. The precise number I do not know.

§ 10.30.1  Cimon, the son of Miltiades, when his father had died in the state prison because he was unable to pay in full the fine, in order that he might receive his father's body for burial, delivered himself up to prison and assumed the debt.

§ 10.30.2  Cimon, who was ambitious to take part in the conduct of the state, at a later time became an able general and performed glorious deeds by virtue of his personal bravery.

§ 10.31.1  Cimon, as certain writers say, was the son of Miltiades, but according to others his father was known as Stesagoras. And he had a son Callias by Isodice. And this Cimon was married to his own sister Elpinice as Ptolemy was at a later time to Berenice, and Zeus to Hera before them, and as the Persians do at the present time. And Callias pays a fine of fifty talents, in order that his father Cimon may not suffer punishment because of his disgraceful marriage, that, namely, of brother with sister. The number of those who write about this it would be a long task for me to recount; for the multitude of those who have written about it is boundless, such as the comic poets and orators and Diodorus and others.

§ 10.32.1  Themistocles, the son of Neocles, when a certain wealthy person approached him to find out where he could find a wealthy son-in-law, advised him not to seek for money which lacked a man, but rather a man who was lacking in money. And when the inquirer agreed with this advice, Themistocles counselled him to marry his daughter to Cimon. This was the reason, therefore, for Cimon becoming a wealthy man, and he was released from prison, and calling to account the magistrates who had shut him up he secured their condemnation. [The preceding Book, which is the tenth of our narrative, closed with the events of the year just before the crossing of Xerxes into Europe and the formal deliberations which the general assembly of the Greeks held in Corinth on the alliance between Gelon and the Greeks.]

§ 10.33.1  When all the Greeks, at the time Xerxes was about to cross over into Europe, dispatched an embassy to Gelon to discuss an alliance, and when he answered that he would ally himself with them and supply them with grain, provided that they would grant him the supreme command either on the land or on the sea, the tyrant's ambition for glory in his demanding the supreme command thwarted the alliance; and yet the magnitude of the aid he could supply and the fear of the enemy were impelling them to share the glory with Gelon.

§ 10.34.1  For though the supremacy which the Persians enjoy entails, for the satisfaction of cupidity, the gifts they require, yet a tyrant's greed does not overlook even any small gain.

§ 10.34.2  For the surest guardian of safety is mistrust.

§ 10.34.3  Now children, when they are being ill treated, turn for aid to their parents, but states turn to the peoples who once founded them.

§ 10.34.4  A tyrant's greed does not rest satisfied with what he possesses, but it yearns after the property of others and is never sated.

§ 10.34.5  As for those whose character will oppose his domination, he will not, when the opportunity offers, allow them to become powerful.

§ 10.34.6  For you are descendants of those men who have bequeathed to glory their own virtues, deathless after their death.

§ 10.34.7  For as the reward for the alliance it is not money he requires, which one can often see despised by even the lowest man in private life when he has once gained wealth, but praise and glory, to gain which noble men do not hesitate to die; for the reward which glory offers is to be preferred above silver.

§ 10.34.8  For the inheritance which the Spartans receive from their fathers is not wealth, as is the case with all other men, but an eagerness to die for the sake of liberty, so that they set all the good things which life can offer second to glory.

§ 10.34.9  Let us not in our eagerness for mercenary troops throw away our own citizen forces, and, in reaching for what is unseen, lose our mastery of that which is in sight.

§ 10.34.10  I deny that I am dismayed at the magnitude of the Persians' armaments; for valour decides the issue of war, not numbers.

§ 10.34.11  For the inheritance they have received from their fathers is to live their own lives, and to die in response to their country's need. 12 Why should we fear the gold with which they deck themselves out as they go into battle, as women deck themselves for marriage, since as a result victory will bring us the prize not only of glory, but of wealth? For valour fears not gold, which cold steel has ever taken captive, but the military skill of the leaders. 13 For every army which exceeds the proper proportion carries in itself its undoing in almost every case. For before the serried ranks have heard the command we shall have anticipated them in obtaining our objectives. #Uncertain [And last of all, many generations later, the people of the Siceli crossed over in a body from Italy into Sicily and made their home in the land which had been abandoned by the Sicani. And since the Siceli steadily grew more avaricious and kept ravaging the land which bordered on theirs, frequent wars arose between them and the Sicani, until at last they struck covenants and set up boundaries of their territory, upon which they had agreed. With regard to these matters we shall give a detailed account in connection with the appropriate period of time.]

§ 0.1.1  Unplaced Fragments: Diodorus, however, recognizes a distinction between them, when he speaks of Sicani and Siceli.

§ 0.1.2  Diodorus, when he speaks somewhere in the first ten Books about both Siceli and Sicani, recognizes a distinction, as I have already said, between Sicelus and Sicanus.

§ 0.2.1  Diodorus of Sicily and Oppian state that this city of Neapolis was founded by Heracles.

§ 0.3.1  And the Palladium of Athena was like this we have mentioned, three cubits tall, made of wood, having fallen from heaven, men say, in Pesinous in Phrygia, and Diodorus and Dio say that the region received its name from this event. 1 And Diodorus records that a certain peak of the Alps, which has the appearance of being the highest part of the entire range, is called by the natives the “Ridge of Heaven.”

§ 11.1.1  The preceding Book, which is the tenth of our narrative, closed with the events of the year just before the crossing of Xerxes into Europe and the formal deliberations which the general assembly of the Greeks held in Corinth on the alliance between Gelon and the Greeks; and in this Book we shall supply the further course of the history, beginning with the campaign of Xerxes against the Greeks, and we shall stop with the year which precedes the campaign of the Athenians against Cyprus under the leadership of Cimon.

§ 11.1.2  Calliades was archon in Athens, and the Romans made Spurius Cassius and Proculus Verginius Tricostus consuls, and the Eleians celebrated the Seventy-fifth Olympiad, that in which Astylus of Syracuse won the “stadion.” It was in this year that king Xerxes made his campaign against Greece, for the following reason.

§ 11.1.3  Mardonius the Persian was a cousin of Xerxes and related to him by marriage, and he was also greatly admired by the Persians because of his sagacity and courage. This man, being elated by pride and at the height of his physical vigour, was eager to be the leader of great armaments; consequently he persuaded Xerxes to enslave the Greeks, who had ever been enemies of the Persians.

§ 11.1.4  And Xerxes, being won over by him and desiring to drive all the Greeks from their homes, sent an embassy to the Carthaginians to urge them to join him in the undertaking and closed an agreement with them, to the effect that he would wage war upon the Greeks who lived in Greece, while the Carthaginians should at the same time gather great armaments and subdue those Greeks who lived in Sicily and Italy.

§ 11.1.5  In accordance, then, with their agreements, the Carthaginians, collecting a great amount of money, gathered mercenaries from both Italy and Liguria and also from Galatia and Iberia; and in addition to these troops they enrolled men of their own race from the whole of Libya and of Carthage; and in the end, after spending three years in constant preparation, they assembled more than three hundred thousand foot-soldiers and two hundred war vessels.

§ 11.2.1  Xerxes, vying with the zeal displayed by the Carthaginians, surpassed them in all his preparations to the degree that he excelled the Carthaginians in the multitude of peoples at his command. And he began to have ships built throughout all the territory along the sea that was subject to him, both Egypt and Phoenicia and Cyprus, Cilicia and Pamphylia and Pisidia, and also Lycia, Caria, Mysia, the Troad, and the cities on the Hellespont, and Bithynia, and Pontus.

§ 11.2.2  Spending a period of three years, as did the Carthaginians, on his preparations, he made ready more than twelve hundred warships. 2 He was aided in this by his father Darius, who before his death had made preparations of great armaments; for Darius, after Datis, his general, had been defeated by the Athenians at Marathon, had continued to be angry with the Athenians for having won that battle. But Darius, when already about to cross over against the Greeks, was stopped in his plans by death, whereupon Xerxes, induced both by the design of his father and by the counsel of Mardonius, as we have stated, made up his mind to wage war upon the Greeks.

§ 11.2.3  Now when all preparations for the campaign had been completed, Xerxes commanded his admirals to assemble the ships at Cyme and Phocaea, and he himself collected the foot and cavalry forces from all the satrapies and advanced from Susa. And when he had arrived at Sardis, he dispatched heralds to Greece, commanding them to go to all the states and to demand of the Greeks water and earth.

§ 11.2.4  Then, dividing his army, he sent in advance a sufficient number of men both to bridge the Hellespont and to dig a canal through Athos at the neck of the peninsula, in this way not only making the passage safe and short for his forces but also hoping by the magnitude of his exploits to strike the Greeks with terror before his arrival. Now the men who had been sent to make ready these works completed them with dispatch, because so many labourers cooperated in the task.

§ 11.2.5  And the Greeks, when they learned of the great size of the Persian armaments, dispatched ten thousand hoplites into Thessaly to seize the passes of Tempe; Synetus commanded the Lacedemonians and Themistocles the Athenians. These commanders dispatched ambassadors to the states and asked them to send soldiers to join in the common defence of the passes; for they eagerly desired that all the Greek states should each have a share in the defence and make common cause in the war against the Persians.

§ 11.2.6  But since the large number of the Thessalians and other Greeks who dwelt near the passes had given the water and earth to the envoys of Xerxes when they arrived, the two generals despaired of the defence at Tempe and returned to their own soil.

§ 11.3.1  And now it will be useful to distinguish those Greeks who chose the side of the barbarians, in order that, incurring our censure here, their example may, by the obloquy visited upon them, deter for the future any who may become traitors to the common freedom.

§ 11.3.2  The Aenianians, Dolopians, Melians, Perrhaebians, and Magnetans took the side of the barbarians even while the defending force was still at Tempe, and after its departure the Achaeans of Phthia, Locrians, Thessalians, and the majority of the Boeotians went over to the barbarians.

§ 11.3.3  But the Greeks who were meeting in congress at the Isthmus voted to make the Greeks who voluntarily chose the cause of the Persians pay a tithe to the gods, when they should be successful in the war, and to send ambassadors to those Greeks who were neutral to urge them to join in the struggle for the common freedom.

§ 11.3.4  Of the latter, some joined the alliance without reservation, while others postponed any decision for a considerable time, clinging to their own safety alone and anxiously waiting for the outcome of the war; the Argives, however, sending ambassadors to the common congress, promised to join the alliance if the congress would give them a share in the command.

§ 11.3.5  To them the representatives declared plainly that, if they thought it a more terrible thing to have a Greek as general than a barbarian as master, they would do well to remain neutral, but if they were ambitious to secure the leadership of the Greeks, they should, it was stated, first have accomplished deeds deserving of this leadership and then strive for such an honour. After these events, when the ambassadors sent by Xerxes came to Greece and demanded both earth and water, all the states manifested in their replies the zeal they felt for the command freedom.

§ 11.3.6  When Xerxes learned that the Hellespont had been bridged and the canal had been dug through Athos, he left Sardis and made his way toward the Hellespont; and when he had arrived at Abydus, he led his army over the bridge into Europe. And as he advanced through Thrace, he added to his forces many soldiers from both the Thracians and neighbouring Greeks.

§ 11.3.7  When he arrived at the city called Doriscus, he ordered his fleet to come there, and so both arms of his forces were gathered into one place. And he held there also the enumeration of the entire army, and the number of his land forces was over eight hundred thousand men, while the sum total of his ships of war excelled twelve hundred, of which three hundred and twenty were Greek, the Greeks providing the complement of men and the king supplying the vessels. All the remaining ships were listed as barbarian; and of these the Egyptians supplied two hundred, the Phoenicians three hundred, the Cilicians eighty, the Pamphylians forty, the Lycians the same number, also the Carians eighty, and the Cyprians one hundred and fifty.

§ 11.3.8  Of the Greeks the Dorians who dwelt off Caria, together with the Rhodians and Coans, sent forty ships, the Ionians, together with the Chians and Samians, one hundred, the Aeolians, together with the Lesbians and Tenedans, forty, the peoples of the region of the Hellespont, together with those who dwelt along the shores of the Pontus, eighty, and the inhabitants of the islands fifty; for the king had won over to his side the islands lying within the Cyanean Rocks and Triopium and Sunium.

§ 11.3.9  Triremes made up the multitude we have listed, and the transports for the cavalry numbered eight hundred and fifty, and the triaconters three thousand. Xerxes, then, was busied with the enumeration of the armaments at Doriscus.

§ 11.4.1  The Greeks who were in assembly, when word came to them that the Persian forces were near, took action to dispatch the ships of war with all speed to Artemisium in Euboea, recognizing that this place was well suited for meeting the enemy, and a considerable body of hoplites to Thermopylae to forestall them in occupying the passes at the narrowest part of the defile and to prevent the barbarians from advancing against Greece; for they were eager to throw their protection inside of Thermopylae about those who had chosen the cause of the Greeks and to do everything in their power to save the allies.

§ 11.4.2  The leader of the entire expedition was Eurybiades the Lacedemonian, and of the troops sent to Thermopylae the commander was Leonidas the king of the Spartans, a man who set great store by his courage and generalship. Leonidas, when he received the appointment, announced that only one thousand men should follow him on the campaign.

§ 11.4.3  And when the ephors said that he was leading altogether too few soldiers against a great force and ordered him to take along a larger number, he replied to them in secret, “For preventing the barbarians from getting through the passes they are few, but for the task to which they are now bound they are many.”

§ 11.4.4  Since this reply proved riddle-like and obscure, he was asked again whether he believed he was leading the soldiers to some paltry task. Whereupon he replied, “Ostensibly I am leading them to the defence of the passes, but in fact to die for the freedom of all; and so, if a thousand set forth, Sparta will be the more renowned when they have died, but if the whole body of the Lacedemonians take the field, Lacedemon will be utterly destroyed, for not a man of them, in order to save his life, will dare to turn in flight.”

§ 11.4.5  There were, then, of the Lacedemonians one thousand, and with them three hundred Spartiates, while the rest of the Greeks who were dispatched with them to Thermopylae were three thousand.

§ 11.4.6  Leonidas, then, with four thousand soldiers advanced to Thermopylae. The Locrians, however, who dwelt in the neighbourhood of the passes had already given earth and water to the Persians, and had promised that they would seize the passes in advance; but when they learned that Leonidas had arrived at Thermopylae, they changed their minds and went over to the Greeks.

§ 11.4.7  And there gathered at Thermopylae also a thousand Locrians, an equal number of Melians, and almost a thousand Phocians, as well as some four hundred Thebans of the other party; for the inhabitants of Thebes were divided against each other with respect to the alliance with the Persians. Now the Greeks who were drawn up with Leonidas for battle, being as many in number as we have set forth, tarried in Thermopylae, awaiting the arrival of the Persians.

§ 11.5.1  Xerxes, after having enumerated his armaments, pushed on with the entire army, and the whole fleet accompanied the land forces in their advance as far as the city of Acanthus, and from there the ships passed through the place where the canal had been cut into the other sea expeditiously and without loss.

§ 11.5.2  But when Xerxes arrived at the Gulf of Melis, he learned that the enemy had already seized the passes. Consequently, having joined to his forces the armament there, he summoned his allies from Europe, a little less than two hundred thousand men; so that he now possessed in all not less than one million soldiers exclusive of the naval contingent.

§ 11.5.3  And the sum total of the masses who served on the ships of war and who transported the food and general equipment was not less than that of those we have mentioned, so that the account usually given of the multitude of the men gathered together by Xerxes need cause no amazement; for men say that the unfailing rivers ran dray because of the unending stream of the multitude, and that the seas were hidden by the sails of the ships. However this may be, the greatest forces of which any historical record has been left were those which accompanied Xerxes.

§ 11.5.4  After the Persians had encamped on the Spercheius River, Xerxes dispatched envoys to Thermopylae to discover, among other things, how the Greeks felt about the war with him; and he commanded them to make this proclamation: “King Xerxes orders all to give up their arms, to depart unharmed to their native lands, and to be allies of the Persian; and to all Greeks who do this he will give more and better lands than they now possess.”

§ 11.5.5  But when Leonidas heard the commands of the envoys, he replied to them: “If we should be allies of the king we should be more useful if we kept our arms, and if we should have to wage war against him, we should fight the better for our freedom if we kept them; and as for the lands which he promises to give, the Greeks have learned from their fathers to gain lands, not by cowardice, but by valour.”

§ 11.6.1  The king, on hearing from his envoys the replies of the Greeks, sent for Demaratus, a Spartan who had been exiled from his native land and taken refuge with him, and with a scoff at the replies he asked the Laconian, “Will the Greeks flee more swiftly than my horses can run, or will they dare to face such armaments in battle?”

§ 11.6.2  And Demaratus, we are told, replied, “You yourself are not unacquainted with the courage of the Greeks, since you use Greek forces to quell such barbarians as revolt. So do not think that those who fight better than the Persians to maintain your sovereignty, will risk their lives less bravely against the Persians to maintain their own freedom.” But Xerxes with a scoff at him ordered Demaratus to stay by his side in order that he might witness the Lacedemonians in flight.

§ 11.6.3  Xerxes with his army came against the Greeks at Thermopylae. And he put the Medes in front of all the other peoples, either because he preferred them by reason of their courage or because he wished to destroy them in a body; for the Medes still retained a proud spirit, the supremacy which their ancestors had exercised having only recently been overthrown.

§ 11.6.4  And he also designated together with the Medes the brothers and sons of those who had fallen at Marathon, believing that they would wreak vengeance upon the Greeks with the greatest fury. The Medes, then, having been drawn up for battle in the manner we have described, attacked the defenders of Thermopylae; but Leonidas had made careful preparation and massed the Greeks in the narrowest part of the pass.

§ 11.7.1  The fight which followed was a fierce one, and since the barbarians had the king as a witness of their valour and the Greeks kept in mind their liberty and were exhorted to the fray by Leonidas, it followed that the struggle was amazing.

§ 11.7.2  For since the men stood shoulder to shoulder in the fighting and the blows were struck in close combat, and the lines were densely packed, for a considerable time the battle was equally balanced. But since the Greeks were superior in valour and in the great size of their shields, the Medes gradually gave way; for many of them were slain and not a few wounded. The place of the Medes in the battle was taken by Cissians and Sacae, selected for their valour, who had been stationed to support them; and joining the struggle fresh as they were against men who were worn out they withstood the hazard of combat for a short while, be as they were slain and pressed upon by the soldiers of Leonidas, they gave way.

§ 11.7.3  For the barbarians used small round or irregularly shaped shields, by which they enjoyed an advantage in open fields, since they were thus enabled to move more easily, but in narrow places they could not easily inflict wounds upon an enemy who were formed in close ranks and had their entire bodies protected by large shields, whereas they, being at a disadvantage by reason of the lightness of their protective armour, received repeated wounds.

§ 11.7.4  At last Xerxes, seeing that the entire area about the passes was strewn with dead bodies and that the barbarians were not holding out against the valour of the Greeks, sent forward the picked Persians known as the “Immortals,” who were reputed to be pre-eminent among the entire host for their deeds of courage. But when these also fled after only a brief resistance, then at last, as night fell, they ceased from battle, the barbarians having lost many dead and the Greeks a small number.

§ 11.8.1  On the following day Xerxes, now that the battle had turned out contrary to his expectation, choosing from all the peoples of his army such men as were reputed to be of outstanding bravery and daring, after an earnest exhortation announced before the battle that if they should storm the approach he would give them notable gifts, but if they fled the punishment would be death.

§ 11.8.2  These men hurled themselves upon the Greeks as one mighty mass and with great violence, but the soldiers of Leonidas closed their ranks at this time, and making their formation like a wall took up the struggle with ardour. And so far did they go in their eagerness that the lines which were wont to join in the battle by turns would not withdraw, but by their unintermitted endurance of the hardship they got the better and slew many of the picked barbarians.

§ 11.8.3  The day long they spent in conflict, vying with one another; for the older soldiers challenged the fresh vigour of the youth, and the younger matched themselves against the experience and fame of their elders. And when finally even the picked barbarians turned in flight, the barbarians who were stationed in reserve blocked the way and would not permit the picked soldiers to flee; consequently they were compelled to turn back and renew the battle.

§ 11.8.4  While the king was in a state of dismay, believing that no man would have the courage to go into battle again, there came to him a certain Trachinian, a native of the region, who was familiar with the mountainous area. This man was brought into the presence of Xerxes and undertook to conduct the Persians by way of a narrow and precipitous path, so that the men who accompanied would get behind the forces of Leonidas, which, being surrounded in this manner, would be easily annihilated.

§ 11.8.5  The king was delighted, and heaping presents upon the Trachinian he dispatched twenty thousand soldiers with him under cover of night. But a certain man among the Persians named Tyrrhastiadas, a Cymaean by birth, who was honourable and upright in his ways, deserting from the camp of the Persians in the night came to Leonidas, who knew nothing of the act of the Trachinian, and informed him.

§ 11.9.1  The Greeks, on hearing of this, gathered together about the middle of the night and conferred about the perils which were bearing down on them. And although some declared that they should relinquish the pass at once and make their way in safety to the allies, stating that any who remained in the place could not possibly come off with their lives, Leonidas, the king of the Lacedemonians, being eagerly desirous to win both for himself and for the Spartans a garland of great glory, gave orders that the rest of the Greeks should all depart and win safety for themselves, in order that they might fight together with the Greeks in the battles which still remained; but as for the Lacedemonians, he said, they must remain and not abandon the defence of the pass, for it was fitting that those who were the leaders of Hellas should gladly die striving for the meed of honour.

§ 11.9.2  Immediately, then, all the rest departed, but Leonidas together with his fellow citizens performed heroic and astounding deeds; and although the Lacedemonians were but few (he detained only the Thespiaeans) and he had all told not more than five hundred men, he was ready to meet death on behalf of Hellas.

§ 11.9.3  After this the Persians who were led by the Trachinian, after making their way around the difficult terrain, suddenly caught Leonidas between their forces, and the Greeks, giving up any thought of their own safety and choosing renown instead, with one voice asked their commander to lead them against the enemy before the Persians should learn that their men had made their way around them.

§ 11.9.4  And Leonidas, welcoming the eagerness of his soldiers, ordered them to prepare their breakfast quickly, since they would dine in Hades, and he himself, in accordance with the order he had given, took food, believing that by so doing he could keep his strength for a long time and endure the strain of contest. When they had hastily refreshed themselves and all were ready, he ordered the soldiers to attack the camp, slaying any who came in their way, and to strike for the very pavilion of the king.

§ 11.10.1  The soldiers, then, in accordance with the orders given them, forming in a compact body fell by night upon the encampment of the Persians, Leonidas leading the attack; and the barbarians, because of the unexpectedness of the attack and their ignorance of the reason for it, ran together from their tents with great tumult and in disorder, and thinking that the soldiers who had set out with the Trachinian had perished and that the entire force of the Greeks was upon them, they were struck with terror.

§ 11.10.2  Consequently many of them were slain by the troops of Leonidas, and even more perished at the hands of their comrades, who in their ignorance took them for enemies. For the night prevented any understanding of the true state of affairs, and the confusion, extending as it did throughout the entire encampment, occasioned, we may well believe, great slaughter; since they kept killing one another, the conditions not allowing of a close scrutiny, because there was no order from a general nor any demanding of a password nor, in general, any recovery of reason.

§ 11.10.3  Indeed, if the king had remained at the royal pavilion, he also could easily have been slain by the Greeks and the whole war would have reached a speedy conclusion; but as it was, Xerxes had rushed out to the tumult, and the Greeks broke into the pavilion and slew almost to a man all whom they caught there.

§ 11.10.4  So long as it was night they wandered throughout the entire camp seeking Xerxes — a reasonable action; but when the day dawned and the entire state of affairs was made manifest, the Persians observing that the Greeks were few in number, viewed them with contempt; the Persians did not, however, join battle with them face to face, fearing their valour, but they formed on their flanks and rear, and shooting arrows and hurling javelins at them from every direction they slew them to a man. Now as for the soldiers of Leonidas who guarded the passes of Thermopylae, such was the end of life they met.

§ 11.11.1  The merits of these men, who would not regard them with wonder? They with one accord did not desert the post to which Greece had assigned them, but gladly offered upon their own lives for the common salvation of all Greeks, and preferred to die bravely rather than to live shamefully.

§ 11.11.2  The consternation of the Persians also, no one could doubt that they felt it. For what man among the barbarians could have conceived of that which had taken place? Who could have expected that a band of only five hundred ever had the daring to charge against the human myriads? Consequently what man of later times might not emulate the valour of those warriors who, finding themselves in the grip of an overwhelming situation, though their bodies were subdued, were not conquered in spirit? These men, therefore, alone of all of whom history records, have in defeat been accorded a greater fame than all others who have won the fairest victories. For judgement must be passed upon brave men, not by the outcome of their actions, but by their purpose;

§ 11.11.3  in the one case Fortune is mistress, in the other it is the purpose which wins approval. What man would judge any to be braver than were those Spartans who, though not equal in number to even the thousandth part of the enemy, dared to match their valour against the unbelievable multitudes? Nor had they any hope of overcoming so many myriads, but they believed that in bravery they would surpass all men of former times, and they decided that, although the battle they had to fight was against the barbarians, yet the real contest and the award of valour they were seeking was in competition with all who had ever won admiration for their campaign.

§ 11.11.4  Indeed they alone of those of whom we have knowledge from time immemorial chose rather to preserve the laws of their state than their own lives, not feeling aggrieved that the greatest perils threatened them, but concluding that the greatest boon for which those who practise valour should pray is the opportunity to play a part in contests of this kind.

§ 11.11.5  And one would be justified in believing that it was these men who were more responsible for the common freedom of the Greeks than those who were victorious at a later time in the battles against Xerxes; for when the deeds of these men were called to mind, the Persians were dismayed whereas the Greeks were incited to perform similar courageous exploits.

§ 11.11.6  And, speaking in general terms, these men alone of the Greeks down to their time passed into immortality because of their exceptional valour. Consequently not only the writers of history but also many of our poets have celebrated their brave exploits; and one of them is Simonides, the lyric poet, who composed the following encomium in their praise, worthy of their valour: Of those who perished at Thermopylae All glorious is the fortune, fair the doom; Their grave's an altar, ceaseless memory's theirs Instead of lamentation, and their fate Is chant of praise. Such winding-sheet as this Nor mould nor all-consuming time shall waste. This sepulchre of valiant men has taken The fair renown of Hellas for its inmate. And witness is Leonidas, once king Of Sparta, who hath left behind a crown Of valour mighty and undying fame.

§ 11.12.1  Now that we have spoken at sufficient length of the valour of these men we shall resume the course of our narrative. Xerxes, now that he had gained the passes in the manner we have described and had won, as the proverb runs, a “Cadmeian victory” — had destroyed only a few of the enemy, while he had lost great numbers of his own troops. And after he had become master of the passes by means of his land forces, he resolved to make trial of contest at sea.

§ 11.12.2  At once, therefore, summoning the commander of the fleet, Megabates, he ordered him to sail against the naval force of the Greeks and to make trial, with all his fleet, of a sea-battle against them.

§ 11.12.3  And Megabates, in accordance with the king's orders, set out from Pydne in Macedonia with all the fleet and put in at a promontory of Magnesia which bears the name of Sepias. At this place a great wind arose and he lost more than three hundred warships and great numbers of cavalry transports and other vessels. And when the wind ceased, he weighed anchor and put in at Aphetae in Magnesia. From here he dispatched two hundred triremes, ordering the commanders to take a roundabout course and, by keeping Euboea on the right, to encircle the enemy.

§ 11.12.4  The Greeks were stationed at Artemisium in Euboea and had in all two hundred and eighty triremes; of these ships one hundred and forty were Athenian and the remainder were furnished by the rest of the Greeks. Their admiral was Eurybiades the Spartan, and Themistocles the Athenian supervised the affairs of the fleet; for the latter, by reason of his sagacity and skill as a general, enjoyed great favour not only with the Greeks throughout the fleet but also with Eurybiades himself, and all men looked to him and harkened to him eagerly.

§ 11.12.5  And when a meeting of the commanders of the ships was held to discuss the engagement, the rest of them all favoured waiting to receive the advance of the enemy; but Themistocles alone expressed the opposite opinion, showing them that it was to their advantage to sail against the enemy with the whole fleet in one array; for in this way, he declared, they would have the upper hand, attacking as they would with their ships in a single body an enemy whose formation was broken by disorder, as it must be, for they would be issuing out of many harbours at some distance apart. In the end the Greeks followed the opinion of meantime and sailed against the enemy with the entire fleet.

§ 11.12.6  And since the barbarians put out from many harbours, at the outset Themistocles, engaging with the scattered Persians, sank many ships and not a few he forced to turn in flight and pursued as far as the land; but later, when the whole fleet had gathered and a fierce battle ensued, each side gained the superiority in one part of the line but neither won a complete victory, and at nightfall the engagement was broken off.

§ 11.13.1  After the battle a great storm arose and destroyed many ships which were anchored outside the harbour, so that it appeared as if Providence were taking the part of the Greeks in order that, the multitude of the barbarians' ships having been lessened, the Greek force might become a match for them and strong enough to offer battle. As a result the Greeks grew ever more bold, whereas the barbarians became ever more timorous before the conflicts which faced them. Nevertheless, recovering themselves after the shipwreck, they put out with all their ships against the enemy.

§ 11.13.2  And the Greeks, with fifty Attic triremes added to their number, took position opposed to the barbarians. The sea-battle which followed was much like the fighting at Thermopylae; for the Persians were resolved to overwhelm the Greeks and force their way through the Euripus, while the Greeks, blocking the narrows, were fighting to preserve their allies in Euboea. A fierce battle ensued and many ships were lost on both sides, and nightfall compelled them to return to their respective harbours. The prize of valour, we are told, in both battles was accorded to the Athenians for the Greeks and to the Sidonians for the barbarians.

§ 11.13.3  After this the Greeks, on hearing of the course events had taken at Thermopylae and discovering that the Persians were advancing by land against Athens, became dispirited; consequently they sailed off to Salamis and awaited events there.

§ 11.13.4  The Athenians, surveying the dangers threatening each and every inhabitant of Athens, put on boats their children and wives and every useful article they could and brought them to Salamis.

§ 11.13.5  And the Persian admiral, no learning that the enemy had withdrawn, set sail for Euboea with his entire fleet, and taking the city of the Histiaeans by storm he plundered and ravaged their territory.

§ 11.14.1  While these events were taking place, Xerxes set out from Thermopylae and advanced through the territory of the Phocians, sacking the cities and destroying all property in the countryside. Now the Phocians had chosen the cause of the Greeks, but seeing that they were unable to offer resistance, the whole populace deserted all are cities and fled for safety to the rugged regions about Mount Parnassus.

§ 11.14.2  Then the king passed through the territory of the Dorians, doing it no harm since they were allies of the Persians. Here he left behind a portion of his army and ordered it to proceed to Delphi, to burn the precinct of Apollo and to carry off the votive offerings, while he advanced into Boeotia with the rest of the barbarians and encamped there.

§ 11.14.3  The force that had been dispatched to sack the oracle had proceeded as far as the temple of Athena Pronaea, but at that spot a great thunderstorm, accompanied by incessant lightning, suddenly burst from the heavens, and more than that, the storm wrenched loose huge rocks and hurled them into the host of the barbarians; the result was that large numbers of the Persians were killed and the whole force, dismayed at the intervention of the gods, fled from the region.

§ 11.14.4  So the oracle of Delphi, with the aid of some divine Providence, escaped pillage. And the Delphians, desiring to leave to succeeding generations a deathless memorial of the appearance of the gods among men, set up beside the sanctuary of Athena Pronaea a trophy on which they inscribed the following elegiac lines: To serve as a memorial to war, The warder-off of men, and as a witness To victory the Delphians set me up, Rendering thanks to Zeus and Phoebus who Thrust back the city-sacking ranks of Medes And threw their guard about the bronze-crowned precinct.

§ 11.14.5  Meanwhile Xerxes, as he passed through Boeotia, laid waste the territory of the Thespiaeans and burned Plataea which was without habitants; for the residents of these two cities had fled in a body to the Peloponnesus. After this he entered Attica and ravaged the countryside, and then he razed Athens to the ground and sent up in flames the temples of the gods. And while the king was concerned with these affairs, his fleet sailed from Euboea to Attica, having sacked on the way both Euboea and the coast of Attica.

§ 11.15.1  During this time the Cercyraeans, who had fitted out sixty triremes, were waiting off the Peloponnesus, being unable, as they themselves allege, to round the promontory at Malea, but, as certain historians tell us, anxiously awaiting the turn of the war, in order that, if the Persians prevailed, they might then give them water and earth, while if the Greeks were victorious, they would get the credit of having come to their aid.

§ 11.15.2  But the Athenians who were waiting in Salamis, when they saw Attica being laid waste with fire and heard that the sacred precinct of Athena had been razed, were exceedingly disheartened. And likewise great fear gripped the other Greeks who, driven from every quarter, were now cooped up in the Peloponnesus alone. Consequently they thought it desirable that all who had been charged with command should meet in council and deliberate regarding the kind of place that would best serve their purpose in fighting a naval battle.

§ 11.15.3  Many ideas of various kinds were expressed. The Peloponnesians, thinking only of their own safety, declared that the contest should be held at the Isthmus; for it had been strongly fortified with a wall, and so, if they should suffer any reverse in the battle, the defeated would be able to withdraw for refuge into the most suitable place of safety available, the Peloponnesus, whereas, if they cooped themselves up in the little island of Salamis, perils would beset them from which it would be difficult for them to be rescued.

§ 11.15.4  But Themistocles counselled that the contest of the ships be held at Salamis, for he believed that those who had few ships to fight with would have many advantages, in the narrows of Salamis, against a vastly superior number of vessels. And speaking generally, he showed that the region about the Isthmus would be altogether unsuitable for the sea-battle; for the contest would take place on the open sea, and the Persians because of the room for manoeuvring would easily subdue the small force of ships by their vastly superior numbers. And by presenting in like fashion many other facts pertinent to the occasion he persuaded all present to cast their votes with him for the plan he recommended.

§ 11.16.1  When at last a decision was reached by all to fight the sea-battle at Salamis, the Greeks set about making the preparations necessary to meet the Persians and the peril of battle. Accordingly Eurybiades, accompanied by Themistocles, undertook to encourage the crews and incite them to face the impending struggle. However, the crews would not heed them, but since they were one and all dismayed at the magnitude of the Persian forces, not a man of them paid any attention to his commander, every one being intent upon sailing from Salamis to the Peloponnesus.

§ 11.16.2  And the army of the Greeks on land was no whit less terrified by the armament of the enemy, and not only the loss at Thermopylae of their most illustrious warriors caused them dismay, but also the disasters which were taking place in Attica before their very eyes were filling the Greeks with utter despair.

§ 11.16.3  Meanwhile the members of the congress of the Greeks, observing the unrest of the masses and the dismay prevailing everywhere, voted to build a wall across the Isthmus. The works were completed speedily because of the enthusiasm and the multitude of those engaged in the task; but while the Peloponnesians were strengthening the wall, which extended a distance of forty stades, from Lechaeum to Cenchreae, the forces which were inactive at Salamis, together with the entire fleet, were so terror-stricken that they no longer obeyed the orders of their commanders.

§ 11.17.1  Themistocles, perceiving that the admiral, Eurybiades, was unable to overcome the mood of his forces, and yet recognizing that the narrow quarters at Salamis could be a great aid in accomplishing the victory, contrived the following ruse: He induced a certain man to desert to Xerxes and to assure him that the ships at Salamis were going to slip away from that region and assemble at the Isthmus.

§ 11.17.2  Accordingly the king, believing the man because what he reported was in itself plausible, made haste to prevent the naval forces of the Greeks from making contact with their armies on land. Therefore he at once dispatched the Egyptian fleet with orders to block the strait which separates Salamis from the territory of Megaris. The main body of his ships he dispatched to Salamis, ordering it to establish contact with the enemy and by fighting there decide the issue. The triremes were drawn up by peoples one after another, in order that, speaking the same language and knowing one another, the several contingents might assist each other with alacrity.

§ 11.17.3  When the fleet had been drawn up in this manner, the right wing was held by the Phoenicians and the left by the Greeks who were associated with the Persians. The commanders of Ionian contingents of the Persian fleet sent a man of Samos to the Greeks to inform them of what the king had decided to do and of the disposition of his forces for battle, and to say that in the course of the battle they were going to desert from the barbarians.

§ 11.17.4  And when the Samian had swum across without being observed and had informed Eurybiades about this plan, Themistocles, realizing that his stratagem had worked out as he had planned, was beside himself with joy and exhorted the crews to the fight; and as for the Greeks, they were emboldened by the promise of the Ionians, and although the circumstances were compelling them to fight against their own preference, they came down eagerly in a body from Salamis to the shore in preparation for the sea-battle.

§ 11.18.1  When at last Eurybiades and Themistocles had completed the disposition of their forces, the left wing was held by the Athenians and Lacedemonians, who in this way would be opposed to the ships of the Phoenicians; for the Phoenicians possessed a distinct superiority by reason of both of their great number and of the experience in seamanship which they inherited from their ancestors.

§ 11.18.2  The Aeginetans and Megarians formed the right wing, since they were generally considered to be the best seamen after the Athenians and it was believed that they would show the best spirit, seeing that they alone of the Greeks would have no place of refuge in case any reverse should occur in the course of the battle. The centre was held by the rest of the Greek forces. This, then, was the battle-order in which the Greeks sailed out, and they occupied the strait between Salamis and the Heracleium;

§ 11.18.3  and the king gave order to his admiral to advance against the enemy, while he himself moved down the coast to a spot directly opposite Salamis from which he could watch the course of the battle.

§ 11.18.4  The Persians, as they advanced, could at the outset maintain their line, since they had plenty of space; but when they came to the narrow passage, they were compelled to withdraw some ships from the line, creating in this way much disorder.

§ 11.18.5  The admiral, who was leading the way before the line and was the first to begin the fighting, was slain after having acquitted himself valiantly. When his ship went down, disorder seized the barbarian fleet, for there were many now to give orders, but each man did not issue the same commands. Consequently they halted the advance, and holding back their ships, they began to withdraw to where there was plenty of room.

§ 11.18.6  The Athenians, observing the disorder among the barbarians, now advanced upon the enemy, and some of their ships they struck with their rams, while from others they sheared off the rows of oars; and when the men at the oars could no longer do their work, many Persian triremes, getting sidewise to the enemy, were time and again severely damaged by the beaks of the ships. Consequently they ceased merely backing water, but turned about and fled precipitately.

§ 11.19.1  While the Phoenician and Cyprian ships were being mastered by the Athenians, the vessels of the Cilicians and Pamphylians, and also of the Lycians, which followed them in line, at first were holding out stoutly, but when they saw the strongest ships taking to flight they likewise abandoned the flight.

§ 11.19.2  On the other wing the battle was stubbornly fought and for some time the struggle was evenly balanced; but when the Athenians had pursued the Phoenicians and Cyprians to the shore and then turned back, the barbarians, being forced out of line by the returning Athenians, turned about and lost many of their ships.

§ 11.19.3  In this manner, then, the Greeks gained the upper hand and won a most renowned naval victory over the barbarians; and in the struggle forty ships were lost by the Greeks, but more than two hundred by the Persians, not including those which were captured together with their crews.

§ 11.19.4  The king, for whom the defeat was unexpected, put to death those Phoenicians who were chiefly responsible for beginning the flight, and threatened to visit upon the rest the punishment they deserved. And the Phoenicians, frightened by his threats, first put into port on the coast of Attica, and then, when night fell, set sail for Asia.

§ 11.19.5  But Themistocles, who was credited for having brought about the victory, devised another stratagem no less clever than the one we have described. For, since the Greeks were afraid to battle on land against so many myriads of Persians, he greatly reduced the number of the Persian troops in the following manner: he sent to Xerxes the attendant of his own sons to inform him that the Greeks were about to sail to the bridge of boats and to destroy it.

§ 11.19.6  Accordingly the king, believing the report because it was plausible, became fearful lest he should be cut off from the route whatever he could get back to Asia, now that the Greeks controlled the sea, and decided to cross over in all possible haste from Europe into Asia, leaving Mardonius behind in Greece with picked cavalry and infantry, the total number of whom was not less than four hundred thousand. Thus Themistocles by the use of two stratagems brought about signal advantages for the Greeks. These were the events that took place in Greece at this time.

§ 11.20.1  Now that we have described at sufficient length the events in Europe, we shall shift our narrative to the affairs of another people. The Carthaginians, we recall, had agreed with the Persians to subdue the Greeks of Sicily at the same time and had made preparations on a large scale of such materials as would be useful in carrying on a war. And when they had made everything ready, they chose for general Hamilcar, having selected him as the man who was held by them in the highest esteem.

§ 11.20.2  He assumed command of huge forces, both land and naval, and sailed forth from Carthage with an army of not less than three hundred thousand men and a fleet of over two hundred ships of war, not to mention many cargo ships for carrying supplies, numbering more than three thousand. Now as he was crossing the Libyan sea he encountered a storm and lost the vessels which were carrying the horses and chariots. And when he came to port in Sicily in the harbour of Panormus he remarked that he had finished the war; for he had been afraid that the sea would rescue the Siceliotes from the perils of the conflict.

§ 11.20.3  He took three days to rest his soldiers and to repair the damage which the storm had inflicted on his ships, and then advanced together with his host against Himera, the fleet skirting the coast with him. And when he had arrived near the city we have just mentioned, he pitched two camps, the one for the army and the other for the naval force. All the warships he hauled up on land and threw about them a deep ditch and a wooden palisade, and he strengthened the camp of the army, which he placed so that it fronted the city, and prolonged so that it took in the area from the wall extending along the naval camp as far as the hills which overhung the city.

§ 11.20.4  Speaking generally, he took control of the entire west side, after which he unloaded all the supplies from the cargo vessels and at once sent off all these boats, ordering them to bring grain and the other supplies from Libya and Sardinia.

§ 11.20.5  Then, taking his best troops, he advanced to the city, and routing the Himerans who came out against him and slaying many of them, he struck the inhabitants of the city with terror. Consequently Theron, the ruler of the Acragantini, who with a considerable force was standing by to guard Himera, in fear hastily sent word to Syracuse, asking Gelon to come to his aid as rapidly as possible.

§ 11.21.1  Gelon, who had likewise held his army in readiness, on learning that the Himerans were in despair set out from Syracuse with all speed, accompanied by not less than fifty thousand foot-soldiers and over five thousand cavalry. He covered the distance swiftly, and as he drew near the city of the Himerans he inspired boldness in the hearts of those who before had been dismayed at the forces of the Carthaginians.

§ 11.21.2  For after pitching a camp which was appropriate to the terrain about the city, he not only fortified it with a deep ditch and a palisade but also dispatched his entire body of cavalry against such forces of the enemy as were ranging over the countryside in search of booty. And the cavalry, unexpectedly appearing to men who were scattered without military order over the countryside, took prisoner as many as each man could drive before him. And when prisoners of the number of more than ten thousand had been brought into the city, not only was Gelon accorded great approbation but the Himerans also came to hold the enemy in contempt.

§ 11.21.3  Following up what he had already accomplished, all the gates which Theron through fear had formerly blocked up were now, on the contrary, opened up by Gelon through his contempt of the enemy, and he even constructed additional ones which might prove serviceable to him in case of urgent need. In a word Gelon, excelling as he did in skill as a general and in shrewdness, set about at once to discover how he might without any risk to his army outgeneral the barbarians and utterly destroy their power. And his own ingenuity was greatly aided by accident, because of the following circumstance.

§ 11.21.4  He had decided to set fire to the ships of the enemy; and while Hamilcar was occupied in the naval camp with the preparation of a magnificent sacrifice to Poseidon, cavalrymen came from the countryside bringing to Gelon a letter-carrier who was conveying dispatches from the people of Selinus, in which was written that they would send the cavalry for that day for which Hamilcar had written to dispatch them.

§ 11.21.5  The day was that on which Hamilcar planned to celebrate the sacrifice. And on that day Gelon dispatched cavalry of his own, who were under orders to skirt the immediate neighbourhood and to ride up at daybreak to the naval camp, as if they were the allies from Selinus, and when they had once got inside the wooden palisade, to slay Hamilcar and set fire to the ships. He also sent scouts to the hills which overlook the city, ordering them to raise the signal as soon as they saw that the horsemen were inside the wall. For his part, at daybreak he drew up his army and awaited the sign which was to come from the scouts.

§ 11.22.1  At sunrise the cavalrymen rode up to the naval camp of the Carthaginians, and when the guards admitted them, thinking them to be allies, they at once galloped to where Hamilcar was busied with the sacrifice, slew him, and then set fire to the ships; thereupon the scouts raised the signal and Gelon advanced with his entire army in battle order against the Carthaginian camp.

§ 11.22.2  The commanders of the Phoenicians in the camp at the outset led out their troops to meet the Siceliotes and as the lines closed they put up a vigorous fight; at the same time in both camps they sounded with the trumpets the signal for battle and a shout arose from the two armies one after the other, each eagerly striving to outdo their adversaries in the volume of their cheering.

§ 11.22.3  The slaughter was great, and the battle was swaying back and forth, when suddenly the flames from the ships began to rise on high and sundry persons reported that the general had been slain; then the Greeks were emboldened and with spirits elated at the rumours and by the hope of victory they pressed with greater boldness upon the barbarians, while the Carthaginians, dismayed and despairing of victory, turned in flight.

§ 11.22.4  Since Gelon had given orders to take no prisoners, there followed a great slaughter of the enemy in their flight, and in the end no less than one hundred and fifty thousand of them were slain. All who escaped the battle and fled to a strong position at first warded off the attackers, but the position they had seized had no water, and thirst compelled them to surrender to the victors.

§ 11.22.5  Gelon, who had won a victory in a most remarkable battle and had gained his success primarily by reason of his own skill as a general, acquired a fame that was noised abroad, not only among the Siceliotes, but among all other men as well;

§ 11.22.6  for memory recalls no man before him who had used a stratagem like this, nor one who had slain more barbarians in one engagement or had taken so great a multitude of prisoners.

§ 11.23.1  Because of this achievement many historians compare this battle with the one which the Greeks fought at Plataea and the stratagem of Gelon with the ingenious schemes of Themistocles, and the first place they assign, since such exceptional merit was shown by both men, some to the one and some to the other.

§ 11.23.2  And the reason is that, when the people of Greece on the one hand and those of Sicily on the other were struck with dismay before the conflict at the multitude of the barbarian armies, it was the prior victory of the Sicilian Greeks which gave courage to the people of Greece when they learned of Gelon's victory; and as for the men in both affairs who held the supreme command, we know that in the case of the Persians the king escaped with his life and many myriads together with him, whereas in the case of the Carthaginians not only did the general perish but also everyone who participated in the war was slain, and, as the saying is, not even a man to bear the news got back alive to Carthage.

§ 11.23.3  Furthermore, of the most distinguished of the leaders of the Greeks, Pausanias and Themistocles, the former was put to death by his fellow citizens because of his overweening greed of power and treason, and the latter was driven from every corner of Greece and fled for refuge to Xerxes, his bitterest enemy, on whose hospitality he lived to the end of his life; whereas Gelon after the battle received greater approbation every year at the hands of the Syracusans, grew old in the kingship, and died in the esteem of his people, and so strong was the goodwill which the citizens felt for him that the kingship was maintained for three members of this house. However, now that these men, who enjoy a well deserved fame, have received from us also the eulogies they merit, we shall pass on to the continuation of the preceding narrative.

§ 11.24.1  Now it so happened that Gelon won his victory on the same day that Leonidas and his soldiers were contesting against Xerxes at Thermopylae, as if the deity intentionally so arranged that both the fairest victory and the most honourable defeat should take place at the same time.

§ 11.24.2  After the battle at the city of the Himerans twenty warships made their escape from the fight, being those which Hamilcar, to serve his routine requirements, had not hauled up on shore. Consequently, although practically all the rest of the combatants were either slain or taken prisoner, these vessels managed to set sail before they were noticed. But they picked up many fugitives, and while heavily laden on this account, they encountered a storm and were all lost. A handful only of survivors got safely to Carthage in a small boat to give their fellow citizens a statement which was brief: “All who crossed over to Sicily have perished.”

§ 11.24.3  The Carthaginians, who had suffered a great disaster so contrary to their hopes, were so terror-stricken that every night they kept vigil guarding the city, in the belief that Gelon with his entire force must have decided to sail forthwith against Carthage.

§ 11.24.4  And because of the multitude of the lost the city went into public mourning, while privately the homes of citizens were filled with wailing and lamentation. For some kept inquiring after sons, others after brothers, while a very large number of children who had lost their fathers, alone now in the world, grieved at the death of those who had begotten them and at their own desolation through the loss of those who could succour them. And the Carthaginians, fearing lest Gelon should forestall them in crossing over to Libya, at once dispatched to him as ambassadors plenipotentiary their ablest orators and counsellors.

§ 11.25.1  As for Gelon, after his victory he not only honoured with gifts the horsemen who had slain Hamilcar but also decorated with rewards for prowess all others who had played the part of men. The fairest part of the booty he put to one side, since he wished to embellish the temples of Syracuse with the spoils; as for the rest of the booty, much of it he nailed to the most notable of the sanctuaries in Himera, and the rest of it, together with the captives, he divided among the allies, apportioning it in accordance with the number who had served with him.

§ 11.25.2  The cities put the captives allotted to them in chains and used them for building their public works. A very great number was received by the Acragantini, who embellished their city and countryside; for so great was the multitude of prisoners at their disposal that many private citizens had five hundred captives in their homes. A contributing reason for the vast number of the captives among them was not only that they had sent many soldiers into the battle, but also that, when the flight took place, many of the fugitives turned into the interior, especially into the territory of the Acragantini, and since every man of them was taken captive by the Acragantini, the city was crammed full of the captured.

§ 11.25.3  Most of these were handed over to the state, and it was these men who quarried the stones of which not only the largest temples of the gods were constructed but also the underground conduits were built to lead off the waters from the city; these are so large that their construction is well worth seeing, although it is little thought of since they were built at slight expense. The builder in charge of these works, who bore the name of Phaeax, brought it about that, because of the fame of the construction, the underground conduits got the name “Phaeaces” from him.

§ 11.25.4  The Acragantini also built an expensive kolumbethra, seven stades in circumference and twenty cubits deep. Into it the waters from rivers and springs were conducted and it became a fish-pond, which supplied fish in great abundance to be used for food and to please the plate; and since swans also in the greatest numbers settled down upon it, the pool came to be a delight to look upon. In later years, however, the pool became choked up through neglect and was destroyed by the long passage of time;

§ 11.25.5  but the entire site, which was fertile, the inhabitants planted in vines and in trees of every description placed close together, so that they derived from it great revenues. Gelon, after dismissing the allies, led the citizens of Syracuse back home, and because of the magnitude of his success he was enthusiastically received not only among his fellow citizens but also throughout the whole of Sicily; for he brought with him such a multitude of captives that it looked as if the island had made the whole of Libya captive.

§ 11.26.1  And at once there came to him ambassadors from both the cities and rulers which had formerly opposed him, asking forgiveness for their past mistakes and promising for the future to carry out his every command. With all of them he dealt equitably and concluded alliances, bearing his good fortune as men should, not toward them alone but even toward the Carthaginians, his bitterest foes.

§ 11.26.2  For when the ambassadors who had been dispatched from Carthage came to him and begged him with tears to treat them humanely, he granted them peace, exacting of them the expense he had incurred for the war, two thousand talents of silver, and requiring them further to build two temples in which they should place copies of the treaty.

§ 11.26.3  The Carthaginians, having unexpectedly gained their deliverance, not only agreed to all this but also promised to give in addition a gold crown to Damarete, the wife of Gelon. For Damarete at their request had contributed the greatest aid toward the conclusion of the peace, and when she had received the crown of one hundred gold talents from them, she struck a coin which was called from her a Damareteion. This was worth ten Attic drachmas and was called by the Sicilian Greeks, according to its weight, a pentekontalitron.

§ 11.26.4  Gelon treated all men fairly, primarily because that was his disposition, but not the least motive was that he was eager to make all men his own by acts of goodwill. For instance, he was making ready to sail to Greece with a large force and to join the Greeks in their war against the Persians.

§ 11.26.5  And he was already on the point of setting out to sea, when certain men from Corinth put in at Syracuse and brought the news that the Greeks had won the sea-battle at Salamis and that Xerxes and a part of his armament had retreated from Europe. Consequently he stopped his preparations for departure, while welcoming the enthusiasm of the soldiers; and then he called them to an assembly, issuing orders for each man to appear fully armed. As for himself, he came to the assembly not only with no arms but not even wearing a tunic and clad only in a cloak, and stepping forward he rendered an account of his whole life and of all he had done for the Syracusans;

§ 11.26.6  and when the throng shouted its approval at each action he mentioned and showed especially its amazement that he had given himself unarmed into the hands of any who might wish to slay him, so far was he from being a victim of vengeance as a tyrant that they united in acclaiming him with one voice Benefactor and Saviour and King.

§ 11.26.7  After this incident Gelon built noteworthy temples to Demeter and Core out of the spoils, and making a golden tripod of sixteen talents value he set it up in the sacred precinct at Delphi as a thank-offering to Apollo. At a later time he purposed to build a temple to Demeter at Aetna, since one was lacking there; but he did not complete it, his life having been cut short by fate.

§ 11.26.8  Of the lyric poets Pindar was in his prime in this period. Now these are in general the most notable events which took place in this year.

§ 11.27.1  While Xanthippus was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Quintus Fabius Silvanus and Servius Cornelius Tricostus. At this time the Persian fleet, with the exception of the Phoenician contingent, after its defeat in the sea-battle of Salamis lay at Cyme. Here it passed the winter, and at the coming of summer it sailed down the coast to Samos to keep watch on Ionia; and the total number of the ships in Samos excelled four hundred. Now they were keeping watch upon the cities of the Ionians who were suspected of hostile sentiments.

§ 11.27.2  Throughout Greece, after the battle of Salamis, since the Athenians were generally believed to have been responsible for the victory, and on this account were themselves exultant, it became as a matter of fact to all that they were intending to dispute with the Lacedemonians for the leadership on the sea; consequently the Lacedemonians, foreseeing what was going to happen, did all they could to humble the pride of the Athenians. When, therefore, a judgement was proposed to determine the prizes to be awarded for this valour, through the superior favour they enjoyed they caused the decision to be that of states Aegina had won the prize, and of men Ameinias of Athens, the brother of Aeschylus the poet; for Ameinias, while commanding a trireme, had been the first to ram the flagship of the Persians, sinking it and killing the admiral.

§ 11.27.3  And when the Athenians showed their anger at this undeserved humiliation, the Lacedemonians, fearful lest Themistocles should be displeased at the outcome and should devise some great evil against them and the Greeks, honoured him with double the number of gifts awarded to those who had received the prize of valour. And when Themistocles accepted the gifts, the Athenians in assembly removed him from the generalship and bestowed the office upon Xanthippus the son of Ariphron.

§ 11.28.1  When the estrangement which had arisen between the Athenians and the other Greeks became noised abroad, there came to Athens ambassadors from the Persians and from the Greeks. Now those who had been dispatched by the Persians bore word that Mardonius the general assured the Athenians that, if they should choose the cause of the Persians, he would give them their choice of any land in Greece, rebuild their walls and temples, and allow the city to live under its own laws; but those who had been sent from the Lacedemonians begged the Athenians not to yield to the persuasions of the barbarians but to maintain their loyalty toward the Greeks, who were men of their own blood and of the same speech.

§ 11.28.2  And the Athenians replied to the barbarians that the Persians possessed no land rich enough nor garland in sufficient abundance which the Athenians would accept in return for abandoning the Greeks; while to the Lacedemonians they said that as for themselves the concern which they had formerly held for the welfare of Greece they would endeavour to maintain hereafter also, and of the Lacedemonians they only asked that they should come with all speed to Attica together with all their allies. For it was evident, they added, that Mardonius, now that the Athenians had declared against him, would advance with his army against Athens.

§ 11.28.3  And this is what actually took place. For Mardonius, who was stationed in Boeotia with all his forces, at first attempted to cause certain cities in the Peloponnesus to come over to him, distributing money among their leading men, but afterwards, when he learned of the reply the Athenians had given, in his rage he led his entire force into Attica.

§ 11.28.4  Apart from the army Xerxes had given him he had himself gathered many other soldiers from Thrace and Macedonia and the other allied states, more than two hundred thousand men.

§ 11.28.5  With the advance into Attica of so large a force as this, the Athenians dispatched couriers bearing letters to the Lacedemonians, asking their aid; and since the Lacedemonians still loitered and the barbarians had already crossed the border of Attica, they were dismayed, and again, taking their children and wives and whatever else they were able to carry off in their haste, they left their native land and a second time fled for refuge to Salamis.

§ 11.28.6  And Mardonius was so angry with them that he ravaged the entire countryside, razed the city to the ground, and utterly destroyed the temples that were still standing.

§ 11.29.1  When Mardonius and his army had returned to Thebes, the Greeks gathered in congress decreed to make common cause with the Athenians and advancing to Plataea in a body, to fight to a finish for liberty, and also to make a vow to the gods that, if they were victorious, the Greeks would unite in celebrating the Festival of Liberty on that day and would hold the games of the Festival in Plataea.

§ 11.29.2  And when the Greek forces were assembled at the Isthmus, all of them agreed that they should swear an oath about the war, one that would make staunch the concord among them and would compel entrenchment nobly to endure the perils of the battle.

§ 11.29.3  The oath ran as follows: “I will not hold life dearer than liberty, nor will I desert the leaders, whether they be living or dead, but I will bury all the allies who have perished in the battle; and if I overcome the barbarians in the war, I will not destroy any one of the cities which have participated in the struggle; nor will I rebuild any one of the sanctuaries which have been burnt or demolished, but I will let them be and leave them as a reminder to coming generations of the impiety of the barbarians.”

§ 11.29.4  After they had sworn the oath, they marched to Boeotia through the pass of Cithaeron, and when they had descended as far as the foothills near Erythrae, they pitched camp there. The command over the Athenians was held by Aristeides, and the supreme command by Pausanias, who was the guardian of the son of Leonidas.

§ 11.30.1  When Mardonius learned that the enemy's army was advancing in the direction of Boeotia, he marched forth from Thebes, and when he arrived at the Asopus River he pitched a camp, which he strengthened by means of a deep ditch and surrounded with a wooden palisade. The total number of the Greeks approached one hundred thousand men, that of the barbarians some five hundred thousand.

§ 11.30.2  The first to open the battle were the barbarians, who poured out upon the Greeks by night and charged with all their cavalry upon the camp. The Athenians observed them in time and with their army in battle formation boldly advanced to meet them, and a mighty battle ensued.

§ 11.30.3  In the end all the rest of the Greeks put to flight the barbarians who were arrayed against them; but the Megarians alone, who faced the commander of the cavalry and the best horsemen the Persians had, being hard pressed in the fighting, though they did not leave their position, sent some of their men as messengers to the Athenians and Lacedemonians asking them to come to their aid with all speed.

§ 11.30.4  Aristeides quickly dispatched the picked Athenians who constituted his body-guard, and these, forming themselves into a compact body and falling on the barbarians, rescued the Megarians from the perils which threatened them, slew of the Persians both the commander of the cavalry and many others, and put the remainder to flight. The Greeks, now that they had shown their superiority so brilliantly in a kind of dress rehearsal, were encouraged to hope for a decisive victory; and after this encounter they moved their camp from the foothills to a place which was better suited to a complete victory.

§ 11.30.5  For on the right was a high hill, on the left the Asopus River, and the space between was held by the camp, which was fortified by the natural impregnability of the general terrain.

§ 11.30.6  Thus for the Greeks, who had laid their plans wisely, the limited space was a great aid to their victory, since the Persian battle-line could not be extended to a great length, and the result was, as the event was to show, that no use could be made of the many myriads of the barbarians. Consequently Pausanias and Aristeides, placing their confidence in the positions they held, led the army out to battle, and when they had taken positions in a manner suitable to the terrain they advanced against the enemy.

§ 11.31.1  Mardonius, having been forced to increase the depth of his line, arranged his troops in the way that he thought would be to his advantage, and raising the battle-cry, advanced to meet the Greeks. The best soldiers were about him and with these he led the way, striking at the Lacedemonians who faced him; he fought gallantly and slew many of the Greeks. The Lacedemonians, however, opposed him stoutly and endured every peril of battle willingly, and so there was a great slaughter of the barbarians.

§ 11.31.2  Now so long as Mardonius and his picked soldiers continued to bear the brunt of the fighting, the barbarians sustained the shock of battle with good spirit; but when Mardonius fell, fighting bravely, and of the picked troops some were slain and others wounded, their spirits were dashed and they began to flee.

§ 11.31.3  When the Greeks pressed hard upon them, the larger part of the barbarians fled for safety within the palisade, but as for the rest of the army, the Greeks serving with Mardonius withdrew to Thebes, and the remainder, over four hundred thousand in number, were taken in hand by Artabazus, a man of repute among the Persians, who fled in the opposite direction, and withdrew by forced marches toward Phocis.

§ 11.32.1  Since the barbarians were thus separated in their flight, so the body of the Greeks was similarly divided; for the Athenians and Plataeans and Thespiaeans pursued after those who had set out for Thebes, and the Corinthians and Sicyonians and the Phliasians and certain others followed after the forces which were retreating with Artabazus; and the Lacedemonians together with the rest pursued the soldiers who had taken refuge within the palisade and trounced them spiritedly.

§ 11.32.2  The Thebans received the fugitives, added them to their forces, and then set upon the pursuing Athenians; a sharp battle took place before the walls, the Thebans fighting brilliantly, and not a few fell on both sides, but at last this body was overcome by the Athenians and took refuge again within Thebes.

§ 11.32.3  After this the Athenians withdrew to the aid of the Lacedemonians and joined with them in assaulting the walls against those Persians who had taken refuge within the camp; both sides put up a vigorous contest, the barbarians fighting bravely from the fortified positions they held and the Greeks storming the wooden walls, and many were wounded as they fought desperately, while not a few were also slain by the multitude of missiles and met death with stout hearts.

§ 11.32.4  Nevertheless the powerful onset of the Greeks could be withstood neither by the wall the barbarians had erected nor by their great numbers, but resistance of every kind was forced to give way; for it was a case of rivalry between the foremost peoples of Greece, the Lacedemonians and the Athenians, who were buoyed up by reason of their former victories and supported by confidence in their valour.

§ 11.32.5  In the end the barbarians were overpowered, and they found no mercy even though they pled to be taken prisoner. For the Greek general, Pausanias, observing how superior the barbarians were in number, took pains of the prevent anything due to miscalculation from happening, the barbarians being many times more numerous than the Greeks; consequently he had issued orders to take no man prisoner, and soon there was an incredible number of dead. And in the end, when the Greeks had slaughtered more than one hundred thousand of the barbarians, they reluctantly ceased slaying the enemy.

§ 11.33.1  After the battle had ended in the way we have described, the Greeks buried their dead, of which there were more than ten thousand. And after dividing up the booty according to the number of the soldiers, they made their decision as to the award for valour, and in response to the urging of Aristeides they bestowed the prize for cities upon Sparta and for men upon Pausanias the Lacedemonian. Meanwhile Artabazus with as many as four hundred thousand of the fleeing Persians made his way through Phocis into Macedonia, availing himself of the quickest routes, and got back safely together with the soldiers into Asia.

§ 11.33.2  The Greeks, taking a tenth part of the spoils, made a gold tripod and set it up in Delphi as a thank-offering to the God, inscribing on it the following couplet: This is the gift the saviours of far-flung Hellas upraised here, Having delivered their states from loathsome slavery's bonds. Inscriptions were also set up for the Lacedemonians who died at Thermopylae; for the whole body of them as follows: Here on a time there strove with two hundred myriads of foemen Soldiers in number but four thousand from Pelops' fair Isle; and for the Spartans alone as follows: To Lacedemon's folk, O stranger, carry the message, How we lie here in this place, faithful and true to their laws.

§ 11.33.3  In like manner the citizen-body of the Athenians embellished the tombs of those who had perished in the Persian War, held the Funeral Games then for the first time, and passed a law that laudatory addresses upon men who were buried at the public expense should be delivered by speakers selected for each occasion.

§ 11.33.4  After the events we have described Pausanias the general advanced with the army against Thebes and demanded for punishment the men who had been responsible for the alliance of Thebes with the Persians. And the Thebans were so overawed by the multitude of their enemy and by their prowess in battle, that the men most responsible for their desertion from the Greeks agreed of their own accord to being handed over, and they all received at the hands of Pausanias the punishment of death.

§ 11.34.1  Also in Ionia the Greeks fought a great battle with the Persians on the same day as that which took place in Plataea, and since we propose to describe it, we shall take up the account of it from the beginning.

§ 11.34.2  Leotychides the Lacedemonian and Xanthippus the Athenian, the commanders of the naval force, after the battle of Salamis collected the fleet in Aegina, and after spending some days there they sailed to Delos with two hundred and fifty triremes. And while they lay at anchor there, ambassadors came to them from Samos asking them to liberate the Greeks of Asia.

§ 11.34.3  Leotychides took counsel with the commanders, and after they had heard all the Samians had to say, they decided to undertake to liberate the cities and speedily sailed forth from Delos. When the Persian admirals, who were then at Samos, learned that the Greeks were sailing against them, they withdrew from Samos with all their ships, and putting into port at Mycale in Ionia they hauled up their ships, since they saw that the vessels were unequal to offering battle, and threw about them a wooden palisade and a deep ditch; despite these defences they also summoned land forces from Sardis and the neighbouring cities and gathered in all about one hundred thousand men. Furthermore, they made ready all the other equipment that is useful in war, believing that the Ionians also would go over to the enemy.

§ 11.34.4  Leotychides advanced with all the fleet ready for action against the barbarians at Mycale, dispatching in advance a ship carrying a herald who had the strongest voice of anyone in the fleet. This man had been ordered to sail up to the enemy and to announce in a loud voice, “The Greeks, having conquered the Persians, are now come to liberate the Greek cities of Asia.”

§ 11.34.5  This Leotychides did in the belief that the Greeks in the army of the barbarians would revolt from the Persians and that great confusion would arise in the camp of the barbarians; and that is what actually happened. For as soon as the herald approached the ships which had been hauled up on the shore, and made the announcement as he had been ordered, it came about that the Persians lost confidence in the Greeks and that the Greeks began to agree among themselves about revolting.

§ 11.35.1  After the Greeks under Leotychides had found out how the Greeks in the Persians' camp felt, they disembarked their forces. And on the following day, while they were making preparation for battle, the rumour came to them of the victory which the Greeks had won over the Persians at Plataea.

§ 11.35.2  At this news Leotychides, after calling an assembly, exhorted his troops to the battle, and among the other considerations which he presented to them he announced in histrionic manner the victory of Plataea, in the belief that he would make more confident those who were about to fight. And marvellous indeed was the outcome. For it has become known that it was on the same day that the two battles took place, the one which was fought at Mycale and the other which occurred at Plataea.

§ 11.35.3  It would seem, therefore, that Leotychides had not yet learned of the victory, but that he was deliberately inventing the military success and did so as a stratagem; for the great distance separating the places proved that the transmission of the message was impossible.

§ 11.35.4  But the leaders of the Persians, placing no confidence in the Greeks of their own forces, took away their arms and gave them to men who were friendly to them; and then they called all the soldiers together and told them that Xerxes was coming in person to their aid with a great armament, inspiring them thereby with courage to face the peril of the battle.

§ 11.36.1  When both sides had drawn out their troops in battle-order and were advancing against each other, the Persians, observing how few the enemy were, disdained them and bore down on them with great shouting.

§ 11.36.2  Now the Samians and Milesians had decided unanimously beforehand to support the Greek cause and were pushing forward all together at the double; and as their advance brought them in sight of the Greek army, although the Ionians thought that the Greeks would be encouraged, the result was the very opposite.

§ 11.36.3  For the troops of Leotychides, thinking that Xerxes was come from Sardis with his army and advancing upon them, were filled with fear, and confusion and division among themselves arose in the army, some saying that they should take to their ships with all speed and depart and others that they should remain and boldly hold their lines. While they were still in disorder, the Persians came in sight, equipped in a manner to inspire terror and bearing down on them with shouting.

§ 11.36.4  The Greeks, having no respite for deliberation, were compelled to withstand the attack of the barbarians. At the outset both sides fought stoutly and the battle was indecisive, great numbers falling in both armies; but when the Samians and Milesians put in their appearance, the Greeks plucked up courage, whereas the barbarians were filled with terror and broke in flight.

§ 11.36.5  A great slaughter followed, as the troops of Leotychides and Xanthippus pressed upon the beaten barbarians and pursued them as far as the camp; and Aeolians participated in the battle, after the issue had already been decided, as well as many other peoples of Asia, since an overwhelming desire for their liberty entered the hearts of the inhabitants of the cities of Asia.

§ 11.36.6  Therefore practically all of them gave no thought either to hostages or to oaths, but they joined with the other Greeks in slaying the barbarians in their flight. This was the manner in which the Persians suffered defeat, and there were slain of them more than forty thousand, while of the survivors some found refuge in the camp and others withdrew to Sardis.

§ 11.36.7  And when Xerxes learned of both the defeat in Plataea and the rout of his own troops in Mycale, he left a portion of his armament in Sardis to carry on the war against the Greeks, while he himself, in bewilderment, set out with the rest of his army on the way to Ecbatana.

§ 11.37.1  Leotychides and Xanthippus now sailed back to Samos and made allies of the Ionians and Aeolians, and then they endeavoured to induce them to abandon Asia and to move their homes to Europe. They promised to expel the peoples who had espoused the cause of the Medes and to give their lands to them;

§ 11.37.2  for as a general thing, they explained, if they remained in Asia, they would always have the enemy on their borders, an enemy far superior in military strength, while their allies, who lived across the sea, would be unable to render them any timely assistance. When the Aeolians and Ionians had heard these promises, they resolved to take the advice of the Greeks and set about preparing to sail with them to Europe.

§ 11.37.3  But the Athenians changed to the opposite opinion and advised them to stay where they were, saying that even if no other Greeks should come to their aid, the Athenians, as their kinsmen, would do so independently. They reasoned that, if the Ionians were given new homes by the Greeks acting in common they would no longer look upon Athens as their mother-city. It was for this reason that the Ionians changed their minds and decided to remain in Asia.

§ 11.37.4  After these events it came to pass that the armament of the Greeks was divided, the Lacedemonians sailing back to Laconia and the Athenians together with the Ionians and the islanders weighing anchor for Sestus.

§ 11.37.5  And Xanthippus the general, as soon as he reached that port, launched assaults upon Sestus and took the city, and after establishing a garrison in it he dismissed the allies and himself with his fellow citizens returned to Athens.

§ 11.37.6  Now the Median War, as it has been called, after lasting two years, came to the end which we have described. And of the historians, Herodotus, beginning with the period prior to the Trojan War, has written in nine books a general history of practically all the events which occurred in the inhabited world, and brings his narrative to an end with the battle of the Greeks against the Persians at Mycale and the siege of Sestus.

§ 11.37.7  In Italy the Romans waged a war against the Volscians, and conquering them in battle slew many of them. And Spurius Cassius, who had been consul the preceding year, because he was believed to be aiming at a tyranny and was found guilty, was put to death. These, then, were the events of this year.

§ 11.38.1  When Timosthenes was archon at Athens, in Rome Caeso Fabius and Lucius Aemilius Mamercus succeeded to the consulship. During this year throughout Sicily an almost complete peace pervaded the island, the Carthaginians having finally been humbled, and Gelon had established a beneficent rule over the Sicilian Greeks and was providing their cities with a high degree of orderly government and an abundance of every necessity of life.

§ 11.38.2  And since the Syracusans had by law put an end to costly funerals and done away with the expense which customarily had been incurred for the dead, and there had been specified in the law even the altogether inexpensive obsequies, King Gelon, desiring to foster and maintain the people's interest in all matters, kept the law regarding bodies intact in his own case;

§ 11.38.3  for when he fell ill and had given up hope of life, he handed over the kingship to Hieron, his eldest brother, and respecting his own burial he gave orders that the prescriptions of the law should be strictly observed. Consequently at his death his funeral was held by his successor to the throne just as he had ordered it.

§ 11.38.4  His body was buried on the estate of his wife in the Nine Towers, as it is called, which is a marvel to men by reason of its strong construction. And the entire populace accompanied his body from the city, although the place was two hundred stades distant.

§ 11.38.5  Here he was buried, and the people erected a noteworthy tomb and accorded Gelon the honours which belong to heroes; but at a later time the monument was destroyed by the Carthaginians in the course of campaign against Syracuse, while the towers were thrown down by Agathocles out of envy. Nevertheless, neither the Carthaginians out of enmity nor Agathocles of his native baseness, nor any other man has ever been able to deprive Gelon of his glory;

§ 11.38.6  for the just witness of history has guarded his fair fame, heralding it abroad with piercing voice for evermore. It is indeed both just and beneficial to society that history should heap imprecations upon base men who have held positions of authority, but should accord immortal remembrance to those who have been beneficent rulers; for in this way especially, it will be found, many men of later generations will be impelled to work for the general good of mankind.

§ 11.38.7  Now Gelon reigned for seven years, and Hieron his brother succeeded him in the rule and reigned over the Syracusans eleven years and eight months.

§ 11.39.1  In Greece the Athenians after the victory at Plataea brought their children and wives back to Athens from Troezen and Salamis, and at once set to work fortifying the city and were giving their attention to every other means which made for its safety.

§ 11.39.2  But the Lacedemonians, observing that the Athenians had gained for themselves great glory by the actions in which their navy had been engaged, looked with suspicion upon their growing power and decided to prevent the Athenians from rebuilding their walls.

§ 11.39.3  They at once, therefore, dispatched ambassadors to Athens who would ostensibly advise them not at present to fortify the city, as not being of advantage to the general interests of the Greeks; for, they pointed out, if Xerxes should return with larger armaments than before he would have walled cities ready to hand outside the Peloponnesus which he would use as bases and thus easily subjugate the Greeks. And when no attention was paid to their advice, the ambassadors approached the men who were building the wall and ordered them to stop work immediately.

§ 11.39.4  While the Athenians were at a loss what they should do, Themistocles, who enjoyed at that time the highest favour among them, advised them to take no action; for he warned them that if they had recourse to force, the Lacedemonians could easily march up against them together with the Peloponnesians and prevent them from fortifying the city.

§ 11.39.5  But he told the Council in confidence that he and certain others would go as ambassadors to Lacedemon to explain the matter of the wall to the Lacedemonians; and he instructed the magistrates, when ambassadors should come from Lacedemonian to Athens, to detain them until he himself should return from Lacedemon, and in the meantime to put the whole population to work fortifying the city. In this manner, he declared to them, they would achieve their purpose.

§ 11.40.1  After the Athenians had accepted the plan of Themistocles, he and the ambassadors set out for Sparta, and the Athenians began with great enthusiasm to build the walls, sparing neither houses nor tombs. And everyone joined in the task, both children and women and, in a word, every alien and slave, no one of them showing any lack of zeal.

§ 11.40.2  And when the work was being accomplished with amazing speed both because of the many workmen and the enthusiasm of them all, Themistocles was summoned by the chief magistrates and upbraided for the building of the walls; but he denied that there was any construction, and urged the magistrates not to believe empty rumours but to dispatch to Athens trustworthy ambassadors, from whom, he assured them, they would learn the truth; and as surety for them he offered himself and the ambassadors who had accompanied him.

§ 11.40.3  The Lacedemonians, following the advice of Themistocles, put him and his companions under guard and dispatched to Athens their most important men who were to spy out whatever matter should arouse their curiosity. But time had passed, and the Athenians had already got so far along with the construction that, when the Lacedemonian ambassadors arrived in Athens and with denunciations and threats of violence upbraided them, the Athenians took them into custody, saying that they would release them only when the Lacedemonians in turn should release the ambassadors who accompanied Themistocles.

§ 11.40.4  In this manner the Laconians were outgeneralled and compelled to release the Athenian ambassadors in order to get back their own. And Themistocles, having by means of so clever a stratagem fortified his native land speedily and without danger, enjoyed high favour among his fellow citizens.

§ 11.40.5  While the events we have described were taking place, a war broke out between the Romans and the Aequi and the inhabitants of Tusculum, and meeting the Aequi in battle the Romans overcame them and slew many of the enemy, and then they took Tusculum after a siege and occupied the city of the Aequi.

§ 11.41.1  At the close of the year the archon in Athens was Adeimantus, and in Rome the consuls elected were Marcus Fabius Vibulanus and Lucius Valerius Publius. At this time Themistocles, because of his skill as a general and his sagacity, was held in esteem not only by his fellow citizens but by all Greeks.

§ 11.41.2  He was, therefore, elated over his fame and had recourse to many other far more ambitious undertakings which would serve to increase the dominant position of his native state. Thus the Peiraeus, as it is called, was not at that time a harbour, but the Athenians were using as their ship-yard the bay called Phaleric, which was quite small; and so Themistocles conceived the plan of making the Peiraeus into a harbour, since it would require only a small amount of construction and could be made into a harbour, the best and largest in Greece.

§ 11.41.3  He also hoped that when this improvement had been added to what the Athenians possessed, the city would be able to compete for the hegemony at sea; for the Athenians possessed at that time the largest number of triremes and through an unbroken succession of battles at sea which the city had waged had gained experience and renown in naval conflicts.

§ 11.41.4  Furthermore, he reasoned that they would have the Ionians on their side because they were kinsmen, and that with their aid the Athenians would liberate the other Greeks of Asia, who would then turn in goodwill to the Athenians because of this benefaction, and that all the Greeks of the islands, being immensely impressed by the magnitude of their naval strength, would readily align themselves with the people which had the power both to inflict the greatest injury and to bestow the greatest advantages.

§ 11.41.5  For he saw that the Lacedemonians, though excellently equipped so far as their land forces were concerned, had no natural talent for fighting on ships.

§ 11.42.1  Now as Themistocles pondered these matters, he decided that he should not make public announcement of his plan, knowing with certainty that the Lacedemonians would endeavour to stop it; and so he announced to the citizens in Assembly that he wished both to advise upon and to introduce important matters which were also to the advantage of the city. But what these matters were, he added, it was not in the public interest to state openly, but it was fitting that a few men should be charged with putting them into effect; and he therefore asked the people to select two men in whom they had the greatest confidence and to entrust to them to pass upon the matter in question.

§ 11.42.2  The people acceded to his advice, and the Assembly chose two men, Aristeides and Xanthippus, selecting them not only because of their upright character, but also because they saw that these men were in active rivalry with Themistocles for glory and leadership and were therefore opposed to him.

§ 11.42.3  These men heard privately from Themistocles about the plan and then declared to the Assembly that what Themistocles had disclosed to them was of great importance, was to the advantage of the state, and was feasible.

§ 11.42.4  The people admired the man and at the same time harboured suspicions of him, lest it should be with the purpose of preparing some sort of tyranny for himself that he was embarking upon plans of such magnitude and importance, and they urged him to declare openly what he had decided upon. But he made this reply, that it was not to the interests of the state that there should be a public disclosure of his intentions.

§ 11.42.5  Thereupon the people were far the more amazed at the man's shrewdness and greatness of mind, and they urged him to disclose his ideas secretly to the Council, assuring him that, if that body decided that what he said was feasible and advantageous, then they would advise it to carry his plan to completion.

§ 11.42.6  Consequently, when the Council learned all the details and decided that what he said was for the advantage of the state and was feasible, the people, without more ado, agreed with the Council, and Themistocles received authority to do whatever he wished. And every man departed from the Assembly in admiration of the high character of the man, being also elated in spirit and expectant of the outcome of the plan.

§ 11.43.1  Themistocles, having received authority to proceed and enjoying every assistance ready at hand for his undertakings, again conceived a way to deceive the Lacedemonians by a stratagem; for he was fully assured that just as the Lacedemonians had interfered with the building of the wall about the city, they would in the same manner endeavour to obstruct the plans of the Athenians in the case of the making of the harbour.

§ 11.43.2  Accordingly he decided to dispatch ambassadors to the Lacedemonians to show them how it was to the advantage of the common interests of Greece that it should possess a first-rate harbour in view of the expedition which was to be expected on the part of the Persians. When he had in this way somewhat dulled the impulse of the Spartans to interfere, he devoted himself to that work, and since everybody enthusiastically co operated it was speedily done and the harbour was finished before anyone expected.

§ 11.43.3  And Themistocles persuaded the people each year to construct and add twenty triremes to the fleet they already possessed, and also to remove the tax upon metics and artisans, in order that great crowds of people might stream into the city from every quarter and that the Athenians might easily procure labour for a great number of crafts. Both these policies he considered to be most useful in building up the city's naval forces. The Athenians, therefore, were busy over the matters we have described.

§ 11.44.1  The Lacedemonians, having appointed Pausanias, who had held the command at Plataea, admiral of their fleet, instructed him to liberate the Greek cities which were still held by barbarian garrisons.

§ 11.44.2  And taking fifty triremes from the Peloponnesus and summoning from the Athenians thirty commanded by Aristeides, he first of all sailed to Cyprus and liberated those cities which still had Persian garrisons;

§ 11.44.3  and after this he sailed to the Hellespont and took Byzantium, which was held by the Persians, and of the other barbarians some he slew and others he expelled, and thus liberated the city, but many important Persians whom he captured in the city he turned over to Gongylus of Eretria to guard. Ostensibly Gongylus was to keep these men for punishment, but actually he was to get them off safe to Xerxes; for Pausanias had secretly made a pact of friendship with the king and was about to marry the daughter of Xerxes, his purpose being to betray the Greeks.

§ 11.44.4  The man who was acting as negotiator in this affair was the general Artabazus, and he was quietly supplying Pausanias with large sums of money to be used in corrupting such Greeks as could serve their ends. The plan of Pausanias, however, was brought to light and he got his punishment in the following manner.

§ 11.44.5  For Pausanias emulated the luxurious life of the Persian and dealt with his subordinates in the manner of a tyrant, so that they were all angry with him, and especially those Greeks who had been assigned to some command.

§ 11.44.6  Consequently, while many, as they mingled together in the army both by peoples and by cities, were railing at the harshness of Pausanias, some Peloponnesians deserted him and sailed back to the Peloponnesus, and dispatching ambassadors to Sparta they lodged an accusation against Pausanias; and Aristeides the Athenian, making wise use of the opportunity, in the course of his public conferences with the states won them over and by his personal intimacy with them made them adherents of the Athenians. But even more did matters play by mere chance into the hands of the Athenians by reason of the following facts.

§ 11.45.1  Pausanias had stipulated that the men who carried the messages from him to the king should not return and thus become betrayers of their secret communications; consequently, since they were being put to death by the receivers of the letters, no one of them was ever returning alive.

§ 11.45.2  So one of the couriers, reasoning from this fact, opened his letters, and discovering that his inference was correct as to the killing of all who carried the messages, he turned the letters over to the ephors.

§ 11.45.3  But when the ephors were loath to believe this, because the letters had been turned over to them already opened, and demanded further and more substantial proof, the man offered to produce Pausanias acknowledging the facts in person.

§ 11.45.4  Consequently he went to Taenarum, and seating himself as a suppliant at the shrine of Poseidon he set up a tent with two rooms and concealed the ephors and certain other Spartans; and when Pausanias came to him and asked why he was a suppliant, the man upbraided him for directing in the letter that he should be put to death.

§ 11.45.5  Pausanias said that he was sorry and went on to ask the man to forgive the mistake; he even implored him to help keep the matter secret, promising him great gifts, and the two then parted. As for the ephors and the others with them, although they had learned the precise truth, at that time they held their peace, but on a later occasion, when the Lacedemonians were taking up the matter together with the ephors, Pausanias learned of it in advance, acted first, and fled for safety into the sanctuary of Athena of the Brazen House.

§ 11.45.6  And while the Lacedemonians were hesitating whether to punish him now that he was a suppliant, we are told that the mother of Pausanias, coming to the sanctuary, neither said nor did anything else than to pick up a brick and lay it against the entrance of the sanctuary, and after she had done this she returned to her home.

§ 11.45.7  And the Lacedemonians, falling in with the mother's decision, walled up the entrance and in this manner forced Pausanias to meet his end through starvation. Now the body of the dead man was turned over to his relatives for burial; but the divinity showed its displeasure at the violation of the sanctity of suppliants,

§ 11.45.8  for once when the Lacedemonians were consulting the oracle at Delphi about some other matters, the god replied by commanding them to restore her suppliant to the goddess.

§ 11.45.9  Consequently the Spartans, thinking the oracle's command to be impracticable, were at a loss for a considerable time, being unable to carry out the injunction of the god. Concluding, however, to do as much as was within their power, they made two bronze statues of Pausanias and set them up in the temple of Athena.

§ 11.46.1  As for us, since throughout our entire history we have made it our practice in the case of good men to enhance their glory by means of the words of praise we pronounce over them, and in the case of bad men, when they die, to utter the appropriate obloquies, we shall not leave the turpitude and treachery of Pausanias to go uncondemned.

§ 11.46.2  For who would not be amazed at the folly of this man who, though he had been a benefactor of Greece, had won the battle of Plataea, and had performed many other deeds which won applause, not only failed to safeguard the esteem he enjoyed but by his love of the wealth and luxury of the Persians brought dishonour upon the good name he already possessed?

§ 11.46.3  Indeed, elated by his successes he came to abhor the Laconian manner of life and to imitate the licentiousness and luxury of the Persians, he who least of all had reason to emulate the customs of the barbarians; for he had not learned of them from others, but in person by actual contact he had made trial of them and was aware how greatly superior with respect to virtue his ancestors' way of life was to the luxury of the Persians.

§ 11.46.4  And in truth because of his own baseness Pausanias not only himself received the punishment he deserved, but he also brought it about that his countrymen lost the supremacy at sea. In comparison, for instance, take the fine tact of Aristeides in dealing with the allies: when they took note of it, both because of his affability toward his subordinates and his uprightness in general, it caused them all as with one impulse to incline toward the Athenian cause.

§ 11.46.5  Consequently the allies no longer paid any heed to the commanders who were sent from Sparta, but in their admiration of Aristeides they eagerly submitted to him in every matter and thus brought it about that he received the supreme command by sea without having to fight for it.

§ 11.47.1  At once, then, Aristeides advised all the allies as they were holding a general assembly to designate the island of Delos as their common treasury and to deposit there all the money they collected, and towards the war which they suspected would come from the Persians to impose a levy upon all the cities according to their means, so that the entire sum collected would amount to five hundred and sixty talents.

§ 11.47.2  And when he was appointed to allocate the levy, he distributed the sum so accurately and justly that all the cities consented to it. Consequently, since he was considered to have accomplished an impossible thing, he won for himself a very high reputation for justice, and because he excelled in that virtue he was given the epithet of “the Just.”

§ 11.47.3  Thus at one and the same time the baseness of Pausanias deprived his countrymen of the supremacy on the sea, and the all-round virtue of Aristeides caused Athens to gain the leadership which she had not possessed before. These, then, were the events of this year.

§ 11.48.1  When Phaedon was archon in Athens, the Seventy-sixth Olympiad was celebrated, that in which Scamandrus of Mytilene won the “stadion,” and in Rome the consuls were Caeso Fabius and Spurius Furius Menellaeus.

§ 11.48.2  In the course of this year Leotychides, the king of the Lacedemonians, died after a reign of twenty-two years, and he was succeeded on the throne by Archidamus, who ruled for forty-two years. And there died also Anaxilas, the tyrant of Rhegium and Zancle, after a rule of eighteen years, and he was succeeded in the tyranny by Micythus, who was entrusted with the position on the understanding that he would restore it to the sons of Anaxilas, who were not yet of age.

§ 11.48.3  And Hieron, who became king of the Syracusans after the death of Gelon, observing how popular his brother Polyzelus was among the Syracusans and believing that he was waiting to seize the kingship, was eager to put him out of the way, and so, enlisting foreign soldiers and gathering about his person an organized body of mercenaries, he thought that by these means he could hold the kingship securely.

§ 11.48.4  And so, when the Sybarites were being besieged by the Crotoniates and called on Hieron for help, he enrolled many soldiers in the army, which he then put under the command of his brother Polyzelus in the belief that he would be slain by the Crotoniates.

§ 11.48.5  When Polyzelus, suspecting what we have mentioned, refused to undertake the campaign, Hieron was enraged at his brother, and when Polyzelus took refuge with Theron, the tyrant of Acragas, he began making preparation for war upon Theron.

§ 11.48.6  Subsequently to these events, Thrasydaeus the son of Theron was governing the city of Himera more harshly than was proper, and the result was that the Himerans became altogether alienated from him.

§ 11.48.7  Now they rejected the idea of going to his father and entering an accusation with him, since they did not believe they would find in him a fair listener; but they dispatched to Hieron ambassadors, who presented their complaints against Thrasydaeus and offered to hand Himera over to Hieron and join him in his attack upon Theron.

§ 11.48.8  Hieron, however, having decided to be at peace with Theron, betrayed the Himerans and disclosed to him their secret plans. Consequently Theron, after examining into the reported plan and finding the information to be true, composed his differences with Hieron and restored Polyzelus to the favour he had previously enjoyed, and then he arrested his opponents, who were many, among the Himerans and put them to death.

§ 11.49.1  Hieron removed the people of Naxos and Catana from their cities and sent there settlers of his own choosing, having gathered five thousand from the Peloponnesus and added an equal number of others from Syracuse; and the name of Catana he changed to Aetna, and not only the territory of Catana but also much neighbouring land which he added to it he portioned out in allotments, up to the full sum of ten thousand settlers.

§ 11.49.2  This he did out of a desire, not only that he might have a substantial help ready at hand for any need that might arise, but also that from the recently founded state of ten thousand men he might receive the honours accorded to heroes. And the Naxians and Catanians whom he had removed from their native states he transferred to Leontini and commanded them to make their homes in that city along with the native population.

§ 11.49.3  And Theron, seeing that after the slaughter of the Himerans the city was in need of settlers, made a mixed multitude there, enrolling as its citizens both Dorians and any others who so wished.

§ 11.49.4  These citizens lived together on good terms in the state for fifty-eight years; but at the expiration of this period the city was conquered and razed to the ground by the Carthaginians and has remained without inhabitants to this day.

§ 11.50.1  When Dromocleides was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Marcus Fabius and Gnaeus Manlius. In this year the Lacedemonians, now that for no good reason they had lost the command of the sea, were resentful; consequently they were incensed at the Greeks who had fallen away from them and continued to threaten them with the appropriate punishment.

§ 11.50.2  And when a meeting of the Gerousia was convened, they considered making war upon the Athenians for the sake of regaining the command of the sea.

§ 11.50.3  Likewise, when the general Assembly was convened, the younger men and the majority of the others were eager to recover the leadership, believing that, if they could secure it, they would enjoy great wealth, Sparta in general would be made greater and more powerful, and the estates of its private citizens would receive a great increase of prosperity.

§ 11.50.4  They kept calling to mind also the ancient oracle in which the god commanded them to beware lest their leadership should be a “lame” one, and the oracle, they insisted, meant nothing other than the present; for “lame” indeed their rule would be if, having two leaderships, they should lose one of them.

§ 11.50.5  Since practically all the citizens had been eager for this course of action and the Gerousia was in session to consider these matters, no one entertained the hope that any man would have the temerity to suggest any other course.

§ 11.50.6  But a member of the Gerousia, Hetoemaridas by name, who was a direct descendant of Heracles and enjoyed favour among the citizens by reason of his character, undertook to advise that they leave the Athenians with their leadership, since it was not to Sparta's interest, he declared, to lay claim to the sea. He was able to bring pertinent arguments in support of his surprising proposal, so that, against the expectation of all, he won over both the Gerousia and the people.

§ 11.50.7  And in the end the Lacedemonians decided that the opinion of Hetoemaridas was to their advantage and abandoned their zest for the war against the Athenians.

§ 11.50.8  As for the Athenians, at first they expected to have a great war with the Lacedemonians for the command of the sea, and for this reason were building additional triremes, raising a large sum of money, and dealing honourably with their allies; but when they learned of the decision of the Lacedemonians, they were relieved of their fear of war and set about increasing the power of their city.

§ 11.51.1  When Acestorides was archon in Athens, in Rome Caeso Fabius and Titus Verginius succeeded to the consulship. And in this year Hieron, the king of the Syracusans, when ambassadors came to him from Cumae in Italy and asked his aid in the war which the Tyrrhenians, who were at that time masters of the sea, were waging against them, he dispatched to their aid a considerable number of triremes.

§ 11.51.2  And after the commanders of this fleet had put in at Cumae, joining with the men of that region they fought a naval battle with the Tyrrhenians, and destroying many of their ships and conquering them in a great sea-fight, they humbled the Tyrrhenians and delivered the Cumaeans from their fears, after which they sailed back to Syracuse.

§ 11.52.1  When Menon was archon in Athens, the Romans chose as consuls Lucius Aemilius Mamercus and Gaius Cornelius Lentulus, and in Italy a war broke out between the Tarantini and the Iapygians.

§ 11.52.2  For these peoples, disputing with each other over some land on their borders, had been engaging for some years in skirmishings and in raiding each other's territory, and since the difference between them kept constantly increasing and frequently resulted in deaths, they finally went headlong into out-and out contention.

§ 11.52.3  Now the Iapygians not only made ready the army of their own men but they also joined with them an auxiliary force of more than twenty thousand soldiers; and the Tarantini, on learning of the great size of the army gathered against them, both mustered the soldiers of the state and added to them many more of the Rhegians, who were their allies.

§ 11.52.4  A fierce battle took place and many fell on both sides, but in the end the Iapygians were victorious. When the defeated army split in the flight into two bodies, the one retreating to Tarentum and the other fleeing to Rhegium, the Iapygians, following their example, also divided.

§ 11.52.5  Those who pursued the Tarantini, the distance being short, slew many of the enemy, but those who were pressing after the Rhegians were so eager that they broke into Rhegium together with the fugitives and took possession of the city.

§ 11.53.1  The next year Chares was archon in Athens, and in Rome the consuls elected were Titus Menenius and Gaius Horatius Pulvillus, and the Eleians celebrated the Seventy-seventh Olympiad, that in which Dandes of Argos won the “stadion.” In this year in Sicily Theron, the despot of Acragas, died after a reign of sixteen years, and his son Thrasydaeus succeeded to the throne.

§ 11.53.2  Now Theron, since he had administered his office equitably, not only enjoyed great favour among his countrymen during his lifetime, but also upon his death he was accorded the honours which are paid to heroes; but his son, even while his father was still living, was violent and murderous, and after his father's death ruled over his native city without respect for the laws and like a tyrant.

§ 11.53.3  Consequently he quickly lost the confidence of his subjects and was the constant object of plots, living a life of execration; and so he soon came to an end befitting his own lawlessness. For Thrasydaeus after the death of his father Theron gathered many mercenary soldiers and enrolled also citizens of Acragas and Himera, and thus got together in all more than twenty thousand cavalry and infantry.

§ 11.53.4  And since he was preparing to make war with these troops upon the Syracusans, Hieron the king made ready a formidable army and marched upon Acragas. A fierce battle took place, and a very large number fell, since Greeks were marshalled against Greeks.

§ 11.53.5  Now the fight was won by the Syracusans, who lost some two thousand men against more than four thousand for their opponents. Thereupon Thrasydaeus, having been humbled, was expelled from his position, and fleeing to Nisaean Megara, as it is called, he was there condemned to death and met his end; and the Acragantini, having now recovered their democratic form of government, sent ambassadors to Hieron and secured peace.

§ 11.53.6  In Italy war broke out between the Romans and the Veiians and a great battle was fought at the site called Cremera. The Romans were defeated and many of them perished, among their number, according to some historians, being the three hundred Fabii, who were of the same gens and hence were included under the single name. These, then, were the events of this year.

§ 11.54.1  When Praxigerus was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Aulus Verginius Tricostus and Gaius Servilius Structus. At this time the Eleians, who dwelt in many small cities, united to form one state which is known as Elis.

§ 11.54.2  And the Lacedemonians, seeing that Sparta was in a humbled state by reason of the treason of their general Pausanias, whereas the Athenians were in good repute because no one of their citizens had been found guilty of treason, were eager to involve Athens in similar discreditable charges.

§ 11.54.3  Consequently, since Themistocles was greatly esteemed by the Athenians and enjoyed high fame for his high character, they accused him of treason, maintaining that he had been a close friend of Pausanias and had agreed with him that together they would betray Greece of the Xerxes.

§ 11.54.4  They also carried on conversations with the enemies of Themistocles, inciting them to lodge an accusation against him, and gave them money; and they explained that, when Pausanias decided to betray the Greeks, he disclosed the plan he had to Themistocles and urged him to participate in the project, and that Themistocles neither agreed to the request nor decided that it was his duty to accuse a man who was his friend.

§ 11.54.5  At any rate a charge was brought against Themistocles, but at the time he was not found guilty of treason. Hence at first after he was absolved he stood high in the opinion of the Athenians; for his fellow citizens were exceedingly fond of him on account of his achievements. But afterwards those who feared the eminence he enjoyed, and others who were envious of his glory forgot his services to the state, and began to exert themselves to diminish his power and to lower his presumption.

§ 11.55.1  First of all they removed Themistocles from Athens, employing against him what is called ostracism, an institution which was adopted in Athens after the overthrow of the tyranny of Peisistratus and his sons; and the law was as follows.

§ 11.55.2  Each citizen wrote on a piece of pottery (ostracon) the name of the man who in his opinion had the greatest power to destroy the democracy; and the man who got the largest number of ostraca was obliged by the law to go into exile from his native land for a period of five years.

§ 11.55.3  The Athenians, it appears, passed such a law, not for the purpose of punishing wrongdoing, but in order to lower through exile the presumption of men who had risen too high. Now Themistocles, having been ostracized in the manner we have described, fled as an exile from his native city to Argos.

§ 11.55.4  But the Lacedemonians, learning of this and considering that Fortune had given them a favourable moment to attack Themistocles, again dispatched ambassadors to Athens. These accused Themistocles of complicity in the treason of Pausanias, and asserted that his trial, since his crimes affected all Greece, should not be held privately among the Athenians alone but rather before the General Congress of the Greeks which, according to custom, was to meet at that time.

§ 11.55.5  And Themistocles, seeing that the Lacedemonians were bent upon defaming and humbling the Athenian state, and that the Athenians were anxious to clear themselves of the charge against them, assumed that he would be turned over to the General Congress.

§ 11.55.6  This body, he knew, made its decisions, not on the basis of justice, but out of favour to the Lacedemonians, inferring this not only from its other actions but also from what it had done in making the awards for valour. For in that instance those who controlled the voting showed such jealousy of the Athenians that, although these had contributed more triremes than all the others who took part in the battle, they made them out to be no whit better than the rest of the Greeks.

§ 11.55.7  These, then, were the reasons why Themistocles distrusted the members of the Congress. Furthermore, it was from the speech in his own defence which Themistocles had made in Athens on the former occasion that the Lacedemonians had got the basis for the accusation they afterwards made.

§ 11.55.8  For in that defence Themistocles had acknowledged that Pausanias had sent letters to him, urging him to share in the act of treason, and using this as the strongest piece of evidence in his behalf, he had established that Pausanias would not have urged him, unless he had opposed his first request.

§ 11.56.1  It was for these reasons, as we have stated above, that Themistocles fled from Argos to Admetus, the king of the Molossians; and taking refuge at Admetus' hearth he became his suppliant. The king at first received him kindly, urged him to be of good courage, and, in general, assured him that he would provide for his safety;

§ 11.56.2  but when the Lacedemonians dispatched some of the most distinguished Spartans as ambassadors to Admetus and demanded the person of Themistocles for punishment, stigmatizing him as the betrayer and destroyer of the whole Greek world, and when they went further and declared that, if Admetus would not turn him over to them, they together with all the Greeks would make war on him, then indeed the king, fearing on the one hand the threats and yet pitying the suppliant and seeking to avoid the disgrace of handing him over, persuaded Themistocles to make his escape with all speed without the knowledge of the Lacedemonians and gave him a large sum of gold to meet his expenses on the flight.

§ 11.56.3  And Themistocles, being persecuted as he was on every side, accepted the gold and fled by night out of the territory of the Molossians, the king furthering his flight in every way; and finding two young men, Lyncestians by birth, who were traders and therefore familiar with the roads, he made his escape in their company.

§ 11.56.4  By travelling only at night he eluded the Lacedemonians, and by virtue of the goodwill of the young men and the hardship they endured for him he made his way to Asia. Here Themistocles had a personal friend, Lysitheides by name, who was highly regarded for his fame and wealth, and to him he fled for refuge.

§ 11.56.5  Now it so happened that Lysitheides was a friend of Xerxes the king and on the occasion of his passage through Asia Minor had entertained the entire Persian host. Consequently, since he enjoyed an intimate acquaintance with the king and yet wished out of mercy to save Themistocles, he promised to co operate with him in every way.

§ 11.56.6  But when Themistocles asked that he lead him to Xerxes, at first he demurred, explaining that Themistocles would be punished because of his past activities against the Persians; later, however, when he realized that it was for the best, he acceded, and unexpectedly and without harm he got him through safe to Persia.

§ 11.56.7  For it was a custom among the Persians that when one conducted a concubine to the king one brought her in a closed wagon, and no man who met it interfered or came face to face with the passenger; and it came about that Lysitheides availed himself of this means of carrying out his undertaking.

§ 11.56.8  After preparing the wagon and embellishing it with costly hangings he put Themistocles in it; and when he had got him through in entire safety, he came into the presence of the king, and after he had conversed with him cautiously he received pledges from the king that he would do Themistocles no wrong. Then Lysitheides introduced him to the presence of the king, who, when he had allowed Themistocles to speak and learned that he had done the king no wrong, absolved him from punishment.

§ 11.57.1  But when it seemed that the life of Themistocles had unexpectedly been saved by an enemy, he fell again into even greater dangers for the following reasons. Mandane was the daughter of the Darius who had slain the Magi and the full sister of Xerxes, and she enjoyed high esteem among the Persians.

§ 11.57.2  She had lost her sons at the time Themistocles had defeated the Persian fleet in the sea-battle at Salamis and sorely grieved over the death of her children, and because of her great affliction she was the object of the pity of the people.

§ 11.57.3  When she learned of the presence of Themistocles, she went to the palace clad in raiment of mourning and with tears entreated her brother to wreak vengeance upon Themistocles. And when the king paid no heed to her, she visited in turn the noblest Persians with her request and, speaking generally, spurred on the people to wreak vengeance upon Themistocles.

§ 11.57.4  When the mob rushed to the palace and with loud shouts demanded the person of Themistocles for punishment, the king replied that he would form a jury of the noblest Persians and that its verdict would be carried out.

§ 11.57.5  This decision was approved by all, and since a considerable time was given to make the preparations for the trial, Themistocles meanwhile learned the Persian language, and using it in his defence he was acquitted of the charges.

§ 11.57.6  And the king was overjoyed that Themistocles had been saved and honoured him with great gifts; so, for example, he gave him in marriage a Persian woman, who was of outstanding birth and beauty and, besides, praised for her virtue, and [she brought as her dower] not only a multitude of household slaves for their service but also of drinking-cups of every kind and such other furnishings as comport with a life of pleasure and luxury.

§ 11.57.7  Furthermore, the king made him a present also of three cities which were well suited for his support and enjoyment, Magnesia upon the Maeander River, which had more grain than any city of Asia, for bread, Myus for meat, since the sea there abounded in fish, and Lampsacus, whose territory contained extensive vineyards, for wine.

§ 11.58.1  Themistocles, being now relieved of the fear which he had felt when among the Greeks, the man who had unexpectedly, on the one hand, been driven into exile by those who had profited most by the benefits he had bestowed and, on the other, had received benefits from those who had suffered the most grievously at his hands, spent his life in the cities we have mentioned, being well supplied with all the good things that conduce to pleasure, and at his death he was given a notable funeral in Magnesia and a monument that stands even to this day.

§ 11.58.2  Some historians say that Xerxes, desiring to lead a second expedition to Greece, invited Themistocles to take command of the war, and that he agreed to do so and received from the king guaranties under oath that he would not march against the Greeks without Themistocles.

§ 11.58.3  And when a bull had been sacrificed and the oaths taken, Themistocles, filling a cup with its blood, drank it down and immediately died. They add that Xerxes thereupon relinquished that plan of his, and that Themistocles by his voluntary death left the best possible defence that he had played the part of a good citizen in all matters affecting the interests of Greece.

§ 11.58.4  We have come to the death of one of the greatest of the Greeks, about whom many dispute whether it was because he had wronged his native city and the other Greeks that he fled to the Persians, or whether, on the contrary, his city and all the Greeks, after enjoying great benefits at his hands, forgot to be grateful for them but unjustly plunged him, their benefactor, into the uttermost perils.

§ 11.58.5  But if any man, putting envy aside, will estimate closely not only the man's natural gifts but also his achievements, he will find that on both counts Themistocles holds first place among all of whom we have record. Therefore one may well be amazed that the Athenians were willing to rid themselves of a man of such genius.

§ 11.59.1  What other man, while Sparta still had the superior strength and the Spartan Eurybiades held the supreme command of the fleet, could by his singlehanded efforts have deprived Sparta of that glory? Of what other man have we learned from history that by a single act he caused himself to surpass all the commanders, his city all other Greek states, and the Greeks the barbarians? In whose term as general have the resources been more inferior and the dangers they faced greater?

§ 11.59.2  Who, facing the united might of all Asia, has found himself at the side of his city when its inhabitants had been driven from their homes, and still won the victory? Who in time of peace has made his fatherland powerful by deeds comparable to his? Who, when a gigantic war enveloped his state, brought it safely through and by the one single ruse of the bridge reduced land armament of the enemy by half, so that it could be easily vanquished by the Greeks?

§ 11.59.3  Consequently, when we survey the magnitude of his deeds and, examining them one by one, find that such a man suffered disgrace at the hands of his city, whereas it was by his deeds that the city rose to greatness, we have good reason to conclude that the city which is reputed to rank highest among all cities in wisdom and fair-dealing acted towards him with great cruelty.

§ 11.59.4  Now on the subject of the high merits of Themistocles, even if we have dwelt over-long on the subject in this digression, we believed it not seemly that we should leave his great ability unrecorded. While these events were taking place, in Italy Micythus, who was ruler of Rhegium and Zancle, founded the city of Pyxus.

§ 11.60.1  When Demotion was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Publius Valerius Publicola and Gaius Nautius Rufus. In this year the Athenians, electing as general Cimon the son of Miltiades and giving him a strong force, sent him to the coast of Asia to give aid to the cities which were allied with them and to liberate those which were still held by Persian garrisons.

§ 11.60.2  And Cimon, taking along the fleet which was at Byzantium and putting in at the city which is called Eion, took it from the Persians who were holding it and captured by siege Scyros, which was inhabited by Pelasgians and Dolopes; and setting up an Athenian as the founder of a colony he portioned out the land in allotments.

§ 11.60.3  After this, with a mind to begin greater enterprises, he put in at the Peiraeus, and after adding more triremes to his fleet and arranging for general supplies on a notable scale, he at that time put to sea with two hundred triremes; but later, when he had called for additional ships from the Ionians and everyone else, he had in all three hundred.

§ 11.60.4  So sailing with the entire fleet to Caria he at once succeeded in persuading the cities on the coast which had been settled from Greece to revolt from the Persians, but as for the cities whose inhabitants spoke two languages and still had Persian garrisons, he had recourse to force and laid siege to them; then, after he had brought to his side the cities of Caria, he likewise won over by persuasion those of Lycia.

§ 11.60.5  Also, by taking additional ships from the allies, who were continually being added, he still further increased the size of the fleet. Now the Persians had composed their land forces from their own peoples, but their navy they had gathered from both Phoenicia and Cyprus and Cilicia, and the commander of the Persian armaments was Tithraustes, who was an illegitimate son of Xerxes.

§ 11.60.6  And when Cimon learned that the Persian fleet was lying off Cyprus, sailing against the barbarians he engaged them in battle, pitting two hundred and fifty ships against three hundred and forty. A sharp struggle took place and both fleets fought brilliantly, but in the end the Athenians were victorious, having destroyed many of the enemy ships and captured more than one hundred together with their crews.

§ 11.60.7  The rest of the ships escaped to Cyprus, where their crews left them and took to the land, and the ships, being bare of defenders, fell into the hands of the enemy.

§ 11.61.1  Thereupon Cimon, not satisfied with a victory of such magnitude, set sail at once with his entire fleet against the Persian land army, which was then encamped on the bank of the Eurymedon River. And wishing to overcome the barbarians by a stratagem, he manned the captured Persian ships with his own best men, giving them tiaras for their heads and clothing them in the Persian fashion generally.

§ 11.61.2  The barbarians, so soon as the fleet approached them, were deceived by the Persian ships and garb and supposed the triremes to be their own. Consequently they received the Athenians as if they were friends. And Cimon, night having fallen, disembarked his soldiers, and being received by the Persians as a friend, he fell upon their encampment.

§ 11.61.3  A great tumult arose among the Persians, and the soldiers of Cimon cut down all who came in their way, and seizing in his tent Pheredates, one of the two generals of the barbarians and a nephew of the king, they slew him; and as for the rest of the Persians, some they cut down and others they wounded, and all of them, because of the unexpectedness of the attack, they forced to take flight. In a word, such consternation as well as bewilderment prevailed among the Persians that most of them did not even know who it was that was attacking them.

§ 11.61.4  For they had no idea that the Greeks had come against them in force, being persuaded that they had no land army at all; and they assumed that it was the Pisidians, who dwelt in neighbouring territory and were hostile to them, who had come to attack them. Consequently, thinking that the attack of the enemy was coming from the mainland, they fled to their ships in the belief they were in friendly hands.

§ 11.61.5  And since it was a dark night without a moon, their bewilderment was increased all the more and not a man was able to discern the true state of affairs.

§ 11.61.6  Consequently, after a great slaughter had occurred on account of the disorder among the barbarians, Cimon, who had previously given orders to the soldiers to come running to the torch which would be raised, had the signal raised beside the ships, being anxious lest, if the soldiers should scatter and turn to plundering, some miscarriage of his plans might occur.

§ 11.61.7  And when the soldiers had all been gathered at the torch and had stopped plundering, for the time being they set up a trophy and then sailed back to Cyprus, having won two glorious victories, the one on land and the other on the sea; for not to this day has history recorded the occurrence of so unusual and so important actions on the same day by a host that fought both afloat and on land.

§ 11.62.1  After Cimon had won these great successes by means of his own skill as general and his valour, his fame was noised abroad not only among his fellow citizens but among all other Greeks as well. For he had captured three hundred and forty ships, more than twenty thousand men, and a considerable sum of money.

§ 11.62.2  But the Persians, having met with so great reverses, built other triremes in greater number, since they feared the growing might of the Athenians. For from this time the Athenian state kept receiving significant enhancement of its power, supplied as it was with an abundance of funds and having attained to great renown for courage and for able leadership in war.

§ 11.62.3  And the Athenian people, taking a tenth part of the booty, dedicated it to the god, and the inscription which they wrote upon the dedication they made ran as follows: E'en from the day when the sea divided Europe from Asia, And the impetuous god, Ares, the cities of men Took for his own, no deed such as this among earth-dwelling mortals Ever was wrought at one time both upon land and at sea. These men indeed upon Cyprus sent many a Mede to destruction, Capturing out on the sea warships a hundred in sum Filled with Phoenician men; and deeply all Asia grieved o'er them, Smitten thus with both hands, vanquished by war's mighty power.

§ 11.63.1  Such, then, were the events of this year. When Phaeon was archon in Athens, in Rome the consulship was taken over by Lucius Furius Mediolanus and Marcus Manilius Vaso. During this year a great and incredible catastrophe befell the Lacedemonians; for great earthquakes occurred in Sparta, and as a result the houses collapsed from their foundations and more than twenty thousand Lacedemonians perished.

§ 11.63.2  And since the tumbling down of the city and the falling in of the houses continued uninterruptedly over a long period, many persons were caught and crushed in the collapse of the walls and no little household property was ruined by the quake.

§ 11.63.3  And although they suffered this disaster because some god, as it were, was wreaking his anger upon them, it so happened that other dangers befell them at the hands of men for the following reasons.

§ 11.63.4  The Helots and Messenians, although enemies of the Lacedemonians, had remained quiet up to this time, since they stood in fear of the eminent position and power of Sparta; but when they observed that the larger part of them had perished because of the earthquake, they held in contempt the survivors, who were few. Consequently they came to an agreement with each other and joined together in the war against the Lacedemonians.

§ 11.63.5  The king of the Lacedemonians, Archidamus, by his personal foresight not only was the saviour of his fellow citizens even during the earthquake, but in the course of the war also he bravely fought the aggressors.

§ 11.63.6  For instance, when the terrible earthquake struck Sparta, he was the first Spartan to seize his armour and hasten from the city into the country, calling upon the other citizens to follow his example.

§ 11.63.7  The Spartans obeyed him and thus those who survived the shock were saved and these men King Archidamus organized into an army and prepared to make war upon the revolters.

§ 11.64.1  The Messenians together with the Helots at first advanced against the city of Sparta, assuming that they would take it because there would be no one to defend it; but when they heard that the survivors were drawn up in a body with Archidamus the king and were ready for the struggle on behalf of their native land, they gave up this plan, and seizing a stronghold in Messenia they made it their base of operations and from there continued to overrun Laconia.

§ 11.64.2  And the Spartans, turning for help to the Athenians, received from them an army; and they gathered troops as well from the rest of their allies and thus became able to meet their enemy on equal terms. At the outset they were much superior to the enemy, but at a later time, when a suspicion arose that the Athenians were about to go over to the Messenians, they broke the alliance with them, stating as their reason that in the other allies they had sufficient men to meet the impending battle.

§ 11.64.3  The Athenians, although they believed that they had suffered an affront, at the time did no more than withdraw; later, however, their relations to the Lacedemonians being unfriendly, they were more and more inclined to fan the flames of hatred. Consequently the Athenians took this incident as the first cause of the estrangement of the two states, and later on they quarrelled and, embarking upon great wars, filled all Greece with vast calamities. But we shall give an account of these matters severally in connection with the appropriate periods of time.

§ 11.64.4  At the time in question the Lacedemonians together with their allies marched forth against Ithome and laid siege to it. And the Helots, revolting in a body from the Lacedemonians, joined as allies with the Messenians, and at one time they were winning and at another losing. And since for ten years no decision could be reached in the war, for that length of time they never ceased injuring each other.

§ 11.65.1  The following year Theageneides was archon in Athens, and in Rome the consuls elected were Lucius Aemilius Mamercus and Lucius Julius Iulus, and the Seventy-eighth Olympiad was celebrated, that in which Parmenides of Posidonia won the “stadion.” In this year a war broke out between the Argives and Mycenaeans for the following reasons.

§ 11.65.2  The Mycenaeans, because of the ancient prestige of their country, would not be subservient to the Argives as the other cities of Argolis were, but they maintained an independent position and would take no orders from the Argives; and they kept disputing with them also over the shrine of Hera and claiming that they had the right to administer the Nemean games by themselves. Furthermore, when the Argives voted not to join with the Lacedemonians in the battle at Thermopylae unless they were given a share in the supreme command, the Mycenaeans were the only people of Argolis who fought at the side of the Lacedemonians.

§ 11.65.3  In a word, the Argives were suspicious of the Mycenaeans, fearing lest, if they got any stronger, they might, on the strength of the ancient prestige of Mycenae, dispute the right of Argos to the leadership. Such, then, were the reasons for the bad blood between them; and from of old the Argives had ever been eager to exalt their city, and now they thought they had a favourable opportunity, seeing that the Lacedemonians had been weakened and were unable to come to the aid of the Mycenaeans. Therefore the Argives, gathering a strong army from both Argos and the cities of their allies, marched against the Mycenaeans, and after defeating them in battle and shutting them within their walls, they laid siege to the city.

§ 11.65.4  The Mycenaeans for a time resisted the besiegers with vigour, but afterwards, since they were being worsted in the fighting and the Lacedemonians could bring them no aid because of their own wars and the disaster that had overtaken them in the earthquakes, and since there were no other allies, they were taken by storm through lack of support from outside.

§ 11.65.5  The Argives sold the Mycenaeans into slavery, dedicated a tenth part of them to the god, and razed Mycenae. So this city, which in ancient times had enjoyed such felicity, possessing great men and having to its credit memorable achievements, met with such an end, and has remained uninhabited down to our own times. These, then, were the events of this year.

§ 11.66.1  When Lysistratus was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Lucius Pinarius Mamertinus and Publius Furius Fifron. In this year Hieron, the king of the Syracusans, summoning to Syracuse the sons of Anaxilas, the former tyrant of Zancle, and giving them great gifts, reminded them of the benefactions Gelon had rendered their father, and advised them, now that they had come of age, to require an accounting of Micythus, their guardian, and themselves to take over the government of Zancle.

§ 11.66.2  And when they had returned to Rhegium and required of their guardian an accounting of his administration, Micythus, who was an upright man, gathered together the old family friends of the children and rendered so honest an accounting that all present were filled with admiration of both his justice and good faith; and the children, regretting the steps they had taken, begged Micythus to take back the administration and to conduct the affairs of the state with a father's power and position.

§ 11.66.3  Micythus, however, did not accede to the request, but after turning everything over to them punctiliously and putting his own goods aboard a boat he set sail from Rhegium, accompanied by the goodwill of the populace; and reaching Greece he spent the rest of his life in Tegea in Arcadia, enjoying the approval of men.

§ 11.66.4  And Hieron, the king of the Syracusans, died in Catana and received the honours which are accorded to heroes, as having been the founder of the city. He had ruled eleven years, and he left the kingdom to his brother Thrasybulus, who ruled over the Syracusans for one year.

§ 11.67.1  When Lysanias was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Appius Claudius and Titus Quinctius Capitolinus. During this year Thrasybulus, the king of the Syracusans, was driven from his throne, and since we are writing a detailed account of this event, we must go back a few years and set forth clearly the whole story from the beginning.

§ 11.67.2  Gelon, the son of Deinomenes, who far excelled all other men in valour and strategy and out-generalled the Carthaginians, defeated these barbarians in a great battle, as has been told; and since he treated the peoples whom he had subdued with fairness and, in general, conducted himself humanely toward all his immediate neighbours, he enjoyed high favour among the Sicilian Greeks.

§ 11.67.3  Thus Gelon, being beloved by all because of his mild rule, lived in uninterrupted peace until his death. But Hieron, the next oldest among the brothers, who succeeded to the throne, did not rule over his subjects in the same manner;

§ 11.67.4  for he was avaricious and violent and, speaking generally, an utter stranger to sincerity and nobility of character. Consequently there were a good many who wished to revolt, but they restrained their inclinations because of Gelon's reputation and the goodwill he had shown towards all the Sicilian Greeks.

§ 11.67.5  After the death of Hieron, however, his brother Thrasybulus, who succeeded to the throne, surpassed in wickedness his predecessor in the kingship. For being a violent man and murderous by nature, he put to death many citizens unjustly and drove not a few into exile on false charges, confiscating their possessions into the royal treasury; and since, speaking generally, he hated those he had wronged and was hated by them, he enlisted a large body of mercenaries, preparing in this way a legion with which to oppose the citizen soldiery.

§ 11.67.6  And since he kept incurring more and most the hatred of the citizens by outraging many and executing others, he compelled the victims to revolt. Consequently the Syracusans, choosing men who would take the lead, set about as one man to destroy the tyranny, and once they had been organized by their leaders they clung stubbornly to their freedom.

§ 11.67.7  When Thrasybulus saw that the whole city was in arms against him, he at first attempted to stop the revolt by persuasion; but after he observed that the movement of the Syracusans could not be halted, he gathered together both the colonists whom Hieron had settled in Catana and his other allies, as well as a multitude of mercenaries, so that his army numbered all told almost fifteen thousand men.

§ 11.67.8  Then, seizing Achradine, as it is called, and the Island, which was fortified, and using them as bases, he began a war upon the revolting citizens.

§ 11.68.1  The Syracusans at the outset seized a part of the city which is called Tyche, and operating from there they dispatched ambassadors to Gela, Acragas, and Selinus, and also to Himera and the cities of the Siceli in the interior of the island, asking them to come together with all speed and join with them in liberating Syracuse.

§ 11.68.2  And since all these cities acceded to this request eagerly and hurriedly dispatched aid, some of them infantry and cavalry and others warships fully equipped for action, in a brief time there was collected a considerable armament with which to aid the Syracusans. Consequently the Syracusans, having made ready their ships and drawn up their army for battle, demonstrated that they were ready to fight to a finish both on land and on sea.

§ 11.68.3  Now Thrasybulus, abandoned as he was by his allies and basing his hopes only upon the mercenaries, was master only of Achradine and the Island, whereas the rest of the city was in the hands of the Syracusans. And after this Thrasybulus sailed forth with his ships against the enemy, and after suffering defeat in the battle with the loss of numerous triremes, he withdrew with the remaining ships to the Island.

§ 11.68.4  Similarly he led forth his army also from Achradine and drew them up for battle in the suburbs, but he suffered defeat and was forced to retire with heavy losses back to Achradine. In the end, giving up hope of maintaining the tyranny, he opened negotiations with the Syracusans, came to an understanding with them, and retired under a truce to Locris.

§ 11.68.5  The Syracusans, having liberated their native city in this manner, gave permission to the mercenaries to withdraw from Syracuse, and they liberated the other cities, which were either in the hands of tyrants or had garrisons, and re established democracies in them.

§ 11.68.6  From this time the city enjoyed peace and increased greatly in prosperity, and it maintained its democracy for almost sixty years, until the tyranny which was established by Dionysius.

§ 11.68.7  But Thrasybulus, who had taken over a kingship which had been established on so fair a foundation, disgracefully lost his kingdom through his own wickedness, and fleeing to Locri he spent the rest of his life there in private station.

§ 11.68.8  While these events were taking place, in Rome this year for the first time four tribunes were elected to office, Gaius Sicinius, Lucius Numitorius, Marcus Duillius, and Spurius Acilius.

§ 11.69.1  With the passing of this year, in Athens Lysitheus was archon, and in Rome the consuls elected were Lucius Valerius Publicola and Titus Aemilius Mamercus. During this year, in Asia Artabanus, an Hyrcanian by birth, who enjoyed the greatest influence at the court of King Xerxes and was captain of the royal body-guard, decided to slay Xerxes and transfer the kingship to himself. He communicated the plot to Mithridates the eunuch, who was the king's chamberlain and enjoyed his supreme confidence, and he, since he was also a relative of Artabanus as well as his friend, agreed to the plot.

§ 11.69.2  And Artabanus, being led at night by Mithridates into the king's bed-chamber, slew Xerxes and then set out after the king's sons. These were three in number, Darius the eldest and Artaxerxes, who were both living in the palace, and the third, Hystaspes, who happened to be away from home at the time, since he was administering the satrapy of Bactria.

§ 11.69.3  Now Artabanus, coming while it was yet night to Artaxerxes, told him that his brother Darius had murdered his father and was shifting the kingship to himself.

§ 11.69.4  He counselled him, therefore, before Darius should seize the throne, to see to it that he should not become a slave through sheer indifference but that he should ascend the throne after punishing the murderer of his father; and he promised to get the body-guard of the king to support him in the undertaking.

§ 11.69.5  Artaxerxes fell in with the advice and at once, with the help of the body-guard, slew his brother Darius. And when Artabanus saw how his plan was prospering, he called his own sons to his side and crying out that now was his time to win the kingship he strikes Artaxerxes with his sword.

§ 11.69.6  Artaxerxes, being wounded merely and not seriously hurt by the blow, held off Artabanus and dealing him a fatal blow killed him. Thus Artaxerxes, after being saved in this unexpected fashion and having taken vengeance upon the slayer of his father, took over the kingship of the Persians. So Xerxes died in the manner we have described, after having been king of the Persians for more than twenty years, and Artaxerxes succeeded to the kingship and ruled for forty years.

§ 11.70.1  When Archedemides was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Aulus Verginius and Titus Minucius, and the Seventy-ninth Olympiad was celebrated, that in which Xenophon of Corinth won the “stadion.” In this year the Thasians revolted from the Athenians because of a quarrel over mines; but they were forced to capitulate by the Athenians and compelled to subject themselves again to their rule.

§ 11.70.2  Similarly also, when the Aeginetans revolted, the Athenians, intending to reduce them to subjection, undertook the siege of Aegina; for this state, being often successful in its engagements at sea, was puffed up with pride and was also well provided with both money and triremes, and, in a word, was constantly at odds with the Athenians.

§ 11.70.3  Consequently they sent an army against it and laid waste its territory, and then, laying siege to Aegina, they bent every effort on taking it by storm. For, speaking generally, the Athenians, now that they were making great advances in power, no longer treated their allies fairly, as they had formerly done, but were ruling them harshly and arrogantly.

§ 11.70.4  Consequently most of the allies, unable longer to endure their severity, were discussing rebellion with each other, and some of them, scorning the authority of the General Congress, were acting as independent states.

§ 11.70.5  While these events were taking place, the Athenians, who were now masters of the sea, dispatched ten thousand colonists to Amphipolis, recruiting a part of them from their own citizens and a part from the allies. They portioned out the territory in allotments, and for a time held the upper hand over the Thracians, but at a later time, as a result of their further advance into Thrace, all who entered the country of the Thracians were slain by a people known as the Edones.

§ 11.71.1  When Tlepolemus was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Titus Quinctius and Quintus Servilius Structus. This year Artaxerxes, the king of the Persians, who had just recovered the throne, first of all punished those who had had a part in the murder of his father and then organized the affairs of the kingdom to suit his own personal advantage.

§ 11.71.2  Thus with respect to the satraps then in office, those who were hostile to him he dismissed and from his friends he chose such as were competent and gave the satrapies to them. He also concerned himself with both the revenues and the preparation of armaments, and since in general his administration of the entire kingdom was mild, he enjoyed the favour of the Persians to a high degree.

§ 11.71.3  But when the inhabitants of Egypt learned of the death of Xerxes and of the general attempt upon the throne and the disorder in the Persian kingdom, they decided to strike for their liberty. At once, then, mustering an army, they revolted from the Persians, and after expelling the Persians whose duty it was to collect the tribute from Egypt, they set up as king a man named Inaros.

§ 11.71.4  He at first recruited soldiers from the native Egyptians, but afterwards he gathered also mercenaries from the other nations and amassed a considerable army. He dispatched ambassadors also to the Athenians to effect an alliance, promising them that, if they should liberate the Egyptians, he would give them a share in the kingdom and grant them favours many times greater than the good service they had rendered.

§ 11.71.5  And the Athenians, having decided that it was to their advantage to humble the Persians as far as they could and to attach the Egyptians closely to themselves against the unpredictable shiftings of Fortune, voted to send three hundred triremes to the aid of the Egyptians.

§ 11.71.6  The Athenians, therefore, with great enthusiasm set about the preparation of the expedition. As for Artaxerxes, when he learned of the revolt of the Egyptians and their preparations for war, he concluded that he must surpass the Egyptians in the size of his armaments. So he at once began to enrol soldiers from all the satrapies, build ships, and give his attention to every other kind of preparation. These were the events of this year in Asia and Egypt.

§ 11.72.1  In Sicily, as soon as the tyranny of Syracuse had been overthrown and all the cities of the island had been liberated, the whole of Sicily was making great strides toward prosperity. For the Sicilian Greeks were at peace, and the land they cultivated was fertile, so that the abundance of their harvests enabled them soon to increase their estates and to fill the land with slaves and domestic animals and every other accompaniment of prosperity, taking in great revenues on the one hand and spending nothing upon the wars to which they had been accustomed.

§ 11.72.2  But later on they were again plunged into wars and civil strife for the following reasons. After the Syracusans had overthrown the tyranny of Thrasybulus, they held a meeting of the Assembly, and after deliberating on forming a democracy of their own they all voted unanimously to make a colossal statue of Zeus Eleutherios (Liberator) and each year to celebrate with sacrifices the Festival of Liberation and hold games of distinction on the day on which they had overthrown the tyrant and liberated their native city; and they also voted to sacrifice to the gods, in connection with the games, four hundred and fifty bulls and to use them for the citizens' feast.

§ 11.72.3  As for all the magistracies, they proposed to assign them to the original citizens, but the aliens who had been admitted to citizenship under Gelon they did not see fit to allow to share in this dignity, either because they judged them to be unworthy or because they were suspicious lest men who had been brought up in the way of tyranny and had served in war under a monarch might attempt a revolution. And that is what actually happened. For Gelon had enrolled as citizens more than ten thousand foreign mercenaries, and of these there were left at the time in question more than seven thousand.

§ 11.73.1  These aliens resented their being excluded from the dignity attending magistracies and with one accord revolted from the Syracusans, and they seized in the city both Achradine and the Island, both these places having their own well-built fortifications.

§ 11.73.2  The Syracusans, who were again plunged into disorder, held possession of the rest of the city; and that part of it which faced Epipolae they blocked off by a wall and made their own position very secure; for they anyone easily cut off the rebels from access to the countryside and soon caused them to be in want of provisions.

§ 11.73.3  But though in number the mercenaries were inferior to the Syracusans, yet in experience of warfare they were far superior; consequently, when attacks took place here and there throughout the city and isolated encounters, the mercenaries regularly had the upper hand in the combats, but since they were shut off from the countryside, they were in want of equipment and short of food. Such were the events in Sicily of this year.

§ 11.74.1  When Conon was archon in Athens, in Rome the consulship was held by Quintus Fabius Vibulanus and Tiberius Aemilius Mamercus. This year Artaxerxes, the king of the Persians, appointed Achaemenes, who was a son of Darius and his own uncle, to be commander in the war against the Egyptians; and turning over to him more than three hundred thousand soldiers, counting both cavalry and infantry, he commanded them to subdue the Egyptians.

§ 11.74.2  Now Achaemenes, when he had entered Egypt, pitched his camp near the Nile, and when he had rested his army after the march, he made ready for battle; but the Egyptians, having gathered their army from Libya and Egypt, were awaiting the auxiliary force of the Athenians.

§ 11.74.3  After the Athenians had arrived in Egypt with two hundred ships and had been drawn up with the Egyptians in battle order against the Persians, a mighty struggle took place. And for a time the Persians with their superior numbers maintained the advantage, but later, when the Athenians seized the offensive, put to flight the forces opposing them, and slew many of them, the remainder of the barbarians turned to flight en masse.

§ 11.74.4  There was much slaughter in the course of the flight, and finally the Persians, after losing the larger part of their army, found refuge in the white Fortress, as it is called, while the Athenians, who had won the victory by their own deeds of valour, pursued the barbarians as far as the aforesaid stronghold and did not hesitate to besiege it.

§ 11.74.5  Artaxerxes, on learning of the defeat of his troops, at first sent some of his friends with a large sum of money to Lacedemon and asked the Lacedemonians to make war upon the Athenians, thinking that if they complied the Athenian troops who had won the victory in Egypt would sail back to Athens in order to defend their native city.

§ 11.74.6  When the Lacedemonians, however, neither accepted money nor paid any attention whatever to the requests of the Persians, Artaxerxes despaired of getting any aid from the Lacedemonians and set about preparing other armaments. In command of them he placed Artabazus and Megabyzus, men of outstanding merit, and dispatched them to make war upon the Egyptians.

§ 11.75.1  When Euthippus was archon in Athens, the Romans chose as consuls Quintus Servilius and Spurius Postumius Albinus. During this year, in Asia Artabazus and Megabyzus, who had been dispatched to the war against the Egyptians, set out from Persia with more than three hundred thousand soldiers, counting both cavalry and infantry.

§ 11.75.2  When they arrived in Cilicia and Phoenicia, they rested their land forces after the journey and commanded the Cyprians and Phoenicians and Cilicians to supply ships. And when the triremes had been made ready, they fitted them out with the ablest marines and arms and missiles and everything else that is useful in naval warfare.

§ 11.75.3  So these leaders were busy with their preparations and with giving their soldiers training and accustoming every man to the practice of warfare, and they spent almost this entire year in this way.

§ 11.75.4  Meanwhile the Athenians in Egypt were besieging the troops which had taken refuge near Memphis in the White Fortress; but since the Persians were putting up a stout defence, they were unable to take the stronghold and so spent the year in the siege.

§ 11.76.1  In Sicily the Syracusans, in their war upon the mercenaries who had revolted, kept launching attack after attack upon both Achradine and the Island, and they defeated the rebels in a sea-battle, but on land they were unable to expel them from the city because of the strength of these two places.

§ 11.76.2  Later, however, after an open battle had been fought on land, the soldiers engaged on both sides fighting spiritedly, finally, although both armies suffered not a few casualties, victory lay with the Syracusans. And after the battle the Syracusans honoured with the prize of valour the elite troops, six hundred in number, who were responsible for the victory, giving them each a mina of silver.

§ 11.76.3  While these events were taking place, Ducetius, the leader of the Siceli, harbouring a grudge against the inhabitants of Catana because they had robbed the Siceli of their land, led an army against them. And since the Syracusans had likewise sent an army against Catana, they and the Siceli joined in portioning out the land in allotments among themselves and made war upon the settlers who had been sent by Hieron when he was ruler of Syracuse. The Catanians opposed them with arms, but were defeated in a number of engagements and were expelled from Catana, and they took possession of what is now Aetna, which was formerly called Inessa; and the original inhabitants of Catana, after a long period, got back their native city.

§ 11.76.4  After these events the peoples who had been expelled from their own cities while Hieron was king, now that they had assistance it struggle, returned to their fatherlands and expelled from their cities the men who had wrongfully seized for themselves the habitations of others; among these were inhabitants of Gela, Acragas, and Himera.

§ 11.76.5  In like manner Rhegians along with Zanclians expelled the sons of Anaxilas, who were ruling over them, and liberated their fatherlands. Later on Geloans, who had been the original settlers of Camarina, portioned that land out in allotments. And practically all the cities, being eager to make an end of the wars, came to a common decision, whereby they made terms with the mercenaries in their midst; they then received back the exiles and restored the cities to the original citizens, but to the mercenaries who because of the former tyrannical governments were in possession of the cities belonging to others, they gave permission to take with them their own goods and to settle one and all in Messenia.

§ 11.76.6  In this manner, then, an end was put to the civil wars and disorders which had prevailed throughout the cities of Sicily, and the cities, after driving out the forms of government which aliens had introduced, with almost no exceptions portioned out their lands in allotments among all their citizens.

§ 11.77.1  When Phrasicleides was archon in Athens, the Eightieth Olympiad was celebrated, that in which Toryllas the Thessalian won the “stadion”; and the Romans elected as consuls Quintus Fabius and Titus Quinctius Capitolinus. During this year, in Asia the Persian generals who had passed over to Cilicia made ready three hundred ships, which they fitted out fully for warfare, and then with their land force they advanced overland through Syria and Phoenicia; and with the fleet accompanying the army along the coast, they arrived at Memphis in Egypt.

§ 11.77.2  At the outset they broke the siege of the White Fortress, having struck the Egyptians and the Athenians with terror; but later on, adopting a prudent course, they avoided any frontal encounters and strove to bring the war to an end by the use of stratagems. Accordingly, since the Attic ships lay moored at the island known as Prosopitis, they diverted by means of canals the river which flowed around the island, and thus made the island a part of the mainland.

§ 11.77.3  When the ships thus all of a sudden came to rest on the dry land, the Egyptians in alarm left the Athenians in the lurch and came to terms with the Persians. The Athenians, being now without allies and seeing that their ships had become useless, set fire to them to prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy, and then themselves, undismayed at the alarming plight they were in, fell to exhorting one to do nothing unworthy of the fights they had won in the past.

§ 11.77.4  Consequently, with a display of deeds of valour surpassing in heroism the men who perished in Thermopylae in defence of Greece, they stood ready to fight it out with the enemy. But the Persian generals, Artabazus and Megabyzus, taking note of the exceptional courage of their foes and reasoning that they would be unable to annihilate such men without sacrificing many myriads of their own, made a truce with the Athenians whereby they should with impunity depart from Egypt.

§ 11.77.5  So the Athenians, having saved their lives by their courage, departed from Egypt, and making their way through Libya to Cyrene got safely back, as by a miracle, to their native land.

§ 11.77.6  While these events were taking place, in Athens Ephialtes the son of Sophonides, who, being a popular leader, had provoked the masses to anger against the Areopagites, persuaded the Assembly to vote to curtail the power of the Council of the Areopagus and to destroy the renowned customs which their fathers had followed. Nevertheless, he did not escape the punishment for attempting such lawlessness, but he was done to death by night and none ever knew how he lost his life.

§ 11.78.1  At the conclusion of this year Philocles was archon in Athens, and in Rome Aulus Postumius Regulus and Spurius Furius Mediolanus succeeded to the consulship. During this year a war arose between the Corinthians and Epidaurians on the one hand and the Athenians on the other, and the Athenians took the field against them and after a sharp battle were victorious.

§ 11.78.2  With a large fleet they put in at a place called Halieis, landed on the Peloponnesus, and slew not a few of the enemy. But the Peloponnesians rallied and gathered a strong force, and it came to a battle with the Athenians near the place called Cecryphaleia in which the Athenians were again victorious.

§ 11.78.3  After such successes the Athenians, seeing that the Aeginetans were not only puffed up over their former achievements but also hostile to Athens, decided to reduce them by war.

§ 11.78.4  Therefore the Athenians dispatched a strong fleet against them. The inhabitants of Aegina, however, who had great experience in fighting at sea and enjoyed a great reputation therefor, were not dismayed at the superiority of the Athenians, but since they had a considerable number of triremes and had built some new ones, they engaged the Athenians in battle, but were defeated with the loss of seventy ships; and, their spirits crushed by so great a disaster, they were forced to enroll as tributaries of the Athenians. This was accomplished for the Athenians by their general Leocrates, who was engaged in the war with the Aeginetans nine months in all.

§ 11.78.5  While these events were taking place, in Sicily the king of the Siceli, Ducetius, a man of famous family and influential at this time, founded the city of Menaenum and distributed the neighbouring territory among the settlers, and making a campaign against the strong city of Morgantina and reducing it, he won fame among his own people.

§ 11.79.1  At the close of the year Bion was archon in Athens, and in Rome Publius Servilius Structus and Lucius Aebutius Albas succeeded to the consulship. During this year a quarrel arose between the Corinthians and Megarians over land on their borders and the cities went to war.

§ 11.79.2  At first they kept making raids on each other's territory and engaging in clashes of small parties; but as the quarrel increased, the Megarians, who were increasingly getting the worse of it and stood in fear of the Corinthians, made allies of the Athenians.

§ 11.79.3  As a result the cities were again equal in military strength, and when the Corinthians together with Peloponnesians advanced into Megaris with a strong army, the Athenians sent troops to the aid of the Megarians under the command of Myronides, a man who was admired for his valour. A fierce engagement took place which lasted a long time and each side matched the other in deeds of courage, but at last victory lay with the Athenians, who slew many of the enemy.

§ 11.79.4  And after a few days there was another fierce battle at Cimolia, as it is called, and again the Athenians were victorious and slew many of the enemy.

§ 11.79.5  The Phocians went to war with the Dorians, who are the original stock of the Lacedemonians and dwell in the three cities, Cytinium, Boeum and Erineus, which lie at the base of Mt. Parnassus. Now at first they subdued the Dorians by force of arms and occupied their cities; but after this the Lacedemonians, because of their kinship, dispatched Nicomedes, the son of Cleomenes, to the aid of the Dorians. He had fifteen hundred Lacedemonians and ten thousand men from the rest of the Peloponnesians.

§ 11.79.6  So Nicomedes, who was the guardian of Pleistonax the king, who was still a child, came to the aid of the Dorians with this large army, and after inflicting a defeat upon the Phocians and recovering the cities they had seized, he made peace between the Phocians and the Dorians.

§ 11.80.1  When the Athenians learned that the Lacedemonians had concluded the war against the Phocians and were about to make their return home, they decided to attack the Lacedemonians while on the march. Accordingly they dispatched an army against them, including in it Argives and Thessalians; and with the intention of falling upon them with fifty ships and fourteen thousand men, they occupied the passes about Mt. Geraneia.

§ 11.80.2  But the Lacedemonians, having information of the plans of the Athenians, took the route to Tanagra in Boeotia. The Athenians advanced into Boeotia and formed in line of battle, and a fierce struggle took place; and although in the fighting the Thessalians deserted to the Lacedemonians, nonetheless the Athenians and the Argives fought the battle through and not a few fell in both armies before night put an end to the struggle.

§ 11.80.3  After this, when a large supply-train was on its way from Attica for the Athenians, the Thessalians decided to attack it, and taking their evening meal at once, they intercepted by night the supply-train.

§ 11.80.4  The Athenians who were guarding the train were unaware that the Thessalians had changed sides and received them as friends, so that many conflicts of various kinds broke out around the convoy. For at first the Thessalians, who had been welcomed by the enemy in their ignorance, kept cutting down all whom they met, and being an organized band engaging with men who had fallen into confusion they slew many of the guards.

§ 11.80.5  But the Athenians in the camp, when they learned of the attack of the Thessalians, came up with all speed, and routing the Thessalians at the first charge, they were making a great slaughter of them.

§ 11.80.6  The Lacedemonians, however, now came to the rescue of the Thessalians with their army in battle order, and a pitched battle between the two armies ensued, and such was their rivalry that many were slain on both sides. And finally, since the battle ended in a tie, both the Lacedemonians and the Athenians laid claim to the victory. However, since night intervened and the victory was still a matter of dispute, each sent envoys to the other and they concluded a truce of four months.

§ 11.81.1  When the year ended, in Athens Mnesitheides was archon, and in Rome the consuls elected were Lucius Lucretius and Titus Veturius Cicurinus [461 BCE]. During this year the Thebans, who had been humbled because of their alliance with Xerxes, sought a way by which they might recover both their ancient influence and reputation.

§ 11.81.2  Consequently, since all the Boeotians held the Thebans in disdain and no longer paid any attention to them, the Thebans asked the Lacedemonians to aid them in winning for their city the hegemony over all Boeotia; and they promised that in return for this favour they would make war by themselves upon the Athenians, so that it would no longer be necessary for the Spartans to lead troops beyond the border of the Peloponnesus.

§ 11.81.3  And the Lacedemonians assented, judging the proposal to be to their advantage and believing that, if Thebes should grow in strength, she would be a kind of counterweight to the increasing power of the Athenians; consequently, since they had at the time a large army in readiness at Tanagra, they increased the extent of the circuit wall of Thebes and compelled the cities of Boeotia to subject themselves to the Thebans.

§ 11.81.4  The Athenians, however, being eager to break up the plan of the Lacedemonians, made ready a large army and elected as general Myronides the son of Callias. He enrolled the required number of citizens and gave them orders, announcing a day on which he planned to march forth from the city.

§ 11.81.5  And when the appointed time arrived and some of the soldiers had not put in appearance at the specified rendezvous, he took those who had reported and advanced into Boeotia. And when certain of his officers and friends said that he should wait for the tardy men, Myronides, who was not only a sagacious general but energetic as well, replied that he would not do so; for, he declared, men of their own choice are late for the departure will in battle also play an ignoble and cowardly part, and will therefore not withstand the perils of war in defence of their country either, whereas the men who presented themselves ready for service on the appointed day gave clear evidence that they would not desert their posts in the war.

§ 11.81.6  And this is what actually took place; for leading forth soldiers who were few in number but the bravest in courage, he drew them up in Boeotia against a vastly superior force and utterly defeated his opponents.

§ 11.82.1  In my opinion this action was in no way inferior to any of the battles fought by the Athenians in former times; for neither the victory at Marathon nor the success over the Persians at Plataea nor the other renowned exploits of the Athenians seem in any way to surpass the victory which Myronides won over the Boeotians.

§ 11.82.2  For of those other battles, some were fought against barbarians and others were gained with the aid of allies, but this struggle was won by the Athenians single-handed in pitched battle, and they were pitted against the bravest warriors to be found among the Greeks.

§ 11.82.3  For in staunchness in the face of perils and in the fierce contests of war the Boeotians are generally believed to be surpassed by no other people; at any rate, sometime after this the Thebans at Leuctra and Mantineia, when they unaided confronted all the Lacedemonians and their allies, won for themselves the highest reputation for courage, and contrary to expectation became the leading nation of all Greece.

§ 11.82.4  And yet, although the battle of Myronides has become famous, none of our historians has described either the way it was fought or the disposition of the troops engaged in it. Myronides, then, after defeating the Boeotians in a remarkable battle, came to rival the reputations of the most renowned commanders before his time, namely, Themistocles, Miltiades, and Cimon.5 Myronides after this victory took Tanagra by siege, levelled its walls, and then he passed through all Boeotia, breaking it up and destroying it, and dividing the booty among his soldiers he loaded them all down with spoil in abundance.

§ 11.83.1  The Boeotians, exasperated by the wasting of their land, sprang to arms as a nation and when they had taken the field constituted a great army. A battle took place at Oenophyta in Boeotia, and since both sides withstood the stress of the conflict with stout hearts, they spent the day in fighting; but after a severe struggle the Athenians put the Boeotians to flight and Myronides became master of all the cities of Boeotia with the exception of Thebes.

§ 11.83.2  After this he marched out of Boeotia and led his army against the Locrians who are known as Opuntian. These he overpowered at the first attack, and taking hostages from them he then entered Parnasia.

§ 11.83.3  In like manner as he had done with the Locrians, he also subdued the Phocians, and after taking hostages he marched into Thessaly, finding fault with the Thessalians for their act of treachery and ordering them to receive back their exiles; and when the Pharsalians would not open their gates to him, he laid siege to the city.

§ 11.83.4  But since he could not master the city by force and the Pharsalians held out for a long time against the siege, for the purpose he gave up his designs regarding Thessaly and returned to Athens. Thus Myronides, who had performed great deeds in a short space of time, won among his fellow citizens the renown which was so widely acclaimed. These, then, were the events of this year.

§ 11.84.1  While Callias was archon in Athens, in Elis the Eighty-first Olympiad was celebrated, that in which Polymnastus of Cyrene won the “stadion,” and in Rome the consuls were Servius Sulpicius and Publius Volumnius Amentinus.

§ 11.84.2  During this year Tolmides, who was commander of the naval forces and vied with both the valour and fame of Myronides, was eager to accomplish a memorable deed.

§ 11.84.3  Consequently, since in those times no one had ever yet laid waste Laconia, he urged the Athenian people to ravage the territory of the Spartans, and he promised that by taking eleven thousand hoplites aboard the triremes he would with them lay waste Laconia and dim the fame of the Spartans.

§ 11.84.4  When the Athenians acceded to his request, he then, wishing to take with him secretly a larger number of hoplites, had recourse to the following cunning subterfuge. The citizens thought that he would enrol for the force the young men in the prime of youth and most vigorous in body; but Tolmides, determined to take with him in the campaign not merely the stipulated one thousand, approached every young man of exceptional hardihood and told him that he was going to enrol him; it would be better, however, he added, for him to go as a volunteer than be thought to have been compelled to serve under compulsion by enrolment.

§ 11.84.5  When by this scheme he had persuaded more than three thousand to enrol voluntarily and saw that the rest of the youth showed no further interest, he then enrolled the thousand he had been promised from all who were left.

§ 11.84.6  When all the other preparations for his expedition had been made, Tolmides set out to sea with fifty triremes and four thousand hoplites, and putting in at Methone in Laconia, he took the place; and when the Lacedemonians came to defend it, he withdrew, and cruising along the coast to Gytheium, which was a seaport of the Lacedemonians, he seized it, burned the city and also the dockyards of the Lacedemonians, and ravaged its territory.

§ 11.84.7  From here he set out to sea and sailed to Zacynthos which belonged to Cephallenia; he took the island and won over all the cities on Cephallenia, and then sailed across to the opposite mainland and put in at Naupactus. This city he likewise seized at the first assault and in it he settled the prominent Messenians whom the Lacedemonians had allowed to go free under a truce.

§ 11.84.8  At this time, it may be explained, the Lacedemonians had finally overcome both the Helots and Messenians, with whom they had been at war over a long period, and the Messenians they had allowed to depart from Ithome under a truce, as we have said, but of the Helots they had punished those who were responsible for the revolt and had enslaved the rest.

§ 11.85.1  When Sosistratus was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Publius Valerius Publicola and Gaius Clodius Regillus. In this year Tolmides was occupied in Boeotia and the Athenians elected as general a man of the aristocracy, Pericles the son of Xanthippus, and giving him fifty triremes and a thousand hoplites, sent him against the Peloponnesus.

§ 11.85.2  He ravaged a large part of the Peloponnesus, and then sailed across to Acarnania and won over to Athens all the cities with the exception of Oeniadae. So the Athenians during this year controlled a very large number of cities and won great fame for valour and generalship.

§ 11.86.1  When Ariston was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Quintus Fabius Vibulanus and Lucius Cornelius Curitinus. This year the Athenians and Peloponnesians agreed to a truce of five years, Cimon the Athenian having conducted the negotiations.

§ 11.86.2  In Sicily a war arose between the peoples of Egesta and Lilybaeum over the land on the Mazarus River, and in a sharp battle which ensued both cities lost heavily but did not slacken their rivalry.

§ 11.86.3  And after the enrolment of citizens which had taken place in the cities and the redistribution of the lands, since many had been added to the roll of citizens without plan and in a haphazard fashion, the cities were in an unhealthy state and falling back again into civil strife and disorders; and it was especially in Syracuse that this malady prevailed.

§ 11.86.4  For a man by the name of Tyndarides, a rash fellow full of effrontery, began by gathering about him many of the poor, and organizing them into an armed unit he proceeded to make of them a personal bodyguard ready for an attempt to set up a tyranny. Not after this, when it was evident that he was grasping after supreme power, he was brought to trial and condemned to death.

§ 11.86.5  But while he was being led off to prison, the men upon whom he had lavished his favours rushed together and laid hands upon those who were arresting him. And in the confusion which arose throughout the city the most respectable citizens, who had organized themselves, seized the revolutionists and put them to death along with Tyndarides. And since this sort of thing kept happening time and again and there were men whose hearts were set on a tyranny, the people were led to imitate the Athenians and to establish a law very similar to the one they had passed on ostracism.

§ 11.87.1  Now among the Athenians each citizen was required to write on a potsherd (ostracon) the name of the man who, in his opinion, was most able through his influence to tyrannize over his fellow citizens; but among the Syracusans the name of the most influential citizen had to be written on an olive leaf, and when the leaves were counted, the man who received the largest number of leaves had to go into exile for five years.

§ 11.87.2  For by this means they thought that they would humble the arrogance of the most powerful men in these two cities; for, speaking generally, they were not exacting from violators of the law a punishment for a crime committed, but were effecting a diminution of the influence and growing power of the men in question.

§ 11.87.3  Now while the Athenians called this kind of legislation ostracism, from the way it was done, the Syracusans used the name petalism. This law remained in force among the Athenians for a long time, but among the Syracusans it was soon repealed for the following reasons.

§ 11.87.4  Since the most influential men were being sent into exile, the most respectable citizens and such as had it in their power, by reason of their high personal character, to effect many reforms in the affairs of the commonwealth were taking no part in public affairs, but consistently remained in private life because of their fear of the law, attending to their personal fortunes and leaning towards a life of luxury; whereas it was the basest citizens and such as excelled in effrontery who were giving their attention to public affairs and inciting the masses to disorder and revolution.

§ 11.87.5  Consequently, since factional quarrels were again arising the masses were turning to wrangling, the city fell back into continuous and serious disorders. For a multitude of demagogues and sycophants was arising, the youth were cultivating cleverness in oratory, and, in a word, many were exchanging the ancient and sober way of life for the ignoble pursuits; wealth was increasing because of the peace, but there was little if any concern for concord and honest conduct.

§ 11.87.6  As a result the Syracusans changed their minds and repealed the law of petalism, having used it only a short while. Such, then, was the state of affairs in Sicily.

§ 11.88.1  When Lysicrates was archon in Athens, in Rome the consuls elected were Gaius Nautius Rutilus and Lucius Minucius Carutianus. During this year Pericles, the general of the Athenians, landed in the Peloponnesus and ravaged the territory of the Sicyonians.

§ 11.88.2  And when the Sicyonians came out against him in full force and a battle was fought, Pericles was victorious, slew many as they fled, and shut them up in their city, to which he laid siege. But when he was unable by making assaults upon the walls to take the city, and when, besides, the Lacedemonians sent aid to the besieged, he withdrew from Sicyon; then he sailed to Acarnania, where he overran the territory of Oeniadae, amassed much booty, and then sailed away from Acarnania.

§ 11.88.3  After this he arrived at the Cherronesus and portioned out the land in allotments to one thousand citizens. While these events were taking place, Tolmides, the other general, passed over into Euboea and divided it and the land of the Naxians among another thousand citizens.

§ 11.88.4  As for the events in Sicily, since the Tyrrhenians were practising piracy at sea, the Syracusans chose Phayllus as admiral and sent him to Tyrrhenia. He sailed at first to the island known as Aethaleia and ravaged it, but he secretly accepted a bribe of money from the Tyrrhenians and sailed back to Sicily without having accomplished anything worthy of mention.

§ 11.88.5  The Syracusans found him guilty of treachery and exiled him, and choosing another general, Apelles, they dispatched him with sixty triremes against the Tyrrhenians. He overran the coast of Tyrrhenia and then passed over to Cyrnus, which was held at those times by the Tyrrhenians, and after sacking many places in this island and subduing Aethaleia, he returned to Syracuse accompanied by a multitude of captives and not a little other spoil.

§ 11.88.6  And after this Ducetius, the leader of the Siceli, gathered all the cities which were of the same race, with the exception of Hybla, into one and a common federation; and being an energetic man, he was always grasping after innovations, and so he gathered a large army from the Sicilian League and removed the city of Menae, which was his native state, and planted it in the plain. Also near the sacred precinct of the Palici, as they are called, he founded an important city, which he named Palice after the gods just mentioned.

§ 11.89.1  Since we have spoken of these gods, we should not omit to mention both the antiquity and the incredible nature of the shrine, and, in a word, the peculiar phenomenon of The Craters, as they are called. The myth relates that this sacred area surpasses all others in antiquity and the reverence paid to it, and many marvels there are reported by tradition.

§ 11.89.2  For first of all there are craters which are not at all large in size, but they throw up extraordinary streams of water from a depth beyond telling and have very much the nature of cauldrons which are heated by a strong fire and throw up boiling water.

§ 11.89.3  Now the water that is thrown up gives the impression of being boiling hot, but this is not known for certain because of the fact that no man dares touch it; for the amazement caused by the spout of water is so great that men believe the phenomenon to be due to some divine power.

§ 11.89.4  For not only does the water give out a strongly sulphurous smell but the yawning mouth emits a mighty and terrifying roar; and what is still more astonishing than this, the water neither pours over nor recedes, but has a motion and force in its current that lifts it to a marvellous height.

§ 11.89.5  Since so divine a majesty pervades the sacred area, the most sacred oaths are taken there and men who swear falsely are immediately overtaken by the punishment of heaven; thus certain men have lost their sight when they depart from the sacred precinct.

§ 11.89.6  And so great is the awe of the deities of this shrine, that men who are pressing claims, when, for instance, they are being overborne by a person of superior dignity, have their claims adjudicated on the strength of the preliminary examination of the witnesses supported by oaths taken in the name of these deities. This sacred area has also been recognized for some time as a place of sanctuary and has been a source of great aid to luckless slaves who have fallen into the hands of brutal masters;

§ 11.89.7  for if they have fled there for refuge, their masters have no power to remove them by force, and they remain there protected from harm until their masters, having gained their consent upon conditions of humane treatment and having given pledges, supported by such oaths, to fulfil their agreements, lead them away.

§ 11.89.8  And history records no case, out of all who have given slaves such a pledge as this, of a violation; so faithful to their slaves does the awe in which these gods are held make those who have taken the oath. And the sacred area, which lies on a plain meet for a god, has been appropriately embellished with colonnades and every other kind of lounging-place. — But let what we have said suffice for this subject, and we shall return to the narrative at the point where our history broke off.

§ 11.90.1  Ducetius, after founding Palice and enclosing it with strong walls, portioned out the neighbouring countryside in allotments. And it came to pass that this city, on account of the fertility of the soil and the multitude of the colonists, enjoyed a rapid growth.

§ 11.90.2  It did not, however, prosper for long, but was razed to the ground and has remained without habitation until our of which day; regarding this we shall give a detailed account in connection with the appropriate period of time.

§ 11.90.3  Such, then, was the state of affairs in Sicily. In Italy, fifty-eight years after the Crotoniates had destroyed Sybaris, a Thessalian gathered together the Sybarites who remained and founded Sybaris anew; it lay between two rivers, the Sybaris and the Crathis.

§ 11.90.4  And since the settlers possessed a fertile land they quickly advanced in wealth. But they had possessed the city only a few years when they were again driven out of Sybaris, regarding which event we shall undertake to give a detailed account in the following Book. (The year 452 B.C. is lacking.)

§ 11.91.1  When Antidotus was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Lucius Postumius and Marcus Horatius. During this year Ducetius, who held the leadership of the Siceli, seized the city of Aetna, having treacherously slain its leader, and then he moved with an army into the territory of the Acragantini and laid siege to Motyum, which was held by a garrison of Acragantini; and when the Acragantini and the Syracusans came to the aid of the city, he joined battle with them, was successful, and drove them both out of their camps.

§ 11.91.2  But since at the time winter was setting in, they separated and returned to their homes; and the Syracusans found their general Bolcon, who was responsible for the defeat and was thought to have had secret dealings with Ducetius, guilty of treason and put him to death. With the beginning of summer they appointed a new general, to whom they assigned a strong army with orders to subdue Ducetius.

§ 11.91.3  This general, setting out with his army, came upon Ducetius while he was encamped near Nomae; a fierce struggle ensued and many fell on both sides, but with difficulty the Syracusans overpowered and routed the Siceli, slaying many of them as they fled. Of those who survived the battle the larger number found safety in the strongholds of the Siceli, but a few chose to share the hopes of Ducetius.

§ 11.91.4  While these things were taking place, the Acragantini forced the capitulation of the stronghold of Motyum, which was held by the Siceli who stayed with Ducetius, and then, uniting their troops with the Syracusans who had already won the victory, they now camped together. As for Ducetius, now that he had been completely crushed by his defeat and that some of his soldiers were deserting and others plotting against him, he had come to the depths of despair.

§ 11.92.1  Finally, when Ducetius saw that his remaining friends were about to lay hands upon him, he anticipated them by slipping away at night and riding off to Syracuse. And while it was still night he entered the market-place of the Syracusans, and seating himself at the altars he became a suppliant of the city, placing both his person and the land which he controlled at the disposition of the Syracusans.

§ 11.92.2  When the multitude poured into the market-place in amazement at the unexpected event, the magistrates called a meeting of the Assembly and laid before it the question of what should be done with Ducetius.

§ 11.92.3  Some of those who were accustomed to curry favour with the people advised that they should punish him as an enemy and inflict on him for his misdeeds the appropriate penalty; but the more fairminded of the elder citizens came forward and declared it as their opinion that they should spare the suppliant and show due regard for Fortune and the wrath of the gods. The people should consider, they continued, not what punishment Ducetius deserved, but what action was proper for the Syracusans; for to slay the victim of Fortune was not fitting, but to maintain reverence for the gods as well as to spare the suppliant was an act worthy of the magnanimity of the people.

§ 11.92.4  The people thereupon cried out as with one voice from every side to spare the suppliant. The Syracusans, accordingly, released Ducetius from punishment and sent him off to Corinth, ordering him to spend his life in that city and also giving him sufficient means for this his support.

§ 11.92.5  Since we are now at the year preceding the campaign of the Athenians against Cyprus under the leadership of Cimon, pursuant to the plan announced at the beginning of this Book we herewith bring it to an end.

§ 12.1.1  A man may justly feel perplexed when he stops to consider the inconsistency that is to be found in the life of mankind; for no thing which we consider to be good is ever found to have been given to human beings unadulterated, nor is there any evil in an absolute form without some admixture of advantage. Proofs of this will be obtained if we give thought to the events of the past, especially to those of outstanding importance.

§ 12.1.2  For instance, the campaign of Xerxes, the king of the Persians, against Greece aroused the greatest fear among the Greeks by reason of the immensity of his armaments, since the war they were entering might well decide their slavery, and since the Greek cities of Asia had already been enslaved, all men assumed that those of Greece would also suffer a similar fate.

§ 12.1.3  But the war, contrary to expectation, came to an amazing end, and not only were the peoples of Greece freed of the dangers threatening them, but they also won for themselves great glory, and every city of Hellas enjoyed such an abundant prosperity that all men were filled with wonder at the complete reversal of their fortune.

§ 12.1.4  For from this time over the next fifty years Greece made great advance in prosperity. In these years, for example, plenty brought increase to the arts, and the greatest artists of whom we have record, including the sculptor Pheidias, flourished at that time; and there was likewise great advance in education, and philosophy and oratory had a high place of honour among all Greeks, and especially the Athenians.

§ 12.1.5  For the philosophers were Socrates and Plato and Aristotle, and the orators were Pericles and Isocrates and his pupils; and there were likewise men who have become renowned for generalship, Miltiades, Themistocles, Aristeides, Cimon, Myronides, and others more than these, regarding whom it would be a long task to write.

§ 12.2.1  First place belonged to the Athenians, who had advanced so far in both fame and prowess that their name was known throughout practically the entire inhabited world; for they increased their leadership to such a degree that, by their own resources and without the aid of Lacedemonians or Peloponnesians, they overcame great Persian armaments both on land and on sea, and humbled the famed leadership of the Persians to such an extent that they forced them by the terms of a treaty to liberate all the cities of Asia.

§ 12.2.2  But of these matters we have given a detailed and fairly precise account in two Books, this and the preceding, and we shall turn now to the events next in order, after we have first set the time-limits of this section.

§ 12.2.3  Now in the preceding Book we began with the campaign of Xerxes and presented a universal history down to the year before the campaign of the Athenians against Cyprus under the command of Cimon; and in this Book we shall commence with the campaign of the Athenians against Cyprus and continue as far as the war which the Athenians voted to undertake against the Syracusans.

§ 12.3.1  When Euthydemus was archon at Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus and Marcus Fabius Vibulanus. In this year the Athenians, who had been at war with the Persians on behalf of the Egyptians and had lost all their ships at the island which is known as Prosopitis, after a short time resolved to make war again upon the Persians on behalf of the Greeks in Asia Minor. And fitting out a fleet of two hundred triremes, they chose Cimon, the son of Miltiades, to be general and commanded him to sail to Cyprus to make war on the Persians.

§ 12.3.2  And Cimon, taking the fleet which had been furnished with excellent crews and abundant supplies, sailed to Cyprus. At that time the generals of the Persian armaments were Artabazus and Megabyzus. Artabazus held the supreme command and was tarrying in Cyprus with three hundred triremes, and Megabyzus was encamped in Cilicia with the land forces, which numbered three hundred thousand men.

§ 12.3.3  Cimon, when he arrived in Cyprus and was master of the sea, reduced by siege Citium and Marium, treating the conquered in humane fashion. But after this, when triremes from Cilicia and Phoenicia bore down upon the island, Cimon, putting out to sea against them and forcing battle upon them, sank many of the ships, captured one hundred together with their crews, and pursued the remainder as far as Phoenicia.

§ 12.3.4  Now the Persians with the ships that were left sought refuge on the land in the region where Megabyzus lay encamped with the land force. And the Athenians, sailing up and disembarking the soldiers, joined battle, in the course of which Anaxicrates, the other general, who had fought brilliantly, ended his life heroically; but the rest were victorious in the battle and after slaying many returned to the ships. After this the Athenians sailed back again to Cyprus. Such, then, were the events of the first year of the war.

§ 12.4.1  When Pedieus was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Marcus Valerius Lactuca and Spurius Verginius Tricostus. In this year Cimon, the general of the Athenians, being master of the sea, subdued the cities of Cyprus. And since a large Persian garrison was there in Salamis and the city was filled with missiles and arms of every description, and of grain and supplies of every other kind, he decided that it would be to his advantage to reduce it by siege.

§ 12.4.2  For Cimon reasoned that this would be the easiest way for him not only to become master of all Cyprus but also to confound the Persians, since their being unable to come to the aid of the Salaminians, because the Athenians were masters of the sea, and their having left their allies in the lurch would cause them to be despised, and that, in a word, the entire war would be decided if all Cyprus were reduced by arms. And that in which what actually happened.

§ 12.4.3  The Athenians began the siege of Salamis and were making daily assaults, but the soldiers in the city, supplied as they were with missiles and materiel, were with ease warding off the besiegers from the walls.

§ 12.4.4  Artaxerxes the king, however, when he learned of the reverses his forces had suffered at Cyprus, took counsel on the war with his friends and decided that it was to his advantage to conclude a peace with the Greeks.

§ 12.4.5  Accordingly he dispatched to the generals in Cyprus and to the satraps the written terms on which they were permitted to come to a settlement with the Greeks. Consequently Artabazus and Megabyzus sent ambassadors to Athens to discuss a settlement. The Athenians were favourable and dispatched ambassadors plenipotentiary, the leader of whom was Callias the son of Hipponicus; and so the Athenians and their allies concluded with the Persians a treaty of peace, the principal terms of which run as follows: All the Greek cities are to live under laws of their own making; the satraps of the Persians are not to come nearer to the sea than a three days' journey and no Persian warship is to sail inside of Phaselis or the Cyanean Rocks; and if these terms are observed by the king and his generals, the Athenians are not to send troops into the territory over which the king is ruler.

§ 12.4.6  After the treaty had been solemnly concluded, the Athenians withdrew their armaments from Cyprus, having won a brilliant victory and concluded most noteworthy terms of peace. And it so happened that Cimon died of an illness during his stay in Cyprus.

§ 12.5.1  When Philiscus was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Titus Romilius Vaticanus and Gaius Veturius Cichorius; and the Eleians celebrated the Eighty-third Olympiad, that in which Crison of Himera won the “stadion.”

§ 12.5.2  In this year the Megarians revolted from the Athenians, and dispatching ambassadors to the Lacedemonians they concluded an alliance with them. Irritated at this the Athenians sent soldiers into the territory of the Megarians, plundering their properties and seizing much booty. And when the Megarians issued from their city to defend their territory, a battle ensued in which the Athenians were victorious and chased them back within their walls.

§ 12.6.1  When Timarchides was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Spurius Tarpeius and Aulus Asterius Fontinius. In this year the Lacedemonians invaded Attica and ravaged a large part of the countryside, and after laying siege to some of the Athenian fortresses they withdrew to the Peloponnesus; and Tolmides, the Athenian general, seized Chaeroneia.

§ 12.6.2  And when the Boeotians gathered their forces and caught Tolmides' troops in an ambush, a violent battle took place at Coroneia, in the course of which Tolmides fell fighting and of the remaining Athenians some were massacred and others were taken alive. The result of a disaster of such magnitude was that the Athenians were compelled to allow all the cities throughout Boeotia to live under laws of their own making, in order to get back their captured citizens.

§ 12.7.1  When Callimachus was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Sextus Quinctius . . . Trigeminus. In this year, since the Athenians had been weakened in Greece because of their defeat in Boeotia at Coroneia, many cities revolted from them. Since the inhabitants of Euboea were taking the lead in the revolution, Pericles, who had been chosen general, made a campaign against Euboea with a strong force, and taking the city of Hestiaea by storm he removed the inhabitants from their native city; and the other cities he terrified and forced back into obedience to the Athenians. A truce was made for thirty years, Callias and Chares negotiating and confirming the peace.

§ 12.8.1  In Sicily a war broke out between the Syracusans and Acragantini for the following reasons. The Syracusans had overcome Ducetius, the ruler of the Siceli, cleared him of all charges when he became a suppliant, and specified that he should make his home in the city of the Corinthians.

§ 12.8.2  But after Ducetius had spent a short time in Corinth he broke the agreement, and on the plea that the gods had given him an oracular reply that he should found a city on the Fair Shore (Kale Acte) of Sicily, he sailed to the island with a number of colonists; some Siceli were also included, among whom was Archonides, the ruler of Herbita. He, then, was busied with the colonization of Kale Acte.

§ 12.8.3  But the Acragantini, partly because they were envious of the Syracusans and partly because they were accusing them of letting Ducetius, who was their common enemy, go free without consulting them, declared war upon the Syracusans.

§ 12.8.4  The cities of Sicily were divided, some of them taking the field with the Acragantini and others with the Syracusans, and so large armaments were mustered on both sides. Great emulation was shown by the cities as they pitched opposing camps at the Himera River, and in the conflict which followed the Syracusans were victorious and slew more than a thousand Acragantini. After the battle Acragantini sent ambassadors to discuss terms and the Syracusans conclude a peace.

§ 12.9.1  These, then, were the events in Sicily. And in Italy the city of Thurii came to be founded, for the following reasons. When in former times the Greeks had founded Sybaris in Italy, the city had enjoyed a rapid growth because of the fertility of the land.

§ 12.9.2  For lying as the city did between two rivers, the Crathis and the Sybaris, from which it derived its name, its inhabitants, who tilled an extensive and fruitful countryside, came to possess great riches. And since they kept granting citizenship to many aliens, they increased to such an extent that they were considered to be far the first among the inhabitants of Italy; indeed they so excelled in population that the city possessed three hundred thousand citizens. Now there arose among the Sybarites a leader of the people named Telys, who brought charges against the most influential men and persuaded the Sybarites to exile the five hundred wealthiest citizens and confiscate their estates.

§ 12.9.3  And when these exiles went to Croton and took refuge at the altars in the market-place, Telys dispatched ambassadors to the Crotoniates, commanding them either to deliver up the exiles or to expect war.

§ 12.9.4  An assembly of the people was convened and deliberation proposed on the question whether they should surrender the suppliants to the Sybarites or face a war with a superior foe, and the Council and people were at a loss what to do. At first the sentiments of the masses, from fear of the war, leaned toward handing over the suppliants, but after this, when Pythagoras the philosopher advised that they grant safety to the suppliants, they changed their opinions and accepted the war on behalf of the safety of the suppliants.

§ 12.9.5  When the Sybarites advanced against them with three hundred thousand men, the Crotoniates opposed them with one hundred thousand under the command of Milo the athlete, who by reason of his great physical strength was the first to put to flight his adversaries.

§ 12.9.6  For we are told that this man, who had won the prize in Olympia six times and whose courage was of the measure of his physical body, came to battle wearing his Olympic crowns and equipped with the gear of Heracles, lion's skin and club; and he won the admiration of his fellow citizens as responsible for their victory.

§ 12.10.1  Since the Crotoniates in their anger would take no prisoners but slew all who fell into their hands in the flight, the larger number of the Sybarites perished; and they plundered the city of Sybaris and laid it entirely waste.

§ 12.10.2  Fifty-eight years later Thessalians joined in settling the city, but after a little while they were driven out by the Crotoniates, in the period we are now discussing.

§ 12.10.3  And shortly thereafter the city was moved to another site and received another name, its founders being Lampon and Xenocritus; the circumstances of its founding were as follows. The Sybarites who were driven a second time from their native city dispatched ambassadors to Greece, to the Lacedemonians and Athenians, requesting that they assist their repatriation and take part in the settlement.

§ 12.10.4  Now the Lacedemonians paid no attention to them, but the Athenians promised to join in the enterprise, and they manned ten ships and sent them to the Sybarites under the leadership of Lampon and Xenocritus; they further sent word to the several cities of the Peloponnesus, offering a share in the colony to anyone who wished to take part in it.

§ 12.10.5  Many accepted the offer and received an oracular response from Apollo that they should found a city in the place where there would be water to drink in due measure, but bread to each without measure. They put in at Italy and arriving at Sybaris they set about hunting the place which the god had ordered them to colonize.

§ 12.10.6  Having found not far from Sybaris a spring called Thuria, which had a bronze pipe which the natives of the region called Medimnos, and believing this to be the place which the god had pointed out, they threw a wall about it, and founding a city there they named it Thurium for the spring.

§ 12.10.7  They divided the city lengthwise by four streets, the first of which they named Heracleia, the second Aphrodisia, the third Olympias, and the fourth Dionysias, and breadthwise they divided it by three streets, of which the first was named Heroa, the second Thuria, and the last Thurina. And since the quarters formed by these streets were filled with dwellings, the construction of the city appeared to be good.

§ 12.11.1  For a short time only did the Thurians live together in peace, and then they fell into serious civil strife, not without reason. The former Sybarites, it appears, were assigning the most important offices to themselves and the lower ones to the citizens who had been enrolled later; their wives they also thought should enjoy precedence among the citizenesses in the offering of sacrifices to the gods, and the wives of the later citizens should take second place to them; furthermore, the land lying near the city they were portioning out in allotments among themselves, and the more distant land to the newcomers.

§ 12.11.2  And when a division arose for the causes we have mentioned, the citizens who had been added to the rolls after the others, being more numerous and more powerful, put to death practically all of the original Sybarites and took upon themselves the colonization of the city. Since the countryside was extensive and rich, they sent for colonists in large numbers from Greece, and to these they assigned parts of city and gave them equal shares of the land.

§ 12.11.3  Those who continued to live in the city quickly came to possess great wealth, and concluding friendship with the Crotoniates they administered their state in admirable fashion. Establishing a democratic form of government, they divided the citizens into ten tribes, to each of which they assigned a name based on the nationality of those who constituted it: three tribes composed of peoples gathered from the Peloponnesus they named the Arcadian, the Achaean, and the Eleian; the same number, gathered from related peoples living outside the Peloponnesus, they named the Boeotian, Amphictyonian, and Dorian; and the remaining four, constituted from any other peoples, the Ionian, the Athenian, the Euboean, and the Islander. They also chose for their lawgiver the best man among such of their citizens as were admired for their learning, this being Charondas.

§ 12.11.4  He, after examining the legislations of all peoples, singled out the best principles and incorporated them in his laws; and he also worked out many principles which were his own discovery, and these it is not foreign to our purpose to mention for the edification of our readers.

§ 12.12.1  First of all, in the case of men who brought home a stepmother over their children he ordained as their punishment that they should have no part in counselling their fatherland, since he believed that men who planned so badly with respect to their own children would likewise be bad counsellors for their fatherland. For, he said, whoever had been fortunate in their first marriages would rest satisfied with their good lot, whereas whoever had been unfortunate in marriage and then made the same mistake a second time should be regarded as men without sense.

§ 12.12.2  Men who had been found guilty of false accusation should, he decreed, wear wherever they went a wreath of tamarisk, in order that they might show to all their fellow citizens that they had won the highest prize for wickedness. As a consequence certain men who had been judged guilty of this charge, being unable to bear their great disgrace, voluntarily removed themselves from life. When this took place, every man who had made a practice of false accusation was banished from the city, and the government enjoyed a blessed life of freedom from this evil.

§ 12.12.3  Charondas also wrote a unique law on evil association, which had been overlooked by all other lawgivers. He took it for granted that the characters of good men are in some cases perverted to evil by reason of their found and intimacy with bad persons, and that badness, like a pestilent disease, sweeps over the life of mankind and infects the souls of the most upright; for the road to the worse slopes downward and so provides an easier way to take; and this is the reason why many men of fairly good character, ensnared by deceptive pleasures, get stranded upon very bad habits. Wishing, therefore, to remove this source of corruption, the lawgiver forbade the indulgence in friendship and intimacy with unprincipled persons, provided actions at law against evil association, and by means of severe penalties diverted from their course those who were about to err in this manner.

§ 12.12.4  Charondas also wrote another law which is far superior to the one just mentioned and had also been overlooked by lawgivers before his time. He framed the law that all the sons of citizens should learn to read and write, the city providing the salaries of the teachers; for he assumed that men of no means and unable to provide the fees from their own resources would be cut off from the noblest pursuits.

§ 12.13.1  In fact the lawgiver rated reading and writing above every other kind of learning, and with right good reason; for it is by means of them that most of the affairs of life and such as are most useful are concluded, like votes, letters, covenants, laws, and all other things which make the greatest contribution to orderly life.

§ 12.13.2  What man, indeed, could compose a worthy laudation of the knowledge of letters? For it is by such knowledge alone that the dead are carried in the memory of the living and that men widely separated in space hold converse through written communication with those who are at the furthest distance from them, as if they were at their side; and in the case of covenants in time of war between states or kings the firmest guarantee that such agreements will abide is provided by the unmistakable character of writing. Indeed, speaking generally, it is writing alone which preserves the cleverest sayings of men of wisdom and the oracles of the gods, as well as philosophy and all knowledge, and is constantly handing them down to succeeding generations for the ages to come.

§ 12.13.3  Consequently, while it is true that nature is the cause of life, the cause of the good life is the education which is based upon reading and writing. And so Charondas, believing as he did that the illiterate were being deprived of certain great advantages, by his legislation corrected this wrong and judged them to be deserving of concern and expense on the part of the state;

§ 12.13.4  and he so far excelled former lawgivers who had required that private citizens when ill should enjoy the service of physicians at state expense that, whereas those legislators judged men's bodies to be worthy of healing, he gave healing to the souls which were in distress through want of education, and whereas it is our prayer that we may never have need of those physicians, it is our heart's desire that all our time may be spent in the company teachers of knowledge.

§ 12.14.1  To both the matters we have mentioned above many poets have borne witness in verse; to the law on evil association as follows: The man who takes delight in converse with The base, I never ask his kind, aware He's just like those with whom he likes to be; to the law he proclaimed on a stepmother as follows: Charondas, giver of laws, so men relate, In legal code says many things, but this Above all else: Let him who on his offspring A second mother foists be held without Esteem nor count among his countrymen For aught, since it's a bane that he hath brought From alien source upon his own affairs. For if, he says to him, you fortunate were When wedded first, forbear when you're well off, And if your luck was bad, a madman's act It surely is to try a second wife. For in truth the man who errs twice in the same matter may justly be considered a fool.

§ 12.14.2  And Philemon, the writer of comedy, when introducing men who repeatedly sail the seas, after commending the law, says: Amazement holds me, no longer if a man Has gone to sea, but if he's done it twice. Similarly one may say that one is not amazed if a man has married, but if he has married a second time; for it is better to expose oneself twice to the sea than to a woman.

§ 12.14.3  Indeed the greatest and most grievous quarrels in homes between children and fathers are caused by stepmothers, and this fact is the cause of many lawless acts which are portrayed in tragic scenes upon the stage.

§ 12.15.1  Charondas also wrote another law which merits approbation — that which deals with the protection of orphans. On the surface this allow appears to contain nothing unusual or worthy of approbation, but when it is scrutinized more closely and examined with care, it indicates not only earnest study but also a high claim to regard.

§ 12.15.2  For his law provided that the property of orphans should be managed by the next of kin on the father's side, but that the orphans should be reared by their relatives on the mother's side. Now at first glance a man sees nothing wise or outstanding in this law, but when it is explored deeply it is found to be justly worthy of praise. For if the reason is sought out why he entrusted the property of orphans to one group and the rearing of them to another, the lawgiver is seen to have shown an unusual kind of ingenuity.

§ 12.15.3  That is, the relatives on the mother's side will not plot to take the lives of the orphans, since they have no share in their inheritance, and the kin on the father's side do not have the opportunity to plot against their lives, since they are not entrusted with the care of their persons; furthermore, since they inherit the property if the orphans die of disease or some other circumstance, they will administer the estate with greater care, believing that they hold as their own what are hopes based upon an act of Fortune.

§ 12.16.1  Charondas also wrote a law against men who had left their post in war or had refused to take up arms at all in defence of their fatherland. Other lawmakers had made death the punishment of such men, but Charondas ordered that they should sit for three days in the market-place dressed in women's clothes.

§ 12.16.2  And this law is not only more humane than those of other peoples but it also imperceptibly, by the severity of the disgrace it inflicts, diverts others of like mind from cowardice; for it is better to die than to experience such a gross indignity in one's fatherland. Moreover, he did not do away with the guilty men but preserved them for the state against the needs of wartime, believing that they would make amends, by reason of the punishment caused by that disgrace, and would be eager to wipe out their former shame by bolder deeds of bravery.

§ 12.16.3  The lawgiver also preserved the laws he made by means of their severity. That is, he commanded that under every circumstance obedience should be rendered to the law even if it had been altogether wrongly conceived; but he allowed any law to be corrected, if it needed correction.

§ 12.16.4  For he took the position that although it was right enough that a man should be overruled by a lawgiver, to be overruled by one in private station was quite preposterous, even if that serves the general interest. And it was especially by this means that he prevented men who present in jury-courts the pretences and cunning devices of those who have violated the laws in place of the literal terms of the laws from destroying by inventive sophistries their supremacy.

§ 12.16.5  As a consequence, we are told, to certain men who had offered such arguments before the jurors who were passing on the punishment of men who had violated the law, he said, “You must save either the law or the man.”

§ 12.17.1  But the most amazing legislation of Charondas, we are told, was that which related to revision of the laws. Observing that in most states the multitude of men who kept endeavouring to revise the laws led continually to the vitiation of the previously existing body of the laws and incite the masses to civil strife, he wrote a law which was peculiar and altogether unique.

§ 12.17.2  He commanded, namely, that the man who proposed to revise any law should put his neck in a noose at the time he made his proposal of a revision, and remain in that position until the people had reached a decision on the revision of the law, and if the Assembly approved the revised law, the introducer was to be freed of the noose, but if the proposal of revision did not carry, the noose was to be drawn and the man die on the spot.

§ 12.17.3  Such being the legislation relating to revision, fear restrained subsequent lawmakers and not a man dared to utter a word about revising laws; and in all subsequent time history records but three men who proposed revision among the Thurians, and these appeared because circumstances arose which rendered proposals of revision imperative.

§ 12.17.4  Thus, there was a law that if a man put out the eye of another, he should have his own eye put out, and man with but one eye, having had that eye put out and thus lost his entire sight, claimed that the offender, by the loss in requital of but one eye, had paid a less penalty; for, he maintained, if a man who had blinded a fellow citizen paid only the penalty fixed by the law, he would not have suffered the same loss; it would be just, therefore, that the man who had destroyed the entire sight of a man with but one ye should have both his eyes put out, if he were to receive a like punishment.

§ 12.17.5  Consequently the man with one eye, taking the matter strongly to heart, made bold to raise in the Assembly the case of the loss he had suffered, at the same time both lamenting bitterly over his personal misfortune to his fellow citizens and suggesting to the commons that they revise the law; and in the end, putting his neck in a noose, he won his proposal, set at naught the existing law, and had the revision approved, and he escaped the death by the noose as well.

§ 12.18.1  A second law, which gave a wife the right to divorce her husband and marry whomever she chose, was also revised. A certain man, who was well advanced in years and had a wife who was younger than he and had left him, proposed to the Thurians that they revise the law by the added provision that the wife who leaves a husband may marry whomever she chooses, provided the man is not younger than her former husband; and that likewise, if a man sends his wife away he may not marry a woman younger than the wife whom he had sent away.

§ 12.18.2  The elderly man won his proposal and set at naught the former law, also escaping the peril of the noose which threatened him; and his wife, who had thus been prevented from living with a younger husband, married again the man she had left.

§ 12.18.3  A third law to be revised had to do with heiresses and is also found in the legislation of Solon. Charondas ordered that the next of kin be assigned in marriage to an heiress and that likewise an heiress be assigned in marriage to her nearest relative, who was required to marry her or, if she were poor, to contribute five hundred drachmas as a dowry of the penniless heiress.

§ 12.18.4  And a certain orphan who was an heiress, of good birth but altogether without means of support and so unable by reason of her poverty to find a husband, turned to the people for aid, explaining to them with tears how helpless and scorned she was; and she went on to outline the revision of the law whereby, in place of the payment of five hundred drachmas, it should specify that the next of kin be required to marry the heiress who had been assigned to him. The people took pity on her and voted for the revision of the law, and thus the orphan escaped the peril which threatened her from the noose, while the nearest of kin, who was wealthy, was compelled to take to wife a penniless heiress without a dowry.

§ 12.19.1  It remains for us to speak of the death of Charondas, in connection with which a peculiar and unexpected thing happened to him. He had set out to the country carrying a dagger because of the robbers, and on his return the Assembly was in session and the commons in an uproar, whereupon he approached it because he was curious about the matter in dispute.

§ 12.19.2  But he had made a law that no man should enter the Assembly carrying a weapon, and since he had forgotten he was carrying the dagger at his side, he provided certain of his enemies with an occasion to bring an accusation against him. And when one of them said, “You have annulled your own law,” he replied, “Not so, by Zeus, I will uphold it,” and drawing the dagger he slew himself. Some historians, however, attribute this act to Diocles, the lawgiver of the Syracusans.

§ 12.19.3  But now that we have discoursed at sufficient length upon Charondas the lawmaker, we wish to speak briefly also of the lawmaker Zaleucus, since the two men not only followed similar principles of life but were also natives of neighbouring cities.

§ 12.20.1  Now Zaleucus was by birth a Locrian of Italy, a man of noble family, admired for his education, and a pupil of the philosopher Pythagoras. Having been accorded high favour in his native city, he was chosen lawmaker and committed to writing a thorough novel system of law, making his beginning, first of all, with the gods of the heavens.

§ 12.20.2  For at the outset in the introduction to his legislation as a whole he declared it to be necessary that the inhabitants of the city should first of all assume as an article of their creed that gods exist, and that, as their minds survey the heavens and its orderly scheme and arrangement, they should judge that these creations are not the result of Chance or the work of men's hands; that they should revere the gods as the cause of all that is noble and good in the life of mankind; and that they should keep the soul pure from every kind of evil, in the belief that the gods take no pleasure in either the sacrifices or costly gifts of the wicked but in the just and honourable practices of good men.

§ 12.20.3  And after inviting the citizens in this introduction to reverence and justice, he appended the further command that they should consider no one of their fellow citizens as an enemy with whom there can be no reconciliation, but that the quarrel be entered into with the thought that they will again come to agreement and friendship; and that the one who acts otherwise should be considered by his fellow citizens to be savage and untamed of soul. Also the magistrates were urged by him not to be wilful or arrogant, and not to render judgement out of enmity or friendship. And among his several ordinances a number were added of his own devising, which showed exceptionally great wisdom.

§ 12.21.1  To cite examples, whereas everywhere else wayward wives were required to pay fines, Zaleucus stopped their licentious behaviour by a cunningly devised punishment. That is, he made the following laws: a free-born woman may not be accompanied by more than one female slave, unless she is drunk; she may not leave the city during the night, unless she is planning to commit adultery; she may not wear gold jewelry or a garment with a purple border, unless she is a courtesan; and a husband may not wear a gold-studded ring or a cloak of Milesian fashion unless he is bent upon prostitution or adultery.

§ 12.21.2  Consequently, by the elimination, with its shameful implications, of the penalties he easily turned men aside from harmful luxury and wanton living; for no man wished to incur the sneers of his fellow citizens by acknowledging the disgraceful licentiousness.

§ 12.21.3  He wrote many other excellent laws, such as those on contracts and other relations of life which are the cause of strife. But it would be a long task for us to recount them and foreign to the plan of our history, and so we shall resume our account at the point where we digressed from the course of our narrative.

§ 12.22.1  When Lysimachides was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Titus Menenius and Publius Sestius Capitolinus. In this year the Sybarites who were fleeing from the danger threatening them in the civil strife made their home on the Trais River. Here they remained for a time, but later they were driven out by the Brettii and destroyed.

§ 12.22.2  And in Greece the Athenians, regaining control of Euboea and driving the Hestiaeans from their city, dispatched, under Pericles as commander, a colony of their own citizens to it and sending forth a thousand colonists they portioned out both the city and countryside in allotments.

§ 12.23.1  When Praxiteles was archon in Athens, the Eighty-fourth Olympiad was celebrated, that in which Crison of Himera won the “stadion,” and in Rome the following ten men were elected to draft laws: Publius Clodius Regillanus, Titus Minucius, Spurius Veturius, Gaius Julius, Gaius Sulpicius, Publius Sestius, Romulus (Romilius), Spurius Postumius Calvinus. These men drew up the laws.

§ 12.23.2  This year the Thurians and the Tarantini handle up continuous warfare and ravaged each other's territory both by land and by sea. They engaged in many light battles and skirmishes, but accomplished no deed worthy of mention.

§ 12.24.1  When Lysanias was archon in Athens, the Romans again chose ten men as lawmakers: Appius Clodius, Marcus Cornelius, Lucius Minucius, Gaius Sergius, Quintus Publius, Manius Rabuleius, and Spurius Veturius.

§ 12.24.2  These men, however, were not able to complete the codification of the laws. One of them had conceived a passion for a maiden who was penniless but of good family, and at first he tried to seduce the girl by means of money; and when she would have nothing to do with him, he sent an agent to her home with orders to lead her into slavery.

§ 12.24.3  The agent, claiming that she was his own slave, brought her, serving in that capacity, before the magistrate, in whose court Appius charged her with being his slave. And when the magistrates had listened to the charge and handed the girl over to him, the agent led her off as his own slave.

§ 12.24.4  The maiden's father, who had been present at the scene and had complained bitterly of the injustice he had suffered, since no attention had been paid to him, passed, as it happened, a butcher's shop, and snatching up the cleaver lying on the block, he struck his daughter with it and killed her, to prevent her experiencing the violation which awaited her; then he rushed out of the city and made his way to the army which was encamped at the time on Mount Algidus, as it is called.

§ 12.24.5  There he laid his case before the common soldiers, denounced with tears the misfortune that had befallen him, and won their complete pity and great sympathy. The entire body sallied forth to bring help to the unfortunates and burst into Rome during the night fully armed. There they seized the hill known as the Aventine.

§ 12.25.1  When with the day the hatred of the soldiers toward the evil which had been done became known, the ten lawmakers, rallying to the aid of their fellow magistrate, collected a body of young men, with the intention of settling the issue by a test of arms. Since a great spirit of contention now threatened the state, the most respectable citizens, foreseeing the greatness of the danger, acted as ambassadors between both parties to reach an agreement and begged them with great earnestness to cease from the civil discord and not plunge their fatherland into such serious distress.

§ 12.25.2  In the end all were won over and a mutual agreement was reached as follows: that ten tribunes should be elected who should wield the highest authority among the magistrates of the state and should act as guardians of the freedom of the citizens; and that of the annual consuls one should be chosen from the patricians and one, without exception, should be taken from the plebeians, the people having the power to choose even both consuls from the plebeians.

§ 12.25.3  This they did in their desire to weaken the supremacy of the patricians, for the patricians, by reason both of their noble birth and of the great fame that came down to them from their ancestors, were lords, one might say, of the state. It was furthermore stipulated in the agreement that when tribunes had served their year of office they should see that an equal number of tribunes were appointed in their place, and that if they failed to do this they should be burned alive; also, in case the tribunes could not agree among themselves, the will of the interceding tribune must not be prevented. Such, then, we find, was the conclusion of the civil discord in Rome.

§ 12.26.1  When Diphilus was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Marcus Horatius and Lucius Valerius Turpinus [448 BCE]. In Rome during this year, since the legislation remained unfinished because of the civil discord, the consuls brought it to conclusion; that is, of the Twelve Tables, as they are called, ten had been drawn up, and the consuls wrote into law the two remaining. After the legislation they had undertaken had been concluded, the consuls engraved the laws on twelve bronze tablets and affixed them to the Rostra before the Senate-house. And the legislation as it was drawn up, since it is couched in such brief and pithy language, has continued to be admired by men down to our own day.

§ 12.26.2  While the events we have described were taking place, the greater number of the nations of the inhabited world were quiet, practically all of them being at peace. For the Persians had two treaties with the Greeks, one with the Athenians and their allies according to which the Greek cities of Asia were to live under laws of their own making, and they also concluded one later with the Lacedemonians, in which exactly the opposite terms had been incorporated, whereby the Greek cities of Asia were to be subject to the Persians. Likewise, the Greeks were at peace with one another, the Athenians and Lacedemonians having concluded a truce of thirty years.

§ 12.26.3  Affairs likewise in Sicily also were in a peaceful state, since the Carthaginians had made a treaty with Gelon, the Greek cities of Sicily had voluntarily conceded the hegemony to the Syracusans, and the Acragantini, after their defeat at the river Himera, had come to terms with the Syracusans.

§ 12.26.4  There was quiet also among the peoples of Italy and Celtice, as well as over Iberia and almost all the rest of the inhabited world. Consequently no deed of arms worthy of mention was accomplished in this period, a single peace prevailed, and festive gatherings, sacrificial festivals of the gods, and everything else which accompanies a life of felicity prevailed among all mankind.

§ 12.27.1  When Timocles was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Lar Herminius and Titus Stertinius Structor. In this year the Samians went to war with the Milesians because of a quarrel over Priene, and when they saw that the Athenians were favouring the Milesians, they revolted from the Athenians, who thereupon chose Pericles as general and dispatched him with forty ships against the Samians.

§ 12.27.2  And sailing forth against Samos, Pericles got into the city and mastered it, and then established a democracy in it. He exacted of the Samians eighty talents and took an equal number of their young men as hostages, whom he put in the keeping of the Lemnians; then, after having finished everything in a few days, he returned to Athens.

§ 12.27.3  But civil discord arose in Samos, one party preferring the democracy and the other wanting an aristocracy, and the city was in utter tumult. The opponents of the democracy crossed over to Asia, and went on to Sardis to get aid from Pissuthnes, the Persian satrap. Pissuthnes gave them seven hundred soldiers, hoping that in this way he would get the mastery of the island, and the Samians, sailing to Samos by night with the soldiers which had been given them, slipped unnoticed into the city with the aid of the citizens, seized the island without difficulty, and expelled from the city those who opposed them. Then, after they had stolen and carried off the hostages from Lemnos and had made everything secure in Samos, they publicly declared themselves to be enemies of the Athenians.

§ 12.27.4  The Athenians again chose Pericles as general and dispatched him against the Samians with sixty ships. Thereupon Pericles fought a naval battle against seventy triremes of the Samians and defeated them; and then, summoning twenty-five ships from the Chians and Mytilenaeans, together with them he laid siege to the city of Samos. But a few days later Pericles left a part of his force to continue the siege and set out to sea to meet the Phoenician ships which the Persians had dispatched to the aid of the Samians.

§ 12.28.1  The Samians, believing that because of the departure of Pericles they had a suitable opportunity to attack the ships that had been left behind, sailed against them, and having won the battle they were puffed up with pride.

§ 12.28.2  But when Pericles received word of the defeat of his forces, he at once turned back and gathered an imposing fleet, since he desired to destroy once and for all the fleet of the enemy. The Athenians rapidly dispatched sixty triremes and the Chians and Mytilenaeans thirty, and with this great armament Pericles renewed the siege both by land and by sea, making continuous assaults.

§ 12.28.3  He built also siege machines, being the first of all men to do so, such as those called “rams” and “tortoises,” Artemon of Clazomenae having built them; and by pushing the siege with energy and throwing down the walls by means of the siege machines he gained the mastery of Samos. After punishing the ringleaders of the revolt he exacted of the Samians the expenses incurred in the siege of the city, fixing the penalty at two hundred talents.

§ 12.28.4  He also took from them their ships and razed their walls; then he restored the democracy and returned to his country. As for the Athenians and Lacedemonians, the thirty-year truce between them remained unshaken to this time. These, then, were the events of this year.

§ 12.29.1  When Morychides was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Lucius Julius and Marcus Geganius, and the Eleans celebrated the Eighty-fifth Olympiad, that in which Crison of Himera won the “stadion” for the second time. In Sicily, in this year, Ducetius, the former leader of the cities of the Siceli, founded the native city of the Calactians, and when he had established many colonists there, he laid claim to the leadership of the Siceli, but his attempt was cut short by illness and his life was ended.

§ 12.29.2  The Syracusans had made subject to them all the cities of the Siceli with the exception of Trinacie, as it is called, and against it they decided to send an army; for they were deeply apprehensive lest the Trinacians should make a bid for the leadership of the Siceli, who were their kinsmen. There were many great men in this city, since it had always occupied the chief position among the cities of the Siceli; for it was full of military leaders who took an inestimable pride in their own manly spirit.

§ 12.29.3  Consequently the Syracusans marched against it after having mustered all their own armaments and those of their allied states. The Trinacians were without allies, since all the other cities were subject to the Syracusans, but they none the less offered a strong resistance. They held out valiantly against the perils they encountered and slew great numbers, and they all ended their lives fighting heroically.

§ 12.29.4  In like manner even the majority of the older men removed themselves from life, being unwilling to endure the despite they would suffer at the capture of their city. And the Syracusans, after conquering in brilliant fashion men who had never before been subdued, sold the inhabitants into slavery and utterly destroyed the city, and the choicest of the booty they sent to Delphi as a thank-offering to the god.

§ 12.30.1  When Glaucidos was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Titus Quinctius and Agrippa Furius. During this year the Syracusans, because of the successes we have described, built one hundred triremes and doubled the number of their cavalry; they also developed their infantry forces and made financial preparations by laying heavier tributes upon the Siceli who were now subject to them. This they were doing with the intention of subduing all Sicily little by little.

§ 12.30.2  While these events were taking place it came about in Greece that the Corinthian War, as it is called, began for the following causes. Civil strife broke out among the Epidamnians who dwell upon the Adriatic Sea and are colonists of the Cercyraeans and Corinthians. The successful group sent into exile large numbers of their opponents, but the exiles gathered into one body, associated the Illyrians with themselves, and sailed together with them against Epidamnus.

§ 12.30.3  Since the barbarians had taken the field with a large army, had seized the countryside, and were investing the city, the Epidamnians, who of themselves were not equal to them in battle, dispatched ambassadors to Cercyra, asking the Cercyraeans on the grounds of kinship to come to their aid. When the Cercyraeans paid no attention to the request, they sent ambassadors to seek an alliance with the Corinthians and declared Corinth to be their single mother-city; at the same time they asked for colonists.

§ 12.30.4  And the Corinthians, partly out of pity for the Epidamnians and partly out of hatred for the Cercyraeans, since they alone of the colonists who had gone from Corinth would not send the customary sacrificial animals to the mother-city, decided to go to the aid of the Epidamnians. Consequently they sent to Epidamnus both colonists and soldiers in sufficient numbers to garrison the city.

§ 12.30.5  At this the Cercyraeans became irritated and sent out a squadron of fifty triremes under the command of a general. He, sailing up to the city, issued orders to receive back the exiles, while they dispatched ambassadors to the guards from Corinth demanding that the question of the origin of the colony be decided by a court of arbiters, not by war. When the Corinthians made no answer to this proposal, both sides decided upon war, and they set about fitting out great naval armaments and gathering allies. And so the Corinthian War, as it has been called, broke out for the reasons we have narrated.

§ 12.30.6  The Romans were at war with the Volscians and at first they engaged only in skirmishes and unimportant engagements, but later they conquered them in a great pitched battle and slew the larger number of the enemy.

§ 12.31.1  When Theodorus was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Marcus Genucius and Agrippa Curtius Chilo. In Italy, during this year, the nation of the Campani was formed, deriving them name from the fertility of the plain about them. In Asia the dynasty of the Cimmerian Bosporus, whose kings were known as the Archeanactidae, ruled for forty-two years; and the successor to the kingship was Spartacus, who reigned seven years.

§ 12.31.2  In Greece the Corinthians were at war with the Cercyraeans, and after preparing naval armaments they made ready for a battle at sea. Now the Corinthians with seventy excellently equipped ships sailed against their enemy; but the Cercyraeans opposed them with eighty triremes and won the battle, and then they forced the surrender of Epidamnus and put to death all the captives except the Corinthians, whom they cast in chains and imprisoned.

§ 12.31.3  After the sea battle the Corinthians withdrew in dismay to the Peloponnesus, and the Cercyraeans, who were now masters of the sea in those regions, made frequent descents upon the allies of the Corinthians, ravaging their lands.

§ 12.32.1  At the end of the year the archon in Athens was Euthymenes, and in Rome instead of consuls three military tribunes were elected, Aulus Sempronius, Lucius Atilius, and Titus Quinctius. During this year, the Corinthians, who had suffered defeat in the sea-battle, decided to build a more imposing fleet.

§ 12.32.2  Consequently, having procured a great amount of timber and hiring shipbuilders from other cities, they set about with great eagerness building triremes and fabricating arms and missiles of every description; and, speaking generally, they were making ready all the equipment needed for the war and, in particular, triremes, of which they were building some from their keels, repairing others which had been damaged, and requisitioning still others from their allies.

§ 12.32.3  And since the Cercyraeans were doing the same thing and were not being outdone in eagerness, it was clear that the war was going to increase greatly in intensity. While these events were taking place the Athenians founded the colony of Amphipolis, selecting the colonists in part from their own citizens and in part from garrisons in the neighbourhood.

§ 12.33.1  When Lysimachus was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Titus Quinctius and Marcus Geganius Macerinus, and the Eleians celebrated the Eighty-sixth Olympiad, that in which Theopompus the Thessalian won the “stadion.” In this year the Cercyraeans, learning of the great scale of the armaments which were being prepared against them, dispatched ambassadors to the Athenians asking their aid.

§ 12.33.2  Since the Corinthians did the same thing, an Assembly was convened, and the Athenian people after listening to the ambassadors voted to form an alliance with the Cercyraeans. Consequently they dispatched at once ten fully equipped triremes and promised that they would send more later if necessary.

§ 12.33.3  The Corinthians, after their failure to conclude an alliance with the Athenians, manned by themselves ninety triremes and received in addition sixty from their allies. With, therefore, one hundred and fifty fully equipped triremes and after selecting their most accomplished generals, they put to sea against Cercyra, having decided to join battle at once. And when the Cercyraeans learned that the enemy's fleet was not far off,

§ 12.33.4  they put out to sea against them with one hundred and twenty triremes including the Athenian. A sharp battle took place, and at the outset the Corinthians had the upper hand; but later, when the Athenians came on the scene with twenty additional ships which they had sent in accordance with the second alliance, it turned out that the Cercyraeans were victorious. And on the next day, when the Cercyraeans sailed against them in full force for battle, the Corinthians did not put out.

§ 12.34.1  When Antiochides was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Marcus Fabius and Postumus Aebutius Ulecus [441 BCE]. In this year, since the Athenians had fought at the side of the Cercyraeans and been responsible for their victory in the sea-battle, the Corinthians were incensed at them.

§ 12.34.2  Being eager, therefore, to retaliate upon the Athenians, they incited the city of Potidaea, which was one of their own colonies, to revolt from the Athenians. And in like manner Perdiccas, the king of the Macedonians, who was also at odds with the Athenians, persuaded the Chalcidians, who had revolted from the Athenians, to abandon their cities on the sea and unite in forming a single city known as Olynthus.

§ 12.34.3  When the Athenians heard of the revolt of the Potidaeans, they dispatched thirty ships with orders to ravage the territory of the rebels and to sack their city; and the expedition landed in Macedonia, as the Athenian people had ordered them to do, and undertook the siege of Potidaea.

§ 12.34.4  Thereupon the Corinthians came to the help of the besieged with two thousand soldiers and the Athenian people also sent two thousand. In the battle which took place on the isthmus near Pallene the Athenians were victorious and slew over three hundred of the enemy, and the Potidaeans were entirely beleaguered.

§ 12.34.5  And while these event were taking place, the Athenians founded in the Propontis a city which was given the name of Astacus. In Italy the Romans sent colonists to Ardea and portioned out the land in allotments.

§ 12.35.1  When Crates was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Quintus Furius Fusus and Manius Papirius Crassus [441 BCE]. This year in Italy the inhabitants of Thurii, who had been gathered together from many cities, divided into factions over the question from what city the Thurians should say they came as colonists and what man should justly be called the founder of the city.

§ 12.35.2  The situation was that the Athenians were laying claim to this colony on the grounds, as they alleged, that the majority of its colonists had come from Athens; and, besides, the cities of the Peloponnesus, which had provided from their people not a few to the founding of Thurii, maintained that the colonization of the city should be ascribed to them.

§ 12.35.3  Likewise, since many able men had shared in the founding of the colony and had rendered many services, there was much discussion on the matter, since each one of them was eager to have this honour fall to him. In the end the Thurians sent a delegation to Delphi to inquire what man they should call the founder of their city, and the god replied that he himself should be considered to be its founder. After the dispute had been settled in this manner, they declared Apollo to have been the founder of Thurii, and the people, being now freed from the civil discord, returned to the state of harmony which they had previously enjoyed.

§ 12.35.4  In Greece Archidamus, the king of the Lacedemonians, died after a reign of forty-two years, and Agis succeeded to the throne and was king for twenty-five years.

§ 12.36.1  When Apseudes was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Titus Menenius and Proculus Geganius Macerinus. During this year Spartacus, the king of the Bosporus, died after a reign of seven years, and Seleucus succeeded to the throne and was king for forty years.

§ 12.36.2  In Athens Meton, the son of Pausanias, who had won fame for his study of the stars, revealed to the public his nineteen-year cycle, as it is called, the beginning of which he fixed on the thirteenth day of the Athenian month of Scirophorion. In this number of years the stars accomplish their return to the same place in the heavens and conclude, as it were, the circuit of what may be called a Great Year; consequently it is called by some the Year of Meton.

§ 12.36.3  And we find that this man was astonishingly fortunate in this prediction which he published; for the stars complete both their movement and the effects they produce in accordance with his reckoning. Consequently, even down to our own day, the larger number of the Greeks use the nineteen-year cycle and are not cheated of the truth.

§ 12.36.4  In Italy the Tarantini removed the inhabitants of Siris, as it is called, from their native city, and adding to them colonists from their own citizens, they founded a city which they named Herakleia.

§ 12.37.1  When Pythodorus was archon in Athens, the Romans elected as consuls Titus Quinctius and Nittus Menenius [439 BCE], and the Eleians celebrated the Eighty-seventh Olympiad, that in which Sophron of Ambracia won the “stadion.” In Rome in this year Spurius Maelius was put to death while striving for despotic power. And the Athenians, who had won a striking victory around Potidaea, dispatched a second general, Phormion, in the place of their general Callias who had fallen on the field. After taking over the command of the army Phormion settled down to the siege of the city of the Potidaeans, making continuous assaults upon it; but the defenders resisted with vigour and the siege became a long affair.

§ 12.37.2  Thucydides, the Athenian, commenced his history with this year, giving an account of the war between the Athenians and the Lacedemonians, the war which has been called the Peloponnesian. This war lasted twenty-seven years, but Thucydides described twenty-two years in eight Books or, as others divide it, in nine.

§ 12.38.1  When Euthydemus was archon in Athens, the Romans elected in place of consuls three military tribunes, Manius Aemilianus Mamercus, Gaius Julius, and Lucius Quinctius. In this year there began the Peloponnesian War, as it has been called, between the Athenians and the Peloponnesians, the longest of all the wars which history records; and it is necessary and appropriate to the plan of our history to set forth at the outset the causes of the war.

§ 12.38.2  While the Athenians were still striving for the mastery of the sea, the funds which had been collected as a common undertaking and placed at Delos, amounting to some eight thousand talents, they had transferred to Athens and give over to Pericles to guard. This man stood far above his fellow citizens in birth, renown, and ability as an orator. But after some time he had spent a very considerable amount of this money for his own purposes, and when he was called upon for an accounting he fell ill, since he was unable to render the statement of the monies with which he had been entrusted.

§ 12.38.3  While he was worried over the matter, Alcibiades, his nephew, who was an orphan and was being reared at the home of Pericles, though still a lad showed him a way out of making an explanation of the use of the money. Seeing how his uncle was troubled he asked him the cause of his worry. And when Pericles said, “I am asked for the explanation of the use of the money and I am seeking some means whereby I may be able to render an accounting of it to the citizens,” Alcibiades replied, “You should be seeking some means not how to render but how not to render an accounting.”

§ 12.38.4  Consequently Pericles, accepting the reply of the boy, kept pondering in what way he could embroil the Athenians in a great war; for that would be the best way, he thought, because of the disturbance and distractions and fears which would the city, for him to escape giving an exact accounting of the money. Bearing upon this expedient an incident happened to him by mere chance for the following causes.

§ 12.39.1  The statue of Athens was a work of Pheidias, and Pericles, the son of Xanthippus, had been appointed overseer of the undertaking. But sometimes assistants of Pheidias, who had been prevailed upon by Pericles' enemies, took seats as suppliants at the altars of the gods; and when they were called upon to explain their surprising action, they claimed that they would show that Pheidias had possession of a large amount of the sacred funds, with the connivance and assistance of Pericles the overseer.

§ 12.39.2  Consequently, when the Assembly convened to consider the affair, the enemies of Pericles persuaded the people to arrest Pheidias and lodged a charge against Pericles himself of stealing sacred property. Furthermore, they falsely accused the sophist Anaxagoras, who was Pericles' teacher, of impiety against the gods; and they involved Pericles in their accusations and malicious charges, since jealousy made them eager to discredit the eminence as well as the fame of the man.

§ 12.39.3  But Pericles, knowing that during the operations of war the populace has respect for noble men because of their urgent need of them, whereas in times of peace they keep bringing false accusations against the very same men because they have nothing to do and are envious, came to the conclusion that it would be to his own advantage to embroil the state in a great war, in order that the city, in its need of the ability and skill in generalship of Pericles, should pay no attention to the accusations being lodged against him and would have neither leisure nor time to scrutinize carefully the accounting he would render of the funds.

§ 12.39.4  Now when the Athenians voted to exclude the Megarians from both their market and harbours, the Megarians turned to the Spartans for aid. And the Lacedemonians, being won over by the Megarians, in the most open manner dispatched ambassadors in accordance with the decision of the Council of the League, ordering the Athenians to rescind the action against the Megarians and threatening, if they did not accede, to wage war upon them together with the forces of their allies.

§ 12.39.5  When the Assembly convened to consider the matter, Pericles, who far excelled his fellow citizens in skill of oratory, persuaded the Athenians not to rescind the action, saying that for them to accede to the demands of the Lacedemonians, contrary to their own interests, would be the first step toward slavery. Accordingly he advised that they bring their possessions from the countryside into the city and fight it out with the Spartans by means of their command of the sea.

§ 12.40.1  Speaking of the war, Pericles, after defending his course in well-considered words, enumerated first the multitude of allies Athens possessed and the superiority of its naval strength, and then the large sum of money which had been removed from Delos to Athens and which had in fact been gathered from the tribute into one fund for the common use of the cities;

§ 12.40.2  from the ten thousand talents in the common fund four thousand had been expended on the building of the Propylaea and the siege of Potidaea; and each year there was an income from the tribute paid by the allies of four hundred and sixty talents. Beside this he declared that the vessels employed in solemn processions and the booty taken from the Medes were worth five hundred talents,

§ 12.40.3  and he pointed to the multitude of votive offerings in the various sanctuaries and to the fact that the fifty talents of gold on the statue of Athena for its embellishment was so constructed as to be removable; and he showed that all these, if dire need befell them, they could borrow from the gods and return to them again when peace came, and that also by reason of the long peace the manner of life of the citizens had made great strides toward prosperity.

§ 12.40.4  In addition to these financial resources Pericles pointed out that, omitting the allies and garrisons, the city had available twelve thousand hoplites, the garrisons and metics amounted to more than seventeen thousand, and the triremes available to three hundred.

§ 12.40.5  He also pointed out that the Lacedemonians were both lacking in money and far behind the Athenians in naval armaments. After he had recounted these facts and incited the citizens to war, he persuaded the people to pay no attention to the Lacedemonians. This he accomplished readily by reason of his great ability as an orator, which is the reason he has been called “The Olympian.”

§ 12.40.6  Mention has been made of this even by Aristophanes, the poet of the Old Comedy, who lived in the period of Pericles, in the following tetrameters: O ye farmers, wretched creatures, listen now and understand, If you fain would learn the reason why it was Peace left the land. Pheidias began the mischief, having come to grief and shame, Pericles was next in order, fearing he might share the blame, By his Megara-enactment lighting first a little flame, Such a bitter smoke ascended while the flames of war he blew, That from every eye in Hellas everywhere the tears it drew. And again in another place: The Olympian Pericles Thundered and lightened and confounded Hellas. And Eupolis the poet wrote: One might say Persuasion rested On his lips; such charm he'd bring. And alone of all the speakers In his listeners left his sting.

§ 12.41.1  Now the causes of the Peloponnesian War were in general what I have described, as Ephorus has recorded them. And when the leading states had become embroiled in war in this fashion, the Lacedemonians, sitting in council with the Peloponnesians, voted to make war upon the Athenians, and dispatching ambassadors to the king of the Persians, urged him to ally himself with them, while they also treated by means of ambassadors with their allies in Sicily and Italy and persuaded them to come to their aid with two hundred triremes;

§ 12.41.2  and for their own part they, together with the Peloponnesians, got ready their land forces, made all other preparations for the war, and were the first to commence the conflict. For in Boeotia the city of the Plataeans was an independent state and had an alliance with the Athenians.

§ 12.41.3  But certain of its citizens, wishing to destroy its independence, had engaged in parleys with the Boeotians, promising that they would range that state under the confederacy organized by the Thebans and hand Plataea over to them if they would send soldiers to aid in the undertaking.

§ 12.41.4  Consequently, when the Boeotians dispatched by night three hundred picked soldiers, the traitors got them inside the walls and made them masters of the city.

§ 12.41.5  The Plataeans, wishing to maintain their alliance with the Athenians, since at first they assumed that the Thebans were present in full force, began negotiations with the captors of the city and urged them to agree to a truce; but as the night wore on and they perceived that the Thebans were few in number, they rallied en masse and began putting up a vigorous struggle for their freedom.

§ 12.41.6  The fighting took place in the streets, and at first the Thebans held the upper hand because of their valour and were slaying many of their opponents; but when the slaves and children began pelting the Thebans with tiles from the houses and wounding them, they turned in flight; and some of them escaped from the city to safety, but some who found refuge in a house were forced to give themselves up.

§ 12.41.7  When the Thebans learned the outcome of the attempt from the survivors of the battle, they at once marched forth in all haste in full force. And since the Plataeans who dwelt in the rural districts were unprepared because they were not expecting the attack, many of them were slain and not a small number were taken captive alive, and the whole land was filled with tumult and plundering.

§ 12.42.1  The Plataeans dispatched ambassadors to the Thebans demanding that they leave Plataean territory and receive their own captives back. And so, when this had been agreed upon, the Thebans received their captives back, restored the booty they had taken, and returned to Thebes. The Plataeans dispatched ambassadors to the Athenians asking for aid, while they themselves gathered the larger part of their possessions into the city.

§ 12.42.2  The Athenians, when they learned of what had taken place in Plataea, at once sent a considerable body of soldiers; these arrived in haste, although not before the Thebans, and gathered the rest of the property from the countryside into the city, and then, collecting both the children and women and the rabble, sent them off to Athens.

§ 12.42.3  The Lacedemonians, deciding that the Athenians had broken the truce, mustered a strong army from both Lacedemon and the rest of the Peloponnesians.