[4] neque enim Cimoni fuit turpe, Atheniensium summo viro, sororem germanam habere in matrimonio, quippe cum cives eius eodem uterentur instituto. at id quidem nostris moribus nefas habetur. laudi in Creta ducitur adulescentulis quam plurimos habuisse amatores. nulla Lacedaemoni vidua tam est nobilis, quae non ad cenam eat mercede condictam. [5] magnis in laudibus tota fere fuit Graecia victorem Olympiae citari, in scaenam vero prodire ac populo esse spectaculo nemini in eisdem gentibus fuit turpitudini. quae omnia apud nos partim infamia, partim humilia atque ab honestate remota ponuntur. [6] contra ea pleraque nostris moribus sunt decora, quae apud illos turpia putantur. quem enim Romanorum pudet uxorem ducere in convivium? aut cuius non mater familias primum locum tenet aedium atque in celebritate versatur? [7] quod multo fit aliter in Graecia. nam neque in convivium adhibetur nisi propinquorum, neque sedet nisi in interiore parte aedium, quae gynaeconitis appellatur, quo nemo accedit nisi propinqua cognatione coniunctus.
If these readers will but understand that the same things are not becoming or unbecoming among all people, but that every thing is judged by the usages of men’s forefathers, they will not wonder that we, in setting forth the excellencies of the Greeks, have had regard to their manners. For to Cimon, an eminent man among the Athenians, it was thought no disgrace to have his half-sister, by the father’s side, in marriage, as his countrymen followed the same practice; but such a union, according to the order of things among us, is deemed unlawful. In Greece it is considered an honour to young men to have as many lovers as possible. At Lacedaemon there is no widow so noble that will not go upon the stage, if engaged for a certain sum. Through the whole of Greece it was accounted a great glory to be proclaimed a conqueror at Olympia; while to appear upon the stage, and become a spectacle to the public, was a dishonour to no one in that nation; but all these practices are, with us, deemed partly infamous, partly mean, and at variance with respectability. On the other hand, many things in our habits are decorous, which are by them considered unbecoming; for what Roman is ashamed to bring his wife to a feast, or whose consort does not occupy the best room in the house, and live in the midst of company? But in Greece the case is far otherwise; for a wife is neither admitted to a feast, except among relations, nor does she sit anywhere but in the innermost apartment of the house, which is called the gynaeconitis, and into which nobody goes who is not connected with her by near relationship.
[8] sed hic plura persequi cum magnitudo voluminis prohibet, tum festinatio, ut ea explicem, quae exorsus sum. quare ad propositum veniemus et in hoc exponemus libro de vita excellentium imperatorum.
But both the size of my intended volume, and my haste to relate what I have undertaken, prevent me from saying more on this point. We will therefore proceed to our subject, and relate in this book the lives of eminent commanders.
I. MILTIADES.
Miltiades leads out a colony to the Chersonese; is mocked by the people of Lemnos, I. Makes himself master of the Chersonese; takes Lemnos and the Cyclades, II. Is appointed by Darius, when he was making war on Scythia, to guard the bridge over the Ister; suggests a plan for delivering Greece from the Persians; is opposed by Histiaeus, III. Exhorts his countrymen to meet Darius in the field, IV. Defeats Darius before the arrival of the allies, V. How he is rewarded, VI. Breaks off the siege of Paros, is condemned, and dies in prison, VII. True cause of his condemnation. VIII.
1. Miltiades, Cimonis filius, Atheniensis, cum et antiquitate generis et gloria maiorum et sua modestia unus omnium maxime floreret eaque esset aetate, ut non iam solum de eo bene sperare, sed etiam confidere cives possent sui, talem eum futurum, qualem cognitum iudicarunt, accidit ut Athenienses Chersonesum colonos vellent mittere. [2] cuius generis cum magnus numerus esset et multi eius demigrationis peterent societatem, ex iis delecti Delphos deliberatum missi sunt qui consulerent Apollinem, quo potissimum duce uterentur. namque tum Thraeces eas regiones tenebant, cum quibus armis erat dimicandum. [3] his consulentibus nominatim Pythia praecepit, ut Miltiadem imperatorem sibi sumerent: id si fecissent, incepta prospera futura. [4] hoc oraculi responso Miltiades cum delecta manu classe Chersonesum profectus cum accessisset Lemnum et incolas eius insulae sub potestatem redigere vellet Atheniensium, idque ut [5] Lemnii sua sponte facerent postulasset, illi irridentes responderunt tum id se facturos, cum ille domo navibus profectus vento aquilone venisset Lemnum. hic enim ventus ab septemtrionibus oriens adversum tenet Athenis proficiscentibus. [6] Miltiades morandi tempus non habens cursum direxit, quo tendebat, pervenitque Chersonesum.
I. AT the time when Miltiades, the son of Cimon, an Athenian, was eminent above all his countrymen, both for the antiquity of his family, the glory of his forefathers, and his own good conduct, and was of such an age that his fellow citizens might not only hope well of him, but assure themselves that he would be such as they found him when he became known, it chanced that the Athenians wished to send colonists to the Chersonese. The number of the party being great, and many applying for a share in the expedition, some chosen from among them were sent to Delphi, to consult Apollo what leader they should take in preference to any other; for the Thracians at the time had possession of those parts, with whom they would be obliged to contend in war. The Pythia expressly directed them, when they put the question, to take Miltiades as their commander, as, if they did so, their undertakings would be successful. Upon this answer from the oracle, Miltiades set out for the Chersonese with a fleet, accompanied by a chosen body of men, and touched at Lemnos, when, wishing to reduce the people of the island under the power of the Athenians, and requesting the Lemnians to surrender of their own accord, they, in mockery, replied that “they would do so, whenever he, leaving home with a fleet, should reach Lemnos by the aid of the wind Aquilo;” for this wind, rising from the north, is contrary to those setting out from Athens. Miltiades, having no time for delay, directed his course to the quarter to which he was bound, and arrived at the Chersonese.
2. Ibi brevi tempore barbarorum copiis disiectis, tota regione, quam petierat, potitus, loca castellis idonea communiit, multitudinem, quam secum duxerat, in agris collocavit crebrisque excursionibus locupletavit. [2] neque minus in ea re prudentia quam felicitate adiutus est. nam cum virtute militum devicisset hostium exercitus, summa aequitate res constituit atque ipse ibidem manere decrevit. [3] erat enim inter eos dignitate regia, quamquam carebat nomine, neque id magis imperio quam iustitia consecutus. neque eo setius Atheniensibus, a quibus erat profectus, officia praestabat. quibus rebus fiebat ut non minus eorum voluntate perpetuum imperium obtineret, qui miserant, quam illorum, cum quibus erat profectus. [4] Chersoneso tali modo constituta Lemnum revertitur et ex pacto postulat ut sibi urbem tradant: illi enim dixerant, cum vento borea domo profectus eo pervenisset, sese dedituros se enim domum Chersonesi habere. [5] Cares, qui tum Lemnum incolebant, etsi praeter opinionem res ceciderat, tamen non dicto, sed secunda fortuna adversariorum capti resistere ausi non sunt atque ex insula demigrarunt. pari felicitate ceteras insulas, quae Cyclades nominantur, sub Atheniensium redegit potestatem.
II. Having there, in a short time, scattered the forces of the barbarians, and made himself master of all the territory that he had desired, he strengthened suitable places with fortresses, settled the multitude, which he had brought with him, in the country, and enriched them by frequent excursions. Nor was he less aided, in this proceeding, by good conduct than by good fortune, for after he had, by the valour of his men, routed the troops of the enemy, he settled affairs with the greatest equity, and resolved upon residing in the country himself. He held, indeed, among the inhabitants, the authority of a king, though he wanted the name; and he did not attain this influence more by his power than by his justice. Nor did he the less, on this account, perform his duty to the Athenians, from whom he had come. From these circumstances it happened that he held his office in perpetuity, not less with the consent of those who had sent him, than of those with whom he had gone thither.
Having settled the affairs of the Chersonese in this manner, he returned to Lem
nos, and called on the people to deliver up their city to him according to their promise; for they had said that when he, starting from home, should reach their country by the aid of the north wind, they would surrender themselves; “and he had now a home,” he told them, “in the Chersonese.” The Carians, who then inhabited Lemnos, though the event had fallen out contrary to their expectation, yet being influenced, not by the words, but by the good fortune of their adversaries, did not venture to resist, but withdrew out of the island. With like success he reduced some other islands, which are called the Cyclades, under the power of the Athenians.
3. Eisdem temporibus Persarum rex Darius ex Asia in Europam exercitu traiecto Scythis bellum inferre decrevit. pontem fecit in Histro flumine, qua copias traduceret. eius pontis, dum ipse abesset, custodes reliquit principes, quos secum ex Ionia et Aeolide duxerat, quibus singularum urbium perpetua dederat imperia. [2] sic enim facillime putavit se Graeca lingua loquentes, qui Asiam incolerent, sub sua retenturum potestate, si amicis suis oppida tuenda tradidisset, quibus se oppresso nulla spes salutis relinqueretur. in hoc fuit tum numero Miltiades cui illa custodia crederetur. [3] hic, cum crebri afferrent nuntii male rem gerere Darium premique a Scythis, hortatus est pontis custodes, ne a fortuna datam occasionem liberandae Graeciae dimitterent. [4] nam si cum iis copiis, quas secum transportarat, interisset Darius, non solum Europam fore tutam, sed etiam eos, qui Asiam incolerent Graeci genere, liberos a Persarum futuros dominatione et periculo. id facile effici posse: ponte enim rescisso regem vel hostium ferro vel inopia paucis diebus interiturum. [5] ad hoc consilium cum plerique accederent, Hestiaeus Milesius, ne res conficeretur, obstitit, dicens non idem ipsis, qui summas imperii tenerent, expedire et multitudini, quod Darii regno ipsorum niteretur dominatio: quo exstincto ipsos potestate expulsos civibus suis poenas daturos. itaque adeo se abhorrere a ceterorum consilio, ut nihil putet ipsis utilius quam confirmari regnum Persarum. [6] huius cum sententiam plurimi essent secuti, Miltiades non dubitans tam multis consciis ad regis aures consilia sua perventura, Chersonesum reliquit ac rursus Athenas demigravit. cuius ratio etsi non valuit, tamen magno opere est laudanda, cum amicior omnium libertati quam suae fuerit dominationi.
III. About the same period, Darius, king of Persia, resolved upon transporting his army from Asia into Europe, and making war upon the Scythians. He constructed a bridge over the river Ister, by which he might lead across his forces. Of this bridge he left as guardians, during his absence, the chiefs whom he had brought with him from Ionia and Aeolia, and to whom he had given the sovereignty of their respective cities; for he thought that he should most easily keep under his power such of the inhabitants of Asia as spoke Greek, if he gave their towns to be held by his friends, to whom, if he should be crushed, no hope of safety would be left. Among the number of those, to whom the care of the bridge was then entrusted, was Miltiades.
As several messengers brought word that Darius was unsuccessful in his enterprise, and was hard pressed by the Scythians, Miltiades, in consequence, exhorted the guardians of the bridge not to lose an opportunity, presented them by fortune, of securing the liberty of Greece; for if Darius should be destroyed, together with the army that he had taken with him, not only Europe would be safe, but also those who, being Greeks by birth, inhabited Asia, would be freed from the dominion of the Persians, and from all danger. “This,” he said, “might easily be accomplished, for, if the bridge were broken down, the king would perish in a few days, either by the sword of the enemy, or by famine.” After most of them had assented to this proposal, Histiaeus of Miletus, prevented the design from being executed; saying that “the same course would not be expedient for those who held sovereign command, as for the multitude, since their authority depended on the power of Darius, and, if he were cut off, they would be deprived of their governments, and suffer punishment at the hands of their subjects; and that he himself, therefore, was so far from agreeing in opinion with the rest, that he thought nothing more advantageous for them than that the kingdom of the Persians should be upheld.” As most went over to this opinion, Miltiades, not doubting that his proposal, since so many were acquainted with it, would come to the ears of the king, quitted the Chersonese, and went again to reside at Athens. His suggestion, though it did not take effect, is yet highly to be commended, as he showed himself a greater friend to the general liberty than to his own power.
4. Darius autem, cum ex Europa in Asiam redisset, hortantibus amicis, ut Graeciam redigeret in suam potestatem, classem quingentarum navium comparavit eique Datim praefecit et Artaphernem iisque ducenta peditum, decem equitum milia dedit, causam interserens se hostem esse Atheniensibus, quod eorum auxilio Iones Sardis expugnassent suaque praesidia interfecissent. [2] illi praefecti regii classe ad Euboeam appulsa celeriter Eretriam ceperunt omnesque eius gentis cives abreptos in Asiam ad regem miserunt. inde ad Atticam accesserunt ac suas copias in campum Marathona deduxerunt. is abest ab oppido circiter milia passuum decem. [3] hoc tumultu Athenienses tam propinquo tamque magno permoti auxilium nusquam nisi a Lacedaemoniis petiverunt Phidippumque cursorem eius generis, qui hemerodromoe vocantur, Lacedaemonem miserunt, ut nuntiaret quam celerrimo opus esse auxilio. [4] domi autem creant decem praetores, qui exercitui praeessent, in eis Miltiadem. inter quos magna fuit contentio, utrum moenibus se defenderent an obviam irent hostibus acieque decernerent. [5] unus Miltiades maxime nitebatur, ut primo quoque tempore castra fierent: id si factum esset, et civibus animum accessurum, cum viderent de eorum virtute non desperari, et hostes eadem re fore tardiores, si animadverterent auderi adversus se tam exiguis copiis dimicari.
IV. Darius, when he had returned from Asia into Europe, prepared, at the exhortation of his friends, in order to reduce Greece under his dominion, a fleet of five hundred ships, and appointed Datis and Artaphernes to the command of it, to whom he assigned two hundred thousand infantry and ten thousand cavalry; alleging as a reason for his enterprise, that he was an enemy to the Athenians, because, with their aid, the Ionians had stormed Sardis and put his garrison to death. These generals of the king, having brought up their fleet to Euboea, soon took Eretria, carried off all the citizens of the place, and sent them into Asia to the king. They then went to Attica, and drew up their forces in the plain of Marathon, which is distant from the city of Athens about ten miles. The Athenians, though alarmed at this sudden descent, so near and so menacing, sought assistance nowhere but from the Spartans, and despatched Phidippides, a courier of the class called hemerodromoi, to Lacedaemon, to acquaint them how speedy assistance they needed. At home, meanwhile, they appointed ten captains to command the army, and among them Miltiades.
Among these captains there was a great discussion, whether they should defend themselves within the walls, or march out to meet the enemy, and decide the contest in the field. Miltiades was the only one extremely urgent that a camp should be formed as soon as possible; “for,” he said, “if that were done, not only would courage be added to their countrymen, when they saw that there was no distrust of their valour, but the enemy, from the same cause, would be less bold, if they saw that the Athenians would venture to oppose them with so small a force.”
5. Hoc in tempore nulla civitas Atheniensibus auxilio fuit praeter Plataeenses. ea mille misit militum. itaque horum adventu decem milia armatorum completa sunt, quae manus mirabili flagrabat pugnandi cupiditate. [2] quo factum est ut plus quam collegae Miltiades valeret. eius ergo auctoritate impulsi Athenienses copias ex urbe eduxerunt locoque idoneo castra fecerunt. [3] dein postero die sub montis radicibus acie regione instructa non apertissima (namque arbores multis locis erant rarae) proelium commiserunt hoc consilio, ut et montium altitudine tegerentur et arborum tractu equitatus hostium impediretur ne multitudine clauderentur. [4] Datis etsi non aequum locum videbat suis, tamen fretus numero copiarum suarum confligere cupiebat, eoque magis, quod, priusquam Lacedaemonii subsidio venirent, dimicare utile arbitrabatur. itaque in aciem peditum centum, equitum decem milia produxit proeliumque commisit. [5] in quo tanto plus virtute valuerunt Ath
enienses, ut decemplicem numerum hostium profligarint, adeoque eos perterruerunt, ut Persae non castra, sed naves petierint. qua pugna nihil adhuc exstitit nobilius: nulla enim umquam tam exigua manus tantas opes prostravit.
V. In this crisis no state gave assistance to the Athenians, except that of Plataea, which sent them a thousand men. On the arrival of these, the number of ten thousand armed men was made up; a band which was animated with an extraordinary ardour to fight. Hence it happened that Miltiades had more influence than his colleagues, for the Athenians, incited by his authority, led out their forces from the city, and pitched their camp in an eligible place. The next day, having set themselves in array at the foot of the hills opposite the enemy, they engaged in battle with a novel stratagem, and with the utmost impetuosity. For trees had been strewed in many directions, with this intention, that, while they themselves were covered by the high hills, the enemy’s cavalry might be impeded by the spread of trees, so that they might not be surrounded by numbers. Datis, though he saw that the ground was unfavourable for his men, yet, depending on the number of his force, was desirous to engage, and the rather, because he thought it of advantage to fight before the Spartans came to the enemy’s assistance. He led into the field, therefore, a hundred thousand foot and ten thousand horse, and proceeded to battle. In the encounter the Athenians, through their valour, had so much the advantage, that they routed ten times the number of the enemy, and threw them into such a consternation, that the Persians betook themselves, not to their camp, but to their ships. Than this battle there has hitherto been none more glorious; for never did so small a band overthrow so numerous a host.
Delphi Complete Works of Cornelius Nepos Page 30