---
title: "Funeral Oration · Ἐπιτάφιος τοῖς Κορινθίων βοηθοῖς"
author: "Lysias"
translator: "W. R. M. Lamb"
languages: [grc, en]
shelf: "Classical Greek"
section: 2 of 2
url: https://scriptura.si/works/lysias-funeral-oration/2/
cite: "Lysias, tr. W. R. M. Lamb, Funeral Oration · Ἐπιτάφιος τοῖς Κορινθίων βοηθοῖς, section 2. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/lysias-funeral-oration/2/"
---

# Funeral Oration · Ἐπιτάφιος τοῖς Κορινθίων βοηθοῖς

*Lysias, tr. W. R. M. Lamb*

For the Athenians who fell in the Corinthian War: the city’s story of glory from the Amazons on.

> Greek: ed. W.R.M. Lamb, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-greekLit, tlg0540.tlg002, CC BY-SA 4.0).

> English: W. R. M. Lamb, from the Perseus Digital Library (tlg0540.tlg002.perseus-eng2). Notes are not included.

> Rows follow the references the two texts share (chapters and sections), cut where both reach the end of a sentence.

## 2. Sections 39–81

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/lysias-funeral-oration/2/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/lysias-funeral-oration/2/#p-N

[¶0] 39. Certainly the fear that was upon them must have made them believe that they saw many things which they saw not, and heard many that they did not hear. What supplications, what reminders of sacrifices, were not sent up to Heaven! What pity was felt for children, what yearning over wives, what compassion for fathers and mothers, in calculating the evils that would result from their ill success!

> Greek: 39. ἦ που διὰ τὸν παρόντα φόβον πολλὰ μὲν ᾠήθησαν ἰδεῖν ὧν οὐκ εἶδον, πολλὰ δʼ ἀκοῦσαι ὧν οὐκ ἤκουσαν. ποῖαι δʼ οὐχ ἱκετεῖαι θεῶν ἐγένοντο ἢ θυσιῶν ἀναμνήσεις, ἔλεός τε παίδων καὶ γυναικῶν πόθος οἶκτός τε πατέρων καὶ μητέρων, λογισμὸς δʼ, εἰ δυστυχήσειαν, τῶν μελλόντων ἔσεσθαι κακῶν;

[¶1] 40. What deity would have denied them pity for such an awful danger? What man but would have shed tears? Who would not have marvelled at their daring? Beyond all compare did those men in their valor surpass all mankind, whether in their counsels or in the perils of that war; for they abandoned their city and embarked on their ships, and pitted their own few lives against the multitude of Asia. They declared to all men, by their victory in the sea-fight, that there is better hope for the venture shared with a few in the cause of freedom than for that in which numerous subjects of a king contend for their own servitude.

> Greek: 40. τίς οὐκ ἂν θεῶν ἠλέησεν αὐτοὺς ὑπὲρ τοῦ μεγέθους τοῦ κινδύνου; ἢ τίς ἀνθρώπων οὐκ ἂν ἐδάκρυσεν; ἢ τίς τῆς τόλμης αὐτοὺς οὐκ ἂν ἠγάσθη; ἦ πολὺ πλεῖστον ἐκεῖνοι κατὰ τὴν ἀρετὴν ἁπάντων ἀνθρώπων διήνεγκαν καὶ ἐν τοῖς βουλεύμασι καὶ ἐν τοῖς τοῦ πολέμου κινδύνοις, ἐκλιπόντες μὲν τὴν πόλιν, εἰς τὰς ναῦς δʼ ἐμβάντες, τὰς δʼ αὑτῶν ψυχὰς ὀλίγας οὔσας ἀντιτάξαντες τῷ πλήθει τῷ τῆς Ἀσίας ἐπέδειξαν δὲ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις, νικήσαντες τῇ ναυμαχίᾳ, ὅτι κρεῖττον μετʼ ὀλίγων ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐλευθερίας κινδυνεύειν ἢ μετὰ πολλῶν βασιλευομένων ὑπὲρ τῆς αὑτῶν δουλείας.

[¶2] 42. They made the fullest and fairest contribution in aid of the freedom of the Greeks by providing Themistocles as commander, most competent to speak and decide and act, and ships more numerous than those of all their allies, and men of the greatest experience. For indeed who among the rest of the Greeks could have vied with these in decision, in number, and in valor?

> Greek: 42. πλεῖστα δὲ καὶ κάλλιστα ἐκεῖνοι ὑπὲρ τῆς τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἐλευθερίας συνεβάλοντο, στρατηγὸν μὲν Θεμιστοκλέα, ἱκανώτατον εἰπεῖν καὶ γνῶναι καὶ πρᾶξαι, ναῦς δὲ πλείους τῶν ἄλλων συμμάχων, ἄνδρας δʼ ἐμπειροτάτους. καὶ γὰρ τίνες ἂν τούτοις τῶν ἄλλων Ἑλλήνων ἤρισαν γνώμῃ καὶ πλήθει καὶ ἀρετῇ;

[¶3] 43. Hence it was just that they should receive from Greece without dispute the prize of prowess in the sea-fight, and reasonable that they should attain a prosperity in accord with the measure of their perils, having taught the barbarians of Asia that their own valor was genuine and native to their soil.

> Greek: 43. ὥστε δικαίως μὲν ἀναμφισβήτητα τἀριστεῖα τῆς ναυμαχίας ἔλαβον παρὰ τῆς Ἑλλάδος, εἰκότως δὲ τὴν εὐτυχίαν ὁμονοοῦσαν τοῖς κινδύνοις ἐκτήσαντο, γνησίαν δὲ καὶ αὐτόχθονα τοῖς ἐκ τῆς Ἀσίας βαρβάροις τὴν αὑτῶν ἀρετὴν ἐπεδείξαντο.

[¶4] 44. By thus proving their quality in the sea-fight, and bearing by far the greatest share in its dangers, they obtained through their particular prowess a general access of freedom for the rest of Greece. But after this the Peloponnesians built a wall across the Isthmus; and being satisfied with their safety, and considering that they were now rid of the peril from the sea, they were disposed to stand by and see the other Greeks subdued by the barbarians.

> Greek: 44. ἐν μὲν οὖν τῇ ναυμαχίᾳ τοιούτους αὑτοὺς παρασχόντες καὶ πολὺ πλεῖστον τῶν κινδύνων μετασχόντες τῇ ἰδίᾳ ἀρετῇ κοινὴν τὴν ἐλευθερίαν καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐκτήσαντο· ὕστερον δὲ Πελοποννησίων διατειχιζόντων τὸν Ἰσθμόν, καὶ ἀγαπώντων μὲν τῇ σωτηρίᾳ, νομιζόντων δʼ ἀπηλλάχθαι τοῦ κατὰ θάλατταν κινδύνου, καὶ διανοουμένων τοὺς ἄλλους Ἕλληνας περιιδεῖν ὑπὸ τοῖς βαρβάροις γενομένους, ὀργισθέντες Ἀθηναῖοι συνεβούλευον αὐτοῖς, εἰ ταύτην τὴν γνώμην ἕξουσι, περὶ ἅπασαν τὴν Πελοπόννησον τεῖχος περιβαλεῖν·

[¶5] 45. Then the Athenians, in anger, advised them, if they meant to be of this mind, to encompass the whole Peloponnese with a wall: for if they themselves, betrayed by the Greeks, should be united with the barbarians, these on their part would have no need of a thousand ships, nor would the wall at the Isthmus help its builders, since the empire of the sea would belong without hazard to the King.

> Greek: 45. εἰ γὰρ αὐτοὶ ὑπὸ ⟨τῶν⟩ Ἑλλήνων προδιδόμενοι μετὰ τῶν βαρβάρων ἔσονται, οὔτʼ ἐκείνοις δεήσειν χιλίων νεῶν οὔτε τούτους ὠφελήσειν τὸ ἐν Ἰσθμῷ τεῖχος· ἀκινδύνως γὰρ ἔσεσθαι τὴν τῆς θαλάττης ἀρχὴν βασιλέως.

[¶6] 46. Taking the lesson to heart, and deeming their action unjust and ill advised, while the words of the Athenians were just and their recommendation was the wisest, they went to their support at Plataea. Most of the allies had deserted their posts at nightfall, owing to the multitude of the enemy; but the Lacedaemonians and Tegeates routed the barbarians, while the Athenians and Plataeans fought and vanquished all the Greeks who had despaired of freedom and submitted to slavery.

> Greek: 46. διδασκόμενοι δὲ καὶ νομίζοντες αὐτοὶ μὲν ἄδικά τε ποιεῖν καὶ κακῶς βουλεύεσθαι, Ἀθηναίους δὲ δίκαιά τε λέγειν καὶ τὰ βέλτιστα αὐτοῖς παραινεῖν, ἐβοήθησαν εἰς Πλαταιάς· ἀποδράντων δὲ ὑπὸ νύκτα τῶν πλείστων συμμάχων ἐκ τῶν τάξεων διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν πολεμίων, Λακεδαιμόνιοι μὲν καὶ Τεγεᾶται τοὺς βαρβάρους ἐτρέψαντο, Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ καὶ Πλαταιεῖς πάντας τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἐνίκων μαχόμενοι τοὺς ἀπογνόντας τῆς ἐλευθερίας καὶ ὑπομείναντας τὴν δουλείαν.

[¶7] 47. On that day they brought the ventures of the past to a most glorious consummation; for not only did they secure a permanence of freedom for Europe, but had given proof of their own valor in all those trials, whether alone or with others, in land-fights or in sea-fights, against the barbarians or against the Greeks; and thus they were judged worthy by all—by their comrades in peril no less than their foes in the field—to have the leadership of Greece.

> Greek: 47. ἐν ἐκείνῃ δὲ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ καλλίστην τελευτὴν τοῖς προτέροις κινδύνοις ἐπιθέντες, βέβαιον μὲν τὴν ἐλευθερίαν τῇ Εὐρώπῃ κατειργάσαντο, ἐν ἅπασι δὲ τοῖς κινδύνοις δόντες ἔλεγχον τῆς ἑαυτῶν ἀρετῆς, καὶ μόνοι καὶ μεθʼ ἑτέρων, καὶ πεζομαχοῦντες καὶ ναυμαχοῦντες, καὶ πρὸς ⟨τοὺς⟩ βαρβάρους καὶ πρὸς τοὺς Ἕλληνας, ὑπὸ πάντων ἠξιώθησαν, καὶ μεθʼ ὧν ἐκινδύνευον καὶ πρὸς οὓς ἐπολέμουν, ἡγεμόνες γενέσθαι τῆς Ἑλλάδος.

[¶8] 48. In later times a Grecian war arose from envy of what had come to pass, and jealousy of what had been achieved: great was the conceit of all, and small the allegation that each found needful. The Athenians, in a sea-fight with the Aeginetans and their allies, took seventy of their warships.

> Greek: 48. ὑστέρῳ δὲ χρόνῳ Ἑλληνικοῦ πολέμου καταστάντος διὰ ζῆλον τῶν γεγενημένων καὶ φθόνον τῶν πεπραγμένων, μέγα μὲν ἅπαντες φρονοῦντες, μικρῶν δʼ ἐγκλημάτων ἕκαστοι δεόμενοι, ναυμαχίας Ἀθηναίοις πρὸς Αἰγινήτας καὶ τοὺς ἐκείνων συμμάχους γενομένης ἑβδομήκοντα τριήρεις αὐτῶν ἐλάμβανον.

[¶9] 49. As they were blockading Egypt and Aegina at the same time, and their men of serviceable age were absent either in their ships or in their land army, the Corinthians and their allies, conceiving that if they invaded our land they would either find it unprotected or draw off our forces from Aegina, marched out in full strength and seized Geranea.

> Greek: 49. πολιορκούντων δὲ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον Αἴγυπτόν τε καὶ Αἴγιναν, καὶ τῆς ἡλικίας ἀπούσης ἔν τε ταῖς ναυσὶ καὶ ἐν τῷ πεζῷ στρατεύματι, Κορίνθιοι καὶ οἱ ἐκείνων σύμμαχοι, ἡγούμενοι ἢ εἰς ἔρημον τὴν χώραν ἐμβαλεῖν ἢ ἐξ Αἰγίνης ἄξειν τὸ στρατόπεδον, ἐξελθόντες πανδημεὶ Γεράνειαν κατέλαβον·

[¶10] 50. But the Athenians, though their men were away and the enemy close at hand, would not deign to summon anyone. Trusting in their own spirit, and despising the invaders, the elderly and those below the age of service thought fit to take the risk upon themselves alone; the former had acquired their valor by experience, the latter by nature;

> Greek: 50. Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ τῶν μὲν ἀπόντων, τῶν δʼ ἐγγὺς ὄντων, οὐδένα ἐτόλμησαν μεταπέμψασθαι· ταῖς δʼ αὑτῶν ψυχαῖς πιστεύσαντες καὶ τῶν ἐπιόντων καταφρονήσαντες οἱ γεραίτεροι καὶ οἱ τῆς ἡλικίας ἐντὸς γεγονότες ἠξίουν αὐτοὶ μόνοι τὸν κίνδυνον ποιήσασθαι, οἱ μὲν ἐμπειρία τὴν ἀρετήν, οἱ δὲ φύσει κεκτημένοι·

[¶11] 51. those had proved their own worth on many a field, while these would imitate them, and as the seniors knew how to command, so the juniors were able to carry out their orders. With Myronides as general they made a sally of their own into the land of Megara and conquered in battle the whole force of the enemy with troops whose strength was already failing or not yet capable,—of an enemy who had chosen to invade their country, but whom they had hastened to meet on alien soil.

> Greek: 51. καὶ οἱ μὲν αὐτοὶ πολλαχοῦ ἀγαθοὶ γεγενημένοι, οἱ δʼ ἐκείνους μιμούμενοι, τῶν μὲν πρεσβυτέρων ἄρχειν ἐπισταμένων, τῶν δὲ νεωτέρων τὸ ἐπιταττόμενον ποιεῖν δυναμένων, Μυρωνίδου στρατηγοῦντος ἀπαντήσαντες αὐτοὶ εἰς τὴν Μεγαρικὴν ἐνίκων μαχόμενοι ἅπασαν τὴν δύναμιν τὴν ἐκείνων τοῖς ἤδη ἀπειρηκόσι καὶ τοῖς οὔπω δυναμένοις, τοὺς εἰς τὴν σφετέραν ἐμβαλεῖν ἀξιώσαντας, εἰς τὴν ἀλλοτρίαν ἀπαντήσαντες,

[¶12] 53. There they set up a trophy of an exploit most glorious for them, but most disgraceful for the foe. One part of them had ceased, and the other had not begun, to be able-bodied; but together they took strength from their spirit, and thus with fairest renown they returned to their own land, where the young resumed their education and the old took counsel on what remained to be done.

> Greek: 53. τρόπαιον δὲ στήσαντες καλλίστου μὲν αὐτοῖς ἔργου, αἰσχίστου δὲ τοῖς πολεμίοις, οἱ μὲν οὐκέτι τοῖς σώμασιν, οἱ δʼ οὔπω δυνάμενοι, ταῖς δὲ ψυχαῖς ἀμφότεροι κρείττους γενόμενοι, μετὰ καλλίστης δόξης εἰς τὴν αὑτῶν ἀπελθόντες οἱ μὲν πάλιν ἐπαιδεύοντο, οἱ δὲ περὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἐβουλεύοντο.

[¶13] 54. Now it is not easy for one person to recount in detail the perils undergone by many men, or to show forth in a single day the deeds of all past times. For what speech or time or orator would suffice to declare the valor of the men who lie here?

> Greek: 54. καθʼ ἕκαστον μὲν οὖν οὐ ῥᾴδιον τὰ ὑπὸ πολλῶν κινδυνευθέντα ὑφʼ ἑνὸς ῥηθῆναι, οὐδὲ τὰ ἐν ἅπαντι τῷ χρόνῳ πραχθέντα ἐν μιᾷ ἡμέρᾳ δηλωθῆναι. τίς γὰρ ἂν ἢ λόγος ἢ χρόνος ἢ ῥήτωρ ἱκανὸς γένοιτο μηνῦσαι τὴν τῶν ἐνθάδε κειμένων ἀνδρῶν ἀρετήν;

[¶14] 55. By means of countless toils, conspicuous struggles, and glorious perils they made Greece free, while proving the supremacy of their native land: they commanded the sea for seventy years and saved their allies from faction, not suffering the many to be slaves of the few, but compelling all to live on an equality; instead of weakening their allies, they secured their strength along with their own, and displayed their own power to such effect that the Great King no more coveted the possessions of others, but yielded some of his own and was in fear for what remained.

> Greek: 55. μετὰ πλείστων γὰρ πόνων καὶ φανερωτάτων ἀγώνων καὶ καλλίστων κινδύνων ἐλευθέραν μὲν ἐποίησαν τὴν Ἑλλάδα, μεγίστην δʼ ἀπέδειξαν τὴν ἑαυτῶν πατρίδα, ἑβδομήκοντα μὲν ἔτη τῆς θαλάττης ἄρξαντες, ἀστασιάστους δὲ παρασχόντες τοὺς συμμάχους, οὐ τοῖς ὀλίγοις τοὺς πολλοὺς δουλεύειν ἀξιώσαντες, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἴσον ἔχειν ἅπαντας ἀναγκάσαντες, οὐδὲ τοὺς συμμάχους ἀσθενεῖς ποιοῦντες, ἀλλὰ κἀκείνους ἰσχυροὺς καθιστάντες, καὶ τὴν αὑτῶν δύναμιν τοσαύτην ἐπιδείξαντες, ὥσθʼ ὁ μέγας βασιλεὺς οὐκέτι τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ἐπεθύμει, ἀλλʼ ἐδίδου τῶν ἑαυτοῦ καὶ περὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἐφοβεῖτο,

[¶15] 57. In that time no warships sailed from Asia, no despot held sway among the Greeks, no city of Greece was forced into serfdom by the barbarians; so great was the restraint and awe inspired in all mankind by the valor of our people. And for this reason none but they should become protectors of the Greeks and leaders of the cities.

> Greek: 57. καὶ οὔτε τριήρεις ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ χρόνῳ ἐκ τῆς Ἀσίας ἔπλευσαν, οὔτε τύραννος ἐν τοῖς Ἕλλησι κατέστη, οὔτε Ἑλληνὶς πόλις ὑπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων ἠνδραποδίσθη· τοσαύτην σωφροσύνην καὶ δέος ἡ τούτων ἀρετὴ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις παρεῖχεν. ὧν ἕνεκα δεῖ μόνους καὶ προστάτας τῶν Ἑλλήνων καὶ ἡγεμόνας τῶν πόλεων γίγνεσθαι.

[¶16] 58. And in misfortunes also they displayed their accustomed valor. For when the ships were destroyed in the Hellespont —whether it was through the fault of the commander or by the design of Heaven—and that supreme disaster overtook not only us, who suffered that misfortune, but all the rest of the Greeks, it became evident shortly after that the power of our city was the salvation of Greece.

> Greek: 58. ἐπέδειξαν δὲ καὶ ἐν ταῖς δυστυχίαις τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἀρετήν. ἀπολομένων γὰρ τῶν νεῶν ἐν Ἑλλησπόντῳ εἴτε ἡγεμόνος κακίᾳ εἴτε θεῶν διανοίᾳ, καὶ συμφορᾶς ἐκείνης μεγίστης γενομένης καὶ ἡμῖν τοῖς δυστυχήσασι καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις Ἕλλησιν, ἐδήλωσεν οὐ πολλῷ χρόνῳ ὕστερον ὅτι ἡ τῆς πόλεως δύναμις τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἦν σωτηρία.

[¶17] 59. The leadership was taken by others, and a people who had never before embarked upon the sea defeated the Greeks in a naval action; they sailed to Europe and enslaved cities of the Greeks, in which despots were established, some after our disaster, and others after the victory of the barbarians.

> Greek: 59. ἑτέρων γὰρ ἡγεμόνων γενομένων ἐνίκησαν μὲν ναυμαχοῦντες τοὺς Ἕλληνας οἱ πρότερον εἰς τὴν θάλατταν οὐκ ἐμβαίνοντες, ἔπλευσαν δʼ εἰς τὴν Εὐρώπην, δουλεύουσι δὲ πόλεις τῶν Ἑλλήνων, τύραννοι δʼ ἐγκαθεστᾶσιν, οἱ μὲν μετὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν συμφοράν, οἱ δὲ μετὰ τὴν νίκην τῶν βαρβάρων.

[¶18] 60. So it would have been fitting for Greece to come then and mourn over this tomb, and lament those who lie here, seeing that her own freedom was interred together with their valor. Unhappy Greece, to be bereft of such men, and happy King of Asia, to be at grips with other leaders! For Greece, deprived of these men, is sunk in slavery, while he, finding others in command, is moved to emulate the designs of his ancestors.

> Greek: 60. ὥστʼ ἄξιον ἦν ἐπὶ τῷδε τῷ τάφῳ τότε κείρασθαι τῇ Ἑλλάδι καὶ πενθῆσαι τοὺς ἐνθάδε κειμένους, ὡς συγκαταθαπτομένης τῆς αὑτῶν ἐλευθερίας τῇ τούτων ἀρετῇ· ὡς δυστυχὴς μὲν ἡ Ἑλλὰς τοιούτων ἀνδρῶν ὀρφανὴ γενομένη, εὐτυχὴς δʼ ὁ τῆς Ἀσίας βασιλεὺς ἑτέρων ἡγεμόνων λαβόμενος· τῇ μὲν γὰρ τούτων στερηθείσῃ δουλεία περιέστηκε, τῷ δʼ ἄλλων ἀρξάντων ζῆλος ἐγγίγνεται τῆς τῶν προγόνων διανοίας.

[¶19] 61. But though I have been led to utter this lament over Greece as a whole, it behoves us to remember, in public as in private, those men who, shunning slavery, fighting for the right, and rallying to the cause of democracy, incurred the hostility of all and returned to the Peiraeus; compelled by no law, but induced by their nature; imitating in fresh encounters the ancient valor of their ancestors; ready to purchase with their own lives a common share in the city for the rest; choosing death with freedom rather than life with slavery; no less ashamed of their disasters than angered against the enemy; preferring to die in their own land rather than live to dwell in that of others; and having as allies their oaths and covenants, and as enemies their open foes of aforetime and their own fellow citizens.

> Greek: 61. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἐξήχθην ὑπὲρ πάσης ὀλοφύρασθαι τῆς Ἑλλάδος· ἐκείνων δὲ τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἄξιον καὶ ἰδίᾳ καὶ δημοσίᾳ μεμνῆσθαι, οἳ φεύγοντες τὴν δουλείαν καὶ περὶ τοῦ δικαίου μαχόμενοι καὶ ὑπὲρ τῆς δημοκρατίας στασιάσαντες πάντας πολεμίους κεκτημένοι εἰς τὸν Πειραιᾶ κατῆλθον, οὐχ ὑπὸ νόμου ἀναγκασθέντες, ἀλλʼ ὑπὸ τῆς φύσεως πεισθέντες, καινοῖς κινδύνοις τὴν παλαιὰν ἀρετὴν τῶν προγόνων μιμησάμενοι, ταῖς αὑτῶν ψυχαῖς κοινὴν τὴν πόλιν καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις κτησόμενοι, θάνατον μετʼ ἐλευθερίας αἱρούμενοι ἢ βίον μετὰ δουλείας, οὐχ ἧττον ταῖς συμφοραῖς αἰσχυνόμενοι ἢ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ὀργιζόμενοι, μᾶλλον βουληθέντες ἐν τῇ αὑτῶν ἀποθνῄσκειν ἢ ζῆν τὴν ἀλλοτρίαν οἰκοῦντες, συμμάχους μὲν ὅρκους καὶ συνθήκας ἔχοντες, πολεμίους δὲ τοὺς πρότερον ὑπάρχοντας καὶ τοὺς πολίτας τοὺς ἑαυτῶν.

[¶20] 63. Nevertheless, having felt no fear of the multitude of their opponents, and having exposed their own persons to the peril, they set up a trophy over their enemies, and now find witnesses to their valor, close to this monument, in the tombs of the Lacedaemonians For we know that they restored in the sight of the world the diminished greatness of our city, revived in her the harmony that had been shattered by faction, and rebuilt walls in place of those that had been demolished.

> Greek: 63. ἀλλʼ ὅμως οὐ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἐναντίων φοβηθέντες, ἀλλʼ ἐν τοῖς σώμασι τοῖς ἑαυτῶν κινδυνεύσαντες, τρόπαιον μὲν τῶν πολεμίων ἔστησαν, μάρτυρας δὲ τῆς αὑτῶν ἀρετῆς ἐγγὺς ὄντας τοῦδε τοῦ μνήματος τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίων τάφους παρέχονται. καὶ γάρ τοι μεγάλην μὲν ἀντὶ μικρᾶς ἀπέδειξαν τὴν πόλιν, ὁμονοοῦσαν δὲ ἀντὶ στασιαζούσης ἀπέφηναν, τείχη δὲ ἀντὶ τῶν καθῃρημένων ἀνέστησαν.

[¶21] 64. The men who finally returned, showing the kinship of their counsels with the deeds of those who lie here, applied themselves, not to vengeance upon their enemies, but to the preservation of the city; and being men who at once could not be overreached and would not seek their own advantage, they shared their own freedom even with those who wished to be slaves, and declined for themselves a share in that slavery.

> Greek: 64. οἱ δὲ κατελθόντες αὐτῶν, ἀδελφὰ τὰ βουλεύματα τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν ἐνθάδε κειμένων ἐπιδεικνύντες, οὐκ ἐπὶ τιμωρίαν τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἀλλʼ ἐπὶ σωτηρίαν τῆς πόλεως ἐτράποντο, καὶ οὔτε ἐλαττοῦσθαι δυνάμενοι οὔτʼ αὐτοὶ πλέον ἔχειν δεόμενοι τῆς μὲν αὑτῶν ἐλευθερίας καὶ τοῖς βουλομένοις δουλεύειν μετέδοσαν, τῆς δʼ ἐκείνων δουλείας αὐτοὶ μετέχειν οὐκ ἠξίωσαν. ἔργοις δὲ μεγίστοις καὶ καλλίστοις ἀπελογήσαντο, ὅτι οὐ κακίᾳ τῇ αὑτῶν οὐδʼ ἀρετῇ ⟨τῇ⟩ τῶν πολεμίων πρότερον ἐδυστύχησεν ἡ πόλις·

[¶22] 65. By the conspicuous greatness and nobility of their conduct they justified the claim that the former disasters of the city were due to no remissness of theirs, nor to the valor of the enemy; for if they proved able, after internal dissensions and despite the presence of the Peloponnesians and their other enemies, to return to their own place, unanimity would clearly have made it an easy matter for them to make war on their foes.

> Greek: 65. εἰ γὰρ στασιάσαντες πρὸς ἀλλήλους βίᾳ παρόντων Πελοποννησίων καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἐχθρῶν εἰς τὴν αὑτῶν οἷοί τε ἐγένοντο κατελθεῖν, δῆλον ὅτι ῥαδίως ἂν ὁμονοοῦντες πολεμεῖν αὐτοῖς ἐδύναντο.

[¶23] 66. Thus the struggles at the Peiraeus have earned for those men the envy of all mankind. But it is right that we should also praise the strangers who lie here: they came to the support of the people, and fought for our salvation; they regarded valor as their native land, and with this noble end they closed their lives. In return the city has not only mourned them but given them a public funeral, and has granted them in perpetuity the same honors as it gives to its own people.

> Greek: 66. ἐκεῖνοι μὲν οὖν διὰ τοὺς ἐν Πειραιεῖ κινδύνους ὑπὸ πάντων ἀνθρώπων ζηλοῦνται· ἄξιον δὲ καὶ τοὺς ξένους τοὺς ἐνθάδε κειμένους ἐπαινέσαι, οἳ τῷ πλήθει βοηθήσαντες καὶ περὶ τῆς ἡμετέρας σωτηρίας μαχόμενοι, πατρίδα τὴν ἀρετὴν ἡγησάμενοι, τοιαύτην τοῦ βίου τελευτὴν ἐποιήσαντο· ἀνθʼ ὧν ἡ πόλις αὐτοὺς καὶ ἐπένθησε καὶ ἔθαψε δημοσίᾳ, καὶ ἔδωκεν ἔχειν αὐτοῖς τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον τὰς αὐτὰς τιμὰς τοῖς ἀστοῖς.

[¶24] 67. The men who are being buried today went to support the Corinthians, who were wronged by ancient friends, while they were but new allies; they did not act in the same spirit as the Lacedaemonians (who envied the Corinthians their wealth, whereas our men pitied them for their wrongs, unmindful of their former enmity and regardful of their present friendship), but showed forth their own valor in the sight of all men.

> Greek: 67. οἱ δὲ νῦν θαπτόμενοι, βοηθήσαντες Κορινθίοις ὑπὸ παλαιῶν φίλων ἀδικουμένοις καινοὶ σύμμαχοι γενόμενοι, οὐ τὴν αὐτὴν γνώμην Λακεδαιμονίοις ἔχοντες (οἱ μὲν γὰρ τῶν ἀγαθῶν αὐτοῖς ἐφθόνουν, οἱ δὲ ἀδικουμένους αὐτοὺς ἠλέουν, οὐ τῆς προτέρας ἔχθρας μεμνημένοι, ἀλλὰ τὴν παροῦσαν φιλίαν περὶ πολλοῦ ποιούμενοι) πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις φανερὰν τὴν αὑτῶν ἀρετὴν ἐπεδείξαντο.

[¶25] 68. To enhance the greatness of Greece they had the courage, not merely to imperil themselves for their own preservation, but also to die for their enemies’ freedom: for they fought the allies of the Lacedaemonians for the freedom of those allies. Had they conquered, they deemed their foes worthy of obtaining equal rights: in their misfortune they settled an inheritance of slavery on the peoples of the Peloponnese.

> Greek: 68. ἐτόλμησαν γὰρ μεγάλην ποιοῦντες τὴν Ἑλλάδα οὐ μόνον ὑπὲρ τῆς αὑτῶν σωτηρίας κινδυνεύειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὲρ τῆς τῶν πολεμίων ἐλευθερίας ἀποθνῄσκειν· τοῖς γὰρ Λακεδαιμονίων συμμάχοις περὶ τῆς ἐκείνων ἐλευθερίας ἐμάχοντο. νικήσαντες μὲν γὰρ ἐκείνους τῶν αὐτῶν ἠξίουν, δυστυχήσαντες δὲ βέβαιον τὴν δουλείαν τοῖς ἐν τῇ Πελοποννήσῳ κατέλιπον.

[¶26] 69. Now in such a plight as theirs, life was miserable, death desirable. But these men, both in their life and after their death, are enviable; for they were first trained in the excellences of their ancestors, and then in manhood they preserved that ancient fame intact and displayed their own prowess.

> Greek: 69. ἐκείνοις μὲν οὖν οὕτω διακειμένοις ὁ βίος οἰκτρὸς καὶ ὁ θάνατος εὐκτός· οὗτοι δὲ καὶ ζῶντες καὶ ἀποθανόντες ζηλωτοί, παιδευθέντες μὲν ἐν τοῖς τῶν προγόνων ἀγαθοῖς, ἄνδρες δὲ γενόμενοι τήν τε ἐκείνων δόξαν διασώσαντες καὶ τὴν αὑτῶν ἀρετὴν ἐπιδείξαντες.

[¶27] 70. For the benefits that they have conferred on their own native land are many and splendid; they restored the broken fortunes of others, and kept the war at a distance from their own country. They have closed their lives with a death that befits true men, for thus they repaid their native land for their nurture and bequeathed sorrow to those who reared them.

> Greek: 70. πολλῶν μὲν γὰρ καὶ καλῶν αἴτιοι γεγένηνται τῇ ἑαυτῶν πατρίδι, ἐπηνώρθωσαν δὲ τὰ ὑφʼ ἑτέρων δυστυχηθέντα, πόρρω δʼ ἀπὸ τῆς αὑτῶν τὸν πόλεμον κατέστησαν. ἐτελεύτησαν δὲ τὸν βίον, ὥσπερ χρὴ τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς ἀποθνῄσκειν, τῇ μὲν πατρίδι τὰ τροφεῖα ἀποδόντες, τοῖς δὲ θρέψασι λύπας καταλιπόντες.

[¶28] 71. Hence it is meet that the living should yearn for these men, and bewail themselves, and pity their kindred for the life that lies before them. For what pleasure now remains for them, when such men as these are buried? These, prizing valor above all else, deprived themselves of life, widowed their wives, left their own children orphans, and brothers, fathers, mothers in a state of desolation.

> Greek: 71. ὥστε ἄξιον τοῖς ζῶσι τούτους ποθεῖν καὶ σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ὀλοφύρεσθαι καὶ τοὺς προσήκοντας αὐτῶν ἐλεεῖν τοῦ ἐπιλοίπου βίου. τίς γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἔτι ἡδονὴ καταλείπεται τοιούτων ἀνδρῶν θαπτομένων, οἳ πάντα περὶ ἐλάττονος τῆς ἀρετῆς ἡγούμενοι αὑτοὺς μὲν ἀπεστέρησαν βίου, χήρας δὲ γυναῖκας ἐποίησαν, ὀρφανοὺς δὲ τοὺς αὑτῶν παῖδας ἀπέλιπον, ἐρήμους δʼ ἀδελφοὺς καὶ πατέρας καὶ μητέρας κατέστησαν;

[¶29] 72. Though their children have many troubles in store for them, I envy them because they are too young to know of what noble fathers they have been bereft: but I pity those whose sons they were, as being too old to forget their own misfortune.

> Greek: 72. πολλῶν δὲ καὶ δεινῶν ὑπαρχόντων τοὺς μὲν παῖδας αὐτῶν ζηλῶ, ὅτι νεώτεροί εἰσιν ἢ ὥστε εἰδέναι οἵων πατέρων ἐστέρηνται, ἐξ ὧν δʼ οὗτοι γεγόνασιν, οἰκτείρω, ὅτι πρεσβύτεροι ἢ ὥστε ἐπιλαθέσθαι τῆς δυστυχίας τῆς ἑαυτῶν.

[¶30] 73. For what woe could be more incurable than to bring forth and rear and bury one’s own children, and then in old age to be disabled in body and, having lost every hope, to find oneself friendless and resourceless? to have the very cause of former envy turned now to a matter of pity, and to regard death as more desirable than life? For the more they excelled in manhood, the greater the grief to those who are left behind.

> Greek: 73. τί γὰρ ἂν τούτων ἀνιαρότερον γένοιτο, ἢ τεκεῖν μὲν καὶ θρέψαι καὶ θάψαι τοὺς αὑτῶν, ἐν δὲ τῷ γήρᾳ ἀδυνάτους μὲν εἶναι τῷ σώματι, πασῶν δʼ ἀπεστερημένους τῶν ἐλπίδων ἀφίλους καὶ ἀπόρους γεγονέναι, ὑπὲρ δὲ τῶν αὐτῶν πρότερον ζηλοῦσθαι καὶ νῦν ἐλεεῖσθαι, ποθεινότερον δʼ αὐτοῖς εἶναι τὸν θάνατον τοῦ βίου; ὅσῳ γὰρ ἄνδρες ἀμείνους ἦσαν, τοσούτῳ τοῖς καταλειπομένοις τὸ πένθος μεῖζον.

[¶31] 74. And how should they have surcease from their sorrow? In the city’s disasters? But then, surely, the fallen will be remembered by everyone else as well. In the public successes? But it is cause enough for sorrow that after the death of their children the living should enjoy the fruits of their valor. In their private adversities? When they see their former friends deserting them in their destitution, and their enemies elated with the misfortunes of the fallen?

> Greek: 74. πῶς δʼ αὐτοὺς χρὴ λῆξαι τῆς λύπης; πότερον ἐν ταῖς τῆς πόλεως συμφοραῖς; ἀλλὰ τότε αὐτῶν εἰκὸς καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους μεμνῆσθαι. ἀλλʼ ἐν ταῖς εὐτυχίαις ταῖς κοιναῖς; ἀλλʼ ἱκανὸν λυπῆσαι, τῶν μὲν σφετέρων τέκνων τετελευτηκότων, τῶν δὲ ζώντων ἀπολαυόντων τῆς τούτων ἀρετῆς. ἀλλʼ ἐν τοῖς ἰδίοις κινδύνοις, ὅταν ὁρῶσι τοὺς μὲν πρότερον ὄντας φίλους φεύγοντας τὴν αὑτῶν ἀπορίαν, τοὺς δʼ ἐχθροὺς μέγα φρονοῦντας ἐπὶ ταῖς δυστυχίαις ταῖς τούτων;

[¶32] 75. We have but one way, as it seems to me, of showing our gratitude to those who lie here: it is to hold their parents in the same high regard as they did, to be as affectionate to their children as though we were ourselves their fathers, and to give such support to their wives as they did while they lived. For whom could we be expected to honor in preference to those who lie here?

> Greek: 75. μόνην δʼ ἄν μοι δοκοῦμεν ταύτην τοῖς ἐνθάδε κειμένοις ἀποδοῦναι χάριν, εἰ τοὺς μὲν τοκέας αὐτῶν ὁμοίως ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνοι περὶ πολλοῦ ποιοίμεθα, τοὺς δὲ παῖδας οὕτως ἀσπαζοίμεθα ὥσπερ αὐτοὶ πατέρες ὄντες, ταῖς δὲ γυναιξὶν εἰ τοιούτους βοηθοὺς ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς παρέχοιμεν, οἷοίπερ ἐκεῖνοι ζῶντες ἦσαν. τίνας γὰρ ἂν εἰκότως μᾶλλον τιμῷμεν τῶν ἐνθάδε κειμένων;

[¶33] 76. Whom amongst the living should we more justly hold in high regard than their relations, who were on an equality with us all in reaping the fruits of their valor, but now that they are dead bear alone the kinsmen’s part in their misfortune?

> Greek: 76. τίνας δʼ ἂν τῶν ζώντων δικαιότερον περὶ πολλοῦ ποιοίμεθα ἢ τοὺς τούτοις προσήκοντας, οἳ τῆς μὲν τούτων ἀρετῆς τὸ ἴσον τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀπέλαυσαν, ἀποθανόντων δὲ μόνοι γνησίως τῆς δυστυχίας μετέχουσιν;

[¶34] 77. But in truth I do not know what need there is to lament so sadly: for we were quite aware that we were mortals. So why chafe now at the fate which we so long expected, or be so extremely distressed by the calamities of nature, when we know well that death is common to the basest and the noblest alike?

> Greek: 77. ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅ τι δεῖ τοιαῦτα ὀλοφύρεσθαι· οὐ γὰρ ἐλανθάνομεν ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς ὄντες θνητοί· ὥστε τί δεῖ, ἃ πάλαι προσεδοκῶμεν πείσεσθαι, ὑπὲρ τούτων νῦν ἄχθεσθαι, ἢ λίαν οὕτω βαρέως φέρειν ἐπὶ ταῖς τῆς φύσεως συμφοραῖς, ἐπισταμένους ὅτι ὁ θάνατος κοινὸς καὶ τοῖς χειρίστοις καὶ τοῖς βελτίστοις; οὔτε γὰρ τοὺς πονηροὺς ὑπερορᾷ οὔτε τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς θαυμάζει, ἀλλʼ ἴσον ἑαυτὸν παρέχει πᾶσιν.

[¶35] 78. Death neither disdains the wicked nor admires the virtuous, but is even-handed with all. Were it possible for those who escaped the perils of war to be immortal for all time, there would be cause for the living to mourn the dead for evermore. But we see not only that our nature yields to sickness and old age, but that the spirit to whom has been allotted the charge of our fate is inexorable.

> Greek: 78. εἰ μὲν γὰρ οἷόν τε ἦν τοῖς τοὺς ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ κινδύνους διαφυγοῦσιν ἀθανάτους εἶναι τὸν λοιπὸν χρόνον, ἄξιον τοῖς ζῶσι τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον πενθεῖν τοὺς τεθνεῶτας· νῦν δὲ ἥ τε φύσις καὶ νόσων ἥττων καὶ γήρως, ὅ τε δαίμων ὁ τὴν ἡμετέραν μοῖραν εἰληχὼς ἀπαραίτητος.

[¶36] 79. Therefore it is fitting to consider those most happy who have closed their lives in risking them for the greatest and noblest ends; not committing their career to chance, nor awaiting the death that comes of itself, but selecting the fairest one of all. For I say their memory can never grow old, while their honor is every man’s envy.

> Greek: 79. ὥστε προσήκει τούτους εὐδαιμονεστάτους ἡγεῖσθαι, οἵτινες ὑπὲρ μεγίστων καὶ καλλίστων κινδυνεύσαντες οὕτω τὸν βίον ἐτελεύτησαν, οὐκ ἐπιτρέψαντες περὶ αὑτῶν τῇ τύχῃ, οὐδʼ ἀναμείναντες τὸν αὐτόματον θάνατον, ἀλλʼ ἐκλεξάμενοι τὸν κάλλιστον. καὶ γάρ τοι ἀγήρατοι μὲν αὐτῶν αἱ μνῆμαι, ζηλωταὶ δὲ ὑπὸ πάντων ἀνθρώπων αἱ τιμαί· οἳ πενθοῦνται μὲν διὰ τὴν φύσιν ὡς θνητοί, ὑμνοῦνται δὲ ὡς ἀθάνατοι διὰ τὴν ἀρετήν.

[¶37] 80. Of their nature it comes that they are mourned as mortal, of their valor that they are lauded as immortal. Thus you see them given a public funeral, and contests of strength and knowledge and wealth held at their tomb; because we think that those who have fallen in war are worthy of receiving the same honors as the immortals.

> Greek: 80. καὶ γάρ τοι θάπτονται δημοσία, καὶ ἀγῶνες τίθενται ἐπʼ αὐτοῖς ῥώμης καὶ σοφίας καὶ πλούτου, ὡς ἀξίους ὄντας τοὺς ἐν τῷ τετελευτηκότας ταῖς αὐταῖς τιμαῖς καὶ τοὺς ἀθανάτους τιμᾶσθαι.

[¶38] 81. So I, indeed, call them blessed in their death, and envy them; I hold that for those alone amongst men is it worth while to be born who, having received mortal bodies, have left behind an immortal memory arising from their valor. Nevertheless, we must needs follow our ancient customs, and observe our ancestral law by bewailing those who are now being buried.

> Greek: 81. ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν αὐτοὺς καὶ μακαρίζω τοῦ θανάτου καὶ ζηλῶ, καὶ μόνοις τούτοις ἀνθρώπων οἶμαι κρεῖττον εἶναι γενέσθαι, οἵτινες, ἐπειδὴ θνητῶν σωμάτων ἔτυχον, ἀθάνατον μνήμην διὰ τὴν ἀρετὴν ⟨τὴν⟩ αὑτῶν κατέλιπον· ὅμως δʼ ἀνάγκη τοῖς ἀρχαίοις ἔθεσι χρῆσθαι, καὶ θεραπεύοντας τὸν πάτριον νόμον ὀλοφύρεσθαι τοὺς θαπτομένους.