11.2. When Eurybiades, who had the command of the fleet on account of the superior claims of Sparta, but who was faint-hearted in time of danger, wished to hoist sail and make for the Isthmus, where the infantry also of the Peloponnesians had been assembled, it was Themistocles who spoke against it, and it was then, they say, that these memorable sayings of his were uttered. When Eurybiades said to him, “Themistocles, at the games those who start too soon get a caning,” “Yes,” said Themistocles, “but those who lag behind get no crown.”
11.2. Εὐρυβιάδου δὲ τὴν μὲν ἡγεμονίαν τῶν νεῶν ἔχοντος διὰ τὸ τῆς Σπάρτης ἀξίωμα, μαλακοῦ δὲ περὶ τὸν κίνδυνον ὄντος, αἴρειν δὲ βουλομένου καὶ πλεῖν ἐπὶ τὸν Ἰσθμόν, ὅπου καὶ τὸ πεζὸν ἤθροιστο τῶν Πελοποννησίων, ὁ Θεμιστοκλῆς ἀντέλεγεν· ὅτε καὶ τὰ μνημονευόμενα λεχθῆναί φασι. τοῦ γὰρ Εὐρυβιάδου πρὸς αὐτὸν εἰπόντος· ὦ Θεμιστόκλεις, ἐν τοῖς ἀγῶσι τοὺς προεξανισταμένους ῥαπίζουσι, ναὶ, εἶπεν ὁ Θεμιστοκλῆς, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἀπολειφθέντας οὐ στεφανοῦσιν.
11.3. And when Eurybiades lifted up his staff as though to smite him, Themistocles said: “Smite, but hear me.” Then Eurybiades was struck with admiration at his calmness, and bade him speak, and Themistocles tried to bring him back to his own position. But on a certain one saying that a man without a city had no business to advise men who still had cities of their own to abandon and betray them, Themistocles addressed his speech with emphasis to him, saying: “It is true, thou wretch, that we have left behind us our houses and our city walls, not deeming it meet for the sake of such lifeless things to be in subjection; but we still have a city, the greatest in Hellas, our two hundred triremes, which now are ready to aid you if you choose to be saved by them; but if you go off and betray us for the second time, straightway many a Hellene will learn that the Athenians have won for themselves a city that is free and a territory that is far better than the one they cast aside.”
11.3. ἐπαραμένου δὲ τὴν βακτηρίαν ὡς πατάξοντος, ὁ Θεμιστοκλῆς ἔφη· πάταξον μέν, ἄκουσον δέ. θαυμάσαντος δὲ τὴν πρᾳότητα τοῦ Εὐρυβιάδου καὶ λέγειν κελεύσαντος, ὁ μὲν Θεμιστοκλῆς ἀνῆγεν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὸν λόγον. εἰπόντος δέ τινος, ὡς ἀνὴρ ἄπολις οὐκ ὀρθῶς διδάσκει τοὺς ἔχοντας ἐγκαταλιπεῖν καὶ προέσθαι τὰς πατρίδας, ὁ Θεμιστοκλῆς ἐπιστρέψας τὸν λόγον· ἡμεῖς τοι, εἶπεν, ὦ μοχθηρέ, τὰς μὲν οἰκίας καὶ τὰ τείχη καταλελοίπαμεν, οὐκ ἀξιοῦντες ἀψύχων ἕνεκα δουλεύειν, πόλις δʼ ἡμῖν ἔστι μεγίστη τῶν Ἑλληνίδων, αἱ διακόσιαι τριήρεις, αἳ νῦν μὲν ὑμῖν παρεστᾶσι βοηθοὶ σώζεσθαι διʼ αὐτῶν βουλομένοις, εἰ δʼ ἄπιτε δεύτερον ἡμᾶς προδόντες, αὐτίκα πεύσεταί τις Ἑλλήνων Ἀθηναίους καὶ πόλιν ἐλευθέραν καὶ χώραν οὐ χείρονα κεκτημένους ἧς ἀπέβαλον.
11.5. When Themistocles said this, Eurybiades began to reflect, and was seized with fear lest the Athenians go away and abandon him. And again, when the Eretrian tried to argue somewhat against him, “Indeed!” said he, “what argument can ye make about war, who, like the cuttle-fish, have a long pouch in the place where your heart ought to be?”
11.5. ταῦτα τοῦ Θεμιστοκλέους εἰπόντος ἔννοια καὶ δέος ἔσχε τὸν Εὐρυβιάδην τῶν Ἀθηναίων, μὴ σφᾶς ἀπολείποντες οἴχονται. τοῦ δʼ Ἐρετριέως πειρωμένου τι λέγειν πρὸς αὐτόν, ἦ γάρ, ἔφη, καὶ ὑμῖν περὶ πολέμου τίς ἐστι λόγος, οἳ καθάπερ αἱ τευθίδες μάχαιραν μὲν ἔχετε, καρδίαν δὲ οὐκ ἔχετε;
12.1. Some tell the story that while Themistocles was thus speaking from off the deck of his ship, an owl was seen to fly through the fleet from the right and alight in his rigging; wherefore his hearers espoused his opinion most eagerly and prepared to do battle with their ships.
12.1. λέγεται δʼ ὑπό τινων τὸν μὲν Θεμιστοκλέα περὶ τούτων ἀπὸ τοῦ καταστρώματος ἄνωθεν τῆς νεὼς διαλέγεσθαι, γλαῦκα δʼ ὀφθῆναι διαπετομένην ἀπὸ δεξιᾶς τῶν νεῶν καὶ τοῖς καρχησίοις ἐπικαθίζουσαν· διὸ δὴ καὶ μάλιστα προσέθεντο τῇ γνώμῃ καὶ παρεσκευάζοντο ναυμαχήσοντες.
12.2. But soon the enemy’s armament beset the coast of Attica down to the haven of Phalerum, so as to hide from view the neighboring shores; then the King in person with his infantry came down to the sea, so that he could be seen with all his hosts; and presently, in view of this junction of hostile forces, the words of Themistocles ebbed out of the minds of the Hellenes, and the Peloponnesians again turned their eyes wistfully towards the Isthmus and were vexed if any one spake of any other course; nay, they actually decided to withdraw from their position in the night, and orders for the voyage were issued to the pilots.
12.2. ἀλλʼ ἐπεὶ τῶν πολεμίων ὅ τε στόλος τῇ Ἀττικῇ κατὰ τὸ Φαληρικὸν προσφερόμενος τοὺς πέριξ ἀπέκρυψεν αἰγιαλούς, αὐτός τε βασιλεὺς μετὰ τοῦ πεζοῦ στρατοῦ καταβὰς ἐπὶ τὴν θάλατταν ἅθρους ὤφθη, τῶν δὲ δυνάμεων ὁμοῦ γενομένων, ἐξερρύησαν οἱ τοῦ Θεμιστοκλέους λόγοι τῶν Ἑλλήνων καὶ πάλιν ἐπάπταινον οἱ Πελοποννήσιοι πρὸς τὸν Ἰσθμόν, εἴ τις ἄλλο τι λέγοι χαλεπαίνοντες, ἐδόκει δὲ τῆς νυκτὸς ἀποχωρεῖν καὶ παρηγγέλλετο πλοῦς τοῖς κυβερνήταις, ἔνθα δὴ βαρέως φέρων ὁ Θεμιστοκλῆς, εἰ τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ τόπου καὶ τῶν στενῶν προέμενοι βοήθειαν οἱ Ἕλληνες διαλυθήσονται κατὰ πόλεις, ἐβουλεύετο καὶ συνετίθει τὴν περὶ τὸν Σίκιννον πραγματείαν.
12.3. Such was the crisis when Themistocles, distressed to think that the Hellenes should abandon the advantages to be had from the narrowness of the straits where they lay united, and break up into detachments by cities, planned and concocted the famous affair of Sicinnus. This Sicinnus was of Persian stock, a prisoner of war, but devoted to Themistocles, and the paedagogue of his children. This man was sent to Xerxes secretly with orders to say: “Themistocles the Athenian general elects the King’s cause, and is the first one to announce to him that the Hellenes are trying to slip away, and urgently bids him not to suffer them to escape, but, while they are in confusion and separated from their infantry, to set upon them and destroy their naval power.”
12.3. ἦν δὲ τῷ μὲν γένει Πέρσης ὁ Σίκιννος, αἰχμάλωτος, εὔνους δὲ τῷ Θεμιστοκλεῖ καὶ τῶν τέκνων αὐτοῦ παιδαγωγός. ὃν ἐκπέμπει πρὸς τὸν Ξέρξην κρύφα, κελεύσας λέγειν, ὅτι Θεμιστοκλῆς ὁ τῶν Ἀθηναίων στρατηγὸς αἱρούμενος τὰ βασιλέως ἐξαγγέλλει πρῶτος αὐτῷ τοὺς Ἕλληνας ἀποδιδράσκοντας, καὶ διακελεύεται μὴ παρεῖναι φυγεῖν αὐτοῖς, ἀλλʼ ἐν ᾧ ταράττονται τῶν πεζῶν χωρὶς ὄντες ἐπιθέσθαι καὶ διαφθεῖραι τὴν ναυτικὴν δύναμιν.
12.5. Xerxes received this as the message of one who wished him well, and was delighted, and at once issued positive orders to the captains of his ships to man the main body of the fleet at their leisure, but with two hundred ships to put to sea at once, and encompass the strait round about on every side, including the islands in their line of blockade, that not one of the enemy might escape.
12.5. ταῦτα δʼ ὁ Ξέρξης ὡς ἀπʼ εὐνοίας λελεγμένα δεξάμενος ἥσθη, καὶ τέλος εὐθὺς ἐξέφερε πρὸς τοὺς ἡγεμόνας τῶν νεῶν, τὰς μὲν ἄλλας πληροῦν καθʼ ἡσυχίαν, διακοσίαις δʼ ἀναχθέντας ἤδη περιβαλέσθαι τὸν πόρον ἐν κύκλῳ πάντα καὶ διαζῶσαι τὰς νήσους, ὅπως ἐκφύγοι μηδεὶς τῶν πολεμίων.
12.6. While this was going on, Aristides the son of Lysimachus, who was the first to perceive it, came to the tent of Themistocles, who was no friend of his, nay through whom he had even been ostracized, as I have said; and when Themistocles came forth from the tent, Aristides told him how the enemy surrounded them. Themistocles, knowing the tried nobility of the man, and filled with admiration for his coming at that time, told him all about the Sicinnus matter, and besought him to join in this desperate attempt to keep the Hellenes where they were,—admitting that he had the greater credit with them,—in order that they might make their sea-fight in the narrows.
12.6. τούτων δὲ πραττομένων Ἀριστείδης ὁ Λυσιμάχου πρῶτος αἰσθόμενος ἧκεν ἐπὶ τὴν σκηνὴν τοῦ Θεμιστοκλέους, οὐκ ὢν φίλος, ἀλλὰ καὶ διʼ ἐκεῖνον ἐξωστρακισμένος, ὥσπερ εἴρηται· προελθόντι δὲ τῷ Θεμιστοκλεῖ φράζει τὴν κύκλωσιν. ὁ δὲ τήν τε ἄλλην καλοκαγαθίαν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς εἰδὼς καὶ τῆς τότε παρουσίας ἀγάμενος λέγει τὰ περὶ τὸν Σίκιννον αὐτῷ καὶ παρεκάλει τῶν Ἑλλήνων συνεπιλαμβάνεσθαι καὶ συμπροθυμεῖσθαι πίστιν ἔχοντα μᾶλλον, ὅπως ἐν τοῖς στενοῖς ναυμαχήσωσιν.
12.7. Aristides, accordingly, after bestowing praise upon Themistocles for his stratagem, went round to the other generals and trierarchs inciting them on to battle. And while they were still incredulous in spite of all, a Tenian trireme appeared, a deserter from the enemy, in command of Panaetius, and told how the enemy surrounded them, so that with a courage born of necessity the Hellenes set out to confront the danger.
12.7. ὁ μὲν οὖν Ἀριστείδης ἐπαινέσας τὸν Θεμιστοκλέα τοὺς ἄλλους ἐπῄει στρατηγοὺς καὶ τριηράρχους ἐπὶ τὴν μάχην παροξύνων. ἔτι δʼ ὅμως ἀπιστούντων ἐφάνη Τηνία τριήρης αὐτόμολος, ἧς ἐναυάρχει Παναίτιος, ἀπαγγέλλουσα τὴν κύκλωσιν, ὥστε καὶ θυμῷ τοὺς Ἕλληνας ὁρμῆσαι μετὰ τῆς ἀνάγκης πρὸς τὸν κίνδυνον.
13.1. At break of day, Xerxes was seated on a high place and overlooking the disposition of his armament. This place was, according to Phanodemus, above the Heracleium, where only a narrow passage separates the island from Attica; but according to Acestodorus, it was in the border-land of Megara, above the so-called “Horns.” Here a gilded throne had been set for him at his command, and many secretaries stationed near at hand, whose task it was to make due record of all that was done in the battle.
13.1. ἅμα δʼ ἡμέρᾳ Ξέρξης μὲν ἄνω καθῆστο τὸν στόλον ἐποπτεύων καὶ τὴν παράταξιν, ὡς μὲν Φανόδημός φησιν, ὑπὲρ τὸ Ἡράκλειον, ᾗ βραχεῖ πόρῳ διείργεται τῆς Ἀττικῆς ἡ νῆσος, ὡς δʼ Ἀκεστόδωρος, ἐν μεθορίῳ τῆς Μεγαρίδος ὑπὲρ τῶν καλουμένων Κεράτων, χρυσοῦν δίφρον θέμενος καὶ γραμματεῖς πολλοὺς παραστησάμενος, ὧν ἔργον ἦν ἀπογράφεσθαι τὰ κατὰ τὴν μάχην πραττόμενα.
13.2. But Themistocles was sacrificing alongside the admiral’s trireme. There three prisoners of war were brought to him, of visage most beautiful to behold, conspicuously adorned with raiment and with gold. They were said to be the sons of Sandauce, the King’s sister, and Artayctus. When Euphrantides the seer caught sight of them, since at one and that same moment a great and glaring flame shot up from the sacrificial victim and a sneeze gave forth its good omen on the right, he clasped Themistocles by the hand and bade him consecrate the youths, and sacrifice them all to Dionysus Carnivorous, with prayers of supplication; for on this wise would the Hellenes have a saving victory.
13.2. Θεμιστοκλεῖ δὲ παρὰ τὴν ναυαρχίδα τριήρη σφαγιαζομένῳ τρεῖς προσήχθησαν αἰχμάλωτοι, κάλλιστοι μὲν ἰδέσθαι τὴν ὄψιν, ἐσθῆσι δὲ καὶ χρυσῷ κεκοσμημένοι διαπρεπῶς. ἐλέγοντο δὲ Σανδαύκης παῖδες εἶναι τῆς βασιλέως ἀδελφῆς καὶ Ἀρταΰκτου. τούτους ἰδὼν Εὐφραντίδης ὁ μάντις, ὡς ἅμα μὲν ἀνέλαμψεν ἐκ τῶν ἱερῶν μέγα καὶ περιφανὲς πῦρ, ἅμα δὲ πταρμὸς ἐκ δεξιῶν ἐσήμηνε, τὸν Θεμιστοκλέα δεξιωσάμενος ἐκέλευσε τῶν νεανίσκων κατάρξασθαι καὶ καθιερεῦσαι πάντας ὠμηστῇ Διονύσῳ προσευξάμενον· οὕτω γὰρ ἅμα σωτηρίαν τε καὶ νίκην ἔσεσθαι τοῖς Ἕλλησιν.
13.3. Themistocles was terrified, feeling that the word of the seer was monstrous and shocking; but the multitude, who, as is wont to be the case in great struggles and severe crises, looked for safety rather from unreasonable than from reasonable measures, invoked the god with one voice, dragged the prisoners to the altar, and compelled the fulfillment of the sacrifice, as the seer commanded. At any rate, this is what Phanias the Lesbian says, and he was a philosopher, and well acquainted with historical literature.
13.3. ἐκπλαγέντος δὲ τοῦ Θεμιστοκλέους ὡς μέγα τὸ μάντευμα καὶ δεινόν, οἷον εἴωθεν ἐν μεγάλοις ἀγῶσι καὶ πράγμασι χαλεποῖς, μᾶλλον ἐκ τῶν παραλόγων ἤ τῶν εὐλόγων τὴν σωτηρίαν ἐλπίζοντες οἱ πολλοὶ τὸν θεὸν ἅμα κοινῇ κατεκαλοῦντο φωνῇ καὶ τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους τῷ βωμῷ προσαγαγόντες ἠνάγκασαν, ὡς ὁ μάντις ἐκέλευσε, τὴν θυσίαν συντελεσθῆναι. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἀνὴρ φιλόσοφος καὶ γραμμάτων οὐκ ἄπειρος ἱστορικῶν Φανίας ὁ Λέσβιος εἴρηκε.
14.1. As regards the number of the Barbarian ships, Aeschylus the poet, in his tragedy of The Persians, as though from personal and positive knowledge, says this:—But Xerxes, and I surely know, had a thousand shipsIn number under him; those of surpassing speedWere twice five score beside and seven; so stands the count.The Attic ships were one hundred and eighty in number, and each had eighteen men to fight upon the decks, of whom four were archers and the rest men-at-arms.
14.1. περὶ δὲ τοῦ πλήθους τῶν βαρβαρικῶν νεῶν Αἰσχύλος ὁ ποιητὴς ὡς ἂν εἰδὼς καὶ διαβεβαιούμενος ἐν τραγῳδίᾳ Πέρσαις λέγει ταῦτα·Ξέρξῃ δέ, καὶ γὰρ οἶδα, χιλιὰς μὲν ἦνὧν ἦγε πλῆθος· αἱ δʼ ὑπέρκομποι τάχειἑκατὸν δὶς ἦσαν ἑπτά θʼ· ὧδʼ ἔχει λόγος.τῶν δʼ Ἀττικῶν ἑκατὸν ὀγδοήκοντα τὸ πλῆθος οὐσῶν ἑκάστη τοὺς ἀπὸ τοῦ καταστρώματος μαχομένους ὀκτωκαίδεκα εἶχεν, ὧν τοξόται τέσσαρες ἦσαν, οἱ λοιποὶ δʼ ὁπλῖται.
14.2. Themistocles is thought to have divined the best time for fighting with no less success than the best place, inasmuch as he took care not to send his triremes bow on against the Barbarian vessels until the hour of the day had come which always brought the breeze fresh from the sea and a swell rolling through the strait. This breeze wrought no harm to the Hellenic ships, since they lay low in the water and were rather small; but for the Barbarian ships, with their towering sterns and lofty decks and sluggish movements in getting under way, it was fatal, since it smote them and slewed them round broadside to the Hellenes, who set upon them sharply, keeping their eyes on Themistocles, because they thought he saw best what was to be done, and because confronting him was the admiral of Xerxes, Ariamenes, who being on a great ship, kept shooting arrows and javelins as though from a city wall,—brave man that he was, by far the strongest and most just of the King’s brothers.
14.2. δοκεῖ δʼ οὐκ ἧττον εὖ τὸν καιρὸν ὁ Θεμιστοκλῆς ἢ τὸν τόπον συνιδὼν καὶ φυλάξας μὴ πρότερον ἀντιπρῴρους καταστῆσαι ταῖς βαρβαρικαῖς τὰς τριήρεις, ἢ τὴν εἰωθυῖαν ὥραν παραγενέσθαι, τὸ πνεῦμα λαμπρὸν ἐκ πελάγους ἀεὶ καὶ κῦμα διὰ τῶν στενῶν κατάγουσαν· ὃ τὰς μὲν Ἑλληνικὰς οὐκ ἔβλαπτε ναῦς ἁλιτενεῖς οὔσας καὶ ταπεινοτέρας, τὰς δὲ βαρβαρικὰς ταῖς τε πρύμναις ἀνεστώσας καὶ τοῖς καταστρώμασιν ὑψορόφους καὶ βαρείας ἐπιφερομένας ἔσφαλλε προσπῖπτον καὶ παρεδίδου πλαγίας τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ὀξέως προσφερομένοις καὶ τῷ Θεμιστοκλεῖ προσέχουσιν, ὡς ὁρῶντι μάλιστα τὸ συμφέρον, καὶ ὅτι κατʼ ἐκεῖνον ὁ Ξέρξου ναύαρχος Ἀριαμένης ναῦν ἔχων μεγάλην ὥσπερ ἀπὸ τείχους ἐτόξευε καὶ ἠκόντιζεν, ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς ὢν καὶ τῶν βασιλέως ἀδελφῶν πολὺ κράτιστός τε καὶ δικαιότατος.
14.3. It was upon him that Ameinias the Deceleian and Socles the Paeanian bore down,—they being together on one ship,—and as the two ships struck each other bow on, crashed together, and hung fast by their bronze beaks, he tried to board their trireme; but they faced him, smote him with their spears, and hurled him into the sea. His body, as it drifted about with other wreckage, was recognized by Artemisia, who had it carried to Xerxes.
14.3. τοῦτον μὲν οὖν Ἀμεινίας ὁ Δεκελεὺς καὶ Σωκλῆς ὁ Παιανιεὺς ὁμοῦ πλέοντες, ὡς αἱ νῆες ἀντίπρῳροι προσπεσοῦσαι καὶ συνερείσασαι τοῖς χαλκώμασιν ἐνεσχέθησαν, ἐπιβαίνοντα τῆς αὐτῶν τριήρους ὑποστάντες καὶ τοῖς δόρασι τύπτοντες εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν ἐξέβαλον· καὶ τὸ σῶμα μετʼ ἄλλων διαφερόμενον ναυαγίων Ἀρτεμισία γνωρίσασα πρὸς Ξέρξην ἀνήνεγκεν.
15.1. At this stage of the struggle they say that a great light flamed out from Eleusis, and an echoing cry filled the Thriasian plain down to the sea, as of multitudes of men together conducting the mystic Iacchus in procession. Then out of the shouting throng a cloud seemed to lift itself slowly from the earth, pass out seawards, and settle down upon the triremes. Others fancied they saw apparitions and shapes of armed men coming from Aegina with their hands stretched out to protect the Hellenic triremes. These, they conjectured, were the Aeacidae, who had been prayerfully invoked before the battle to come to their aid.
15.1. ἐν δὲ τούτῳ τοῦ ἀγῶνος ὄντος φῶς μὲν ἐκλάμψαι μέγα λέγουσιν Ἐλευσινόθεν, ἦχον δὲ καὶ φωνὴν τὸ Θριάσιον κατέχειν πεδίον ἄχρι θαλάττης, ὡς ἀνθρώπων ὁμοῦ πολλῶν τὸν μυστικὸν ἐξαγόντων Ἴακχον. ἐκ δὲ τοῦ πλήθους τῶν φθεγγομένων κατὰ μικρὸν ἀπὸ γῆς ἀναφερόμενον νέφος ἔδοξεν αὖθις ὑπονοστεῖν καὶ κατασκήπτειν εἰς τὰς τριήρεις. ἕτεροι δὲ φάσματα καὶ εἴδωλα καθορᾶν ἔδοξαν ἐνόπλων ἀνδρῶν ἀπʼ Αἰγίνης τὰς χεῖρας ἀνεχόντων πρὸ τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν τριηρῶν· οὓς εἴκαζον Αἰακίδας εἶναι παρακεκλημένους εὐχαῖς πρὸ τῆς μάχης ἐπὶ τὴν βοήθειαν.
15.2. Now the first man to capture an enemy’s ship was Lycomedes, an Athenian captain, who cut off its figure-head and dedicated it to Apollo the Laurel-bearer at Phlya. Then the rest, put on an equality in numbers with their foes, because the Barbarians had to attack them by detachments in the narrow strait and so ran foul of one another, routed them, though they resisted till the evening drew on, and thus “bore away,” as Simonides says, “that fair and notorious victory, than which no more brilliant exploit was ever performed upon the sea, either by Hellenes or Barbarians, through the manly valor and common ardor of all who fought their ships, but through the clever judgment of Themistocles.”
15.2. πρῶτος μὲν οὖν λαμβάνει ναῦν Λυκομήδης, ἀνὴρ Ἀθηναῖος τριηραρχῶν, ἧς τὰ παράσημα περικόψας ἀνέθηκεν Ἀπόλλωνι δαφνηφόρῳ Φλυῆσιν. οἱ δʼ ἄλλοι τοῖς βαρβάροις ἐξισούμενοι τὸ πλῆθος ἐν στενῷ κατὰ μέρος προσφερομένους καὶ περιπίπτοντας ἀλλήλοις ἐτρέψαντο, μέχρι δείλης ἀντισχόντας, ὡς εἴρηκε Σιμωνίδης, τὴν καλὴν ἐκείνην καὶ περιβόητον ἀράμενοι νίκην, ἧς οὔθʼ Ἕλλησιν οὔτε βαρβάροις ἐνάλιον ἔργον εἴργασται λαμπρότερον, ἀνδρείᾳ μὲν καὶ προθυμίᾳ κοινῇ τῶν ναυμαχησάντων, γνώμῃ δὲ καὶ δεινότητι τῇ Θεμιστοκλέους.
16.1. After the sea-fight, Xerxes, still furious at his failure, undertook to carry moles out into the sea on which he could lead his infantry across to Salamis against the Hellenes, damming up the intervening strait. But Themistocles, merely by way of sounding Aristides, proposed, as though he were in earnest, to sail with the fleet to the Hellespont and break the span of boats there, “in order,” said he, “that we may capture Asia in Europe.”
16.1. μετὰ δὲ τὴν ναυμαχίαν Ξέρξης μὲν ἔτι θυμομαχῶν πρὸς τὴν ἀπότευξιν ἐπεχείρει διὰ χωμάτων ἐπάγειν τὸ πεζὸν τοῖς Ἕλλησιν εἰς Σαλαμῖνα, ἐμφράξας τὸν διὰ μέσου πόρον· Θεμιστοκλῆς δʼ ἀποπειρώμενος Ἀριστείδου λόγῳ γνώμην ἐποιεῖτο λύειν τὸ ζεῦγμα ταῖς ναυσὶν ἐπιπλεύσαντας εἰς Ἑλλήσποντον, ὅπως, ἔφη, τὴν Ἀσίαν ἐν τῇ Εὐρώπῃ λάβωμεν.
16.2. Aristides, however, was displeased with the scheme and said: “Now indeed the Barbarian with whom we have fought consults his ease and pleasure, but should we shut up in Hellas and bring under fearful compulsion a man who is lord of such vast forces, he will no longer sit under a golden parasol to view the spectacle of the battle at his ease, but he will dare all things, and, superintending everything in person, because of his peril, will rectify his previous remissness and take better counsel for the highest issues thus at stake.”
16.2. δυσχεραίνοντος δὲ τοῦ Ἀριστείδου καὶ λέγοντος ὅτι, νῦν μὲν τρυφῶντι τῷ βαρβάρῳ πεπολεμήκαμεν, ἂν δὲ κατακλείσωμεν εἰς τὴν Ἑλλάδα καὶ καταστήσωμεν εἰς ἀνάγκην ὑπὸ δέους ἄνδρα τηλικούτων δυνάμεων κύριον, οὐκέτι καθήμενος ὑπὸ σκιάδι χρυσῇ θεάσεται τὴν μάχην ἐφʼ ἡσυχίας, ἀλλὰ πάντα τολμῶν καὶ πᾶσιν αὐτὸς παρὼν διὰ τὸν κίνδυνον ἐπανορθώσεται τὰ παρειμένα καὶ βουλεύσεται βέλτιον ὑπὲρ τῶν ὅλων·
16.3. “We must not, then,” said he, “tear down the bridge that is already there, Themistocles, nay rather, we must build another alongside it, if that be possible, and cast the fellow out of Europe in a hurry.” “Well, then,” said Themistocles, “if that is what is thought for the best, it is high time for us all to be studying and inventing a way to get him out of Hellas by the speediest route.”
16.3. οὐ τὴν οὖσαν οὖν, ἔφη, δεῖ γέφυραν, ὦ Θεμιστόκλεις, ἡμᾶς ἀναιρεῖν, ἀλλʼ ἑτέραν, εἴπερ οἷόν τε, προσκατασκευάσαντας ἐκβαλεῖν διὰ τάχους τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐκ τῆς Εὐρώπης. οὐκοῦν, εἶπεν ὁ Θεμιστοκλῆς, εἰ δοκεῖ ταῦτα συμφέρειν, ὥρα σκοπεῖν καὶ μηχανᾶσθαι πάντας ἡμᾶς, ὅπως ἀπαλλαγήσεται τὴν ταχίστην ἐκ τῆς Ἑλλάδος.
16.4. As soon as this policy had been adopted, he sent a certain royal eunuch whom he discovered among the prisoners of war, by name Arnaces, with orders to tell the King that the Hellenes had decided, since their fleet now controlled the sea, to sail up into the Hellespont, where the strait was spanned, and destroy the bridge; but that Themistocles, out of regard for the King, urged him to hasten into home waters and fetch his forces across; he himself, he said, would cause the allies all sorts of delays and postponements in their pursuit.
16.4. ἐπεὶ δὲ ταῦτα ἔδοξε, πέμπει τινὰ τῶν βασιλικῶν εὐνούχων ἐν τοῖς αἰχμαλώτοις ἀνευρών, Ἀρνάκην ὄνομα, φράζειν βασιλεῖ κελεύσας, ὅτι τοῖς μὲν Ἕλλησι δέδοκται τῷ ναυτικῷ κεκρατηκότας ἀναπλεῖν εἰς τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον ἐπὶ τὸ ζεῦγμα καὶ λύειν τὴν γέφυραν, Θεμιστοκλῆς δὲ κηδόμενος βασιλέως παραινεῖ σπεύδειν ἐπὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ θάλατταν καὶ περαιοῦσθαι, μέχρις αὐτὸς ἐμποιεῖ τινας διατριβὰς τοῖς συμμάχοις καὶ μελλήσεις πρὸς τὴν δίωξιν.
16.5. No sooner did the Barbarian hear this than he was seized with exceeding fear and speedily began his retreat. This thoughtful prudence on the part of Themistocles and Aristides was afterwards justified by the campaign with Mardonius, since, although they fought at Plataea with the merest fraction of the armies of Xerxes, they yet staked their all upon the issue.
16.5. ταῦθʼ ὁ βάρβαρος ἀκούσας καὶ γενόμενος περίφοβος διὰ τάχους ἐποιεῖτο τὴν ἀναχώρησιν. καὶ πεῖραν ἡ Θεμιστοκλέους καὶ Ἀριστείδου φρόνησις ἐν Μαρδονίῳ παρέσχεν, εἴγε πολλοστημορίῳ τῆς Ξέρξου δυνάμεως διαγωνισάμενοι Πλαταιᾶσιν εἰς τὸν περὶ τῶν ὅλων κίνδυνον κατέστησαν.
17.1. Among the cities, now, Herodotus says that Aegina bore away the prize of valor; but among individuals, all virtually awarded the first place to Themistocles, though their envy made them unwilling to do this directly. For when the generals withdrew to the Isthmus and solemnly voted on this question, taking their ballots from the very altar of the god there, each one declared for himself as first in valor, but for Themistocles as second after himself. Then the Lacedaemonians brought him down to Sparta, and while they gave Eurybiades the prize for valor, to him they gave one for wisdom,—a crown of olive in each case,—and they presented him with the best chariot there was in the city, and sent three hundred picked youth along with him to serve as his escort to the boundary.
17.1. πόλεων μὲν οὖν τὴν Αἰγινητῶν ἀριστεῦσαί φησιν Ἡρόδοτος, Θεμιστοκλεῖ δέ, καίπερ ἄκοντες ὑπὸ φθόνου, τὸ πρωτεῖον ἀπέδοσαν ἅπαντες. ἐπεὶ γὰρ ἀναχωρήσαντες εἰς τὸν Ἰσθμὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ βωμοῦ τὴν ψῆφον ἔφερον οἱ στρατηγοί, πρῶτον μὲν ἕκαστος ἑαυτὸν ἀπέφαινεν ἀρετῇ, δεύτερον δὲ μεθʼ ἑαυτὸν Θεμιστοκλέα. Λακεδαιμόνιοι δʼ εἰς τὴν Σπάρτην αὐτὸν καταγαγόντες Εὐρυβιάδῃ μὲν ἀνδρείας, ἐκείνῳ δὲ σοφίας ἀριστεῖον ἔδοσαν θαλλοῦ στέφανον, καὶ τῶν κατὰ τὴν πόλιν ἁρμάτων τὸ πρωτεῦον ἐδωρήσαντο καὶ τριακοσίους τῶν νέων πομποὺς ἄχρι τῶν ὅρων συνεξέπεμψαν.
17.2. And it is said that when the next Olympic festival was celebrated, and Themistocles entered the stadium, the audience neglected the contestants all day long to gaze on him, and pointed him out with admiring applause to visiting strangers, so that he too was delighted, and confessed to his friends that he was now reaping in full measure the harvest of his toils in behalf of Hellas.
17.2. λέγεται δʼ Ὀλυμπίων τῶν ἐφεξῆς ἀγομένων καὶ παρελθόντος εἰς τὸ στάδιον τοῦ Θεμιστοκλέους, ἀμελήσαντας τῶν ἀγωνιστῶν τοὺς παρόντας ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκεῖνον θεᾶσθαι καὶ τοῖς ξένοις ἐπιδεικνύειν ἅμα θαυμάζοντας καὶ κροτοῦντας, ὥστε καὶ αὐτὸν ἡσθέντα πρὸς τοὺς φίλους ὁμολογῆσαι τὸν καρπὸν ἀπέχειν τῶν ὑπὲρ τῆς Ἑλλάδος αὐτῷ πονηθέντων.
18.1. And indeed he was by nature very fond of honor, if we may judge from his memorable sayings and doings. When, for example, the city had chosen him to be admiral, he would not perform any public or private business at its proper time, but would postpone the immediate duty to the day on which he was to set sail, in order that then, because he did many things all at once and had meetings with all sorts of men, he might be thought to be some great personage and very powerful.
18.1. καὶ γὰρ ἦν τῇ φύσει φιλοτιμότατος, εἰ δεῖ τεκμαίρεσθαι διὰ τῶν ἀπομνημονευομένων. αἱρεθεὶς γὰρ ναύαρχος ὑπὸ τῆς πόλεως οὐδὲν οὔτε τῶν ἰδίων οὔτε τῶν κοινῶν κατὰ μέρος ἐχρημάτιζεν, ἀλλʼ ἐπανεβάλλετο τὸ προσπῖπτον εἰς τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκείνην, καθʼ ἣν ἐκπλεῖν ἔμελλεν, ἵνʼ ὁμοῦ πολλὰ πράττων πράγματα καὶ παντοδαποῖς ἀνθρώποις ὁμιλῶν μέγας εἶναι δοκῇ καὶ πλεῖστον δύνασθαι.
18.2. Surveying once the dead bodies of the Barbarians which had been cast up along the sea, he saw that they were decked with golden bracelets and collars, and yet passed on by them himself, while to a friend who followed he pointed them out and said: “Help thyself, thou art not Themistocles.” Again, to one who had once been a beauty, Antiphates, and who had at that time treated him disdainfully, but afterwards courted him because of the reputation he had got, “Young man,” said he, “’tis late,’tis true, but both of us have come to our senses.”
18.2. τῶν δὲ νεκρῶν τοὺς ἐκπεσόντας ἐπισκοπῶν παρὰ τὴν θάλατταν, ὡς εἶδε περικειμένους ψέλια χρυσᾶ καὶ στρεπτούς, αὐτὸς μὲν παρῆλθε, τῷ δʼ ἑπομένῳ φίλῳ δείξας εἶπεν· ἀνελοῦ σαυτῷ· σὺ γὰρ οὐκ εἶ Θεμιστοκλῆς. πρὸς δέ τινα τῶν καλῶν γεγονότων, Ἀντιφάτην, ὑπερηφάνως αὐτῷ κεχρημένον πρότερον, ὕστερον δὲ θεραπεύοντα διὰ τὴν δόξαν, ὦ μειράκιον, εἶπεν, ὀψὲ μέν, ἀμφότεροι δʼ ἅμα νοῦν ἐσχήκαμεν.
18.3. Also he used to say of the Athenians that they did not really honor and admire him for himself, but treated him for all the world like a plane-tree, running under his branches for shelter when it stormed, but when they had fair weather all about them, plucking and docking him. And when he was told by the Seriphian that it was not due to himself that he had got reputation, but to his city, “True,” said he, “but neither should I, had I been a Seriphian, have achieved reputation, nor wouldst thou, hadst thou been an Athenian.”
18.3. ἔλεγε δὲ τοὺς Ἀθηναίους οὐ τιμᾶν αὐτὸν οὐδὲ θαυμάζειν, ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ πλατάνῳ χειμαζομένους μὲν ὑποτρέχειν κινδυνεύοντας, εὐδίας δὲ περὶ αὐτοὺς γενομένης τίλλειν καὶ κολούειν. τοῦ δὲ Σεριφίου πρὸς αὐτὸν εἰπόντος, ὡς οὐ διʼ αὑτὸν ἔσχηκε δόξαν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν πόλιν, ἀληθῆ λέγεις, εἶπεν, ἀλλʼ οὔτʼ ἂν ἐγὼ Σερίφιος ὢν ἐγενόμην ἔνδοξος, οὔτε σὺ Ἀθηναῖος.
18.4. Again, when one of his fellow-generals who thought he had done some vast service to the city, grew bold with Themistocles, and began to compare his own services with his, “With the Festival-day,” said he, “the Day After once began a contention, saying: ‘Thou art full of occupations and wearisome, but when I come, all enjoy at their leisure what has been richly provided beforehand’; to which the Festival-day replied: ‘True, but had I not come first, thou hadst not come at all.’ So now,” said he, “had I not come at that day of Salamis, where would thou and thy colleagues be now?”
18.4. ἑτέρου δέ τινος τῶν στρατηγῶν, ὡς ἔδοξέ τι χρήσιμον διαπεπρᾶχθαι τῇ πόλει, θρασυνομένου πρὸς τὸν Θεμιστοκλέα καὶ τὰς ἑαυτοῦ ταῖς ἐκείνου πράξεσιν ἀντιπαραβάλλοντος, ἔφη τῇ ἑορτῇ τὴν ὑστεραίαν ἐρίσαι λέγουσαν, ὡς ἐκείνη μὲν ἀσχολιῶν τε μεστὴ καὶ κοπώδης ἐστίν, ἐν αὐτῇ δὲ πάντες ἀπολαύουσι τῶν παρεσκευασμένων σχολάζοντες· τὴν δʼ ἑορτὴν πρὸς ταῦτʼ εἰπεῖν· ἀληθῆ λέγεις· ἀλλʼ ἐμοῦ μὴ γενομένης σὺ οὐκ ἂν ἦσθα· κἀμοῦ τοίνυν, ἔφη, τότε μὴ γενομένου, ποῦ ἂν ἦτε νῦν ὑμεῖς;
18.5. Of his son, who lorded it over his mother, and through her over himself, he said, jestingly, that the boy was the most powerful of all the Hellenes; for the Hellenes were commanded by the Athenians, the Athenians by himself, himself by the boy’s mother, and the mother by her boy. Again, with the desire to be somewhat peculiar in all that he did, when he offered a certain estate for sale, he bade proclamation to be made that it had an excellent neighbor into the bargain. Of two suitors for his daughter’s hand, he chose the likely man in preference to the rich man, saying that he wanted a man without money rather than money without a man. Such were his striking sayings.
18.5. τὸν δὲ υἱὸν ἐντρυφῶντα τῇ μητρὶ καὶ διʼ ἐκείνην αὐτῷ σκώπτων ἔλεγε πλεῖστον τῶν Ἑλλήνων δύνασθαι· τοῖς μὲν γὰρ Ἕλλησιν ἐπιτάττειν Ἀθηναίους, Ἀθηναίοις δʼ αὐτόν, αὐτῷ δὲ τὴν ἐκείνου μητέρα, τῇ μητρὶ δʼ ἐκεῖνον. ἴδιος δέ τις ἐν πᾶσι βουλόμενος εἶναι χωρίον μὲν πιπράσκων ἐκέλευε κηρύττειν, ὅτι καὶ γείτονα χρηστὸν ἔχει· τῶν δὲ μνωμένων αὐτοῦ τὴν θυγατέρα τὸν ἐπιεικῆ τοῦ πλουσίου προκρίνας ἔφη ζητεῖν ἄνδρα χρημάτων δεόμενον μᾶλλον ἢ χρήματα ἀνδρός. ἐν μὲν οὖν τοῖς ἀποφθέγμασι τοιοῦτός τις ἦν.
19.1. After the great achievements now described, he straightway undertook to rebuild and fortify the city,—as Theopompus relates, by bribing the Spartan Ephors not to oppose the project; but as the majority say, by hoodwinking them. He came with this object to Sparta, ostensibly on an embassy, and when the Spartans brought up the charge that the Athenians were fortifying their city, and Polyarchus was sent expressly from Aegina with the same accusation, he denied that it was so, and bade them send men to Athens to see for themselves, not only because this delay would secure time for the building of the wall, but also because he wished the Athenians to hold these envoys as hostages for his own person.
19.1. γενόμενος δʼ ἀπὸ τῶν πράξεων ἐκείνων εὐθὺς ἐπεχείρει τὴν πόλιν ἀνοικοδομεῖν καὶ τειχίζειν, ὡς μὲν ἱστορεῖ Θεόπομπος, χρήμασι πείσας μὴ ἐναντιωθῆναι τοὺς ἐφόρους, ὡς δʼ οἱ πλεῖστοι, παρακρουσάμενος. ἧκε μὲν γὰρ εἰς Σπάρτην ὄνομα πρεσβείας ἐπιγραψάμενος· ἐγκαλούντων δὲ τῶν Σπαρτιατῶν, ὅτι τειχίζουσι τὸ ἄστυ, καὶ Πολυάρχου κατηγοροῦντος ἐπίτηδες ἐξ Αἰγίνης ἀποσταλέντος, ἠρνεῖτο καὶ πέμπειν ἐκέλευεν εἰς Ἀθήνας τοὺς κατοψομένους, ἅμα μὲν ἐμβάλλων τῷ τειχισμῷ χρόνον ἐκ τῆς διατριβῆς, ἅμα δὲ βουλόμενος ἀντʼ αὐτοῦ τοὺς πεμπομένους ὑπάρχειν τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις.
19.2. And this was what actually happened. When the Lacedaemonians found out the truth they did him no harm, but concealed their displeasure and sent him away. After this he equipped the Piraeus, because he had noticed the favorable shape of its harbors, and wished to attach the whole city to the sea; thus in a certain manner counteracting the policies of the ancient Athenian kings.
19.2. ὃ καὶ συνέβη· γνόντες γὰρ οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι τὸ ἀληθὲς οὐκ ἠδίκησαν αὐτόν, ἀλλʼ ἀδήλως χαλεπαίνοντες ἀπέπεμψαν. ἐκ δὲ τούτου τὸν Πειραιᾶ κατεσκεύαζε, τὴν τῶν λιμένων εὐφυΐαν κατανοήσας καὶ τὴν πόλιν ὅλην ἁρμοττόμενος πρὸς τὴν θάλατταν, καὶ τρόπον τινὰ τοῖς παλαιοῖς βασιλεῦσι τῶν Ἀθηναίων ἀντιπολιτευόμενος.
19.3. For they, as it is said, in their efforts to draw the citizens away from the sea and accustom them to live not by navigation but by agriculture, disseminated the story about Athena, how when Poseidon was contending with her for possession of the country, she displayed the sacred olive-tree of the Acropolis to the judges, and so won the day. But Themistocles did not, as Aristophanes the comic poet says, “knead the Piraeus on to the city,” nay, he fastened the city to the Piraeus, and the land to the sea.
19.3. ἐκεῖνοι μὲν γάρ, ὡς λέγεται, πραγματευόμενοι τοὺς πολίτας ἀποσπάσαι τῆς θαλάττης καὶ συνεθίσαι ζῆν μὴ πλέοντας, ἀλλὰ τὴν χώραν φυτεύοντας, τὸν περὶ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς διέδοσαν λόγον, ὡς ἐρίσαντα περὶ τῆς χώρας τὸν Ποσειδῶ δείξασα τὴν μορίαν τοῖς δικασταῖς ἐνίκησε. Θεμιστοκλῆς δʼ οὐχ, ὡς Ἀριστοφάνης ὁ κωμικὸς λέγει, τῇ πόλει τὸν Πειραιᾶ προσέμαξεν, ἀλλὰ τὴν πόλιν ἐξῆψε τοῦ Πειραιῶς καὶ τὴν γῆν τῆς θαλάττης·
19.4. And so it was that he increased the privileges of the common people as against the nobles, and filled them with boldness, since the controlling power came now into the hands of skippers and boatswains and pilots. Therefore it was, too, that the bema in Pnyx, which had stood so as to look off toward the sea, was afterwards turned by the thirty tyrants so as to look inland, because they thought that maritime empire was the mother of democracy, and that oligarchy was less distasteful to tillers of the soil.
19.4. ὅθεν καὶ τὸν δῆμον ηὔξησε κατὰ τῶν ἀρίστων καὶ θράσους ἐνέπλησεν, εἰς ναύτας καὶ κελευστὰς καὶ κυβερνήτας τῆς δυνάμεως ἀφικομένης. διὸ καὶ τὸ βῆμα τὸ ἐν Πνυκὶ πεποιημένον ὥστʼ ἀποβλέπειν πρὸς τὴν θάλασσαν ὕστερον οἱ τριάκοντα πρὸς τὴν χώραν ἀπέστρεψαν, οἰόμενοι τὴν μὲν κατὰ θάλατταν ἀρχὴν γένεσιν εἶναι δημοκρατίας, ὀλιγαρχίᾳ δʼ ἧττον δυσχεραίνειν τοὺς γεωργοῦντας.
20.1. But Themistocles cherished yet greater designs even for securing the naval supremacy. When the fleet of the Hellenes, after the departure of Xerxes, had put in at Pagasae and was wintering there, he made a harangue before the Athenians, in which he said that he had a certain scheme in mind which would be useful and salutary for them, but which could not be broached in public.
20.1. Θεμιστοκλῆς δὲ καὶ μεῖζόν τι περὶ τῆς ναυτικῆς διενοήθη δυνάμεως. ἐπεὶ γὰρ ὁ τῶν Ἑλλήνων στόλος ἀπηλλαγμένου Ξέρξου κατῆρεν εἰς Παγασὰς καὶ διεχείμαζε, δημηγορῶν ἐν τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις ἔφη τινα πρᾶξιν ἔχειν ὠφέλιμον μὲν αὐτοῖς καὶ σωτήριον, ἀπόρρητον δὲ πρὸς τοὺς πολλούς.
20.2. So the Athenians bade him impart it to Aristides alone, and if he should approve of it, to put it into execution. Themistocles accordingly told Aristides that he purposed to burn the fleet of the Hellenes where it lay; but Aristides addressed the people, and said of the scheme which Themistocles purposed to carry out, that none could be either more advantageous or more iniquitous. The Athenians therefore ordered Themistocles to give it up.
20.2. τῶν δʼ Ἀθηναίων Ἀριστείδῃ φράσαι μόνῳ κελευόντων, κἂν ἐκεῖνος δοκιμάσῃ περαίνειν, ὁ μὲν Θεμιστοκλῆς ἔφρασε τῷ Ἀριστείδῃ, τὸ νεώριον ἐμπρῆσαι διανοεῖσθαι τῶν Ἑλλήνων· ὁ δʼ Ἀριστείδης εἰς τὸν δῆμον παρελθὼν ἔφη τῆς πράξεως, ἣν διανοεῖται πράττειν ὁ Θεμιστοκλῆς, μηδεμίαν εἶναι μήτε λυσιτελεστέραν μήτʼ ἀδικωτέραν. οἱ μὲν οὖν Ἀθηναῖοι διὰ ταῦτα παύσασθαι τῷ Θεμιστοκλεῖ προσέταξαν.
20.3. At the Amphictyonic or Holy Alliance conventions, the Lacedaemonians introduced motions that all cities be excluded from the Alliance which had not taken part in fighting against the Mede. So Themistocles, fearing lest, if they should succeed in excluding the Thessalians and the Argives and the Thebans too from the convention, they would control the votes completely and carry through their own wishes, spoke in behalf of the protesting cities, and changed the sentiments of the delegates by showing that only thirty-one cities had taken part in the war, and that the most of these were altogether small; it would be intolerable, then, if the rest of Hellas should be excluded and the convention be at the mercy of the two or three largest cities.
20.3. ἐν δὲ τοῖς Ἀμφικτυονικοῖς συνεδρίοις τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων εἰσηγουμένων, ὅπως ἀπείργωνται τῆς Ἀμφικτυονίας αἱ μὴ συμμαχήσασαι κατὰ τοῦ Μήδου πόλεις, φοβηθείς, μὴ Θετταλοὺς καὶ Ἀργείους, ἔτι δὲ Θηβαίους ἐκβαλόντες τοῦ συνεδρίου παντελῶς ἐπικρατήσωσι τῶν ψήφων καὶ γένηται τὸ δοκοῦν ἐκείνοις, συνεῖπε ταῖς πόλεσι καὶ μετέθηκε τὰς γνώμας τῶν πυλαγόρων, διδάξας, ὡς τριάκοντα καὶ μία μόναι πόλεις εἰσὶν αἱ μετασχοῦσαι τοῦ πολέμου, καὶ τούτων αἱ πλείους παντάπασι μικραί·
20.4. It was for this reason particularly that he became obnoxious to the Lacedaemonians, and they therefore tried to advance Cimon in public favour, making him the political rival of Themistocles.
20.4. δεινὸν οὖν, εἰ τῆς ἄλλης Ἑλλάδος ἐκσπόνδου γενομένης ἐπὶ ταῖς μεγίσταις δυσὶν ἢ τρισὶ πόλεσιν ἔσται τὸ συνέδριον. ἐκ τούτου μὲν οὖν μάλιστα τοῖς Λακεδαιμονίοις προσέκρουσε· διὸ καὶ τὸν Κίμωνα προῆγον ταῖς τιμαῖς, ἀντίπαλον ἐν τῇ πολιτείᾳ τῷ Θεμιστοκλεῖ καθιστάντες.
21.1. He made himself hateful to the allies also, by sailing round to the islands and trying to exact money from them. When, for instance, he demanded money of the Andrians, Herodotus says he made a speech to them and got reply as follows: he said he came escorting two gods, Persuasion and Compulsion; and they replied that they already had two great gods, Penury and Powerlessness, who hindered them from giving him money.
21.1. ἦν δὲ καὶ τοῖς συμμάχοις ἐπαχθὴς περιπλέων τε τὰς νήσους καὶ χρηματιζόμενος ἀπʼ αὐτῶν· οἷα καὶ πρὸς Ἀνδρίους ἀργύριον αἰτοῦντά φησιν αὐτὸν Ἡρόδοτος εἰπεῖν τε καὶ ἀκοῦσαι. δύο γὰρ ἥκειν ἔφη θεοὺς κομίζων, Πειθὼ καὶ Βίαν· οἱ δʼ ἔφασαν εἶναι καὶ παρʼ αὐτοῖς θεοὺς μεγάλους δύο, Πενίαν καὶ Ἀπορίαν, ὑφʼ ὧν κωλύεσθαι δοῦναι χρήματα ἐκείνῳ.
21.2. Timocreon, the lyric poet of Rhodes, assailed Themistocles very bitterly in a song, to the effect that for bribes he had secured the restoration of other exiles, but had abandoned him, though a host and a friend, and all for money. The song runs thus:—Come, if thou praisest Pausanias, or if Xanthippus,Or if Leotychidas, then I shall praise Aristides,The one best man of allWho came from sacred Athens; since Leto loathes Themistocles, The liar, cheat, and traitor, who, though Timocreon was his host,By knavish moneys was induced not to bring him backInto his native Ialysus,But took three talents of silver and went cruising off,—to perdition,Restoring some exiles unjustly, chasing some away, and slaying some,Gorged with moneys; yet at theIsthmus he played ridiculous host with the stale meats set before his guests;Who ate thereof and prayed Heaven “no happy return of the day for Themistocles!”
21.2. Τιμοκρέων δʼ ὁ Ῥόδιος μελοποιὸς ἐν ᾄσματι καθάπτεται πικρότερον τοῦ Θεμιστοκλέους, ὡς ἄλλους μὲν ἐπὶ χρήμασι φυγάδας διαπραξαμένου κατελθεῖν, αὐτὸν δὲ ξένον ὄντα καὶ φίλον προεμένου διʼ ἀργύριον. λέγει δʼ οὕτως·ἀλλʼ εἰ τύγε Παυσανίαν ἢ καὶ τύγε Ξάνθιππον αἰνεῖςἢ τύγε Λευτυχίδαν, ἐγὼ δʼ Ἀριστείδαν ἐπαινέωἄνδρʼ ἱερᾶν ἀπʼ Ἀθανᾶνἐλθεῖν ἕνα λῷστον· ἐπεὶ Θεμιστοκλῆ ἤχθαρε Λατώ, ψεύσταν, ἄδικον, προδόταν, ὃς Τιμοκρέοντα ξεῖνον ἐόντʼἀργυρίοις σκυβαλικτοῖσι πεισθεὶς οὐ κατᾶγενεἰς πάτραν Ἰαλυσόν,λαβὼν δὲ τρίʼ ἀργυρίου τάλαντʼ ἔβα πλέων εἰς ὄλεθρον,τοὺς μὲν κατάγων ἀδίκως, τοὺς δʼ ἐκδιώκων, τοὺς δὲ καίνων,ἀργυρίων ὑπόπλεως, Ἰσθμοῖ δʼ ἐπανδόκευε γελοίως ψυχρὰ κρέα παρέχων· οἱ δʼ ἤσθιον κηὔχοντο μὴ ὥραν Θεμιστοκλεῦς γενέσθαι.
21.4. Much more wanton and extravagant was the raillery which Timocreon indulged in against Themistocles after the latter’s own exile and condemnation. Then he composed the song beginning:—O Muse grant that this songBe famed throughout all Hellas,As it is meet and just.It is said that Timocreon was sent into exile on a charge of Medizing, and that Themistocles concurred in the vote of condemnation.
21.4. πολὺ δʼ ἀσελγεστέρᾳ καὶ ἀναπεπταμένῃ μᾶλλον εἰς τὸν Θεμιστοκλέα βλασφημίᾳ κέχρηται μετὰ τὴν φυγὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν καταδίκην ὁ Τιμοκρέων ᾆσμα ποιήσας, οὗ ἐστιν ἀρχή·Μοῦσα τοῦδε τοῦ μέλεοςκλέος ἀνʼ Ἕλλανας τίθει,ὡς ἐοικὸς καὶ δίκαιον.λέγεται δʼ ὁ Τιμοκρέων ἐπὶ μηδισμῷ φυγεῖν συγκαταψηφισαμένου τοῦ Θεμιστοκλέους.
21.5. Accordingly, when Themistocles also was accused of Medizing, Timocreon composed these lines upon him:—Not Timocreon alone, then, made compacts with the Medes,But there are other wretches too; not I alone am brushless,There are other foxes too.
21.5. ὡς οὖν ὁ Θεμιστοκλῆς αἰτίαν ἔσχε μηδίζειν, ταῦτʼ ἐποίησεν εἰς αὐτόν·οὐκ ἄρα Τιμοκρέων μοῦνος Μήδοισιν ὁρκιατομεῖ,ἀλλʼ ἐντὶ κἆλλοι δὴ πονηροί· οὐκ ἐγὼ μόνα κόλουρις·ἐντὶ καὶ ἄλλαι ἀλώπεκες.
22.1. And at last, when even his fellow-citizens were led by their jealousy of his greatness to welcome such slanders against him, he was forced to allude to his own achievements when he addressed the Assembly, till he became tiresome thereby, and he once said to the malcontents: “Why are ye vexed that the same men should often benefit you?” He offended the multitude also by building the temple of Artemis, whom he surnamed Aristoboule, or Best Counsellor, intimating thus that it was he who had given the best counsel to the city and to the Hellenes.
22.1. ἤδη δὲ καὶ τῶν πολιτῶν διὰ τὸ φθονεῖν ἡδέως τὰς διαβολὰς προσιεμένων ἠναγκάζετο λυπηρὸς εἶναι τῶν αὑτοῦ πράξεων πολλάκις ἐν τῷ δήμῳ μνημονεύων· καὶ πρὸς τοὺς δυσχεραίνοντας τί κοπιᾶτε, εἶπεν, ὑπὸ τῶν αὐτῶν πολλάκις εὖ πάσχοντες; ἠνίασε δὲ τοὺς πολλοὺς καὶ τὸ τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος ἱερὸν εἱσάμενος, ἣν Ἀριστοβούλην μὲν προσηγόρευσεν, ὡς ἄριστα τῇ πόλει καὶ τοῖς Ἕλλησι βουλευσάμενος, πλησίον δὲ τῆς οἰκίας κατεσκεύασεν ἐν Μελίτῃ τὸ ἱερὸν, οὗ νῦν τὰ σώματα τῶν θανατουμένων οἱ δήμιοι προβάλλουσι καὶ τὰ ἱμάτια καὶ τοὺς βρόχους τῶν ἀπαγχομένων καὶ καθαιρεθέντων ἐκφέρουσιν.
22.2. This temple he established near his house in Melite, where now the public officers cast out the bodies of those who have been put to death, and carry forth the garments and the nooses of those who have dispatched themselves by hanging. A portrait-statue of Themistocles stood in this temple of Aristoboule down to my time, from which he appears to have been a man not only of heroic spirit, but also of heroic presence.
22.2. ἔκειτο δὲ καὶ τοῦ Θεμιστοκλέους εἰκόνιον ἐν τῷ ναῷ τῆς Ἀριστοβούλης ἔτι καθʼ ἡμᾶς· καὶ φαίνεταί τις οὐ τὴν ψυχὴν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ὄψιν ἡρωϊκὸς γενόμενος.