Delphi Complete Works of Cornelius Nepos

by Cornelius Nepos

  II. He was present, however, in the sea-fight at Salamis, which was fought before he was allowed to return. He was also commander of the Athenians at Plataeae, in the battle in which Mardonius was routed, and the army of the barbarians was cut off. Nor is there any other celebrated act of his in military affairs recorded, besides the account of this command; but of his justice, equity, and self-control, there are many instances. Above all, it was through his integrity, when he was joined in command of the common fleet of Greece with Pausanias, under whose leadership Mardonius had been put to flight, that the supreme authority at sea was transferred from the Lacedaemonians to the Athenians; for before that time the Lacedaemonians had the command both by sea and land. But at this period it happened, through the indiscreet conduct of Pausanias, and the equity of Aristides, that all the states of Greece attached themselves as allies to the Athenians, and chose them as their leaders against the barbarians.

  3. Quos quo facilius repellerent, si forte bellum renovare conarentur, ad classes aedificandas exercitusque comparandos quantum pecuniae quaeque civitas daret, Aristides delectus est qui constitueret, eiusque arbitrio quadringena et sexagena talenta quotannis Delum sunt collata: id enim commune aerarium esse voluerunt. quae omnis pecunia postero tempore Athenas translata est. [2] hic qua fuerit abstinentia, nullum est certius indicium quam quod, cum tantis rebus praefuisset, in tanta paupertate decessit, ut qui efferretur vix reliquerit. [3] quo factum est ut filiae eius publice alerentur et de communi aerario dotibus datis collocarentur. decessit autem fere post annum quartum quam Themistocles Athenis erat expulsus.

  III. In order that they might repel the barbarians more easily, if perchance they should try to renew the war, Aristides was chosen to settle what sum of money each state should contribute for building fleets and equipping troops. By his appointment four hundred and sixty talents were deposited annually at Delos, which they fixed upon to be the common treasury; but all this money was afterwards removed to Athens.

  How great was his integrity, there is no more certain proof, than that, though he had been at the head of such important affairs, he died in such poverty that he scarcely left money to defray the charges of his funeral. Hence it was that his daughters were brought up at the expense of the country, and were married with dowries given them from the public treasury. He died about four years after Themistocles was banished from Athens.

  IV. PAUSANIAS

  Pausanias at Plataeae, I. He takes Byzantium, and makes advances to Xerxes, II. His conduct abroad; his imprisonment, III. He betrays his guilt, IV. His death at the temple of Minerva, V.

  1. Pausanias Lacedaemonius magnus homo, sed varius in omni genere vitae fuit: nam ut virtutibus eluxit, sic vitiis est obrutus. [2] huius illustrissimum est proelium apud Plataeas. namque illo duce Mardonius, satrapes regius, natione Medus, regis gener, in primis omnium Persarum et manu fortis et consilii plenus, cum ducentis milibus peditum, quos viritim legerat, et viginti equitum haud ita magna manu Graeciae fugatus est, eoque ipse dux cecidit proelio. [3] qua victoria elatus plurima miscere coepit et maiora concupiscere. sed primum in eo est reprehensus, quod ex praeda tripodem aureum Delphis posuisset epigrammate inscripto, in quo haec erat sententia: suo ductu barbaros apud Plataeas esse deletos eiusque victoriae ergo Apollini id donum dedisse. [4] hos versus Lacedaemonii exsculpserunt neque aliud scripserunt quam nomina earum civitatum, quarum auxilio Persae erant victi.

  I. PAUSANIAS the Lacedaemonian was a great man, but of varied character in all the relations of life; for as he was ennobled by virtues, he was also obscured by vices. His most famous battle was that at Plataeae, for, under his command Mardonius, a royal satrap, by birth a Mede, and son-in-law to the king (a man, among the chief of all the Persians, brave in action and full of sagacity), at the head of two hundred thousand infantry, whom he had chosen man by man, and twenty thousand cavalry, was routed by no very large army of Greeks; and the general himself was slain in the struggle.

  Elated by this victory, he began to indulge in irregular proceedings, and to covet greater power. But he first incurred blame on this account, that he offered at Delphi, out of the spoil, a golden tripod with an inscription written upon it, in which was this statement, that “the barbarians had been cut off at Plataeae by his management, and that, on account of that victory, he had presented this offering to Apollo.” These lines the Lacedaemonians erased, and wrote nothing but the names of the states by whose aid the Persians had been conquered.

  2. Post id proelium eundem Pausaniam cum classe communi Cyprum atque Hellespontum miserunt, ut ex iis regionibus barbarorum praesidia depelleret. [2] pari felicitate in ea re usus elatius se gerere coepit maioresque appetere res. nam cum Byzantio expugnato cepisset complures Persarum nobiles atque in eis nonnullos regis propinquos, hos clam Xerxi remisit, simulans ex vinclis publicis effugisse, et cum iis Gongylum Eretriensem, qui litteras regi redderet, in quibus haec fuisse scripta Thucydides memoriae prodidit: [3] ‘Pausanias, dux Spartae, quos Byzantii ceperat, postquam propinquos tuos cognovit, tibi muneri misit seque tecum affinitate coniungi cupit: quare, si tibi videtur, des ei filiam tuam nuptum. [4] id si feceris, et Spartam et ceteram Graeciam sub tuam potestatem se adiuvante te redacturum pollicetur. his de rebus si quid agere volueris, certum hominem ad eum mittas face, cum quo colloquatur.’ [5] rex tot hominum salute tam sibi necessariorum magno opere gavisus confestim cum epistula Artabazum ad Pausaniam mittit in qua eum collaudat ac petit, ne cui rei parcat ad ea efficienda, quae polliceretur: si perfecerit, nullius rei a se repulsam laturum. [6] huius Pausanias voluntate cognita alacrior ad rem gerendam factus in suspicionem cecidit Lacedaemoniorum. quo facto domum revocatus, accusatus capitis absolvitur, multatur tamen pecunia, quam ob causam ad classem remissus non est.

  II. After this battle they sent Pausanias with the confederate fleet to Cyprus and the Hellespont, to expel the garrisons of the barbarians from those parts. Experiencing equal good fortune in this enterprise, he began to conduct himself still more haughtily, and to aim at still higher matters; for having, at the taking of Byzantium, captured several Persian noblemen, and among them some relations of the king, he sent them secretly back to Xerxes, and pretended that they had escaped out of prison. He sent with them, also, Gongylus of Eretria, to carry a letter to the king, in which Thucydides has recorded that the following words were written: “Pausanias, the general of Sparta, having discovered that those whom he took at Byzantium are your relations, has sent them back as a gift, and desires to be joined in affinity with you. If therefore it seems good to you, give him your daughter in marriage. Should you do so, he engages, with your aid, to bring both Sparta and the rest of Greece under your sway. If you wish anything to be done with regard to these proposals, be careful to send a trustworthy person to him, with whom he may confer.”

  The king, extremely delighted at the restoration of so many persons so nearly related to him, immediately despatched Artabazus with a letter to Pausanias, in which he commended him, and begged that he would spare no pains to accomplish what he promised; if he effected it, he should never meet with a refusal of anything from him. Pausanias, learning what the king’s pleasure was, and growing more eager for the accomplishment of his designs, fell under the suspicion of the Lacedaemonians. In the midst of his proceedings, accordingly, he was recalled home, and being brought to trial on a capital charge, was acquitted on it, but sentenced to pay a fine; for which reason he was not sent back to the fleet.

  3. At ille post non multo sua sponte ad exercitum rediit et ibi non stolida, sed dementi ratione cogitata patefecit: non enim mores patrios solum, sed etiam cultum vestitumque mutavit. [2] apparatu regio utebatur, veste Medica; satellites Medi et Aegyptii sequebantur; epulabatur more Persarum luxuriosius, quam qui aderant perpeti possent; [3] aditum petentibus conveniundi non dabat, superbe respondebat, crudeliter imperabat. Spartam redire nolebat; Colonas, qui locus in agro Troade est, se contulerat; ibi consilia cum patriae tum sibi inimica capiebat. [4] id postquam Lacedaemonii rescierunt, legatos cum clava ad eum miseru
nt, in qua more illorum erat scriptum: nisi domum reverteretur, se capitis eum damnaturos. [5] hoc nuntio commotus, sperans se etiamtum pecunia et potentia instans periculum posse depellere, domum rediit. huc ut venit, ab ephoris in vincla publica est coniectus: licet enim legibus eorum cuivis ephoro hoc facere regi. hinc tamen se expedivit, neque eo magis carebat suspicione: nam opinio manebat eum cum rege habere societatem. [6] est genus quoddam hominum, quod Hilotae vocatur, quorum magna multitudo agros Lacedaemoniorum colit servorumque munere fungitur. hos quoque sollicitare spe libertatis existimabatur. [7] sed quod harum rerum nullum erat apertum crimen, quo coargui posset, non putabant de tali tamque claro viro suspicionibus oportere iudicari et exspectandum, dum se ipsa res aperiret.

  III. Not long after, however, he returned to the army of his own accord, and there, not in a sensible, but in an insane manner, let his views become known; for he laid aside, not only the manners of his country, but its fashions and dress. He adopted regal splendour and Median attire; Median and Egyptian guards attended him; he had his table served, after the Persian manner, more luxuriously than those who were with him could endure; he refused permission to approach him to those who sought it; he gave haughty replies and severe commands. To Sparta he would not return, but withdrew to Colonae, a place in the country of Troas, where he formed designs pernicious both to his country and himself. When the Lacedaemonians knew of his proceedings, they sent deputies to him with a scytala, on which it was written, after their fashion, that “if he did not return home, they would condemn him to death.” Being alarmed at this communication, but hoping that he should be able, by his money and his influence, to ward off the danger that threatened him, he returned home. As soon as he arrived there, he was thrown into the public prison by the Ephori, for it is allowable, by their laws, for any one of the Ephori to do this to a king. He however got himself freed from confinement, but was not cleared from suspicion, for the belief still prevailed, that he had made a compact with the king of Persia.

  There is a certain class of men called Helots, of whom a great number till the lands of the Lacedaemonians, and perform the duties of slaves. These men he was thought to have solicited, by holding out to them hopes of liberty, to join him. But as there was no visible ground for a charge against him on these points, on which he might be convicted, they did not think that they ought to pronounce, concerning so eminent and famous a man, on suspicion only, but that they must wait till the affair should disclose itself.

  4. Interim Argilius quidam adulescentulus, quem puerum Pausanias amore venerio dilexerat, cum epistulam ab eo ad Artabazum accepisset eique in suspicionem venisset aliquid in ea de se esse scriptum, quod nemo eorum redisset, qui super tali causa eodem missi erant, vincla epistulae laxavit signoque detracto cognovit, si pertulisset, sibi esse pereundum. [2] erant in eadem epistula quae ad ea pertinebant, quae inter regem Pausaniamque convenerant. has ille litteras ephoris tradidit. [3] non est praetereunda gravitas Lacedaemoniorum hoc loco. nam ne huius quidem indicio impulsi sunt ut Pausaniam comprehenderent, neque prius vim adhibendam putaverunt, quam se ipse indicasset. [4] itaque huic indici, quid fieri vellent, praeceperunt. fanum Neptuni est Taenari, quod violari nefas putant Graeci. eo ille index confugit in araque consedit. hanc iuxta locum fecerunt sub terra, ex quo posset exaudiri, si quis quid loqueretur cum Argilio. [5] huc ex ephoris quidam descenderunt. Pausanias, ut audivit Argilium confugisse in aram, perturbatus venit eo. quem cum supplicem dei videret in ara sedentem, quaerit, causae quid sit tam repentini consilii. huic ille, quid ex litteris comperisset, aperit. [6] quo magis Pausanias perturbatus orare coepit, ne enuntiaret neu se meritum de illo optime proderet: quodsi eam veniam sibi dedisset tantisque implicatum rebus sublevasset, magno ei praemio futurum.

  IV. In the meantime a certain Argilian, a young man whom, in his boyhood, Pausanias had loved with an ardent affection, having received a letter from him for Artabazus, and conceiving a suspicion that there was something written in it about himself, because no one of those who had been sent to the same place on such an errand, had returned, loosed the string of the letter, and taking off the seal, discovered that if he delivered it he would lose his life. In the letter were also some particulars respecting matters that had been arranged between the king and Pausanias. This letter he delivered to the Ephori. The cautious prudence of the Lacedaemonians, on this occasion, is not to be passed without notice; for they were not induced, even by this man’s information, to seize Pausanias, nor did they think that violent measures should be adopted, until he gave proof of his own guilt.

  They accordingly directed the informer what they wished to have done. At Taenarus there is a temple of Neptune, which the Greeks account it a heinous crime to profane. To this temple the informer fled, and sat down on the steps of the altar. Close to the building, they made a recess underground, from which, if any one held communication with the Argilian, he might be overheard; and into this place some of the Ephori went down. Pausanias, when he heard that the Argilian had fled to the altar, came thither in great trepidation, and seeing him sitting as a suppliant at the altar of the divinity, he inquired of him what was the cause of so sudden a proceeding. The Argilian then informed him what he had learned from the letter, and Pausanias, being so much the more agitated, began to entreat him “not to make any discovery, or to betray him who deserved great good at his hands;” adding that, “if he would but grant him this favour, and assist him when involved in such perplexities, it should be of great advantage to him

  5. His rebus ephori cognitis satius putarunt in urbe eum comprehendi. quo cum essent profecti et Pausanias placato Argilio, ut putabat, Lacedaemonem reverteretur, in itinere, cum iam in eo esset ut comprehenderetur, ex vultu cuiusdam ephori, qui eum admoneri cupiebat, insidias sibi fieri intellexit. [2] itaque paucis ante gradibus, quam qui eum sequebantur, in aedem Minervae, quae Chalcioicos vocatur, confugit. hinc ne exire posset, statim ephori valvas eius aedis obstruxerunt tectumque sunt demoliti, quo celerius sub divo interiret. [3] dicitur eo tempore matrem Pausaniae vixisse eamque iam magno natu, postquam de scelere filii comperit, in primis ad filium claudendum lapidem ad introitum aedis attulisse. [4] hic cum semianimis de templo elatus esset, confestim animam efflavit. sic Pausanias magnam belli gloriam turpi morte maculavit. [5] cuius mortui corpus cum eodem nonnulli dicerent inferri oportere, quo ii qui ad supplicium essent dati, displicuit pluribus, et procul ab eo loco infoderunt, quo erat mortuus. inde posterius dei Delphici responso erutus atque eodem loco sepultus est, ubi vitam posuerat.

  V. The Ephori, hearing these particulars, thought it better that he should be apprehended in the city. After they had set out thither, and Pausanias, having, as he thought, pacified the Argilian, was also returning to Lacedaemon, he understood (just as he was on the point of being made prisoner) by a look from one of the Ephori who wished to warn him, that some secret mischief was intended against him. He accordingly fled for refuge, a few steps before those who pursued him, into the temple of Minerva, which is called Chalcioecos. That he might not escape from thence, the Ephori immediately blocked up the folding-doors of the temple, and pulled off the roof, that he might more readily die in the open air. It is said that the mother of Pausanias was then living, and that, though very aged, she was among the first to bring a stone, when she heard of her son’s guilt, to the door of the temple, in order to shut him in. Thus Pausanias tarnished his great glory in war by a dishonourable death.

  As soon as he was carried, half-dead, out of the temple, he gave up the ghost. When some said that his body ought to be carried to the place where those given up to capital punishment were buried, the proposal was displeasing to the majority, and they interred him at some distance from the spot in which he died. He was afterwards removed from thence, in consequence of an admonition from the Delphic god, and buried in the same place where he had ended his life.

  V. CIMON.

  Cimon is compelled to go to prison on the death of his father; is liberated by his wife, I. -His character and actions; he defeats the Persians b
y land and sea on the same day, II. Is ostracised and recalled, and makes peace with the Lacedaemonians; his death, III. His praises, IV.

  1. Cimon, Miltiadis filius, Atheniensis, duro admodum initio usus est adulescentiae. nam cum pater eius litem aestimatam populo solvere non potuisset ob eamque causam in vinclis publicis decessisset, Cimon eadem custodia tenebatur neque legibus Atheniensium emitti poterat, nisi pecuniam, qua pater multatus erat, solvisset. [2] habebat autem in matrimonio sororem germanam suam, nomine Elpinicen, non magis amore quam more ductus: namque Atheniensibus licet eodem patre natas uxores ducere. [3] huius coniugii cupidus Callias quidam, non tam generosus quam pecuniosus, qui magnas pecunias ex metallis fecerat, egit cum Cimone ut eam sibi uxorem daret: id si impetrasset, se pro illo pecuniam soluturum. [4] is cum talem condicionem aspernaretur, Elpinice negavit se passuram Miltiadis progeniem in vinclis publicis interire, quoniam prohibere posset, seque Calliae nupturam, si ea quae polliceretur praestitisset.

  I. CIMON, the son of Miltiades, an Athenian, experienced a very unhappy entrance on manhood; for as his father had been unable to pay to the people the fine imposed upon him, and had consequently died in the public gaol, Cimon was kept in prison, nor could he, by the Athenian laws, be set at liberty, unless he paid the sum of money that his father had been fined. He had married, however, his sister by the father’s side, named Elpinice, induced not more by love than by custom; for the Athenians are allowed to marry their sisters by the same father; and a certain Callias, a man whose birth was not equal to his wealth, and who had made a great fortune from the mines, being desirous of having her for a wife, tried to prevail on Cimon to resign her to him, saying that if he obtained his desire, he would pay the fine for him. Though Cimon received such a proposal with scorn, Elpinice said that she would not allow a son of Miltiades to die in the public prison, when she could prevent it; and that she would marry Callias if he would perform what he promised.