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Plutarch · Life of Cimon §7.1-7.5

Capture of Eion and the Honor of the Hermae

Passage 7 of 19 · Greek

Summary

Cimon, as general, besieged Eion in Thrace, defeated the Persians, and handed the land over to the Athenians for colonization. In recognition of this achievement, he was permitted to erect three stone Hermae inscribed with honorary poems.

§7.1Κίμων δέ, τῶν συμμάχων ἤδη προσκεχωρηκότων αὐτῷ, στρατηγὸς εἰς Θρᾴκην ἔπλευσε, πυνθανόμενος Περσῶν ἄνδρας ἐνδόξους καὶ συγγενεῖς βασιλέως Ἠϊόνα πόλιν παρὰ τῷ Στρυμόνι κειμένην ποταμῷ κατέχοντας ἐνοχλεῖν τοῖς περὶ τὸν τόπον ἐκεῖνον Ἕλλησι.
But Cimon, since the allies had already come over to him, sailed to Thrace as general, because he heard that famous men of the Persians and kinsmen of the king, who occupied the city Eion situated by the river Strymon, were harassing the Greeks around that region.
§7.2πρῶτον μὲν οὖν αὐτοὺς μάχῃ τοὺς Πέρσας ἐνίκησε καὶ κατέκλεισεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν·
First, then, he defeated the Persians themselves in battle and shut them up in the city.
ἔπειτα τοὺς ὑπὲρ Στρυμόνα Θρᾷκας, ὅθεν αὐτοῖς ἐφοίτα σῖτος, ἀναστάτους ποιῶν καὶ τὴν χώραν παραφυλάττων ἅπασαν εἰς τοσαύτην ἀπορίαν τοὺς πολιορκουμένους κατέστησεν, ὥστε Βούτην τὸν βασιλέως στρατηγὸν ἀπογνόντα τὰ πράγματα τῇ πόλει πῦρ ἐνεῖναι καὶ συνδιαφθεῖραι μετὰ τῶν φίλων καὶ τῶν χρημάτων ἑαυτόν.
Next, by driving out the Thracians beyond the Strymon, from whom provisions used to come to them, and by closely guarding the whole country, he reduced the besieged to such distress that Butes, the king's general, despairing of his situation, set fire to the city and destroyed himself along with his friends and property.
§7.3οὕτω δὲ λαβὼν τὴν πόλιν ἄλλο μὲν οὐδὲν ἀξιόλογον ὠφελήθη, τῶν πλείστων τοῖς βαρβάροις συγκατακαέντων, τὴν δὲ χώραν εὐφυεστάτην οὖσαν καὶ καλλίστην οἰκῆσαι παρέδωκε τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις.
And having thus taken the city, he gained no other notable advantage, since most of the property had been burned up together with the barbarians, but he handed over the territory, which was extremely fertile and beautiful, to the Athenians to inhabit.
καὶ τοὺς Ἑρμᾶς αὐτῷ τοὺς λιθίνους ὁ δῆμος ἀναθεῖναι συνεχώρησεν, ὧν ἐπιγέγραπται τῷ μὲν πρώτῳ· §7.4" ἦν ἄρα κἀκεῖνοι ταλακάρδιοι, οἵ ποτε Μήδων παισὶν ἐπʼ Ἠϊόνι, Στρυμόνος ἀμφὶ ῥοάς, λιμόν τʼ αἴθωνα κρυερόν τʼ ἐπάγοντες Ἄρηα πρῶτοι δυσμενέων εὗρον ἀμηχανίην.
And the people permitted him to erect the stone Hermae, on the first of which is inscribed: "They too, then, were stout-hearted, who once against the sons of the Medes at Eion, around the streams of Strymon, bringing upon them intense hunger and chilling war, were the first to bring about the helplessness of their enemies.
" τῷ δὲ δευτέρῳ· " ἡγεμόνεσσι δὲ μισθὸν Ἀθηναῖοι τάδʼ ἔδωκαν ἀντʼ εὐεργεσίης καὶ μεγάλων ἀγαθῶν.
"And on the second: "And as a reward to their leaders the Athenians gave these things in return for their benefaction and great services.
μᾶλλόν τις τάδʼ ἰδὼν καὶ ἐπεσσομένων ἐθελήσει ἀμφὶ περὶ ξυνοῖς πράγμασι δῆριν ἔχειν. "
Anyone even of those yet to come, on seeing these, will be more willing to wage battle for the common welfare.
§7.5τῷ δὲ τρίτῳ· " ἔκ ποτε τῆσδε πόληος ἅμʼ Ἀτρείδῃσι Μενεσθεὺς ἡγεῖτο ζάθεον Τρωϊκὸν ἐς πεδίον· ὅν ποθʼ Ὅμηρος ἔφη Δαναῶν πύκα θωρηκτάων κοσμητῆρα μάχης ἔξοχον ὄντα μολεῖν.
"And on the third: "Once from this city Menestheus, together with the sons of Atreus, led the way to the sacred Trojan plain; whom once Homer said came as an outstanding marshal of battle among the close-armored Danaans.
οὕτως οὐδὲν ἀεικὲς Ἀθηναίοισι καλεῖσθαι κοσμηταῖς πολέμου τʼ ἀμφὶ καὶ ἠνορέης.
Thus it is in no way unseemly for the Athenians to be called marshals of both war and manly courage.
"
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Notes

  1. 7.1πυνθανόμενος ... ἐνοχλεῖν — The complement of the present participle πυνθανόμενος is an accusative with infinitive (A.C.I.) construction consisting of the subject accusative (Περσῶν ἄνδρας...) and the present infinitive (ἐνοχλεῖν). The present participle κατέχοντας acts as an attributive participle modifying the accusative noun ἄνδρας.
  2. 7.2ὥστε Βούτην ... πῦρ ἐνεῖναι καὶ συνδιαφθεῖραι ... ἑαυτόν — The result clause introduced by the conjunction of degree/result ὥστε takes the infinitive (ἐνεῖναι and συνδιαφθεῖραι) rather than the indicative. The subject accusative of these infinitives is Βούτην, with ἑαυτόν serving as the reflexive direct object.
  3. 7.4ἦν ἄρα κἀκεῖνοι ταλακάρδιοι — The verb ἦν in the poetic quote is not the third-person singular, but the Epic/Ionic third-person plural imperfect (equivalent to the Attic ἦσαν), taking the plural pronoun κἀκεῖνοι (they too) as its subject.
  4. 7.5ὅν ποθʼ Ὅμηρος ἔφη ... μολείν — An accusative with infinitive (A.C.I.) construction is used as the object of the verb of saying ἔφη. The relative pronoun ὅν (referring to Menestheus) is the subject accusative of the infinitive μολείν (aorist infinitive of βλώσκω, 'to come/go'), and the participle phrase ἔξοχον ὄντα acts as an accusative predicate agreeing with ὅν.

Cite this passage

Plutarch, Life of Cimon §7.1-7.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg035.humanitext-grc2:7.1-7.5

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