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Plutarch · Sayings of the Spartan Women §1.1

Argileonis on the Death of Her Son Brasidas

Passage 1 of 6 · Greek

Summary

Argileonis, the mother of Brasidas, inquires about her son's death, and when the visitors praise him as the best, she responds that Sparta has many men better than him.

§1.1Ἀργιλεωνὶς ἡ Βρασίδου μήτηρ, τελευτήσαντος αὐτῇ τοῦ υἱοῦ, ὡς παραγενόμενοί τινες τῶν Ἀμφιπολιτῶν εἰς Σπάρτην ἧκον πρὸς αὐτὴν ἠρώτησεν εἰ καλῶς καὶ ἀξίως τῆς Σπάρτης ὁ υἱὸς ἐτελεύτα·
Argileonis, the mother of Brasidas, when her son had died, and when some of the Amphipolitans arrived in Sparta and came to her, asked whether her son had died finely and in a manner worthy of Sparta.
μεγαλυνόντων δʼ ἐκεῖνον καὶ λεγόντων ἄριστον ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις ἔργοις ἁπάντων Λακεδαιμονίων εἶναι, εἶπεν, ὦ ξένοι, καλὸς μὲν ἦν κἀγαθὸς ὁ παῖς μου, πολλοὺς δʼ ἄνδρας Λακεδαίμων ἔχει τήνω κάρρονας.
When they praised him and said that he was the best of all the Lacedaemonians in such deeds, she said, "O strangers, my boy was indeed noble and good, but Lacedaemon has many men better than him."

Notes

  1. 240cτελευτήσαντος αὐτῇ τοῦ υἱοῦ — Genitive absolute construction. `αὐτῇ` is a dative of interest or reference, indicating the effect of the son's death upon her.
  2. 240dτήνω κάρρονας — Doric dialect used to reflect the speech of a Spartan mother. `τήνω` corresponds to Attic `ἐκείνου` (genitive of comparison), and `κάρρονας` corresponds to `κρείσσονας` (accusative plural of `κρείσσων`, "better, superior").

Cite this passage

Plutarch, Sayings of the Spartan Women §1.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg082b.humanitext-grc3:1.1

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