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Plutarch · Lives of the Ten Orators §12.1

Laches' Decree in Honor of Demochares

Passage 18 of 19 · Greek

Summary

In the archonship of Pytharatus, Laches proposes a decree to honor his father Demochares with a bronze statue and maintenance, enumerating his outstanding political and military achievements.

§12.1ἄρχων Πυθάρατος Λάχης Δημοχάρους Λευκονοεὺς αἰτεῖ δωρεὰν τὴν βουλὴν καὶ τὸν δῆμον τὸν Ἀθηναίων Δημοχάρει Λάχητος Λευκονοεῖ εἰκόνα χαλκῆν ἐν ἀγορᾷ καὶ σίτησιν ἐν πρυτανείῳ αὐτῷ καὶ τῶν ἐκγόνων ἀεὶ τῷ πρεσβυτάτῳ καὶ προεδρίαν ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἀγῶσιν, εὐεργέτῃ καὶ συμβούλῳ γεγονότι ἀγαθῷ τῷ δήμῳ τῷ Ἀθηναίων καὶ εὐεργετηκότι τὸν δῆμον τάδε· πρεσβεύοντι καὶ γράφοντι καὶ πολιτευομένῳ οἰκοδομὴν τειχῶν, καὶ παρασκευὴν ὅπλων καὶ βελῶν καὶ μηχανημάτων, καὶ ὀχυρωσαμένῳ τὴν πόλιν ἐπὶ τοῦ τετραετοῦς· πολέμου, καὶ εἰρήνην καὶ ἀνοχὰς καὶ συμμαχίαν ποιησαμένῳ πρὸς Βοιωτούς· ἀνθʼ ὧν ἐξέπεσεν ὑπὸ τῶν καταλυσάντων τὸν δῆμον·
In the archonship of Pytharatus, Laches, son of Demochares, of Leuconoe, requests of the Senate and the Athenian people a gift for Demochares, son of Laches, of Leuconoe: a bronze statue in the Agora, maintenance in the Prytaneion for himself and ever for the eldest of his descendants, and a seat of honor in all the games, as he has been a good benefactor and counselor to the Athenian people, and has benefited the people in these following ways: by going on embassies, proposing decrees, and conducting public affairs, such as the building of the walls, the preparation of arms, missiles, and engines, and fortifying the city during the four years' war, and making peace, a truce, and an alliance with the Boeotians; in return for which he was banished by those who overthrew the democracy.
καὶ ὡς κατῆλθεν ἐπὶ Διοκλέους ἄρχοντος ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου, συστείλαντι τὴν διοίκησιν πρώτῳ καὶ φεισαμένῳ τῶν ὑπαρχόντων καὶ πρεσβεύσαντι πρὸς Λυσίμαχον καὶ λαβόντι τῷ δήμῳ τριάκοντα τάλαντα ἀργυρίου καὶ πάλιν ἕτερα ἑκατόν· καὶ γράψαντι πρεσβείαν πρὸς Πτολεμαῖον εἰς Αἴγυπτον, καθʼ ἣν ἐκπλεύσαντες πεντήκοντα ἐκόμισαν τάλαντα ἀργυρίου τῷ δήμῳ· καὶ πρὸς Ἀντίπατρον πρεσβεύσαντι καὶ λαβόντι εἴκοσι τάλαντα ἀργυρίου καὶ Ἐλευσῖνα κομισαμένῳ τῷ δήμῳ καὶ ταῦτα πείσαντι ἑλέσθαι τὸν δῆμον καὶ πράξαντι, καὶ φυγόντι μὲν ὑπὲρ δημοκρατίας, μετεσχηκότι δὲ οὐδεμιᾶς ὀλιγαρχίας οὐδὲ ἀρχὴν οὐδεμίαν ἠρχότι καταλελυκότος τοῦ δήμου· καὶ μόνῳ Ἀθηναίων τῶν κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν ἡλικίαν πολιτευσαμένων μὴ μεμελετηκότι τὴν πατρίδα κινεῖν ἑτέρῳ πολιτεύματι ἢ δημοκρατίᾳ· καὶ τὰς κρίσεις καὶ τοὺς νόμους καὶ τὰ δικαστήρια καὶ τὰς οὐσίας πᾶσιν Ἀθηναίοις ἐν ἀσφαλεῖ ποιήσαντι διὰ τῆς αὑτοῦ πολιτείας καὶ μηδὲν ὑπεναντίον τῇ δημοκρατίᾳ πεπραχότι μήτε λόγῳ μήτε ἔργῳ.
And when he was recalled by the people in the archonship of Diocles, being the first to retrench the administration and to spare the existing resources, and going on an embassy to Lysimachus and obtaining for the people thirty talents of silver, and again another hundred; and proposing an embassy to Ptolemy in Egypt, according to which those who sailed out brought fifty talents of silver to the people; and going on an embassy to Antipater and obtaining twenty talents of silver, and recovering Eleusis for the people, and having persuaded the people to choose these measures and having executed them; and going into exile on behalf of the democracy, but sharing in no oligarchy nor holding any office when the democracy was overthrown; and being the only one of the Athenians who engaged in politics during the same period who did not attempt to change the fatherland to another form of government than democracy; and having made the judgments, the laws, the courts, and the properties secure for all Athenians through his administration, and having done nothing contrary to the democracy either in word or in deed.

Notes

  1. 851dτάδε· πρεσβεύοντι καὶ γράφοντι — The demonstrative pronoun τάδε (neuter plural accusative) points forward to the concrete deeds of Demochares described by the subsequent series of dative participles starting with πρεσβεύοντι. These participles function as an explanation of or apposition to the preceding εὐεργετηκότι ("having benefited").
  2. 851eἀνθʼ ὧν ἐξέπεσεν — The combination of the preposition ἀντί and the relative pronoun ὧν (genitive plural, referring back to his achievements) means "in return for which" or "because of which." The active intransitive verb ἐξέπεσεν ("was banished", from ἐκπίπτω) functions as a passive equivalent of ἐκβάλλω ("to banish").
  3. 851eὡς κατῆλθεν — The conjunction ὡς is used here temporally, meaning "when". Within this clause, the subsequent dative participles (such as συστείλαντι) describe Demochares' concrete actions after his return (κατῆλθεν), agreeing in case with the main recipient of the decree (Demochares).
  4. 851fκαταλελυκότος τοῦ δήμου — A genitive absolute construction, expressing the temporal circumstance "when the democracy had been overthrown."
  5. 851fμὴ μεμελετηκότι — The negative particle μή is used with the perfect participle μεμελετηκότι because it characterizes him as "the sort of person who did not contemplate" (with conditional or generic force, whereas οὐ would denote a simple factual denial).

Cite this passage

Plutarch, Lives of the Ten Orators §12.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg121.humanitext-grc2:12.1

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