Humanitext Reader

Herodotus · Histories §7.231.1

Aristodemus' Disgrace and Redemption at Plataea

Passage 1294 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

The social isolation and disgrace experienced by Aristodemus upon his return to Sparta as a "runaway" is described, along with his subsequent redemption at the Battle of Plataea.

§7.231.1ἀπονοστήσας δὲ ἐς Λακεδαίμονα ὁ Ἀριστόδημος εἶχε ὄνειδός τε καὶ ἀτιμίην· πάσχων δὲ τοιάδε ἠτίμωτο· οὔτε οἱ πῦρ οὐδεὶς ἔναυε Σπαρτιητέων οὔτε διελέγετο.
But when Aristodemus returned to Lacedaemon, he met with disgrace and dishonor; and being treated in the following way, he was held in dishonor: no one of the Spartans would give him fire, nor would anyone speak with him.
ὄνειδος δὲ εἶχε ὁ τρέσας Ἀριστόδημος καλεόμενος. ἀλλʼ ὃ μὲν ἐν τῇ ἐν Πλαταιῇσι μάχῃ ἀνέλαβε πᾶσαν τὴν ἐπενειχθεῖσαν αἰτίην·
He also bore the disgrace of being called "Aristodemus the Runaway." However, in the battle at Plataea, he retrieved all the blame that had been cast upon him.

Notes

  1. 7.231.1ἠτίμωτο — Pluperfect passive of the verb ἀτιμόω, indicating the ongoing state of 'atimia' (dishonor or deprivation of civic rights) in Sparta. The specific details of this social exclusion are explained in the following sentence starting with οὔτε.
  2. 7.231.1οἱ — Third-person singular dative pronoun, equivalent to αὐτῷ in classical Attic. Here it means 'to him' or 'for him', referring to the person to whom fire was not to be given.
  3. 7.231.1ὁ τρέσας — Substantive use of the aorist participle of τρέω (to tremble, flee). It was a formal derogatory term used in Sparta to designate a 'runaway' or 'coward' who fled from battle, functioning as a social brand of dishonor.
  4. 7.231.1ἀνέλαβε — Aorist of the verb ἀναλαμβάνω (to take up again, retrieve, recover). Here it means 'to retrieve one's honor' or 'to wipe out disgrace'. Literally, 'he retrieved all the blame (αἰτίην) that had been brought against him.'

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §7.231.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:7.231.1

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.