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Herodotus · Histories §8.124.1-8.124.3

Spartan Honors Conferred upon Themistocles

Passage 1432 of 1577 · Greek

Summary

Although denied the first prize due to the jealousy of the Greeks, Themistocles' reputation flourishes, and he receives unprecedented honors and the prize for wisdom from the Spartans.

§8.124.1οὐ βουλομένων δὲ ταῦτα κρίνειν τῶν Ἑλλήνων φθόνῳ, ἀλλʼ ἀποπλεόντων ἑκάστων ἐς τὴν ἑωυτῶν ἀκρίτων, ὅμως Θεμιστοκλέης ἐβώσθη τε καὶ ἐδοξώθη εἶναι ἀνὴρ πολλὸν Ἑλλήνων σοφώτατος ἀνὰ πᾶσαν τὴν Ἑλλάδα.
Although the Greeks, out of jealousy, were unwilling to decide this matter, and each sailed away to their own lands without making a decision, nevertheless Themistocles was celebrated and deemed throughout the whole of Greece to be by far the wisest man among the Greeks.
§8.124.2ὅτι δὲ νικῶν οὐκ ἐτιμήθη πρὸς τῶν ἐν Σαλαμῖνι ναυμαχησάντων, αὐτίκα μετὰ ταῦτα ἐς Λακεδαίμονα ἀπίκετο θέλων τιμηθῆναι· καὶ μιν Λακεδαιμόνιοι καλῶς μὲν ὑπεδέξαντο, μεγάλως δὲ ἐτίμησαν.
And because, despite being the victor, he was not honored by those who had fought the sea-battle at Salamis, immediately after this he went to Lacedaemon, wishing to be honored; and the Lacedaemonians received him handsomely and honored him greatly.
ἀριστήια μέν νυν ἔδοσαν Εὐρυβιάδῃ ἐλαίης στέφανον, σοφίης δὲ καὶ δεξιότητος Θεμιστοκλέι καὶ τούτῳ στέφανον ἐλαίης· ἐδωρήσαντό τέ μιν ὄχῳ τῷ ἐν Σπάρτῃ καλλιστεύσαντι.
They gave the prize of valor, indeed, to Eurybiades, a crown of olive, and for wisdom and cleverness to Themistocles, to him also a crown of olive; and they presented him with the chariot that was the finest in Sparta.
§8.124.3αἰνέσαντες δὲ πολλά, προέπεμψαν ἀπιόντα τριηκόσιοι Σπαρτιητέων λογάδες, οὗτοι οἵ περ ἱππέες καλέονται, μέχρι οὔρων τῶν Τεγεητικῶν.
And having praised him greatly, three hundred chosen Spartans, those who are called the Knights, escorted him on his departure as far as the borders of Tegea.
μοῦνον δὴ τοῦτον πάντων ἀνθρώπων τῶν ἡμεῖς ἴδμεν Σπαρτιῆται προέπεμψαν.
He is indeed the only man of all those whom we know whom the Spartans have ever escorted.

Notes

  1. 8.124.1ἀκρίτων — Genitive plural agreeing with ἑκάστων in a predicative sense, meaning 'they, without having made a decision,' or 'without the matter being decided.'
  2. 8.124.2νικῶν — Present active participle of νικάω, masculine singular nominative. Here it functions contrastively/concessively ('although he was victorious'), agreeing with the omitted subject (Themistocles) of the ὅτι clause.
  3. 8.124.3ἱππέες — Nominative plural Ionic form of ἱππεύς (equivalent to Attic ἱππεῖς). Although meaning 'knights' or 'cavalry,' in Sparta this was a technical term for the royal elite bodyguard of 300 heavy infantrymen.
  4. 8.124.3τῶν ἡμεῖς ἴδμεν — ἴδμεν is the Ionic form of ἴσμεν (first-person plural of οἶδα, 'to know'). The relative pronoun τῶν is attracted to the genitive of its antecedent πάντων ἀνθρώπων, meaning 'of all those whom we know.'

Cite this passage

Herodotus, Histories §8.124.1-8.124.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0016.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.124.1-8.124.3

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