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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §11.44.1-11.44.6

Pausanias' Treason and the Rise of Aristides

Passage 45 of 723 · Greek

Summary

Sparta dispatches Pausanias to liberate the Greek cities, but he secretly conspires with Persia and incurs resentment due to his arrogant behavior. Aristides of Athens wisely utilizes this opportunity to win over the cities to the Athenian side.

§11.44.1Λακεδαιμόνιοι δὲ Παυσανίαν τὸν ἐν Πλαταιαῖς στρατηγήσαντα καταστήσαντες ναύαρχον προσέταξαν ἐλευθεροῦν τὰς Ἑλληνίδας πόλεις, ὅσαι βαρβαρικαῖς φυλακαῖς διέμενον ἔτι φρουρούμεναι.
The Lacedaemonians, having appointed Pausanias, who had commanded at Plataea, as admiral, ordered him to liberate the Greek cities, as many as still remained guarded by barbarian garrisons.
§11.44.2οὗτος δὲ πεντήκοντα μὲν τριήρεις ἐκ Πελοποννήσου λαβών, τριάκοντα δὲ παρʼ Ἀθηναίων μεταπεμψάμενος, ὧν Ἀριστείδης ἡγεῖτο, πρῶτον μὲν εἰς τὴν Κύπρον ἔπλευσε καὶ τῶν πόλεων τὰς ἔτι φρουρὰς ἐχούσας Περσικὰς ἠλευθέρωσε,
And he, having taken fifty triremes from Peloponnese and having summoned thirty from the Athenians, which Aristides commanded, sailed first to Cyprus and liberated those of the cities which still had Persian garrisons.
§11.44.3μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα πλεύσας ἐπὶ τὸν Ἑλλήσποντον Βυζάντιον μὲν ὑπὸ Περσῶν κρατούμενον ἐχειρώσατο, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων βαρβάρων οὓς μὲν ἀνελὼν, οὓς δʼ ἐκβαλὼν ἠλευθέρωσε τὴν πόλιν, πολλοὺς δʼ ἐν αὐτῇ Περσῶν ἀξιολόγους ζωγρήσας ἄνδρας παρέδωκεν εἰς φυλακὴν Γογγύλῳ τῷ Ἐρετριεῖ, τῷ μὲν λόγῳ πρὸς τιμωρίαν τηρήσοντι, τῷ δʼ ἔργῳ διασώσοντι πρὸς Ξέρξην· συνετέθειτο γὰρ διʼ ἀπορρήτων φιλίαν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα, καὶ τὴν θυγατέρα τοῦ Ξέρξου γαμεῖν ἔμελλεν, ἵνα προδῷ τοὺς Ἕλληνας.
After this, having sailed to the Hellespont, he subdued Byzantium which was held by the Persians; and of the other barbarians, having killed some and expelled others, he liberated the city; and having captured alive many noteworthy Persian men in it, he handed them over for custody to Gongylus the Eretrian, ostensibly to guard them for punishment, but in reality to save them for Xerxes; for he had secretly contracted friendship with the King and was about to marry the daughter of Xerxes, in order to betray the Greeks.
§11.44.4ἦν δʼ ὁ ταῦτα πραττόμενος Ἀρτάβαζος στρατηγός, καὶ χρημάτων πλῆθος ἐχορήγει λάθρᾳ τῷ Παυσανίᾳ πρὸς τὸ διὰ τούτων φθείρειν τοὺς εὐθέτους τῶν Ἑλλήνων.
The general who transacted these matters was Artabazos, and he secretly supplied a large amount of money to Pausanias, so as to corrupt by means of this those of the Greeks who were susceptible.
ἐγένετο δὲ καταφανὴς καὶ τιμωρίας ἔτυχε τοιῷδέ τινι τρόπῳ.
And he became detected and met with punishment in some such manner.
§11.44.5ζηλώσαντος γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὴν Περσικὴν τρυφὴν καὶ τυραννικῶς προσφερομένου τοῖς ὑποτεταγμένοις, χαλεπῶς ἔφερον ἅπαντες, μάλιστα δὲ οἱ τεταγμένοι τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἐπί τινος ἡγεμονίας.
For when he emulated the Persian luxury and behaved despotically to his subordinates, everyone was offended, and especially those of the Greeks who had been appointed to some command.
§11.44.6διόπερ τῶν κατὰ τὴν στρατιὰν καὶ κατὰ ἔθνη καὶ κατὰ πόλεις ἀλλήλοις ὁμιλούντων καὶ τοῦ Παυσανίου τῆς βαρύτητος καταλαλούντων, Πελοποννήσιοί τινες μὲν καταλιπόντες αὐτὸν εἰς Πελοπόννησον ἀπέπλευσαν, καὶ πρέσβεις ἀποστείλαντες κατηγόρουν τοῦ Παυσανίου, Ἀριστείδης δὲ ὁ Ἀθηναῖος τῷ καιρῷ χρώμενος ἐμφρόνως ἐν ταῖς κοινολογίαις ἀνελάμβανε τὰς πόλεις καὶ διὰ τῆς ὁμιλίας προσαγόμενος ἰδίας ἐποίησε τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις.
Therefore, when those in the army conversed with one another by nations and by cities and spoke against the harshness of Pausanias, some of the Peloponnesians, leaving him, sailed back to Peloponnesus, and sending envoys accused Pausanias; whereas Aristides the Athenian, using the opportunity wisely, won over the cities in his conferences, and attracting them by his conversation made them allies of the Athenians.
ἔτι δὲ μᾶλλον συνήργησε καὶ τὸ αὐτόματον τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις διὰ ταύτας τὰς αἰτίας.
And chance also cooperated still more with the Athenians for these reasons.

Notes

  1. 11.44.3τηρήσοντι ... διασώσοντι — Future participles agreeing with the dative noun Γογγύλῳ, expressing purpose ('with the intention that Gongylus would keep... but in fact save...'). The contrast τῷ μὲν λόγῳ ... τῷ δ' ἔργῳ means 'ostensibly... but in reality...'.
  2. 11.44.5ζηλώσαντος γὰρ αὐτοῦ — Genitive absolute construction. The genitive pronoun αὐτοῦ refers to Pausanias, and with the following participle, it expresses a causal situation ('for since he emulated...').
  3. 11.44.6ἰδίας ἐποίησε τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις — The adjective ἰδίας functions as a secondary predicate (predicative adjective), meaning 'made them (the cities) the private allies of (or friendly to) the Athenians'.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §11.44.1-11.44.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:11.44.1-11.44.6

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