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Diodorus Siculus · Bibliotheca Historica §11.46.1-11.46.5

Denunciation of Pausanias and Shift of Hegemony to Athens

Passage 47 of 723 · Greek

Summary

The author severely criticizes Pausanias's treason and indulgence in luxury, explaining how his wickedness caused Sparta to lose the alliance's trust and forfeit the hegemony of the sea to Aristeides of Athens.

§11.46.1ἡμεῖς δὲ παρʼ ὅλην τὴν ἱστορίαν εἰωθότες τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν διὰ τῶν ἐπιλεγομένων ἐπαίνων αὔξειν τὴν δόξαν, τοῖς δὲ φαύλοις ἐπὶ τῆς τελευτῆς ἐπιφθέγγεσθαι τὰς ἁρμοζούσας βλασφημίας, οὐκ ἐάσομεν τὴν Παυσανίου κακίαν καὶ προδοσίαν ἀκατηγόρητον.
Since we are accustomed throughout our entire history to increase the glory of good men through the praises spoken after them, but to pronounce fitting condemnations upon the wicked at their death, we shall not allow the wickedness and treason of Pausanias to go unaccused.
§11.46.2τίς γὰρ οὐκ ἂν θαυμάσαι τούτου τὴν ἄνοιαν, ὃς εὐεργέτης γενόμενος τῆς Ἑλλάδος καὶ νικήσας τὴν ἐν Πλαταιαῖς μάχην καὶ πολλὰς ἄλλας ἐπαινουμένας πράξεις ἐπιτελεσάμενος, οὐχ ὅπως τὸ παρὸν ἀξίωμα διεφύλαξεν, ἀλλʼ ἀγαπήσας τῶν Περσῶν τὸν πλοῦτον καὶ τὴν τρυφήν, ἅπασαν τὴν προϋπάρχουσαν εὐδοξίαν κατῄσχυνεν;
For who would not marvel at the folly of this man, who, having become a benefactor of Greece, having won the battle at Plataea, and having accomplished many other praised deeds, far from preserving his present dignity, rather fell in love with the wealth and luxury of the Persians and brought shame upon all his pre-existing glory?
§11.46.3ἐπαρθεὶς γὰρ ταῖς εὐτυχίαις τὴν μὲν Λακωνικὴν ἀγωγὴν ἐστύγησε, τὴν δὲ τῶν Περσῶν ἀκολασίαν καὶ τρυφὴν ἐμιμήσατο, ὃν ἥκιστα ἐχρῆν ζηλῶσαι τὰ τῶν βαρβάρων ἐπιτηδεύματα· οὐ γὰρ ἑτέρων πεπυσμένος, ἀλλʼ αὐτὸς ἔργῳ πεῖραν εἰληφὼς ἐγίνωσκε πόσῳ τῆς τῶν Περσῶν τρυφῆς ἡ πάτριος δίαιτα πρὸς ἀρετὴν διέφερεν.
For, puffed up by his successes, he detested the Laconian way of life and imitated the license and luxury of the Persians—he who least of all should have envied the customs of the barbarians; for he had not learned of them from others, but had himself known by actual experience how much the ancestral way of life excelled the luxury of the Persians in leading to virtue.
§11.46.4ἀλλὰ γὰρ αὐτὸς μὲν διὰ τὴν ἰδίαν κακίαν οὐ μόνον τῆς ἀξίας ἔτυχε τιμωρίας, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς πολίταις αἴτιος κατέστη τοῦ τὴν κατὰ θάλατταν ἡγεμονίαν ἀποβαλεῖν· ἐκ παραθέσεως γὰρ ἡ Ἀριστείδου στρατηγία παρὰ τοῖς συμμάχοις θεωρουμένη, καὶ διὰ τὴν εἰς τοὺς ὑποτεταγμένους ὁμιλίαν καὶ τὰς ἄλλας ἀρετάς, ἐποίησε πάντας ὥσπερ ἀπὸ μιᾶς ὁρμῆς ἀποκλῖναι πρὸς τοὺς Ἀθηναίους.
But in truth, he himself not only met with the deserved punishment because of his own wickedness, but also became the cause for his fellow citizens of losing the hegemony of the sea; for through comparison, the generalship of Aristeides being observed by the allies, and because of his courteous intercourse with those under his command and his other virtues, he caused all, as if by a single impulse, to incline toward the Athenians.
§11.46.5διὸ καὶ τοῖς μὲν ἐκ τῆς Σπάρτης πεμπομένοις ἡγεμόσιν οὐκέτι προσεῖχον, Ἀριστείδην δὲ θαυμάζοντες καὶ πάντα προθύμως ὑπακούοντες ἐποίησαν χωρὶς κινδύνου παραλαβεῖν τὴν κατὰ θάλατταν ἀρχήν.
Therefore they no longer paid attention to the leaders sent from Sparta, but, admiring Aristeides and eagerly obeying him in everything, they caused them to take over the command of the sea without danger.

Notes

  1. 11.46.2οὐχ ὅπως — The idiom οὐχ ὅπως ... ἀλλὰ ... means "far from doing... [on the contrary]...". Here, it contrasts Pausanias "preserving his dignity" (διεφύλαξεν) with "bringing shame upon his glory" (κατῄσχυνεν).
  2. 11.46.3ὃν ἥκιστα ἐχρῆν — The accusative relative pronoun ὃν serves as the subject of the infinitive ζηλῶσαι, which is dependent on the past-tense impersonal verb ἐχρῆν. It refers to Pausanias, meaning "who least of all ought to have envied [barbarian customs]."
  3. 11.46.4τοῦ τὴν κατὰ θάλατταν ἡγεμονίαν ἀποβαλεῖν — An articular infinitive in the genitive case. It functions as a limiting complement to the preceding adjective αἴτιος ("responsible for," "cause of"), meaning "the cause of losing the hegemony of the sea."
  4. 11.46.5ἐποίησαν — In the accusative-and-infinitive construction (παραλαβεῖν...) governed by the causative verb ἐποίησαν ("they made / caused"), the subject accusative (the Athenians, or Aristeides) is omitted as it is obvious from the context.

Cite this passage

Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica §11.46.1-11.46.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0060.tlg001.humanitext-grc4:11.46.1-11.46.5

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