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Cornelius Nepos · Aristides §2.1-2.3

Military Deeds of Aristides and Athenian Naval Hegemony

Passage 2 of 3 · Latin

Summary

The text describes Aristides' military roles in the battles of Salamis and Plataea, and how his reputation for justice led to the transition of maritime hegemony from Sparta to Athens.

§2.1Interfuit autem pugnae navali apud Salamina, quae facta est prius quam poena liberaretur.
Moreover, he took part in the naval battle at Salamis, which took place before he was released from his punishment.
idem praetor fuit Atheniensium apud Plataeas in proelio, quo fusus barbarorum exercitus Mardoniusque interfectus est.
He was also the commander of the Athenians in the battle at Plataea, in which the army of the barbarians was routed and Mardonius was slain.
§2.2neque aliud est ullum huius in re militari illustre factum quam eius imperii memoria, iustitiae vero et aequitatis et innocentiae multa, in primis quod huius aequitate factum est, cum in communi classe esset Graeciae simul cum Pausania, ut summa imperii maritimi ab Lacedaemoniis transferretur ad Athenienses:
Nor is there any other illustrious deed of his in military affairs than the memory of his command, but of his justice, equity, and integrity there are many, especially that which was brought about by his equity when he was in the common fleet of Greece together with Pausanias: namely, that the chief command at sea was transferred from the Lacedaemonians to the Athenians.
§2.3namque ante id tempus et mari et terra duces erant Lacedaemonii.
For before that time, the Lacedaemonians were the leaders both by sea and by land.
tum autem et intemperantia Pausaniae et iustitia factum est Aristidis, ut omnes fere civitates Graeciae ad Atheniensium societatem se applicarent et adversus barbaros hos duces deligerent sibi.
But at that time, both by the arrogance of Pausanias and the justice of Aristides, it was brought about that almost all the states of Greece joined the alliance of the Athenians and chose them as their leaders against the barbarians.

Notes

  1. 2.1prius quam poena liberaretur — In the subordinate clause introduced by prius quam (before), the verb liberaretur is in the imperfect subjunctive. This indicates not merely a chronological sequence, but a prospective or anticipatory relation, describing an event that occurred before his official release was formally completed.
  2. 2.2iustitiae vero et aequitatis et innocentiae multa — In this phrase, the verb and the adjective illustria are omitted. It should be understood by supplying something like multa illustria facta exstant (many illustrious deeds exist) from the context. The genitives iustitiae, aequitatis, and innocentiae depend on the neuter plural noun multa (many things), functioning as genitives of quality or reference.
  3. 2.2ut summa imperii maritimi ab Lacedaemoniis transferretur ad Athenienses — The clause ut ... transferretur (a noun clause of result) functions as the subject of the impersonal verb factum est (it was brought about/it happened). The insertion of the cum-clause in the middle separates the main verb from its subordinate ut-clause.
  4. 2.3hos duces deligerent sibi — The object of deligerent is hos (referring to the Athenians), and duces is a predicate accusative ("as leaders"). sibi is a dative of advantage, referring back to the subject of the clause (the states of Greece).

Cite this passage

Cornelius Nepos, Aristides §2.1-2.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0588.abo003.humanitext-lat2:2.1-2.3

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