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Cornelius Nepos · Chabrias §1.1-1.3

New Tactic near Thebes and the Statue of Chabrias

Passage 1 of 4 · Latin

Summary

The Athenian general Chabrias introduces a unique defensive tactic (bracing knees against shields and projecting spears) in a battle near Thebes, halting the advance of the Spartan king Agesilaus, which leads to the erection of a statue in that posture, setting a precedent for future victory statues.

§1.1Chabrias Atheniensis.
Chabrias of Athens.
hic quoque in summis habitus est ducibus resque multas memoria dignas gessit.
He too was numbered among the greatest generals and performed many deeds worthy of memory.
sed ex iis elucet maxime inventum eius in proelio, quod apud Thebas fecit, cum Boeotis subsidio venisset.
But among these, his invention shines out most brightly in the battle which he fought near Thebes, when he had come to the aid of the Boeotians.
§1.2namque in eo victoria fidentem summum ducem Agesilaum, fugatis iam ab eo conducticiis catervis, eo frustratus est, quod reliquam phalangem loco vetuit cedere obnixoque genu scuto, proiecta hasta impetum excipere hostium docuit.
For in that battle, he frustrated the supreme commander Agesilaus, who was confident of victory since the mercenary troops had already been routed by him, by forbidding the rest of the phalanx to retreat from their position, and teaching them to receive the enemy's charge with their knees pressed against their shields and their spears projected.
id novum Agesilaus contuens progredi non est ausus suosque iam incurrentes tuba revocavit.
Agesilaus, beholding this novel tactic, did not dare to advance, and recalled his men, who were already rushing forward, with the trumpet.
§1.3hoc usque eo tota Graecia fama celebratum est, ut illo statu Chabrias sibi statuam fieri voluerit, quae publice ei ab Atheniensibus in foro constituta est.
This deed was celebrated by fame throughout all Greece to such an extent that Chabrias wished a statue of himself to be made in that posture; and this was publicly erected for him by the Athenians in the forum.
ex quo factum est ut postea athletae ceterique artifices iis statibus in statuis ponendis uterentur, quibus victoriam essent adepti.
From this it came about that, thereafter, athletes and other performers, in erecting their statues, adopted those postures in which they had won their victory.

Notes

  1. 1.1Boeotis subsidio venisset — A double dative construction: Boeotis is the dative of reference/advantage ('for the Boeotians'), and subsidio is the dative of purpose ('as an aid/for assistance').
  2. 1.2eo frustratus est, quod — The subject of frustratus est is Chabrias, supplied from the context. eo is an ablative of means/cause anticipating the appositional quod clause ('he frustrated him in this, namely, that...').
  3. 1.2obnixo genu scuto — obnixo genu is an ablative of manner or absolute ('with knee pressed forward'). scuto is the dative of obstacle/direction governed by the participle obnixo (from obnitor, 'to lean against'), meaning 'against the shield'.
  4. 1.3in statuis ponendis — A gerundive construction where the gerundive ponendis agrees with the noun statuis in gender, number, and case, governed by the preposition in, meaning 'in the placing (erecting) of statues'.

Cite this passage

Cornelius Nepos, Chabrias §1.1-1.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0588.abo012.humanitext-lat2:1.1-1.3

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