§1.1Hi fere fuerunt Graecae gentis duces, qui memoria digni videantur, praeter reges: namque eos attingere noluimus, quod omnium res gestae separatim sunt relatae.
These were, for the most part, the leaders of the Greek nation who seem worthy of remembrance, except for the kings; for we did not wish to touch upon them, because the deeds of all of them have been related separately.
§1.2neque tamen ii admodum sunt multi.
And yet they are not very numerous.
Lacedaemonius autem Agesilaus nomine, non potestate fuit rex, sicut ceteri Spartani.
But the Lacedaemonian Agesilaus was king in name, not in power, like the other Spartans.
ex iis vero, qui dominatum imperio tenuerunt, excellentissimi fuerunt, ut nos iudicamus, Persarum Cyrus et Darius, Hystaspi filius, quorum uterque privatus virtute regnum est adeptus.
However, of those who held supreme power by command, the most outstanding, in our judgment, were Cyrus of Persia and Darius, son of Hystaspes, both of whom obtained the kingship by virtue as private citizens.
prior horum apud Massagetas in proelio cecidit, Darius senectute diem obiit supremum.
The former of these fell in battle among the Massagetae, while Darius met his final day by old age.
§1.3tres sunt praeterea eiusdem gentis: Xerxes et duo Artaxerxae, Macrochir cognomine et Mnemon.
In addition, there are three of the same nation: Xerxes and the two Artaxerxeses, surnamed Macrochir and Mnemon.
Xerxi maxime est illustre, quod maximis post hominum memoriam exercitibus terra marique bellum intulit Graeciae.
For Xerxes, it is especially famous that he brought war against Greece by land and sea with the greatest armies within human memory.
§1.4at Macrochir praecipuam habet laudem amplissimae pulcherrimaeque corporis formae, quam incredibili ornavit virtute belli: namque illo Perses nemo manu fuit fortior.
But Macrochir holds particular praise for his very large and beautiful physical stature, which he adorned with incredible valor in war; for no Persian was stronger than he in hand-to-hand combat.
Mnemon autem iustitiae fama floruit.
Mnemon, on the other hand, flourished in his reputation for justice.
nam cum matris suae scelere amisisset uxorem, tantum indulsit dolori, ut eum pietas vinceret.
For when he had lost his wife through the crime of his mother, he yielded to his grief only so far that filial piety conquered him.
§1.5ex his duo eodem nomine morbo naturae debitum reddiderunt, tertius ab Artabano praefecto ferro interemptus est.
Of these, two of the same name paid their debt to nature by illness, while the third was slain with the sword by the prefect Artabanus.