View:
By Section
[1]
Hippias supposed that the dream had in this way come true. As the Athenians were marshalled in the precinct of Heracles, the Plataeans came to help them in full force. The Plataeans had put themselves under the protection of the Athenians, 1 and the Athenians had undergone many labors on their behalf. This is how they did it:
Hippias supposed that the dream had in this way come true. As the Athenians were marshalled in the precinct of Heracles, the Plataeans came to help them in full force. The Plataeans had put themselves under the protection of the Athenians, 1 and the Athenians had undergone many labors on their behalf. This is how they did it:
[2] when the
Plataeans were pressed by the
Thebans, they first tried to put themselves under the protection of
Cleomenes son of
Anaxandrides and the
Lacedaemonians, who happened to be there. But they did not accept them, saying, “We live too far away, and our help would be cold comfort to you. You could be enslaved many times over before any of us heard about it.
[3] We advise you to put yourselves under the protection of the
Athenians, since they are your neighbors and not bad men at giving help.” The
Lacedaemonians gave this advice not so much out of goodwill toward the
Plataeans as wishing to cause trouble for the
Athenians with the
Boeotians.
[4] So the
Lacedaemonians gave this advice to the
Plataeans, who did not disobey it. When the
Athenians were making sacrifices to the twelve gods,
2
they sat at the altar as suppliants and put themselves under protection. When the
Thebans heard this, they marched against the
Plataeans, but the
Athenians came to their aid.
[5] As they were about to join battle, the
Corinthians, who happened to be there, prevented them and brought about a reconciliation. Since both sides desired them to arbitrate, they fixed the boundaries of the country on condition that the
Thebans leave alone those
Boeotians who were unwilling to be enrolled as
Boeotian. After rendering this decision, the
Corinthians departed. The
Boeotians attacked the
Athenians as they were leaving but were defeated in battle.
[6] The
Athenians went beyond the boundaries the
Corinthians had made for the
Plataeans, fixing the
Asopus river as the boundary for the
Thebans in the direction of
Plataea [23.2667,38.2] (Perseus) Plataea and
Hysiae. So the
Plataeans had put themselves under the protection of the
Athenians in the aforesaid manner, and now came to help at Marathon.
Histories. Herodotus. ed. A.D. Godley. Cambridge. 1920-1925.
Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.
Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.