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Enough of Latin for a while. Let's talk Greek!
So, Themistocles! My Greek class is going to be focusing on the biographical account of his life from Plutarch, but we’re working our way up to that. In fact, we’re starting all the way back in Herodotus, doing short sections from where he’s mentioned there. At this point, the Athenians have just come back from consulting the oracle, which seems to have predicted disaster at Salamis, with reference to a “wooden wall,” and are discussing what to do in response.
Herodotus VII.143
Now there was a certain man of the Athenians having newly become among the first men, whose name was Themistocles, called the child of Neokleos. This man said that the oracle-diviners had not correctly agreed on the whole thing, saying the following: if this particular interpretation was held as true among the Athenians, then he would not expect it to be proclaimed in this sort of gentle term, but as “O cruel Salamis” instead of “O wondrous Salamis,” if the inhabitants were going to die around there. Therefore, on the contrary, they might more rightly understand that the oracle had been spoken by the god against their enemies, not against the Athenians. He was advising them to prepare themselves for fighting on the sea, as that was a “wooden wall.”
When Themistocles had shown himself in this way, the Athenians decided amongst themselves that these things were better to be chosen than those of the oracle-diviners, who were not permitting them to prepare for a sea battle, and not to raise hands against the entire speech,* but to withdraw, having abandoned the rest of Greece, to settle somewhere else.
VII.144
Themistocles’ opinion was also the best one at the right moment once before, when a huge amount of money was coming into the public treasury for the Athenians, the stuff proceeding from their mines at Laureon,** and each man in turn was going to receive ten drachmas. At that point Themistocles gave his opinion that the Athenians should stop this division of the money to build two hundred ships for war, speaking of war against the Aeginetans.
For this war pressed them into banding together in Greece, forcing the Athenians to become nautical. And the ships were not used in this matter they were built for, but they became just what Greece needed. So these ships were made in advance, and the rest were built in addition. And it seemed to him after the oracle that the ships had been received by Greece for the whole people to set out against the barbarians, ordered by the gods, according to the desires of the Greeks.
VII.145
So that’s how these oracles were taken by the Athenians. And when the Greeks had come together on this point concerning Greece, thinking rather good things of themselves and giving their word and guarantee, it then seemed right to the ones planning to become reconciled with one another and their enemies; and there were some various [wars] occurring at the time, the greatest being between the Athenians and the Aeginetans.
[At this point begins the gathering of the fleet and so forth. One city, Euboea, seeing that they’re about to be abandoned, offers Themistocles--as commander of the Athenian side of things--a bribe to stick around long enough for them to evacuate their families. He uses a portion of the bribe to convince the other fleet commanders to stay, and keeps the rest for himself, while they think that he’s paying them on behalf of Athens. Consequently, a sea-battle is fought at Euboea.]
[Now, some three days later, the huge Persian fleet is doing terribly, but keeps trying to attack again because they’re embarrassed that such a small fleet is holding them off and inflicting such vicious losses. The Greek fleet is now ready to retreat back to the original place, but Themistocles comes up with a Clever Plan. He leaves a message carved on a rock at the place they’re retreating from, encouraging the Ionians--currently allies of the Persian invaders--to either desert to the side of the other Greeks, or to fight poorly, with the idea that this way they’ll either actually desert, or be suspected and mistrusted by the king because of the message suggesting they would. Then they book it out of there and the Persians arrive to occupy...Euboea, or a place near it, anyway.]
[The Persians continue to advance, and sack the Acropolis, which was defended by people who interpreted the “wooden wall” as referring to their barricades there. (But they were wrong!) Then Xerxes, knowing that burning temples is bad news, has some Athenian captives sacrifice to the gods there.]
Herodotus, VIII.56
Now the Greeks in Salamis, when it was reported to them what had happened to the Acropolis of the Athenians, fell into such an uproar that some of the generals didn’t wait for the proposed deed to be agreed on, but fell into their ships and seized their sails for running away; and it was agreed on by the sorts of men left behind out of those, that they should fight at sea by the isthmus. Night fell, and dissolving the council they got into their ships.
VIII.57
When Themistocles returned to his ship, Mnesiphelus, an Athenian, asked him what had been planned. Having learned from him that they’d thought it best to sail the ships to the isthmus and fight a sea battle for the Peloponnese, he said: “But look, if they leave Salamis with their ships, you won’t be fighting sea-battles for one homeland; each man will turn back to his own city, and neither Eurybiades nor any other man will be able to hold them back so that the fleet isn’t scattered to the winds; and Greece will be destroyed by thoughtlessness. But if there is some contrivance possible, go and try to break up this plan, if you’re able in any way to persuade Eurybiades to change his plan so that he stays.”
---
* Other translations suggest that I’m failing to parse an idiom correctly here.
** That is, the slave-worked silver mines.
So, Themistocles! My Greek class is going to be focusing on the biographical account of his life from Plutarch, but we’re working our way up to that. In fact, we’re starting all the way back in Herodotus, doing short sections from where he’s mentioned there. At this point, the Athenians have just come back from consulting the oracle, which seems to have predicted disaster at Salamis, with reference to a “wooden wall,” and are discussing what to do in response.
Herodotus VII.143
Now there was a certain man of the Athenians having newly become among the first men, whose name was Themistocles, called the child of Neokleos. This man said that the oracle-diviners had not correctly agreed on the whole thing, saying the following: if this particular interpretation was held as true among the Athenians, then he would not expect it to be proclaimed in this sort of gentle term, but as “O cruel Salamis” instead of “O wondrous Salamis,” if the inhabitants were going to die around there. Therefore, on the contrary, they might more rightly understand that the oracle had been spoken by the god against their enemies, not against the Athenians. He was advising them to prepare themselves for fighting on the sea, as that was a “wooden wall.”
When Themistocles had shown himself in this way, the Athenians decided amongst themselves that these things were better to be chosen than those of the oracle-diviners, who were not permitting them to prepare for a sea battle, and not to raise hands against the entire speech,* but to withdraw, having abandoned the rest of Greece, to settle somewhere else.
VII.144
Themistocles’ opinion was also the best one at the right moment once before, when a huge amount of money was coming into the public treasury for the Athenians, the stuff proceeding from their mines at Laureon,** and each man in turn was going to receive ten drachmas. At that point Themistocles gave his opinion that the Athenians should stop this division of the money to build two hundred ships for war, speaking of war against the Aeginetans.
For this war pressed them into banding together in Greece, forcing the Athenians to become nautical. And the ships were not used in this matter they were built for, but they became just what Greece needed. So these ships were made in advance, and the rest were built in addition. And it seemed to him after the oracle that the ships had been received by Greece for the whole people to set out against the barbarians, ordered by the gods, according to the desires of the Greeks.
VII.145
So that’s how these oracles were taken by the Athenians. And when the Greeks had come together on this point concerning Greece, thinking rather good things of themselves and giving their word and guarantee, it then seemed right to the ones planning to become reconciled with one another and their enemies; and there were some various [wars] occurring at the time, the greatest being between the Athenians and the Aeginetans.
[At this point begins the gathering of the fleet and so forth. One city, Euboea, seeing that they’re about to be abandoned, offers Themistocles--as commander of the Athenian side of things--a bribe to stick around long enough for them to evacuate their families. He uses a portion of the bribe to convince the other fleet commanders to stay, and keeps the rest for himself, while they think that he’s paying them on behalf of Athens. Consequently, a sea-battle is fought at Euboea.]
[Now, some three days later, the huge Persian fleet is doing terribly, but keeps trying to attack again because they’re embarrassed that such a small fleet is holding them off and inflicting such vicious losses. The Greek fleet is now ready to retreat back to the original place, but Themistocles comes up with a Clever Plan. He leaves a message carved on a rock at the place they’re retreating from, encouraging the Ionians--currently allies of the Persian invaders--to either desert to the side of the other Greeks, or to fight poorly, with the idea that this way they’ll either actually desert, or be suspected and mistrusted by the king because of the message suggesting they would. Then they book it out of there and the Persians arrive to occupy...Euboea, or a place near it, anyway.]
[The Persians continue to advance, and sack the Acropolis, which was defended by people who interpreted the “wooden wall” as referring to their barricades there. (But they were wrong!) Then Xerxes, knowing that burning temples is bad news, has some Athenian captives sacrifice to the gods there.]
Herodotus, VIII.56
Now the Greeks in Salamis, when it was reported to them what had happened to the Acropolis of the Athenians, fell into such an uproar that some of the generals didn’t wait for the proposed deed to be agreed on, but fell into their ships and seized their sails for running away; and it was agreed on by the sorts of men left behind out of those, that they should fight at sea by the isthmus. Night fell, and dissolving the council they got into their ships.
VIII.57
When Themistocles returned to his ship, Mnesiphelus, an Athenian, asked him what had been planned. Having learned from him that they’d thought it best to sail the ships to the isthmus and fight a sea battle for the Peloponnese, he said: “But look, if they leave Salamis with their ships, you won’t be fighting sea-battles for one homeland; each man will turn back to his own city, and neither Eurybiades nor any other man will be able to hold them back so that the fleet isn’t scattered to the winds; and Greece will be destroyed by thoughtlessness. But if there is some contrivance possible, go and try to break up this plan, if you’re able in any way to persuade Eurybiades to change his plan so that he stays.”
---
* Other translations suggest that I’m failing to parse an idiom correctly here.
** That is, the slave-worked silver mines.