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Last time, on Plutarch’s Life Of Themistocles, Athens was evacuated, and it was very sad. (Insert ancient, anachronistic violin music here.) Now we’re back to gearing up for actually fighting the Persians on the sea, now that the Athenians are all hanging out definitively on the ships. (Yes, Plutarch has fudged the chronology here a bit.) Given the focus of this story, we’re going to see how Themistocles makes that happen.
Plutarch - Themistocles 11
These were some impressive deeds of Themistocles. He realized that the citizens longed for Aristeides*, and he was afraid that through anger the man would turn to the barbarians and disrupt the plans of the Greeks. (For [Aristeides] had been ostracized before the war, after being defeated politically by Themistocles.) So he wrote a decree that allowed those who were absent at the time to return, in order to act and speak for the best interests of Greece among their fellow citizens.
While Eurybiades held leadership of the ships because of the reputation of Sparta, he was cowardly in the face of danger, and planned to raise sails and sail to the Isthmus, where the infantry of the Peloponnese had gathered together, but Themistocles spoke against him. They say that at this point memorable things were said:
For when Eurybiades said to him, “Themistocles, in the races, they whip those who start early,” Themistocles replied, “Yes, but they don’t crown those who are left behind.” And when Eurybiades, cursing, was about to beat him with a rod, Themistocles said, “Beat me, but listen.” Astonished at this mildness, Eurybiades told him to speak, and Themistocles convinced him with his speech.
Someone said that a man without a city didn’t properly instruct those holding [cities] to abandon and hand over their native lands, so Themistocles turned this speech on him: “Indeed, you wretch, we have left our houses and walls, since we didn’t think it was worthy to suffer slavery for the sake of inanimate objects; but our city is the greatest of the Greeks, [being] two hundred triremes, which now stand ready as assistance for those wanting to be saved by them; but if you leave, betraying us a second time, some of the Greeks will soon be persuaded that the Athenians have acquired a free city and land equal** to what they left.”
When Themistocles had said these things, the thought (and fear) struck Eurybiades, that the Athenians might go away and abandon them. And then when someone from Eretrios tried to speak against him, [Themistocles] said, “What speech do you have to give about the war, when like the cuttlefish you have a sword but not a heart?”***
Plutarch - Themistocles 12
And it’s said by some that Themistocles was talking with people on the deck of his ship, when an owl was seen to fly in from the right side of the ships and light on the rigging. For this reason especially they were moved to his opinion, and prepared to fight a sea battle.
But when the fleet of the enemy came down from Attica to Phalerum and so surrounded the beaches as to hide them, and the king stepped down from the land army to be seen among the crowds across the sea, and his power was visible, the words of Themistocles dribbled out of the Greeks, and the Peloponnesians started eyeing the Isthmus again; if anyone said otherwise, they spoke very harshly about it. It seemed best to them to leave at night, and they sent word to the pilots to sail accordingly. Themistocles took all this poorly, that the Greeks might abandon the benefits of the strait and the narrows and break up towards their own cities, and so he planned and set up the Siccanus affair.
Siccanos was a Persian war-captive, very friendly to Themistocles and the teacher to his children. Themistocles sent him secretly to Xerxes, with instructions to say, “Themistocles the Athenian general, having chosen the [side of the] king, sends an early warning to him that the Greeks are about to run away; and he suggests that they not be allowed to flee, but to attack them where they’re arranged, cut off from the infantry, and to destroy their naval power.”^
Xerxes took what had been read out as a sign of goodwill and was delighted. He immediately sent orders to the commanders of his ships, to fill up the other [ships] at their leisure, and to lead up two hundred ships to surround the whole strait and encircle the [Greek] ships, so that nobody would flee the enemy.
While these things were being arranged, Aristeides son of Lysimaxos realized it first, and came to Themistocles’ tent; he wasn’t a friend, but had even been ostracized by him, as I said; but he approached Themistocles to point out the encirclement. Now, [Themistocles] saw the man’s noble character, and leading him to the side there told him what Siccanus had done for him and urged him to help him in convincing the Greeks (since [Aristeides] had a more trustworthy reputation) to fight a sea battle in the narrows.
So Aristeides praised Themistocles when he approached the other generals and captains, urging them towards the sea battle. But they still distrusted [Themistocles], until a Tenedian trireme showed up, deserting [the Persians], and commanded by Panaetius, carrying news of the encirclement. So the Greeks set out courageously through necessity towards danger.
---
* Remember that guy he was always arguing with? The refined, noble-minded, high-class dude who was too good for this world? Him.
** Literally, “not inferior.” Plutarch loves litotes, he really does.
*** I can only assume this was wittier in the Greek, but I think that “heart” in this place is being used with reference to courage, not warm fuzzy feelings.
^ The notes in this book point out that this whole story, even as it’s given in Herodotus, is surely incorrect in making this out to be a secret plan of Themistocles; you do not get a good fight out of an army by surprising them with a surrounding army while they’re panicked and trying to flee. It’s generally agreed (at least according to this author) that this was a plan agreed on by the whole council, and carried out by Themistocles, which was later attributed to Themistocles alone as a sneaky ploy, as he got more of a reputation for being underhanded.
Plutarch - Themistocles 11
These were some impressive deeds of Themistocles. He realized that the citizens longed for Aristeides*, and he was afraid that through anger the man would turn to the barbarians and disrupt the plans of the Greeks. (For [Aristeides] had been ostracized before the war, after being defeated politically by Themistocles.) So he wrote a decree that allowed those who were absent at the time to return, in order to act and speak for the best interests of Greece among their fellow citizens.
While Eurybiades held leadership of the ships because of the reputation of Sparta, he was cowardly in the face of danger, and planned to raise sails and sail to the Isthmus, where the infantry of the Peloponnese had gathered together, but Themistocles spoke against him. They say that at this point memorable things were said:
For when Eurybiades said to him, “Themistocles, in the races, they whip those who start early,” Themistocles replied, “Yes, but they don’t crown those who are left behind.” And when Eurybiades, cursing, was about to beat him with a rod, Themistocles said, “Beat me, but listen.” Astonished at this mildness, Eurybiades told him to speak, and Themistocles convinced him with his speech.
Someone said that a man without a city didn’t properly instruct those holding [cities] to abandon and hand over their native lands, so Themistocles turned this speech on him: “Indeed, you wretch, we have left our houses and walls, since we didn’t think it was worthy to suffer slavery for the sake of inanimate objects; but our city is the greatest of the Greeks, [being] two hundred triremes, which now stand ready as assistance for those wanting to be saved by them; but if you leave, betraying us a second time, some of the Greeks will soon be persuaded that the Athenians have acquired a free city and land equal** to what they left.”
When Themistocles had said these things, the thought (and fear) struck Eurybiades, that the Athenians might go away and abandon them. And then when someone from Eretrios tried to speak against him, [Themistocles] said, “What speech do you have to give about the war, when like the cuttlefish you have a sword but not a heart?”***
Plutarch - Themistocles 12
And it’s said by some that Themistocles was talking with people on the deck of his ship, when an owl was seen to fly in from the right side of the ships and light on the rigging. For this reason especially they were moved to his opinion, and prepared to fight a sea battle.
But when the fleet of the enemy came down from Attica to Phalerum and so surrounded the beaches as to hide them, and the king stepped down from the land army to be seen among the crowds across the sea, and his power was visible, the words of Themistocles dribbled out of the Greeks, and the Peloponnesians started eyeing the Isthmus again; if anyone said otherwise, they spoke very harshly about it. It seemed best to them to leave at night, and they sent word to the pilots to sail accordingly. Themistocles took all this poorly, that the Greeks might abandon the benefits of the strait and the narrows and break up towards their own cities, and so he planned and set up the Siccanus affair.
Siccanos was a Persian war-captive, very friendly to Themistocles and the teacher to his children. Themistocles sent him secretly to Xerxes, with instructions to say, “Themistocles the Athenian general, having chosen the [side of the] king, sends an early warning to him that the Greeks are about to run away; and he suggests that they not be allowed to flee, but to attack them where they’re arranged, cut off from the infantry, and to destroy their naval power.”^
Xerxes took what had been read out as a sign of goodwill and was delighted. He immediately sent orders to the commanders of his ships, to fill up the other [ships] at their leisure, and to lead up two hundred ships to surround the whole strait and encircle the [Greek] ships, so that nobody would flee the enemy.
While these things were being arranged, Aristeides son of Lysimaxos realized it first, and came to Themistocles’ tent; he wasn’t a friend, but had even been ostracized by him, as I said; but he approached Themistocles to point out the encirclement. Now, [Themistocles] saw the man’s noble character, and leading him to the side there told him what Siccanus had done for him and urged him to help him in convincing the Greeks (since [Aristeides] had a more trustworthy reputation) to fight a sea battle in the narrows.
So Aristeides praised Themistocles when he approached the other generals and captains, urging them towards the sea battle. But they still distrusted [Themistocles], until a Tenedian trireme showed up, deserting [the Persians], and commanded by Panaetius, carrying news of the encirclement. So the Greeks set out courageously through necessity towards danger.
---
* Remember that guy he was always arguing with? The refined, noble-minded, high-class dude who was too good for this world? Him.
** Literally, “not inferior.” Plutarch loves litotes, he really does.
*** I can only assume this was wittier in the Greek, but I think that “heart” in this place is being used with reference to courage, not warm fuzzy feelings.
^ The notes in this book point out that this whole story, even as it’s given in Herodotus, is surely incorrect in making this out to be a secret plan of Themistocles; you do not get a good fight out of an army by surprising them with a surrounding army while they’re panicked and trying to flee. It’s generally agreed (at least according to this author) that this was a plan agreed on by the whole council, and carried out by Themistocles, which was later attributed to Themistocles alone as a sneaky ploy, as he got more of a reputation for being underhanded.