Today's Passage
This passage is from the Plataean debate in 427 BCE, where representatives of Plataea defend themselves before Spartan judges after their city's surrender.
Crawley Translation (1910)
“On these great and historical occasions such was the part that we chose, although afterwards we became your enemies. For this you were to blame. When we asked for your alliance against our Theban oppressors, you rejected our petition, and told us to go to the Athenians who were our neighbours, as you lived too far off. In the war we never have done to you, and never should have done to you, anything unreasonable. If we refused to desert the Athenians when you asked us, we did no wrong; they had helped us against the Thebans when you drew back, and we could no longer give them up with honour; especially as we had obtained their alliance and had been admitted to their citizenship at our own request, and after receiving benefits at their hands; but it was plainly our duty loyally to obey their orders. Besides, the faults that either of you may commit in your supremacy must be laid, not upon the followers, but on the chiefs that lead them astray.
“With regard to the Thebans, they have wronged us repeatedly, and their last aggression, which has been the means of bringing us into our present position, is within your own knowledge. In seizing our city in time of peace, and what is more at a holy time in the month, they justly encountered our vengeance, in accordance with the universal law which sanctions resistance to an invader; and it cannot now be right that we should suffer on their account. By taking your own immediate interest and their animosity as the test of justice, you will prove yourselves to be rather waiters on expediency than judges of right; although if they seem useful to you now, we and the rest of the Hellenes gave you much more valuable help at a time of greater need. Now you are the assailants, and others fear you; but at the crisis to which we allude, when the barbarian threatened all with slavery, the Thebans were on his side. It is just, therefore, to put our patriotism then against our error now, if error there has been; and you will find the merit outweighing the fault, and displayed at a juncture when there were few Hellenes who would set their valour against the strength of Xerxes, and when greater praise was theirs who preferred the dangerous path of honour to the safe course of consulting their own interest with respect to the invasion. To these few we belonged, and highly were we honoured for it; and yet we now fear to perish by having again acted on the same principles, and chosen to act well with Athens sooner than wisely with Sparta. Yet in justice the same cases should be decided in the same way, and policy should not mean anything else than lasting gratitude for the service of good ally combined with a proper attention to one’s own immediate interest.
Modern Translation
On these momentous and historic occasions, this was the position we took, even though we later became your enemies. The blame for this lies with you. When we sought your alliance against our Theban oppressors, you rejected our appeal and told us to turn to the Athenians, who were closer neighbors, claiming you lived too far away. Throughout this war, we have never acted unreasonably toward you, nor would we have done so. When you asked us to abandon the Athenians, we refused—but this was no wrongdoing. They had aided us against the Thebans when you held back, and we could not honorably forsake them, especially after we had sought and received their alliance, been granted their citizenship at our own request, and benefited from their support. Our clear duty was to remain loyal to their commands. Moreover, whatever wrongs either of you great powers may commit in exercising supremacy should be blamed not on those who follow, but on the leaders who mislead them.
Regarding the Thebans, they have repeatedly wronged us, and their latest aggression—which brought us to our current predicament—is well known to you. When they seized our city during peacetime, and moreover during a sacred month, we justly took vengeance according to the universal law that permits resistance against invaders. It cannot be right that we should now suffer for their sake. If you judge justice by your immediate interests and their hostility, you reveal yourselves as servants of expediency rather than arbiters of righteousness. Though they may seem useful to you now, we and the other Greeks provided far more valuable assistance when you faced greater peril. Today you are the aggressors whom others fear, but at that critical moment we speak of, when the Persian threatened universal enslavement, the Thebans sided with him. It is only fair, therefore, to weigh our patriotism then against any current transgression, if transgression there has been. You will find our merit far exceeds any fault, demonstrated at a time when few Greeks dared oppose their courage to Xerxes' might, when greater honor belonged to those who chose the dangerous path of glory over the safe course of self-interest regarding the invasion. We were among those few, and were highly honored for it. Yet now we fear destruction for acting on the same principles, choosing to act honorably with Athens rather than prudently with Sparta. In justice, similar cases deserve similar judgments, and true policy should mean nothing other than lasting gratitude for a good ally's service combined with proper attention to one's immediate interests.
Historical Context
This passage is from the Plataean debate in 427 BCE, where representatives of Plataea defend themselves before Spartan judges after their city's surrender. The Plataeans had been Athens' oldest allies, dating back to the Persian Wars, but were now facing execution after a brutal siege by Thebes and Sparta. The speaker reminds the Spartans of Plataea's heroic role at Marathon and in resisting Xerxes, contrasting it with Theban collaboration with Persia. This speech represents a crucial moment in the war's moral deterioration, as traditional Greek values of reciprocity and gratitude clash with the harsh realities of wartime expediency. The Plataeans' fate would demonstrate how the war was eroding traditional Greek ethical norms.
Key Themes
Annotations & References
Plataea and the Persian Wars
Plataea was the only Greek city to send troops to aid Athens at Marathon (490 BCE) and was the site of the final Greek victory over Persia in 479 BCE. This historical service to the Greek cause forms the moral foundation of the Plataean appeal, highlighting the tension between past gratitude and present political necessity.
Learn more →Greek Sacred Months
The reference to seizing the city 'at a holy time in the month' refers to sacred truces observed during religious festivals. Violating such truces was considered sacrilege. The Thebans had attempted to seize Plataea during the festival of Apollo, adding religious offense to political aggression.
Learn more →Justice and Expediency in Thucydides
This speech exemplifies a central theme in Thucydides: the conflict between justice (dikaion) and advantage (sympheron). The Plataeans argue that true policy should combine both, while accusing Sparta of abandoning justice for immediate strategic gain.
Learn more →Medism in the Persian Wars
The accusation that 'the Thebans were on his side' refers to Medism—Greek states that collaborated with Persia. Thebes' support for Xerxes remained a source of shame and political vulnerability that other Greeks could exploit decades later, as the Plataeans do here.
Learn more →Parallel Ancient Sources
Herodotus: Histories (Book 9.28-85)
Describes the Battle of Plataea (479 BCE) where Plataeans fought alongside Spartans against Persia, the historical event that underlies the Plataean appeal to past services and shared glory.
Read passage →Plutarch: Life of Aristides (Chapter 11)
Details the special relationship between Athens and Plataea, including how Plataea was the only city to aid Athens at Marathon, establishing the alliance that the Plataeans invoke in their defense.
Read passage →Xenophon: Hellenica (Book 3.5.8-16)
Describes similar debates about justice versus expediency in interstate relations during the Corinthian War, showing how these themes persisted in Greek political discourse after the Peloponnesian War.
Read passage →Discussion Questions
- How does the Plataean speaker attempt to reconcile past services with present circumstances? Is their argument that 'the same cases should be decided in the same way' convincing?
- What does this passage reveal about the role of historical memory and gratitude in Greek interstate relations? How does war affect these traditional values?
- The Plataeans distinguish between 'acting well' with Athens versus 'acting wisely' with Sparta. What does this distinction reveal about moral choice in wartime?
- How does the speaker's defense of following Athens ('faults must be laid on the chiefs that lead') relate to questions of moral responsibility in alliance systems?