Today's Passage
This passage comes from the Plataean debate in 427 BCE, after the siege of Plataea.
Crawley Translation (1910)
“Still, in the name of the gods who once presided over our confederacy, and of our own good service in the Hellenic cause, we adjure you to relent; to recall the decision which we fear that the Thebans may have obtained from you; to ask back the gift that you have given them, that they disgrace not you by slaying us; to gain a pure instead of a guilty gratitude, and not to gratify others to be yourselves rewarded with shame. Our lives may be quickly taken, but it will be a heavy task to wipe away the infamy of the deed; as we are no enemies whom you might justly punish, but friends forced into taking arms against you. To grant us our lives would be, therefore, a righteous judgment; if you consider also that we are prisoners who surrendered of their own accord, stretching out our hands for quarter, whose slaughter Hellenic law forbids, and who besides were always your benefactors. Look at the sepulchres of your fathers, slain by the Medes and buried in our country, whom year by year we honoured with garments and all other dues, and the first-fruits of all that our land produced in their season, as friends from a friendly country and allies to our old companions in arms. Should you not decide aright, your conduct would be the very opposite to ours. Consider only: Pausanias buried them thinking that he was laying them in friendly ground and among men as friendly; but you, if you kill us and make the Plataean territory Theban, will leave your fathers and kinsmen in a hostile soil and among their murderers, deprived of the honours which they now enjoy. What is more, you will enslave the land in which the freedom of the Hellenes was won, make desolate the temples of the gods to whom they prayed before they overcame the Medes, and take away your ancestral sacrifices from those who founded and instituted them.
Modern Translation
Nevertheless, we implore you in the name of the gods who once witnessed our alliance, and by virtue of the service we rendered to the Greek cause, to reconsider your decision. We fear the Thebans have persuaded you against us, but we beg you to withdraw the deadly gift you have granted them. Do not stain your honor by killing us. Accept instead an untainted gratitude rather than the shameful reward that comes from pleasing others at the cost of your reputation. Though our lives can be swiftly ended, the disgrace of such an act will endure forever. We are not enemies deserving punishment, but friends who were compelled to oppose you. Sparing our lives would therefore be just, especially considering that we surrendered voluntarily, extending our hands in supplication—and Greek custom forbids the killing of such prisoners. Moreover, we have always been your benefactors. Consider the tombs of your ancestors who died fighting the Persians and lie buried in our land. Every year we have honored them with offerings of clothing and other tributes, bringing the first fruits of our harvest in their season, as friends honoring friends, as allies remembering their former comrades-in-arms. If you decide wrongly, you will reverse everything we have done. Think carefully: Pausanias buried your dead believing he was placing them in friendly soil among friendly people. But if you execute us and transfer Plataean territory to Theban control, you will abandon your fathers and kinsmen in enemy land, among their killers, stripped of the honors they currently receive. Furthermore, you will enslave the very ground where Greek freedom was secured, leave desolate the temples where prayers were offered before defeating the Persians, and remove your ancestral rites from those who established and maintained them.
Historical Context
This passage comes from the Plataean debate in 427 BCE, after the siege of Plataea. The Plataeans, long-standing allies of Athens, had surrendered to the Spartans and their Theban allies after a brutal siege. The Spartans, influenced by the Thebans who harbored ancient hatred for Plataea, were conducting a trial to determine the Plataeans' fate. This speech represents the Plataeans' desperate appeal for mercy, invoking religious obligations, historical services (especially their role in the Persian Wars), and the sacred burial grounds of Spartan dead from the Battle of Plataea (479 BCE). The passage highlights the tension between justice and political expediency, as the Spartans must choose between honoring past alliances and satisfying their current ally, Thebes. This moment exemplifies how the war corrupted traditional Greek values and religious obligations.
Key Themes
Annotations & References
Battle of Plataea (479 BCE)
The decisive land battle where Greeks defeated the Persians, ending the Persian invasion. Plataea was the site of this victory, and many Spartans died there fighting under Pausanias. The Plataeans invoke this shared sacrifice to remind Sparta of their historical alliance and the sacred ground where Spartan heroes are buried.
Learn more →Greek Religious Law and Suppliants
The Plataeans invoke the sacred law protecting suppliants who surrender voluntarily. In Greek culture, those who extended their hands in supplication were under divine protection, and killing them would incur religious pollution (miasma) and divine punishment.
Learn more →Theban-Plataean Conflict
Thebes and Plataea had been enemies for generations. Plataea's alliance with Athens threatened Theban hegemony in Boeotia. The Thebans' surprise attack on Plataea in 431 BCE sparked the Peloponnesian War, making this trial a moment of long-awaited revenge.
Learn more →Ancestor Worship in Ancient Greece
The annual honors given to the Spartan dead reflect Greek religious practices of hero cult and ancestor worship. These rituals maintained the reciprocal relationship between the living and dead, ensuring continued divine favor and protection for the community.
Learn more →Parallel Ancient Sources
Herodotus: Histories (Book 9.78-85)
Describes the Battle of Plataea and the burial of the Spartan dead, establishing the historical basis for the Plataeans' appeal about honoring Spartan graves.
Read passage →Plutarch: Life of Aristides (Chapter 21)
Details the establishment of annual ceremonies at Plataea to honor the Greek dead from the Persian Wars, supporting the Plataeans' claims about their faithful maintenance of these rites.
Read passage →Pausanias: Description of Greece (Book 9.2.4-6)
Describes the tombs at Plataea and the annual ceremonies performed there, providing archaeological and religious context for the Plataeans' argument about maintaining Spartan graves.
Read passage →Discussion Questions
- How effective is the Plataeans' strategy of invoking religious obligations and historical services? Why might it fail despite its moral force?
- What does this passage reveal about the relationship between power and justice in international relations?
- How does the Plataeans' appeal to shared Greek identity and values contrast with the realities of the Peloponnesian War?
- In what ways does this speech illustrate the corruption of traditional values during wartime?