Classical literature; Greece -- History -- Peloponnesian War, 431-404 B.C.; Greece -- History -- Spartan and Theban Supremacies, 404-362 B.C.
(1) Reading {tes diobelais}, a happy conjecture for the MSS. {tes
diokelias}, which is inexplicable. See Grote, "Hist. of Greece,"
vol. viii. p. 244 note (2d ed.)
(2) I.e. a legal tribunal or court of law. At Athens the free citizens
constitutionally sworn and impannelled sat as "dicasts"
("jurymen," or rather as a bench of judges) to hear cases
({dikai}). Any particular board of dicasts formed a "dicastery."
These proceedings in the law court were followed by the statement of
the generals before the senate (3) touching the late victory and the
magnitude of the storm. Timocrates then proposed that the other
five generals should be put in custody and handed over to the public
assembly. (4) Whereupon the senate committed them all to prison. Then
came the meeting of the public assembly, in which others, and more
particularly Theramenes, formally accused the generals. He insisted
that they ought to show cause why they had not picked up the shipwrecked
crews. To prove that there had been no attempt on their part to attach
blame to others, he might point, as conclusive testimony, to the
despatch sent by the generals themselves to the senate and the people,
in which they attributed the whole disaster to the storm, and nothing
else. After this the generals each in turn made a defence, which was
necessarily limited to a few words, since no right of addressing
the assembly at length was allowed by law. Their explanation of the
occurrences was that, in order to be free to sail against the enemy
themselves, they had devolved the duty of picking up the shipwrecked
crews upon certain competent captains of men-of-war, who had themselves
been generals in their time, to wit Theramenes and Tharysbulus, and
others of like stamp. If blame could attach to any one at all with
regard to the duty in question, those to whom their orders had been
given were the sole persons they could hold responsible. "But," they
went on to say, "we will not, because these very persons have denounced
us, invent a lie, and say that Theramenes and Thrasybulus are to blame,
when the truth of the matter is that the magnitude of the storm alone
prevented the burial of the dead and the rescue of the living." In
proof of their contention, they produced the pilots and numerous other
witnesses from among those present at the engagement. By these arguments
they were in a fair way to persuade the people of their innocence.
Indeed many private citizens rose wishing to become bail for the
accused, but it was resolved to defer decision till another meeting
of the assembly. It was indeed already so late that it would have been
impossible to see to count the show of hands. It was further resolved
that the senate meanwhile should prepare a measure, to be introduced at
the next assembly, as to the mode in which the accused should take their
trial.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account