The Orations of Lysias | Page 5

falling into the power of the barbarians,
(45) the Athenians were angry and advised them if they had this idea to
put a wall about all the Peloponnesus; for if they, betrayed by the
Greeks, should act with the Persians, they would have no need of their
thousand ships, nor would the Isthmian wall help the Peloponnesians.
For the control of the sea would be the king's without trouble. 46. And
they were convinced and realized they were doing wrong and making
poor plans, and that the Athenians spoke fairly and were giving them
the best advice, and so they sent aid to Plataea. And when most of the
allies under cover of night fled from the ranks because of the numbers
of the enemy, the Lacedaemonians and the Tegeans put the barbarians
to flight, and the Athenians and the Plataeans conquered in the fight all
the Greeks who had despaired of freedom and submitted to slavery. 47.
And on that day they brought about the most glorious conclusion of all
their trials, and secured freedom for Europe, and in all times of danger
they are acknowledged by all, both those with whom and against whom
they fought, to have proved their own valor, both alone and with others,
both on land and on sea, against barbarians and Greeks, and to have

become the leaders of Greece.
48. Later, when the Greek war broke out through jealousy as to the past
and envy of what was done, while all were envious and each needed
but small grievances, when a naval battle was fought by the Athenians
against the Aeginetans and their allies, they took seventy triremes. 49.
And while they were struggling with Egypt and Aegina at the same
time, and while the men of military age were away on sea and in the
army, the Corinthians and their allies, thinking they would either attack
a deserted country or they (_the Athenians_) would withdraw from
Aegina, marched out and took Gereneia. 50. And the Athenians, some
being at a distance and some near, did not dare to summon either, but
trusting their own spirits and despising the invaders, the old men and
the boys thought they alone could face the danger, (51) the former
gaining courage from experience and the latter from their natures. And
they in themselves became brave and the boys imitated them, the older
men knowing how to command and the boys being able to obey
commands. 52. Under the leadership of Myronides they set out for
Megaris and conquered in battle all the forces (of the enemy), by those
past service and those not yet ready for it, going into a foreign country
to meet those who presumed to invade theirs. 53. And they set up a
trophy for this glorious deed of theirs, and shameful act of the enemy,
and the men, some no longer strong in body, the rest not yet strong,
became greater in spirit and went back home with great renown, the
latter to their teachers, the former to meditate on the future.
54. It is no easy task for one man to enumerate the brave deeds of so
many, nor to tell in a single day the acts of all time. For what speech or
time or orator could adequately testify to the valor of these men lying
here? 55. For after countless struggles and signal contests and glorious
encounters they have made Greece free, and proved their country the
greatest, which ruled the sea for seventy years, kept the allies from
revolt, (56) not permitting the many to be enslaved by the few, but
forcing all to share alike, nor weakening the allies, but establishing
them, so that the great king no longer longed for others' goods, but
yielded up some of his own possessions and trembled for the future. 57.
No ships sailed for Asia in that time, nor was a tyrant established
among the Greeks, nor was a Greek city enslaved by the barbarians.
Such was the moderation and fear their valor produced on all men. For

this reason they alone must be the champions of the Greeks and leaders
of the cities.
56. And also in adversity they showed their valor. For when the ships
were lost in the Hellespont, either through the fault of the commander
or by the will of the gods, and when that great disaster resulted to us
and all the Greeks, they showed not long after that the power of the city
was the safety of Greece. 59. For under the leadership of others those
conquered the Greeks in naval battle who formerly had not embarked
upon the sea, and they sailed to Europe, and enslaved Greek cities and
established tyrannies, some after our disaster, and some after the
victory of the barbarians. 60.