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And the impetuous god, Ares, the cities of men
Took for his own, no deed such as this among earth-dwelling mortals
Ever was wrought at one time both upon land and at sea.
These men indeed upon Cyprus sent many a Mede to destruction,
Capturing out on the sea warships a hundred in sum
Filled with Phoenician men; and deeply all Asia grieved o'er them,
Smitten thus with both2 hands, vanquished by war's mighty power.
”3
1 The inscription is attributed to Simonides (frag. 103 Diehl; 171 Edmonds).
2 "To do a thing with both hands was to do it earnestly and thoroughly; there is a double intention here, the hands being also 'arms' military and naval" (Edmonds).
3 The contents of the three preceding chapters reveal Diodorus in the worst light. The inscription referred to a battle off Cyprus in 449 B.C. and had nothing to do with the battle of the Eurymedon, and Cimon could not have fought at Cyprus in the day and been at the Eurymedon in time to land his men by nightfall. Moreover, great generals do not win battles by such comic-opera stratagems. The reliable description of the battle is in Plut. Cimon 12-13. See E. Meyer, Forschungen, 2, pp. 7 ff.; Walker in Camb. Anc. Hist. 5, pp. 54 ff.
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- Cross-references to this page
(2):
- Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), MEGALO´POLIS
- Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), PHOENI´CIA
- Cross-references in notes from this page
(1):
- Plutarch, Cimon, 12