Herodotus told the story of many men who fought at Platea. I’ve been thinking of three.
Aristodamus of Sparta somehow survived Thermopylae and was so shamed that he tried to make up for it with insane bravery at Platea. He was awarded no honors. His comrades knew he wanted to die.
Sophanes of Athens was an eccentric who, in one telling, carried an anchor around the battlefield. He dropped it whenever the enemy charged. It’s one way to eliminate even the thought of running away.
Herodotus also tells of a nameless Persian who shared a couch with Thersander of Orchomenus at a Theban-Persian banquet before the battle. The Persian drank too much because grief had brought him to tears. He could see, clearly, the folly of a stupid war instigated by an arrogant tyrant. He could see the folly but could do nothing about it.
I find myself thinking about the drunk Persian these days.
• Source: Herodotus, The Histories, translated by Robin Waterfield; Oxford University Press, 1998, pp. 570 (Aristodamas), p. 571 (Sophanes), and pp. 546-7 (the unnamed Persian).
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