Kitap 3
5.10
Do you refer to the judgment of the gods,i.e., between Poseidon and Athena for the possession of Attica. which Cecrops delivered in his court because of his virtue?Yes, and the care and birth of Erectheus,Iliad, II. 547. Ἐρεχθῇος μεγαλήτορος οὕ ποτ᾽ Ἀθήνη θρέψε Διὸς θυγάτηρ, τέκε δὲ ζείδωρος Ἄρουρα. and the war waged in his day with all the adjacent country, and the war between the sons of HeraclesThe Athenians claimed that it was through their assistance that the sons of Heracles gained the victory (Herodotus, ix. 27). and the Peloponnesians, and all the wars waged in the days of Theseus,Against the Amazons and Thracians. in all of which it is manifest that they were champions among the men of their time.
5.11
You may add the victories of their descendants,In the great Persian wars. who lived not long before our own day: some they gained unaided in their struggle with the lords of all Asia and of Europe as far as Macedonia, the owners of more power and wealth than the world had ever seen, who had wrought deeds that none had equalled; in others they were fellow-champions with the Peloponnesians both on land and sea. These men, like their fathers, are reported to have been far superior to all other men of their time.Yes, that is the report of them.
5.12
Therefore, though there have been many migrations in Greece, these continued to dwell in their own land: many referred to them their rival claims, many found a refuge with them from the brutality of the oppressor.
5.13
Yes, Socrates, cried Pericles, and I wonder how our city can have become so degenerate.My own view, replied Socrates, is that the Athenians, as a consequence of their great superiority, grew careless of themselves, and have thus become degenerate, much as athletes who are in a class by themselves and win the championship easily are apt to grow slack and drop below their rivals.
