4. PITTACUS (c. 600B.C.

)
[74] Pittacus was the son of Hyrrhadius and a native of Mitylene. Duris calls his father a
Thracian. Aided by the brothers of Alcaeus he overthrew Melanchrus, tyrant of esbos! and in
the war between Mitylene and Athens for the territory of Achileis he hi"self had the chief
co""and on the one side, and Phrynon, who had won an #ly"$ic victory in the $ancratiu",
co""anded the Athenians. Pittacus a%reed to "eet hi" in sin%le co"bat! with a net which he
concealed beneath his shield he entan%led Phrynon, &illed hi", and recovered the territory.
'ubse(uently, as A$ollodorus states in his Chronology, Athens and Mitylene referred their
clai"s to arbitration. Periander heard the a$$eal and %ave )ud%e"ent in favour of Athens.
[7*] At the ti"e, however, the $eo$le of Mitylene honoured Pittacus e+trava%antly and
entrusted hi" with the %overn"ent. He ruled for ten years and brou%ht the constitution into
order, and then laid down his office. He lived another ten years after his abdication and
received fro" the $eo$le of Mitylene a %rant of land, which he dedicated as sacred do"ain!
and it bears his na"e to this day 'osicrates relates that he cut off a s"all $ortion for hi"self
and $ronounced the half to be "ore than the whole. ,urther"ore, he declined an offer of
"oney "ade hi" by -roesus, sayin% that he had twice as "uch as he wanted! for his brother
had died without issue and he had inherited his estate.
[7.] Pa"$hila in the second boo& of her Memorabilia narrates that, as his son Tyrraeus sat in
a barber/s sho$ in -y"e, a s"ith &illed hi" with a blow fro" an a+e. 0hen the $eo$le of
-y"e sent the "urderer to Pittacus, he, on learnin% the story, set hi" at liberty and declared
that 12t is better to $ardon now than to re$ent later.1 Heraclitus, however, says that it was
Alcaeus who" he set at liberty when he had %ot hi" in his $ower, and that what he said was3
1Mercy is better than ven%eance.1
A"on% the laws which he "ade is one $rovidin% that for any offence co""itted in a state of
into+ication the $enalty should be doubled! his ob)ect was to discoura%e drun&enness, wine
bein% abundant in the island. #ne of his sayin%s is, 12t is hard to be %ood,1 which is cited by
'i"onides in this for"3 1Pittacus/s "a+i", 4Truly to beco"e a virtuous "an is hard.1/ [77]
Plato also cites hi" in the Protagoras
5
3 16ven the %ods do not fi%ht a%ainst necessity.1 A%ain,
1#ffice shows the "an.1 #nce, when as&ed what is the best thin%, he re$lied, 1To do well the
wor& in hand.1 And, when -roesus in(uired what is the best rule, he answered, 1The rule of
the shiftin% wood,1 by which he "eant the law. He also ur%ed "en to win bloodless victories.
0hen the Phocaean said that we "ust search for a %ood "an, Pittacus re)oined, 12f you see&
too carefully, you will never find hi".1 He answered various in(uiries thus3 10hat is
a%reeable71 1Ti"e.1 1#bscure71 1The future.1 1Trustworthy71 1The earth.1 18ntrustworthy71
1The sea.1 12t is the $art of $rudent "en,1 he said, 1before difficulties arise, to $rovide a%ainst
their arisin%! [79] and of coura%eous "en to deal with the" when they have arisen.1 Do not
announce your $lans beforehand! for, if they fail, you will be lau%hed at. :ever re$roach any
one with a "isfortune, for fear of :e"esis. Duly restore what has been entrusted to you.
'$ea& no ill of a friend, nor even of an ene"y. Practise $iety. ove te"$erance. -herish truth,
fidelity, s&ill, cleverness, sociability, carefulness.
#f his son%s the "ost $o$ular is this3
0ith bow and well;stored (uiver
0e "ust "arch a%ainst our foe,
0ords of his ton%ue can no "an trust,
,or in his heart there is a deceitful thou%ht.
[7<] He also wrote $oe"s in ele%iac "etre, so"e .== lines, and a $rose wor& On Laws for the
use of the citi>ens.
He was flourishin% about the 4?nd #ly"$iad. He died in the archonshi$ of Aristo"enes, in
the third year of the *?nd #ly"$iad,
?
havin% lived "ore than seventy years, to a %ood old a%e.
The inscri$tion on his "onu"ent runs thus
@
3
Here holy esbos, with a "other/s woe,
Aewails her Pittacus who" death laid low.
To hi" belon%s the a$o$hthe%", 1Bnow thine o$$ortunity.1
There was another Pittacus, a le%islator, as is stated by ,avorinus in the first boo& of
his Memorabilia, and by De"etrius in his wor& on Men of the Same Name. He was called the
ess.
To return to the 'a%e3 the story %oes that a youn% "an too& counsel with hi" about "arria%e,
and received this answer, as %iven by -alli"achus in his 6$i%ra"s
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3
[9=] A stran%er of Atarneus thus in(uired of Pittacus, the son of Hyrrhadius3
#ld sire, two offers of "arria%e are "ade to "e! the one bride is in wealth and birth "y e(ual!
The other is "y su$erior. 0hich is the better7 -o"e now and advise "e which of the two 2
shall wed.
'o s$a&e he. Aut Pittacus, raisin% his staff, an old "an/s wea$on, said, 1'ee there, yonder boys
will tell you the whole tale.1
The boys were whi$$in% their to$s to "a&e the" %o fast and s$innin% the" in a wide o$en
s$ace.
1,ollow in their trac&,1 said he. 'o he a$$roached near, and the boys were sayin%, 1Bee$ to
your own s$here.1
0hen he heard this, the stran%er desisted fro" ai"in% at the lordlier "atch, assentin% to the
warnin% of the boys.
And, even as he led ho"e the hu"ble bride, so do you, Dion, &ee$ to your own s$here.
[95] The advice see"s to have been $ro"$ted by his situation. ,or he had "arried a wife
su$erior in birth to hi"self3 she was the sister of Draco, the son of Penthilus, and she treated
hi" with %reat hau%htiness.
Alcaeus nic&na"ed hi" CDEFGHIJ and CFEDGHJ because he had flat feet and dra%%ed the" in
wal&in%! also 1-hilblains,1 because he had cha$$ed feet, for which their word was KLMEFJ! and
Ara%%adocio, because he was always swa%%erin%! Paunch and Potbelly, because he was stout!
a Diner;in;the;Dar&, because he dis$ensed with a la"$! and the 'loven, because he was
untidy and dirty. The e+ercise he too& was %rindin% corn, as related by -learchus the
$hiloso$her.
The followin% short letter is ascribed to hi"3
Pittacus to -roesus
1Nou bid "e co"e to ydia in order to see your $ros$erity3 but without seein% it 2 can well
believe that the son of Alyattes is the "ost o$ulent of &in%s. There will be no advanta%e to "e
in a )ourney to 'ardis, for 2 a" not in want of "oney, and "y $ossessions are sufficient for
"y friends as well as "yself. :evertheless, 2 will co"e, to be entertained by you and to "a&e
your ac(uaintance.1
7. PERIANDER (tyrant 625-585 B.C.)
[<4] Periander, the son of -y$selus, was born at -orinth, of the fa"ily of the Heraclidae. His
wife was ysida, who" he called Melissa. Her father was Procles, tyrant of 6$idaurus, her
"other 6ristheneia, dau%hter of Aristocrates and sister of Aristode"us, who to%ether rei%ned
over nearly the whole of Arcadia, as stated by Heraclides of Pontus in his boo& On
Government. Ay her he had two sons, -y$selus and yco$hron, the youn%er a "an of
intelli%ence, the elder wea& in "ind. [<*] However, after so"e ti"e, in a fit of an%er, he &illed
his wife by throwin% a footstool at her, or by a &ic&, when she was $re%nant, havin% been
e%%ed on by the slanderous tales of concubines, who" he afterwards burnt alive.
0hen the son whose na"e was yco$hron %rieved for his "other, he banished hi" to
-orcyra. And when well advanced in years he sent for his son to be his successor in the
tyranny! but the -orcyraeans $ut hi" to death before he could set sail. 6nra%ed at this, he
dis$atched the sons of the -orcyraeans to Alyattes that he "i%ht "a&e eunuchs of the"! but,
when the shi$ touched at 'a"os, they too& sanctuary in the te"$le of Hera, and were saved
by the 'a"ians.
Periander lost heart and died at the a%e of ei%hty. 'osicrates/ account is that he died fortyone
years before -roesus, )ust before the 4<th #ly"$iad.
5
Herodotus in his first boo& says that he
was a %uest;friend of Thrasybulus, tyrant of Miletus.
[<.] Aristi$$us in the first boo& of his wor& On the Luxury of the Anients
?
accuses hi" of
incest with his own "other -rateia, and adds that, when the fact ca"e to li%ht, he vented his
annoyance in indiscri"inate severity. 6$horus records his now that, if he won the victory at
#ly"$ia in the chariot;race, he would set u$ a %olden statue. 0hen the victory was won,
bein% in sore straits for %old, he des$oiled the wo"en of all the orna"ents which he had seen
the" wearin% at so"e local festival. He was thus enabled to send the votive offerin%.
There is a story that he did not wish the $lace where he was buried to be &nown, and to that
end contrived the followin% device. He ordered two youn% "en to %o out at ni%ht by a certain
road which he $ointed out to the"! they were to &ill the "an they "et and bury hi". He
afterwards ordered four "ore to %o in $ursuit of the two, &ill the" and bury the"! a%ain, he
dis$atched a lar%er nu"ber in $ursuit of the four. Havin% ta&en these "easures, he hi"self
encountered the first $air and was slain. The -orinthians $laced the followin% inscri$tion
u$on a cenota$h
@
3
[<7] 2n "other earth here Periander lies,
The $rince of sea;%irt -orinth rich and wise.
My own e$ita$h on hi" is
4
3
Orieve not because thou hast not %ained thine end,
Aut ta&e with %ladness all the %ods "ay send!
Ae warned by Periander/s fate, who died
#f %rief that one desire should be denied.
To hi" belon%s the "a+i"3 :ever do anythin% for "oney! leave %ain to trades $ursued for
%ain. He wrote a didactic $oe" of ?=== lines. He said that those tyrants who intend to be safe
should "a&e loyalty their body%uard, not ar"s. 0hen so"e one as&ed hi" why he was tyrant,
he re$lied, 1Aecause it is as dan%erous to retire voluntarily as to be dis$ossessed.1 Here are
other sayin%s of his3 Pest is beautiful. Pashness has its $erils. Oain is i%noble. De"ocracy is
better than tyranny. Pleasures are transient, honours are i""ortal. [<9] Ae "oderate in
$ros$erity, $rudent in adversity. Ae the sa"e to your friends whether they are in $ros$erity or
in adversity. 0hatever a%ree"ent you "a&e, stic& to it. Aetray no secret. -orrect not only the
offenders but also those who are on the $oint of offendin%.
He was the first who had a body%uard and who chan%ed his %overn"ent into a tyranny, and he
would let no one live in the town without his $er"ission, as we &now fro" 6$horus and
Aristotle.
He flourished about the @9th #ly"$iad and was tyrant for forty years.
'otion and Heraclides and Pa"$hila in the fifth boo& of her Commentariesdistin%uish two
Perianders, one a tyrant, the other a sa%e who was born in A"bracia. [<<] :eanthes of
-y>icus also says this, and adds that they were near relations. And Aristotle
*
"aintains that
the -orinthian Periander was the sa%e! while Plato denies this.
His a$o$hthe%" is3 Practice "a&es $erfect. He $lanned a canal across the 2sth"us.
A letter of his is e+tant3
Periander to the 0ise Men
1Qery %rateful a" 2 to the Pythian A$ollo that 2 found you %athered to%ether! and "y letters
will also brin% you to -orinth, where, as you &now, 2 will %ive you a thorou%hly $o$ular
rece$tion. 2 learn that last year you "et in 'ardis at the ydian court. Do not hesitate therefore
to co"e to "e, the ruler of -orinth. The -orinthians will be $leased to see you co"in% to the
house of Periander.1
Periander to Procles
[5==] 1The "urder of "y wife was unintentional! but yours is deliberate %uilt when you set
"y son/s heart a%ainst "e. 6ither therefore $ut an end to "y son/s harsh treat"ent, or 2 will
reven%e "yself on you. Fr !n" a" I #a$% %&'(at(n t y) *r y)r $a)"+t%r ,y
,)rn(n" n +%r 'yr% t+% a''ar%! * a!! t+% -#%n * Cr(nt+.1
There is also a letter written to hi" by Thrasybulus, as follows3
Thrasybulus to Periander
12 "ade no answer to your herald! but 2 too& hi" into a cornfield, and with a staff s"ote and
cut off the over;%rown ears of corn, while he acco"$anied "e. And if you as& hi" what he
heard and what he saw, he will %ive his "essa%e. And this is what you "ust do if you want to
stren%then your absolute rule3 $ut to death those a"on% the citi>ens who are $re;e"inent,
whether they are hostile to you or not. ,or to an absolute ruler even a friend is an ob)ect of
sus$icion.1