Plutarch's Lives: Volume I - читать бесплатно онлайн полную версию книги автора (ч. notes)

Примечания

1

It has been thought desirable to give here Mr. Long's preface to the lives published by him, under the title of "Civil Wars of Rome." The lives will be found in subsequent volumes.

2

Cotton's Translation.

3

North's 'Plutarch,' 1631, p. 1194.

4

North's 'Plutarch,' 1631, p. 1198.

5

Autochthones was the name by which the original citizens of Athens called themselves, meaning that they were sprung from the soil itself, not immigrants from some other country.

6

The first cutting of the hair was always an occasion of solemnity among the Greeks, the hair being dedicated to some god. The first instance of this is in Homer's Iliad, where Achilles speaks of having dedicated his hair to the river Spercheius. The Athenian youth offered their hair to Herakles. The Roman emperor Nero, in later times, imitated this custom.

7

The Greek word leos signifies people.

8

The Greek [Greek: rhômê] = strength.

9

The habit of erecting trophies on a field of battle in token of victory appears to have been originally confined to the Greeks, who usually, as in the text, lopped the branches off a tree, placed it in the ground in some conspicuous place, and hung upon it the shields and other spoils taken from the enemy. In later times the Romans adopted the habit of commemorating a victory by erecting some building on the field of battle. Under the emperors, victory was commemorated by a triumphal arch at Rome, many of which now exist. The Greek trophies were always formed of perishable materials, and it was contrary to their custom to repair them, that they might not perpetuate national enmities.

10

Chthonian gods are the gods of the world below.

11

The Romans termed these bundles of rods fasces. The derivation of lictor from the Greek shows the utter ignorance of etymology prevailing among the ancients.

12

In the Spartan constitution there were two kings, who were believed to be descended from two brothers, Eurysthenes and Prokles, the two sons of Aristodemus. When the descendants of Herakles returned to Peloponnesus, and divided that country amongst them, Lacedaemon fell to the lot of Aristodemus, who left his two sons joint heirs to the monarchy. The kings of Sparta had little real power, and to this no doubt they owed the fact of their retaining their dignity when every other Hellenic state adopted a democratic form of government.

13

14, 2, 7, 4, 1, make by addition 28; as 3, 2, and 1 make 6.

14

That is, by some one who was not a Greek.

15

Plutarch himself was a Boeotian.

16

The punishment of excessive and unbroken prosperity was assigned by the Greeks to the goddess Nemesis. The idea of too great a career of success exciting the anger of the gods is common throughout the whole of ancient literature. A well–known instance is the story of Polykrates of Samos, as told by Herodotus. Amasis the king of Egypt, observing the unbroken good fortune of Polykrates, advised him voluntarily to sacrifice some of his treasures. Polykrates, following his friend's advice, cast his signet–ring into the sea. But the ring was swallowed by a fish, and the fish was caught and presented to the king, who thus recovered his ring. When Amasis heard of this, he refused to ally himself with Polykrates, thinking that such good fortune presaged a terrible disaster. Polykrates was put to death shortly afterwards by the Persians, who conquered his kingdom.

17

Plato, Phaedrus.

18

The Dorians of Boeotia and Peloponnesus were accounted the best infantry soldiers of Greece.

19

Liv., xxii. 8, sq.

20

[Greek: metoikikhon].

21

An office resembling that of a modern consul for a foreign nation.

22

The ancient trireme was not habitable, like a modern ship of war. The crew always, if possible, landed for their meals, and when stationed at any place, drew the ship up on the beach and lived entirely on shore.

23

The Greeks attached great importance to the burial of the dead. The usual test of which party had won a battle was, which side after it demanded a truce for the burial of the dead. Here the possession of the dead bodies of the enemy is enumerated as one of the proofs of victory.

24

A "harmost," [Greek: harmostês], was an officer sent from Sparta to administer a subject city. See p. 97.

25

Probably consisting of corn and cattle, as Clough translates it.

26

Peltasts were light–armed troops, so called because they carried light round shields instead of the large unwieldy oblong shield of the Hoplite, or heavy–armed infantry soldier. These light troops came gradually into favour with the Greeks during the Peloponnesian war, and afterward became very extensively used.