τῆς δὲ Σάμου Μαιάνδριος ὁ Μαιανδρίου εἶχε τὸ κράτος, ἐπιτροπαίην παρὰ Πολυκράτεος λαβὼν τὴν ἀρχήν· τῷ δικαιοτάτῳ ἀνδρῶν βουλομένῳ γενέσθαι οὐκ ἐξεγένετο.
ἐπειδὴ γάρ οἱ ἐξαγγέλθη ὁ Πολυκράτεος θάνατος, ἐποίεε τοιάδε· πρῶτα μὲν Διὸς ἐλευθερίου βωμὸν ἱδρύσατο καὶ τέμενος περὶ αὐτὸν οὔρισε τοῦτο τὸ νῦν ἐν τῷ προαστείῳ ἐστί· μετὰ δέ, ὥς οἱ ἐπεποίητο, ἐκκλησίην συναγείρας πάντων τῶν ἀστῶν ἔλεξε τάδε.
ἐμοί, ὡς ἴστε καὶ ὑμεῖς, σκῆπτρον καὶ δύναμις πᾶσα ἡ Πολυκράτεος ἐπιτέτραπται, καί μοι παρέχει νῦν ὑμέων ἄρχειν. ἐγὼ δὲ τὰ τῷ πέλας ἐπιπλήσσω, αὐτὸς κατὰ δύναμιν οὐ ποιήσω· οὔτε γάρ μοι Πολυκράτης ἤρεσκε δεσπόζων ἀνδρῶν ὁμοίων ἑωυτῷ οὔτε ἄλλος ὅστις τοιαῦτα ποιέει. Πολυκράτης μέν νυν ἐξέπλησε μοῖραν τὴν ἑωυτοῦ, ἐγὼ δὲ ἐς μέσον τὴν ἀρχὴν τιθεὶς ἰσονομίην ὑμῖν προαγορεύω.
τοσάδε μέντοι δικαιῶ γέρεα ἐμεωυτῷ γενέσθαι, ἐκ μέν γε τῶν Πολυκράτεος χρημάτων ἐξαίρετα ἓξ τάλαντά μοι γενέσθαι, ἱρωσύνην δὲ πρὸς τούτοισι αἱρεῦμαι αὐτῷ τέ μοι καὶ τοῖσι ἀπʼ ἐμεῦ αἰεὶ γινομένοισι τοῦ Διὸς τοῦ ἐλευθερίου· τῷ αὐτός τε ἱρὸν ἱδρυσάμην καὶ τὴν ἐλευθερίην ὑμῖν περιτίθημι.
ὃ μὲν δὴ ταῦτα τοῖσι Σαμίοισι ἐπαγγέλλετο· τῶν δέ τις ἐξαναστὰς εἶπε ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ἄξιος εἶς σύ γε ἡμέων ἄρχειν, γεγονώς τε κακῶς καὶ ἐὼν ὄλεθρος· ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ὅκως λόγον δώσεις τῶν μετεχείρισας χρημάτων.
Now Maiandrios the son of Maiandrios was holding the rule over Samos, having received the government as a trust from Polycrates; and he, though desiring to show himself the most righteous of men, did not succeed in so doing: for when the death of Polycrates was reported to him, he did as follows:—first he founded an altar to Zeus the Liberator and marked out a sacred enclosure round it, namely that which exists still in the suburb of the city: then after he had done this he gathered together an assembly of all the citizens and spoke these words: “To me, as ye know as well as I, has been entrusted the sceptre of Polycrates and all his power; and now it is open to me to be your ruler; but that for the doing of which I find fault with my neighbour, I will myself refrain from doing, so far as I may: for as I did not approve of Polycrates acting as master of men who were not inferior to himself, so neither do I approve of any other who does such things. Now Polycrates for his part fulfilled his own appointed destiny, and I now give the power into the hands of the people, and proclaim to you equality. These privileges however I think it right to have assigned to me, namely that from the wealth of Polycrates six talents should be taken out and given to me as a special gift; and in addition to this I choose for myself and for my descendants in succession the priesthood of Zeus the Liberator, to whom I myself founded a temple, while I bestow liberty upon you.” He, as I say, made these offers to the Samians; but one of them rose up and said: “Nay, but unworthy too art thou to be our ruler, seeing that thou art of mean birth and a pestilent fellow besides. Rather take care that thou give an account of the money which thou hadst to deal with.”
ταῦτα εἶπε ἐὼν ἐν τοῖσι ἀστοῖσι δόκιμος, τῷ οὔνομα ἦν Τελέσαρχος. Μαιάνδριος δὲ νόῳ λαβὼν ὡς εἰ μετήσει τὴν ἀρχήν, ἄλλος τις ἀντʼ αὐτοῦ τύραννος καταστήσεται, οὐδὲν ἔτι ἐν νόῳ εἶχε μετιέναι αὐτήν, ἀλλʼ ὡς ἀνεχώρησε ἐς τὴν ἀκρόπολιν, μεταπεμπόμενος ἕνα ἕκαστον ὡς δὴ λόγον τῶν χρημάτων δώσων, συνέλαβε σφέας καὶ κατέδησε.
οἳ μὲν δὴ ἐδεδέατο, Μαιάνδριον δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα κατέλαβε νοῦσος. ἐλπίζων δέ μιν ἀποθανέεσθαι ὁ ἀδελφεός, τῷ οὔνομα ἦν Λυκάρητος, ἵνα εὐπετεστέρως κατάσχῃ τὰ ἐν τῇ Σάμῳ πρήγματα, κατακτείνει τοὺς δεσμώτας πάντας· οὐ γὰρ δή, ὡς οἴκασι, ἐβούλοντο εἶναι ἐλεύθεροι.
Thus said one who was a man of repute among the citizens, whose name was Telesarchos; and Maiandrios perceiving that if he resigned the power, some other would be set up as despot instead of himself, did not keep the purpose at all of resigning it; but having retired to the fortress he sent for each man separately, pretending that he was going to give an account of the money, and so seized them and put them in bonds. These then had been put in bonds; but Maiandrios after this was overtaken by sickness, and his brother, whose name was Lycaretos, expecting that he would die, put all the prisoners to death, in order that he might himself more easily get possession of the power over Samos: and all this happened because, as it appears, they did not choose to be free.
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