θῶμα δέ μοι καὶ οὐκ ἐνδέκομαι τὸν λόγον Ἀλκμεωνίδας ἄν κοτε ἀναδέξαι Πέρσῃσι ἐκ συνθήματος ἀσπίδα, βουλομένους ὑπὸ βαρβάροισί τε εἶναι Ἀθηναίους καὶ ὑπὸ Ἱππίῃ· οἵτινες μᾶλλον ἢ ὁμοίως Καλλίῃ τῷ Φαινίππου, Ἱππονίκου δὲ πατρί, φαίνονται μισοτύραννοι ἐόντες.
Καλλίης τε γὰρ μοῦνος Ἀθηναίων ἁπάντων ἐτόλμα, ὅκως Πεισίστρατος ἐκπέσοι ἐκ τῶν Ἀθηνέων, τὰ χρήματα αὐτοῦ κηρυσσόμενα ὑπὸ τοῦ δημοσίου ὠνέεσθαι, καὶ τἆλλα τὰ ἔχθιστα ἐς αὐτὸν πάντα ἐμηχανᾶτο.
Now it is a cause of wonder to me, and I do not accept the report, that the Alcmaionidai could ever have displayed to the Persians a shield by a previous understanding, with the desire that the Athenians should be under the Barbarians and under Hippias; seeing that they are evidently proved to have been haters of despots as much or more than Callias the son of Phainippos and father of Hipponicos, while Callias for his part was the only man of all the Athenians who dared, when Peisistratos was driven out of Athens, to buy his goods offered for sale by the State, and in other ways also he contrived against him everything that was most hostile:
[Καλλίεω δὲ τούτου ἄξιον πολλαχοῦ μνήμην ἐστὶ πάντα τινὰ ἔχειν. τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ τὰ προλελεγμένα, ὡς ἀνὴρ ἄκρος ἐλευθερῶν τὴν πατρίδα· τοῦτο δὲ τὰ ἐν Ὀλυμπίῃ ἐποίησε· ἵππῳ νικήσας, τεθρίππῳ δὲ δεύτερος γενόμενος, Πύθια δὲ πρότερον ἀνελόμενος, ἐφανερώθη ἐς τοὺς Ἕλληνας πάντας δαπάνῃσι μεγίστῃσι.]
[τοῦτο δὲ κατὰ τὰς ἑωυτοῦ θυγατέρας ἐούσας τρεῖς οἷός τις ἀνὴρ ἐγένετο· ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἐγίνοντο γάμου ὡραῖαι, ἔδωκέ σφι δωρεὴν μεγαλοπρεπεστάτην ἐκείνῃσί τε ἐχαρίσατο· ἐκ γὰρ πάντων τῶν Ἀθηναίων τὸν ἑκάστη ἐθέλοι ἄνδρα ἑωυτῇ ἐκλέξασθαι, ἔδωκε τούτῳ τῷ ἀνδρί.]
Of this Callias it is fitting that every one should have remembrance for many reasons: first because of that which has been before said, namely that he was a man of excellence in freeing his country; and then also for that which he did at the Olympic games, wherein he gained a victory in the horse-race and was second in the chariot-race, and he had before this been a victor at the Pythian games, so that he was distinguished in the sight of all Hellenes by the sums which he expended; and finally because he showed himself a man of such liberality towards his daughters, who were three in number; for when they came to be of ripe age for marriage, he gave them a most magnificent dowry and also indulged their inclinations; for whomsoever of all the Athenians each one of them desired to choose as a husband for herself, to that man he gave her.].
καὶ οἱ Ἀλκμεωνίδαι ὁμοίως ἢ οὐδὲν ἧσσον τούτου ἦσαν μισοτύραννοι. θῶμα ὦν μοι καὶ οὐ προσίεμαι τὴν διαβολὴν τούτους γε ἀναδέξαι ἀσπίδα, οἵτινες ἔφευγόν τε τὸν πάντα χρόνον τοὺς τυράννους, ἐκ μηχανῆς τε τῆς τούτων ἐξέλιπον Πεισιστρατίδαι τὴν τυραννίδα,
καὶ οὕτω τὰς Ἀθήνας οὗτοι ἦσαν οἱ ἐλευθερώσαντες πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἤ περ Ἁρμόδιός τε καὶ Ἀριστογείτων, ὡς ἐγὼ κρίνω. οἳ μὲν γὰρ ἐξηγρίωσαν τοὺς ὑπολοίπους Πεισιστρατιδέων Ἵππαρχον ἀποκτείναντες, οὐδέ τι μᾶλλον ἔπαυσαν τοὺς λοιποὺς τυραννεύοντας· Ἀλκμεωνίδαι δὲ ἐμφανέως ἠλευθέρωσαν, εἰ δὴ οὗτοί γε ἀληθέως ἦσαν οἱ τὴν Πυθίην ἀναπείσαντες προσημαίνειν Λακεδαιμονίοισι ἐλευθεροῦν τὰς Ἀθήνας, ὥς μοι πρότερον δεδήλωται.
and similarly, the Alcmaionidai were haters of despots equally or more than he. Therefore this is a cause of wonder to me, and I do not admit the accusation that these they were who displayed the shield; seeing that they were in exile from the despots during their whole time, and that by their contrivance the sons of Peisistratos gave up their rule. Thus it follows that they were the men who set Athens free much more than Harmodios and Aristogeiton, as I judge: for these my slaying Hipparchos exasperated the rest of the family of Peisistratos, and did not at all cause the others to cease from their despotism; but the Alcmaionidai did evidently set Athens free, at least if these were in truth the men who persuaded the Pythian prophetess to signify to the Lacedemonians that they should set Athens free, as I have set forth before.
ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἴσως τι ἐπιμεμφόμενοι Ἀθηναίων τῷ δήμῳ προεδίδοσαν τὴν πατρίδα. οὐ μὲν ὦν ἦσαν σφέων ἄλλοι δοκιμώτεροι ἔν γε Ἀθηναίοισι ἄνδρες οὐδʼ οἳ μᾶλλον ἐτετιμέατο.
οὕτω οὐδὲ λόγος αἱρέει ἀναδεχθῆναι ἔκ γε ἂν τούτων ἀσπίδα ἐπὶ τοιούτῳ λόγῳ. ἀνεδέχθη μὲν γὰρ ἀσπίς, καὶ τοῦτο οὐκ ἔστι ἄλλως εἰπεῖν· ἐγένετο γάρ· ὃς μέντοι ἦν ὁ ἀναδέξας, οὐκ ἔχω προσωτέρω εἰπεῖν τούτων.
It may be said however that they had some cause of complaint against the people of the Athenians, and therefore endeavoured to betray their native city. But on the contrary there were no men in greater repute than they, among the Athenians at least, nor who had been more highly honoured. Thus it is not reasonable to suppose that by them a shield should have been displayed for any such purpose. A shield was displayed, however; that cannot be denied, for it was done: but as to who it was who displayed it, I am not able to say more than this.
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