[68]
Now, while the most celebrated of our wars was the one against the Persians, yet certainly our deeds of old offer evidence no less strong for those who dispute over ancestral rights. For while Hellas was still insignificant, our territory was invaded by the Thracians, led by Eumolpus, son of Poseidon, and by the Scythians, led by the Amazons,1 the daughters of Ares—not at the same time, but during the period when both races were trying to extend their dominion over Europe; for though they hated the whole Hellenic race, they raised complaints2 against us in particular, thinking that in this way they would wage war against one state only, but would at the same time impose their power on all the states of Hellas.
1 For these legendary wars against the Scythians, Amazons, and Thracians see Grote, Hist. i. pp. 201 ff. These stood out in the Athenian mind as their first great struggle against the barbarians, and generally found a place beside the Persian Wars in pictures of their glorious past. Cf. Isoc. 6.42; Isoc. 7.75; Isoc. 12.193; Lys. 2.4 ff.; Plat. Menex. 239b; Xen. Mem. 3.5.9.
2 These complaints are stated in Isoc. 12.193.
Isocrates. Isocrates with an English Translation in three volumes, by George Norlin, Ph.D., LL.D. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1980.
The Annenberg CPB/Project provided support for entering this text.
Purchase a copy of this text (not necessarily the same edition) from Amazon.com
