Aristides ( ; , ; 530–468 BC) was an ancient Athenian

statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...

. Nicknamed "the Just" (δίκαιος, ''díkaios''), he flourished at the beginning of Athens' Classical period and is remembered for his generalship in the Persian War. The ancient historian

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

cited him as "the best and most honourable man in Athens", and he received similarly reverent treatment in

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

's Socratic dialogues.

Biography

Aristides was a member of a family of moderate fortune; his father's name was Lysimachus. Early in life he became a follower of the statesman

Cleisthenes Cleisthenes ( ; ), or Clisthenes (), was an ancient Athenian lawgiver credited with reforming the constitution of ancient Athens and setting it on a democratic footing in 508 BC. For these accomplishments, historians refer to him as "the fath ...

. He probably first came to notice as ''

strategos ''Strategos'' (), also known by its Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized form ''strategus'', is a Greek language, Greek term to mean 'military General officer, general'. In the Hellenistic world and in the Byzantine Empire, the term was also use ...

'' in command of his native tribe Antiochis at the

Battle of Marathon The Battle of Marathon took place in 490 BC during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens (polis), Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Achaemenid Empire, Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaph ...

of 490 BC. In consequence of the distinction which he then achieved he is said to have won the election as ''

archon eponymos In ancient Greece the chief magistrate in various Greek city states was called eponymous archon (ἐπώνυμος ἄρχων, ''epōnymos archōn''). "Archon" (ἄρχων, pl. ἄρχοντες, ''archontes'') means "ruler" or "lord", frequently ...

'' for the ensuing year (489488). Pursuing a conservative policy to maintain Athens as a land power, he was one of the chief opponents of the naval policy proposed by

Themistocles Themistocles (; ; ) was an Athenian politician and general. He was one of a new breed of non-aristocratic politicians who rose to prominence in the early years of the Athenian democracy. As a politician, Themistocles was a populist, having th ...

. According to

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

, citing the philosopher Ariston of Ceos, the rivalry between Aristides and Themistocles began in their youth when they competed over the love of a boy: "... they were rivals for the affection of the beautiful Stesilaus of Ceos, and were passionate beyond all moderation."Plutarch
Themistocles, 3
/ref>Plutarch
Aristides, 2
/ref> The conflict between the two leaders ended in the

ostracism Ostracism (, ''ostrakismos'') was an Athenian democratic procedure in which any citizen could be expelled from the city-state of Athens for ten years. While some instances clearly expressed popular anger at the citizen, ostracism was often us ...

of Aristides at a date variously given between 485 and 482 BC. It is said that, on this occasion, an illiterate voter who did not recognise Aristides approached the statesman and requested that he write the name of Aristides on his voting shard to ostracize him. The latter asked if Aristides had wronged him. "No," was the reply, "and I do not even know him, but it irritates me to hear him everywhere called 'the Just'." Aristides then wrote his own name on the ballot. Early in 480, Aristides profited by the decree recalling

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

s to help in the defence of Athens against Persian invaders, and was elected ''strategos'' for the year 480–479 BC. In the

Battle of Salamis The Battle of Salamis ( ) was a naval battle fought in 480 BC, between an alliance of Greek city-states under Themistocles, and the Achaemenid Empire under King Xerxes. It resulted in a victory for the outnumbered Greeks. The battle was fou ...

of September 480 BC, he gave loyal support to Themistocles, and crowned the victory by landing Athenian infantry on the island of

Psyttaleia Psyttaleia () is an uninhabited island in the Saronic Gulf between the harbor of Piraeus and the Kynosoura peninsula on Salamis Island, Greece. It covers an area of 0.375 square kilometers. The island houses Athens' largest sewage treatment pl ...

and annihilating the Persian garrison stationed there. Aristides and Alexander 479 BCE

In 479 BC, he was re-elected ''strategos'', and given special powers as commander of the Athenian forces at the

Battle of Plataea The Battle of Plataea was the final land battle during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place in 479BC near the city of Plataea in Boeotia, and was fought between an alliance of the Polis, Greek city-states (including Sparta, Cla ...

of August 479 BC; he is also said to have suppressed a conspiracy among some in the army. He so won the confidence of the

Ionia Ionia ( ) was an ancient region encompassing the central part of the western coast of Anatolia. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionians who ...

n allies that, after they had revolted from the

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

n admiral Pausanias, they gave him the chief command and left him with absolute discretion in fixing the contributions of the newly formed (478 BC) confederacy, the

Delian League The Delian League was a confederacy of Polis, Greek city-states, numbering between 150 and 330, founded in 478 BC under the leadership (hegemony) of Classical Athens, Athens, whose purpose was to continue fighting the Achaemenid Empire, Persian ...

. His assessment, universally accepted as equitable, continued as the basis of taxation for the greater part of the League's duration. He continued to hold a predominant position in Athens. At first he seems to have remained on good terms with Themistocles, whom he allegedly helped in outwitting the Spartans over the rebuilding of the walls of Athens. Some authorities state that Aristides died at Athens, others that he perished on a journey to the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

; the date of his death is given by

Nepos Nepos is a Latin word originally meaning "grandson" or "descendant", that evolved with time to signify " nephew". The word gives rise to the term nepotism. It may also refer to: * Cornelius Nepos, a Roman biographer * Julius Nepos, sometimes consi ...

as 468 BC. He lived to witness the ostracism of Themistocles, towards whom he always displayed generosity, but he died before the rise of

Pericles Pericles (; ; –429 BC) was a Greek statesman and general during the Golden Age of Athens. He was prominent and influential in Ancient Athenian politics, particularly between the Greco-Persian Wars and the Peloponnesian War, and was acclaimed ...

. His estate seems to have suffered severely from the Persian invasions, for apparently he did not leave enough money to defray the expenses of his burial, and it is known that his descendants – even in the 4th century – received state pensions.

Authorities

Answer of Aristides to the ambassadors of Mardonius

is not the only ancient author to evaluate Aristides' life. He is also the subject of one of

's ''

Parallel Lives * Culture of ancient Greece Culture of ancient Rome Ancient Greek biographical works Ethics literature History books about ancient Rome Cultural depictions of Gaius Marius Cultural depictions of Mark Antony Cultural depictions of Cicero ...

'', although Plutarch, writing during the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, was several centuries removed. Aristides is praised by

Socrates Socrates (; ; – 399 BC) was a Ancient Greek philosophy, Greek philosopher from Classical Athens, Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and as among the first moral philosophers of the Ethics, ethical tradition ...

's dialogues ''

Gorgias Gorgias ( ; ; – ) was an ancient Greek sophist, pre-Socratic philosopher, and rhetorician who was a native of Leontinoi in Sicily. Several doxographers report that he was a pupil of Empedocles, although he would only have been a few years ...

'' and ''

Meno ''Meno'' (; , ''Ménōn'') is a Socratic dialogue written by Plato around 385 BC., but set at an earlier date around 402 BC. Meno begins the dialogue by asking Socrates whether virtue (in , '' aretē'') can be taught, acquired by practice, o ...

'' as an exceptional instance of good leadership. In Plato's dialogue '' Theaetetus'', Socrates refers to Aristides, the grandson of the famous Aristides, less positively, bringing him as an example of a student who leaves his care too soon and realizes later that he is a fool.Plato, ''Theaetetus'' 150d–151a

Memorials and representations

There is a statue of Aristides in

Louisburg Square Louisburg Square is a street in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, bisected by a small private park. The park, which is bounded by Pinckney Street to the north and Mount Vernon Street to the south, is maintained by the Louis ...

in the American city of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. An 1806 painting of Aristides by is at the

Musée des Augustins The Musée des Augustins de Toulouse () is a fine arts museum in Toulouse, France which conserves a collection of sculpture and paintings from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century. The paintings are from throughout France, the sculptures rep ...

in the French City of

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

References

Bibliography

* Brun, Patrice (2023). ''Aristide 'le Juste'. L'art et la manière de fabriquer un héros dans la cité démocratique.'' Scripta antiqua, 175. Bordeaux: Ausonius Éditions, . * Lang, Anna (2015). Aristeides der ‚Gerechte‘ – sein Archontat und seine Rolle bei Marathon, in R. Lafer & K. Strobel (eds.) ''Antike Lebenswelten. Althistorische und papyrologische Studien'' (Berlin/Boston 2015) 212–222. * Macgregor Morris, Ian (2022)
“Aristeides the Just?”
in A. Konecny & N. Sekunda (eds.) ''The Battle of Plataiai 479 BC'' (Vienna 2022) 133-49. * Proietti, Giorgia (2015)
"War and Memory: the Battle of Psyttaleia Before Herodotus’ Histories"
''Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies'' 58 (2015) 43– 54. * Torello, Giulia (2008)
"The Resurrection of Aristeides, Miltiades, Solon and Perikles in Eupolis’ Demes"
''Antichthon'' 42 (2008) 40– 55. * Tuci, Paolo A. (2018)
"Aristide 'imperialista' nell’Athenaion Politeia aristotelica"
in C. Bearzot – M. Canevaro – T. Gargiulo – E. Poddighe (eds.), ''Athenaion Politeiai tra storia, politica e sociologia: Aristotele e Pseudo-Senofonte'' (Milan 2018) 231–251. * Zaccarini, Matteo (2020)
"Aristide il Giusto e l’arche ateniese: la giustizia al potere"
''Rivista di Filologia e Istruzione Classica'' 148 (2020) 5–33.

External links

'
''Life of Aristides'' in English Translation
*

'
''Life of Aristides'' in English Translation
at the ''Internet Classics Archive'' *

'
''Life of Aristides'' in English Translation
at the

Perseus Project The Perseus Digital Library, formerly known as the Perseus Project, is a free-access digital library founded by Gregory Crane in 1987 and hosted by the Department of Classical Studies of Tufts University. One of the pioneers of digital libraries, ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aristides 530 BC births 468 BC deaths 5th-century BC Athenians 5th-century BC Greek politicians Ancient Athenian generals Ancient Greek LGBTQ people Athenians of the Greco-Persian Wars Battle of Marathon Battle of Plataea Battle of Salamis Eponymous archons Ostracized Athenians