Great Battles of the Classical Greek World by Owen Rees

Author:Owen Rees [Owen Rees]
Language: eng
Format: epub

The Aftermath

Once the Spartan judges arrived in the city, they did not bring any charges against the Plataeans but instead asked one question: whether they had done the Spartans and their allies any service in the present war? The Plataeans had to recover from this surprising question, because of course the answer was no. After some time to confer, they returned with an answer which highlighted the past glories of Plataea, their role as carers for the graves of Spartans that had died in 479 BC and the fact that Sparta drove Plataea to become an ally of Athens. But, perhaps most interestingly, the Plataeans were afraid of the influence of Thebes and so called on Sparta to not allow their own reputation to suffer by their manipulation. Ultimately, Plataea beseeched Sparta to stop the Thebans from enacting their wrath.

Following their speech, the Theban representatives requested to speak. They argued that the Plataean alliance with Athens made them just as culpable for the Athenian expansion and that, most importantly, Thebes was the real victim after Plataea had slaughtered some of its citizens in cold blood. The Spartans heard all of the arguments and then persisted with their original question. Thus, one by one, the Plataeans were forced to answer that they had not aided Sparta nor Sparta’s allies, thus knowingly commiting themselves to a death sentence. Over 200 were executed, plus 25 Athenians who had remained in the siege, and all of the women were enslaved. The city was razed to the ground and the land was leased out to Theban occupiers. So ended the independent polis of Plataea.

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