call those athletes who have
in one day been successful both in wrestling and in the pankratium by
the name of notable victors, so Kimon, who in one day won a victory
both by sea and by land, thus gaining a double triumph for Greece,
deserves to be given some place above all other generals. Moreover,
Lucullus was given the chief command by his country, but Kimon won for
his country the honour of commanding the other Greek states. Lucullus
found his country in command of allies, and by their aid overthrew the
enemy, but Kimon found his country acting under the command of others,
and by his own force of character both made Athens the leading state
in Greece and overcame the enemy, for he drove the Persians from the
sea, and persuaded the Lacedaemonians to resign their claims to
supremacy. If we are to believe it to be the greatest proof of ability
in a general to be loved and willingly obeyed by his soldiers, then we
see that Lucullus was despised by his soldiers, while Kimon was
esteemed and looked up to by his allies, for the soldiers of Lucullus
revolted from him, while the Greek states revolted from Sparta in
order to join Kimon. Thus the former was sent out in chief command,
and returned home deserted by his men, while the other, though sent
out to act as a subordinate under the command of others, ended by
returning as commander-in-chief of them all, having succeeded, in
spite of the greatest difficulties, in obtaining three great
advantages for his countrymen, namely, having delivered them from the
fear of their enemies, having given them authority over their
confederates, and established a lasting friendship between them and
the Lacedaemonians. Both commanders attempted an enormous task, the
conquest of Asia; and both were forced to leave their work unfinished.
Kimon was prevented by death, for he died at the head of an army and
in the full tide of success; while one cannot altogether think that
Lucullus was not to blame for not having tried to satisfy the
complaints of his soldiers, which caused them to hate him so bitterly.
In this point Lucullus and Kimon are alike; for Kimon was often
impeached by his countrymen, who at last banished him by ostracism, in
order that, as Plato said, they might not hear his voice for ten
years. It seldom happens that men born to command can please the
people, or have anything in common with them; because they cause pain
by their attempts to rule and reform them, just as the bandage