sis, and fight the Persians there, according
to the oracle." Upon this the god answered, that they had missed the
meaning of the oracle, for the places mentioned were near Plataea,
where they themselves were encamped, and if they sought they would
find them. Arimnestus, after this distinct vision, awoke. He at once
sent for the oldest and most learned of the citizens of Plataea, and
after debating the matter with them, discovered that near Hysiae,
under Mount Kithaeron, stood a very ancient temple, dedicated to the
Eleusinian Demeter and her daughter. He immediately took Aristeides
with him and proceeded to the spot, which was excellently placed for
the array of an infantry force in the presence of an overwhelming
cavalry, because the spurs of Mount Kithaeron, where they run down into
the plain by the temple, render the ground impassable for cavalry.
Close by is the chapel of the hero Androkrates, in the midst of a
thick matted grove of trees. In order, however, that the oracle might
in no way be defective in its promise of victory, Arimnestus proposed,
and the Plataeans decreed, that the boundary marks of their territory
on the side towards Attica should be removed, and the country given to
the Athenians, so that they might fight in their own land for Greece,
according to the oracle. This noble act of the Plataeans became so
famous in later times, that, many years afterwards, Alexander the
Great himself, when he had conquered all Asia, caused the walls of
Plataea to be rebuilt, and made proclamation at the Olympian games by a
herald, "that the king bestowed this honour upon the Plataeans in
memory of their magnanimous conduct in giving up their territory, and
venturing their lives on behalf of the Greeks in the Persian war."

XII. A controversy arose between the Athenians and the men of Tegea
about their respective places in the line of battle. The Tegeans
argued that if the Lacedaemonians had the right wing, they ought to be
posted on the left; and they spoke at great length about the
achievements of their ancestors, as entitling them to that honour. The
Athenians were vexed at their pretensions, but Aristeides said: "The
present time is not suitable for disputing with the Tegeans about
bravery; but to you, men of Sparta, and to the rest of the Greeks, we
say that a particular post neither confers courage nor takes it away,
but, that in whatever part of the line you may think fit to place us,
we will endeavour so to a