Boise State University
The Speeches Delivered In Sparta Concerning The Situation At Pylos
Bethany Bastien
Honors 392
Prof. Scott Yenor
20 September 2017
The speeches of Conaan and Agis in response to the situation at Pylos
As the Spartans sat in deliberation after sending away the messengers who had come from Pylos on behalf of those besieged there, Conaan- an ephor of the people, stood to speak to those who were assembled.
“Spartans, listen to me, here we have before us a choice, how shall we advise our brothers who are besieged at Pylos? It is a difficult choice that we have to make. The promontory of Pylos is one which we must defend. It is a wish of the Athenians to urge our Helot slaves to revolt, to aid them in this war against us. The promontory of Pylos would give them a place to run, a base from which the Athenians could conduct raids into our homeland. Our brothers there who have established a defensive position on the isle of Sphacteria are in need. They lack water and supplies, the Athenians grow restless and there, on that desolate isle, our brethren will surely die if there is not a decision reached soon. We must ask then, what is the honorable thing to do? If our brothers who call to us for aid surrender, it will be the first surrender by any Spartan warriors in the history of Sparta. Would this dishonor our country? Would it be dishonourable to the memory of our ancestors who fought and died rather than surrender the pass of Thermopylae, allowing for the eventual defeat of the Persians at Salamis?
What would have become of our great nation had those Spartans, under the command of Leonidas, surrendered to the persian army? The rest of our allies would not have learned of the victory of the Persians, and would not have been able to carry on to Salamis, where the war was won, and the Persians routed.
If it weren’t for the bravery and honor of those at the pass, there may have been a greatly different outcome in our war against the Persians.
Should then those at Pylos risk turning the tide of the war through a surrender? Or would it be honorable of them to die rather than surrender to the cursed Athenians?
I stand before you, an ephor of the people, and beg of you that we must not allow the Athenians this entry point into our homeland. Pylos must stand.
If our brothers at Pylos were to surrender today I tell you that it would be dishonorable. Better for them to die as spartans, sword and shield in hand than to surrender themselves and their weapons, and live without honor.
An escape from the rock of Pylos, or a fight to the death must be our two options that we consider. To entertain the thought of surrender is to invite dishonor.”
“Our brothers at Pylos must be strong, and resilient, they must be warriors, unafraid of what is to come. An attempt at escape, even were it to be unsuccessful would show that we as Spartans will never give in. That we will never disgrace ourselves or our land with the dishonor of surrender. Better to die fleeing from dishonor, than to welcome that same dishonor with open arms.”
“Though it may be difficult and costly, escape must be an option, we are spartans are we not? We have survived more dangerous toils than this, and we are stronger and more hardy than the Athenians who hide behind their walls, were we not raised taking part in the Pankration? Did we not send our sons to the temple of Diana to shed their blood for the goddess? We are strong, and our brothers can survive an escape, should they only try.”
“The other course of action that we must entertain the thought of is encouraging our brothers at Pylos to stand and fight. The morale of the Athenians cannot be high, they are living from their ships. They are in the same situation as our brethren, weary and homesick. The strength of Sparta could, and shall prevail. The glory of fighting for Sparta will succor our brothers. They will be crowned with glory and honor, in this life should they survive, and in the next life should they perish. Their deaths we would mourn, yet the loss of Pylos we would recover from, fighting as hoplites to defend this land is our birthright. Never would the Athenians prevail should they come over the promontory to attack us. Though we would mourn our brothers deaths, we would celebrate the victories that we could accomplish should the Athenians be overconfident enough to attack us on land.”
“Listen to me Spartans, death and glory in battle has always been, and always will be, the Spartan way. To disgrace and dishonor our legacies through surrender is not an option. Let our brothers at Pylos die as Spartans before they live as cowards. Let their mothers be proud of their sons, their wives be proud of their husbands, and sons be proud of their fathers. Do not allow sentiment and fear bring you to allow our city to be disgraced. Never will we forget their sacrifice should they die-be it in battle or in attempting escape. But neither will we ever forget their dishonor should they surrender.”
At this point, Conaan the ephor took his seat and, after a brief time spent in silent thought, Agis, King of Sparta, stood to deliver to the gathered Spartans his thoughts regarding the men besieged at Pylos and what he believed that their honorable actions should be:
“Spartans, brothers, listen to me, your king. I too, believe in the honor of Sparta. I too believe that to die in battle, for the defense of Sparta, is glorious. Yet, how glorious, how honorable is it for us, to tell our brothers who are in fear for their lives, that to die is the best choice? Truly it is the Spartan way to fight for honor and glory, and even more true is it that surrender is not in our blood. That we are a strong, and hardy folk. Forged through the Pankration, and through the shedding of blood at the temple of Diana, through the Agoge. It is not the blood of a Spartan to surrender, or to allow for defeat. To give up our arms and freedom in exchange for our lives, and a future. Yet, does this make it dishonourable? Could it not be considered honorable for our brothers to surrender and live? To live with the hope of once more seeing this great land? To hope that once more they will be able to freely wield a sword, and shield? That there will come a day that they will be able to rise up again and fight for the glory and honor of Sparta? Is this hope for life dishonorable?”
“Who are we, as fellow Spartans, to tell our brothers at Pylos that it is dishonorable to surrender? We who have not been in the same position as they who are even now besieged at Pylos and suffering?”
“It is the way of us Spartans to seek honor and glory in battle, could we not also seek honor and glory through urging our brothers to live? I ask you again, how honorable would we, the living, be if we urged those at the isle of Sphacteria to die? How dishonorable would they, the besieged, be if they surrendered rather than die needlessly to defend a spit of rock that we could easily regain in the future?”
“Fellow Spartans, I urge you to think of your own experiences in battle, how would you have wished for those here in Sparta to react had you been surrounded? How would you feel had you been in the position of those besieged? Would you be willing to abandon the fight if it meant you had the possibility of seeing again these lands and your homes?”
“If the answer your pleas received was one of cold dismissal of your lives, would you be angry? Would you wish for those here, in the same place where you now sit, to be compassionate, to support the honorable intentions behind your desire to surrender? Or would you be willing to accept the argument presented to you by Conaan? That death, and glory, first and foremost is preferable to the surrender?”
“I tell you what I would have rather heard had I been the one besieged. I would hope to hear that my actions would not be dishonorable should I chose to act differently than all the Spartans who had come before me. That it is no less dishonorable to surrender and live, than it is to fight and die.”
“Tell me, who among you would feel any differently? Who among you, save perhaps the brave and honorable ephor Conaan, would prefer death in battle to the chance of once again seeing your city and home?”
“Tell me Spartans, how living to fight another day is less honorable than death? How is it that you believe that the deaths of those at Pylos is preferable to their continued existence? Tell me Spartans how you would view their actions, should they choose to surrender, as anything less than honorable? Tell me how you believe that condemning these, our brothers, to die on that promontory is in any way an honorable act. How then, Spartans, if condemning our brothers to death, through inaction, is dishonorable, could we call their wish to live anything less than honorable?”
After he had said all that he meant to say, Agis, King of Sparta, retook his seat, and allowed the deliberation to proceed. After a time it was decided that the messengers would return to Pylos with the instructions to tell those Spartans besieged there to do as they felt best, and to do what they felt would not be dishonorable.
And so this is how the first surrender in battle by Spartan warriors came to take place. Through this discussion of honor by Conaan, an Ephor, and Agis, King of the Spartans, and a brave man.