Talk:Themistocles

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[edit] Editing

Edited the first 2 paragraphs for style so far. References needed. --Ste175 10:01, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

Edited the rest for style. It would be good to check some of the facts (i.e. incorporate more sources), and add a picture to break up the text. Njál 11:28, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Magnesia

I edited the section on his time in Asia. Previously it had said: "He was well received by the Persians and was allowed to settle in Magnesia in Thessaly. Thessaly was an ally of Persia, having supported Persia during the invasion by Xerxes." I changed that to: "He was well received by the Persians and was made governor of Magnesia on the Maeander River in Asia Minor (modern Turkey)." On the edit page from February 2007 Dave2K says "Removed reference to Maeander River in Magnesia. The river is in Asia Minor, Magnesia is in Thessaly." That is incorrect. While there may well have been a Magnesia in Thessaly, there's also a Magnesia on the Maeander River in Asia Minor and that's the Magnesia where Themistocles was made governor by Artaxerxes. See Thucydides 1.138 ("There is a monument to him in the market-place of Magnesia in Asia. This was the district over which he ruled; for the King gave him Magnesia for his bread . . .") and the Oxford Classical Dictionary s.v. Themistocles: "Artaxerxes I . . . made him governor of Magnesia on the Maeander." Thessaly did indeed collaborate with the Persians when they invaded, but they stopped collaborating with Persia after the Persians were driven out. --MiloD 00:21, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Dates

Regarding a recent revert, changing Themistocles' date of birth from 525 to 523 BC is of course not vandalism, but more likely a matter of somebody having consulted a different source. I changed the dates from 525-460 BC to 524-459 BC and cited The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization, an abridged version of the Oxford Classical Dictionary which I assume gives the same dates. These are certainly reliable sources for classical studies and following them beats a pointless revert war. I suggest that discussion of other dates be confined to the footnote. --D. Webb 18:27, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

It was done in the way of a vandal; half-witted. There were two places to make the change in that one sentence and there was no comment on why the edit was made and no source, and so someone somewhere on the planet popped in and changed a 5 to a 3. I say a vandal. But the footnote would be great if indeed there is knowledge for a footnote. -BiancaOfHell 01:07, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Image

A bust exists of Themistocles, certainly it should be added to this article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by NeacusHaerus (talk • contribs) 03:30, 13 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] NPOV

Try to keep in mind that if this guy could tell his side of the story he would probably have some kind of explanation for his actions. We have very little evidence about him at all and not nearly enough to assume that he went over to the Persians as part of some evil premeditated plot to betray his nation to the enemy. There's no way we can possibly know what his motives really were.

If you believe that some "clash of civilizations" between Europe and Iran is the most important thing in the world that's fine but you can't get on wikipedia and write that some guy 2500 years ago was a terrible person because our very limited evidence suggests he didn't agree with you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Abu America (talk • contribs) 13:31, 24 March 2008 (UTC)