His courage Theseus displayed in these perilous exploits which he hazarded alone; his knowledge of war in the battles he fought in company with the whole city; his piety toward the gods in connexion with the supplications of Adrastus and the children of Heracles when, by defeating the Peloponnesians in battle, he saved the lives of the childrenCf. Eur. Heraclid. for the story and also Isocrates, Isoc. 4.56., and to Adrastus he restored for burial, despite the Thebans, the bodies of those who had died beneath the walls of the CadmeaCf. Eur. Supp. The story of Adrastus is told in detail in Isoc. 12.168 ff. Adrastus, king of Argos, led the expedition of the “Seven against Thebes” (cf. Aesch. Seven), which met with defeat.; and finally, he revealed his other virtues and his prudence, not only in the deeds already recited, but especially in the manner in which he governed our city.

For he saw that those who seek to rule their fellow-citizens by force are themselves the slaves of others, and that those who keep the lives of their fellow-citizens in peril themselves live in extreme fear, and are forced to make war, on the one hand, with the help of citizens against invaders from abroad, and, on the other hand, with the help of auxiliaries against their fellow citizens;

further, he saw them despoiling the temples of the gods, putting to death the best of their fellow-citizens, distrusting those nearest to them, living lives no more free from care than do men who in prison await their death; he saw that, although they are envied for their external blessings, yet in their own hearts they are more miserable than all other men—