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![HomerPavlos Avatar](https://lunarcrush.com/gi/w:24/cr:twitter::1575555198524788736.png) Homer Pavlos [@HomerPavlos](/creator/twitter/HomerPavlos) on x 20.8K followers
Created: 2025-07-22 20:17:08 UTC

Some poor Arcadians approached the Persians seeking work. They were brought before Xerxes, who was accustomed to gathering information himself. He asked them: "What are the Greeks doing?"

"They are watching the athletic and equestrian contests being held now in Olympia," they replied.  

"And what is the prize for the victors?" Xerxes asked.  

"They receive a wreath made from an olive branch," the Arcadians answered.

When Tritantaechmes, son of Artabanus, heard that the prize was not money but merely a wreath, he could not contain himself. He stood up and, in the presence of all, exclaimed to Mardonius the famous words:  

"OH! OH! Mardonius! What kind of men have you brought us to fight against, who compete not for money, but for virtue?!"  

-Herodotus, Histories, 8.26-27

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**Related Topics**
[prize](/topic/prize)
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