Although extraordinary valor was displayed by the entire corps of Spartans and Thespians, yet bravest of all was declared the Spartan Dienekes. It is said that on the eve of battle, he was told by a native of Trachis that the Persian archers were so numerous that, their arrows would block out the sun. Dienekes, however, undaunted by this prospect, remarked with a laugh, 'Good. Then we will fight in the shade.
Interpretation
This quote highlights the bravery and resolve of individuals in the face of overwhelming odds.
Dienekes' response to the intimidating news about the Persian archers exemplifies a fearless and defiant spirit. Rather than being disheartened by the prospect of battle against such overwhelming forces, he embraces the challenge with humor, illustrating the strength and resilience of the human spirit when confronted with fear and adversity.
In practice
This quote can inspire soldiers facing daunting battles.
The Scythians take kannabis seed, creep in under the felts, and throw it on the red-hot stones. It smolders and sends up such billows of steam-smoke that no Greek vapor bath can surpass it. The Scythians howl with joy in these vapor-baths, which serve them instead of bathing, for they never wash their bodies with water.
The man who has planned badly, if fortune is on his side, may have had a stroke of luck; but his plan was a bad one nonetheless.
Men trust their ears less than their eyes.
Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks.
The worst pain a man can have is to know much and be impotent to act.
All men's gains are the fruit of venturing.
Fearlessness may be a gift, but perhaps most precious is courage from cultivating the habit of refusing to let fear dictate one's actions.
Yes, victors are our strongest. They're the ones who survived the arena and slipped the noose of poverty that strangles the rest of us. They, or should I say we, are the very embodiment of hope where there is no hope. And now twenty-three of us will be killed to show how even that hope was an illusion.
To fight for voting rights is to fight for human rights.
That's been the story of my life - obstacles: trying to figure a way over them, around them, under them; sometimes you have to go straight through them.
I am prepared to die, but there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill.
Women have always been the strong ones of the world.
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