he had what with us is accounted wealth, and after his life a most
glorious end: for when a battle was fought by the Athenians at Eleusis
against the neighbouring people, he brought up supports and routed the
foe and there died by a most fair death; and the Athenians buried him
publicly where he fell, and honoured him greatly." 31. So when Solon
had moved Crœsus to inquire further by the story of Tellos, recounting
how many points of happiness he had, the king asked again whom he had
seen proper to be placed next after this man, supposing that he
himself would certainly obtain at least the second place; but he
replied: "Cleobis and Biton: for these, who were of Argos by race,
possessed a sufficiency of wealth and, in addition to this, strength
of body such as I shall tell. Both equally had won prizes in the
games, and moreover the following tale is told of them:--There was a
feast of Hera among the Argives and it was by all means necessary that
their mother should be borne in a car to the temple. But since their
oxen were not brought up in time from the field, the young men, barred
from all else by lack of time, submitted themselves to the yoke and
drew the wain, their mother being borne by them upon it; and so they
brought it on for five-and-forty furlongs,[28] and came to the temple.
Then after they had done this and had been seen by the assembled
crowd, there came to their life a most excellent ending; and in this
the deity declared that it was better for man to die than to continue
to live. For the Argive men were standing round and extolling the
strength[29] of the young men, while the Argive women were extolling
the mother to whose lot it had fallen to have such sons; and the
mother being exceedingly rejoiced both by the deed itself and by the
report made of it, took her stand in front of the image of the goddess
and prayed that she would give to Cleobis and Biton her sons, who had
honoured her[30] greatly, that gift which is best for man to receive:
and after this prayer, when they had sacrificed and feasted, the young