Arimnestos Explained

See also: Aeimnestus.

Arimnestos (Greek, Modern (1453-);: Ἀρίμνηστος; early 5th century BCE) was the commander of the Plataean contingent at the battles of Marathon and Plataea during the Greco-Persian Wars.^[1]

Battle of Plataea

Plutarch relates that Arimnestos was responsible for selecting the location of the Battle of Plataea, after receiving guidance from Zeus Soter in a dream. He shared this insight with the Athenian general Aristides, who in turn showed the site to the Spartan regent Pausanias, the overall commander of the Greek forces.^[2]

He was present at the death of Callicrates later during the battle.^[3]

He was depicted by painted portrait in the Temple of Athena Areia built on the site of the battlefield by the Athenians, beneath a statue of the goddess made by Pheidias to commemorate the victory.^[4]

In fiction

Arimnestos is the protagonist and narrator in the Long War series by Christian Cameron.^[5]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Description of Greece, Boeotia . Pausanias . ch 4, s. 2 . Perseus Digital Library .
2. Web site: Plutarch . Aristides . ch. 11 . Perseus Digital Library .
3. Web site: The Histories . Herodotus . Book 9, ch. 32 . Perseus Digital Library .
4. Web site: Catherine . Keesling . Retrospective Portrait Statues and the Hellenistic Reception of Herodotus . Society for Classical Studies . 2015 .
5. Web site: Arimnestos - Hippeis . Hippeis . 2016-11-13 . 2018-11-09 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181109032001/http://www.hippeis.com/arimnestos . dead.