But
their account is quite inconsistent with chronology.
There was also Philolaus, the Corinthian, who gave laws to the
Thebans. This Philolaus was one of the family of the Bacchiadae, and a
lover of Diocles, the Olympic victor, who left Corinth in horror of
the incestuous passion which his mother Halcyone had conceived for
him, and retired to Thebes, where the two friends together ended their
days. The inhabitants still point out their tombs, which are in full
view of one another, but one is visible from the Corinthian territory,
the other not. Tradition says the two friends arranged them thus,
Diocles out of horror at his misfortunes, so that the land of
Corinth might not be visible from his tomb; Philolaus that it might.
This is the reason why they settled at Thebes, and so Philolaus
legislated for the Thebans, and, besides some other enactments, gave
them laws about the procreation of children, which they call the 'Laws
of Adoption.' These laws were peculiar to him, and were intended to
preserve the number of the lots.
In the legislation of Charondas there is nothing remarkable,
except the suits against false witnesses. He is the first who
instituted denunciation for perjury. His laws are more exact and
more precisely expressed than even those of our modern legislators.
(Characteristic of Phaleas is the equalization of property; of
Plato, the community of women, children, and property, the common
meals of women, and the law about drinking, that the sober shall be
masters of the feast; also the training of soldiers to acquire by
practice equal skill with both hands, so that one should be as
useful as the other.
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