““There was in the army a man from Olynthus called Episthenes who was attracted to boys. He noticed that a good-looking boy, carrying a light shield, who had just reached the period of bloom, was about to be put to death, and he ran over to Xenophon and begged him to rescue the beautiful boy. Xenophon went up to Seuthes and asked him to spare the boy’s life; he explained Episthenes’ character and told him how he had served with distinction in a military unit he had formed, the sole criterion for entry into which was the attractiveness of the men. ‘Would you really be willing to die for this boy’s sake, Episthenes?’ asked Seuthes. Episthenes exposed his neck and said: ‘Strike, if the boy tells you to. Anything to make him happy’ Seuthes asked the boy if he should execute Episthenes instead of him, but the boy said no and begged him to kill neither of them. Then Episthenes embraced the boy and said: ‘Seuthes, you’ll have to fight me for him, because I’m not going to let him go.’”
