Aeimnestus ( grc, Ἀείμνηστος) is an

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

word, also spelled and that means "unforgettable", literally "of everlasting memory". It was the name of multiple revered Greek warriors. A

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

n soldier Aeimnestus killed the Persian general Mardonius by crushing Mardonius' head with a rock during the

Battle of Plataea The Battle of Plataea was the final land battle during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place in 479 BC near the city of Plataea in Boeotia, and was fought between an alliance of the Greek city-states (including Sparta, Athens, C ...

in 479 BC. The event was described in Book 9 of the '' Histories'' of

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

calls the same man "Arimnestus" (). Another Spartan by the same name led three hundred men against the whole Messenian army in the

Messenian Wars Messenian Wars refers to the wars between Messenia and Sparta in the 8th and 7th centuries BC as well as the 4th century BC. * First Messenian War *Second Messenian War The Second Messenian War was a war which occurred ca. 660–650 BC between th ...

; both he and his company were killed to the last man. A

Plataea Plataea or Plataia (; grc, Πλάταια), also Plataeae or Plataiai (; grc, Πλαταιαί), was an ancient city, located in Greece in southeastern Boeotia, south of Thebes.Mish, Frederick C., Editor in Chief. “Plataea.” '' Webst ...

n general

Arimnestos Arimnestos ( el, Ἀρίμνηστος; fl. early 5th century BCE) was the commander of the Plataean contingent at the battles of Marathon and Plataea during the Greco-Persian Wars. Battle of Plataea Plutarch relates that Arimnestos was re ...

led his city's host in the battles of

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

and

Notes

Ancient Spartan soldiers 5th-century BC Greek people Ancient Greeks killed in battle People of the Greco-Persian Wars {{AncientGreece-bio-stub