Aristides Aristides ( or Aristeides , Greek : , 530 BC – 468 BC ) was an ancient Athenian statesman . Nicknamed " the Just " , he flourished in the early quarter of Athens ' Classical period and is remembered for his generalship in the Persian War . The ancient historian Herodotus cited him as " the best and most honourable man in Athens " , and he received similarly reverent treatment in the writing of the philosopher Plato . Biography . Aristides was the son of Lysimachus , and a member of a family of moderate fortune . Of his early life , it is only told that he became a follower of the statesman Cleisthenes and sided with the aristocratic party in Athenian politics . He first came to notice as " strategos " in command of his native tribe Antiochis at the Battle of Marathon , and it was no doubt in consequence of the distinction which he then achieved that he was elected " archon " for the ensuing year ( 489 — 488 ) . In pursuance of a conservative policy which aimed at maintaining Athens as a land power , he was one of the chief opponents of the naval policy proposed by Themistocles . The conflict between the two leaders ended in the ostracism of Aristides at a date variously given between 485 and 482 . It is said that , on this occasion , an illiterate voter , who did not know him , came up to him , and giving him his voting shard , desired him to write upon it the name of Aristides . The latter asked if Aristides had wronged him . " No , " was the reply , " and I do not even know him , but it irritates me to hear him everywhere called ' the Just ' . " Aristides then wrote his own name on the ballot . Early in 480 , Aristides profited by the decree recalling exiles to help in the defence of Athens against Persian invaders , and was elected " strategos " for the year 480 – 479 . In the Battle of Salamis , he gave loyal support to Themistocles , and crowned the victory by landing Athenian infantry on the island of Psyttaleia and annihilating the Persian garrison stationed there . In 479 , he was re - elected " strategos " , and given special powers as commander of the Athenian forces at the Battle of Plataea ; he is also said to have suppressed a conspiracy among some oligarchic malcontents in the army . He so won the confidence of the Ionian allies that , after revolting from the Spartan admiral Pausanias , they gave him the chief command and left him with absolute discretion in fixing the contributions of the newly formed confederacy , the Delian League . His assessment was universally accepted as equitable , and continued as the basis of taxation for the greater part of the league ’ s duration . He continued to hold a predominant position in Athens . At first he seems to have remained on good terms with Themistocles , whom he is said to have helped in outwitting the Spartans over the rebuilding of the walls of Athens . He is said by some authorities to have died at Athens , by others on a journey to the Black Sea . The date of his death is given by Nepos as 468 ; at any rate , he lived to witness the ostracism of Themistocles , towards whom he always displayed generosity , but he died before the rise of Pericles . His estate seems to have suffered severely from the Persian invasions , for apparently he did not leave enough money to defray the expenses of his burial , and it is known that his descendants even in the 4th century received state pensions . Authorities . Herodotus is practically the only trustworthy authority . But Plutarch , though writing during the Roman Empire , had at his disposal a range of historical sources that no longer survive , and he was a conscientious scholar who weighed his evidence carefully . Aristides is praised by Socrates in Plato ' s dialogues " Gorgias " and " Meno " as an exceptional instance of good leadership . However it should be noted that in Plato ' s dialogue Theaetetus , Socrates refers to Aristides less positively , bringing him as an example of a student who leaves his care too soon and realises later that he is a fool .