person
Cleobis and Biton
Cleobis and Bito
also: Cleobis et Bito, Cleobis and Bito, Cleobis, Biton
The devoted Argive brothers who yoked themselves to draw their mother, a priestess of Hera, to the temple; she prayed the gods grant them the greatest gift, and they died peacefully in their sleep. The classic exemplum (from Herodotus 1.31) that a painless death is heaven's reward for piety.
Reading notes
- Tusculan Disputations §1.113 Cleobis and Bito, the sons of the priestess of Argos
Cleobis and Biton, the devoted Argive brothers who yoked themselves to draw their mother, a priestess of Hera, to the temple; she prayed for them the greatest gift, and they died peacefully in their sleep. The classic exemplum that the gods reward piety with painless death.