Happy Fourth of July!
Herodotus of Halicarnassus:
It is not only in respect of one thing but of everything that equality and free speech are clearly a good; take the case of Athens, which under the rule of princes proved no better in war than any of her neighbors but, once rid of those princes, was far the first of all. What this makes clear is that when held in subjection they would not do their best, for they were working for a taskmaster, but, when freed, they sought to win, because each was trying to achieve for his very self...
It was not just (or even) in war that fifth and fourth century B.C. Athens was preeminent...
