Zenobius 6.17
Why did you not hang yourself, that you might be a hero in Thebes?
English
Proverb
Why did you not hang yourself, that you might be a hero in Thebes?
Explanation
Plato mentions it in his Menelaus. They say that at Thebes those who killed themselves had no share in any honour. Aristotle too says the same of the Thebans, that they did not honour those who became their own slayers. So "that you might be a hero" is said by way of euphemism.
Greek
Proverb
Τί οὐκ ἀπήγξω, ἵνα Θήβησιν ἥρως γένῃ
Explanation
ταύτης Πλάτων ἐν Μενέλεῳ μέμνηται. Φασὶ δὲ, ὅτι ἐν Θήβαις οἱ ἑαυτοὺς ἀναιροῦντες οὐδεμιᾶς τιμῆς μετεῖχον. Καὶ Ἀριστοτέλης δέ φησι περὶ Θηβαίων τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο, ὅτι τοὺς αὐτόχειρας ἑαυτῶν γινομένους οὐκ ἐτίμων. Τὸ οὖν, Ἵνα ἥρως γένῃ, κατ’ εὐφημισμὸν εἴρηται.
urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0098.tlg001.1st1K-grc1:6.17