Sometimes You Just Can't Win

Much the greatest courage was shown, in my opinion, by Aristodemus - the man who had suffered the disgrace of being the sole survivor of the Three Hundred at Thermopylae. After him the greatest personal distinction was won by the three Spartans, Posidonius, Philocyon, and Amompharetus. However, when, after the battle, the question of who had most distinguished himself was discussed, the Spartans present decided that Aristodemus had, indeed, performed great deeds, but that he had done so merely to retrieve his lost honour, rushing forward with the fury of a madman in his desire to be killed before his comrades' eyes; Posidonius, on the contrary, without any wish to be killed, had fought bravely, and was on that account the better man. It may, of course, have been envy which made them say this; in any case, the men I mentioned all received public honours except Aristodemus - Aristodemus got nothing, because he deliberately courted death for the reason already explained.

Herodotus 9.71 (trans. Selincourt)