In his De Herodoti malignitate (24), Plutarch accuses Herodotus of not treating all the military exploits that he describes with equal interest. He complains that some of the events are narrated in meticulous detail while others are simply omitted. The Ionian revolt is a case in point: for Plutarch it provides an example of Herodotus' mistaken evaluation, and even suppression, of individuals, whole peoples, and events. In general, Plutarch characterizes Herodotus' treatment of the revolt (τ⋯ περ⋯ Σ⋯ρδεις) as demeaning, epitomized by Herodotus dubbing the Athenian ships sent to liberate the Greek cities of Ionia as the ‘beginning of evils’:

Of relevance for our discussion of Cyprus is Plutarch's complaint that crucial naval victories, such as that of the Eretrians over the Cypriots in the Pamphylian sea, have been entirely neglected. Here Herodotus is condemned for ‘mentioning the Eretrians casually and passing over their great epic achievement in silence’ (Ἐρετρι⋯ων δ⋯ κομιδῇ μνησθε⋯ς ⋯ν παρ⋯ργῳ κα⋯ παρασιωπ⋯σας μ⋯γα κατ⋯ρθωμα κα⋯ ⋯ο⋯διμον, 24).