Xenophon · Hellenica · 色诺芬 · 希腊史

After this, not many days later, Thymochares came from Athens with a few ships; and thereupon the Lacedaemonians and the Athenians fought another naval battle, and the Lacedaemonians were victorious, under the leadership of Agesandridas.

Shortly after this, at the beginning of the winter, Dorieus, the son of Diagoras, sailed into the Hellespont from Rhodes with fourteen ships, arriving at daybreak. And when the Athenian day-watcher described him, he signalled to the generals, and they put out against him with twenty ships; and Dorieus, fleeing from them towards the shore, beached his triremes, as fast as he got them clear of the enemy, in the neighbourhood of Rhoeteum.

And when the Athenians came near, the men under Dorieus fought, from their ships and from the shore, until the Athenians sailed away to Madytus, to the rest of their fleet, without having accomplished anything.

Now Mindarus caught sight of the battle as he was sacrificing to Athena at Ilium, and hurrying to the sea he launched his triremes and set out, in order to pick up the ships under Dorieus.

And the Athenians set out against him and did battle, along the strand near Abydus, from morning till late afternoon. They were at some points victorious and at others defeated, when Alcibiades sailed into the Hellespont to their support, with eighteen ships.

Thereupon the Peloponnesians took to flight in the direction of Abydus; and Pharnabazus came along the shore to their aid, and riding his horse into the sea as far as possible, bore a share in the fighting and cheered on his followers, cavalry and infantry.

Meanwhile the Peloponnesians made a barrier of their ships and marshalled themselves on the shore and fought. At length the Athenians sailed away to Sestus after capturing thirty of the enemy’s ships, though without their crews, and recovering those which they had previously lost themselves.

From Sestus all but forty of their ships went off in different directions, outside the Hellespont, to collect money; and Thrasyllus, who was one of the generals, set sail for Athens to report these events and to ask for troops and ships.

After this Tissaphernes came to the Hellespont; and when Alcibiades with a single trireme went to visit him, bearing friendly offerings and gifts, Tissaphernes seized him and imprisoned him in Sardis, saying that the King ordered him to make war upon the Athenians.

Thirty days later, however, Alcibiades, together with Mantitheus, who had been taken prisoner in Caria, provided themselves with horses and made their escape from Sardis by night to Clazomenae.

Meanwhile the Athenians at Sestus, learning that Mindarus was planning to sail against them with sixty ships, withdrew by night to Cardia. There Alcibiades joined them, coming from Clazomenae with five triremes and a dispatch boat. But upon learning that the Peloponnesian ships had set out from Abydus to Cyzicus, he proceeded overland to Sestus and gave orders that the ships should sail around to that place.

When they had arrived there and he was on the point of putting out to sea for battle, Theramenes sailed in from Macedonia with a reinforcement of twenty ships, and at the same time Thrasybulus arrived from Thasos with twenty more, both of them having been engaged in collecting money.

And after bidding them also to follow after him when they had removed their cruising sails, Alcibiades set off with his own ships to Parium; and when all the ships had come together at Parium, to the number of eighty-six, they set sail during the ensuing night, and on the next day at breakfast time arrived at Proconnesus.

There they learned that Mindarus was at Cyzicus, and also Pharnabazus with his army. Accordingly they remained that day at Proconnesus, but on the following day Alcibiades called an assembly of his men and told them that they must needs fight at sea, fight on land, and fight against fortresses. For we, he said, have no money, but the enemy have an abundance of it from the King.

Now on the preceding day, when they had come to anchor, Alcibiades had taken into his custody all the vessels in the harbour, even the small ones, in order that no one should report to the enemy the size of his fleet, and he made proclamation that death would be the punishment of any one who was caught sailing across to the other side of the strait.

And after the assembly he made preparations for battle and, in the midst of a heavy rain, set out for Cyzicus. When he was near Cyzicus, the weather cleared and the sun came out, and he sighted the ships under Mindarus, sixty in number, engaged in practice at some distance from the harbour and already cut off from it by his own fleet.

But the Peloponnesians, when they saw that the Athenian triremes were far more numerous than before and were near the harbour, fled to the shore; and mooring their ships together, they fought with their adversaries as they sailed down upon them.

Alcibiades, however, with twenty of his ships sailed round the fleets and landed on the shore. When Mindarus saw this, he also landed, and fell fighting on the shore; and those who were with him fled. And the Athenians took away with them to Proconnesus all the Peloponnesian ships, except those of the Syracusans; for these were burned by their own crews.From Proconnesus the Athenians sailed on the next day against Cyzicus;

and the Cyzicenes admitted them, inasmuch as the Peloponnesians and Pharnabazus had evacuated the city.

There Alcibiades remained for twenty days, and after obtaining a great deal of money from the Cyzicenes, but without doing any further harm in the city, sailed back to Proconnesus. From there he sailed to Perinthus and Selymbria.

And the Perinthians admitted the Athenian forces to their city, and the Selymbrians, while not admitting them, gave them money.

From there they proceeded to Chrysopolis, in Calchedonia, and fortified it, established a custom house in the city, and proceeded to collect the tithe-duty from vessels sailing out of the Pontus; they also left there as a garrison thirty ships and two of the generals, Theramenes and Eumachus, to have charge of the fort, to attend to the outgoing ships, and to harm the enemy in any other way they could. The other generals returned to the Hellespont.

Meanwhile a letter dispatched to Lacedaemon by Hippocrates, vice-admiral under Mindarus, was intercepted and taken to Athens; it ran as follows: The ships are gone. Mindarus is dead. The men are starving. We know not what to do.

Pharnabazus, however, urged the whole Peloponnesian army and their allies not to be discouraged over a matter of ship-timber—for he said there was plenty of that in the King’s land—so long as their bodies were safe; and he not only gave to each man a cloak and subsistence for two months, but he also armed the sailors and set them as guards over his own coastline.

Furthermore, calling together the generals and ship-captains from the various states, he bade them build triremes at Antandrus to equal the number which they had severally lost, giving them money for the purpose and telling them to get timber from Mount Ida.

And while the ship-building was going on, the Syracusans helped the Antandrians to finish a portion of their wall, and in the garrison-duty made themselves most popular. For this reason the Syracusans now enjoy at Antandrus the privileges of benefactors and citizens. As for Pharnabazus, after making these arrangements he went at once to the relief of Calchedon.

At this time word came from home to the Syracusan generals that they had been banished by the democratic party. Accordingly they called together their soldiers and, through Hermocrates as spokesman, lamented their misfortune in being unjustly and illegally banished, all without exception. They urged their soldiers to continue zealous in the future, as they had been in the past, and to be true men in obeying every order; and they directed them to choose new commanders, to hold office until those who had been chosen to fill their places should arrive from Syracuse.

The men, however, and particularly the captains and marines and steersmen, set up a shout at this and bade the generals remain in command. They replied that they ought not to indulge in partizan opposition to their own government. But if anyone, they said, has any charge to bring against us, you should give us a hearing, remembering how many naval battles you have won and how many ships you have captured when fighting by yourselves, and how often when associated with others you have proved yourselves invincible under our leadership, occupying the most honourable post in the line of battle on account of our skill and your own zealous spirit, exhibited both on land and sea.

But when no one brought any charge against them, at the request of the troops they remained until their successors arrived,—Demarchus, the son of Epicydes, Myskon, the son of Menecrates, and Potamis, the son of Gnosis. Then, after most of the captains had taken oath that, when they returned to Syracuse, they would bring their generals back from exile, they sped them on their ways, commending them all;

but in particular those who had associated with Hermocrates felt exceedingly the loss of his care and enthusiasm and democratic spirit. For the best of those whose acquaintance he made, both captains and steersmen and marines, he used to gather every day in the morning and at evening to his own tent, where he communicated to them whatever he was planning to say or to do; he instructed them also, sometimes directing them to speak ex tempore and sometimes after deliberation.

As a result of this Hermocrates enjoyed the greatest reputation in the general council, and was thought superior to all others as speaker and adviser. He now went to visit Pharnabazus; and since he had once brought an accusation against Tissaphernes at Lacedaemon, in which Astyochus supported him as witness, and had been adjudged to speak the truth, he received money from Pharnabazus before he asked for it, and busied himself with collecting mercenaries and triremes with a view to his restoration to Syracuse. Meanwhile the Syracusans who succeeded the banished generals arrived at Miletus and took over the ships and the troops.

At about this time a revolution took place in Thasos, and the partisans of Lacedaemon and the Laconian governor Eteonicus were driven out of the island. And Pasippidas the Laconian, who was accused of having managed this intrigue, in collusion with Tissaphernes, was banished from Sparta, while Cratesippidas was sent out to the fleet which Pasippidas had collected from the allies, and assumed command of it at Chios.

During these days also, and while Thrasyllus was in Athens, Agis made a raid from Decelea up to the very walls of the city; and Thrasyllus led forth the Athenians and all others who were in the city and marshalled them beside the Lyceum, with the intention of engaging the enemy if they approached.

When Agis saw this, he withdrew in haste, and some few of his rear line were killed by the Athenian light troops. In consequence of this occurrence the Athenians were still more ready to give Thrasyllus the help for which he had come, and they voted that he might choose out for service a thousand hoplites, a hundred horsemen, and fifty triremes.

Meanwhile Agis, who could see from Decelea great numbers of grain-ships sailing in to Piraeus, said that it was useless for his troops to be trying all this long time to shut off the Athenians from access to their land, unless one should occupy also the country from which the grain was coming in by sea; and that it was best to send to Calchedon and Byzantium Clearchus, the son of Rhamphias, who was diplomatic agent for the Byzantines at Sparta.

When this was resolved upon, fifteen ships were manned by the Megarians and the other allies, more properly transports than warships, and Clearchus set out with them. Three of his ships were destroyed in the Hellespont by the nine Attic ships which were continually on duty there to protect the Athenian merchantmen, but the rest escaped to Sestus and from there made their way safely to Byzantium.

So the year ended, being the year in which the Carthaginians, under the leadership of Hannibal, made an expedition against Sicily, with an army of one hundred thousand men, and in the course of three months captured two Greek cities, Selinus and Himera.

In the next year—in which was celebrated the ninety-third Olympiad, when the newly added two-horse race was won by Euagoras of Elis and the stadium by Eubotas of Cyrene, Euarchippus being now ephor at Sparta and Euctemon archon at Athens —the Athenians fortified Thoricus; and Thrasyllus took the ships which had been voted him, equipped five thousand of his sailors so that he might employ them as peltasts also, and set sail at the beginning of the summer for Samos.

After remaining there for three days he sailed to Pygela; and there he laid waste the country and attacked the wall of the town. A force from Miletus, however, came to the aid of the Pygelans, and finding the Athenian light troops scattered, pursued them.

Thereupon the peltasts and two companies of the hoplites came to the aid of their light troops and killed all but a few of the men from Miletus; they also captured about two hundred shields and set up a trophy.

On the next day they sailed to Notium and from there, after making the necessary preparations, marched to Colophon; and the Colophonians gave them their allegiance. It was now the time when the grain was ripening, and during the following night they made a raid into Lydia, burned many villages, and seized money, slaves, and other booty in great quantities.

Stages, the Persian, however, was in this region, and when the Athenians had scattered from their camp for private plunder, he captured one of them and killed seven others, despite the fact that their cavalry came to the rescue.

After this Thrasyllus led his army back to the coast, with the intention of sailing to Ephesus. But when Tissaphernes learned of this plan, he gathered together a large army and sent out horsemen to carry word to everybody to rally at Ephesus for the protection of Artemis.

And now, on the seventeenth day after his raid, Thrasyllus sailed to Ephesus; and having disembarked the hoplites at the foot of Mount Coressus, and the cavalry, peltasts, marines, and all the rest near the marsh on the opposite side of the city, he led forward the two divisions at daybreak.

The defenders of the city sallied forth to meet the attack,—the Ephesians, the allies whom Tissaphernes had brought them, the crews of the original twenty Syracusan ships and of five others which chanced to have arrived there at the time, newly come from Syracuse under the command of Eucles, the son of Hippon, and Heracleides, the son of Aristogenes, and finally, the crews of two Selinuntine ships.

All these contingents directed their first attack upon the hoplites at Coressus; and after routing them, killing about a hundred of them, and pursuing the rest down to the shore, they turned their attention to those by the marsh; and there also the Athenians were put to flight, and about three hundred of them were killed.

So the Ephesians set up a trophy there and a second at Coressus. They also gave to the Syracusans and Selinuntines, who had especially distinguished themselves, the prizes for valour, not only general prizes, but many to particular individuals among them, while upon any one of them who at any time might desire it they conferred the privilege of dwelling in Ephesus tax free; and to the Selinuntines, after Selinus had been destroyed, they gave the rights of Ephesian citizenship as well.

As for the Athenians, after obtaining a truce and so recovering the bodies of their dead, they sailed back to Notium, buried the dead there, and sailed on towards Lesbos and the Hellespont.

While they were at anchor in the harbour of Methymna, in Lesbos, they saw sailing past them from Ephesus the twenty-five Syracusan ships; and putting out to the attack they captured four of them, men and all, and chased the rest back to Ephesus.

And Thrasyllus sent home to Athens all the prisoners with the exception of Alcibiades; this Alcibiades, who was an Athenian and a cousin and fellow-exile of Alcibiades the general, he caused to be stoned to death. Then he set sail to Sestus to join the rest of the army; and from Sestus the entire force crossed over to Lampsacus.

And now the winter came on. During the course of it the Syracusan prisoners, who were immured in stone quarries in Piraeus, dug through the rock and made their escape by night, most of them to Decelea and the rest to Megara.

Meanwhile at Lampsacus Alcibiades endeavoured to marshal his entire army as a unit, but the old soldiers were unwilling to be marshalled with the troops of Thrasyllus; for they said that they had never known defeat, while the others had just come from a defeat. Both contingents, however, wintered there together, occupying themselves in fortifying Lampsacus.

They also made an expedition against Abydus; and Pharnabazus, who came to its aid with a large force of cavalry, was defeated in battle and put to flight. And Alcibiades pursued him with the Athenian cavalry and one hundred and twenty of the hoplites, under the command of Menander, until darkness covered the retreat.

As a result of this battle the soldiers came together of their own accord and the old troops fraternised with those under Thrasyllus. The Athenians also made some other expeditions during the winter into the interior and laid waste the King’s territory.

At the same period the Lacedaemonians granted terms to the Helots who had revolted and fled from Malea to Coryphasium, allowing them to evacuate Coryphasium unmolested. At about the same time, also, the colonists of Heracleia, in Trachis, were betrayed by the Achaeans in a battle where both peoples were drawn up against their enemies, the Oetaeans, and as a result about seven hundred of the Heracleots perished, together with the Lacedaemonian governor, Labotas.

So this year ended, being the year in which the Medes, who had revolted from Darius, king of the Persians, were again reduced to subjection.

During the ensuing year the temple of Athena at Phocaea was struck by lightning and set on fire. When the winter ended and spring began,—Pantacles being now ephor and Antigenes archon, and the war having continued for twenty-two years—the Athenians sailed with their entire force to Proconnesus.

From there they set out against Calchedon and Byzantium, and went into camp near Calchedon. Now the Calchedonians, when they learned that the Athenians were approaching, had put all their portable property in the keeping of the Bithynian Thracians, their neighbours.

Alcibiades, however, taking a few of the hoplites and the cavalry, and giving orders that the ships should sail along the coast, went to the Bithynians and demanded the property of the Calchedonians, saying that if they did not give it to him, he would make war upon them; so they gave it over.

And when Alcibiades returned to his camp with the booty, after having concluded a treaty with the Bithynians, he proceeded with his whole army to invest Calchedon by building a wooden stockade which extended from sea to sea, taking in the river also in so far as this was practicable.

Thereupon Hippocrates, the Lacedaemonian governor, led forth his troops from the city to do battle; and the Athenians marshalled themselves against him, while Pharnabazus, outside the stockade, with infantry and horsemen in great numbers, tried to aid Hippocrates.

Now for a long time Hippocrates and Thrasyllus fought, each with his hoplites, until Alcibiades came to the rescue with a few hoplites and the cavalry. Then Hippocrates was killed, and those who were with him fled back into the city.

At the same time Pharnabazus, unable to effect a junction with Hippocrates owing to the narrowness of the space, since the stockade came down close to the river, retired to the Heracleium in the Calchedonian territory, where he had his camp.

After this Alcibiades went off to the Hellespont and the Chersonese to collect money; and the rest of the generals concluded a compact with Pharnabazus which provided that, in consideration of their sparing Calchedon, Pharnabazus should give the Athenians twenty talents and should conduct Athenian ambassadors to the King;

they also received from Pharnabazus a pledge under oath that the Calchedonians should pay to the Athenians precisely the same tribute they had been accustomed to pay and should settle the arrears of tribute, while they on their side made oath that the Athenians would not wage war upon the Calchedonians until the ambassadors should return from the King.

Alcibiades was not present at the exchange of these oaths, but was in the neighbourhood of Selymbria; and when he had captured that city, he came to Byzantium, bringing with him all the forces of the Chersonesians and soldiers from Thrace and more than three hundred horsemen.

Now Pharnabazus thought that Alcibiades also ought to give his oath, and so waited at Calchedon until he should come from Byzantium; but when he came, he said that he would not make oath unless Pharnabazus also should do the like to him.

In the end, Alcibiades made oath at Chrysopolis to the representatives of Pharnabazus, Mitrobates and Arnapes, and Pharnabazus at Calchedon to the representatives of Alcibiades, Euryptolemus and Diotimus, both parties not only giving the official oath but also making personal pledges to one another.

Immediately after this Pharnabazus went away, leaving word that the ambassadors who were going to the King should meet him at Cyzicus. The Athenians who were sent were Dorotheus, Philocydes, Theogenes, Euryptolemus, and Mantitheus, and with them two Argives, Cleostratus and Pyrrolochus; ambassadors of the Lacedaemonians also went along, Pasippidas and others, and with them Hermocrates, who was already an exile from Syracuse, and his brother Proxenus.

While Pharnabazus was conducting this party, the Athenians were besieging Byzantium; they had built a stockade around the city, and were attacking its wall with missiles from a distance and by close assault.

Within Byzantium was Clearchus the Lacedaemonian, its governor, and with him some Laconian Perioeci, a few emancipated Helots, a contingent of Megarians, under the command of Helixus the Megarian, and one of Boeotians, under the command of Coeratadas.

Now the Athenians, finding that they were unable to accomplish anything by force, persuaded some of the Byzantines to betray the city.

Meanwhile Clearchus, the governor, supposing that no one would do that, arranged everything as well as he could, turned over the charge of the city to Coeratadas and Helixus, and crossed to the opposite shore to meet Pharnabazus, in order to get from him pay for the soldiers and also to collect ships. His plan was to assemble those which had been left behind by Pasippidas as guardships and were now in the Hellespont, those at Antandrus, and those which Agesandridas, a lieutenant of Mindarus, had under his command on the Thracian coast, and finally, to have other ships built; then, after gathering them all together, he thought to harry the allies of the Athenians and so draw off their army from Byzantium.

But when Clearchus had sailed away, those who wanted to betray the city of the Byzantines set about their work,—Cydon, Ariston, Anaxicrates, Lycurgus, and Anaxilaus.

This Anaxilaus was afterwards tried for his life at Lacedaemon because of this betrayal, but was acquitted, on the plea that he did not betray the city, but rather saved it; he was a Byzantine, he said, not a Lacedaemonian, and when he saw children and women perishing of starvation,—for Clearchus, he said, gave whatever provisions the city contained to the soldiers of the Lacedaemonians,—he had for this reason admitted the enemy, not for the sake of money nor out of hatred to the Lacedaemonians.

As has been said, however, these betrayers made their preparations, and then, opening by night the gates that lead to the Thracian Square, as it is called, let in the Athenian army and Alcibiades.

Now Helixus and Coeratadas, who knew nothing of what was going on, hurried to the market-place with all their troops; but when they found that the enemy were masters everywhere and that they could do nothing, they surrendered themselves.

They were all sent off to Athens, and as they were disembarking at Piraeus, Coeratadas slipped away in the crowd and made his escape to Decelea.

As for Pharnabazus and the ambassadors, while they were spending the winter at Gordium, in Phrygia, they heard what had happened at Byzantium.

But as they were continuing their journey to the King, at the opening of the spring, they met not only the Lacedaemonian ambassadors returning,—Boeotius and his colleagues and the messengers besides, who reported that the Lacedaemonians had obtained from the King everything they wanted,—

but also Cyrus, who had come in order to be ruler of all the peoples on the coast and to support the Lacedaemonians in the war. This Cyrus brought with him a letter, addressed to all the dwellers upon the sea and bearing the King’s seal, which contained among other things these words: I send down Cyrus as caranus of those whose mustering-place is Castolus.

When the Athenian ambassadors heard all this and saw Cyrus, they wished, if it were possible, to make their journey to the King, but otherwise to return home.

Cyrus, however, directed Pharnabazus either to give the ambassadors into his charge, or at any rate not to let them go home as yet, for he wished the Athenians not to know of what was going on.

Pharnabazus, accordingly, in order that Cyrus might not censure him, detained the ambassadors for a time, now saying that he would conduct them to the King, and again, that he would let them go home;

but when three years had passed, he requested Cyrus to release them, on the plea that he had given his oath to conduct them back to the coast, since he could not take them to the King. So they sent the ambassadors to Ariobarzanes and directed him to escort them on; and he conducted them to Cius, in Mysia, whence they set sail to join the Athenian army.

Meanwhile Alcibiades, wishing to sail home with his troops, made straight for Samos; from there he sailed, with twenty of the ships, to the Ceramic Gulf, in Caria; and after collecting there a hundred talents, he returned to Samos.

Thrasybulus, however, with thirty ships, went off to the Thracian coast, where he reduced all the places which had revolted to the Lacedaemonians, and especially Thasos, which was in a bad state on account of wars and revolutions and famine.

Thrasyllus finally, with the rest of the fleet, sailed home to Athens; but before he arrived, the Athenians had chosen as generals Alcibiades, who was still in exile, Thrasybulus, who was absent, and as a third, from among those at home, Conon.

And now Alcibiades sailed from Samos with his twenty ships and his money to Paros, and from there directed his course straight to Gytheium, in order to take a look at the thirty triremes which he heard the Lacedaemonians were making ready there and to see how his city felt toward him, with reference to his homecoming.

And when he found that the temper of the Athenians was kindly, that they had chosen him general, and that his friends were urging him by personal messages to return, he sailed in to Piraeus, arriving on the day when the city was celebrating the Plynteria and the statue of Athena was veiled from sight,—a circumstance which some people imagined was of ill omen, both for him and for the state; for on that day no Athenian would venture to engage in any serious business.

When he sailed in, the common crowd of Piraeus and of the city gathered to his ships, filled with wonder and desiring to see the famous Alcibiades. Some of them said that he was the best of the citizens; that he alone was banished without just cause, but rather because he was plotted against by those who had less power than he and spoke less well and ordered their political doings with a view to their own private gain, whereas he was always advancing the common weal, both by his own means and by the power of the state.

At the time in question, they said, he was willing to be brought to trial at once, when the charge had just been made that he had committed sacrilege against the Eleusinian Mysteries; his enemies, however, postponed the trial, which was obviously his right, and then, when he was absent, robbed him of his fatherland;

thereafter, in his exile, helpless as a slave and in danger of his life every day, he was forced to pay court to those whom he hated most; and though he saw those who were dearest to him, his fellow-citizens and kinsmen and all Athens, making mistakes, he was debarred by his banishment from the opportunity of helping them.

It was not the way, they said, of men such as he to desire revolution or a change in government; for under the democracy it had been his fortune to be not only superior to his contemporaries but also not inferior to his elders, while his enemies, on the other hand, were held in precisely the same low estimation after his banishment as before; later, however, when they had gained power, they had slain the best men, and since they alone were left, they were accepted by the citizens merely for the reason that better men were not available.

Others, however, said that Alcibiades alone was responsible for their past troubles, and as for the ills which threatened to befall the state, he alone would probably prove to be the prime cause of them.

Meanwhile Alcibiades, who had come to anchor close to the shore, did not at once disembark, through fear of his enemies; but mounting upon the deck of his ship, he looked to see whether his friends were present.

But when he sighted his cousin Euryptolemus, the son of Peisianax, and his other relatives and with them his friends, then he disembarked and went up to the city, accompanied by a party who were prepared to quell any attack that anyone might make upon him.

And after he had spoken in his own defence before the Senate and the Assembly, saying that he had not committed sacrilege and that he had been unjustly treated, and after more of the same sort had been said, with no one speaking in opposition because the Assembly would not have tolerated it, he was proclaimed general-in-chief with absolute authority, the people thinking that he was the man to recover for the state its former power; then, as his first act, he led out all his troops and conducted by land the procession of the Eleusinian Mysteries, which the Athenians had been conducting by sea on account of the war;

and after this he collected an armament of fifteen hundred hoplites, one hundred and fifty horsemen, and one hundred ships. Then, in the fourth month after his return to Athens, he set sail for Andros, which had revolted from the Athenians; and with him were sent Aristocrates and Adeimantus, the son of Leucolophides, the generals who had been chosen for service by land.

Alcibiades disembarked his army at Gaurium, in the territory of Andros; and when the men of Andros and the Laconians who were there came forth to meet him, the Athenians routed them, shut them up in their city, and killed some few of them.

Accordingly Alcibiades set up a trophy, and after remaining there a few days, sailed to Samos, and from Samos as a base prosecuted the war.

Not long before this the Lacedaemonians had sent out Lysander as admiral, since Cratesippidas’ term of office had expired. And after Lysander had arrived at Rhodes and secured some ships there, he sailed to Cos and Miletus, and from there to Ephesus, where he remained with seventy ships until Cyrus arrived at Sardis. On his arrival Lysander went up to visit him, accompanied by the ambassadors from Lacedaemon.

Then and there they told Cyrus of the deeds of which Tissaphernes had been guilty, and begged him to show the utmost zeal in the war.

Cyrus replied that this was what his father had instructed him to do, and that he had no other intention himself, but would do everything possible; he had brought with him, he said, five hundred talents; if this amount should prove insufficient, he would use his own money, which his father had given him; and if this too should prove inadequate, he would go so far as to break up the throne whereon he sat, which was of silver and gold.

The ambassadors thanked him, and urged him to make the wage of each sailor an Attic drachma a day, explaining that if this were made the rate, the sailors of the Athenian fleet would desert their ships, and hence he would spend less money.

He replied that their plan was a good one, but that it was not possible for him to act contrary to the King’s instructions; besides, the original compact ran in this way, that the King should give thirty minae per month to each ship, whatever number of ships the Lacedaemonians might wish to maintain.

Lysander accordingly dropped the matter for the moment; but after dinner, when Cyrus drank his health and asked him by what act he could gratify him most, Lysander replied: By adding an obol to the pay of each sailor.

And from this time forth the wage was four obols, whereas it had previously been three. Cyrus also settled the arrears of pay and gave them a month’s wage in advance besides, so that the men of the fleet were much more zealous.

Now when the Athenians heard of this, they were despondent, and sent ambassadors to Cyrus through Tissaphernes.

Cyrus, however, would not receive them, although Tissaphernes urged him to do so and advised him to see to it that no single Greek state should become strong, but that all be kept weak through constant quarrelling among themselves,—the policy he himself had followed on the advice of Alcibiades.

As for Lysander, when he had finished organising his fleet, he hauled ashore the ships which were at Ephesus, now ninety in number, and kept quiet, while the ships were being dried out and repaired.

Meantime Alcibiades, hearing that Thrasybulus had come out from the Hellespont and was investing Phocaea, sailed across to see him, leaving in command of the fleet Antiochus, the pilot of his own ship, with orders not to attack Lysander’s ships.

Antiochus, however, with his own ship and one other sailed from Notium into the harbour of Ephesus and coasted along past the very prows of Lysander’s ships.

Lysander at first launched a few ships and pursued him, but when the Athenians came to the aid of Antiochus with more ships, he then formed into line of battle every ship he had and sailed against them. Thereupon the Athenians also launched the rest of their triremes at Notium and set out, as each one got a clear course.

From that moment they fell to fighting, the one side in good order, but the Athenians with their ships scattered, and fought until the Athenians took to flight, after losing fifteen triremes. As for the men upon them, the greater part escaped, but some were taken prisoners. Then Lysander, after taking possession of his prizes and setting up a trophy at Notium, sailed across to Ephesus, while the Athenians went to Samos.

After this Alcibiades came to Samos, set sail with all his ships to the harbour of Ephesus, and formed the fleet in line at the mouth of the harbour as a challenge to battle, in case anyone cared to fight. But when Lysander did not sail out against him, because his fleet was considerably inferior in numbers, Alcibiades sailed back to Samos. And a little later the Lacedaemonians captured Delphinium and Eion.

When the Athenians at home got the news of the battle at Notium, they were angry with Alcibiades, thinking that he had lost the ships through neglect of duty and dissolute conduct, and they chose ten new generals, Conon, Diomedon, Leon, Pericles, Erasinides, Aristocrates, Archestratus, Protomachus, Thrasyllus, and Aristogenes.

So Alcibiades, who was in disfavour with the army as well, took a trireme and sailed away to his castle in the Chersonese.

After this Conon set sail from Andros, with the twenty ships which he had, to Samos, there to assume command of the fleet in accordance with the vote which the Athenians had passed. They also sent Phanosthenes to Andros, with four ships, to replace Conon.

On the way Phanosthenes fell in with two Thurian triremes and captured them, crews and all; and the men who were thus taken were all imprisoned by the Athenians, but their commander, Dorieus, a Rhodian by birth, but some time before exiled from both Athens and Rhodes by the Athenians, who had condemned him and his kinsmen to death, and now a citizen of Thurii, they set free without even exacting a ransom, taking pity upon him.

When, meanwhile, Conon had arrived at Samos, where he found the Athenian fleet in a state of despondency, he manned with full complements seventy triremes instead of the former number, which was more than a hundred, and setting out with this fleet, in company with the other generals, landed here and there in the enemy’s territory and plundered it.

So the year ended, being the year in which the Carthaginians made an expedition to Sicily with one hundred and twenty triremes and an army of one hundred and twenty thousand men, and although defeated in battle, starved Acragas into submission after besieging it for seven months.

In the ensuing year—the year in which there was an eclipse of the moon one evening, and the old temple of Athena at Athens was burned, Pityas being now ephor at Sparta and Callias archon at Athens—the Lacedaemonians sent Callicratidas to take command of the fleet, since Lysander’s term of office had ended (and with it the twenty-fourth year of the war).

And when Lysander delivered over the ships, he told Callicratidas that he did so as master of the sea and victor in battle. Callicratidas, however, bade him coast along from Ephesus on the left of Samos, where the Athenian ships were, and deliver over the fleet at Miletus; then, he said, he would grant him that he was master of the sea.

But when Lysander replied that he would not meddle when another was commander, Callicratidas, left to himself, manned with sailors from Chios and Rhodes and other allied states fifty ships in addition to those which he had received from Lysander. And after assembling the entire fleet, a total of one hundred and forty ships, he prepared to meet the enemy.

But when he found out that Lysander’s friends were intriguing against him,—they not only rendered half-hearted service, but also spread the report in the cities that the Lacedaemonians made a serious mistake in changing their admirals; for in place of men who were proving themselves fit and were just coming to understand naval matters and knew well how to deal with men, they frequently sent out men who were unacquainted with the sea and unknown to the people near the seat of war; and there was danger, they said, of their meeting with disaster on this account,—after hearing of all this Callicratidas called together the Lacedaemonians who were there and addressed them as follows:

I, for my part, am content to stay at home, and if Lysander or anyone else professes to be more experienced in naval affairs, I will not stand in his way so far as I am concerned; but it is I who have been sent by the state to command the fleet, and I cannot do otherwise than obey my orders to the best of my power. As for you, in view of the ambition which I cherish and the criticisms which our state incurs,—and you know them as well as I do,—give me whatever advice seems to you best on the question of my remaining here or sailing back home to report the conditions which exist here.

Since no one dared to propose anything else than that he should obey the authorities at home and do the work for which he had come, he went to Cyrus and asked for pay for the sailors; Cyrus, however, told him to wait for two days.

But Callicratidas, indignant at being thus put off and driven to anger by having to dance attendance at his gates, declaring that the Greeks were in a sorry plight, toadying to barbarians for the sake of money, and saying that if he reached home in safety he would do his best to reconcile the Athenians and the Lacedaemonians, sailed away to Miletus;

and after despatching triremes from there to Lacedaemon to get money, he gathered the Milesians in assembly and spoke as follows:Upon me, men of Miletus, lies the necessity of obeying the authorities at home; and as for you, I claim that you should show the utmost zeal in this war, because you dwell among barbarians and in the past have suffered very many ills at their hands.

And you should as leaders show the other allies how we may inflict the utmost harm upon the enemy in the shortest time, until the people return from Lacedaemon whom I have sent thither to get money;

for the money which Lysander had on hand he gave back to Cyrus, as though it were unneeded surplus, and went his way; and as for Cyrus, whenever I visited him he invariably put off giving me an audience, and I could not bring myself to dance attendance at his gates.

But I promise you that for whatever good results we achieve while we are waiting for the funds from Sparta I will make you an adequate return. Let us then, with the help of the gods, show the barbarians that even without paying court to them we can punish our enemies.

When he had said this, many arose, particularly those who were accused of opposing him, and in alarm proposed a grant of money, offering private contributions as well. And taking this money and supplying from Chios a payment of five drachmae apiece for his seamen, he sailed against Methymna, in Lesbos, which was hostile.

And when the Methymnaeans refused to surrender,—for there was an Athenian garrison in the place and those who had control of the government were partisans of Athens, —Callicratidas attacked the city and captured it by storm.

All the property which it contained the soldiers seized as booty, but all the captives Callicratidas assembled in the market-place; and when his allies urged him to sell into slavery the Methymnaeans as well as the Athenians, he said that while he was commander no Greek should be enslaved if he could help it.

Accordingly on the next day he let the Methymnaeans go free, but sold the members of the Athenian garrison and such of the captives as were slaves; then he sent word to Conon that he would put a stop to his playing the wanton with his bride, the sea. And when he caught sight of Conon putting out to sea at daybreak, he pursued him, aiming to cut off his course to Samos, so that he could not direct his flight thither.

Conon’s ships, however, made good speed as he fled, because the best oarsmen had been picked out of a great many crews and assembled in a few; in the end he sought refuge in the harbour of Mytilene, in Lesbos, and with him two more of the ten generals, Leon and Erasinides. But Callicratidas, pursuing with one hundred and seventy ships, sailed into the harbour simultaneously.

And Conon, thwarted in his plan by the enemy’s swiftness, was forced to give battle at the mouth of the harbour and lost thirty ships; their crews, however, escaped to the land; and the remainder of his ships, forty in number, he drew up on shore under the wall of the city.

Thereupon Callicratidas anchored in the harbour and blockaded him on that side, holding the outlet to the sea. As for the land side, he summoned the Methymnaeans to come to his aid with their entire force and brought over his army from Chios; and money came to him from Cyrus.

When Conon found himself blockaded both by land and by sea, and was unable to procure provisions from anywhere,—and the people in the city were many, and the Athenians could not come to his aid because they had not learned of these events,—he launched two of his fastest ships and manned them before daybreak, picking out the best oarsmen from his whole fleet, shifting the marines to the hold of the ships, and setting up the side screens.

They continued in this way through the day, but each evening he had them disembark when darkness came on, so that the enemy might not perceive that they were so doing. On the fifth day they put on board a moderate quantity of provisions, and when it came to be midday and the blockaders were careless and some of them asleep, they rowed out of the harbour, and one of the ships set out for the Hellespont and the other to the open sea.

And the blockaders, as they severally got their ships clear of one another, cutting away their anchors and rousing themselves from sleep, hastened to the pursuit in confusion, for it chanced that they had been breakfasting on the shore; and when they had embarked, they pursued the vessel which had made for the open sea, and at sunset they overhauled her and, after capturing her in battle, took her in tow and brought her back, men and all, to their fleet.

But the ship which fled toward the Hellespont escaped, and on its arrival at Athens reported the blockade. Meanwhile Diomedon, seeking to aid Conon, blockaded as he was, anchored with twelve ships in the strait of Mytilene.

Callicratidas, however, sailed down upon him suddenly and captured ten of his ships, Diomedon escaping with his own ship and one other.

When the Athenians heard of what had happened and of the blockade, they voted to go to the rescue with one hundred and ten ships, putting aboard all who were of military age, whether slave or free; and within thirty days they manned the one hundred and ten ships and set forth. Even the knights went aboard in considerable numbers.

After this they sailed to Samos and from there got ten Samian ships; they collected also more than thirty others from the rest of the allies, forcing everybody to embark, and in like manner whatever Athenian ships happened to be abroad. And the total number of the ships came to more than one hundred and fifty.

Now Callicratidas, when he heard that the relief expedition was already at Samos, left behind him at Mytilene fifty ships with Eteonicus as commander, and setting sail with the remaining one hundred and twenty, took dinner at Cape Malea in Lesbos.

On the same day it chanced that the Athenians took dinner on the Arginusae islands. These lie opposite Mytilene.

And when Callicratidas saw their fires during the night and people reported to him that it was the Athenians, he proposed to put to sea at about midnight, in order to attack them unexpectedly; but a heavy rain coming on, with thunder, prevented the setting out. And when it ceased, he sailed at daybreak for the Arginusae.

The Athenians stood out to meet him, extending their left wing out to sea and arranged in the following order: Aristocrates, in command of the left wing, led the way with fifteen ships, and next in order Diomedon with fifteen more; and Pericles was stationed behind Aristocrates and Erasinides behind Diomedon; and beside Diomedon were the Samians with ten ships, drawn up in single line; and their commander was a Samian named Hippeus; and next to them were the ten ships of the taxiarchs, also in single line; and behind these the three ships of the nauarchs and also some ships from the allies;

and the right wing was under the command of Protomachus, with fifteen ships; and beside him was Thrasyllus with fifteen more; and Lysias, with the same number of ships, was stationed behind Protomachus, and Aristogenes behind Thrasyllus.

The ships were arranged in this way so as not to give the enemy a chance of breaking through the line; for the Athenians were inferior in seamanship. But all the vessels of the Lacedaemonians were arranged in single line, with a view to breaking through the enemy and circling round him, inasmuch as they had superior seamen. And Callicratidas was on the right wing.

Now Hermon the Megarian, the pilot of Callicratidas’ ship, said to him that it was well to sail away; for the triremes of the Athenians were far more numerous. Callicratidas, however, said that Sparta would fare none the worse if he were killed, but flight, he said, would be a disgrace.

After this they fell to fighting, and fought for a long time, their ships at first in close order and afterwards scattered. But when Callicratidas, as his ship rammed an enemy, fell overboard into the sea and disappeared, and Protomachus and those with him on the right wing defeated the opposing Lacedaemonian left, then began a flight of the Peloponnesians to Chios, though very many went to Phocaea; while the Athenians sailed back to the Arginusae.

The loss on the Athenian side was twenty-five ships, crews and all, with the exception of a few men who were brought to shore, and on the Peloponnesian side nine Laconian ships, out of a total of ten, and more than sixty ships of the allies.

After this victory it was resolved by the Athenian generals that Theramenes and Thrasybulus, who were ship-captains, and some of the taxiarchs, should sail with forty-seven ships to the aid of the disabled vessels and the men on board them, while they themselves went with the rest of the fleet to attack the ships under Eteonicus which were blockading Mytilene. But despite their desire to carry out these measures, the wind and a heavy storm which came on prevented them; accordingly, after setting up a trophy, they bivouacked where they were.

As for Eteonicus, the dispatch-boat reported to him the whole story of the battle. He, however, sent the boat out again, telling those who were in it to sail out of the harbour in silence and not talk with anyone, and then to sail back immediately to his fleet, wearing garlands and shouting that Callicratidas had been victorious in battle and that all the ships of the Athenians had been destroyed.

This they proceeded to do; and when they were sailing in, Eteonicus began to offer sacrifices for the good news, and gave orders that the soldiers should take their dinner, that the traders should put their goods into their boats in silence and sail off to Chios (for the wind was favourable), and that the triremes also should sail thither with all speed.

And he himself led his land forces back to Methymna, after setting fire to their camp. Conon now launched his ships, and, since the enemy had stolen away and the wind was quieter, went to meet the Athenians, who had by this time set out from the Arginusae, and told them what Eteonicus had done. The Athenians put in to Mytilene, sailed thence against Chios, and, accomplishing nothing there, sailed back towards Samos.

Now the people at home deposed the above-mentioned generals, with the exception of Conon; and as his colleagues they chose two men, Adeimantus and Philocles. As for those generals who had taken part in the battle, two of them—Protomachus and Aristogenes—did not return to Athens, but when the other six came home—

Pericles, Diomedon, Lysias, Aristocrates, Thrasyllus, and Erasinides,—Archedemus, who was at that time a leader of the popular party at Athens and had charge of the two-obol fund, brought accusation against Erasinides before a court and urged that a fine be imposed upon him, claiming that he had in his possession money from the Hellespont which belonged to the people; he accused him, further, of misconduct as general. And the court decreed that Erasinides should be imprisoned.

After this the generals made a statement before the Senate in regard to the battle and the violence of the storm; and upon motion of Timocrates, that the others also should be imprisoned and turned over to the Assembly for trial, the Senate imprisoned them.

After this a meeting of the Assembly was called, at which a number of people, and particularly Theramenes, spoke against the generals, saying that they ought to render an account of their conduct in not picking up the shipwrecked. For as proof that the generals fastened the responsibility upon no person apart from themselves, Theramenes showed a letter which they had sent to the Senate and to the Assembly, in which they put the blame upon nothing but the storm.

After this the several generals spoke in their own defence (though briefly, for they were not granted the hearing prescribed by the law) and stated what they had done, saying that they themselves undertook to sail against the enemy and that they assigned the duty of recovering the shipwrecked to certain of the captains who were competent men and had been generals in the past,—Theramenes, Thrasybulus, and others of that sort;

and if they had to blame any, they could blame no one else in the matter of the recovery except these men, to whom the duty was assigned. And we shall not, they added, just because they accuse us, falsely say that they were to blame, but rather that it was the violence of the storm which prevented the recovery.

They offered as witnesses to the truth of these statements the pilots and many others among their ship-companions. With such arguments they were on the point of persuading the Assembly, and many of the citizens rose and wanted to give bail for them; it was decided, however, that the matter should be postponed to another meeting of the Assembly (for by that time it was late in the day and they could not have distinguished the hands in the voting), and that the Senate should draft and bring in a proposal regarding the manner in which the men should be tried.

After this the Apaturia was celebrated, at which fathers and kinsmen meet together. Accordingly Theramenes and his supporters arranged at this festival with a large number of people, who were clad in mourning garments and had their hair close shaven, to attend the meeting of the Assembly, pretending that they were kinsmen of those who had perished, and they bribed Callixeinus to accuse the generals in the Senate.

Then they called an Assembly, at which the Senate brought in its proposal, which Callixeinus had drafted in the following terms: Resolved, that since the Athenians have heard in the previous meeting of the Assembly both the accusers who brought charges against the generals and the generals speaking in their own defence, they do now one and all cast their votes by tribes; and that two urns be set at the voting-place of each tribe; and that in each tribe a herald proclaim that whoever adjudges the generals guilty, for not picking up the men who won the victory in the naval battle, shall cast his vote in the first urn, and whoever adjudges them not guilty, shall cast his vote in the second;

and if they be adjudged guilty, that they be punished with death and handed over to the Eleven, and that their property be confiscated and the tenth thereof belong to the goddess.

And there came before the Assembly a man who said that he had been saved by floating upon a meal-tub, and that those who were perishing charged him to report to the people, if he were saved, that the generals did not pick up the men who had proved themselves most brave in the service of their country.

Now Euryptolemus, the son of Peisianax, and some others served a summons upon Callixeinus, alleging that he had made an unconstitutional proposal. And some of the people applauded this act, but the greater number cried out that it was monstrous if the people were to be prevented from doing whatever they wished.

Indeed, when Lyciscus thereupon moved that these men also should be judged by the very same vote as the generals, unless they withdrew the summons, the mob broke out again with shouts of approval, and they were compelled to withdraw the summonses.

Furthermore, when some of the Prytanes refused to put the question to the vote in violation of the law, Callixeinus again mounted the platform and urged the same charge against them; and the crowd cried out to summon to court those who refused.

Then the Prytanes, stricken with fear, agreed to put the question,—all of them except Socrates, the son of Sophroniscus; and he said that in no case would he act except in accordance with the law.

After this Euryptolemus mounted the platform and spoke as follows in defence of the generals:I have come to the platform, men of Athens, partly to accuse Pericles, though he is my kinsman and intimate, and Diomedon, who is my friend, partly to speak in their defence, and partly to advise the measures which seem to me to be best for the state as a whole.

I accuse them, because they persuaded their colleagues to change their purpose when they wanted to send a letter to the Senate and to you, in which they stated that they assigned to Theramenes and Thrasybulus, with forty-seven triremes, the duty of picking up the shipwrecked, and that they failed to perform this duty.

Such being the case, are these generals to share the blame now with Theramenes and Thrasybulus, although it was those alone who blundered, and are they now, in return for the humanity they showed then, to be put in hazard of their lives through the machinations of those men and certain others?

No! at least not if you take my advice and follow the just and righteous course, the course which will best enable you to learn the truth and to avoid finding out hereafter, to your sorrow, that it is you yourselves who have sinned most grievously, not only against the gods, but against yourselves. The advice I give you is such that, it you follow it, you cannot be deceived either by me or by anyone else, and that with full knowledge you will punish the guilty with whatever punishment you may desire, either all of them together or each one separately, namely, by first granting them at least one day, if not more, to speak in their own defence, and by putting your trust, not so much in others, but in yourselves.

Now you all know, men of Athens, that the decree of Cannonus is exceedingly severe: it provides that if anyone shall wrong the people of Athens, he shall plead his case in fetters before the people, and if he be adjudged guilty, he shall be put to death by being cast into the pit, and his property shall be confiscated and the tenth part thereof shall belong to the goddess.

Under this decree I urge you to try the generals, and, by Zeus, if it so please you, Pericles, my kinsman, first of them all; for it would be base for me to think more of him than of the general interests of the state.

Or if you do not wish to do this, try them under the following law, which applies to temple-robbers and traitors: namely, if anyone shall be a traitor to the state or shall steal sacred property, he shall be tried before a court, and if he be convicted, he shall not be buried in Attica, and his property shall be confiscated.

By whichever of these laws you choose, men of Athens, let the men be tried, each one separately, and let the day be divided into three parts, one wherein you shall gather and vote as to whether you judge them guilty or not, another wherein the accusers shall present their case, and another wherein the accused shall make their defence.

If this is done, the guilty will incur the severest punishment, and the guiltless will be set free by you, men of Athens, and will not be put to death unjustly.

As for yourselves, you will be granting a trial in accordance with the law and standing true to religion and your oaths, and you will not be fighting on the side of the Lacedaemonians by putting to death the men who captured seventy ships from them and defeated them,—by putting to death these men, I say, without a trial, in violation of the law.

What is it, pray, that you fear, that you are in such excessive haste? Do you fear lest you will lose the right to put to death and set free anyone you please if you proceed in accordance with the law, but think that you will retain this right if you proceed in violation of the law, by the method which Callixeinus persuaded the Senate to report to the people, that is, by a single vote?

Yes, but you might possibly be putting to death some one who is really innocent; and repentance afterwards—ah, remember how painful and unavailing it always is, and especially when one’s error has brought about a man’s death.

You would do a monstrous thing if, after granting in the past to Aristarchus, the destroyer of the democracy and afterwards the betrayer of Oenoe to your enemies the Thebans, a day in which to defend himself as he pleased, and allowing him all his other rights under the law,—if, I say, you shall now deprive the generals, who have done everything to your satisfaction, and have defeated the enemy, of these same rights.

Let no such act be yours, men of Athens, but guard the laws, which are your own and above all else have made you supremely great, and do not try to do anything without their sanction.And now come back to the actual circumstances under which the mistakes are thought to have been committed by the generals. When, after winning the battle, they sailed in to the shore, Diomedon urged that they should one and all put out to sea in line and pick up the wreckage and the shipwrecked men, while Erasinides proposed that all should sail with the utmost speed against the enemy at Mytilene. But Thrasyllus said that both things would be accomplished if they should leave some of the ships there and should sail with the rest against the enemy;

and if this plan were decided upon, he advised that each of the generals, who were eight in number, should leave behind three ships from his own division, and that they should also leave the ten ships of the taxiarchs, the ten of the Samians, and the three of the nauarchs. These amount all told to forty-seven ships, four for each one of the lost vessels, which were twelve in number.

Among the captains who were left behind were both Thrasybulus and Theramenes, the man who accused the generals at the former meeting of the Assembly. And with the rest of the ships they planned to sail against the enemy’s fleet. Now what one of these acts did they not do adequately and well? It is but just, therefore, that those, on the one hand, who were detailed to go against the enemy should be held to account for their lack of success in dealing with the enemy, and that those, on the other hand, who were detailed to recover the shipwrecked, in case they did not do what the generals ordered, should be tried for not recovering them.

This much, however, I can say in defence of both parties, that the storm absolutely prevented them from doing any of the things which the generals had planned. And as witnesses to this fact you have those who were saved by mere chance, among whom is one of our generals, who came through safely on a disabled ship, and whom they now bid you judge by the same vote (although at that time he needed to be picked up himself) by which you judge those who did not do what they were ordered to do.

Do not, then, men of Athens, in the face of your victory and your good fortune, act like men who are beaten and unfortunate, nor, in the face of heaven’s visitation, show yourselves unreasonable by giving a verdict of treachery instead of helplessness, since they found themselves unable on account of the storm to do what they had been ordered to do; nay, it would be far more just for you to honour the victors with garlands than, yielding to the persuasions of wicked men, to punish them with death.

When Euryptolemus had thus spoken, he offered a resolution that the men be tried under the decree of Cannonus, each one separately; whereas the proposal of the Senate was to judge them all by a single vote. The vote being now taken as between these two proposals, they decided at first in favour of the resolution of Euryptolemus; but when Menecles interposed an objection under oath and a second vote was taken, they decided in favour of that of the Senate. After this they condemned the generals who took part in the battle, eight in all; and the six who were in Athens were put to death.

And not long afterwards the Athenians repented, and they voted that complaints be brought against any who had deceived the people, that they furnish bondsmen men until such time as they should be brought to trial, and that Callixeinus be included among them. Complaints were brought against four others also, and they were put into confinement by their bondsmen. But when there broke out afterwards a factional disturbance, in the course of which Cleophon was put to death, these men escaped, before being brought to trial; Callixeinus indeed returned, at the time when the Piraeus party returned to the city, but he was hated by everybody and died of starvation.

The troops that were at Chios under Eteonicus subsisted, so long as the summer lasted, upon the produce of the season and by working for hire up and down the island; when winter came on, however, and they were without food and poorly clad and unshod, they got together and agreed to make an attack upon Chios; and it was decided that those who approved this plan should carry a reed, so that they could tell how numerous they were.

Now when Eteonicus learned of the plot, he was uncertain how to deal with the matter on account of the great number of the reed-bearers. To attack them openly seemed to him to be dangerous, for he feared that they might rush to their arms, gain possession of the city, turn enemies, and so ruin everything, in case they should prevail; while, in the other case, to be putting allied soldiers to death in such numbers was also clearly a serious matter, for in this way the Lacedaemonians might incur harsh criticism among the other Greeks as well, and the troops might be disaffected toward the cause.

Accordingly he took with him fifteen men armed with daggers and proceeded through the city, and meeting a man suffering from ophthalmia as he was leaving a physician’s house, a reed in his hand, he put him to death.

And when an uproar resulted and people asked why the man had been put to death, Eteonicus ordered his followers to give out word that it was because he had the reed. As a result of this announcement all those who were carrying reeds threw them away, each man as he heard the report being afraid that he might be seen with one.

After this Eteonicus called together the Chians and bade them contribute money, in order that the sailors might get their pay and not attempt anything seditious; and the Chians did so. At the same time he ordered his men to embark upon their ships; and going along past each ship in its turn he encouraged and advised them at length, as though he knew nothing of what had happened, and distributed a month’s pay to all hands.

After this the Chians and the rest of the allies gathered at Ephesus and resolved, in view of the existing situation, to send ambassadors to Lacedaemon to report the facts and to ask for Lysander as commander of the fleet, a man who was in high favour among the allies as a result of his former command, when he won the battle of Notium.

Ambassadors were accordingly sent, and with them went also envoys from Cyrus with the same request. And the Lacedaemonians granted them Lysander as vice-admiral, but made Aracus admiral; for it was contrary to their law for a man to hold the office of admiral twice; nevertheless, they put the ships under the command of Lysander—the war having now lasted twenty-five years.

It was in this year that Cyrus put to death Autoboesaces and Mitraeus, who were sons of Darius’ sister—the daughter of Darius’ father Xerxes—because upon meeting him they did not thrust their hands through the corê, an honour they show the King alone. (The corê is a longer sleeve than the cheiris, and a man who had his hand in one would be powerless to do anything.)

In consequence, Hieramenes and his wife said to Darius that it would be shameful if he were to overlook such wanton violence on the part of Cyrus; and Darius, on the plea that he was ill, sent messengers and summoned Cyrus to come to him.

In the following year—Archytas being now ephor, and Alexias archon at Athens—Lysander arrived at Ephesus and sent for Eteonicus to come thither from Chios with the ships, while he also gathered together all the other ships that were anywhere to be found; then he occupied himself with refitting these vessels and building more at Antandrus.

Meantime he went to Cyrus and asked for money; and Cyrus told him that the funds provided by the King had been spent, in fact much more besides, showing him how much each of the admirals had received; nevertheless he did give him money.

And upon receiving it Lysander appointed to each trireme its captain and paid his sailors the wages that were due them. Meanwhile the Athenian generals also were getting their fleet in readiness, at Samos.

At this point Cyrus sent for Lysander, for a messenger had come to him from his father with word that he was ill and summoned him, he being at Thamneria, in Media, near the country of the Cadusians, against whom he had made an expedition, for they were in revolt.

And when Lysander arrived, Cyrus warned him not to give battle to the Athenians unless he should far outnumber them in ships; for, Cyrus said, both the King and he had money in abundance, and hence, so far as that point was concerned, it would be possible to man many ships. He then assigned to Lysander all the tribute which came in from his cities and belonged to him personally, and gave him also the balance he had on hand; and, after reminding Lysander how good a friend he was both to the Lacedaemonian state and to him personally, he set out on the journey to his father.

Now Lysander, when Cyrus had thus given over to him all his money and set out, in response to the summons, to visit his sick father, distributed pay to his men and set sail to the Ceramic Gulf, in Caria. There he attacked a city named Cedreiae which was an ally of the Athenians, and on the second day’s assault captured it by storm and reduced the inhabitants to slavery; they were a mixture of Greek and barbarian blood. Thence he sailed away to Rhodes.

As for the Athenians, they harried the territory of the King, using Samos as a base, and sailed against Chios and Ephesus; they were also making their preparations for battle, and had chosen three generals in addition to the former number,—Menander, Tydeus, and Cephisodotus.

Meanwhile Lysander sailed from Rhodes along the coast of Ionia to the Hellespont, in order to prevent the passing out of the grain-ships and to take action against the cities which had revolted from the Lacedaemonians. The Athenians likewise set out thither from Chios, keeping to the open sea;

for Asia was hostile to them. But Lysander coasted along from Abydus to Lampsacus, which was an ally of the Athenians; and the people of Abydus and the other cities were at hand on the shore to support him, being commanded by Thorax, a Lacedaemonian.

Then they attacked the city and captured it by storm, whereupon the soldiers plundered it. It was a wealthy city, full of wine and grain and all other kinds of supplies. But Lysander let go all the free persons who were captured.

Now the Athenians had been sailing in the wake of Lysander’s fleet, and they anchored at Elaeus, in the Chersonese, with one hundred and eighty ships. While they were breakfasting there, the news about Lampsacus was reported to them, and they set out immediately to Sestus.

From there, as soon as they had provisioned, they sailed to Aegospotami, which is opposite Lampsacus, the Hellespont at this point being about fifteen stadia wide. There they took dinner.

And during the ensuing night, when early dawn came, Lysander gave the signal for his men to take breakfast and embark upon their ships, and after making everything ready for battle and stretching the side screens, he gave orders that no one should stir from his position or put out.

At sunrise the Athenians formed their ships in line for battle at the mouth of the harbour. Since, however, Lysander did not put out against them, they sailed back again, when it grew late in the day, to Aegospotami.

Thereupon Lysander ordered the swiftest of his ships to follow the Athenians and, when they had disembarked, to observe what they did, and then to sail back and report to him; and he did not disembark his men from their vessels until these scout-ships had returned. This he did for four days; and the Athenians continued to sail out and offer battle.

Meantime Alcibiades, who could discern from his castle that the Athenians were moored on an open shore, with no city near by, and were fetching their provisions from Sestus, a distance of fifteen stadia from their ships, while the enemy, being in a harbour and near a city, had everything needful, told the Athenians that they were not moored in a good place, and advised them to shift their anchorage to Sestus and thus gain a harbour and a city; for if you are there, he said, you will be able to fight when you please.

The generals, however, and especially Tydeus and Menander, bade him be gone; for they said that they were in command now, not he. So he went away.

And now Lysander, on the fifth day the Athenians sailed out against him, told his men, who followed them back, that as soon as they saw that the enemy had disembarked and had scattered up and down the Chersonese, —and the Athenians did this far more freely every day, not only because they bought their provisions at a distance, but also because they presumed to think lightly of Lysander for not putting out to meet them,—they were to sail back to him and to hoist a shield when midway in their course. And they did just as he had ordered.

Straightway Lysander gave a signal to his fleet to sail with all speed, and Thorax with his troops went with the fleet. Now when Conon saw the oncoming attack, he signalled the Athenians to hasten with all their might to their ships. But since his men were scattered here and there, some of the ships had but two banks of oars manned, some but one, and some were entirely empty; Conon’s own ship, indeed, and seven others accompanying him, which were fully manned, put to sea in close order, and the Paralus with them, but all the rest Lysander captured on the beach. He also gathered up on the shore most of the men of their crews; some, however, gained the shelter of the neighbouring strongholds.

But when Conon, fleeing with his nine ships, realized that the Athenian cause was lost, he put in at Abarnis, the promontory of Lampsacus, and there seized the cruising sails that belonged to Lysander’s ships; then he sailed away with eight ships to seek refuge with Euagoras in Cyprus, while the Paralus went to Athens with the tidings of what had happened.

As for Lysander, he took his prizes and prisoners and everything else back to Lampsacus, the prisoners including Philocles, Adeimantus, and some of the other generals. Furthermore, on the day when he achieved this victory he sent Theopompus, the Milesian buccaneer, to Lacedaemon to report what had happened, and Theopompus arrived and delivered his message on the third day.

After this Lysander gathered together the allies and bade them deliberate regarding the disposition to be made of the prisoners. Thereupon many charges began to be urged against the Athenians, not only touching the outrages they had already committed and what they had voted to do if they were victorious in the battle, —namely, to cut off the right hand of every man taken alive,—but also the fact that after capturing two triremes, one a Corinthian and the other an Andrian, they had thrown the crews overboard to a man. And it was Philocles, one of the Athenian generals, who had thus made away with these men.

Many other stories were told, and it was finally resolved to put to death all of the prisoners who were Athenians, with the exception of Adeimantus, because he was the one man who in the Athenian Assembly had opposed the decree in regard to cutting off the hands of captives; he was charged, however, by some people with having betrayed the fleet. As to Philocles, who threw overboard the Andrians and Corinthians, Lysander first asked him what he deserved to suffer for having begun outrageous practices towards Greeks, and then had his throat cut.

After setting in order the affairs of Lampsacus, Lysander sailed against Byzantium and Calchedon. And the people of those cities admitted him, allowing the Athenian garrisons, by the terms of the surrender, to withdraw. And those who had betrayed Byzantium to Alcibiades fled at this time to the Pontus, but afterwards they went to Athens and became Athenian citizens.

Now the Athenian garrisons, and in fact every other Athenian whom he saw anywhere, Lysander sent home to Athens, giving them safe conduct if they sailed to that one place and not if they went to any other; for he knew that the more people were collected in the city and Piraeus, the more quickly there would be a scarcity of provisions. Then, after leaving Sthenelaus, a Laconian, as governor of Byzantium and Calchedon, he sailed back to Lampsacus and occupied himself with refitting his ships.

It was at night that the Paralus arrived at Athens with tidings of the disaster, and a sound of wailing ran from Piraeus through the long walls to the city, one man passing on the news to another; and during that night no one slept, all mourning, not for the lost alone, but far more for their own selves, thinking that they would suffer such treatment as they had visited upon the Melians, colonists of the Lacedaemonians, after reducing them by siege, and upon the Histiaeans and Scionaeans and Toronaeans and Aeginetans and many other Greek peoples.

On the following day they convened an Assembly, at which it was resolved to block up all the harbours except one, to repair the walls, to station guards, and in all other respects to get the city ready for a siege. They busied themselves, accordingly, with these matters.

Meanwhile Lysander, sailing out of the Hellespont with two hundred ships, arrived at Lesbos and arranged the affairs of Mytilene and the other cities of the island; and he sent Eteonicus with ten triremes to the places on the Thracian coast, and Eteonicus brought over everything in that region to the side of the Lacedaemonians.

Indeed, the rest of the Greek world also had fallen away from the Athenians immediately after the battle, with the exception of Samos; there the people slaughtered the aristocrats and held possession of their city.

After this Lysander sent word to Agis, at Decelea, and to Lacedaemon that he was coming with two hundred ships. Thereupon the Lacedaemonians took the field with their whole force, and likewise the rest of the Peloponnesians excepting the Argives, at the command of Pausanias, the other king of the Lacedaemonians.

And when all had been gathered together, Pausanias led them to Athens and encamped in the Academy.

Meantime Lysander, upon reaching Aegina, restored the state to the Aeginetans, gathering together as many of them as he could, and he did the same thing for the Melians also and for all the others who had been deprived of their native states. Then, after laying waste Salamis, he anchored at Piraeus with one hundred and fifty ships and closed the entrance to the harbour against all merchantmen.

Now the Athenians, being thus besieged by land and by sea, knew not what to do, since they had neither ships nor allies nor provisions; and they thought that there was no way out, save only to suffer the pains which they had themselves inflicted, not in retaliation, but in wantonness and unjustly upon the people of small states, for no other single reason than because they were in alliance with the Lacedaemonians.

On this account they restored to the disfranchised their political rights and held out steadfastly, refusing to make overtures for peace even though many were dying in the city from starvation. When, however, their provisions had entirely given out, they sent ambassadors to Agis declaring their wish to become allies of the Lacedaemonians while still keeping their walls and Piraeus, and on these terms to conclude a treaty.

But Agis bade them go to Lacedaemon, saying that he himself had no authority. And when the ambassadors reported to the Athenians this reply, they sent them to Lacedaemon.

But when they were at Sellasia, near Laconia, and the ephors learned from them what proposals they were bringing,—the same, namely, as those which they had presented to Agis,—they directed them to go back again without coming a step farther and, if they really had any desire for peace, to take better counsel before they returned.

And when the ambassadors reached home and reported this to the people, despondency descended upon all; for they imagined that they would be reduced to slavery, and that while they were sending another set of ambassadors, many would die of the famine.

Nevertheless, no one wanted to make any proposal involving the destruction of the walls; for when Archestratus said in the Senate that it was best to make peace with the Lacedaemonians on the terms they offered—and the terms were that they should tear down a portion ten stadia long of each of the two long walls,—he was thrown into prison, and a decree was passed forbidding the making of a proposal of this sort.

This being the condition of affairs in Athens, Theramenes said in the Assembly that if they were willing to send him to Lysander, he would find out before he came back whether the Lacedaemonians were insistent in the matter of the walls because they wished to reduce the city to slavery, or in order to obtain a guarantee of good faith. Upon being sent, however, he stayed with Lysander three months and more, waiting for the time when, on account of the failure of provisions, the Athenians would agree to anything and everything which might be proposed.

And when he returned in the fourth month, he reported in the Assembly that Lysander had detained him all this time and had then directed him to go to Lacedaemon, saying that he had no authority in the matters concerning which Theramenes asked for information, but only the ephors. After this Theramenes was chosen ambassador to Lacedaemon with full power, being at the head of an embassy of ten.

Lysander meanwhile sent Aristoteles, an Athenian exile, in company with some Lacedaemonians, to report to the ephors that the answer he had made to Theramenes was that they only had authority in the matter of peace and war.

Now when Theramenes and the other ambassadors were at Sellasia and, on being asked with what proposals they had come, replied that they had full power to treat for peace, the ephors thereupon gave orders to summon them to Lacedaemon. When they arrived, the ephors called an assembly, at which the Corinthians and Thebans in particular, though many other Greeks agreed with them, opposed making a treaty with the Athenians and favoured destroying their city.

The Lacedaemonians, however, said that they would not enslave a Greek city which had done great service amid the greatest perils that had befallen Greece, and they offered to make peace on these conditions: that the Athenians should destroy the long walls and the walls of Piraeus, surrender all their ships except twelve, allow their exiles to return, count the same people friends and enemies as the Lacedaemonians did, and follow the Lacedaemonians both by land and by sea wherever they should lead the way.

So Theramenes and his fellow-ambassadors brought back this word to Athens. And as they were entering the city, a great crowd gathered around them, fearful that they had returned unsuccessful; for it was no longer possible to delay, on account of the number who were dying of the famine.

On the next day the ambassadors reported to the Assembly the terms on which the Lacedaemonians offered to make peace; Theramenes acted as spokesman for the embassy, and urged that it was best to obey the Lacedaemonians and tear down the walls. And while some spoke in opposition to him, a far greater number supported him, and it was voted to accept the peace.

After this Lysander sailed into Piraeus, the exiles returned, and the Peloponnesians with great enthusiasm began to tear down the walls to the music of flute-girls, thinking that that day was the beginning of freedom for Greece.

So the year ended, in the middle of which Dionysius of Syracuse, the son of Hermocrates, became tyrant, after the Carthaginians had been defeated in battle by the Syracusans, but had captured Acragas by famine, the Siceliots abandoning the city.

In the following year—in which was celebrated an Olympiad, wherein Crocinas the Thessalian was victorious in the stadium, Endius being now ephor at Sparta and Pythodorus archon at Athens. Since, however, Pythodorus was chosen during the time of the oligarchy, the Athenians do not use his name to mark the year, but call it the archonless year. And this oligarchy came into being in the way hereafter described—

it was voted by the people to choose thirty men to frame the ancient laws into a constitution under which to conduct the government. And the following men were chosen: Polychares, Critias, Melobius, Hippolochus, Eucleides, Hieron, Mnesilochus, Chremon, Theramenes, Aresias, Diocles, Phaedrias, Chaereleos, Anaetius, Peison, Sophocles, Eratosthenes, Charicles, Onomacles, Theognis, Aeschines, Theogenes, Cleomedes, Erasistratus, Pheidon, Dracontides, Eumathes, Aristoteles, Hippomachus, Mnesitheides.

When this had been done, Lysander sailed off to Samos, while Agis withdrew the land force from Decelea and dismissed the several contingents to their cities.

It was near this date, and at about the time of an eclipse of the sun, that Lycophron of Pherae, who wanted to make himself ruler of all Thessaly, defeated in battle those among the Thessalians who opposed him, namely the Larisaeans and others, and slew many of them.

It was at the same time also that Dionysius, the tyrant of Syracuse, was defeated in battle by the Carthaginians and lost Gela and Camarina. Shortly afterwards also the Leontines, who had been dwelling at Syracuse, revolted from Dionysius and the Syracusans and returned to their own city. And immediately thereafter the Syracusan horsemen were despatched by Dionysius to Catana.

Meanwhile the Samians were being besieged by Lysander on every side, and when, seeing that at first they refused to come to terms, he was on the point of making an attack upon them, they came to an agreement with him that every free person should depart from the city with but one cloak and that all else should be surrendered; and on these terms they withdrew.

And Lysander gave over the city and everything therein to the former citizens, and appointed ten rulers to guard it; then he dismissed the naval contingents of the allies to their several cities,

and he sailed home with the Laconian ships to Lacedaemon, taking with him the prows of the captured ships, the triremes from Piraeus except twelve, the crowns which he had received from the cities as gifts to himself individually, four hundred and seventy talents in money, being the balance that remained of the tribute money which Cyrus had assigned to him for the prosecution of the war, and whatever else he had obtained during the course of the war.

All these things he delivered over to the Lacedaemonians at the close of the summer—with which ended the twenty-eight years and six months of the war, during which years the eponymous ephors were the following: Aenesias first, in whose term the war began, in the fifteenth year of the thirty years’ truce which followed the conquest of Euboea, and after him the following:

Brasidas, Isanor, Sostratidas, Exarchus, Agesistratus, Angenidas, Onomacles, Zeuxippus, Pityas, Pleistolas, Cleinomachus, Ilarchus, Leon, Chaerilas, Patesiadas, Cleosthenes, Lycarius, Eperatus, Onomantius, Alexippidas, Misgolaidas, Isias, Aracus, Euarchippus, Pantacles, Pityas, Archytas, and Endius; it was in Endius’ term that Lysander sailed home after performing the deeds above described.

Now at Athens the Thirty had been chosen as soon as the long walls and the walls round Piraeus were demolished; although chosen, however, for the purpose of framing a constitution under which to conduct the government, they continually delayed framing and publishing this constitution, but they appointed a Senate and the other magistrates as they saw fit.

Then, as a first step, they arrested and brought to trial for their lives those persons who, by common knowledge, had made a living in the time of the democracy by acting as informers and had been offensive to the aristocrats; and the Senate was glad to pronounce these people guilty, and the rest of the citizens—at least all who were conscious that they were not of the same sort themselves—were not at all displeased.

When, however, the Thirty began to consider how they might become free to do just as they pleased with the state, their first act was to send Aeschines and Aristoteles to Lacedaemon and persuade Lysander to help them to secure the sending of a Lacedaemonian garrison, to remain until, as they said, they could put the scoundrels out of the way and establish their government; and they promised to maintain this garrison at their own charges.

Lysander consented, and helped them to secure the dispatch of the troops and of Callibius as governor. But when they had got the garrison, they paid court to Callibius in every way, in order that he might approve of everything they did, and as he detailed guardsmen to go with them, they arrested the people whom they wished to reach,—not now the scoundrels and persons of little account, but from this time forth the men who, they thought, were least likely to submit to being ignored, and who, if they undertook to offer any opposition, would obtain supporters in the greatest numbers.

Now in the beginning Critias and Theramenes were agreed in their policy and friendly; but when Critias showed himself eager to put many to death, because, for one thing, he had been banished by the democracy, Theramenes opposed him, saying that it was not reasonable to put a man to death because he was honoured by the commons, provided he was doing no harm to the aristocrats. For, said he, you and I also have said and done many things for the sake of winning the favour of the city.

Then Critias (for he still treated Theramenes as a friend) replied that it was impossible for people who wanted to gain power not to put out of the way those who were best able to thwart them. But if, he said, merely because we are thirty and not one, you imagine that it is any the less necessary for us to keep a close watch over this government, just as one would if it were an absolute monarchy, you are foolish.

But when, on account of the great numbers continually—and unjustly—put to death, it was evident that many were banding together and wondering what the state was coming to, Theramenes spoke again, saying that unless they admitted an adequate number of citizens into partnership with them in the management of affairs, it would be impossible for the oligarchy to endure.

Accordingly Critias and the rest of the Thirty, who were by this time alarmed and feared above all that the citizens would flock to the support of Theramenes, enrolled a body of three thousand, who were to share, as they said, in the government.

Theramenes, however, objected to this move also, saying that, in the first place, it seemed to him absurd that, when they wanted to make the best of the citizens their associates, they should limit themselves to three thousand, as though this number must somehow be good men and true and there could neither be excellent men outside this body nor rascals within it. Besides, he said, we are undertaking, in my opinion, two absolutely inconsistent things,—to rig up our government on the basis of force and at the same time to make it weaker than its subjects.

This was what Theramenes said. As for the Thirty, they held a review, the Three Thousand assembling in the market-place and those who were not on the roll in various places here and there; then they gave the order to pile arms, and while the men were off duty and away, they sent their Lacedaemonian guardsmen and such citizens as were in sympathy with them, seized the arms of all except the Three Thousand, carried them up to the Acropolis, and deposited them in the temple.

And now, when this had been accomplished, thinking that they were at length free to do whatever they pleased, they put many people to death out of personal enmity, and many also for the sake of securing their property. One measure that they resolved upon, in order to get money to pay their guardsmen, was that each of their number should seize one of the aliens residing in the city, and that they should put these men to death and confiscate their property.

So they bade Theramenes also to seize anyone he pleased; and he replied: But it is not honourable, as it seems to me, he said, for people who style themselves the best citizens to commit acts of greater injustice than the informers used to do. For they allowed those from whom they got money, to live; but shall we, in order to get money, put to death men who are guilty of no wrong-doing? Are not such acts altogether more unjust than theirs were?

Then the Thirty, thinking that Theramenes was an obstacle to their doing whatever they pleased, plotted against him, and kept accusing him to individual senators, one to one man and another to another, of injuring the government. And after passing the word to some young men, who seemed to them most audacious, to be in attendance with daggers hidden under their arms, they convened the Senate.

Then when Theramenes arrived, Critias arose and spoke as follows:Gentlemen of the Senate, if anyone among you thinks that more people than is fitting are being put to death, let him reflect that where governments are changed these things always take place; and it is inevitable that those who are changing the government here to an oligarchy should have most numerous enemies, both because the state is the most populous of the Greek states and because the commons have been bred up in a condition of freedom for the longest time.

Now we, believing that for men like ourselves and you democracy is a grievous form of government, and convinced that the commons would never become friendly to the Lacedaemonians, our preservers, while the aristocrats would continue ever faithful to them, for these reasons are establishing, with the approval of the Lacedaemonians, the present form of government.

And if we find anyone opposed to the oligarchy, so far as we have the power we put him out of the way; but in particular we consider it to be right that, if any one of our own number is harming this order of things, he should be punished.

Now in fact we find this man Theramenes trying, by what means he can, to destroy both ourselves and you. As proof that this is true you will discover, if you consider the matter, that no one finds more fault with the present proceedings than Theramenes here, or offers more opposition when we wish to put some demagogue out of the way. Now if he had held these views from the beginning, he was, to be sure, an enemy, but nevertheless he would not justly be deemed a scoundrel.

In fact, however, he was the very man who took the initiative in the policy of establishing a cordial understanding with the Lacedaemonians; he was the very man who began the overthrow of the democracy, and who urged you most to inflict punishment upon those who were first brought before you for trial; but now, when you and we have manifestly become hateful to the democrats, he no longer approves of what is going on,—just so that he may get on the safe side again, and that we may be punished for what has been done.

Therefore he ought to be punished, not merely as an enemy, but also as a traitor both to you and to ourselves. And treason is a far more dreadful thing than war, inasmuch as it is harder to take precaution against the hidden than against the open danger, and a far more hateful thing, inasmuch as men make peace with enemies and become their trustful friends again, but if they catch a man playing the traitor, they never in any case make peace with that man or trust him thereafter.

Now to let you know that this man’s present doings are nothing new, but that he is, rather, a traitor by nature, I will recall to you his past deeds. This man in the beginning, although he had received honours at the hands of the democracy, was extremely eager, like his father Hagnon, to change the democracy into the oligarchy of the Four Hundred, and he was a leader in that government. When, however, he perceived that some opposition to the oligarchy was gathering, he look the lead again—as champion of the democrats against the oligarchs! That is the reason, you know, why he is nicknamed Buskin:

for as the buskin seems to fit both feet, so he faces both ways. But, Theramenes, the man who deserves to live ought not to be clever at leading his comrades into dangerous undertakings and then, if any hindrance offers itself, to turn around on the instant, but he ought, as one on shipboard, to hold to his task until they come into a fair breeze. Otherwise, how in the world would sailors reach the port for which they are bound, if they should sail in the opposite direction the moment any hindrance offered itself?

It is true, of course, that all sorts of changes in government are attended by loss of life, but you, thanks to your changing sides so easily, share the responsibility, not merely for the slaughter of a large number of oligarchs by the commons, but also for the slaughter of a large number of democrats by the aristocracy. And this Theramenes, you remember, was the man who, although detailed by the generals to pick up the Athenians whose ships were disabled in the battle off Lesbos, failed to do so, and nevertheless was the very one who accused the generals and brought about their death in order that he might save his own life!

Now when a man clearly shows that he is always looking out for his own advantage and taking no thought for honour or his friends, how in the world can it be right to spare him? Ought we not surely, knowing of his previous changes, to take care that he shall not be able to do the same thing to us also? We therefore arraign him on the charge of plotting against and betraying both ourselves and you. And in proof that what we are thus doing is proper, consider this fact also.

The constitution of the Lacedaemonians is, we know, deemed the best of all constitutions. Now in Lacedaemon if one of the ephors should undertake to find fault with the government and to oppose what was being done instead of yielding to the majority, do you not suppose that he would be regarded, not only by the ephors themselves but also by all the rest of the state, as having merited the severest punishment? Even so you, if you are wise, will not spare this Theramenes, but rather yourselves; for to leave him alive would cause many of those who hold opposite views to yours to cherish high thoughts, while to destroy him would cut off the hopes of them all, both within and without the city.

When Critias had so spoken, he sat down; and Theramenes rose and said: I will mention first, gentlemen, the last thing Critias said against me. He says that I brought about the death of the generals by my accusation. But it was not I, as you know, who began the matter by accusing them; on the contrary, it was they who accused me, by stating that although that duty was assigned me by them, I failed to pick up the unfortunates in the battle off Lesbos. I said in my defence that on account of the storm it was not possible even to sail, much less to pick up the men, and it was decided by the state that my plea was a reasonable one, while the generals were clearly accusing themselves. For though they said it was possible to save the men, they nevertheless sailed away and left them to perish.

I do not wonder, however, that Critias has misunderstood the matter; for when these events took place, it chanced that he was not here; he was establishing a democracy in Thessaly along with Prometheus, and arming the serfs against their masters.

God forbid that any of the things which he was doing there should come to pass here.I quite agree with him, however, on this point, that if anyone is desirous of deposing you from your office and is making strong those who are plotting against you, it is just for him to incur the severest punishment. But I think you can best judge who it is that is doing this, if you will consider the course which each of us two has taken and is now taking.

Well then, up to the time when you became members of the Senate and magistrates were appointed and the notorious informers were brought to trial, all of us held the same views; but when these Thirty began to arrest men of worth and standing, then I, on my side, began to hold views opposed to theirs.

For when Leon the Salaminian was put to death,—a man of capacity, both actually and by repute,—although he was not guilty of a single act of wrong-doing, I knew that those who were like him would be fearful, and, being fearful, would be enemies of this government. I also knew, when Niceratus, the son of Nicias, was arrested,—a man of wealth who, like his father, had never done anything to curry popular favour,—that those who were like him would become hostile to us.

And further, when Antiphon, who during the war supplied from his own means two fast-sailing triremes, was put to death by us, I knew that all those who had been zealous in the state’s cause would look upon us with suspicion. I objected, also, when they said that each of us must seize one of the resident aliens; for it was entirely clear that if these men were put to death, the whole body of such aliens would become enemies of the government.

I objected likewise when they took away from the people their arms, because I thought that we ought not to make the state weak; for I saw that, in preserving us, the purpose of the Lacedaemonians had not been that we might become few in number and unable to do them any service; for if this had been what they desired, it was within their power, by keeping up the pressure of famine a little while longer, to leave not a single man alive.

Again, the hiring of guardsmen did not please me, for we might have enlisted in our service an equal number of our own citizens, until we, the rulers, should easily have made ourselves masters of our subjects. And further, when I saw that many in the city were becoming hostile to this government and that many were becoming exiles, it did not seem to me best to banish either Thrasybulus or Anytus or Alcibiades; for I knew that by such measures the opposition would be made strong, if once the commons should acquire capable leaders and if those who wished to be leaders should find a multitude of supporters.

Now would the man who offers openly this sort of admonition be fairly regarded as a well-wisher, or as a traitor? It is not, Critias, the men who prevent one’s making enemies in abundance nor the men who teach one how to gain allies in the greatest numbers,—it is not these, I say, who make one’s enemies strong; but it is much rather those who unjustly rob others of property and put to death people who are guilty of no wrong, who, I say, make their opponents numerous and betray not only their friends but also themselves, and all to satisfy their covetousness.

And if it is not evident in any other way that what I say is true, look at the matter in this way: do you suppose that Thrasybulus and Anytus and the other exiles would prefer to have us follow here the policy which I am urging by word, or the policy which these men are carrying out in deed? For my part, I fancy that now they believe every spot is full of allies, while if the best element in the state were friendly to us, they would count it difficult even to set foot anywhere in the land!

Again, as to his statement that I have a propensity to be always changing sides, consider these facts also: it was the people itself, as everybody knows, which voted for the government of the Four Hundred, being advised that the Lacedaemonians would trust any form of government sooner than a democracy.

But when the Lacedaemonians did not in the least relax their efforts in prosecuting the war, and Aristoteles, Melanthius, Aristarchus, and their fellow-generals were found to be building a fort on the peninsula, into which they proposed to admit the enemy and so bring the state under the control of themselves and their oligarchical associates,—if I perceived this plan and thwarted it, is that being a traitor to one’s friends?

He dubs me Buskin, because, as he says, I try to fit both parties. But for the man who pleases neither party,—what in the name of the gods should we call him? For you in the days of the democracy were regarded as the bitterest of all haters of the commons, and under the aristocracy you have shown yourself the bitterest of all haters of the better classes.

But I, Critias, am forever at war with the men who do not think there could be a good democracy until the slaves and those who would sell the state for lack of a shilling should share in the government, and on the other hand I am forever an enemy to those who do not think that a good oligarchy could be established until they should bring the state to the point of being ruled absolutely by a few. But to direct the government in company with those who have the means to be of service, whether with horses or with shields,—this plan I regarded as best in former days and I do not change my opinion now.

And if you can mention any instance, Critias, where I joined hands with demagogues or despots and undertook to deprive men of standing of their citizenship, then speak. For if I am found guilty either of doing this thing now or of ever having done it in the past, I admit that I should justly suffer the very uttermost of all penalties and be put to death.

When with these words he ceased speaking and the Senate had shown its good will by applause, Critias, realizing that if he should allow the Senate to pass judgment on the case, Theramenes would escape, and thinking that this would be unendurable, went and held a brief consultation with the Thirty, and then went out and ordered the men with the daggers to take their stand at the railing in plain sight of the Senate.

Then he came in again and said: Senators, I deem it the duty of a leader who is what he ought to be, in case he sees that his friends are being deceived, not to permit it. I, therefore, shall follow that course. Besides, these men who have taken their stand here say that if we propose to let a man go who is manifestly injuring the oligarchy, they will not suffer us to do so. Now it is provided in the new laws that while no one of those who are on the roll of the Three Thousand may be put to death without your vote, the Thirty shall have power of life or death over those outside the roll. I, therefore, he said, strike off this man Theramenes from the roll, with the approval of all the Thirty. That being done, he added, we now condemn him to death.

When Theramenes heard this, he sprang to the altar and said: And I, sirs, said he, beg only bare justice,—that it be not within the power of Critias to strike off either me or whomsoever of you he may wish, but rather that both in your case and in mine the judgment may be rendered strictly in accordance with that law which these men have made regarding those on the roll.

To be sure, said he, I know, I swear by the gods, only too well, that this altar will avail me nothing, but I wish to show that these Thirty are not only most unjust toward men, but also most impious toward the gods. But I am surprised at you, he said, gentlemen of the aristocracy, that you are not going to defend your own rights, especially when you know that my name is not a whit easier to strike off than the name of each of you.

At this moment the herald of the Thirty ordered the Eleven to seize Theramenes; and when they came in, attended by their servants and with Satyrus, the most audacious and shameless of them, at their head, Critias said: We hand over to you, said he, this man Theramenes, condemned according to the law. Do you, the Eleven, take him and lead him to the proper place and do that which follows.

When Critias had spoken these words, Satyrus dragged Theramenes away from the altar, and his servants lent their aid. And Theramenes, as was natural, called upon gods and men to witness what was going on. But the senators kept quiet, seeing that the men at the rail were of the same sort as Satyrus and that the space in front of the senate-house was filled with the guardsmen, and being well aware that the former had come armed with daggers.

So they led the man away through the market-place, while he proclaimed in a very loud voice the wrongs he was suffering. One saying of his that is reported was this: when Satyrus told him that if he did not keep quiet, he would suffer for it, he asked: Then if I do keep quiet, shall I not suffer? And when, being compelled to die, he had drunk the hemlock, they said that he threw out the last drops, like a man playing kottabos, and exclaimed: Here’s to the health of my beloved Critias. Now I am not unaware of this, that these are not sayings worthy of record; still, I deem it admirable in the man that when death was close at hand, neither self-possession nor the spirit of playfulness departed from his soul.

So, then, Theramenes died; but the Thirty, thinking that now they could play the tyrant without fear, issued a proclamation forbidding those who were outside the roll to enter the city and evicted them from their estates, in order that they themselves and their friends might have these people’s lands. And when they fled to Piraeus, they drove many of them away from there also, and filled both Megara and Thebes with the refugees.

Presently Thrasybulus set out from Thebes with about seventy companions and seized Phyle, a strong fortress. And the Thirty marched out from the city against him with the Three Thousand and the cavalry, the weather being very fine indeed. When they reached Phyle, some of the young men were so bold as to attack the fortress at once, but they accomplished nothing and suffered some wounds themselves before they retired.

And while the Thirty were planning to invest the place, so as to force them to surrender by shutting off their avenues for receiving provisions, a very heavy snow storm came on during the night and continued on the following day. So they came back to the city in the snow, after losing a goodly number of their camp-followers by the attacks of the men in Phyle.

Then the Thirty, knowing that the enemy would also gather plunder from the farms if there were no force to protect them, sent out all but a few of the Laconian guardsmen and two divisions of the cavalry to the outlying districts about fifteen stadia from Phyle. These troops made their camp in a bushy spot and proceeded to keep guard.

Now by this time about seven hundred men were gathered at Phyle, and during the night Thrasybulus marched down with them; and about three or four stadia from the guardsmen he had his troops ground their arms and keep quiet.

Then when it was drawing towards day and the enemy were already getting up and going away from their camp whithersoever each one had to go, and the grooms were keeping up a hubbub as they curried their horses, at this moment Thrasybulus and his men picked up their arms and charged on the run. They struck down some of the enemy and turned them all to flight, pursuing them for six or seven stadia; and they killed more than one hundred and twenty of the hoplites, and among the cavalry Nicostratus, nicknamed the beautiful, and two more besides, catching them while still in their beds.

Then after returning from the pursuit and erecting a trophy and packing up all the arms and baggage they had captured, they went back to Phyle. And when the cavalry from the city came to the rescue, there were none of the enemy left to be seen; so after waiting until their relatives had taken up the bodies of the dead, they returned to the city.

After this the Thirty, deeming their government no longer secure, formed a plan to appropriate Eleusis, so as to have a place of refuge if it should prove necessary. Accordingly Critias and the rest of the Thirty, having issued orders to the cavalry to accompany them, went to Eleusis. There they held a review of the townspeople under guard of the cavalry, pretending that they wanted to know how numerous they were and how large an additional garrison they would require, and then ordered them all to register; and each man when he had registered had to pass out by the gate in the town wall in the direction of the sea. Meanwhile they had stationed the cavalry on the shore on either side of the gate, and as each man passed out their servants bound him fast. And when all had thus been seized, they ordered Lysimachus, the cavalry commander, to take them to Athens and turn them over to the Eleven.

On the following day they summoned to the Odeum the hoplites who were on the roll and the cavalry also. Then Critias rose and said: We, gentlemen, said he, are establishing this government no less for you than for ourselves. Therefore, even as you will share in honours, so also you must share in the dangers. Therefore you must vote condemnation of the Eleusinians who have been seized, that you may have the same hopes and fears as we. Then he showed them a place and bade them cast their ballots therein, in plain sight of everybody.

Now the Laconian guardsmen were in one half of the Odeum, fully armed; and these proceedings were pleasing also to such of the citizens as cared only for their own advantage.Soon after this Thrasybulus took the men of Phyle, who had now gathered to the number of about one thousand, and came by night to Piraeus. When the Thirty learned of this, they at once set out against him, with the Laconian guardsmen and their own cavalry and hoplites; then they advanced along the carriage road which leads up to Piraeus.

And for a time the men from Phyle tried to prevent their coming up, but when they saw that the line of the town wall, extensive as it was, needed a large force for its defence, whereas they were not yet numerous, they gathered in a compact body on the hill of Munichia. And the men from the city, when they came to the market-place of Hippodamus, first formed themselves in line of battle, so that they filled the road which leads to the temple of Artemis of Munichia and the sanctuary of Bendis; and they made a line not less than fifty shields in depth; then, in this formation, they advanced up the hill.

As for the men from Phyle, they too filled the road, but they made a line not more than ten hoplites in depth. Behind the hoplites, however, were stationed peltasts and light javelin-men, and behind them the stone-throwers. And of these there were many, for they came from that neighbourhood.And now, while the enemy were advancing, Thrasybulus ordered his men to ground their shields and did the same himself, though still keeping the rest of his arms, and then took his stand in the midst of them and spoke as follows:

Fellow-citizens, I wish to inform some of you and to remind others that those who form the right wing of the approaching force are the very men whom you turned to flight and pursued four days ago, but the men upon the extreme left—they, yes they, are the Thirty, who robbed us of our city when we were guilty of no wrong, and drove us from our homes, and proscribed those who were dearest to us. But now, behold, they have found themselves in a situation in which they never expected to be, but we always prayed that they might be.

For with arms in our hands we stand face to face with them; and the gods, because once we were seized while dining or sleeping or trading, because some of us also were banished when we were not only guilty of no offence, but were not even in the city, are now manifestly fighting on our side. For in fair weather they send a storm, when it is to our advantage, and when we attack, they grant us, though we are few in number and our enemies are many, to set up trophies of victory;

and now in like manner they have brought us to a place where the men before you, because they are marching up hill, cannot throw either spears or javelins over the heads of those in front of them, while we, throwing both spears and javelins and stones down hill, shall reach them and strike down many.

And though one would have supposed that we should have to fight with their front ranks at least on even terms, yet in fact, if you let fly your missiles with a will, as you should, no one will miss his man when the road is full of them, and they in their efforts to protect themselves will be continually skulking under their shields. You will therefore be able, just as if they were blind men, to strike them wherever you please and then leap upon them and overthrow them.

And now, comrades, we must so act that each man shall feel in his breast that he is chiefly responsible for the victory. For victory, God willing, will now give back to us country and homes, freedom and honours, children, to such as have them, and wives. Happy, indeed, are those of us who shall win the victory and live to behold the gladdest day of all! And happy also he who is slain; for no one, however rich he may be, will gain a monument so glorious. Now, when the right moment comes, I will strike up the paean; and when we call Enyalius to our aid, then let us all, moved by one spirit, take vengeance upon these men for the outrages we have suffered.

After saying these words and turning about to face the enemy, he kept quiet; for the seer bade them not to attack until one of their own number was either killed or wounded. But as soon as that happens, he said, we shall lead on, and to you who follow will come victory, but death, methinks, to me.

And his saying did not prove false, for when they had taken up their shields, he, as though led on by a kind of fate, leaped forth first of all, fell upon the enemy, and was slain, and he lies buried at the ford of the Cephisus; but the others were victorious, and pursued the enemy as far as the level ground. In this battle fell two of the Thirty, Critias and Hippomachus, one of the Ten who ruled in Piraeus, Charmides, the son of Glaucon, and about seventy of the others. And the victors took possession of their arms, but they did not strip off the tunic of any citizen. When this had been done and while they were giving back the bodies of the dead, many on either side mingled and talked with one another.

And Cleocritus, the herald of the initiated, a man with a very fine voice, obtained silence and said: Fellow citizens, why do you drive us out of the city? why do you wish to kill us? For we never did you any harm, but we have shared with you in the most solemn rites and sacrifices and the most splendid festivals, we have been companions in the dance and schoolmates and comrades in arms, and we have braved many dangers with you both by land and by sea in defense of the common safety and freedom of us both.

In the name of the gods of our fathers and mothers, in the name of our ties of kinship and marriage and comradeship,—for all these many of us share with one another,—cease, out of shame before gods and men, to sin against your fatherland, and do not obey those most accursed Thirty, who for the sake of their private gain have killed in eight months more Athenians, almost, than all the Peloponnesians in ten years of war.

And when we might live in peace as fellow citizens, these men bring upon us war with one another, a war most utterly shameful and intolerable, utterly unholy and hated by both gods and men. Yet for all that, be well assured that for some of those now slain by our hands not only you, but we also, have wept bitterly.Thus he spoke; but the surviving officials of the oligarchy, partly because their followers were hearing such things, led them back to the city.

On the following day the Thirty, utterly dejected and with but few adherents left, held their session in the council-chamber; and as for the Three Thousand, wherever their several detachments were stationed, everywhere they began to quarrel with one another. For all those who had done any act of especial violence and were therefore fearful, urged strenuously that they ought not to yield to the men in Piraeus; while those who were confident that they had done no wrong, argued in their own minds and set forth to the others that there was no need of their suffering these evils, and they said that they ought not to obey the Thirty or allow them to ruin the state. In the end they voted to depose the Thirty and choose others. And they chose ten, one from each tribe.

The Thirty thereupon retired to Eleusis; and the Ten, with the aid of the cavalry commanders, took care of the men in the city, who were in a state of great disquiet and distrust of one another. In fact, even the cavalry did guard duty by night, being quartered in the Odeum and keeping with them both their horses and their shields; and such was the suspicion that prevailed, that they patrolled along the walls from evening onwards with their shields, and toward dawn with their horses, fearing continually that they might be attacked by parties of men from Piraeus.

The latter, who were now numerous and included all sorts of people, were engaged in making shields, some of wood, others of wicker-work, and in painting them. And having given pledges that whoever fought with them should be accorded equality in taxation with citizens even if they were foreigners, they marched forth before ten days had passed, a large body of hoplites with numerous light troops; they also got together about seventy horsemen; and they made forays and collected wood and produce, and then came back to spend the night in Piraeus.

As for the men in the city, none of them went forth from the walls under arms except the cavalry, who sometimes captured foraging parties made up of the men from Piraeus and inflicted losses upon their main body. They also fell in with some people of Aexone who were going to their own farms after provisions; and Lysimachus, the cavalry commander, put these men to the sword, although they pleaded earnestly and many of the cavalrymen were much opposed to the proceeding.

In retaliation, the men in Piraeus killed one of the cavalrymen, Callistratus, of the tribe of Leontis, having captured him in the country. For by this time they were very confident, so that they even made attacks upon the wall of the city. And perhaps it is proper to mention also the following device of the engineer in the city: when he learned that the enemy were intending to bring up their siege-engines by the race-course which leads from the Lyceum, he ordered all his teams to haul stones each large enough to load a wagon and drop them at whatever spot in the course each driver pleased. When this had been done, each single one of the stones caused the enemy a great deal of trouble.

And now, when the Thirty in Eleusis sent ambassadors to Lacedaemon, and likewise those in the city who were on the roll, and asked for aid on the plea that the commons had revolted from the Lacedaemonians, Lysander, calculating that it was possible to blockade the men in Piraeus both by land and by sea and to force them to a quick surrender if they were cut off from provisions, lent his assistance to the ambassadors, with the result that a hundred talents was loaned to the Athenian oligarchs and that Lysander himself was sent out as governor on land and his brother Libys as admiral of the fleet.

Accordingly, Lysander proceeded to Eleusis and busied himself with gathering a large force of Peloponnesian hoplites; meanwhile the admiral kept guard on the sea, to prevent any supplies from coming in by water to the besieged; so that the men in Piraeus were soon in difficulties again, while the men in the city again had their turn of being confident, in reliance upon Lysander. While matters were proceeding in this way, Pausanias the king, seized with envy of Lysander because, by accomplishing this project, he would not only win fame but also make Athens his own, persuaded three of the five ephors and led forth a Lacedaemonian army.

And all the allies likewise followed with him, excepting the Boeotians and the Corinthians; and the plea of these was that they did not think they would be true to their oaths if they took the field against the Athenians when the latter were doing nothing in violation of the treaty; in fact, however, they acted as they did because they supposed that the Lacedaemonians wanted to make the territory of the Athenians their own sure possession.So Pausanias encamped on the plain which is called Halipedum, near Piraeus, himself commanding the right wing, while Lysander and his mercenaries formed the left.

Then, sending ambassadors to the men in Piraeus, Pausanias bade them disperse to their homes; and when they refused to obey, he attacked them, at least so far as to raise the war-cry, in order that it might not be evident that he felt kindly toward them. And when he had retired without accomplishing anything by his attack, on the next day he took two regiments of the Lacedaemonians and three tribes of the Athenian cavalry and proceeded along the shore to the Still Harbour, looking to see where Piraeus could best be shut off by a wall.

As he was returning, some of the enemy attacked him and caused him trouble, whereupon, becoming angry, he ordered the cavalry to charge upon them at full speed, and the infantrymen within ten years of military age to follow the cavalry; while he himself with the rest of his troops came along in the rear. And they killed nearly thirty of the enemy’s light troops and pursued the rest to the theatre in Piraeus.

There, as it chanced, the whole body of the light troops and likewise the hoplites of the men in Piraeus were arming themselves. And the light troops, rushing forth at once, set to throwing javelins, hurling stones, shooting arrows, and discharging slings; then the Lacedaemonians, since many of them were being wounded and they were hard pressed, gave ground, though still facing the enemy; and at this the latter attacked much more vigorously. In this attack Chaeron and Thibrachus, both of them polemarchs, were slain, and Lacrates, the Olympic victor, and other Lacedaemonians who lie buried before the gates of Athens in the Cerameicus.

Now Thrasybulus and the rest of his troops—that is, the hoplites—when they saw the situation, came running to lend aid, and quickly formed in line, eight deep, in front of their comrades. And Pausanias, being hard pressed and retreating about four or five stadia to a hill, sent orders to the Lacedaemonians and to the allies to join him. There he formed an extremely deep phalanx and led the charge against the Athenians. The Athenians did indeed accept battle at close quarters; but in the end some of them were pushed into the mire of the marsh of Halae and others gave way; and about one hundred and fifty of them were slain.

Thereupon Pausanias set up a trophy and returned to his camp; and despite what had happened he was not angry with them, but sent secretly and instructed the men in Piraeus to send ambassadors to him and the ephors who were with him, telling them also what proposals these ambassadors should offer; and they obeyed him. He also set about dividing the men in the city, and gave directions that as many of them as possible should gather together and come to him and the ephors and say that they had no desire to be waging war with the men in Piraeus, but rather to be reconciled with them and in common with them to be friends of the Lacedaemonians.

Now Naucleidas also, who was an ephor, was pleased to hear this. For, as it is customary for two of the ephors to be with a king on a campaign, so in this instance Naucleidas and one other were present, and both of them held to the policy of Pausanias rather than to that of Lysander. For this reason they eagerly sent to Lacedaemon both the envoys from Piraeus, having the proposals for peace with the Lacedaemonians, and the envoys from the city party as private individuals, namely, Cephisophon and Meletus.

When, however, these men had departed for Lacedaemon, the authorities in the city also proceeded to send ambassadors, with the message that they surrendered both the walls which they possessed and themselves to the Lacedaemonians, to do with them as they wished; and they said they counted it only fair that the men in Piraeus, if they claimed to be friends of the Lacedaemonians, should in like manner surrender Piraeus and Munichia.

When the ephors and the members of the Lacedaemonian assembly had heard all the ambassadors, they dispatched fifteen men to Athens and commissioned them, in conjunction with Pausanias, to effect a reconciliation in the best way they could. And they effected a reconciliation on these terms, that the two parties should be at peace with one another and that every man should depart to his home except the members of the Thirty, and of the Eleven, and of the Ten who had ruled in Piraeus. They also decided that if any of the men in the city were afraid, they should settle at Eleusis.

When these things had been accomplished, Pausanias disbanded his army and the men from Piraeus went up to the Acropolis under arms and offered sacrifice to Athena. When they had come down, the generals convened an Assembly. There Thrasybulus spoke as follows:

I advise you, he said, men of the city, to know yourselves. And you would best learn to know yourselves were you to consider what grounds you have for arrogance, that you should undertake to rule over us. Are you more just? But the commons, though poorer than you, never did you any wrong for the sake of money; while you, though richer than any of them, have done many disgraceful things for the sake of gain. But since you can lay no claim to justice, consider then whether it is courage that you have a right to pride yourselves upon.

And what better test could there be of this than the way we made war upon one another? Well then, would you say that you are superior in intelligence, you who having a wall, arms, money, and the Peloponnesians as allies, have been worsted by men who had none of these? Is it the Lacedaemonians, then, think you, that you may pride yourselves upon? How so? Why, they have delivered you up to this outraged populace, just as men fasten a clog upon the necks of snapping dogs and deliver them up to keepers, and now have gone away and left you.

Nevertheless, my comrades, I am not the man to ask you to violate any one of the pledges to which you have sworn, but I ask you rather to show this virtue also, in addition to your other virtues,—that you are true to your oaths and are god-fearing men. When he had said this and more to the same effect, and had told them that there was no need of their being disturbed, but that they had only to live under the laws that had previously been in force, he dismissed the Assembly.

So at that time they appointed their magistrates and proceeded to carry on their government; but at a later period, on learning that the men at Eleusis were hiring mercenary troops, they took the field with their whole force against them, put to death their generals when they came for a conference, and then, by sending to the others their friends and kinsmen, persuaded them to become reconciled. And, pledged as they were under oath, that in very truth they would not remember past grievances, the two parties even to this day live together as fellow-citizens and the commons abide by their oaths.

So ended the civil strife at Athens. Shortly after this Cyrus sent messengers to Lacedaemon and asked that the Lacedaemonians should show themselves as good friends to him as he was to them in the war against the Athenians. And the ephors, thinking that what he said was fair, sent instructions to Samius, at that time their admiral, to hold himself under Cyrus’ orders, in case he had any request to make. And in fact Samius did zealously just what Cyrus asked of him: he sailed round to Cilicia at the head of his fleet, in company with the fleet of Cyrus, and made it impossible for Syennesis, the ruler of Cilicia, to oppose Cyrus by land in his march against the Persian king.

As to how Cyrus collected an army and with this army made the march up country against his brother, how the battle was fought, how Cyrus was slain, and how after that the Greeks effected their return in safety to the sea—all this has been written by Themistogenes the Syracusan.

Now when Tissaphernes, who was thought to have proved himself very valuable to the King in the war against his brother, was sent down as satrap both of the provinces which he himself had previously ruled and of those which Cyrus had ruled, he straightway demanded that all the Ionian cities should be subject to him. But they, both because they wanted to be free and because they feared Tissaphernes, inasmuch as they had chosen Cyrus, while he was living, instead of him, refused to admit him into their cities and sent ambassadors to Lacedaemon asking that the Lacedaemonians, since they were the leaders of all Hellas, should undertake to protect them also, the Greeks in Asia, in order that their land might not be laid waste and that they themselves might be free.

Accordingly, the Lacedaemonians sent them Thibron as governor, giving him an army made up of a thousand emancipated Helots and four thousand of the other Peloponnesians. Thibron also asked from the Athenians three hundred cavalrymen, saying that he would provide pay for them himself. And the Athenians sent some of those who had served as cavalrymen in the time of the Thirty, thinking it would be a gain to the democracy if they should live in foreign lands and perish there.

Furthermore, when they arrived in Asia, Thibron also gathered troops from the Greek cities of the mainland; for at that time all the cities obeyed any command a Lacedaemonian might give. Now while he was at the head of this army, Thibron did not venture to descend to level ground, because he saw the enemy’s cavalry, but was satisfied if he could keep the particular territory where he chanced to be from being ravaged.

When, however, the men who had made the march up country with Cyrus joined forces with him after their safe return, from that time on he would draw up his troops against Tissaphernes even on the plains, and he got possession of cities, Pergamus by voluntary surrender, and likewise Teuthrania and Halisarna, two cities which were under the rule of Eurysthenes and Procles, the descendants of Demaratus the Lacedaemonian; and this territory had been given to Demaratus by the Persian king as a reward for accompanying him on his expedition against Greece. Furthermore, Gorgion and Gongylus gave in their allegiance to Thibron, they being brothers, one of them the ruler of Gambrium and Palaegambrium, the other of Myrina and Grynium; and these cities also were a gift from the Persian king to the earlier Gongylus, because he espoused the Persian cause,—the only man among the Eretrians who did so,—and was therefore banished.

On the other hand, there were some weak cities which Thibron did actually capture by storm; as for Larisa (Egyptian Larisa, as it is called), when it refused to yield he invested and besieged it. When he proved unable to capture it in any other way, he sunk a shaft and began to dig a tunnel therefrom, with the idea of cutting off their water supply. And when they made frequent sallies from within the wall and threw pieces of wood and stones into the shaft, he met this move by making a wooden shed and setting it over the shaft. The Larisaeans, however, sallied forth by night and destroyed the shed also, by fire. Then, since he seemed to be accomplishing nothing, the ephors sent him word to leave Larisa and undertake a campaign against Caria.

When, in pursuance of his intention to march against Caria, he was already at Ephesus, Dercylidas arrived to take command of the army, a man who was reputed to be exceedingly resourceful; indeed, he bore the nickname Sisyphus. Thibron accordingly went back home, and was condemned and banished; for the allies accused him of allowing his soldiers to plunder their friends.

And when Dercylidas took over the command of the army, being aware that Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus were suspicious of each other, he came to an understanding with Tissaphernes and led away his army into the territory of Pharnabazus, preferring to make war against one of the two rather than against both together. Besides, Dercylidas was an enemy of Pharnabazus from earlier days; for after he had become governor at Abydus at the time when Lysander was admiral, he was compelled, as a result of his being slandered by Pharnabazus, to stand sentry, carrying his shield—a thing which is regarded by Lacedaemonians of character as a disgrace; for it is a punishment for insubordination. On this account, then, he was all the more pleased to proceed against Pharnabazus.

And from the outset he was so superior to Thibron in the exercise of command that he led his troops through the country of friends all the way to the Aeolis, in the territory of Pharnabazus, without doing any harm whatever to his allies.This Aeolis belonged, indeed, to Pharnabazus, but Zenis of Dardanus had, while he lived, acted as satrap of this territory for him; when Zenis fell ill and died, and Pharnabazus was preparing to give the satrapy to another man, Mania, the wife of Zenis, who was also a Dardanian, fitted out a great retinue, took presents with her to give to Pharnabazus himself and to use for winning the favour of his concubines and the men who had the greatest influence at the court of Pharnabazus, and set forth to visit him. And when she had gained an audience with him, she said:

Pharnabazus, my husband was not only a friend to you in all other ways, but he also paid over the tributes which were your due, so that you commended and honoured him. Now, therefore, if I serve you no less faithfully than he, why should you appoint another as satrap? And if I fail to please you in any point, surely it will be within your power to deprive me of my office and give it to another.

When Pharnabazus heard this, he decided that the woman should be satrap. And when she had become mistress of the province, she not only paid over the tributes no less faithfully than had her husband, but besides this, whenever she went to the court of Pharnabazus she always carried him gifts, and whenever he came down to her province she received him with far more magnificence and courtesy than any of his other governors;

and she not only kept securely for Pharnabazus the cities which she had received from her husband, but also gained possession of cities on the coast which had not been subject to him, Larisa, Hamaxitus, and Colonae—attacking their walls with a Greek mercenary force, while she herself looked on from a carriage; and when a man won her approval she would bestow bounteous gifts upon him, so that she equipped her mercenary force in the most splendid fashion. She also accompanied Pharnabazus in the field, even when he invaded the land of the Mysians or the Pisidians because of their continually ravaging the King’s territory. In return for these services Pharnabazus paid her magnificent honours, and sometimes asked her to aid him as a counsellor.

Now when she was more than forty years old, Meidias, who was the husband of her daughter, was disturbed by certain people saying that it was a disgraceful thing for a woman to be the ruler while he was in private station, and since, although she guarded herself carefully against all other people, as was proper for an absolute ruler, she trusted him and gave him her affection, as a woman naturally would to a son-in-law, he made his way into her presence, as the story goes, and strangled her. He also killed her son, a youth of very great beauty about seventeen years old.

When he had done these things, he seized the strong cities of Scepsis and Gergis, where Mania had kept the most of her treasure. The other cities, however, would not admit him into their walls, but the garrisons that were in them kept them safe for Pharnabazus. Then Meidias sent gifts to Pharnabazus and claimed the right to be ruler of the province, even as Mania had been. And Pharnabazus in reply told him to take good care of his gifts until he came in person and took possession of them and of him too; for he said that he would not wish to live if he failed to avenge Mania.

It was at this juncture that Dercylidas arrived, and he forthwith took possession in a single day of Larisa, Hamaxitus, and Colonae, the cities on the coast, by their voluntary act; then he sent to the cities of Aeolis also and urged them to free themselves, admit him into their walls, and become allies. Now the people of Neandria, Ilium, and Cocylium obeyed him, for the Greek garrisons of those cities had been by no means well treated since the death of Mania;

but the man who commanded the garrison in Cebren, a very strong place, thinking that if he succeeded in keeping the city for Pharnabazus he would receive honours at his hands, refused to admit Dercylidas. Thereupon the latter, in anger, made preparations for attack. And when the sacrifices that he offered did not prove favourable on the first day, he sacrificed again on the following day. And when these sacrifices also did not prove favourable, he tried again on the third day; and for four days he kept persistently on with his sacrificing, though greatly disturbed by the delay; for he was in haste to make himself master of all Aeolis before Pharnabazus came to the rescue.

Now a certain Athenadas, a Sicyonian captain, thinking that Dercylidas was acting foolishly in delaying, and that he was strong enough of himself to deprive the Cebrenians of their water supply, rushed forward with his own company and tried to choke up their spring. And the people within the walls, sallying forth against him, inflicted many wounds upon him, killed two of his men, and drove back the rest with blows and missiles. But while Dercylidas was in a state of vexation and was thinking that his attack would thus be made less spirited, heralds came forth from the wall, sent by the Greeks in the city, and said that what their commander was doing was not to their liking, but that for their part they preferred to be on the side of the Greeks rather than of the barbarian.

While they were still talking about this, there came a messenger from their commander, who sent word that he agreed with all that the first party were saying. Accordingly Dercylidas, whose sacrifices on that day, as it chanced, had just proved favourable, immediately had his troops take up their arms and led them toward the gates; and the people threw them open and admitted him. And after stationing a garrison in this city also, he marched at once against Scepsis and Gergis.

Now Meidias, who was expecting the coming of Pharnabazus and on the other hand was by this time afraid of his own citizens, sent to Dercylidas and said that he would come to a conference with him if he should first receive hostages. And Dercylidas sent him one man from each of the cities of the allies, and bade him take as many and whoever he pleased. Meidias took ten and came forth from the city, and when he met Dercylidas asked him on what conditions he could be an ally of the Lacedaemonians. Dercylidas replied, on condition of allowing his citizens to be free and independent; and as he said this he proceeded to advance upon Scepsis.

Then Meidias, realizing that he would not be able, against the will of the citizens, to prevent his doing so, allowed him to enter the city. And Dercylidas, when he had sacrificed to Athena on the acropolis of Scepsis, led forth Meidias’ garrison, gave over the city to the citizens, and then, after exhorting them to order their public life as Greeks and freemen should, departed from the city and led his army against Gergis. And many of the Scepsians took part in the escort which accompanied him on his way, paying him honour and being well pleased at what had been done,

and Meidias also followed along with him and urged him to give over the city of the Gergithians to him. And Dercylidas told him only that he would not fail to obtain any of his rights; and as he said this, he was approaching the gates of the city together with Meidias, and the army was following him in double file as though on a peaceful mission.Now the men on the towers of Gergis, which were extremely high, did not throw their missiles because they saw Meidias with him; and when Dercylidas said: Bid them open the gates, Meidias, so that you may lead the way and I may go with you to the temple and there sacrifice to Athena, Meidias, although he shrank from opening the gates, nevertheless out of fear that he might be seized on the spot, gave the order to open them.

When Dercylidas entered he proceeded to the acropolis, keeping Meidias with him as before; and he ordered the rest of his soldiers to take their positions along the walls while he, with those about him, sacrificed to Athena. When the sacrifice had been completed he made proclamation that the spearmen of Meidias’ bodyguard should take their positions at the van of his own army, saying that they were to serve him as mercenaries; for Meidias, he said, no longer had anything to fear.

Then Meidias, not knowing what to do, said: Well as for me, said he, I will go away to prepare hospitality for you. And Dercylidas replied: No, by Zeus, for it would be shameful for me, who have just sacrificed, to be entertained by you instead of entertaining you. Stay, therefore, with us, and while the dinner is preparing you and I will think out what is fair toward one another and act accordingly.

When they were seated Dercylidas began asking questions: Tell me, Meidias, did your father leave you master of his property? Yes, indeed, he said. And how many houses had you? How many farms? How many pastures? As Meidias began to make a list, the Scepsians who were present said, He is deceiving you, Dercylidas.

Now don’t you, said he, be too petty about the details. When the list of the inheritance of Meidias had been made Dercylidas said: Tell me, to whom did Mania belong? They all said that she belonged to Pharnabazus. Then, said he, do not her possessions belong to Pharnabazus too? Yes, indeed, they said. Then they must be ours, he said, since we are victorious; for Pharnabazus is our enemy. Let some one, then, said he, lead the way to the place where the possessions of Mania—or rather of Pharnabazus—are stored.

Now when the rest led the way to the dwelling of Mania, to which Meidias had succeeded, the latter also followed. And when Dercylidas entered he called the stewards, told his servants to seize them, and announced to them that if they were caught concealing any of Mania’s property they should have their throats cut on the spot; so they showed it to him. When he had seen all, he shut it up, sealed it, and set a guard upon it.

As he came out he said to some of the commanders of divisions and captains whom he found at the doors: Gentlemen, we have earned pay for the army—eight thousand men—for almost a year; and if we earn anything more, that, too, shall be added. He said this because he knew that upon hearing it the soldiers would be far more orderly and obedient. And when Meidias asked: But as for me, Dercylidas, where am I to dwell? he replied: Just where it is most proper that you should dwell, Meidias, —in your native city, Scepsis, and in your father’s house.

After Dercylidas had accomplished these things and gained possession of nine cities in eight days, he set about planning how he might avoid being a burden to his allies, as Thibron had been, by wintering in a friendly country, and how, on the other hand, Pharnabazus might not, despising the Lacedaemonian army because of his superiority in cavalry, harm the Greek cities. So he sent to Pharnabazus and asked him whether he preferred to have peace or war. And Pharnabazus, thinking that Aeolis had been made a strong base of attack upon his own dwelling-place, Phrygia, chose a truce.

When these things had taken place, Dercylidas went to Bithynian Thrace and there passed the winter, by no means to the displeasure of Pharnabazus, for the Bithynians were often at war with him. And during most of the time Dercylidas was plundering Bithynia in safety and had provisions in abundance; when, however, a force of Odrysians, about two hundred horsemen and about three hundred peltasts, came to him as allies from Seuthes across the strait, these troops, after making a camp about twenty stadia from the Greek army and enclosing it with a palisade, asked Dercylidas for some of his hoplites as a guard for their camp and then sallied forth for booty, and seized many slaves and much property.

When their camp was already full of a great deal of plunder, the Bithynians, learning how many went out on the raids and how many Greeks they had left behind as a guard, gathered together in great numbers, peltasts and horsemen, and at daybreak made an attack upon the Greek hoplites, who numbered about two hundred. When the attacking party came near, some of them hurled spears and others threw javelins at the Greeks. And the latter, wounded and slain one after another, and unable to do the enemy any harm because of being shut up in the palisade, which was about the height of a man, finally broke through their own fortification and charged upon them.

Then the Bithynians, while they gave way at whatever point the Greeks rushed forth, and easily made their escape, since they were peltasts fleeing from hoplites, kept throwing javelins upon them from the one side and the other and struck down many of them at every sally; and in the end the Greeks were shot down like cattle shut up in a pen. About fifteen of them, however, made their escape to the main Greek camp, and these fifteen only because, as soon as they perceived the situation, they had slipped away in the course of the battle unheeded by the Bithynians.

As for the latter, when they had accomplished this speedy victory, had slain the Odrysian Thracians who guarded the tents, and recovered all the booty, they departed; so that the Greeks, on coming to the rescue when they learned of the affair, found nothing in the camp except dead bodies stripped bare. But when the Odrysians returned, they first buried their dead, drank a great deal of wine in their honour, and held a horse-race; and then, from that time on making common camp with the Greeks, they continued to plunder Bithynia and lay it waste with fire.

At the opening of the spring Dercylidas departed from Bithynia and came to Lampsacus. While he was there, Aracus, Naubates, and Antisthenes arrived under commission of the authorities at home. They came to observe how matters stood in general in Asia, and to tell Dercylidas to remain there and continue in command for the ensuing year; also to tell him that the ephors had given them instructions to call together the soldiers and say that while the ephors censured them for what they had done in former days, they commended them because now they were doing no wrong; they were also to say in regard to the future that if the soldiers were guilty of wrong-doing the ephors would not tolerate it, but if they dealt justly by the allies they would commend them.

When, however, they called together the soldiers and told them these things, the leader of Cyrus’ former troops replied: But, men of Lacedaemon, we are the same men now as we were last year; but our commander now is one man, and in the past was another. Therefore you are at once able to judge for yourselves the reason why we are not at fault now, although we were then.

While the ambassadors from home and Dercylidas were quartered together, one of Aracus’ party mentioned the fact that they had left ambassadors from the Chersonesians at Lacedaemon. And they said that these ambassadors stated that now they were unable to till their land in the Chersonese, for it was being continually pillaged by the Thracians; but if it were protected by a wall extending from sea to sea, they and likewise all of the Lacedaemonians who so desired would have an abundance of good, tillable land. Consequently, they said, they would not be surprised if some Lacedaemonian were in fact sent out by the state with an army to perform this task.

Now Dercylidas, when he heard this, did not make known to them the purpose which he cherished, but dismissed them on their journey through the Greek cities to Ephesus, being well pleased that they were going to see the cities enjoying a state of peace and prosperity. So they departed. But Dercylidas, having now found out that he was to remain in Asia, sent to Pharnabazus again and asked whether he preferred to have a truce, as during the winter, or war. Since Pharnabazus on this occasion again chose a truce, under these circumstances Dercylidas, leaving the cities of that region also in peace, crossed the Hellespont with his army to Europe, and after marching through a portion of Thrace which was friendly and being entertained by Seuthes, arrived at the Chersonese.

And when he learned that this Chersonese contained eleven or twelve towns and was an extremely productive and rich land, but had been ravaged, even as was stated, by the Thracians, and found also that the width of the isthmus was thirty-seven stadia, he did not delay, but after offering sacrifices proceeded to build a wall, dividing the whole distance part by part among the soldiers; and by promising them that he would give prizes to the first who finished their part, and also to the others as they severally might deserve, he completed the wall, although he had not begun upon it until the spring, before the time of harvest. And he brought under the protection of the wall eleven towns, many harbours, a great deal of good land suited for raising grain and fruit, and a vast amount of splendid pasture-land for all kinds of cattle.

When he had done this, he crossed back again to Asia.As he was now inspecting the cities of Asia, he saw that in general they were in good condition, but found that exiles from Chios held possession of Atarneus, a strong place, and from this as a base were pillaging Ionia and making their living thereby. When he learned further that they had a large stock of grain in the city, he invested and besieged them; and in eight months he brought them to terms, appointed Dracon of Pellene to have charge of the city, and after storing in the place all kinds of supplies in abundance, so that he might have it as a halting-place whenever he came there, departed to Ephesus, which is distant from Sardis a three days’ journey.

Up to this time Tissaphernes and Dercylidas, and the Greeks of this region and the barbarians, continued at peace with one another. Now, however, embassies came to Lacedaemon from the Ionian cities and set forth that it was in the power of Tissaphernes, if he chose, to leave the Greek cities independent; therefore they expressed the belief that if Caria, the particular province where the residence of Tissaphernes was, should suffer harm, under these circumstances he would very quickly leave them independent. When the ephors heard this, they sent to Dercylidas and gave orders that he should cross the river into Caria, and that Pharax, the admiral, should coast along with his ships to the same place. They accordingly did so.

Now it chanced that at this time Pharnabazus had come to visit Tissaphernes, not only because Tissaphernes had been appointed general-in-chief, but also for the purpose of assuring him that he was ready to make war together with him, to be his ally, and to aid him in driving the Greeks out of the territory of the King; for he secretly envied Tissaphernes his position as general for various reasons, but in particular he took it hardly that he had been deprived of Aeolis. Now when Tissaphernes heard his words, he said: First, then, cross over with me into Caria, and then we will consult about these matters.

But when they were there, they decided to station adequate garrisons in the fortresses and to cross back again to Ionia. And when Dercylidas heard that they had crossed the Maeander again, he told Pharax that he was afraid Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus might overrun and pillage the land, unprotected as it was, and so crossed over himself to Ionia. Now while they were on the march, the army being by no means in battle formation, since they supposed that the enemy had gone on ahead into the territory of the Ephesians, on a sudden they saw scouts on the burial-mounds in front of them;

and when they also sent men to the tops of the mounds and towers in their neighbourhood, they made out an army drawn up in line of battle where their own road ran—Carians with white shields, the entire Persian force which chanced to be at hand, all the Greek troops which each of the two satraps had, and horsemen in great numbers, those of Tissaphernes upon the right wing and those of Pharnabazus upon the left.

When Dercylidas learned of all this, he told the commanders of divisions and the captains to form their men in line, eight deep, as quickly as possible, and to station the peltasts on either wing and likewise the cavalry—all that he chanced to have and such as it was; meanwhile he himself offered sacrifice.

Now all that part of the army which was from Peloponnesus kept quiet and prepared for battle; but as for the men from Priene and Achilleium, from the islands and the Ionian cities, some of them left their arms in the standing grain (for the grain was tall in the plain of the Maeander) and ran away, while all those who did stand showed clearly that they would not stand very long.

On the other side Pharnabazus, it was reported, was urging an engagement. But Tissaphernes, remembering the way Cyrus’ troops had made war with the Persians and believing that the Greeks were all like them, did not wish to fight, but sent to Dercylidas and said that he wanted to come to a conference with him. And Dercylidas, taking the best-looking of the troops he had, both cavalry and infantry, came forward to meet the messengers and said: For my part I had prepared to fight, as you see; however, since he wishes to come to a conference, I have no objection myself. But if this is to be done, pledges and hostages must be given and received.

When this plan had been decided upon and carried out, the armies went away, the barbarians to Tralles in Caria, and the Greeks to Leucophrys, where there was a very holy shrine of Artemis and a lake more than a stadium in length, with a sandy bottom and an unfailing supply of drinkable, warm water. This, then, was what was done at that time; but on the following day the commanders came to the place agreed upon, and it seemed best to them to learn from one another on what terms each would make peace.

Dercylidas accordingly stated his condition, that the King should leave the Greek cities independent; and Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus stated theirs, that the Greek army should depart from the country and the Lacedaemonian governors from the cities. When they had stated these terms to one another, they concluded a truce, to continue until the proposals should be reported by Dercylidas to Lacedaemon, and by Tissaphernes to the King.

While these things were being done in Asia by Dercylidas, the Lacedaemonians at the same time were engaged in war at home, against the Eleans. They had long been angry with the Eleans, both because the latter had concluded an alliance with the Athenians, Argives, and Mantineans, and because, alleging that judgment had been rendered against the Lacedaemonians, they had debarred them from both the horse-races and the athletic contests; and this alone did not suffice them, but furthermore, after Lichas had made over his chariot to the Thebans and they were proclaimed victorious, when Lichas came in to put the garland upon his charioteer, they had scourged him, an old man, and driven him out.

And again, at a later time, when Agis was sent to sacrifice to Zeus in accordance with an oracle, the Eleans would not allow him to pray for victory in war, saying that even from ancient times it was an established principle that Greeks should not consult the oracle about a war with Greeks; so that Agis went away without sacrificing.

It was in consequence of all these things that the ephors and the assembly were angry, and they determined to bring the Eleans to their senses. Accordingly, they sent ambassadors to Elis and said that it seemed to the authorities of Lacedaemon to be just that they should leave their outlying towns independent. And when the Eleans replied that they would not do so, for the reason that they held the towns as prizes of war, the ephors called out the ban. And Agis, at the head of the army, made his entrance into the territory of Elis through Achaea, along the Larisus.

Now when the army had but just arrived in the enemy’s country and the land was being laid waste, an earthquake took place. Then Agis, thinking that this was a heaven-sent sign, departed again from the country and disbanded his army. As a result of this the Eleans were much bolder, and sent around embassies to all the states which they knew to be unfriendly to the Lacedaemonians.

In the course of the year, however, the ephors again called out the ban against Elis, and with the exception of the Boeotians and the Corinthians all the allies, including the Athenians, took part with Agis in the campaign. Now when Agis entered Elis by way of Aulon, the Lepreans at once revolted from the Eleans and came over to him, the Macistians likewise at once, and after them the Epitalians. And while he was crossing the river, the Letrinians, Amphidolians, and Marganians came over to him.

Thereupon he went to Olympia and offered sacrifices to Olympian Zeus, and this time no one undertook to prevent him. After his sacrifices he marched upon the city of Elis, laying the land waste with axe and fire as he went, and vast numbers of cattle and vast numbers of slaves were captured in the country; insomuch that many more of the Arcadians and Achaeans, on hearing the news, came of their own accord to join the expedition and shared in the plunder. In fact this campaign proved to be a harvest, as it were, for Peloponnesus.

When Agis reached the city he did some harm to the suburbs and the gymnasia, which were beautiful, but as for the city itself (for it was unwalled) the Lacedaemonians thought that he was unwilling, rather than unable, to capture it. Now while the country was being ravaged and the Lacedaemonian army was in the neighbourhood of Cyllene, the party of Xenias—the man of whom it was said that he measured out with a bushel measure the money he received from his father—wishing to have their city go over to the Lacedaemonians and to receive the credit for this, rushed out of a house, armed with swords, and began a slaughter; and having killed, among others, a man who resembled Thrasydaeus, the leader of the commons, they supposed that they had killed Thrasydaeus himself, so that the commons lost heart entirely and kept quiet,

while the men engaged in the slaughter supposed that everything was already accomplished and their sympathizers gathered under arms in the market-place. But it chanced that Thrasydaeus was still asleep at the very place where he had become drunk. And when the commons learned that he was not dead, they gathered round his house on all sides, as a swarm of bees around its leader.

And when Thrasydaeus put himself at their head and led the way, a battle took place in which the commons were victorious, and those who had undertaken the slaughter were forced to flee to the Lacedaemonians. As for Agis, when he departed and crossed the Alpheus again, after leaving a garrison in Epitalium near the Alpheus, with Lysippus as governor, and also leaving there the exiles from Elis, he disbanded his army and returned home himself.

During the rest of the summer and the ensuing winter the country of the Eleans was plundered by Lysippus and the men with him. But in the course of the following summer Thrasydaeus sent to Lacedaemon and agreed to tear down the walls of Phea and Cyllene, to leave the Triphylian towns of Phrixa and Epitalium independent, likewise the Letrinians, Amphidolians, and Marganians, and besides these the Acrorians and the town of Lasion, which was claimed by the Arcadians. The Eleans, however, claimed the right to hold Epeum, the town between Heraea and Macistus; for they said that they had bought the whole territory for thirty talents from the people to whom the town at that time belonged, and had paid the money.

But the Lacedaemonians, deciding that it was no more just to get property from the weaker by a forced purchase than by a forcible seizure, compelled them to leave this town also independent; they did not, however, dispossess them of the presidency of the shrine of Olympian Zeus, even though it did not belong to the Eleans in ancient times, for they thought that the rival claimants were country people and not competent to hold the presidency. When these things had been agreed upon, a peace and an alliance were concluded between the Eleans and the Lacedaemonians. And so the war between the Lacedaemonians and the Eleans ended.

After this Agis, having gone to Delphi and offered to the god the appointed tithe of his booty, on his way back fell sick at Heraea, being now an old man, and although he was still living when brought home to Lacedaemon, once there he very soon died; and he received a burial more splendid than belongs to man. When the prescribed days of mourning had been religiously observed and it was necessary to appoint a king, Leotychides, who claimed to be a son of Agis, and Agesilaus, a brother of Agis, contended for the kingship.

And Leotychides said: But, Agesilaus, the law directs, not that a brother, but that a son of a king, should be king; if, however, there should chance to be no son, in that case the brother would be king. It is I, then, who should be king. How so, when I am alive? Because he whom you call your father said that you were not his son. Nay, but my mother, who knows far better than he did, says even to this day that I am. But Poseidon showed that you are entirely in the wrong, for he drove your father out of her chamber into the open by an earthquake. And time also, which is said to be the truest witness, gave testimony that the god was right; for you were born in the tenth month from the time when he fled from the chamber. Such were the words which passed between these two.

But Diopeithes, a man very well versed in oracles, said in support of Leotychides that there was also an oracle of Apollo which bade the Lacedaemonians beware of the lame kingship. Lysander, however, made reply to him, on behalf of Agesilaus, that he did not suppose the god was bidding them beware lest a king of theirs should get a sprain and become lame, but rather lest one who was not of the royal stock should become king. For the kingship would be lame in very truth when it was not the descendants of Heracles who were at the head of the state.

After hearing such arguments from both claimants the state chose Agesilaus king.When Agesilaus had been not yet a year in the kingly office, once while he was offering one of the appointed sacrifices in behalf of the state, the seer said that the gods revealed a conspiracy of the most terrible sort. And when he sacrificed again, the seer said that the signs appeared still more terrible. And upon his sacrificing for the third time, he said: Agesilaus, just such a sign is given me as would be given if we were in the very midst of the enemy. There-upon they made offerings to the gods who avert evil and to those who grant safety, and having with difficulty obtained favourable omens, ceased sacrificing. And within five days after the sacrifice was ended a man reported to the ephors a conspiracy, and Cinadon as the head of the affair.

This Cinadon was a young man, sturdy of body and stout of heart, but not one of the peers. And when the ephors asked how he had said that the plan would be carried out, the informer replied that Cinadon had taken him to the edge of the market-place and directed him to count how many Spartiatae there were in the market-place. And I, he said, after counting king and ephors and senators and about forty others, asked Why, Cinadon, did you bid me count these men? And he replied: Believe, said he, that these men are your enemies, and that all the others who are in the market-place, more than four thousand in number, are your allies. In the streets also, the informer said, Cinadon pointed out as enemies here one and there two who met them, and all the rest as allies; and of all who chanced to be on the country estates belonging to Spartiatae, while there would be one whom he would point out as an enemy, namely the master, yet there would be many on each estate named as allies.

When the ephors asked how many Cinadon said there really were who were in the secret of this affair, the informer replied that he said in regard to this point that those who were in the secret with himself and the other leaders were by no means many, though trustworthy; the leaders, however, put it this way, that it was they who knew the secret of all the others—Helots, freedmen, lesser Spartiatae, and Perioeci; for whenever among these classes any mention was made of Spartiatae, no one was able to conceal the fact that he would be glad to eat them raw.

When the ephors asked again: And where did they say they would get weapons? the informer replied that Cinadon said: Of course those of us who are in the army have weapons of our own, and as for the masses—he led him, he said, to the iron market, and showed him great quantities of knives, swords, spits, axes, hatchets, and sickles. And he said, the informer continued, that all those tools with which men work the land and timber and stone were likewise weapons, and that most of the other industries also had in their implements adequate weapons, especially against unarmed men. When he was asked again at what time this thing was to be done, he said that orders had been given him to stay in the city.

Upon hearing these statements the ephors came to the conclusion that he was describing a well-considered plan, and were greatly alarmed; and without even convening the Little Assembly, as it was called, but merely gathering about them—one ephor here and another there—some of the senators, they decided to send Cinadon to Aulon along with others of the younger men, and to order him to bring back with him certain of the Aulonians and Helots whose names were written in the official dispatch. And they ordered him to bring also the woman who was said to be the most beautiful woman in Aulon and was thought to be corrupting the Lacedaemonians who came there, older and younger alike.

Now Cinadon had performed other services of a like sort for the ephors in the past; so this time they gave him the dispatch in which were written the names of those who were to be arrested. And when he asked which of the young men he should take with him, they said: Go and bid the eldest of the commanders of the guard to send with you six or seven of those who may chance to be at hand. In fact they had taken care that the commander should know whom he was to send, and that those who were sent should know that it was Cinadon whom they were to arrest. The ephors said this thing besides to Cinadon, that they would send three wagons, so that they would not have to bring back the prisoners on foot—trying to conceal, as far as they could, the fact that they were sending after one man—himself.

The reason they did not plan to arrest him in the city was that they did not know how great was the extent of the plot, and they wished to hear from Cinadon who his accomplices were before these should learn that they had been informed against, in order to prevent their escaping. Accordingly, those who made the arrest were to detain Cinadon, and after learning from him the names of his confederates, to write them down and send them back as quickly as possible to the ephors. And so seriously did the ephors regard the matter that they even sent a regiment of cavalry to support the men who had set out for Aulon.

When the man had been seized and a horseman had returned with the names of those whom Cinadon had listed, the ephors immediately proceeded to arrest the seer Tisamenus and the most influential of the others. And when Cinadon was brought back and questioned, and confessed everything and told the names of his confederates, they asked him finally what in the world was his object in undertaking this thing. He replied: I wished to be inferior to no one in Lacedaemon. Thereupon he was straightway bound fast, neck and arms, in a collar, and under scourge and goad was dragged about through the city, he and those with him. And so they met their punishment.

After this a Syracusan named Herodas, being in Phoenicia with a certain shipowner, and seeing Phoenician war-ships—some of them sailing in from other places, others lying there fully manned, and yet others still making ready for sea—and hearing, besides, that there were to be three hundred of them, embarked on the first boat that sailed to Greece and reported to the Lacedaemonians that the King and Tissaphernes were preparing this expedition; but whither it was bound he said he did not know.

Now while the Lacedaemonians were in a state of great excitement, and were gathering together their allies and taking counsel as to what they should do, Lysander, thinking that the Greeks would be far superior on the sea, and reflecting that the land force which went up country with Cyrus had returned safely, persuaded Agesilaus to promise, in case the Lacedaemonians would give him thirty Spartiatae, two thousand emancipated Helots, and a contingent of six thousand of the allies, to make an expedition to Asia. Such were the motives which actuated Lysander, but, in addition, he wanted to make the expedition with Agesilaus on his own account also, in order that with the aid of Agesilaus he might re-establish the decarchies which had been set up by him in the cities, but had been overthrown through the ephors, who had issued a proclamation restoring to the cities their ancient form of government.

When Agesilaus offered to undertake the campaign, the Lacedaemonians gave him everything he asked for and provisions for six months. And when he marched forth from the country after offering all the sacrifices which were required, including that at the frontier, he dispatched messengers to the various cities and announced how many men were to be sent from each city, and where they were to report; while as for himself, he desired to go and offer sacrifice at Aulis, the place where Agamemnon had sacrificed before he sailed to Troy.

When he had reached Aulis, however, the Boeotarchs, on learning that he was sacrificing, sent horsemen and bade him discontinue his sacrificing, and they threw from the altar the victims which they found already offered. Then Agesilaus, calling the gods to witness, and full of anger, embarked upon his trireme and sailed away. And when he arrived at Gerastus and had collected there as large a part of his army as he could, he directed his course to Ephesus.

When he reached Ephesus, Tissaphernes at once sent and asked him with what intent he had come. And he answered: That the cities in Asia shall be independent, as are those in our part of Greece. In reply to this Tissaphernes said: Then if you are willing to make a truce until I can send to the King, I think you could accomplish this object and, if you should so desire, sail back home. Indeed I should so desire, said he, if I could but think that I was not being deceived by you. But, said he, it is possible for you to receive a guarantee on this point, that in very truth and without guile, if you follow this course, we will do no harm to any part of your domain during the truce.

After this agreement had been reached, Tissaphernes made oath to the commissioners who were sent to him, Herippidas, Dercylidas, and Megillus, that in very truth and without guile he would negotiate the peace, and they in turn made oath on behalf of Agesilaus to Tissaphernes that in very truth, if he did this, Agesilaus would steadfastly observe the truce. Now Tissaphernes straightway violated the oaths which he had sworn; for instead of keeping peace he sent to the King for a large army in addition to that which he had before. But Agesilaus, though he was aware of this, nevertheless continued to abide by the truce.

Meanwhile, during the time that Agesilaus was spending in quiet and leisure at Ephesus, since the governments in the cities were in a state of confusion—for it was no longer democracy, as in the time of Athenian rule, nor decarchy, as in the time of Lysander—and since the people all knew Lysander, they beset him with requests that he should obtain from Agesilaus the granting of their petitions; and for this reason a very great crowd was continually courting and following him, so that Agesilaus appeared to be a man in private station and Lysander king.

Now Agesilaus showed afterwards that he also was enraged by these things; but the thirty Spartiatae with him were so jealous that they could not keep silence, but said to Agesilaus that Lysander was doing an unlawful thing in conducting himself more pompously than royalty. When, however, Lysander now began to introduce people to Agesilaus, the king would in every case dismiss, without granting their petitions, those who were known by him to be supported in any way by Lysander. And when Lysander found that the outcome was invariably the opposite of what he desired, he realized how the matter stood; and he no longer allowed a crowd to follow him, while he plainly told those who wanted him to give them any help that they would fare worse if he supported them.

But being distressed at his disgrace, he went to Agesilaus and said: Agesilaus, it seems that you, at least, understand how to humiliate your friends. Yes, by Zeus, I do, said he, at any rate those who wish to appear greater than I; but as for those who exalt me, if I should prove not to know how to honour them in return, I should be ashamed. And Lysander said: Well, perhaps it is indeed true that you are acting more properly than I acted. Therefore grant me this favour at least: in order that I may not be shamed by having no influence with you, and may not be in your way, send me off somewhere. For, wherever I may be, I shall endeavour to be useful to you.

When he had thus spoken, Agesilaus also thought it best to follow this course, and he sent him to the Hellespont. There Lysander, upon learning that Spithridates the Persian had suffered a slight at the hands of Pharnabazus, had a conference with him and persuaded him to revolt, taking with him his children and the money he had at hand and about two hundred horsemen. And Lysander left everything else at Cyzicus, but put Spithridates himself and his son on board ship and brought them with him to Agesilaus. And when Agesilaus saw them, he was pleased with the exploit, and immediately inquired about the territory and government of Pharnabazus.

Now when Tissaphernes, growing confident because of the army which had come down from the King, declared war upon Agesilaus if he did not depart from Asia, the allies and the Lacedaemonians who were present showed that they were greatly disturbed, thinking that the force which Agesilaus had was inferior to the King’s array; but Agesilaus, his countenance radiant, ordered the ambassadors to carry back word to Tissaphernes that he felt very grateful to him because, by violating his oath, he had made the gods enemies of his side and allies of the Greeks. Then he straightway gave orders to the soldiers to pack up for a campaign, and sent word to the cities which had to be visited by anyone who marched upon Caria, that they should make ready a market. He also dispatched orders to the Ionians, Aeolians, and Hellespontines to send to him at Ephesus troops which should take part in the campaign.

Now Tissaphernes, both because Agesilaus had no cavalry (and Caria was unsuited for cavalry), and because he believed that he was angry with him on account of his treachery, made up his mind that he was really going to march against his own residence in Caria, and accordingly sent all his infantry across into that province, and as for his cavalry, he led it round into the plain of the Maeander, thinking that he was strong enough to trample the Greeks under foot with his horsemen before they should reach the regions which were unfit for cavalry. Agesilaus, however, instead of proceeding against Caria, straightway turned in the opposite direction and marched towards Phrygia, and he picked up and led along with him the contingents which met him on the march, subdued the cities, and, since he fell upon them unexpectedly, obtained great quantities of booty.

Most of the time he pursued his march through the country in safety; but when he was not far from Dascyleium, his horsemen, who were going on ahead of him, rode to the top of a hill so as to see what was in front. And by chance the horsemen of Pharnabazus, under the command of Rhathines and Bagaeus, his bastard brother, just about equal to the Greek cavalry in number, had been sent out by Pharnabazus and likewise rode to the top of this same hill. And when the two squadrons saw one another, not so much as four plethra apart, at first both halted, the Greek horsemen being drawn up four deep like a phalanx, and the barbarians with a front of not more than twelve, but many men deep. Then, however, the barbarians charged.

When they came to a hand-to-hand encounter, all of the Greeks who struck anyone broke their spears, while the barbarians, being armed with javelins of cornel-wood, speedily killed twelve men and two horses. Thereupon the Greeks were turned to flight. But when Agesilaus came to the rescue with the hoplites, the barbarians withdrew again and one of them was killed.

After this cavalry battle had taken place and Agesilaus on the next day was offering sacrifices with a view to an advance, the livers of the victims were found to be lacking a lobe. This sign having presented itself, he turned and marched to the sea. And perceiving that, unless he obtained an adequate cavalry force, he would not be able to campaign in the plains, he resolved that this must be provided, so that he might not have to carry on a skulking warfare. Accordingly he assigned the richest men of all the cities in that region to the duty of raising horses; and by proclaiming that whoever supplied a horse and arms and a competent man would not have to serve himself, he caused these arrangements to be carried out with all the expedition that was to be expected when men were eagerly looking for substitutes to die in their stead.

After this, when spring was just coming on, he gathered his whole army at Ephesus; and desiring to train the army, he offered prizes both to the heavy-armed divisions, for the division which should be in the best physical condition, and to the cavalry divisions, for the one which should show the best horsemanship; and he also offered prizes to peltasts and bowmen, for all who should prove themselves best in their respective duties. Thereupon one might have seen all the gymnasia full of men exercising, the hippodrome full of riders, and the javelin-men and bowmen practising.

In fact, he made the entire city, where he was staying, a sight worth seeing; for the market was full of all sorts of horses and weapons, offered for sale, and the copper-workers, carpenters, smiths, leather-cutters, and painters were all engaged in making martial weapons, so that one might have thought that the city was really a workshop of war.

And one would have been encouraged at another sight also—Agesilaus in the van, and after him the rest of the soldiers, returning garlanded from the gymnasia and dedicating their garlands to Artemis. For where men reverence the gods, train themselves in deeds of war, and practise obedience to authority, may we not reasonably suppose that such a place abounds in high hopes?

And again, believing that to feel contempt for one’s enemies infuses a certain courage for the fight, Agesilaus gave orders to his heralds that the barbarians who were captured by the Greek raiding parties should be exposed for sale naked. Thus the soldiers, seeing that these men were white-skinned because they never were without their clothing, and soft and unused to toil because they always rode in carriages, came to the conclusion that the war would be in no way different from having to fight with women.

Meanwhile the year had now ended since the time when Agesilaus had set sail from Greece, so that Lysander and the thirty Spartiatae sailed back home, and Herippidas with his thirty came as their successors. Of these, Agesilaus assigned Xenocles and one other to the command of the cavalry, Scythes to the command of the Helot hoplites, Herippidas to the Cyreans, and Mygdon to the troops from the allied cities, and he announced to them that he would immediately lead them by the shortest route to the best parts of the country, his object being to have them begin at once to prepare their bodies and spirits for the fray.

Tissaphernes, however, thought that he was saying this from a desire to deceive him again, and that this time he would really invade Caria, and accordingly he sent his infantry across into Caria, just as before, and stationed his cavalry in the plain of the Maeander. Agesilaus, however, did not belie his words, but, even as he had announced, marched straight to the neighbourhood of Sardis. For three days he proceeded through a country bare of enemies, and had provisions for the army in abundance, but on the fourth day the cavalry of the enemy came up.

And their commander told the leader of the baggage-train to cross the Pactolus river and encamp, while the horsemen themselves, getting sight of the camp-followers on the side of the Greeks, scattered for plunder, killed a large number of them. On perceiving this Agesilaus ordered his horsemen to go to their aid. And the Persians, in their turn, when they saw this movement, gathered together and formed an opposing line, with very many companies of their horsemen.

Then Agesilaus, aware that the infantry of the enemy was not yet at hand, while on his side none of the arms which had been made ready was missing, deemed it a fit time to join battle if he could. Therefore, after offering sacrifice, he at once led his phalanx against the opposing line of horsemen, ordering the first ten year-classes of the hoplites to run to close quarters with the enemy, and bidding the peltasts lead the way at a double-quick. He also sent word to his cavalry to attack, in the assurance that he and the whole army were following them.

Now the Persians met the attack of the cavalry; but when the whole formidable array together was upon them, they gave way, and some of them were struck down at once in crossing the river, while the rest fled on. And the Greeks, pursuing them, captured their camp as well. Then the peltasts, as was natural, betook themselves to plundering; but Agesilaus enclosed all alike, friends as well as foes, within the circle of his camp. And not only was much other property captured, which fetched more than seventy talents, but it was at this time that the camels also were captured which Agesilaus brought back with him to Greece.

When this battle took place Tissaphernes chanced to be at Sardis, so that the Persians charged him with having betrayed them. Furthermore, the Persian King himself concluded that Tissaphernes was responsible for the bad turn his affairs were taking, and accordingly sent down Tithraustes and cut off his head. After he had done this, Tithraustes sent ambassadors to Agesilaus with this message: Agesilaus, the man who was responsible for the trouble in your eyes and ours has received his punishment; and the King deems it fitting that you should sail back home, and that the cities in Asia, retaining their independence, should render him the ancient tribute.

When Agesilaus replied that he could not do this without the sanction of the authorities at home, Tithraustes said, But at least, until you receive word from the city, go over into the territory of Pharnabazus, since it is I who have taken vengeance upon your enemy. Then, until I go there, said Agesilaus, give me provisions for the army. Tithraustes accordingly gave him thirty talents; and he took it and set out for Pharnabazus’ province of Phrygia.

And when he was in the plain which is above Cyme, orders came to him from the authorities at home to exercise command as he thought best over the fleet also, and to appoint as admiral whomsoever he wished. Now the Lacedaemonians did this because they reasoned that if the same man were in command of both army and fleet, the army would be much stronger because the strength of both would be united, and the fleet likewise because the army would appear wherever it was needed.

But when Agesilaus heard this, in the first place he sent orders to the cities in the islands and on the coast to build triremes in such numbers as the several cities desired. And the result was new triremes to the number of one hundred and twenty, consisting of those which the cities offered and those which private individuals built out of desire to please Agesilaus.

Then he appointed as admiral Peisander, his wife’s brother, a man who was ambitious and of a stout spirit, but rather inexperienced in making such provisions as were needful. So Peisander departed and busied himself with naval matters; and Agesilaus continued the march to Phrygia on which he had set out.

But now Tithraustes, who thought he had found out that Agesilaus despised the power of the King and did not in the least intend to depart from Asia, but rather had great hopes that he would overcome the King, being perplexed to know how to deal with the situation, sent Timocrates the Rhodian to Greece, giving him gold to the value of fifty talents of silver, and bade him undertake, on receipt of the surest pledges, to give this money to the leaders in the various states on condition that they should make war upon the Lacedaemonians. So Timocrates went and gave his money, at Thebes to Androcleidas, Ismenias, and Galaxidorus; at Corinth to Timolaus and Polyanthes; and at Argos to Cylon and his followers.

And the Athenians, even though they did not receive a share of this gold, were nevertheless eager for the war, thinking that theirs was the right to rule. Then those who had taken the money set to work in their own states to defame the Lacedaemonians; and when they had brought their people to a feeling of hatred toward them, they undertook, further, to unite the largest states with one another.

But the leading men in Thebes, being aware that unless someone began war the Lacedaemonians would not break the peace with their allies, persuaded the Opuntian Locrians to levy money from the territory which was in dispute between the Phocians and themselves, for they thought that if this was done the Phocians would invade Locris. And they were not disappointed, for the Phocians did at once invade Locris and seize property many times as valuable.

Then Androcleidas and his followers speedily persuaded the Thebans to aid the Locrians, on the ground that the Phocians had invaded, not the disputed territory, but Locris, which was admitted to be a friendly and allied country. And when the Thebans made a counter-invasion into Phocis and laid waste the land, the Phocians straightway sent ambassadors to Lacedaemon and asked the Lacedaemonians to aid them, setting forth that they had not begun war, but had gone against the Locrians in self-defence.

Now the Lacedaemonians were glad to seize a pretext for undertaking a campaign against the Thebans, for they had long been angry with them both on account of their claiming Apollo’s tenth at Decelea and their refusing to follow them against Piraeus. Furthermore, they charged them with persuading the Corinthians likewise not to join in that campaign. Again, they recalled that they had refused to permit Agesilaus to sacrifice at Aulis and had cast from the altar the victims already offered, and that they also would not join Agesilaus for the campaign in Asia. They also reasoned that it was a favourable time to lead forth an army against the Thebans and put a stop to their insolent behaviour toward them; for matters in Asia were in an excellent condition for them, Agesilaus being victorious, and in Greece there was no other war to hinder them.

The city of the Lacedaemonians being thus minded, the ephors called out the ban and sent Lysander to Phocis with orders to report at Haliartus, bringing with him the Phocians themselves and also the Oetaeans, Heracleots, Malians, and Aenianians. And Pausanias also, who was to have chief command, agreed to appear at Haliartus on an appointed day, with the troops of the Lacedaemonians and the other Peloponnesians. Now Lysander carried out all his orders and, besides, caused the Orchomenians to revolt from the Thebans.

And Pausanias, when his sacrifice at the frontier proved favourable, sent out his officers to muster the allies, and waited for the troops from the outlying towns of Laconia, he meanwhile resting at Tegea. But when it became clear to the Thebans that the Lacedaemonians were going to invade their land, they sent ambassadors to Athens with the following message:

Men of Athens, as regards your complaints against us for having voted for harsh measures toward you at the conclusion of the war, your complaints are not justified; for it was not the state which voted for those measures, but only the one individual who proposed them, a man who chanced at that time to have a seat in the assembly of the allies. But when the Lacedaemonians summoned us to the attack upon Piraeus, then the whole state voted not to join them in the campaign. Therefore, since it is chiefly on your account that the Lacedaemonians are angry with us, we think it is fair that you should aid our state.

And we consider it in a far greater degree incumbent upon all those among you who belonged to the city party that you should zealously take the field against the Lacedaemonians. For the Lacedaemonians, after establishing you as an oligarchy and making you objects of hatred to the commons, came with a great force, ostensibly as your allies, and delivered you over to the democrats. Consequently, in so far as it depended upon them, you would certainly have perished, but the commons here saved you.

Furthermore, men of Athens, although we all understand that you would like to recover the dominion which you formerly possessed, we ask in what way this is more likely to come to pass than by your aiding those who are wronged by the Lacedaemonians? And do not be afraid because they rule over many, but much rather be of good courage on that account, keeping in mind your own case, that when the subjects over whom you ruled were the most numerous, then you had the most enemies. To be sure they concealed their enmity to you so long as they had no one to whom to revolt, but as soon as the Lacedaemonians offered themselves as leaders, then they showed what their feelings were toward you.

Even so now, if we and you are found in arms together against the Lacedaemonians, be well assured that those who hate them will appear in full numbers.That we speak truth you will see at once if you consider the matter. For who is now left that is friendly to them? Have not the Argives been hostile to them from all time?

And now the Eleans, whom they have robbed of much territory and many cities, have been added to the number of their enemies. As for the Corinthians, Arcadians, and Achaeans, what shall we say of them, who in the war against you, at the earnest entreaty of the Lacedaemonians, bore a share of all hardships and perils and expenses; but when the Lacedaemonians had accomplished what they desired, what dominion or honour or what captured treasure did they ever share with them? Nay, it is their Helots whom they deem it proper to appoint as governors, while toward their allies, who are free men, they have behaved themselves like masters since they have achieved success.

Furthermore, it is plain that they have deceived in like manner the peoples whom they won away from you; for instead of freedom they have given them a double servitude—they are under the tyrant rule both of the governors and of the decarchies which Lysander established in each city. Take the King of Asia also —although his contributions helped them most to win the victory over you, what better treatment is he now receiving than if he had joined with you and subdued them?

How, then, can it be doubtful that if you in your turn offer yourselves as leaders of those who are so manifestly wronged, you will now become by far the greatest of all the states that have ever been? For at the time when you held dominion you were the leaders, you recall, of those only who dwelt on the sea; but now you would become the leaders of all alike—of ourselves, of the Peloponnesians, of those whom you formerly ruled, and of the King himself with his vast power. And we certainly were valuable allies to the Lacedaemonians, as you so well know; but now we can be expected to support you altogether more stoutly than we supported the Lacedaemonians then; for it is by no means on behalf of islanders or Syracusans, or in fact of any alien people, that we shall be lending our aid as we were then, but on behalf of our own injured selves.

And this also is to be well understood, that the selfishly acquired dominion of the Lacedaemonians is far easier to destroy than the empire which was once yours. For you had a navy and ruled over men who had none, while they, being few, arrogate to themselves dominion over men who are many times their number and are fully as well armed. This, then, is our proposal; but be well assured, men of Athens, that we believe we are inviting you to benefits far greater for your state than for our own.

With these words he ceased speaking. But as for the Athenians, very many spoke in support of him and they voted unanimously to aid the Thebans. And Thrasybulus, after giving the ambassadors the decree for an answer, pointed out also that, although Piraeus was without walls, they would nevertheless brave the danger of repaying to the Thebans a greater favour than they had received. For whereas you, he said, did not join in the campaign against us, we are going to fight along with you against them, in case they march upon you.

So the Thebans went away and made preparations for defending themselves, and the Athenians for aiding them. And in fact the Lacedaemonians did not longer delay, but Pausanias the king marched into Boeotia with the troops from home and those from Peloponnesus except the Corinthians, who refused to accompany them. And Lysander, at the head of the army from Phocis, Orchomenus, and the places in that region, arrived at Haliartus before Pausanias.

Having arrived, he did not keep quiet and wait for the army from Lacedaemon, but went up to the wall of the Haliartians with the troops which he had. And at first he tried to persuade them to revolt from the Thebans and become independent; but when some of the Thebans, who were within the wall, prevented them from doing so, he made an attack upon the wall.

And on hearing of this the Thebans came on the run to the rescue, both hoplites and cavalry. Whether it was that they fell upon Lysander unawares, or that he saw them coming and nevertheless stood his ground in the belief that he would be victorious, is uncertain; but this at any rate is clear, that the battle took place beside the wall; and a trophy stands at the gates of the Haliartians. Now when Lysander had been killed and his troops were fleeing to the mountain, the Thebans pursued stoutly.

But when they had reached the heights in their pursuit and came upon rough country and narrow ways, the hoplites of the enemy turned about and threw javelins and other missiles upon them. And when two or three of them who were in the van had been struck down, and the enemy began to roll stones down the hill upon the rest and to attack them with great spirit, the Thebans were driven in flight from the slope, and more than two hundred of them were killed.

On this day, therefore, the Thebans were despondent, thinking that they had suffered losses no less severe than those they had inflicted; on the following day, however, when they learned that the Phocians and the rest had all gone away in the night to their several homes, then they began to be more elated over their exploit. But when, on the other hand, Pausanias appeared with the army from Lacedaemon, they again thought that they were in great danger, and, by all accounts, there was deep silence and despondency in their army.

When, however, on the next day the Athenians arrived and formed in line of battle with them, while Pausanias did not advance against them nor offer battle, then the elation of the Thebans increased greatly; as for Pausanias, he called together the commanders of regiments and of fifties, and took counsel with them as to whether he should join battle or recover by means of a truce the bodies of Lysander and those who fell with him.

Accordingly Pausanias and the other Lacedaemonians who were in authority, considering that Lysander was dead and that the army under his command had been defeated and was gone, while the Corinthians had altogether refused to accompany them and those who had come were not serving with any spirit; considering also the matter of horsemen, that the enemy’s were numerous while their own were few, and, most important of all, that the bodies lay close up to the wall, so that even in case of victory it would not be easy to recover them on account of the men upon the towers—for all these reasons they decided that it was best to recover the bodies under a truce.

The Thebans, however, said that they would not give up the dead except on condition that the Lacedaemonians should depart from their country. The Lacedaemonians welcomed these conditions, and were ready, after taking up their dead, to depart from Boeotia. When this had been done, the Lacedaemonians marched off despondently, while the Thebans behaved most insolently—in case a man trespassed never so little upon anyone’s lands, chasing him back with blows into the roads. Thus it was that this campaign of the Lacedaemonians came to its end.

But when Pausanias reached home he was brought to trial for his life. He was charged with having arrived at Haliartus later than Lysander, though he had agreed to reach there on the same day, with having recovered the bodies of the dead by a truce instead of trying to recover them by battle, and with having allowed the Athenian democrats to escape when he had got them in his power in Piraeus; and since, besides all this, he failed to appear at the trial, he was condemned to death. And he fled to Tegea, and there died a natural death. These, then, were the events which took place in Greece.

Now when Agesilaus arrived, at the beginning of autumn, in Pharnabazus’ province of Phrygia, he laid the land waste with fire and sword and gained possession of cities, some by force, others by their voluntary surrender.

And when Spithridates said that if he would come to Paphlagonia with him, he would bring the king of the Paphlagonians to a conference and make him an ally, Agesilaus eagerly undertook the journey, since this was a thing he had long desired—to win some nation away from the Persian King.

Upon his arriving in Paphlagonia, Otys came and concluded an alliance; for he had been summoned by the Persian King and had refused to go up to him. He also, by the persuasion of Spithridates, left behind for Agesilaus a thousand horsemen and two thousand peltasts.

And Agesilaus, feeling grateful to Spithridates for these things, said to him: Tell me, Spithridates, would you not give your daugther to Otys? Far more willingly, said he, than he would accept her, the daughter of an exile, while he is lord of a great land and power. So at that time nothing more was said about the marriage.

But when Otys was about to depart, he came to Agesilaus to bid him farewell. Then Agesilaus began conversation with him in the presence of the thirty Spartiatae, after asking Spithridates to withdraw.

Tell me, he said, Otys, to what sort of a family does Spithridates belong? Otys replied that he was inferior in rank to no one of all the Persians. And have you noticed his son, said Agesilaus, how handsome he is? To be sure I have; for I dined with him last evening. They say his daughter is handsomer than the son.

Yes, by Zeus, said Otys, she certainly is beautiful. And I, said he, since you have become a friend of ours, should like to advise you to take the girl as your wife, for she is very beautiful—and what is more pleasant to a husband than that?—and the daughter of a father very well born and possessed of so great power, a man who, when wronged by Pharnabazus, takes such vengeance upon him that he has, as you see, made him an exile from his whole country.

Be well assured, moreover, he said, that even as he is able to take vengeance upon Pharnabazus, an enemy, so he would also be able to benefit a friend I ask you also to take into consideration that, if this plan should be carried out, it would not be he alone that would be a connexion of yours, but I too and the rest of the Lacedaemonians, and, since we are the leaders of Greece, the rest of Greece as well.

And further, if you should do this, who could possibly have a more magnificent wedding than you? For what bride was ever escorted by so many horsemen and peltasts and hoplites as would escort your wife to your house?

And Otys asked, But is this, said he, which you are proposing, Agesilaus, pleasing to Spithridates also? By the gods, said Agesilaus, it was not he that bade me say this; but I for my own part, even though I rejoice exceedingly when I punish an enemy, believe that I am far more pleased when I discover some good thing for my friends.

Why, then, said he, do you not find out whether this is pleasing to him also? And Agesilaus said: Herippidas, do you men all go and persuade him to desire the same things that we do.

So they went and set about persuading him. And when they had spent some time away, Agesilaus said: Do you wish, Otys, that we should call him in and talk with him ourselves? I do think that he would be far more likely to be persuaded by you than by all the rest put together. Thereupon Agesilaus called in both Spithridates and the others.

And as soon as they came in, Herippidas said: Why, Agesilaus, need one make a long story about all that was said? The upshot of it is that Spithridates says he would be glad to do anything that you think best.

Well, then, said Agesilaus, I think it best that you, Spithridates, should give your daughter to Otys—and may good fortune attend upon the deed—and that you, Otys, should accept her. But we could not fetch the girl by land before spring. But, by Zeus, said Otys, she could be sent by sea at once, if you so desired.

Thereupon they gave and received pledges to ratify this agreement, and so sent Otys on his way.And Agesilaus, being now assured that Otys was eager, immediately manned a trireme and ordered Callias the Lacedaemonian to fetch the girl, while he set off himself for Dascyleium, the place where the palace of Pharnabazus was situated, and round about it were many large villages, stored with provisions in abundance, and splendid wild animals, some of them in enclosed parks, others in open spaces.

There was also a river, full of all kinds of fish, flowing by the palace. And, besides, there was winged game in abundance for those who knew how to take it. There he spent the winter, procuring provisions for his army partly on the spot, and partly by means of foraging expeditions.

But on one occasion, while the soldiers were getting their provisions in disdainful and careless fashion, because they had not previously met with any mishap, Pharnabazus came upon them, scattered as they were over the plain, with two scythe-bearing chariots and about four hundred horsemen.

Now when the Greeks saw him advancing upon them, they ran together to the number of about seven hundred; Pharnabazus, however, did not delay, but putting his chariots in front, and posting himself and the horsemen behind them, he gave orders to charge upon the Greeks.

And when the chariots dashed into the close-gathered crowd and scattered it, the horsemen speedily struck down about a hundred men, while the rest fled for refuge to Agesilaus; for he chanced to be near at hand with the hoplites.

On the third or fourth day following this incident, Spithridates learned that Pharnabazus was encamped in a large village named Caue, about one hundred and sixty stadia away, and at once told Herippidas.

And Herippidas, eager to achieve a brilliant exploit, asked from Agesilaus hoplites to the number of two thousand, as many peltasts, and for horsemen, those of Spithridates, the Paphlagonians, and as many of the Greeks as he could persuade to join him.

When Agesilaus had promised him these troops Herippidas proceeded to sacrifice; and towards evening he obtained favourable omens and terminated his sacrifice. Thereupon he gave orders to his men to get their dinner, and then report in front of the camp. But by the time darkness had come on, not so much as the half of the several detachments had come out.

However, in order that the rest of the thirty Spartiatae might not laugh at him, as they would if he gave up his plan, he set out with the force that he had.

And when at daybreak he fell upon the encampment of Pharnabazus, many of his outposts, who were Mysians, were slain, the troops themselves scattered in flight, and the camp was captured, and with it many drinking-cups and other articles such as a man like Pharnabazus would naturally have, and besides these things a great deal of baggage and many baggage animals.

For through fear that, if he took up a fixed position anywhere, he would be surrounded and besieged, Pharnabazus kept going first to one and then to another part of the country, even as the nomads do, very carefully concealing his encampments.

Now when the Paphlagonians and Spithridates had brought in the property they had captured, Herippidas posted commanders of divisions and companies to intercept them, and took everything away from both Spithridates and the Paphlagonians, merely in order that he might have a great quantity of booty to turn in to the officials who sold it.

They, however, would not stand being so treated, but, feeling that they had been wronged and dishonoured, packed up and went off during the night to Ariaeus at Sardis, putting their trust in Ariaeus because he also had revolted from the King and made war upon him.

And nothing happened during the campaign which was more distressing to Agesilaus than the desertion of Spithridates, Megabates, and the Paphlagonians.

Now there was a certain Apollophanes of Cyzicus who chanced to be an old friend of Pharnabazus and at that time had become a friend of Agesilaus also. This man, accordingly, said to Agesilaus that he thought he could bring Pharnabazus to a conference with him in regard to establishing friendly relations.

And when Agesilaus heard what he had to say, Apollophanes, after obtaining a truce and a pledge, brought Pharnabazus with him to a place which had been agreed upon, where Agesilaus and the thirty Spartiatae with him were lying on the ground in a grassy spot awaiting them; Pharnabazus, however, came in a dress which was worth much gold. But when his attendants were proceeding to spread rugs beneath him, upon which the Persians sit softly, he was ashamed to indulge in luxury, seeing as he did the simplicity of Agesilaus; so he too lay down on the ground without further ado.

And first they gave each other greeting, then Pharnabazus held out his right hand and Agesilaus held out his to meet it. After this Pharnabazus began speaking,—for he was the elder:

Agesilaus and all you Lacedaemonians who are present, I became your friend and ally at the time when you were at war with the Athenians, and not only did I make your fleet strong by providing money, but on the land I myself fought on horseback with you and drove your enemies into the sea. And you cannot accuse me, as you accused Tissaphernes, of any double-dealing toward you at any time, either in deed or word.

Such a friend I proved myself, and now I am brought to such a pass by you that I have not so much as a meal in my own land unless, like the beasts, I pick up a bit of what you may leave. And the beautiful dwellings and parks, full of trees and wild animals, which my father left me, in which I took delight,—all these parks I see cut down, all these dwellings burned to the ground. If it is I that do not understand either what is righteous or what is just, do you teach me how these are the deeds of men who know how to repay favours.

Thus he spoke. And all the thirty Spartiatae were filled with shame before him and fell silent; but Agesilaus at length said: I think you know, Pharnabazus, that in the Greek states, also, men become guest-friends of one another. But these men, when their states come to war, fight with their fatherlands even against their former friends, and, if it so chance, sometimes even kill one another. And so we to-day, being at war with your king, are constrained to regard all that is his as hostile; as for yourself, however, we should prize it above everything to become friends of yours.

And if it were an exchange that you had to make, from the King as master to us as masters, I for my part should not advise you to make the exchange; but in fact it is within your power by joining with us to live in the enjoyment of your possessions without doing homage to anyone or having any master. And being free is worth, in my opinion, as much as all manner of possessions.

Yet it is not this that we urge upon you, to be free and poor, but rather by employing us as allies to increase, not the King’s empire, but your own, subduing those who are now your fellow-slaves so that they shall be your subjects. And if, being free, you should at the same time become rich, what would you lack of being altogether happy?

Shall I, then, said Pharnabazus, tell you frankly just what I shall do? It surely becomes you to do so. Well, then, said he, if the King sends another as general and makes me his subordinate, I shall choose to be your friend and ally; but if he assigns the command to me,—so strong, it seems, is the power of ambition—you may be well assured that I shall war upon you to the best of my ability.

Upon hearing these words Agesilaus grasped his hand and said: O that you, noble sir, a man of such a spirit, may come to be our friend. But at least, he said, be assured of one thing, that now I am going away from your land as speedily as I can, and in the future, even if war continues, we shall withhold our hands from you and yours so long as we can turn our attack against another.

With these words he broke up the meeting. And Pharnabazus mounted his horse and rode away, but his son by Parapita, who was still in the bloom of youth, remaining behind, ran up to Agesilaus and said to him: Agesilaus, I make you my guest-friend. And I accept your friendship. Remember, then, he said. And immediately he gave his javelin—it was a beautiful one—to Agesilaus. And he, accepting it, took off and gave to the boy in return a splendid trapping which Idaeus, his secretary, had round his horse’s neck. Then the boy leaped upon his horse and followed after his father.

And afterwards, when his brother had deprived the son of Parapita of his domain during the absence of Pharnabazus, and had made him an exile, Agesilaus not only cared for him in every way, but in particular, since he had become enamoured of the son of Eualces an Athenian, made every effort for his sake to have Eualces’ son, inasmuch as he was taller than any of the other boys, admitted to the stadium race at Olympia.

So at that time Agesilaus immediately marched off out of the territory of Pharnabazus, just as he had told him he would; besides, spring was now almost at hand. And upon arriving in the plain of Thebe he encamped near the shrine of Artemis of Astyra, and there gathered together from all quarters a very great army in addition to that which he had. For he was preparing to march as far as he could into the interior, thinking that he would detach from the King all the nations which he could put in his rear.

Agesilaus, then, was occupied with these things. But the Lacedaemonians at home, when they found out definitely that the money had come to Greece, and that the largest states had united for war against them, believed that their state was in danger, and thought that it was necessary to undertake a campaign.

And while themselves making preparations for this, they also immediately sent Epicydidas to fetch Agesilaus. And when Epicydidas arrived in Asia, he told Agesilaus the general condition of affairs, and that the state bade him come as speedily as possible to the aid of his fatherland.

Now when Agesilaus heard this, although he was disturbed, considering what honours and what hopes he was deprived of, nevertheless, calling together the allies, he made known to them what the state commanded, and said that it was necessary to go to the aid of the fatherland. But if those matters turn out successfully, be well assured, my allies, he said, that I shall not forget you, but shall return again to accomplish the things which you desire.

Upon hearing this many burst into tears, but they all voted to go with Agesilaus to the aid of Lacedaemon, resolved, if matters there should turn out successfully, to bring him back again with them to Asia.

Accordingly they made preparations to follow with him. As for Agesilaus, he left behind him in Asia Euxenus as governor, and with him a garrison of not less than four thousand men, so that he could keep the cities safe; and seeing that most of his own soldiers were more desirous of remaining than of undertaking a campaign against Greeks, in the desire to lead with him the best men and as many as possible he offered prizes to the cities, for the one which should send the best force, and to the captains of the mercenaries, for the one who should join the expedition with the best equipped company of hoplites, of bowmen, and of peltasts. He likewise announced to the commanders of cavalry that he would also give a prize of victory to the one who should furnish the best mounted and best equipped battalion.

And he said that he would make the decision in the Chersonese, when they had crossed from Asia to Europe, his purpose being to let them understand thoroughly that they must select their troops with care.

As for the prizes, most of them were beautifully wrought arms, both for hoplites and for horsemen; there were also wreaths of gold, and the prizes all told cost not less than four talents. As a result, however, of the expending of this sum, arms worth a vast sum of money were provided for the army.

And when he had crossed the Hellespont, Menascus, Herippidas, and Orsippus were appointed as judges from the side of the Lacedaemonians, and from that of the allies one from each city. Then Agesilaus, after he had made the decision, marched on with his army by the same route which the Persian king followed when he made his expedition against Greece.

Meanwhile the ephors called out the ban; and since Agesipolis was still a boy, the state commanded Aristodemus, who was of the royal family and the boy’s guardian, to lead the army.

Now when the Lacedaemonians were marching forth and their enemies had gathered together, the latter met and took counsel as to how they might fight the battle with the greatest advantage to themselves.

Then Timolaus of Corinth spoke as follows: It seems to me, he said, fellow allies, that the case of the Lacedaemonians is much the same as that of rivers. For rivers at their sources are not large, but easy to cross, yet the farther on they go, other rivers empty into them and make their current stronger;

and just so the Lacedaemonians, at the place whence they come forth, are alone by themselves, but as they go on and keep attaching the cities to them, they become more numerous and harder to fight against. Again, I see, he said, that all who wish to destroy wasps, in case they try to capture the wasps as they issue forth, are stung by many of them; but if they apply the fire while the wasps are still in their nests, they suffer no harm and subdue the wasps. Considering these things, therefore, I believe it is best to fight the battle in Lacedaemon itself if possible, but if not, as near there as we can. Since it was thought that his advice was good, they voted for this course.

But while they were negotiating about the leadership and trying to come to an agreement with one another as to the number of ranks in depth in which the whole army should be drawn up, in order to prevent the states from making their phalanxes too deep and thus giving the enemy a chance of surrounding them,—meanwhile the Lacedaemonians, having already picked up the Tegeans and Mantineans, were on their outward march, taking the road along the sea-shore.

And as the two armies marched on, the Corinthians and their allies were in the district of Nemea, and the Lacedaemonians and their allies at Sicyon, at almost the same time. Now when the latter had made their entry into Corinthian territory by way of Epieiceia, at first the light troops of their adversaries did them a great deal of harm by throwing missiles and discharging arrows upon them from the heights upon their right.

But when they had descended towards the sea, they marched on by this route through the plain, devastating and burning the land. The enemy also, however, retired and encamped, getting the river-bed in front of them; and when, as they advanced, the Lacedaemonians were distant not so much as ten stadia from the enemy, they also encamped where they were and remained quiet.

And now I will state the numbers on either side. As for hoplites, there had gathered together of the Lacedaemonians about six thousand, of the Eleans, Triphylians, Acrorians, and Lasionians almost three thousand, and of the Sicyonians one thousand five hundred, while of the Epidaurians, Troezenians, Hermionians, and Halians there were not less than three thousand. Besides these there were horsemen of the Lacedaemonians to the number of about seven hundred, Cretan bowmen who accompanied the army, about three hundred, and, further, slingers of the Marganians, Letrinians, and Amphidolians, not less than four hundred. The Phliasians, however, would not join them; for they said that they were keeping a holy truce. This, then, was the force on the side of the Lacedaemonians.

But the force of the enemy which was gathered together included, of the Athenians about six thousand hoplites, of the Argives, according to all accounts, about seven thousand, of the Boeotians (since the Orchomenians were not present) only about five thousand, of the Corinthians about three thousand, and, further, from the whole of Euboea not less than three thousand. This was the number of the hoplites; but as for horsemen, there were of the Boeotians (since the Orchomenians were not present) about eight hundred, of the Athenians about six hundred, of the Chalcidians from Euboea about one hundred, and of the Opuntian Locrians about fifty. And of light troops also there was a greater number with the party of the Corinthians; for the Ozolian Locrians, Malians, and Acarnanians were with them.

This, then, was the force on either side. Now the Boeotians, so long as they occupied the left wing, were not in the least eager to join battle; but when the Athenians took position opposite the Lacedaemonians, and the Boeotians themselves got the right wing and were stationed opposite the Achaeans, they immediately said that the sacrifices were favourable and gave the order to make ready, saying that there would be a battle. And in the first place, disregarding the sixteen-rank formation, they made their phalanx exceedingly deep, and, besides, they also veered to the right in leading the advance, in order to outflank the enemy with their wing; and the Athenians, in order not to be detached from the rest of the line, followed them towards the right, although they knew that there was danger of their being surrounded.

Now for a time the Lacedaemonians did not perceive that the enemy were advancing; for the place was thickly overgrown; but when the latter struck up the paean, then at length they knew, and immediately gave orders in their turn that all should make ready for battle. And when they had been drawn up together in the positions which the Lacedaemonian leaders of the allies assigned to the several divisions, they passed the word along to follow the van. Now the Lacedaemonians also veered to the right in leading the advance, and extended their wing so far beyond that of the enemy that only six tribes of the Athenians found themselves opposite the Lacedaemonians, the other four being opposite the Tegeans.

And when the armies were now not so much as a stadium apart, the Lacedaemonians sacrificed the goat to Artemis Agrotera, as is their custom, and led the charge upon their adversaries, wheeling round their overlapping wing in order to surround them. When they had come to close encounter, all the allies of the Lacedaemonians were overcome by their adversaries except the men of Pellene, who, being pitted against the Thespians, fought and fell in their places,—as did also many of the other side.

But the Lacedaemonians themselves overcame that part of the Athenians which they covered, and wheeling round with their overlapping wing killed many of them, and then, unscathed as they were, marched on with lines unbroken. They passed by the other four tribes of the Athenians before the latter had returned from the pursuit, so that none of these were killed except such as fell in the original encounter, at the hands of the Tegeans;

but the Lacedaemonians did come upon the Argives as they were returning from the pursuit, and when the first polemarch was about to attack them in front, it is said that some one shouted out to let their front ranks pass by. When this had been done, they struck them on their unprotected sides as they ran past, and killed many of them. The Lacedaemonians also attacked the Corinthians as they were returning. And, furthermore, they likewise came upon some of the Thebans returning from the pursuit, and killed a large number of them.

These things having taken place, the defeated troops at first fled to the walls of Corinth; but afterwards, since the Corinthians shut them out, they encamped again in their old camp. The Lacedaemonians, on the other hand, returning to the place where they first engaged the enemy, set up a trophy. Such, then, was the issue of this battle.

Meanwhile Agesilaus was hurrying from Asia to the rescue; and when he was at Amphipolis, Dercylidas brought him word that this time the Lacedaemonians were victorious, and that only eight of them had been killed, but of the enemy a vast number; he made it known to him, however, that not a few of the allies of the Lacedaemonians had also fallen.

And when Agesilaus asked: Would it not be advantageous, Dercylidas, if the cities which are sending their troops with us should learn of the victory as speedily as possible? Dercylidas replied: It is certainly likely that they would be in better spirits if they heard of this. Then are not you the man who could report it best, since you were present at the battle? And Dercylidas, glad to hear this, for he was always fond of travel, replied: If you should so order. Well, I do, said Agesilaus, and I bid you announce, further, that if the present undertaking also turns out well, we shall come back again, even as we said.

Accordingly Dercylidas set out at once for the Hellespont.And Agesilaus, passing through Macedonia, arrived in Thessaly. Then the Larisaeans, Crannonians, Scotussaeans, and Pharsalians, who were allies of the Boeotians, and in fact all the Thessalians except those of them who chanced at that time to be exiles, followed after him and kept molesting him.

And for a time he led the army in a hollow square, with one half of the horsemen in front and the other half at the rear; but when the Thessalians, by charging upon those who were behind, kept interfering with his progress, he sent along to the rear the vanguard of horsemen also, except those about his own person.

Now when the two forces had formed in line of battle against one another, the Thessalians, thinking that it was not expedient to engage as cavalry in a battle with hoplites, turned round and slowly retired.

And the Greeks very cautiously followed them. Agesilaus, however, perceiving the mistakes which each side was making, sent the very stalwart horsemen who were about his person and ordered them not only to give word to the others to pursue with all speed, but to do likewise themselves, and not to give the Thessalians a chance to face round again.

And when the Thessalians saw them rushing upon them unexpectedly, some of them fled, others turned about, and others, in trying to do this, were captured while their horses were turned half round.

But Polycharmus the Pharsalian, who was the commander of the cavalry, turned round and fell fighting, together with those about him. When this happened, there followed a headlong flight on the part of the Thessalians, so that some of them were killed and others were captured. At all events they did not stop until they had arrived at Mount Narthacium.

On that day, accordingly, Agesilaus set up a trophy between Pras and Narthacium and remained on the field of battle, greatly pleased with his exploit, in that he had been victorious, over the people who pride themselves particularly upon their horsemanship, with the cavalry that he had himself gathered together. And on the following day he crossed the Achaean mountains of Phthia and marched on through a friendly country all the rest of the way, even to the boundaries of the Boeotians.

When he was at the entrance to Boeotia, the sun seemed to appear crescent-shaped, and word was brought to him that the Lacedaemonians had been defeated in the naval battle and the admiral, Peisander, had been killed. It was also stated in what way the battle had been fought.

For it was near Cnidos that the fleets sailed against one another, and Pharnabazus, who was admiral, was with the Phoenician ships, while Conon with the Greek fleet was posted in front of him.

And when Peisander, in spite of his ships being clearly fewer than the Greek ships under Conon, had formed his line of battle against them, his allies on the left wing immediately fled, and he himself, after coming to close encounter with the enemy, was driven ashore, his trireme damaged by the enemy’s beaks; and all the others who were driven ashore abandoned their ships and made their escape as best they could to Cnidos, but he fell fighting on board his ship.

Now Agesilaus, on learning these things, at first was overcome with sorrow; but when he had considered that the most of his troops were the sort of men to share gladly in good fortune if good fortune came, but that if they saw anything unpleasant, they were under no compulsion to share in it,—thereupon, changing the report, he said that word had come that Peisander was dead, but victorious in the naval battle.

And at the moment of saying these things he offered sacrifice as if for good news, and sent around to many people portions of the victims which had been offered; so that when a skirmish with the enemy took place, the troops of Agesilaus won the day in consequence of the report that the Lacedaemonians were victorious in the naval battle.

Those who were now drawn up against Agesilaus were the Boeotians, Athenians, Argives, Corinthians, Aenianians, Euboeans, and both the Locrian peoples; while with Agesilaus was a regiment of Lacedaemonians which had crossed over from Corinth, half of the regiment from Orchomenus, furthermore the emancipated Helots from Lacedaemon who had made the expedition with him, besides these the foreign contingent which Herippidas commanded, and, furthermore, the troops from the Greek cities in Asia and from all those cities in Europe which he had brought over as he passed through them; and from the immediate neighbourhood there came to him hoplites of the Orchomenians and Phocians. As for peltasts, those with Agesilaus were far more numerous; on the other hand, the horsemen of either side were about equal in number.

This, then, was the force on both sides; and I will also describe the battle, and how it proved to be like no other of the battles of our time. They met on the plain of Coronea, those with Agesilaus coming from the Cephisus, and those with the Thebans from Mount Helicon. And Agesilaus occupied the right wing of the army under his command, while the Orchomenians were at the extreme end of his left wing. On the other side, the Thebans themselves were on the right and the Argives occupied their left wing.

Now as the opposing armies were coming together, there was deep silence for a time in both lines; but when they were distant from one another about a stadium, the Thebans raised the war-cry and rushed to close quarters on the run. When, however, the distance between the armies was still about three plethra, the troops whom Herippidas commanded, and with them the Ionians, Aeolians, and Hellespontines, ran forth in their turn from the phalanx of Agesilaus, and the whole mass joined in the charge and, when they came within spear thrust, put to flight the force in their front. As for the Argives, they did not await the attack of the forces of Agesilaus, but fled to Mount Helicon.

Thereupon some of the mercenaries were already garlanding Agesilaus, when a man brought him word that the Thebans had cut their way through the Orchomenians and were in among the baggage train. And he immediately wheeled his phalanx and led the advance against them; but the Thebans on their side, when they saw that their allies had taken refuge at Mount Helicon, wishing to break through to join their own friends, massed themselves together and came on stoutly.

At this point one may unquestionably call Agesilaus courageous; at least he certainly did not choose the safest course. For while he might have let the men pass by who were trying to break through and then have followed them and overcome those in the rear, he did not do this, but crashed against the Thebans front to front; and setting shields against shields they shoved, fought, killed, and were killed. Finally, some of the Thebans broke through and reached Mount Helicon, but many were killed while making their way thither.

Now when the victory had fallen to Agesilaus and he himself had been carried, wounded, to the phalanx, some of the horsemen rode up and told him that about eighty of the enemy, still armed, had taken shelter in the temple of Athena, and asked him what they should do. And he, although he had received many wounds, nevertheless did not forget the deity, but ordered them to allow these men to go away whithersoever they wished, and would permit them to commit no wrong. Then—it was already late—they took dinner and lay down to rest.

And in the morning Agesilaus gave orders that Gylis, the polemarch, should draw up the army in line of battle and set up a trophy, that all should deck themselves with garlands in honour of the god, and that all the flute-players should play. And they did these things. The Thebans, however, sent heralds asking to bury their dead under a truce. In this way, accordingly, the truce was made, and Agesilaus went to Delphi and offered to the god a tithe of the amount derived from his booty, an offering of not less than one hundred talents; but Gylis, the polemarch, withdrew with the army to Phocis and from there made an invasion of Locris.

And for most of the day the soldiers busied themselves in carrying off portable property and provisions from the villages; but when it was towards evening and they were withdrawing, the Lacedaemonians being in the rear, the Locrians followed after them throwing stones and javelins. And when the Lacedaemonians, turning about and setting out in pursuit, had struck down some of them, after that, although the Locrians no longer followed in their rear, they threw missiles upon them from the heights upon their right.

Then the Lacedaemonians again undertook to pursue them, even up the slope; but since darkness was coming on and, as they were retiring from the pursuit, some of them fell on account of the roughness of the country, others because they could not see what was ahead of them, and still others from the missiles of the enemy, under these circumstances Gylis, the polemarch, and Pelles, one of his comrades, were slain, and in all about eighteen of the Spartiatae, some by being stoned to death, some by javelin wounds. And if some of those who were in the camp at dinner had not come to their aid, all of them would have been in danger of perishing.

After this the various contingents of the army were dismissed to their several cities and Agesilaus also sailed back home. And from that time on the Athenians, Boeotians, Argives, and their allies continued the war, making Corinth their base, and the Lacedaemonians and their allies from Sicyon. As the Corinthians, however, saw that their own land was being laid waste and that many of them were being killed because they were continually near the enemy, while the rest of the allies were living in peace themselves and their lands were under cultivation, the most and best of them came to desire peace, and uniting together urged this course upon one another.

But the Argives, Athenians, Boeotians, and those among the Corinthians who had received a share of the money from the King, as well as those who had made themselves chiefly responsible for the war, realizing that if they did not put out of the way the people who had turned toward peace, the state would be in danger of going over to the Lacedaemonians again, undertook, under these circumstances, to bring about a general massacre. And in the first place, they devised the most sacrilegious of all schemes; for other people, even if a man is condemned by process of law, do not put him to death during a religious festival; but these men chose the last day of the Euclea, because they thought they would catch more people in the market-place, so as to kill them.

Then again, when the signal was given to those who had been told whom they were to kill, they drew their swords and struck men down,—one while standing in a social group, another while sitting in his seat, still another in the theatre, and another even while he was sitting as judge in a dramatic contest. Now when the situation became known, the better classes immediately fled, in part to the statues of the gods in the market-place, in part to the altars; then the conspirators, utterly sacrilegious and without so much as a single thought for civilized usage, both those who gave the orders and those who obeyed, kept up the slaughter even at the holy places, so that some even among those who were not victims of the attack, being right-minded men, were dismayed in their hearts at beholding such impiety.

In this way many of the older men were killed; for it was they especially who chanced to be in the market-place; while the younger men, since Pasimelus suspected what was going to happen, had remained quietly in the gymnasium of Craneium. But when they heard the outcry and some had come to them in flight from the massacre, thereupon, rushing up on the slopes of Acrocorinthus, they beat off an attack which the Argives and the rest made upon them.

While they were deliberating, however, as to what they should do, the capital fell from a column, although there had been neither earthquake nor wind. Likewise, when they sacrificed, the omens from the victims were such that the seers said it was better to descend from the place. And at first they retired beyond the territory of Corinth with the intention of going into exile; but when their friends and mothers and sisters kept coming to them and trying to dissuade them, and, further, some of the very men who were in power promised under oath that they should suffer no harm, under these circumstances some of them returned home.

They saw, however, that those who were in power were ruling like tyrants, and perceived that their state was being put out of existence, inasmuch as boundary stones had been removed and their fatherland was called Argos instead of Corinth; and, while they were compelled to share in the rights of citizenship at Argos, for which they had no desire, they had less influence in their state than aliens. Some of them, accordingly, came to the belief that life under such conditions was not endurable; but if they endeavoured to make their fatherland Corinth again, even as it had been from the beginning, and to make it free, and not only pure of the stain of the murderers, but blest with an orderly government, they thought it a worthy deed, if they could accomplish these things, to become saviours of their fatherland, but if they could not do so, to meet a most praiseworthy death in striving after the fairest and greatest blessings.

Accordingly two men, Pasimelus and Alcimenes, undertook by wading through a torrent to effect a meeting with Praxitas, the Lacedaemonian polemarch, who chanced to be on garrison duty with his regiment at Sicyon, and told him that they could give him entrance to the walls which reached down to Lechaeum. And Praxitas, since even before this he had known the two men to be trustworthy, trusted them, and after arranging that the regiment which was about to depart from Sicyon should also remain, made plans for his entrance.

And when the two men, partly by accident and partly by contrivance, had been made sentinels at the very gate where the trophy stands, then Praxitas came with his regiment, the Sicyonians, and all the Corinthians who chanced to be exiles. But when he was at the gate, being afraid to make the entry, he wished to send in one of his trusted men to examine the situation inside. Then the two Corinthians led him in and showed him everything in so straightforward a manner that the man who went in reported that all was truly just as they said. Thereupon Praxitas entered.

The walls, however, are a long distance from each other; his troops, in consequence, when they formed in line for battle, thought themselves to be few in number, and therefore made a stockade and as good a trench as they could in front of them, to protect them until their allies should come to their aid. Besides, there was a garrison of Thebans in their rear, at the port.Now the day after the night on which they entered they passed without a battle; but on the following day came the Argives, hurrying with all speed to the rescue; and finding the Lacedaemonians stationed on the right of their own line, the Sicyonians next to them, and the Corinthian exiles, about one hundred and fifty in number, by the eastern wall, the enemy formed in line against them with the mercenaries under Iphicrates close to the eastern wall, and next to them the Argives; while the Corinthians from the city occupied their left wing.

Then the Argives, filled with overweening confidence on account of their numbers, advanced at once; and they defeated the Sicyonians, and breaking through the stockade pursued them to the sea and there killed many of them. But Pasimachus, the Lacedaemonian commander of horse, at the head of a few horsemen, when he saw the Sicyonians hard pressed, tied his horses to trees, took from the Sicyonians their shields, and advanced with a volunteer force against the Argives. The Argives, however, seeing the Sigmas upon the shields, did not fear these opponents at all, thinking that they were Sicyonians. Then, as the story goes, Pasimachus said: By the twin gods, Argives, these Sigmas will deceive you, and came to close quarters with them; and fighting thus with a few against many he was slain, and likewise others of his party.

Meanwhile the Corinthian exiles, being victorious over the troops opposed to them, pushed their way through in the inland direction and got near the wall which surrounded the city. As for the Lacedaemonians, when they perceived that the forces opposed to the Sicyonians were victorious, they issued forth from the stockade and went to the rescue, keeping the stockade on their left. But when the Argives heard that the Lacedaemonians were in their rear, they turned around and burst out of the stockade again on the run. And those upon their extreme right were struck on their unprotected sides by the Lacedaemonians and killed, but those who were near the wall, crowded together in a disorderly mass, continued their retreat towards the city. When, however, they came upon the Corinthian exiles and discovered that they were enemies, they turned back again. Thereupon some of them, climbing up by the steps to the top of the wall, jumped down on the other side and were killed, others perished around the steps, being shoved and struck by the enemy, and still others were trodden under foot by one another and suffocated.

And the Lacedaemonians were in no uncertainty about whom they should kill; for then at least heaven granted them an achievement such as they could never even have prayed for. For to have a crowd of enemies delivered into their hands, frightened, panic-stricken, presenting their unprotected sides, no one rallying to his own defence, but all rendering all possible assistance toward their own destruction,—how could one help regarding this as a gift from heaven? On that day, at all events, so many fell within a short time that men accustomed to see heaps of corn, wood, or stones, beheld then heaps of dead bodies. Furthermore, the Boeotians of the garrison in the port were also killed, some upon the walls, and others after they had climbed up on the roofs of the ship-houses.

After this the Corinthians and Argives carried of their dead under a truce, and the allies of the Lacedaemonians came to their aid. And when they were gathered together, in the first place Praxitas decided to tear down a portion of the walls so as to make a passage through wide enough for an army, and secondly, putting himself at the head of his army, he advanced by the road to Megara and captured by storm, first Sidus and then Crommyon. And after stationing garrisons in these strongholds he marched back again; then he fortified Epieiceia, in order that it might serve as an outpost to protect the territory of his allies, and then disbanded his army and himself withdrew by the road to Lacedaemon.

From this time on large armies of citizens were no longer employed on either side, for the states merely sent out garrisons, the one party to Corinth, the other to Sicyon, and guarded the walls of these cities. Each side, however, had mercenaries, and with these prosecuted the war vigorously.

It was at this time also that Iphicrates invaded the territory of Phlius, set an ambush, meanwhile plundering with a few followers, and when the men from the city came out against him in an unguarded way, killed so many of them that the Phliasians, although before this they had refused to receive the Lacedaemonians within their wall, from fear that the latter would bring back to the city the people who said that they were in exile on account of their Lacedaemonian sympathies, were then seized with such panic fear of the men from Corinth that they sent for the Lacedaemonians and put the city and the citadel in their hands to guard. And the Lacedaemonians, although they were well minded toward the exiles, during all the time that they held their city made not so much as the least mention of a restoration of exiles, but when the city seemed to have recovered its courage, they departed, after giving over to the Phliasians both their city and their laws unchanged, precisely as they were when they took the city in charge.

Again, Iphicrates and his troops invaded many districts of Arcadia also, where they plundered and made attacks upon the walled towns; for the hoplites of the Arcadians did not come out from their walls at all to meet them; such fear they had conceived of the peltasts. But the peltasts in their turn were so afraid of the Lacedaemonians that they did not approach within a javelin’s cast of the hoplites; for it had once happened that the younger men among the Lacedaemonians, pursuing even from so great a distance as that, overtook and killed some of them.

But while the Lacedaemonians felt contempt for the peltasts, they felt even greater contempt for their own allies; for once, when the Mantineans went out against peltasts who had sallied forth from the wall that extends to Lechaeum, they had given way under the javelins of the peltasts and some of them had been killed as they fled; so that the Lacedaemonians were even so unkind as to make game of their allies, saying that they feared the peltasts just as children fear hobgoblins. As for themselves, setting out from Lechaeum as a base with one regiment and the Corinthian exiles, they made expeditions all round about the city of the Corinthians;

but the Athenians, on the other hand, fearing the power of the Lacedaemonians and thinking that they might come against them, now that the long walls of the Corinthians had been destroyed, decided that it was best to rebuild the walls destroyed by Praxitas. So they came with their full force, accompanied by masons and carpenters, and completed within a few days the wall toward Sicyon and the west, making a very excellent wall of it, and then went on to build the eastern wall in more leisurely fashion.

The Lacedaemonians on their side, considering that the Argives were enjoying the fruits of their lands at home and taking pleasure in the war, made an expedition against them. Agesilaus was in command, and after laying waste all their territory he proceeded straight from there across the mountains by way of Tenea to Corinth and captured the walls that had been rebuilt by the Athenians. And his brother Teleutias also came to his support by sea, with about twelve triremes; so that their mother was deemed happy in that on the same day one of the sons whom she bore captured by land the walls of the enemy and the other by sea his ships and dock-yards. And at that time, after accomplishing these things, Agesilaus disbanded the army of the allies and led his citizen force back home.

After this the Lacedaemonians, upon hearing from the Corinthian exiles that the people in the city had all their cattle in Piraeum and there kept them safe, and that many were being maintained from this supply, made another expedition to the territory of Corinth, Agesilaus being in command this time also. And first he came to the Isthmus; for it was the month during which the Isthmian games are celebrated, and the Argives chanced at the time to be offering the sacrifice there to Poseidon, as though Argos were Corinth. But when they learned that Agesilaus was approaching, they left behind both the victims that had been offered and the breakfast that was being made ready and retired to the city in very great fear, along the road leading to Cenchreae.

Agesilaus, however, did not pursue them, even though he saw them, but encamping in the sacred precinct offered sacrifice himself to the god and waited until the Corinthian exiles had conducted the sacrifice and the games in honour of Poseidon. But when Agesilaus had left the Isthmus, the Argives celebrated the Isthmian games all over again. In that year, accordingly, in some of the contests individual competitors were beaten twice, while in others the same competitors were twice proclaimed victors.

On the fourth day Agesilaus led his army against Piraeum. But seeing that it was guarded by many, he withdrew after breakfast in the direction of the capital, as though the city were going to be betrayed to him; so that the Corinthians, in fear that the city was to be betrayed by some one, summoned Iphicrates with the greater part of his peltasts. Agesilaus, however, upon perceiving that they had passed by during the night, turned about, and at daybreak proceeded to lead his army to Piraeum. And he himself advanced by way of the hot springs, but he sent one regiment up the heights to proceed along the topmost ridge. On that night, accordingly, he was in camp at the hot springs, while the regiment bivouacked, holding possession of the heights.

It was then that Agesilaus won credit by a trifling but timely expedient. For since no one among those who carried provisions for the regiment had brought fire, and it was cold, not only because they were at a high altitude, but also because there had been rain and hail towards evening—and besides, they had gone up in light clothing suitable to the summer season—and they were shivering and, in the darkness, had no heart for their dinner, Agesilaus sent up not less than ten men carrying fire in earthen pots. And when these men had climbed up by one way and another and many large fires had been made, since there was a great deal of fuel at hand, all the soldiers anointed themselves and many of them only then began their dinner. It was on this night also that the temple of Poseidon was seen burning; but no one knows by whom it was set on fire.

Now when the people in Piraeum perceived that the heights were occupied, they gave no further thought to defending themselves, but fled for refuge to the Heraeum, men and women, slaves and freemen, and the greater part of the cattle. And Agesilaus with the army proceeded along the sea shore; while the regiment, descending at the same time from the heights, captured Oenoe, the stronghold which had been fortified in Piraeum, and took possession of all that was within it, and in fact all the soldiers on that day possessed themselves of provisions in abundance from the farms. Meanwhile those who had taken refuge in the Heraeum came out, with the purpose of leaving it to Agesilaus to decide as he chose in regard to them. He decided to deliver over to the exiles all those who had a part in the massacre, and that all else should be sold.

Thereupon the prisoners came forth from the Heraeum, a very great number of them, together with their property; and many embassies from various states presented themselves, while from the Boeotians in particular ambassadors had come to ask what they should do in order to obtain peace. Agesilaus, however, in a very lofty way affected not even to see these ambassadors, although Pharax, diplomatic agent for the Thebans at Lacedaemon, was standing beside them for the purpose of presenting them to him; but sitting in the circular structure near the lake, he occupied himself in watching the great quantity of prisoners and property that was being brought out. And some Lacedaemonians from the camp followed with their spears to guard the prisoners, and were much regarded by the bystanders; for somehow men who are fortunate and victorious seem ever to be a noteworthy spectacle.

But while Agesilaus was still sitting there in the attitude of a man who exulted in what had been accomplished, a horseman rode up, his horse sweating profusely. And being asked by many people what news he brought, he made no reply to anyone, but when he was near Agesilaus, he leaped down from his horse, ran up to him, and with a very gloomy face told him of the disaster to the regiment stationed in Lechaeum. When Agesilaus heard this, he immediately leaped up from his seat, seized his spear, and ordered the herald to summon the commanders of regiments and of fifties and the leaders of the allies.

When they came running together, he told the rest of them to follow along as quickly as possible after swallowing what they could—for they had not yet breakfasted—while he himself with his tent companions went on ahead breakfastless. And the spearmen of his body-guard, fully armed, accompanied him with all speed, he leading the way and his tent companions following after him. But when he had already passed the hot springs and come to the plain of Lechaeum, three horsemen rode up and reported that the bodies of the dead had been recovered. When he heard this, he gave the order to ground arms, and after resting the army for a short time, led it back again to the Heraeum; and on the following day he exposed the prisoners and captured property for sale.

The ambassadors of the Boeotians were now summoned and asked for what purpose they had come. They made no further mention of peace, but said that if there were nothing to hinder, they desired to pass into the city to join their own soldiers. And Agesilaus said with a laugh, On the contrary, I know that you are not desirous of seeing your soldiers, but of beholding the good fortune of your friends, that you may see how great it has been. Wait, therefore, he said, for I will conduct you myself, and by being with me you will find out better what manner of thing it is that has happened.

And he did not belie his words, but on the next day, after offering sacrifice, he led his army to the city. He did not throw down the trophy, but by cutting down and burning any fruit-tree that was still left, he showed that no one wanted to come out against him. When he had done this, he encamped near Lechaeum; as for the ambassadors of the Thebans, although he did not let them go into the city, yet he sent them home by sea to Creusis. Now inasmuch as such a calamity had been unusual with the Lacedaemonians, there was great mourning throughout the Laconian army, except among those whose sons, fathers, or brothers had fallen where they stood; they, however, went about like victors, with shining countenances and full of exultation in their own misfortune.

Now it was in the following way that the disaster to the regiment happened. The Amyclaeans invariably go back home to the festival of the Hyacinthia for the paean to Apollo, whether they chance to be on a campaign or away from home for any other reason. Accordingly Agesilaus had on this occasion left behind at Lechaeum all the Amyclaeans in the army. Now the polemarch in command of the garrison there detailed the garrison troops of the allies to guard the wall, and himself with the regiment of hoplites and the regiment of horsemen conducted the Amyclaeans along past the city of the Corinthians.

And when they were distant from Sicyon about twenty or thirty stadia, the polemarch with the hoplites, who were about six hundred in number, set out to return to Lechaeum, and ordered the commander of horse to follow after him with the regiment of horsemen after they had escorted the Amyclaeans as far as they themselves directed. Now they were by no means unaware that there were many peltasts and many hoplites in Corinth; but on account of their previous successes they contemptuously thought that no one would attack them.

But those in the city of the Corinthians, both Callias, the son of Hipponicus, commander of the Athenian hoplites, and Iphicrates, leader of the peltasts, when they descried the Lacedaemonians and saw that they were not only few in number, but also unaccompanied by either peltasts or cavalry, thought that it was safe to attack them with their force of peltasts. For if they should proceed along the road, they could be attacked with javelins on their unprotected side and destroyed; and if they should undertake to pursue, they with their peltasts, the nimblest of all troops, could easily escape the hoplites.

Having come to this conclusion, they led forth their troops. And Callias formed his hoplites in line of battle not far from the city, while Iphicrates with his peltasts attacked the Lacedaemonian regiment. Now when the Lacedaemonians were being attacked with javelins, and several men had been wounded and several others slain, they directed the shield-bearers to take up these wounded men and carry them back to Lechaeum; and these were the only men in the regiment who were really saved. Then the polemarch ordered the first ten year-classes to drive off their assailants.

But when they pursued, they caught no one, since they were hoplites pursuing peltasts at the distance of a javelin’s cast; for Iphicrates had given orders to the peltasts to retire before the hoplites got near them; and further, when the Lacedaemonians were retiring from the pursuit, being scattered because each man had pursued as swiftly as he could, the troops of Iphicrates turned about, and not only did those in front again hurl javelins upon the Lacedaemonians, but also others on the flank, running along to reach their unprotected side. Indeed, at the very first pursuit the peltasts shot down nine or ten of them. And as soon as this happened, they began to press the attack much more boldly.

Then, as the Lacedaemonians continued to suffer losses, the polemarch again ordered the first fifteen year-classes to pursue. But when these fell back, even more of them were shot down than at the first retirement. And now that the best men had already been killed, the horsemen joined them, and with the horsemen they again undertook a pursuit. But when the peltasts turned to flight, at that moment the horsemen managed their attack badly; for they did not chase the enemy until they had killed some of them, but both in the pursuit and in the turning backward kept an even front with the hoplites. And what with striving and suffering in this way again and again, the Lacedaemonians themselves kept continually becoming fewer and fainter of heart, while their enemies were becoming bolder, and those who attacked them continually more numerous.

Therefore in desperation they gathered together on a small hill, distant from the sea about two stadia, and from Lechaeum about sixteen or seventeen stadia. And the men in Lechaeum, upon perceiving them, embarked in small boats and coasted along until they came opposite the hill. Then the troops, being now desperate, because they were suffering and being slain, while unable to inflict any harm themselves, and, besides this, seeing the Athenian hoplites also coming against them, took to flight. And some of them plunged into the sea, and some few made their escape with the horsemen to Lechaeum. But in all the battles and in the flight about two hundred and fifty of them were killed.

Thus it was that these events took place.After this Agesilaus departed with the defeated regiment, and left another behind him in Lechaeum. And as he passed along homeward, he led his troops into the cities as late in the day as he could and set out again in the morning as early as he could. When he approached Mantinea, by leaving Orchomenus before dawn he passed by that city while it was still dark: so hard, he thought, would the soldiers find it to see the Mantineans rejoicing at their misfortune.

After this, Iphicrates was very successful in his other undertakings also. For although garrisons had been stationed in Sidus and Crommyon by Praxitas when he captured these strongholds, and in Oenoe by Agesilaus at the time when Piraeum was taken, Iphicrates captured all these places. In Lechaeum, however, the Lacedaemonians and their allies maintained their garrison. And the Corinthian exiles, no longer proceeding by land from Sicyon past Corinth, on account of the disaster to the regiment, but sailing along the coast to Lechaeum and sallying forth from there, caused annoyance to the people in the city even as they suffered annoyance themselves.

After this the Achaeans, who were in possession of Calydon—in ancient times an Aetolian town —and had made the people of Calydon Achaean citizens, were compelled to keep a garrison there. For the Acarnanians made an expedition against the city, and some of the Athenians and Boeotians joined with them, because the Acarnanians were their allies. Therefore, being hard pressed by them, the Achaeans sent ambassadors to Lacedaemon. And upon reaching there the ambassadors said that they were not receiving fair treatment from the Lacedaemonians.

For, gentlemen, they said, we serve with you howsoever you direct and follow whithersoever you lead; but now that we are besieged by the Acarnanians and their allies, the Athenians and Boeotians, you take no thought for us. Now we cannot hold out if these things go on in this way, but either we shall abandon the war in Peloponnesus and all of us cross over and make war against the Acarnanians and their allies, or else we shall make peace on whatever terms we can.

Now they said this by way of covertly threatening to withdraw from their alliance with the Lacedaemonians unless the latter should help them in return. In view of this statement, it seemed to the ephors and the assembly that it was necessary to undertake a campaign with the Achaeans against the Acarnanians. And they sent out Agesilaus, with two Lacedaemonian regiments and the corresponding contingent of the allies. The Achaeans, however, joined in the campaign with their entire force.

Now when Agesilaus crossed over, all the Acarnanians of the country districts fled to the walled towns, and all their cattle were driven off to remote parts to prevent their being captured by the army. But when Agesilaus arrived at the borders of the enemy’s country, he sent to the general assembly of the Acarnanians at Stratus and said that unless they discontinued their alliance with the Boeotians and Athenians and chose his people and the Achaeans as allies, he would lay waste their whole territory, one portion after another, and would not spare any portion of it.

Then, upon their refusing to obey him, he proceeded to do so, continually devastating the land as he went and hence advancing not more than ten or twelve stadia a day. The Acarnanians, therefore, deeming it safe on account of the slow progress of the army, brought down their cattle from the mountains and continued to till the greater part of their land.

But when it seemed to Agesilaus that they were now very bold, on the fifteenth or sixteenth day from the time when he entered the country, he offered sacrifice in the morning and accomplished before evening a march of one hundred and sixty stadia to the lake on whose banks were almost all the cattle of the Acarnanians, and he captured herds of cattle and droves of horses in large numbers besides all sorts of other stock and great numbers of slaves. And after effecting this capture and remaining there through the ensuing day, he made public sale of the booty.

Now, however, many peltasts of the Acarnanians came up, and, inasmuch as Agesilaus was encamped on the mountain-side, by throwing stones and discharging their slings from the ridge of the mountain they succeeded, without suffering any harm themselves, in forcing the army to descend to the plain, even though the men were already making preparations for dinner. But at night the Acarnanians departed, and the troops posted sentinels and lay down to rest.

On the next day Agesilaus undertook to lead his army away. Now the road which led out from the meadow and plain surrounding the lake was narrow on account of the mountains which encircled it round; and the Acarnanians, taking possession of these mountains, threw stones and javelins upon the Lacedaemonians from the heights upon their right, and descending gradually to the spurs of the mountains pressed the attack and caused trouble to such an extent that the army was no longer able to proceed.

And when the hoplites and the horsemen left the phalanx and pursued their assailants, they could never do them any harm; for when the Acarnanians fell back, they were speedily in safe places. Then Agesilaus, thinking it a difficult matter for his troops to go out through the narrow pass under these attacks, decided to pursue the men who were attacking them on the left, very many in number; for the mountain on this side was more accessible both for hoplites and horses.

Now while he was sacrificing, the Acarnanians pressed them very hard with throwing stones and javelins, and coming close up to them wounded many. But when he gave the word, the first fifteen year-classes of the hoplites ran forth, the horsemen charged, and he himself with the other troops followed.

Then those among the Acarnanians who had come down the mountains and were throwing missiles quickly gave way and, as they tried to escape uphill, were killed one after another; on the summit, however, were the hoplites of the Acarnanians, drawn up in line of battle, and the greater part of the peltasts, and there they stood firm, and not only discharged their other missiles, but by hurling their spears struck down horsemen and killed some horses. But when they were now almost at close quarters with the Lacedaemonian hoplites, they gave way, and there fell on that day about three hundred of them.

When these things had taken place, Agesilaus set up a trophy. And afterwards, going about through the country, he laid it waste with axe and fire; he also made assaults upon some of the cities, being compelled by the Achaeans to do so, but did not capture any one of them. And when at length autumn was coming on, he set about departing from the country.

The Achaeans, however, thought that he had accomplished nothing because he had gained possession of no city, with or without its consent, and they begged him, even if he did nothing else, at least to stay long enough to prevent the Acarnanians from sowing their seed. He replied that what they were proposing was the opposite of the advantageous course. For, he said, I shall again lead an expedition hither next summer; and the more these people sow, the more they will desire peace.

Having said this, he departed overland through Aetolia by such roads as neither many nor few could traverse against the will of the Aetolians; they allowed him, however, to pass through; for they hoped that he would aid them to recover Naupactus. And when he reached the point opposite Rhium, he crossed over at that point and returned home; for the Athenians barred the passage from Calydon to Peloponnesus with their triremes, using Oeniadae as a base.

When the winter had passed, at the very beginning of spring Agesilaus again called out the ban against the Acarnanians, in accordance with his promise to the Achaeans. But the Acarnanians, learning of this and thinking that inasmuch as their cities were in the interior they would be just as truly besieged by the people who destroyed their corn as if they were besieged by an army encamped around them, sent ambassadors to Lacedaemon and concluded peace with the Achaeans and an alliance with the Lacedaemonians. Thus ended the affair of the Acarnanians.

After this it seemed to the Lacedaemonians that it was not safe for them to undertake a campaign against the Athenians or against the Boeotians while leaving in their rear a hostile state bordering upon Lacedaemon and one so large as that of the Argives; they accordingly called out the ban against Argos. Now when Agesipolis learned that he was to lead the ban, and when the sacrifices which he offered at the frontier proved favourable, he went to Olympia and consulted the oracle of the god, asking whether it would be consistent with piety if he did not acknowledge the holy truce claimed by the Argives; for, he urged, it was not when the appointed time came, but when the Lacedaemonians were about to invade their territory, that they pleaded the sacred months. And the god signified to him that it was consistent with piety for him not to acknowledge a holy truce which was pleaded unjustly. Then Agesipolis proceeded straight from there to Delphi and asked Apollo in his turn whether he also held the same opinion as his father Zeus in regard to the truce. And Apollo answered that he did hold quite the same opinion.

Under these circumstances Agesipolis led forth his army from Phlius—for it had been assembling for him there while he was away visiting the holy places—and entered the territory of Argos by way of Nemea. And when the Argives realized that they would not be able to hinder the invasion, they sent, as they were wont to do, two heralds, garlanded, pleading a holy truce. But Agesipolis in reply said that the gods did not think they were making this plea justly, and so he refused to acknowledge the truce, but advanced into their territory and caused great distress and terror both in the country and in the city.

Now while he was at dinner in the land of the Argives, on the first evening of his stay there, and when the after-dinner libations had just been made, the god sent an earthquake; and all the Lacedaemonians, those in the royal tent taking the lead, struck up the paean to Poseidon; and the rest of the soldiers expected to retire from the country, because Agis likewise, on an occasion when an earthquake took place, had withdrawn his army from Elis. But Agesipolis said that if the god had sent an earthquake when he was about to invade, he should have thought that he was forbidding the invasion; but since he sent it after he had invaded, he believed that he was urging him on;

accordingly, on the next day, after offering sacrifices to Poseidon, he again led on his forces, advancing far into the country. And inasmuch as Agesilaus had lately made an expedition into Argos, Agesipolis, finding out from the soldiers how far Agesilaus had led his army in the direction of the wall, and how far he had laid waste the land, endeavoured, like an athlete in the pentathlum, to go beyond him at every point.

On one occasion it was only when he was being pelted with missiles from the towers that he recrossed the trenches around the city wall; and once, when most of the Argives were away in Laconia, he approached so near the gates that the Argives who were at the gates shut out the horsemen of the Boeotians who wanted to enter, through fear that the Lacedaemonians would rush in at the gates along with them; so that the horsemen were compelled to cling, like bats, tight to the walls beneath the battlements. And if it had not chanced that the Cretans were off on a plundering expedition to Nauplia at that time, many men and horses would have been shot down by their arrows.

After this, while Agesipolis was encamping near the enclosed space, a thunderbolt fell into his camp; and some men were killed by being struck, others by the shock. After this, desiring to fortify a garrison post at the entrance to the Argive country which leads past Mount Celusa, he offered sacrifice; and the livers of the victims were found to be lacking a lobe. When this happened, he led his army away and disbanded it, having inflicted very great harm upon the Argives because he had invaded their land unexpectedly.

As for the war by land, it was being waged in the manner described. I will now recount what happened by sea and in the cities on the coast while all these things were going on, and will describe such of the events as are worthy of record, while those which do not deserve mention I will pass over. In the first place, then, Pharnabazus and Conon, after defeating the Lacedaemonians in the naval battle, made a tour of the islands and the cities on the sea coast, drove out the Laconian governors, and encouraged the cities by saying that they would not establish fortified citadels within their walls and would leave them independent.

And the people of the cities received this announcement with joy and approval, and enthusiastically sent gifts of friendship to Pharnabazus. Conon, it seems, was advising Pharnabazus that if he acted in this way, all the cities would be friendly to him, but if it should be evident that he wanted to enslave them, he said that each single city was capable of making a great deal of trouble and that there was danger that the people of Greece also, if they learned of this, would become united.

Pharnabazus was accordingly accepting this counsel. Then, disembarking at Ephesus, he gave Conon forty triremes and told him to meet him at Sestus, while he himself proceeded by land along the coast to his own province. For Dercylidas, who had long been an enemy of his, chanced to be in Abydus at the time when the naval battle took place, and he did not, like the other Lacedaemonian governors, quit the city, but took possession of Abydus and was keeping it friendly to the Lacedaemonians. For he called together the people of the town and spoke as follows:

Gentlemen, at this moment it is possible for you, who even in former days have been friends of our state, to show yourselves benefactors of the Lacedaemonians. For showing loyalty in the midst of prosperity calls for no particular admiration, but always, if men show themselves steadfast when friends have fallen upon misfortunes, this is remembered for all time. Do not suppose that just because we have been defeated in the naval battle, we are therefore ever afterward to be counted for naught. Nay, even in former times, you recall, when the Athenians were rulers of the sea, our state was able both to confer benefit upon friends and to inflict harm upon enemies. And the greater the extent to which the other cities have, along with fortune, turned away from us, by so much the greater in reality would your fidelity be made manifest. But if anyone is afraid that we may be besieged here both by land and by sea, let him reflect that there is not yet a Greek fleet on the sea, and if the barbarians shall undertake to rule the sea, Greece will not tolerate this; so that in helping herself she will also become your ally.

Upon hearing these words, the Abydenes yielded compliance, not unwillingly, but with enthusiasm, and they received kindly the Lacedaemonian governors who came to Abydus and sent for those who were elsewhere. Then, after many good men had been collected in the city, Dercylidas crossed over to Sestus, which is opposite Abydus and distant not more than eight stadia, gathered together all who had obtained land in the Chersonese through the Lacedaemonians, and received also all those governors who had been driven out in like fashion from the cities on the European side, saying to them that they ought not to be discouraged, either, when they reflected that even in Asia, which had belonged from all time to the King, there was Temnus—not a large city—and Aegae and other places in which people were able to dwell without being subject to the King. In any event, he said, what stronger place could you find than Sestus, what place harder to capture by siege? For it is a place which requires both ships and troops if it is to be besieged. By such words he kept these men also from being panic-stricken.

Now when Pharnabazus found both Abydus and Sestus in this condition, he made proclamation to their inhabitants that if they did not expel the Lacedaemonians he would make war upon them. And upon their refusing to obey, he directed Conon to prevent them from sailing the sea, while he himself proceeded to lay waste the territory of the Abydenes. But failing to make any progress toward subduing them, he himself went back home, ordering Conon to try to win over the cities along the Hellespont, to the end that as large a fleet as possible might be gathered together by the coming of the spring. For he was angry with the Lacedaemonians on account of what he had suffered at their hands, and therefore desired above all things to go to their country and take what vengeance upon them he could.

In such occupations, accordingly, they passed the winter; but at the opening of spring, having fully manned a large number of ships and hired a force of mercenaries besides, Pharnabazus, and Conon with him, sailed through the islands to Melos, and making that their base, went on to Lacedaemon. And first Pharnabazus put in at Pherae and laid waste this region; then he made descents at one point and another of the coast and did whatever harm he could. But being fearful because the country was destitute of harbours, because the Lacedaemonians might send relief forces, and because provisions were scarce in the land, he quickly turned about, and sailing away, came to anchor at Phoenicus in the island of Cythera.

And when those who held possession of the city of the Cytherians abandoned their walls through fear of being captured by storm, he allowed them to depart to Laconia under a truce, and having repaired the wall of the Cytherians, left in Cythera a garrison of his own and Nicophemus, an Athenian, as governor. After doing these things and sailing to the Isthmus of Corinth and there exhorting the allies to carry on the war zealously and show themselves men faithful to the King, he left them all the money that he had and sailed off homeward.

But when Conon said that if he would allow him to have the fleet, he would maintain it by contributions from the islands and would meanwhile put in at Athens and aid the Athenians in rebuilding their long walls and the wall around Piraeus, adding their he knew nothing could be a heavier blow to the Lacedaemonians than this. And by this act, therefore, he said, you will have conferred a favour upon the Athenians and have taken vengeance upon the Lacedaemonians, inasmuch as you will undo for them the deed for whose accomplishment they underwent the most toil and trouble. Pharnabazus, upon hearing this, eagerly dispatched him to Athens and gave him additional money for the rebuilding of the walls.

Upon his arrival Conon erected a large part of the wall, giving his own crews for the work, paying the wages of carpenters and masons, and meeting whatever other expense was necessary. There were some parts of the wall, however, which the Athenians themselves, as well as volunteers from Boeotia and from other states, aided in building. The Corinthians, on the other hand, manned ships with the money which Pharnabazus left, appointed Agathinus as admiral, and established their mastery of the sea in the gulf around Achaea and Lechaeum. And the Lacedaemonians on their side manned ships, which Podanemus commanded.

But when he was killed in an attack which took place, and Pollis in his turn, who was vice-admiral, was wounded and went home, Herippidas took command of these ships. Proaenus, the Corinthian, however, who had succeeded to the command of the ships of Agathinus, abandoned Rhium, and the Lacedaemonians took it over. After this Teleutias came to assume charge of the ships of Herippidas, and he in his turn was now master of the gulf.

Now the Lacedaemonians, upon hearing that Conon was not only rebuilding their wall for the Athenians out of the King’s money, but was also, while maintaining his fleet from the latter’s funds, engaged in winning over the islands and the coast cities on the mainland to the Athenians, conceived the idea that if they informed Tiribazus, who was the King’s general, of these things, they could either bring Tiribazus over entirely to their side or at least put an end to his maintaining Conon’s fleet. Having come to this conclusion, they sent Antalcidas to Tiribazus with instructions to inform Tiribazus of these facts, and to endeavour to make peace between the state and the King.

But when the Athenians learned of this, they likewise sent ambassadors,—Conon at their head, and Hermogenes, Dion, Callisthenes, and Callimedon. They also invited ambassadors from their allies to go with them; and ambassadors did come from the Boeotians, from Corinth, and from Argos.

When they had reached their destination, Antalcidas said to Tiribazus that he had come desiring peace between his state and the King, and, furthermore, just such a peace as the King had wished for. For the Lacedaemonians, he said, urged no claim against the King to the Greek cities in Asia and they were content that all the islands and the Greek cities in general should be independent. And yet, he said, if we are ready to agree to such conditions, why should the King be at war with us or be spending money? Indeed, if such terms were made, we could not take the field against the King, either; the Athenians could not unless we assumed the leadership, and we could not if the cities were independent.

Now Tiribazus was mightily pleased at hearing the words of Antalcidas; but to the opponents of Antalcidas these proposals went no further than words. For the Athenians were afraid to agree that the cities and the islands should be independent lest they should be deprived of Lemnos, Imbros, and Scyros; and the Thebans, lest they should be compelled to leave the Boeotian cities independent; while the Argives thought that they could not keep Corinth as Argos, a thing which they desired, if such an agreement and peace were concluded. So it was that this project of peace came to naught, and the ambassadors returned to their several homes.

As for Tiribazus, he thought that it was not safe for him to take the side of the Lacedaemonians without the King’s approval; in secret, however, he gave money to Antalcidas, to the end that a fleet might be manned by the Lacedaemonians and thus the Athenians and their allies be made more desirous of peace, and he also imprisoned Conon, on the ground that he was wronging the King and that the charges made by the Lacedaemonians were true. After doing these things he proceeded to go up to the King for the purpose of telling him not only the proposals of the Lacedaemonians, but also that he had arrested Conon as a wrong-doer, and likewise to ask the King what he should do about all these matters.

Now the King, when Tiribazus had arrived at his capital in the interior, sent down Struthas to take charge of affairs on the coast. Struthas, however, devoted himself assiduously to the Athenians and their allies, remembering all the harm which the King’s country had suffered at the hands of Agesilaus. The Lacedaemonians accordingly, when they saw that Struthas was hostile to them and friendly to the Athenians, sent Thibron to make war upon him. And Thibron, crossing over to Asia and employing as a base of operations not only Ephesus, but also the cities in the plain of the Maeander—Priene, Leucophrys, and Achilleum,—proceeded to plunder the territory of the King.

As time went on, however, Struthas, who had observed that the raiding expeditions of Thibron were in every case carried out in a disorderly and disdainful fashion, sent horsemen to the plain and ordered them to rush upon the enemy and surround and carry off whatever they could. Now it chanced that Thibron, having finished breakfast, was engaged in throwing the discus with Thersander, the flute-player. For Thersander was not only a good flute-player, but he also laid claim to physical strength, inasmuch as he was an imitator of things Lacedaemonian.

Then Struthas, upon seeing that the enemy were making their raid in disorder, and that the foremost of them were few in number, appeared upon the scene with a large force of horsemen, drawn up in good order. And the first whom they killed were Thibron and Thersander; and when these men fell they put to flight the rest of the army also, and in the pursuit struck down a very great many. Some of Thibron’s men, however, made their escape to the friendly cities and a larger number had been left in camp because they had learned of the expedition too late. For frequently, as in this case also, Thibron undertook his expeditions without even sending out orders. Thus ended these events.

Now when those of the Rhodians who had been banished by the democratic faction came to Lacedaemon, they set forth that it was not expedient for the Lacedaemonians to allow the Athenians to subdue Rhodes and thus gain for themselves so great a power. The Lacedaemonians, therefore, realizing that if the commons should prevail, all Rhodes would belong to the Athenians, while if the wealthier classes should prevail, it would be their own possession, manned for them eight ships and appointed Ecdicus as admiral to command them.

They sent out Diphridas also on board these ships, and ordered him to cross over into Asia and to keep safe the cities which had received Thibron, and then, after assuming command of that part of Thibron’s army which was left alive, and after gathering another army from wherever he could, to make war upon Struthas. Diphridas accordingly set about these things, and he was successful not only in his other undertakings, but particularly in capturing Tigranes, the husband of Struthas’ daughter, and his wife also, as they were journeying to Sardis, and in obtaining a large ransom for their release, so that he was at once able to hire mercenaries with the money thus obtained.

This Diphridas was as a man no less attractive than Thibron, and as a general he was more self-controlled and enterprising. For the pleasures of the body did not hold the mastery over him, but in whatever task he was engaged, he always gave himself wholly to it.As for Ecdicus, after sailing to Cnidos and learning that the commons in Rhodes were in possession of everything, and were masters both by land and by sea, having twice as many triremes as he had himself, he remained quiet in Cnidos.

The Lacedaemonians, on the other hand, when they found that he had too small a force to be of service to their friends, ordered Teleutias, with the twelve ships which he had under his command in the gulf round Achaea and Lechaeum, to sail around to Ecdicus, send him back home, and himself look after the interests of those who wished to be their friends, and do whatever harm he could to their enemies. And when Teleutias arrived at Samos he obtained from there seven more ships and sailed on to Cnidos, while Ecdicus returned home.

Then Teleutias continued his voyage to Rhodes, having now twenty-seven ships; and while sailing thither he fell in with Philocrates, the son of Ephialtes, sailing with ten triremes from Athens to Cyprus for the purpose of aiding Euagoras, and captured all ten. Both parties were acting in this affair in a manner absolutely opposed to their own interests; for the Athenians, although they had the King for a friend, were sending aid to Euagoras who was making war upon the King, and Teleutias, although the Lacedaemonians were at war with the King, was destroying people who were sailing to make war upon him. Then Teleutias, after sailing back to Cnidos and selling there the booty which he had captured, arrived at Rhodes on his second voyage and proceeded to aid those who held to the side of the Lacedaemonians.

Meanwhile the Athenians, coming to the belief that the Lacedaemonians were again acquiring power on the sea, sent out against them Thrasybulus, of the deme Steiria, with forty ships. When he had sailed out, he gave up his plan of an expedition to Rhodes, thinking on the one hand that he could not easily punish the friends of the Lacedaemonians, since they held a fortress and Teleutias was there with a fleet to support them, and, on the other hand, that the friends of his own state would not fall under the power of the enemy, since they held the cities, were far more numerous, and had been victorious in battle.

Accordingly he sailed to the Hellespont, and, since there was no adversary there, thought that he could accomplish some useful service for his state. In the first place, therefore, learning that Amedocus, the king of the Odrysians, and Seuthes, the ruler of the coast region, were at variance, he reconciled them to one another and made them friends and allies of the Athenians, thinking that if they were friendly, the Greek cities situated on the Thracian coast would also show a greater inclination towards the Athenians.

Then, with this matter successfully arranged, and the cities in Asia in a favourable attitude on account of the King’s being a friend of the Athenians, he sailed to Byzantium and farmed out the tithe-duty on vessels sailing out of the Pontus. He also changed the government of the Byzantines from an oligarchy to a democracy, so that the commons of Byzantium were not sorry to see the greatest possible number of Athenians present in their city.

Now after he had accomplished these things and had won over the Calchedonians also as friends, he sailed back out of the Hellespont. And finding that all the cities in Lesbos except Mytilene were on the side of the Lacedaemonians, he went against none of them until he had marshalled in Mytilene the four hundred hoplites from his own ships and all the exiles from the Lesbian cities who had fled for refuge to Mytilene, and had also added to this force the stoutest of the Mytilenaeans themselves; nor, furthermore, until he had suggested hopes, firstly to the Mytilenaeans, that if he captured the cities they would be the leaders of all Lesbos, secondly to the exiles, that if they proceeded all together against each single one of the cities, they would be able, acting in unison, to accomplish their restoration to their native states, and again to his marines, that by making Lesbos likewise friendly to their state they would at once obtain a great abundance of money. Then, after giving them this encouragement and marshalling them in line of battle, he led them against Methymna.

Therimachus, however, who chanced to be the Lacedaemonian governor, on hearing that Thrasybulus was coming against him, took the marines from his own ships, the Methymnaeans themselves, and all the Mytilenaean exiles who chanced to be there, and went to meet the enemy at the borders. A battle was fought in which Therimachus was killed on the spot and many of the others were killed as they fled.

After this Thrasybulus brought over some of the cities, and was busy collecting money for his soldiers by plundering from those which refused to come over; meanwhile he was eager to arrive at Rhodes. But to the end that there also he might make his army as strong as possible, he collected money from various cities, and came to Aspendus in particular and anchored in the Eurymedon river. And after he had already received money from the Aspendians, his soldiers wrongfully did some plundering from their lands; the Aspendians therefore in anger fell upon him during the night and cut him down in his tent.

This, then, was the end of Thrasybulus, who was esteemed a most excellent man. And the Athenians chose Agyrrhius in his place, and sent him out to take command of the ships. The Lacedaemonians, on the other hand, learning that the tithe-duty on the vessels sailing out of the Pontus had been sold at Byzantium by the Athenians, that they were in possession of Calchedon, and that the other Hellespontine cities were in a favourable attitude toward them because Pharnabazus was their friend, concluded that they must attend to this situation.

They did not, indeed, find any fault with Dercylidas; but Anaxibius, inasmuch as the ephors had become friends of his, succeeded in having himself sent out to Abydus as governor. And he promised that if he received money and ships, he would also make war upon the Athenians, so that matters might not stand so well with them in the Hellespont.

Accordingly the ephors gave Anaxibius three triremes and money enough for a thousand mercenaries, and sent him out. When he had reached Abydus, his operations by land were as follows: after collecting a mercenary force, he proceeded to detach some of the Aeolian cities from Pharnabazus, take the field in retaliatory expeditions against the cities which had made expeditions against Abydus, march upon them, and lay waste their territory. On the naval side, in addition to the ships which he had he fully manned three others from Abydus, and brought into port whatever merchant vessel he found anywhere belonging to the Athenians or their allies.

The Athenians, however, learning of these things, and fearing that the results of all Thrasybulus’ work in the Hellespont might be ruined for them, sent out against Anaxibius Iphicrates, with eight ships and about one thousand two hundred peltasts. The greater part of these were the men whom he had commanded at Corinth. For when the Argives had incorporated Corinth in Argos, they said that they had no need of them; for Iphicrates had put to death some of the partisans of Argos; accordingly he had returned to Athens and chanced to be at home at this time.

Now when he reached the Chersonese, at first Anaxibius and he made war upon one another by sending out raiding parties; but as time went on Iphicrates found out that Anaxibius had gone to Antandrus with his mercenaries, the Lacedaemonians who were with him, and two hundred hoplites from Abydus, and heard that he had brought Antandrus into relations of friendship with him. Whereupon, suspecting that after he had also established his garrison there he would return again and bring the Abydenes back home, Iphicrates crossed over by night to the most deserted portion of the territory of Abydus, and going up into the mountains, set an ambush. Furthermore, he ordered the triremes which had brought him across the strait to sail at daybreak along the coast of the Chersonese, up the strait, in order that it might seem that he had sailed up the Hellespont to collect money, as he was wont to do.

Having done all these things he was not disappointed, for Anaxibius did come marching back, even though—at least, as the story ran—his sacrifices on that day had not proved favourable; but despite that fact, filled with disdainful confidence because he was proceeding through a friendly country and to a friendly city, and because he heard from those who met him that Iphicrates had sailed up in the direction of Proconnesus, he was making his march in a rather careless fashion.

Nevertheless, Iphicrates did not rise from ambush so long as the army of Anaxibius was on the level ground; but when the Abydenes, who were in the van, were now in the plain of Cremaste, where their gold mines are, and the rest of the army as it followed along was on the downward slope, and Anaxibius with his Lacedaemonians was just beginning the descent, at this moment Iphicrates started his men up from their ambush and rushed upon him on the run.

Then Anaxibius, judging that there was no hope of safety, inasmuch as he saw that his army extended over a long and narrow way, and thought that those who had gone on ahead would clearly be unable to come to his assistance up the hill, and since he also perceived that all were in a state of terror when they saw the ambush, said to those who were with him: Gentlemen, it is honourable for me to die here, but do you hurry to safety before coming to close engagement with the enemy.

Thus he spoke, and taking his shield from his shieldbearer, fell fighting on that spot. His favourite youth, however, remained by his side, and likewise from among the Lacedaemonians about twelve of the governors, who had come from their cities and joined him, fought and fell with him. But the rest of the Lacedaemonians fled and fell one after another, the enemy pursuing as far as the city. Furthermore, about two hundred of the other troops of Anaxibius were killed, and about fifty of the Abydene hoplites. And after accomplishing these things Iphicrates went back again to the Chersonese.

Such, then, were the doings of the Athenians and Lacedaemonians in the region of the Hellespont. Meanwhile Eteonicus was again in Aegina, and although previously the Aeginetans had been maintaining commercial intercourse with the Athenians, still, now that the war was being carried on by sea openly, he, with the approval of the ephors, urged on everybody who so wished, to plunder Attica.

Thereupon the Athenians, being cut off from supplies by the plunderers, sent to Aegina a force of hoplites and Pamphilus as their general, built a fortress as a base of attack upon the Aeginetans, and besieged them both by land and by sea with ten triremes. Teleutias, however, who chanced to have arrived on one of the islands in quest of a grant of money, upon hearing of this (that is, in regard to the building of the fortress) came to the aid of the Aeginetans; and he drove off the Athenian fleet, but Pamphilus succeeded in holding the fortress.

After this Hierax arrived from Lacedaemon as admiral. And he took over the fleet, while Teleutias, under the very happiest circumstances, set sail for home. For when he was going down to the sea as he set out for home, there was no one among the soldiers who did not grasp his hand, and one decked him with a garland, another with a fillet, and others who came too late, nevertheless, even though he was now under way, threw garlands into the sea and prayed for many blessings upon him.

Now I am aware that I am not describing in these incidents any enterprise involving money expended or danger incurred or any memorable stratagem; and yet, by Zeus, it seems to me that it is well worth a man’s while to consider what sort of conduct it was that enabled Teleutias to inspire the men he commanded with such a feeling toward himself. For to attain to this is indeed the achievement of a true man, more noteworthy than the expenditure of much money and the encountering of many dangers.

As for Hierax, on the other hand, he sailed back to Rhodes with the bulk of the ships, but left behind him in Aegina twelve triremes and Gorgopas, his vice-admiral, as governor. And after this it was the Athenians in the fortress who were besieged rather than the Aeginetans in the city; insomuch that the Athenians, by a formal decree, manned a large number of ships and brought back from Aegina in the fifth month the troops in the fortress. But when this had been done, the Athenians were again molested by the bands of raiders and by Gorgopas, and they manned against these enemies thirteen ships and chose Eunomus as admiral to command them.

Now while Hierax was at Rhodes the Lacedaemonians sent out Antalcidas as admiral, thinking that by doing this they would most please Tiribazus also. And when Antalcidas arrived at Aegina, he took with him the ships of Gorgopas and sailed to Ephesus, then sent Gorgopas back again to Aegina with his twelve ships, and put Nicolochus, his vice-admiral, in command of the rest. Thereupon Nicolochus, seeking to aid the people of Abydus, proceeded to sail thither; he turned aside, however, to Tenedos and laid waste its territory, and having obtained money there, sailed on to Abydus.

Then the generals of the Athenians gathered together from Samothrace, Thasos, and the places in that region, and set out to aid the people of Tenedos. But upon learning that Nicolochus had put in at Abydus they then, setting out from the Chersonese as a base, blockaded him and his twenty-five ships with the thirty-two ships under their command. As for Gorgopas, on his voyage back from Ephesus he fell in with Eunomus, and for the moment took refuge in Aegina, reaching there a little before sunset. Then he at once disembarked his men and gave them dinner.

Meanwhile Eunomus, after waiting a short time, sailed off. And when night came on he led the way, carrying a light, as the custom is, so that the ships which were following him might not go astray. Then Gorgopas immediately embarked his men and followed on in the direction of the light, keeping behind the enemy so that he should not be visible or give them a chance to notice him; while his boatswains gave the time by clicking stones together instead of with their voices, and made the men employ a sliding motion of the oars.

But when the ships of Eunomus were close to the shore near Cape Zoster in Attica, Gorgopas gave the order by the trumpet to sail against them. And as for Eunomus, the men on some of his ships were just disembarking, others were still occupied in coming to anchor, and others were even yet on their way toward the shore. Then, a battle being fought by moonlight, Gorgopas captured four triremes, and taking them in tow, carried them off to Aegina; but the other ships of the Athenians made their escape to Piraeus.

After this Chabrias set out on a voyage to Cyprus to aid Euagoras, with eight hundred peltasts and ten triremes, to which force he had also added more ships and a body of hoplites obtained from Athens; and during the night he himself, with his peltasts, landed in Aegina and set an ambush in a hollow place beyond the Heracleium. Then at daybreak, just as had been agreed, the hoplites of the Athenians came, under the command of Demaenetus, and ascended to a point about sixteen stadia beyond the Heracleium, where the so-called Tripyrgia is.

On hearing of this Gorgopas sallied forth to the rescue with the Aeginetans, the marines from his ships, and eight Spartiatae who chanced to be there. He also made proclamation that all freemen among the crews of the ships should come with him, so that many of these also joined the relief force, each man with whatever weapon he could get.

Now when those in the van had passed by the ambush, Chabrias and his followers rose up and immediately threw javelins and stones upon the enemy. And the hoplites who had disembarked from the ships also advanced upon them. Then those in the van, inasmuch as they were not a compact mass, were quickly killed, among whom were Gorgopas and the Lacedaemonians; and when these had fallen the rest also were put to flight. And there fell about one hundred and fifty Aeginetans and not less than two hundred foreigners, aliens resident in Aegina, and sailors who had hurriedly rushed ashore.

After this the Athenians sailed the sea just as in time of peace, for the Lacedaemonian sailors refused to row for Eteonicus, even though he tried to compel them to do so, because he did not give them pay.After this the Lacedaemonians sent out Teleutias again to take command of these ships as admiral. And when the sailors saw that he had come, they were delighted beyond measure. And he called them together and spoke as follows:

Fellow soldiers, I have come without money; yet if God be willing and you perform your part zealously, I shall endeavour to supply you with provisions in the greatest abundance. And be well assured that, whenever I am in command of you, I pray just as earnestly for your lives as for my own. As to provisions, you would be surprised, perhaps, if I should say that I am more desirous of your being supplied than of being supplied myself; indeed, by the gods, I should prefer to go without food myself for two days than to have you go without for one. And just as my door was open in days past, as you know, for him to enter who had any request to make of me, so likewise it shall be open now.

Therefore, when you have provisions in abundance, then you will see me also living bounteously; but if you see me submitting to cold and heat and night-watching, expect to endure all these things yourselves. For I do not bid you do any of these things that you may suffer discomfort, but that from them you may gain something good.

And Sparta too, he added, that Sparta of ours, fellow soldiers, which is accounted so prosperous — she be well assured, won her prosperity and her glory, not by careless idling, but by being willing to undergo both toils and dangers whenever there was need. Now you in like manner were in former days, as I know, good men; but now you must strive to prove yourselves even better men, in order that, just as we gladly undergo toils together, so we may gladly enjoy good fortune together.

For what greater gladness can there be than to have to flatter no one in the world, Greek or barbarian, for the sake of pay, but to be able to provide supplies for oneself, and what is more, from the most honourable source? For be well assured that abundance gained in war from the enemy yields not merely sustenance, but at the same time fair fame among all men.

Thus he spoke, and they all set up a shout, bidding him give whatever order was needful, in the assurance that they would obey. Now he chanced to have finished sacrificing, and he said: Come, my men, get dinner, just as you were intending to do anyway; and provide yourselves, I beg you, with food for one day. Then come to the ships right speedily, that we may sail to the place where God wills that we go, and may arrive in good time.

And when they had come he embarked them upon the ships and sailed during the night to the harbour of the Athenians, now letting the men rest and bidding them get a little sleep, and now setting them at the oars. But if anyone supposes that it was madness for him to sail with twelve triremes against men who possessed many ships, let such a one consider Teleutias’ calculations.

He conceived that the Athenians were more careless about their fleet in the harbour now that Gorgopas was dead; and even if there were triremes at anchor there, he believed that it was safer to sail against twenty ships which were at Athens than against ten elsewhere. For in the case of ships that were abroad he knew that the sailors would be quartered on board their several ships, while with ships at Athens he was aware that the captains would be sleeping at home and the sailors quartered here and there.

These, then, were the considerations which he had weighed before he sailed; and when he was distant from the harbour five or six stadia, he remained quiet and let his men rest. Then, as day was dawning, he led on and they followed. Now he forbade them to sink or harm any merchant vessel with their own ships; but if they saw a trireme at anchor anywhere, he ordered them to try to make her unseaworthy, and furthermore, to bring out in tow the merchant ships which were loaded, and to board the larger ones wherever they could and take off their people. Indeed, there were some of his men who even leaped ashore on to the Deigma, seized merchants and owners of trading vessels, and carried them aboard the ships.

He, then, succeeded in accomplishing these things. But as for the Athenians, some of them, upon hearing the uproar, ran from their houses into the streets to see what the shouting meant, others ran from the streets to their homes to get their weapons, and still others to the city to carry the news. Then all the Athenians, hoplites and horsemen, rushed to the rescue, thinking that Piraeus had been captured.

But Teleutias sent off the captured merchant vessels to Aegina and gave orders that three or four of the triremes should convoy them thither, while with the rest of the triremes he coasted along the shore of Attica and, inasmuch as he was sailing out of the harbour, captured great numbers of fishing craft and ferryboats full of people as they were sailing in from the islands. And on coming to Sunium he captured trading vessels also, some of them full of corn, others of merchandise.

Having done all these things he sailed back to Aegina, and when he had sold his booty he gave the soldiers a month’s pay in advance. He likewise from that time forth cruised round and captured whatever he could. And by doing these things he maintained his ships with full complements of sailors, and kept his soldiers in a state of glad and prompt obedience.

And now Antalcidas returned with Tiribazus from the Persian capital, having effected an agreement that the King should be an ally of the Lacedaemonians if the Athenians and their allies refused to accept the peace which he himself directed them to accept. But when Antalcidas heard that Nicolochus with his ships was being blockaded at Abydus by Iphicrates and Diotimus, he went overland to Abydus. And from there he set out during the night with the fleet, after spreading a report that the Calchedonians were sending for him; then he came to anchor at Percote and remained quiet there.

Now the Athenian forces under Demaenetus, Dionysius, Leontichus, and Phanias, upon learning of his departure, followed after him in the direction of Proconnesus; and when they had sailed past him, Antalcidas turned about and came back to Abydus, for he had heard that Polyxenus was approaching with the ships from Syracuse and Italy, twenty in number, and he wished to join these also to his command. But soon after this Thrasybulus, of the deme Collytus, came sailing from Thrace with eight ships, desiring to unite with the other Athenian ships.

And Antalcidas, when his scouts signalled to him that eight triremes were approaching, embarked the sailors on twelve of his fastest ships, gave orders that if anyone was lacking men, he should fill up his crew from the ships left behind, and lay in wait with the utmost possible concealment. Then, as the enemy were sailing past him, he pursued; and they, upon seeing him, fled. Now he speedily succeeded in overhauling the slowest of the enemy’s ships with his fastest; but giving orders to the leaders of his own fleet not to attack the hindmost ships, he continued the pursuit of those which were ahead. And when he had captured them, those who were behind, upon seeing that the leaders of their fleet were being taken, out of discouragement were themselves taken even by the slower ships of Antalcidas; and the result was that all the ships were captured.

And after the twenty ships from Syracuse had come and joined Antalcidas, and the ships from all that part of Ionia of which Tiribazus was master had also come, and more still had been manned from the territory of Ariobarzanes — for Antalcidas was an old friend of Ariobarzanes, and Pharnabazus had at this time gone up to the capital in response to a summons, this being the occasion when he married the King’s daughter — then Antalcidas, the whole number of his ships amounting to more than eighty, was master of the sea, so that he also prevented the ships from the Pontus from sailing to Athens, and compelled them to sail to the ports of his people’s allies.

The Athenians, therefore, seeing that the enemy’s ships were many, fearing that they might be completely subdued, as they had been before, now that the King had become an ally of the Lacedaemonians, and being beset by the raiding parties from Aegina, for these reasons were exceedingly desirous of peace. On the other hand the Lacedaemonians, what with maintaining a garrison of one regiment at Lechaeum and another at Orchomenus, keeping watch upon their allied states — those which they trusted, to prevent their being destroyed, and those which they distrusted, to prevent their revolting — and suffering and causing trouble around Corinth, were out of patience with the war. As for the Argives, knowing that the Lacedaemonian ban had been called out against them, and being aware that their plea of the sacred months would no longer be of any help to them, they also were eager for peace.

So that when Tiribazus ordered those to be present who desired to give ear to the peace which the King had sent down, all speedily presented themselves. And when they had come together, Tiribazus showed them the King’s seal and then read the writing. It ran as follows:

King Artaxerxes thinks it just that the cities in Asia should belong to him, as well as Clazomenae and Cyprus among the islands, and that the other Greek cities, both small and great, should be left independent, except Lemnos, Imbros, and Scyros; and these should belong, as of old, to the Athenians. But whichever of the two parties does not accept this peace, upon them I will make war, in company with those who desire this arrangement, both by land and by sea, with ships and with money.

Upon hearing these words the ambassadors from the various states reported them to their own several states. And all the others swore that they would steadfastly observe these provisions, but the Thebans claimed the right to take the oath in the name of all the Boeotians. Agesilaus, however, refused to accept their oaths unless they swore, just as the King’s writing directed, that every city, whether small or great, should be independent. But the ambassadors of the Thebans said that these were not the instructions which had been given them. Go then, said Agesilaus, and ask your people; and report to them this also, that if they do not so act, they will be shut out from the treaty. The Thebans ambassadors accordingly departed.

Agesilaus, however, on account of his hatred for the Thebans, did not delay, but after winning over the ephors proceeded at once to perform his sacrifices. And when the offering at the frontier proved favourable, upon his arrival at Tegea he sent horsemen hither and thither among the Perioeci to hasten their coming, and likewise sent mustering officers to the various cities of the allies. But before he had set out from Tegea, the Thebans arrived with word that they would leave the cities independent. And so the Lacedaemonians returned home and the Thebans were forced to accede to the treaty, allowing the Boeotian cities to be independent.

But the Corinthians, on the other hand, would not dismiss the garrison maintained in their city by the Argives. Agesilaus, however, made proclamation to these peoples also, saying to the Corinthians that if they did not dismiss the Argives, and to the Argives that if they did not depart from Corinth, he would make war upon them. And when, as a result of the fear which seized both peoples, the Argives departed and the state of the Corinthians regained its self-government, the authors of the massacre and those who shared the responsibility for the deed withdrew of their own accord from Corinth, while the rest of the citizens willingly received back the former exiles.

When these things had been accomplished and the states had sworn that they would abide by the treaty which the King had proposed, thereupon the armies were disbanded and the naval armaments were likewise disbanded. Thus it was that this peace was established between the Lacedaemonians and Athenians and their allies, the first since the outbreak of the war which followed the destruction of the walls of Athens.

Now while in the war the Lacedaemonians were no more than holding their own with their antagonists, yet as a result of the so-called Peace of Antalcidas they gained a far more distinguished position. For by having become champions of the treaty proposed by the King and by establishing the independence of the cities they gained an additional ally in Corinth, made the Boeotian cities independent of the Thebans, a thing which they had long desired, and also put a stop to the doings of the Argives in appropriating Corinth as their own, by threatening to call out the ban against them if they did not depart from Corinth.

Since in all this matters had proceeded as they desired, the Lacedaemonians resolved, in the case of all among their allies who had been hostile during the war and more favourably inclined toward the enemy than toward Lacedaemon, to chastise them and put them in such a situation that they could not be disloyal. Firstly, therefore, they sent to the Mantineans and ordered them to tear down their wall, saying that they could not trust them in any other way not to take sides with their enemies.

For they said they had noted not only that the Mantineans had been sending corn to the Argives when they themselves were making war upon that people, but also that sometimes, on the pretext of a holy truce, they had not served in the Lacedaemonian armies at all, and when they had fallen into line, had served badly. Furthermore, the Lacedaemonians said they were aware that they were envious if any good fortune came to them, and delighted if any disaster befel them. It was also common talk that the thirty years’ truce, concluded after the battle of Mantinea, had expired this year, so far as the Mantineans were concerned.

When, accordingly, they now refused to tear down their walls, the Lacedaemonians called out the ban against them.Now Agesilaus requested the state to relieve him of the command of this expedition, saying that the city of the Mantineans had rendered his father many services in the wars against Messene; Agesipolis, therefore, led forth the ban, even though his father, Pausanias, was on exceedingly friendly terms with the leaders of the popular party in Mantinea.

And when he had entered Mantinean territory, he first laid waste the land; but since even then they would not tear down the walls, he proceeded to dig a trench round about the city, with one half of the soldiers sitting under arms in front of the diggers to protect them, and the other half working. And after the trench had been completed, he then without risk built a wall round about the city. Learning, however, that the corn supply in the city was abundant, since there had been a good harvest the previous year, and thinking that it would be a grievous thing if it should prove necessary to burden both his state and its allies for a long period with campaigns, he dammed up the river which flowed through the city; and it was a very large one.

Its outflow being thus checked, the water rose not only above the foundations of the houses but above those of the city wall. Then as the lower bricks became soaked and failed to support those above them, the wall began first to crack and then to give way. And the Mantineans for a time tried to prop it up with timbers, and sought contrivances to prevent the tower from falling; but when they were no longer able to resist the water, being seized with the fear that if any portion of the encircling wall fell they would become prisoners of war, they offered to agree to tear down their walls. The Lacedaemonians, however, said that they would not make peace with them except on condition that they should also dwell apart in villages. And they for their part, coming to the conclusion that it was necessary, agreed that they would do this also.

Now the partisans of Argos and the leaders of the popular party expected that they would be put to death, but the father of Agesipolis obtained from him the promise that safety should be granted them as they departed from the city, being sixty in number. So on both sides of the road, beginning at the city gates, stood the Lacedaemonians with their spears, watching those who were coming out. And although they hated them, nevertheless they kept their hands off them more easily than did the Mantineans belonging to the aristocratic party. Let this, then, stand recorded as a striking example of good discipline.

After this the wall was torn down and Mantinea was divided into four separate villages, just as the people had dwelt in ancient times. And at first they were displeased, because they were compelled to tear down the houses which they had and to build others; but the owners of the landed property, since they not only dwelt nearer to their estates, which were round about the villages, but also enjoyed an aristocratic government and were rid of the troublesome demagogues, were pleased with what had been done. And the Lacedaemonians sent mustering officers to them, not singly, but one for each village. Moreover, they came from their villages for service in the Lacedaemonian army far more zealously than when they were under a democratic government. Thus ended the affair of the Mantineans, whereby men were made wiser in this point at least — not to let a river run through city walls.

And now the exiles from Phlius, as they observed that the Lacedaemonians were investigating to see what sort of friends their several allies had proved to be to them during the war, thinking that it was an opportune time, proceeded to Lacedaemon and set forth that so long as they were at home in Phlius, the city had received the Lacedaemonians within its walls, and its people had gone with them on their campaigns wherever they led the way; but that after the Phliasians had driven them into exile, they had declined to follow anywhere, and had refused to receive the Lacedaemonians — and them alone of all men — within their gates.

When the ephors heard these things, they decided that the matter deserved attention. Accordingly they sent to the city of the Phliasians and said that the exiles were friends of the Lacedaemonian state and had been exiled for no wrong-doing. They said further that they deemed it proper to effect their return from banishment, not by compulsion, but by voluntary consent of the Phliasians. Upon hearing this the Phliasians conceived the fear that if the Lacedaemonians made an expedition against them, some of the people within the walls would let them into the city. For not only were there many kinsmen of the exiles in the city, and people who were friendly to them for other reasons, but also, as is indeed usual in most cities, some desired a change of government and therefore wanted to bring back the exiles.

On account, then, of such fears, the Phliasians voted to take back the exiles and to restore to them their undisputed property, those who had purchased such property to recover the price of it from the public treasury; and if any dispute should arise in any case between these purchasers and the exiles, it was to be settled by legal process. Thus ended, in its turn, this incident of the Phliasian exiles at that time.

Then there came ambassadors to Lacedaemon from Acanthus and Apollonia, which are the largest of the cities in the neighbourhood of Olynthus. And when the ephors heard with what object they had come, they brought them before the Lacedaemonian assembly and the allies.

Thereupon Cleigenes of Acanthus spoke as follows: Men of Lacedaemon and of the allied states, we think you are unaware that a great danger is springing up in Greece. To be sure, almost all of you know that Olynthus is the largest of the cities on the coast of Thrace. These Olynthians, in the first place, attached to themselves some of the cities with the provision that all should live under the same laws and be fellow-citizens, and then they took over some of the larger cities also. After this they undertook, further, to free the cities of Macedonia from Amyntas, king of the Macedonians.

And when the nearest of them gave their allegiance, they speedily proceeded against those which were farther away and larger; and we left them already in possession of a great number of Macedonian cities, including especially Pella, which is the largest of the cities in Macedonia. We also had information that Amyntas was withdrawing from his cities and had already been all but driven out of all Macedonia. The Olynthians, furthermore, sent to us and to the Apollonians and announced to us that if we did not present ourselves to join them in their campaigns, they would come against us.

As for ourselves, however, men of Lacedaemon, we desire to live under the laws of our fathers and to be citizens of our own city; but unless some one shall come to our aid, it will be necessary for us also to be united with them. And yet at this moment they already have not less than eight hundred hoplites and far more than that number of peltasts; while as for horsemen, if we also become united with them, they will have more than one thousand.

Again, we left ambassadors both of the Athenians and of the Boeotians already there. And we heard reports that the Olynthians on their side had voted to send ambassadors with them to these states in regard to the matter of an alliance. Now if so great a power is to be added to the present strength of the Athenians and Thebans, take care, he said, lest you find that situation no longer easy to handle. Furthermore, since the Olynthians are in possession of Potidaea, which is on the isthmus of Pallene, be sure that the cities included within Pallene will also be subject to them. And let this fact also be a further evidence to you that these cities have come to fear the Olynthians mightily — that although they feel the utmost hatred toward the Olynthians, nevertheless they did not dare to send ambassadors with us to set forth these things.

You should consider this question also, how you can consistently, after having taken care in the case of Boeotia to prevent its being united, nevertheless disregard the gathering of a much greater power, and what is more, a power which is becoming strong not by land only, but also by sea. For what indeed is there to hinder such expansion, seeing that the country itself possesses ship-timber and has revenues from many ports and many trading-places, and likewise an abundant population on account of the abundance of food?

And further, mark you, they have for neighbours those Thracians who are under no king. They even now are paying court to the Olynthians; and if they should come under their sway, this also would be a great power added to the Olynthians. Then, if the Thracians were their followers, straightway the gold mines of Mount Pangaeum also would beckon to them. And there is not one of these things which we say which is not also said thousands of times among the people of Olynthus.

As for their pride, how could one describe it? For the deity, perhaps, has so ordered it that men’s pride should increase with their power.We, then, men of Lacedaemon and of the allied states, report that such are the conditions there; it is for you to deliberate as to whether they seem to deserve attention. But you must understand this also, that the power which we have described as great is not yet hard to wrestle with. For such of the cities as share in the citizenship of Olynthus unwillingly, these, I say, will quickly fall away if they see any opposing force presenting itself;

if, however, they once become closely connected by reciprocal rights of intermarriage and of property, which have already been voted, and find that it is profitable to be on the side of the conqueror — even as the Arcadians when they go with you keep their own possessions safe and plunder those of others — then, it may be, this confederacy will no longer be so easy to break up.

When these things had been said, the Lacedaemonians gave their allies permission to speak and bade them advise whatever course anyone of them deemed best both for Peloponnesus and for the allies. Thereupon many, especially those who desired to gratify the Lacedaemonians, advocated raising an army, and it was decided that each state should send its proportionate contingent for an army of ten thousand.

Proposals were also made that any state which so desired should be allowed to give money instead of men, three Aeginetan obols per day for each man, while if any state normally furnished horsemen, pay equal to that of four hoplites should be given for each horseman;

and if any one of the states should fail to send its contingent to the army, the Lacedaemonians were to be permitted to fine such state a stater per day for each man.

When these things had been decided upon, the Acanthians rose again and declared that while these measures were excellent, it nevertheless was not possible for them to be speedily carried out. They said it was better, therefore, that while this expedition was gathering, a commander should set out with all possible speed with a force from Lacedaemon, of such size as could take the field quickly, and likewise from the other states; for if this were done, the cities which had not yet gone over to the Olynthians would take no step in that direction, and those which had been coerced would be less likely to continue in alliance with them.

This plan also was adopted, and the Lacedaemonians sent out Eudamidas, and with him emancipated Helots and men of the Perioeci and the Sciritans to the total number of about two thousand. Now Eudamidas on setting out requested the ephors to allow Phoebidas, his brother, to gather together all the troops assigned to him which were left behind and to follow after him; as for himself, when he reached the region of the Thracian coast, he sent garrisons to such of the cities as desired them, gained possession of Potidaea, which came over voluntarily, although it was already an ally of the Olynthians, and making that city his base of operations, carried on war in the way one naturally would who had an inferior force.

Then Phoebidas, after he had gathered together the remaining portion of Eudamidas’ troops, took them under his command and began his march. And when they arrived in the district of Thebes, they encamped outside the city, near the gymnasium. Now since the Thebans were divided by factions, it chanced that Ismenias and Leontiades, who were polemarchs, were at variance with one another, and both of them leaders of their respective political clubs. Hence Ismenias, on account of his hatred for the Lacedaemonians, did not even go near Phoebidas. Leontiades, however, not only paid court to him in various ways, but when he had become intimate with him, spoke to him as follows:

Phoebidas, it is within your power this day to render the greatest service to your fatherland; for if you will follow me with your hoplites, I will lead you into the Acropolis. And this once accomplished, be sure that Thebes will be completely under the control of the Lacedaemonians and of us who are your friends;

whereas now, as you see, proclamation has been made forbidding any Theban from serving with you against the Olynthians. But if you join with us and accomplish this deed, we will at once send with you many hoplites and many horsemen; so that you will go to the aid of your brother with a large force, and while he is getting ready to subdue Olynthus, you will already have subdued Thebes, a far greater state than Olynthus.

When Phoebidas heard this, he was filled with bouyant hopes; for he was a man with a far greater passion for performing some brilliant achievement than for life itself, although, on the other hand, he was not regarded as one who weighed his acts or had much practical wisdom. And when he had agreed to the plan, Leontiades directed him to set out on his way, prepared as he was to depart from Thebes. And when the proper time arrives, said Leontiades, I will return to you and act as your guide myself.

Accordingly, while the senate was in session in the portico in the market-place, for the reason that the women were celebrating the festival of the Thesmophoria in the Cadmea, and while, inasmuch as it was summer and midday, the streets were entirely deserted, at this time Leontiades rode out on horseback to overtake Phoebidas, turned him back, and led him straight to the Acropolis. And after establishing Phoebidas there with the troops under his command, giving him the key to the gates, and telling him to let no one into the Acropolis unless he himself so ordered, he proceeded at once to the meeting of the senate. And when he had arrived there, he spoke as follows:

Be not at all despondent, gentlemen, because the Lacedaemonians are in possession of the Acropolis; for they say that they have not come as enemies to anyone who is not eager for war; as for me, since the law directs that a polemarch shall have power to arrest any man who seems to be doing deeds which deserve death, I arrest Ismenias here, as an instigator of war. Therefore do you captains, and you who have been detailed with them, arise, seize this man, and lead him away to the place where you have been directed to take him.

Now those who knew of the plan were of course present, obeyed the order, and seized Ismenias; but of those who did not know about it and were opponents of Leontiades and his party, some fled at once out of the city, fearing that they would be put to death; others withdrew at first to their homes; when they learned, however, that Ismenias was imprisoned in the Cadmea, then all those who held the same views as Androcleidas and Ismenias retired to Athens, to the number of about three hundred.

When these things had been accomplished, they chose another polemarch in place of Ismenias, but Leontiades proceeded at once to Lacedaemon. There he found the ephors and the majority of the citizens angry with Phoebidas because he had acted in this matter without authorization by the state. Agesilaus, however, said that if what he had done was harmful to Lacedaemon, he deserved to be punished, but if advantageous, it was a time-honoured custom that a commander, in such cases, had the right to act on his own initiative. It is precisely this point, therefore, he said, which should be considered, whether what has been done is good or bad for the state.

Then Leontiades came before the assembly and spoke as follows: Men of Lacedaemon, that the Thebans were hostile to you before what has now been done came to pass, you were wont to say yourselves; for you saw that they were always friendly to your enemies, and enemies to your friends. Did they not refuse to join you in the campaign against the Athenian commons in Piraeus, who were bitter enemies of yours, and did they not, on the other hand, march against the Phocians because they saw that you were well disposed towards them?

Again, knowing that you were making war upon the Olynthians, they undertook to conclude an alliance with them, and you in those past days were always uneasily watching for the time when you should hear that they were forcing Boeotia to be under their sway; but now that this stroke has been accomplished, there is no need of your fearing the Thebans; on the contrary, a brief message from you will suffice to secure from that quarter all the support that you may desire, provided only you show as much concern for us as we have shown for you.

Upon hearing these words the Lacedaemonians resolved, so long as the Acropolis had been seized, to keep it garrisoned, and to bring Ismenias to trial. Accordingly they sent out as judges three Lacedaemonians and one from each of the allied states, whether small or great. And it was not until the court held its sitting that charges were brought against Ismenias, — that he was a supporter of the barbarians, that he had become a guest-friend of the Persian satrap to the hurt of Greece, that he had received a share of the money which came from the King, and that he and Androcleidas were chiefly responsible for all the trouble and disorder in Greece.

To all these charges he did indeed make a defence, but he failed to persuade the court that he was not a man of great and evil undertakings. So he was pronounced guilty and put to death; as for Leontiades and his party, they held possession of Thebes and gave the Lacedaemonians their support in even more than was demanded of them.

After these things had been accomplished, the Lacedaemonians with much more spirit set about dispatching the joint army to Olynthus. They sent out Teleutias as governor, and not only sent with him their own full contingent of the total ten thousand men, but also transmitted official dispatches to the various allied states, directing them to follow Teleutias in accordance with the resolution of the allies. And all the states gave their hearty support to Teleutias, — for he was regarded as a man not ungrateful to those who performed any service, — while the Theban state in particular, inasmuch as he was a brother of Agesilaus, eagerly sent with him both hoplites and horsemen.

Now he prosecuted his march with no great speed, his concern being rather to make the journey without doing any harm to the friends of his state and to collect as large a force as possible. He also sent word on ahead to Amyntas and asked him not only to hire mercenaries, but likewise to give money to the kings in his neighbourhood, that they might become allies, if he really wanted to recover his dominions. Furthermore, he sent to Derdas, the ruler of Elimia, pointing out to him that the Olynthians had already subdued the greater power, Macedonia, and would not let the lesser escape unless someone put a stop to their presumption.

As a result of his doing these things he had a very large army when he arrived in the territory of his state’s allies. And when he had come to Potidaea, he proceeded from there with his army in order of battle into the enemy’s country. Now on his way toward the city of Olynthus he neither burned nor cut down, believing that anything of this sort he should do would prove so many obstacles in his way both as he approached and as he withdrew; but he believed that when he should retire from the city it would be right to cut down the trees and put them in the way of anyone who might come against him from behind.

And when he was distant from the city not so much as ten stadia, he halted the army, himself occupying the left wing, — for in this way it fell to him to advance in the direction of the gate where the enemy issued forth, — while the rest of the phalanx, made up of the allies, stretched away to the right. As for the horsemen, he likewise posted upon the right wing the Laconians, the Thebans, and all the Macedonians who were present, while he kept by his own side Derdas and his horsemen, numbering about four hundred, not only because he admired this troop, but also to do honour to Derdas, so that he should be glad he had joined the expedition.

But when the enemy came and formed in opposing line beneath the city wall, their horsemen, massing themselves together, charged upon the Laconians and Boeotians. And they not only struck down from his horse Polycharmus, the Lacedaemonian commander of cavalry, and inflicted very many wounds upon him as he lay, but they also killed others, and finally put to flight the cavalry upon the right wing. Now as the cavalry fled, the infantry next them also gave way, and the whole army, indeed, would have been in danger of being defeated had not Derdas with his troop dashed straight for the gates of the Olynthians. And Teleutias also advanced to the attack with his troops in battle order.

When the Olynthian horsemen perceived these movements, being seized with fear lest they should be shut out from the gates, they turned about and retired in great haste. Then Derdas killed very many of them as they rode past him. And the foot-soldiers of the Olynthians also retired into the city; but not many of them were killed, because the wall was near.

And when a trophy had been set up and this victory had fallen to Teleutias, then as he withdrew he proceeded to cut down the trees. Now after continuing the campaign through this summer he dismissed both the Macedonian army and the horsemen of Derdas; the Olynthians, however, on their side made frequent raids into the territory of the cities allied with the Lacedaemonians, and carried off booty and killed men.

At the very beginning of the following spring the Olynthian horsemen, about six hundred in number, had made a raid into the district of Apollonia at midday and were scattered about pillaging; and it chanced that on that day Derdas had arrived with his horsemen and was breakfasting at Apollonia. When he saw the raid, he kept quiet, keeping his horses saddled and bridled and their riders fully armed. But when the Olynthians came riding disdainfully not only into the suburbs, but to the very gates of the city, then he dashed forth with his men in good order.

And upon seeing him the enemy took to flight. But he, when once he had turned them to flight, did not stop pursuing and killing for ninety stadia, until he had chased them to the very wall of the Olynthians. It was said, indeed, that Derdas killed in this action about eighty horsemen. And from this day forth the enemy stayed more closely within their wall and cultivated only an exceedingly small portion of their land.

As time went on, however, and Teleutias had led his army up to the city of the Olynthians in order to destroy whatever tree was left or whatever field had been cultivated by the enemy, the Olynthian horsemen issued forth and, proceeding quietly, crossed the river which flows by the city and held on their way towards the opposing army. And when Teleutias saw them, being irritated at their audacity, he immediately ordered Tlemonidas, the leader of the peltasts, to charge against them on the run.

Now when the Olynthians saw the peltasts sallying forth, they turned about, retired quietly, and crossed the river again. The peltasts, on the other hand, followed very rashly and, with the thought that the enemy were in flight, pushed into the river after them to pursue them. Thereupon the Olynthian horsemen, at the moment when they thought that those who had crossed the river were still easy to handle, turned about and dashed upon them, and they not only killed Tlemonidas himself, but more than one hundred of the others.

But Teleutias, filled with anger when he saw what was going on, snatched up his arms and led the hoplites swiftly forward, while he ordered the peltasts and the horsemen to pursue and not stop pursuing. Now in many other instances those who have pressed a pursuit too close to a city’s wall have come off badly in their retreat, and in this case also, when the men were showered with missiles from the towers, they were forced to retire in disorder and to guard themselves against the missiles.

At this moment the Olynthians sent out their horsemen to the attack, and the peltasts also came to their support; finally, their hoplites likewise rushed out, and fell upon the Lacedaemonian phalanx when it was already in confusion. There Teleutias fell fighting. And when this happened, the troops about him at once gave way, and in fact no one stood his ground any longer, but all fled, some for Spartolus, others for Acanthus, others to Apollonia, and the majority to Potidaea. As they fled in all directions, so likewise the enemy pursued in all directions, and killed a vast number of men, including the most serviceable part of the army.

From such disasters, however, I hold that men are taught the lesson, chiefly, indeed, that they ought not to chastise anyone, even slaves, in anger — for masters in anger have often suffered greater harm than they have inflicted; but especially that, in dealing with enemies, to attack under the influence of anger and not with judgment is an absolute mistake. For anger is a thing which does not look ahead, while judgment aims no less to escape harm than to inflict it upon the enemy.

When the Lacedaemonians heard of this affair, it seemed to them as they deliberated that they must send out no small force, in order that the pride of the victors might be quenched and that the efforts already made might not go for nothing. Having come to this conclusion, they sent out Agesipolis, the king, as commander, and with him, as they had sent with Agesilaus to Asia, thirty Spartiatae.

There followed with him also many of the Perioeci as volunteers, men of the better class, and aliens who belonged to the so-called foster-children of Sparta, and sons of the Spartiatae by Helot women, exceedingly finelooking men, not without experience of the good gifts of the state. Furthermore, volunteers from the allied states joined the expedition and horsemen of the Thessalians, who wished to become known to Agesipolis, while Amyntas and Derdas took part with even greater eagerness than before. Under these circumstances it was that Agesipolis marched against Olynthus.

Meanwhile the people of Phlius, partly because they had been commended by Agesipolis for giving him a large sum of money for his campaign and giving it speedily, partly because they thought that with Agesipolis abroad Agesilaus would not take the field against them, and that it never would happen that both the kings would be outside of Sparta at the same time, boldly refused to grant any of their rights to the restored exiles. For while the exiles demanded that the questions in dispute should be brought to trial before an impartial court, their policy was to compel them to plead their cases in the city itself. And when the exiles asked what manner of trial that was, where the wrong-doers were themselves the judges, they refused to listen to them at all.

Consequently these restored exiles came to Lacedaemon to present their charge against the state, and other people from home came with them, saying that many even among the citizens thought that the exiles were not receiving just treatment. But the state of Phlius, angered at this, fined all who had gone to Lacedaemon without being sent by the state.

And those who were thus fined were afraid to return home, but remained and protested to the Lacedaemonians, saying: These men, who are engaged in these high-handed proceedings, are the men who have banished us and have also excluded you from their city, these are the men who are buying our property and resorting to high-handed measures so as not to give it back, and now these same men have contrived to have a fine inflicted upon us for coming here, so that in the future no one shall dare to come for the purpose of revealing what is going on in the state.

And since it seemed that the Phliasians were really acting insolently, the ephors called out the ban against them. Now this was not displeasing to Agesilaus; for the followers of Podanemus had been friends of his father Archidamus and were at this time among the restored exiles; while the partisans of Procles, the son of Hipponicus, were friends of his own.

And when, after the sacrifices at the frontier had proved favourable, he made no delay but proceeded on the march, many embassies met him and offered him money not to invade the country of Phlius. He replied, however, that he was not taking the field to do wrong, but to aid those who were suffering wrong.

Finally they said that they would do anything whatsoever, and begged him not to invade. He answered again that he could not trust to words, for they had proved false to their word in the previous case, but he said there was need of some deed that one could trust. And when he was asked what manner of deed this would be, he replied again: The same thing, said he, that you did before, and in doing which you suffered no wrong whatever at our hands. By this he meant giving over their Acropolis.

As they refused to do this, he invaded their land and quickly built a wall of circumvallation around the city and besieged them. And when many Lacedaemonians said that merely for the sake of a few individuals they were making themselves hated by a state of more than five thousand men — for the Phliasians held their assemblies in plain sight of the people outside the city just for the purpose of making the fact of their numbers evident — Agesilaus devised a scheme to meet this situation.

Whenever any Phliasians came out of the city either from friendship or kinship with the exiles, he instructed the latter to form common messes of their own with such of the new-comers as were ready to undertake the army training, and to supply money enough for provisions; he also urged them to provide arms for all these people and not to hesitate to borrow money for this purpose. The exiles accordingly carried out his injunctions, and showed as a result more than a thousand men in splendid condition of body, well disciplined, and extremely well armed; so that the Lacedaemonians finally said that they had need of such fellow-soldiers.

Agesilaus, then, was occupied with these things. As for Agesipolis, he advanced straight from Macedonia and halted near the city of the Olynthians. And when no one ventured to come out against him, he then laid waste whatever part of the Olynthian country was left unravaged, and proceeding into the territory of their allied cities, destroyed the corn; but Torone he attacked and captured by storm.

While he was engaged in these operations, at midsummer a burning fever seized him. And since he had previously seen the sanctuary of Dionysus at Aphytis, a longing took possession of him at this time for its shady resting-places and its clear, cool waters. He was therefore carried thither, still living, but, nevertheless, on the seventh day from the time when he fell sick, he came to his end outside the sanctuary. And he was placed in honey and carried home, and received the royal burial.

When Agesilaus heard of this, he did not, as one might have expected, rejoice over it, as over the death of an adversary, but he wept, and mourned the loss of his companionship; for the kings of course lodge together when they are at home. And Agesipolis was a man well fitted to converse with Agesilaus about youthful days, hunting exploits, horses, and love affairs; besides this he also treated Agesilaus with deference in their association together in their common quarters, as one would naturally treat an elder. In the place, then, of Agesipolis the Lacedaemonians sent out Polybiades to Olynthus as governor.

Now Agesilaus had already gone beyond the time for which the food-supply in Phlius was said to suffice; for self-restraint in appetite differs so much from unrestrained indulgence that the Phliasians, by voting to consume half as much food as before and carrying out this decision, held out under siege for twice as long a time as was to have been expected.

Furthermore, courage sometimes differs so much from cowardice that a certain Delphion, who was regarded as a brilliant man, taking to himself three hundred of the Phliasians, was able to hold in check those who desired to make peace, was able to shut up and keep under guard those whom he distrusted, and had the power to compel the masses of the people to go to their posts and by putting sentinels over them to keep these people faithful. Frequently also he would sally forth with the three hundred picked men and beat off the troops on guard at one point and another of the wall of circumvallation.

When, however, these picked men with searching in every way could not find food in the city, thereupon they sent to Agesilaus and asked him to give them safe conduct for going on an embassy to Lacedaemon; for they said that they had resolved to leave it to the authorities of the Lacedaemonians to do whatever they would with the city.

Agesilaus, however, angered because they treated him as one without authority, sent to his friends at home and arranged that the decision about Phlius should be left to him, but nevertheless he gave safe conduct to the embassy. Then he kept guard with a force even stronger than before, in order that no one of the people in the city might escape. In spite of this, however, Delphion, and with him a branded desperado who had many times stolen away weapons from the besiegers, escaped by night.

But when messengers arrived from Lacedaemon with word that the state left it to Agesilaus to decide as he thought best upon matters in Phlius, Agesilaus decided in this way — that fifty men from the restored exiles and fifty from the people at home should, in the first place, make inquiry to determine who ought justly to be left alive in the city and who ought to be put to death, and, secondly, should draw up a constitution under which to conduct the government; and until such time as these matters should be settled, he left behind him a garrison and six months’ pay for those who composed it. After doing all this he dismissed the allies and led his citizen troops back home. And thus the affair of Phlius in its turn came to a conclusion, after a year and eight months.

At this time also Polybiades compelled the Olynthians, who were in an exceedingly wretched state from famine, inasmuch as they got no food from their own land and none was brought in to them by sea, to send to Lacedaemon to treat for peace; and those who went thither, being ambassadors with full powers, concluded a compact to count the same people enemies and friends as the Lacedaemonians did, to follow wherever they led the way, and to be their allies. Then after taking an oath that they would abide by this compact, they went back home.

And now that success had to such an extent attended the efforts of the Lacedaemonians that the Thebans and the rest of the Boeotians were completely in their power, the Corinthians had become absolutely faithful, the Argives had been humbled for the reason that their plea of the sacred months was no longer of any help to them, and the Athenians were left destitute of allies, while on the other hand those among the allies of the Lacedaemonians who had been unfriendly to them had been chastised, it seemed that they had at length established their empire most excellently and securely.

Now one could mention many other incidents, both among Greeks and barbarians, to prove that the gods do not fail to take heed of the wicked or of those who do unrighteous things; but at present I will speak of the case which is before me. The Lacedaemonians, namely, who had sworn that they would leave the states independent, after seizing possession of the Acropolis of Thebes were punished by the very men, unaided, who had been thus wronged, although before that time they had not been conquered by any single one of all the peoples that ever existed; while as for those among the Theban citizens who had led them into the Acropolis and had wanted the state to be in subjection to the Lacedaemonians in order that they might rule despotically themselves, just seven of the exiles were enough to destroy the government of these men. How all this came to pass I will proceed to relate.

There was a certain Phillidas, who acted as secretary to Archias and his fellow polemarchs and in other ways served them, as it seemed, most excellently. Now this man went to Athens on a matter of business, and there met Melon, one of the Thebans in exile at Athens and a man who had been an acquaintance of his even before this time. Melon, after learning of the doings of the polemarch Archias and the tyrannous rule of Philippus, and finding out that Phillidas hated the conditions that existed at home even more than he himself did, exchanged pledges with him and came to an agreement as to how everything should be managed.

After this Melon took with him six of the fittest men among the exiles, armed with daggers and no other weapon, and in the first place proceeded by night into the territory of Thebes; then after spending the day in a deserted spot they came to the city gates, as if on their way back from the country, at just the time when the last returning labourers came in. When they had entered the city, they spent that night at the house of a certain Charon, and likewise spent the following day there.

As for Phillidas, since the polemarchs always celebrate a festival of Aphrodite upon the expiration of their term of office, he was making all the arrangements for them, and in particular, having long ago promised to bring them women, and the most stately and beautiful women there were in Thebes, he said he would do so at that time. And they — for they were that sort of men — expected to spend the night very pleasantly.

Now when they had dined and with his zealous help had quickly become drunk, after they had long urged him to bring in their mistresses he went out and brought Melon and his followers, having dressed up three of them as matrons and the others as their attendants.

He conducted them all to the anteroom adjoining the treasury of the polemarchs’ building, and then came in himself and told Archias and his colleagues that the women said they would not enter if any of the servants were in the room. At that the polemarchs speedily ordered them all to withdraw, while Phillidas gave them wine and sent them off to the house of one of their number. Then he led in the supposed courtesans and seated them one beside each man. And the agreement was, that when they were seated, they should unveil themselves and strike at once.

It was in this way, then, as some tell the story, that the polemarchs were killed, while others say that Melon and his followers came in as though they were revellers and killed them. After this Phillidas took three of his men and proceeded to the house of Leontiades and knocking at the door he said that he wished to give him a message from the polemarchs. Now it chanced that Leontiades had dined by himself and was still reclining on his couch after dinner, while his wife sat beside him, working with wool. And believing Phillidas trustworthy he bade him come in. When the party had entered, they killed Leontiades and frightened his wife into silence. And as they went out, they ordered that the door should remain shut; and they threatened that if they found it open, they would kill all who were in the house.

When these things had been done, Phillidas took two of the men and went to the prison, and told the keeper of the prison that he was bringing a man from the polemarchs who was to be shut up. And as soon as the keeper opened the door, they immediately killed him and released the prisoners. Then they speedily armed these men with weapons which they took down from the portico, and, leading them to the Ampheum, ordered them to stand under arms.

After this they immediately made proclamation to all the Thebans, both horsemen and hoplites, to come forth from their houses, saying that the tyrants were dead. The citizens, however, so long as night lasted, remained quiet out of distrust; but when day came, and what had taken place was evident, then both the hoplites and the horsemen speedily rushed forth with their arms to lend aid. The returned exiles also sent horsemen to fetch the troops of the Athenians who were on the borders under two of the generals. And the latter, knowing the purpose for which they had sent out the horsemen, came to their aid.

Now when the Lacedaemonian governor in the Acropolis heard the proclamation of the night, he at once sent to Plataea and Thespiae for help. And the Theban horsemen, upon perceiving that the Plataeans were approaching, went out to meet them and killed more than twenty of them; then as soon as they had re-entered the city after this achievement, and the Athenians from the borders had arrived, they made an attack upon the Acropolis.

Now when those in the Acropolis realized that they were few in number, and saw the spirit of all who were coming against them, — for there were also offers of large prizes to those who should first ascend the Acropolis — being frightened in consequence of these things, they said that they would withdraw if the Thebans would allow them to do so in safety, keeping their arms. And the Thebans gladly granted what they asked, and after making a truce and giving their oaths let them go forth on these terms.

As they were on their way out, however, the citizens seized and killed all whom they recognized as belonging to the number of their political foes. There were some, indeed, who were spirited away and saved by the Athenians who had come from the borders with their supporting force. But the Thebans even seized the children of those who had been killed, whenever they had children, and slaughtered them.

When the Lacedaemonians learned of these events, they put to death the governor who had abandoned the Acropolis instead of waiting for the relief force, and called out the ban against the Thebans. Now Agesilaus said that it was more than forty years since he had come of military age, and pointed out that just as other men of his age were no longer bound to serve outside their own country, so the same law applied to kings also. He, then, on this plea would not undertake the campaign. It was not, however, for this reason that he stayed at home, but because he well knew that if he was in command the citizens would say that Agesilaus was making trouble for the state in order that he might give assistance to tyrants. Therefore he let them decide as they would about this matter.

But the ephors, hearing the stories of those who had been banished after the slaughter in Thebes, sent out Cleombrotus, — this being the first time that he had a command, — in the dead of winter. Now the road which leads through Eleutherae was guarded by Chabrias with peltasts of the Athenians; but Cleombrotus climbed the mountain by the road leading to Plataea. And at the summit of the pass his peltasts, who were leading the advance, found the men who had been released from the prison, about one hundred and fifty in number, on guard. And the peltasts killed them all, except for one or another who may have escaped; whereupon Cleombrotus descended to Plataea, which was still friendly.

Then after he had arrived at Thespiae, he went on from there to Cynoscephalae, which belonged to the Thebans, and encamped. But after remaining there about sixteen days he retired again to Thespiae. There he left Sphodrias as governor and a third part of each contingent of the allies; he also gave over to Sphodrias all the money which he chanced to have brought from home and directed him to hire a force of mercenaries besides.

Sphodrias, then, set about doing this. Meanwhile Cleombrotus proceeded to conduct the soldiers under his command back homeward by the road which leads through Creusis, the troops being vastly puzzled to know whether there was really war between them and the Thebans, or peace; for he had led his army into the country of the Thebans and then departed after doing just as little damage as he could.

While he was on the homeward way, however, an extraordinary wind beset him, which some indeed augured was a sign foreshadowing what was going to happen. For it not only did many other violent things, but when he had left Creusis with his army and was crossing the mountain ridge which runs down to the sea, it hurled down the precipice great numbers of packasses, baggage and all, while very many shields were snatched away from the soldiers and fell into the sea.

Finally many of the men, unable to proceed with all their arms, left their shields behind here and there on the summit of the ridge, putting them down on their backs and filling them with stones. On that day, then, they took dinner as best they could at Aegosthena in the territory of Megara; and on the following day they went back and recovered their shields. After this all returned at once to their several homes; for Cleombrotus dismissed them.

Now the Athenians, seeing the power of the Lacedaemonians and that the war was no longer in Corinthian territory, but that the Lacedaemonians were now going past Attica and invading the country of Thebes, were so fearful that they brought to trial the two generals who had been privy to the uprising of Melon against Leontiades and his party, put one of them to death, and, since the other did not remain to stand trial, exiled him.

The Thebans, for their part, being also fearful in case no others except themselves should make war upon the Lacedaemonians, devised the following expedient. They persuaded Sphodrias, the Lacedaemonian governor at Thespiae, — by giving him money, it was suspected, — to invade Attica, that so he might involve the Athenians in war with the Lacedaemonians. And he in obedience to their persuasions, professing that he would capture Piraeus, inasmuch as it still had no gates, led forth his troops from Thespiae after they had taken an early dinner, saying that he would finish the journey to Piraeus before daybreak.

But he was still at Thria when daylight came upon him, and then he made no effort to escape observation, but on the contrary, when he had turned about, seized cattle and plundered houses. Meanwhile some of those who fell in with him during the night fled to the city and reported to the Athenians that a very large army was coming against them. So they speedily armed themselves, both horsemen and hoplites, and kept guard over the city.

Now it chanced also that there were ambassadors of the Lacedaemonians in Athens at the house of Callias, their diplomatic agent, — Etymocles, Aristolochus, and Ocyllus; and when the matter of the invasion was reported, the Athenians seized these men and kept them under guard, in the belief that they too were concerned in the plot. But they were utterly dismayed over the affair and said in their defence that if they had known that an attempt was being made to seize Piraeus, they would never have been so foolish as to put themselves in the power of the Athenians in the city, and, still less, at the house of their diplomatic agent, where they would most speedily be found.

They said, further, that it would become clear to the Athenians also that the Lacedaemonian state was not cognizant of this attempt, either. For as to Sphodrias, they said they well knew that they would hear that he had been put to death by the state. They accordingly were adjudged to be without any knowledge of the affair and were released.

But the ephors recalled Sphodrias and brought capital charges against him. He, however, out of fear did not obey the summons; but nevertheless, although he did not obey and present himself for the trial, he was acquitted. And it seemed to many that the decision in this case was the most unjust ever known in Lacedaemon. The reason for it was as follows.

Sphodrias had a son Cleonymus, who was at the age just following boyhood and was, besides, the handsomest and most highly regarded of all the youths of his years. And Archidamus, the son of Agesilaus, chanced to be extremely fond of him. Now the friends of Cleombrotus were political associates of Sphodrias, and were therefore inclined to acquit him, but they feared Agesilaus and his friends, and likewise those who stood between the two parties; for it seemed that he had done a dreadful deed.

Therefore Sphodrias said to Cleonymus: It is within your power, my son, to save your father by begging Archidamus to make Agesilaus favourable to me at my trial. Upon hearing this Cleonymus gathered courage to go to Archidamus and begged him for his sake to become the saviour of his father.

Now when Archidamus saw Cleonymus weeping, he wept with him as he stood by his side; and when he heard his request, he replied: Cleonymus, be assured that I cannot even look my father in the face, but if I wish to accomplish some object in the state, I petition everyone else rather than my father; yet nevertheless, since you so bid me, believe that I will use every effort to accomplish this for you.

At that time, accordingly, he went from the public mess-room to his home and retired to rest; then he arose at dawn and kept watch, so that his father should not leave the house without his notice. But when he saw him going out, in the first place, if anyone among the citizens was present, he gave way to allow them to converse with Agesilaus, and again, if it was a stranger, he did the same, and again he even made way for any one of his attendants who wished to address him. Finally, when Agesilaus came back from the Eurotas and entered his house, Archidamus went away without even having approached him. On the next day also he acted in the very same way.

And Agesilaus, while he suspected for what reason he kept going to and fro with him, nevertheless asked no question, but let him alone. But Archidamus, on the other hand, was eager, naturally enough, to see Cleonymus; still, he did not know how he could go to him without first having talked with his father about the request that Cleonymus had made. And the partisans of Sphodrias, since they did not see Archidamus coming to visit Cleonymus, whereas formerly he had come often, were in the utmost anxiety, fearing that he had been rebuked by Agesilaus.

Finally, however, Archidamus gathered courage to approach Agesilaus and say: Father, Cleonymus bids me request you to save his father; and I make the same request of you, if it is possible. And Agesilaus answered: For yourself, I grant you pardon; but how could I obtain my own pardon from the state if I failed to pronounce guilty of wrong-doing a man who made traffic for himself to the hurt of the state, I do not see.

Now at the time Archidamus said nothing in reply to these words, but yielding to the justice of them, went away. Afterwards, however, whether because he had conceived the idea himself or because it had been suggested to him by some one else, he went to Agesilaus and said: Father, I know that if Sphodrias had done no wrong, you would have acquitted him; but as it is, if he has done something wrong, let him for our sakes obtain pardon at your hands. And Agesilaus said: Well, if this should be honourable for us, it shall be so. Upon hearing these words Archidamus went away in great despondency.

Now one of the friends of Sphodrias in conversation with Etymocles, said to him: I suppose, said he, that you, the friends of Agesilaus, are all for putting Sphodrias to death. And Etymocles replied: By Zeus, then we shall not be following the same course as Agesilaus, for he says to all with whom he has conversed the same thing, — that it is impossible that Sphodrias is not guilty of wrong-doing; but that when, as child, boy, and young man, one has continually performed all the duties of a Spartan, it is a hard thing to put such a man to death; for Sparta has need of such soldiers.

The man, then, upon hearing this, reported it to Cleonymus. And he, filled with joy, went at once to Archidamus and said: We know now that you have a care for us; and be well assured, Archidamus, that we in our turn shall strive to take care that you may never have cause to be ashamed on account of our friendship. And he did not prove false to his words, for not only did he act in all ways as it is deemed honourable for a citizen of Sparta to act while he lived, but at Leuctra, fighting in defence of his king with Deinon the polemarch, he fell three times and was the first of the citizens to lose his life in the midst of the enemy. And while his death caused extreme grief to Archidamus, still, as he promised, he did not bring shame upon him, but rather honour. It was in this way, then, that Sphodrias was acquitted.

As for the Athenians, those among them who favoured the Boeotians pointed out to the people that the Lacedaemonians had not only not punished Sphodrias, but even commended him, for plotting against Athens. Therefore the Athenians furnished Piraeus with gates, set about building ships, and gave aid to the Boeotians with all zeal.

The Lacedaemonians on their side called out the ban against the Thebans, and believing that Agesilaus would lead them with more judgment than Cleombrotus, requested him to act as commander of the army. And he, saying that he would offer no objection to whatever the state thought best, made his preparations for the campaign.

Now he knew that unless one first gained possession of Mount Cithaeron, it would not be easy to effect an entrance into the country of Thebes; he therefore, upon learning that the Cletorians were at war with the Orchomenians and were maintaining a force of mercenaries, came to an agreement with them that their mercenary force should be turned over to him if he had any need of it.

And when his sacrifices at the frontier had proved favourable, before he had himself reached Tegea he sent to the commander of the mercenaries at Cletor, gave them pay for a month, and ordered them to occupy Cithaeron in advance. Meanwhile he directed the Orchomenians to cease from war so long as his campaign lasted; indeed, if any state undertook an expedition against any other while his army was in the field, he said that his first act would be to go against that state, in accordance with the resolution of the allies.

After Agesilaus had crossed Cithaeron and had arrived at Thespiae, he made that his base of operations and proceeded against the country of the Thebans. When he found, however, that the plain and the most valuable portions of their territory had been surrounded by a protecting trench and stockade, he encamped now here and now there, and, leading forth his army after breakfast, laid waste those parts of the country which were on his side of the stockade and trench. For wherever Agesilaus appeared, the enemy moved along within the stockade and kept in his front, for the purpose of offering resistance.

And once, when he was already withdrawing in the direction of his camp, the cavalry of the Thebans, up to that moment invisible, suddenly dashed out through the exits which had been made in the stockade, and inasmuch as the peltasts of Agesilaus were going away to dinner or were making their preparations for doing so, while the horsemen were some of them still dismounted and others in the act of mounting, the Thebans charged upon them; and they not only struck down a large number of the peltasts, but among the horsemen Cleas and Epicydidas, who were Spartiatae, one of the Perioeci, Eudicus, and some Theban exiles, such as had not yet mounted their horses.

But when Agesilaus turned about and came to the rescue with the hoplites, his horsemen charged against the enemy’s horsemen and the first ten year-classes of the hoplites ran along with them to the attack. The Theban horsemen, however, acted like men who had drunk a little at midday; for although they awaited the oncoming enemy in order to throw their spears, they threw before they were within range. Still, though they turned about at so great a distance, twelve of them were killed.

But when Agesilaus had noted that it was always after breakfast that the enemy also appeared, he offered sacrifice at daybreak, led his army forward as rapidly as possible, and passed within the stockade at an unguarded point. Then he devastated and burned the region within the enclosure up to the walls of the city. After doing this and withdrawing again to Thespiae, he fortified their city for the Thespians. There he left Phoebidas as governor, while he himself crossed the mountain again to Megara, disbanded the allies, and led his citizen troops back home.

After this Phoebidas plundered the Thebans by sending out bands of freebooters, while by making raids he devastated their land. The Thebans, on their side, desiring to avenge themselves, made an expedition with their entire force against the country of the Thespians. But when they were within the territory of Thespiae, Phoebidas pressed them close with his peltasts and did not allow them to stray at any point from their phalanx; so that the Thebans in great vexation proceeded to retreat more rapidly than they had advanced, and their mule-drivers also threw away the produce which they had seized and pushed for home; so dreadful a panic had fallen upon the army.

Meanwhile Phoebidas pressed upon them boldly, having with him his peltasts and giving orders to the hoplites to follow in battle order. Indeed, he conceived the hope of putting the Thebans to rout; for while he himself was leading on stoutly, he was exhorting the others to attack the enemy and ordering the hoplites of the Thespians to follow.

But when the horsemen of the Thebans as they retired came to an impassable ravine, they first gathered together and then turned to face him, not knowing where they could cross. Now the peltasts were few in number; the foremost of them were therefore seized with fear of the horsemen and took to flight; but when the horsemen, in their turn, saw this, they applied the lesson they had learned from the fugitives and attacked them.

So then Phoebidas and two or three with him fell fighting, and when this happened the mercenaries all took to flight. And when as they fled they came to the hoplites of the Thespians, these also, though previously they had been quite proudly confident that they would not give way before the Thebans, took to flight without so much as being pursued at all. For by this time it was too late in the day for a pursuit. Now not many of the Thespians were killed, but nevertheless they did not stop until they got within their wall.

As a result of this affair the spirits of the Thebans were kindled again, and they made expeditions to Thespiae and to the other cities round about them. The democratic factions, however, withdrew from these cities to Thebes. For in all of them oligarchical governments had been established, just as in Thebes; the result was that the friends of the Lacedaemonians in these cities were in need of aid. But after the death of Phoebidas the Lacedaemonians merely sent over by sea a polemarch and one regiment, and thus kept Thespiae garrisoned.

When the spring came, however, the ephors again called out the ban against Thebes and, just as before, requested Agesilaus to take command. Now since he held the same views as before about invading Boeotia, he sent to the polemarch at Thespiae before even offering the sacrifice at the frontier and ordered him to occupy in advance the summit overlooking the road which leads over Cithaeron and to guard it until he himself arrived.

And when he had passed this point and arrived at Plataea, he pretended that he was again going to Thespiae first, and sending thither he gave orders that a market should be made ready and that the embassies should await him there; so that the Thebans guarded strongly the pass leading from Thespiae into their country.

But on the following day at daybreak, after offering sacrifices, Agesilaus proceeded by the road to Erythrae. And after accomplishing in one day a two days’ march for an army, he passed the line of the stockade at Scolus before the Thebans returned from keeping guard at the place where he had entered on the previous occasion. Having done this, he laid waste the region to the east of the city of the Thebans, as far as the territory of the Tanagraeans; for at that time Hypatodorus and his followers, who were friends of the Lacedaemonians, still held possession of Tanagra. After this he proceeded to retire, keeping the wall of Tanagra on his left.

Meanwhile the Thebans came up quietly and formed in line of battle against him on the hill called Old Woman’s Breast, with the trench and the stockade in their rear, believing that this was a good place to risk a battle; for the ground at this point was a rather narrow strip and hard to traverse. When Agesilaus observed this, he did not lead his army against them, but turned aside and proceeded in the direction of the city.

The Thebans, on the other hand, being seized with fear for their city, because it was empty of defenders, abandoned the place where they were drawn up and hurried toward the city on the run, by the road which leads to Potniae; for this was the safer route. And it really seemed that Agesilaus’ expedient proved a clever one, for though he led his army directly away from the enemy, he caused the latter to retire on the run, and while the enemy ran past, some of his polemarchs with their regiments nevertheless succeeded in charging upon them.

The Thebans, however, hurled their spears from the hill-tops, so that Alypetus, one of the polemarchs, was struck and killed; but in spite of that the Thebans were put to flight from this hill also. Consequently the Sciritans and some of the horsemen climbed the hill and showered blows upon the hind-most of the Thebans as they rushed past them toward the city.

As soon as they got near the wall, however, the Thebans turned about; and the Sciritans, upon seeing them, fell back at a faster pace than a walk. Now not one of them was killed; nevertheless, the Thebans set up a trophy, because after climbing the hill the Sciritans had retired.

As for Agesilaus, when it was time for him to do so, he withdrew and encamped at the very spot where he had seen the enemy drawn up; then on the following day he led his army away by the road to Thespiae. But since the peltasts who were mercenaries in the service of the Thebans clung boldly at his heels, and kept calling out to Chabrias because he was not doing the same, the horsemen of the Olynthians — for they were now serving with the Lacedaemonians in accordance with their sworn agreement — wheeled about and, once in pursuit of the peltasts, chased them on up a slope and killed very many of them; for when going up a hill where the riding is good foot-soldiers are quickly overtaken by horsemen.

Now when Agesilaus had arrived at Thespiae, finding that the citizens were involved in factional strife, and that those who said they were supporters of Lacedaemon wanted to put to death their opponents, of whom Menon was one, he did not allow this proceeding; but he reconciled them and compelled them to give oaths to one another, and then, this being accomplished, he came back again by way of Cithaeron, taking the road leading to Megara. From there he dismissed the allies and led his citizen troops back home.

The Thebans were now greatly pinched for want of corn, because they had got no crops from their land for two years; they therefore sent men and two triremes to Pagasae after corn, giving them ten talents. But while they were buying up the corn, Alcetas, the Lacedaemonian who was keeping guard in Oreus, manned three triremes, taking care that the fact should not be reported. And when the corn was on its way from Pagasae, Alcetas captured both corn and triremes, and made prisoners of the men, who were not fewer than three hundred in number. These men he then shut up in the Acropolis, where he himself had his quarters.

Now since, as the story ran, there was a boy of Oreus, an extremely fine lad too, who was always in attendance upon him, Alcetas went down from the Acropolis and occupied himself with this boy. Accordingly the prisoners, observing his carelessness, seized the Acropolis, and the city revolted; so that thereafter the Thebans brought in supplies of corn easily.

As the spring came on again, Agesilaus was confined to his bed. For when he was leading his army back from Thebes, and, in Megara, was ascending from the Aphrodisium to the government building, some vein or other was ruptured, and the blood from his body poured into his sound leg. Then as the lower part of his leg became immensely swollen and the pain unendurable, a Syracusan surgeon opened the vein at his ankle. But when once the blood had begun to flow, it ran night and day, and with all they could do they were unable to check the flow until he lost consciousness; then, however, it stopped. So it came about that after being carried back to Lacedaemon he was ill the rest of the summer and throughout the winter.

The Lacedaemonians, however, when spring was just beginning, again called out the ban and directed Cleombrotus to take command. Now when he arrived at Cithaeron with the army, his peltasts went on ahead for the purpose of occupying in advance the heights above the road. But some of the Thebans and Athenians who were already in possession of the summit allowed the peltasts to pursue their ascent for a time, but when they were close upon them, rose from their concealment, pursued them, and killed about forty. After this had happened, Cleombrotus, in the belief that it was impossible to cross over the mountain into the country of the Thebans, led back and disbanded his army.

When the allies gathered together at Lacedaemon, speeches were forthcoming from them to the effect that, through slackness in prosecuting the war, they were going to be worn out by it. For they said it was within their power to man far more ships than the Athenians had and to capture their city by starvation; and it was also within their power to transport an army across to Thebes in these same ships, steering for Phocis if they chose, or, if they chose, for Creusis.

Influenced by these considerations they manned sixty triremes, and Pollis was made admiral of them. And those who had conceived these views were not disappointed, for the Athenians were in fact as good as besieged; for while their corn ships got as far as Gerastus, they would not now venture to sail along the coast from that point, since the Lacedaemonian fleet was in the neighbourhood of Aegina, Ceos, and Andros. Then the Athenians, realizing the necessity that was upon them, went on board their ships themselves, joined battle with Pollis under the leadership of Chabrias, and were victorious in the battle. Thus the corn was brought in for the Athenians.

Again, while the Lacedaemonians were preparing to transport an army across the gulf to proceed against the Boeotians, the Thebans requested the Athenians to send an expedition around Peloponnesus, believing that if this were done it would not be possible for the Lacedaemonians at one and the same time to guard their own country and likewise the allied cities in their neighbourhood, and also to send across an army large enough to oppose themselves, the Thebans.

And the Athenians, angry as they were with the Lacedaemonians on account of Sphodrias’ act, did eagerly dispatch the expedition around Peloponnesus, manning sixty ships and choosing Timotheus as their commander. Now since the enemy had not invaded the territory of Thebes in the year when Cleombrotus was in command of the army and did not do so in the year when Timotheus made his voyage, the Thebans boldly undertook expeditions against the neighbouring cities of Boeotia and recovered them a second time.

As for Timotheus, after he had sailed round Peloponnesus he brought Corcyra at once under his control; he did not, however, enslave the inhabitants or banish individuals or change the government. As a result of this he made all the states in that region more favourably inclined to him. The

Lacedaemonians, however, manned a fleet to oppose him, and sent out Nicolochus, a very daring man, as admiral; and as soon as he sighted the ships under Timotheus, he did not delay, even though six of his ships, those from Ambracia, were not with him, but with fifty-five ships he joined battle with those under Timotheus, which numbered sixty. And at that time he was defeated, and Timotheus set up a trophy at Alyzeia.

But when the ships of Timotheus had been hauled up and were being refitted, and meanwhile the six Ambraciot triremes had joined Nicolochus, he sailed to Alyzeia, where Timotheus was. And since the latter did not put out against him, he in his turn set up a trophy on the nearest islands. When, however, Timotheus finished refitting the ships which he had and had manned, besides, others from Corcyra, the whole number of his ships now amounting to more than seventy, he was far superior to the enemy in the size of his fleet. But he kept sending for money from Athens; for he needed a great deal, inasmuch as he had a great many ships.

The Athenians and Lacedaemonians, then, were occupied with these things. As for the Thebans, after they had subdued the cities in Boeotia they made an expedition into Phocis also. And when the Phocians, on their side, sent ambassadors to Lacedaemon and said that unless the Lacedaemonians came to their assistance they would not be able to escape yielding to the Thebans, thereupon the Lacedaemonians sent Cleombrotus, the king, across to Phocis by sea, and with him four regiments of their own and the corresponding contingents of the allies.

At about this time Polydamas of Pharsalus also arrived from Thessaly and presented himself before the general assembly of the Lacedaemonians. This man was not only held in very high repute throughout all Thessaly, but in his own city was regarded as so honourable a man that, when the Pharsalians fell into factional strife, they put their Acropolis in his hands and entrusted to him the duty of receiving the revenues, and of expending, both for religious purposes and for the administration in general, all the sums which were prescribed in their laws.

And he did, in fact, use these funds to guard the Acropolis and keep it safe for them, and likewise to administer their other affairs, rendering them an account yearly. And whenever there was a deficit he made it up from his own private purse, and whenever there was a surplus of revenue he paid himself back. Besides, he was hospitable and magnificent, after the Thessalian manner. Now when this man arrived at Lacedaemon he spoke as follows:

Men of Lacedaemon, I am your diplomatic agent and benefactor, as all my ancestors have been of whom we have any knowledge; I therefore deem it proper, if I am in any difficulty, to come to you, and if any trouble is gathering for you in Thessaly, to make it known to you. Now you also, I am very sure, often hear the name of Jason spoken, for the man has great power and is famous. This man, after concluding a truce with my city, had a meeting with me and spoke as follows:

Polydamas, that I could bring over your city, Pharsalus, even against its will, you may conclude from the following facts. You know, he said, that I have as allies the greater number and the largest of the cities of Thessaly; and I subdued them when you were with them in the field against me. Furthermore, you are aware that I have men of other states as mercenaries to the number of six thousand, with whom, as I think, no city could easily contend. As for numbers, he said, of course as great a force might march out of some other city also; but armies made up of citizens include men who are already advanced in years and others who have not yet come to their prime. Furthermore, in every city very few men train their bodies, but among my mercenaries no one serves unless he is able to endure as severe toils as I myself.

And he himself — for I must tell you the truth — is exceedingly strong of body and a lover of toil besides. Indeed, he makes trial every day of the men under him, for in full armour he leads them, both on the parade-ground and whenever he is on a campaign anywhere. And whomsoever among his mercenaries he finds to be weaklings he casts out, but whomsoever he sees to be fond of toil and fond of the dangers of war he rewards, some with double pay, others with triple pay, others even with quadruple pay, and with gifts besides, as well as with care in sickness and magnificence in burial; so that all the mercenaries in his service know that martial prowess assures to them a life of greatest honour and abundance.

He pointed out to me, further, although I knew it before, that he already had as subjects the Maracians, the Dolopians, and Alcetas, the ruler in Epirus. Therefore, he said, what have I to fear that I should not expect to subdue you easily? To be sure, one who did not know me might perhaps retort, Then why do you delay, instead of prosecuting your campaign against the Pharsalians at once? Because, by Zeus, it seems to me to be altogether better to bring you over to my side willingly rather than unwillingly. For if you were constrained by force, you, on the one hand, would be planning whatever harm you could against me, and I, on the other, should be wanting to keep you as weak as I could; but if it was through persuasion that you joined with me, it is clear that we should advance one another’s interests to the best of our ability.

Now I know, Polydamas, that your city looks to you, and if you make her friendly to me I promise you, he said, that I will make you the greatest, next to myself, of all the men in Greece; and what manner of fortune it is wherein I offer you the second place, hear from me, and believe nothing that I say unless upon consideration it appears to you true. Well, then, this is plain to us, that if Pharsalus and the cities which are dependent upon you should be added to my power, I could easily become Tagus of all the Thessalians; and, further, that whenever Thessaly is under a Tagus, her horsemen amount to six thousand and more than ten thousand men become hoplites.

And when I see both their bodies and their high spirit, I think that if one should handle them rightly, there would be no people to whom the Thessalians would deign to be subject. Again, while Thessaly is an exceedingly flat land, all the peoples round about are subject to her as soon as a Tagus is established here; and almost all who dwell in these neighbouring regions are javelin-men, so that it is likely that our force would be far superior in peltasts also.

Furthermore, the Boeotians and all the others who are at war with the Lacedaemonians are my allies, and they are ready to be my followers, too, if only I free them from the Lacedaemonians. The Athenians also, I know very well, would do anything to become allies of ours, but I do not think it best to establish a friendship with them; for I believe that I could obtain empire by sea even more easily than by land.

To see whether my calculations are reasonable, he said, consider these points also. With Macedonia in our possession, the place from which the Athenians get their timber, we shall of course be able to construct far more ships than they. Again, who are likely to be better able to supply these ships with men, the Athenians or ourselves, who have so many serfs of so excellent a sort? And who are likely to be better able to maintain the sailors, we, who on account of our abundance even have corn to export to other lands, or the Athenians, who have not even enough for themselves unless they buy it?

Then as for money, we surely should be likely to enjoy a greater abundance of it, for we should not be looking to little islands for our revenues, but drawing upon the resources of peoples of the continent. For of course all who are round about us pay tribute as soon as Thessaly is under a Tagus. And you certainly know that it is by drawing upon the resources, not of islands, but of a continent, that the King of the Persians is the richest of mortals; and yet I think that it is even easier to reduce him to subjection than to reduce Greece. For I know that everybody there, save one person, has trained himself to servitude rather than to prowess, and I know what manner of force it was — both that which went up with Cyrus and that which went up with Agesilaus — that brought the King to extremities.

Now in answer to these statements I replied that while the other matters which he mentioned were worth considering, nevertheless for people who were friends of the Lacedaemonians to secede and go over to their enemies without having any charge to bring against them — this, I said, seemed to me to be impracticable. He thereupon, after commending me and saying that he must cling to me the more because I was that sort of a man, permitted me to come to you and say the truth, that he was intending to undertake a campaign against the Pharsalians if we did not yield to him. Therefore he bade me ask assistance from you. And if, said he, the gods grant that you persuade them to send a supporting force large enough to make war with me, so be it, he said, and let us abide by whatever may be the result of the war; but if it seems to you that they do not give you adequate assistance, would you not justly be blameless thenceforth if you should follow the course that is best for your city, which honours you?

It is about these matters, then, that I have come to you, and I tell you the whole situation there as I myself see it and have heard it from his lips. And I believe that this is the case, men of Lacedaemon, that if you send thither a force such as shall seem, not to me only, but also to the rest of the Thessalians, large enough to make war upon Jason, the cities will revolt from him; for all of them are afraid of the lengths to which the man’s power will go. But if you imagine that emancipated Helots and a private individual as commander will suffice, I advise you to remain quiet.

For, be well assured, the war will be against strong forces and against a man who is so sagacious a general that whatsoever he undertakes to accomplish, whether it be by secrecy, or by getting ahead of an enemy, or by sheer force, he is not very apt to fail of his object. For he is able to make as good use of night as of day, and when he is in haste, to take breakfast and dinner together and go on with his labours. And he thinks it is proper to rest only after he has reached the goal for which he had set out and has accomplished the things that are needful; moreover, he has accustomed his followers also to the same habits. Yet he also knows how to satisfy the wishes of his soldiers when by added toils they have achieved some success; so that all who are with him have learned this lesson too, that from toils come indulgences.

Again, he has greater self-control than any man I know as regards the pleasures of the body, so that he is not prevented by such things, either, from doing always what needs to be done. Consider, therefore, and tell me, as beseems you, what you will be able to do and intend to do.

Thus he spoke. As for the Lacedaemonians, at the time they deferred their answer; but after reckoning up on the next day and on the third their regiments abroad, to see how many they numbered, and the regiments which were in the vicinity of Lacedaemon to be employed against the triremes of the Athenians and for the war upon their neighbours, they replied that at present they could not send him an adequate supporting force, and told him to go home and arrange his own affairs and those of his city as best he could.

He, then, after commending the straightforwardness of the state, departed. And he begged Jason not to force him to give over the Acropolis of the Pharsalians, his wish being that he might still keep it safe for those who had put it into his hands; but he gave his own children to Jason as hostages, with the promise not only to win over the city and make it his willing ally, but also to help in establishing him as Tagus. When, accordingly, they had exchanged pledges with one another, the Pharsalians at once observed peace, and Jason was speedily established by common consent as Tagus of the Thessalians.

Having become Tagus, he assessed the contingents of cavalry and hoplites that the cities were to furnish, according to the ability of each. And the result was that he had more than eight thousand horsemen, including the allies, his hoplites were reckoned at not fewer than twenty thousand, and there were peltasts enough to be set in array against the whole world; for it is a task even to enumerate the cities which furnished them. Further, he sent orders to all who dwelt round about to pay the same tribute as had been fixed in the time of Scopas. Thus these events were proceeding to their issue; I now return to the point at which I digressed when I took up the story of Jason.

The Lacedaemonians, then, and their allies were gathering together in Phocis, and the Thebans had withdrawn to their own country and were guarding the passes. As for the Athenians, since they saw that the Thebans were growing in power through their help and still were not contributing money for their fleet, while they were themselves being worn out by extraordinary taxes, by plundering expeditions from Aegina, and by guarding their territory, they conceived a desire to cease from the war, and sending ambassadors to Lacedaemon, concluded peace.

Two of the Athenian ambassadors, acting in accordance with a decree of the state, sailed directly from there and gave orders to Timotheus to sail back home, inasmuch as there was peace; as he was sailing back, however, he landed in their country the exiles of the Zacynthians.

And when the Zacynthians in the city sent to the Lacedaemonians and told them the sort of treatment they had received at the hands of Timotheus, the Lacedaemonians immediately deemed the Athenians guilty of wrong-doing, set about preparing a fleet again, and fixed the proportionate contingents, for a total of sixty ships, from Lacedaemon itself, Corinth, Leucas, Ambracia, Elis, Zacynthus, Achaea, Epidaurus, Troezen, Hermion, and Haliae.

Then they put Mnasippus in command of this fleet as admiral and directed him to look after all their interests in that part of the sea, and especially to make an expedition against Corcyra. They likewise sent to Dionysius, pointing out that it was advantageous to him also that Corcyra should not be under the Athenians.

Mnasippus, accordingly, as soon as his fleet had been gathered together, set sail to Corcyra; and besides the troops from Lacedaemon who served with him he also had no fewer than one thousand five hundred mercenaries.

Now when he had disembarked he was master of the country, laid waste the land, which was most beautifully cultivated and planted, and destroyed magnificent dwellings and wine-cellars with which the farms were furnished; the result was, it was said, that his soldiers became so luxurious that they would not drink any wine unless it had a fine bouquet. Furthermore, very many slaves and cattle were captured on the farms.

Afterwards he encamped with his land forces on a hill which was distant from the city about five stadia and situated between the city and the country, so that he might from there intercept any of the Corcyraeans who might try to go out to their lands; then he had the sailors from his ships encamp on the other side of the city, at a point from which he thought they would observe in good time any vessels that approached and prevent their coming in. In addition he also maintained a blockade at the mouth of the harbour when the weather did not interfere.

In this way, then, he held the city besieged.When the Corcyraeans found themselves unable to get anything from their farms because they were overmastered by land, while on the other hand nothing was brought in to them by water because they were overmastered by sea, they were in great straits.

Accordingly, sending to the Athenians, they begged them to come to their assistance, and pointed out that they would lose a great advantage if they were deprived of Corcyra, and would add great strength to their enemies; for from no other state, they said, except Athens, could come a greater number of ships or a greater amount of money. Further, Corcyra was situated in a favourable position with respect to the Corinthian Gulf and the states which reach down to its shores, in a favourable position for doing damage to the territory of Laconia, and in an extremely favourable position with respect to Epirus across the way and the coastwise route from Sicily to Peloponnesus.

When the Athenians heard these things they came to the conclusion that they must give serious care to the matter, and they sent out Ctesicles as general with about six hundred peltasts and requested Alcetas to help to convey them across.

Accordingly these troops were brought across by night to a place in the country of Corcyra, and made their way into the city. The Athenians also voted to man sixty ships, and elected Timotheus as commander of them.

But he was unable to man his ships at Athens, and therefore set sail for the islands and endeavoured to complete his crews there, thinking that it was a serious matter to sail light-heartedly around Peloponnesus to attack ships with well-trained crews.

The Athenians, however, believing that he was using up the time of the year which was favourable for his voyage, did not pardon him, but deposed him from his office and chose Iphicrates in his place.

As soon as he assumed office, he proceeded to man his ships expeditiously, and compelled his captains to do their duty. He also obtained from the Athenians whatever war-ships were cruising here or there in the neighbourhood of Attica, as well as the Paralus and the Salaminia, saying that if matters in Corcyra turned out successfully, he would send them back many ships. And his ships amounted in all to about seventy.

Meanwhile the Corcyraeans were suffering so greatly from hunger that on account of the number of the deserters Mnasippus issued a proclamation directing that whoever deserted should be sold into slavery. And when they kept on deserting none the less, at last he even tried to drive them back with the scourge. Those in the city, however, would not admit the slaves within the wall again, and many died outside.

Now Mnasippus, seeing these things, and believing that he all but had possession of the city already, was trying innovations with his mercenaries. He had before this dismissed some of them from his service, and he now owed those who remained as much as two months’ pay. This was not, so it was said, because he lacked money, for most of the states had sent him money instead of men, because it was an overseas expedition.

Now the people in the city, observing from their towers that the enemy’s posts were less carefully guarded than formerly, and that the men were scattered through the country, made a sally, capturing some of them and cutting down others.

When Mnasippus perceived this, he put on his armour and went to the rescue himself, with all the hoplites he had, and at the same time ordered the captains and commanders of divisions to lead forth the mercenaries.

And when some captains replied that it was not easy to keep men obedient unless they were given provisions, he struck one of them with a staff and another with the spike of his spear. So it was, then, that when his forces issued from the city with him they were all dispirited and hostile to him — a situation that is by no means conducive to fighting.

Now after he had formed the troops in line, Mnasippus himself turned to flight those of the enemy who were in front of the gates, and pursued them. When, however, these came near the wall, they turned about, and from the tombstones threw spears and javelins upon the Lacedaemonians; meanwhile others sallied out by the other gates and in mass formation attacked those who were at the extreme end of the line.

These latter, who were drawn up only eight deep, thinking that the outer end of the phalanx was too weak, undertook to swing it around upon itself. But as soon as they began the backward movement, the enemy fell upon them, in the belief that they were in flight, and they did not go on and swing forward; furthermore, those who were next to them also began to flee.

As for Mnasippus, while he was unable to aid the troops which were hard pressed, because the enemy was attacking him in front, he was left with an ever smaller number of men. Finally, all of the enemy massed themselves together and charged upon Mnasippus and his troops, which were by this time very few. And the citizens, seeing what was going on, came out to join in the attack.

Then after they had killed Mnasippus, all straightway joined in the pursuit. And they probably would have captured the very camp, along with its stockade, had not the pursuers turned back upon seeing the crowd of camp-followers, of attendants, and of slaves, imagining that there was some fighting ability in them.

At this time, accordingly, the Corcyraeans set up a trophy and gave back the bodies of the dead under a truce. And after this the people in the city were stouter of heart, while those outside were in the utmost despondency. For there was not only a report that Iphicrates was already practically at hand, but the Corcyraeans were in fact also manning ships.

Then Hypermenes, who chanced to be vice-admiral under Mnasippus, manned fully the entire fleet which he had there, and after sailing round to the stockade and filling all his transports with the slaves and the captured property, sent them off; he himself, however, with his marines and such of the soldiers as had been left alive, kept guard over the stockade;

but finally they, too, embarked upon the triremes in great confusion and went sailing off, leaving behind them a great deal of corn, much wine, and many slaves and sick soldiers; for they were exceedingly afraid that they would be caught on the island by the Athenians. And so they reached Leucas in safety.

As for Iphicrates, when he began his voyage around Peloponnesus he went on with all needful preparations for a naval battle as he sailed; for at the outset he had left his large sails behind him at Athens, since he expected to fight, and now, further, he made but slight use of his smaller sails, even if the wind was favourable; by making his voyage, then, with the oar, he kept his men in better condition of body and caused the ships to go faster.

Furthermore, whenever the expedition was going to take the noonday or the evening meal at any particular spot, he would often draw back the head of the column from the shore opposite the place in question; then he would turn the line around again, cause the triremes to head toward the land, and start them off at a signal to race to the shore. It was counted a great prize of victory to be the first to get water or anything else they needed, and the first to get their meal. On the other hand, those who reached the shore last incurred a great penalty in that they came off worse in all these points, and in the fact that they had to put to sea again at the same time as the rest when the signal was given; for the result was that those who came in first did everything at their leisure, while those who came in last had to hurry.

Again, in setting watches, if he chanced to be taking the midday meal in a hostile country, he posted some on the land, as is proper, but besides he hoisted the masts on the ships and had men keep watch from their tops. These men, therefore, could see much farther, from their higher point of view, than those on the level. Further, wherever he dined or slept, he would not have a fire inside the camp during the night, but kept a light burning in front of his forces, so that no one could approach unobserved. Frequently, however, if it was good weather, he would put to sea again immediately after dining; and if there was a favourable breeze, they sailed and rested at the same time, while if it was necessary to row, he rested the sailors by turns.

Again, when he sailed by day, he would lead the fleet, by signals, at one time in column and at another in line of battle; so that, while still pursuing their voyage, they had at the same time practised and become skilled in all the manoeuvres of battle before they reached the sea which, as they supposed, was held by the enemy. And although for the most part they took both their noonday and their evening meals in the enemy’s country, nevertheless, by doing only the necessary things, he always got to sea before the enemy’s forces arrived to repel him and speedily got under way again.

At the time of Mnasippus’ death Iphicrates chanced to be near the Sphagiae. Then, after reaching Elis and sailing past the mouth of the Alpheus, he anchored beneath the promontory called Ichthys. From there he put to sea on the following day for Cephallenia, having his fleet in such order and making the voyage in such a way that, if it should be necessary to fight, he should be ready in all essential respects to do so. For he had not heard the news of Mnasippus’ death from any eyewitness, but suspected that it was told to deceive him, and hence was on his guard; when he arrived at Cephallenia, however, he there got definite information, and so rested his forces.

Now I am aware that all these matters of practice and training are customary whenever men expect to engage in a battle by sea, but that which I commend in Iphicrates is this, that when it was incumbent upon him to arrive speedily at the place where he supposed he should fight with the enemy, he discovered a way to keep his men from being either, by reason of the voyage they had made, unskilled in the tactics of fighting at sea, or, by reason of their having been trained in such tactics, any the more tardy in arriving at their destination.

After subduing the cities in Cephallenia he sailed to Corcyra. There, upon hearing that ten triremes were sailing thither from Dionysius to aid the Lacedaemonians, he first went in person and looked over the ground to find a point from which any who approached the island could be seen and the men stationed there to send signals to the city would be visible; he then stationed his watchers at that point.

He also agreed with them as to how they were to signal when the enemy were approaching and when they were at anchor. Then he gave his orders to twenty of the captains, whose duty it should be to follow him when the herald gave the word; and in case anyone failed to follow, he warned him that he would not have occasion to find fault with his punishment. Now when the signal came that the triremes were approaching, and when the word was given by the herald, the ardour of all was a sight worth seeing; for there was no one among those who were to sail who did not run to get aboard his ship.

When Iphicrates had reached the place where the enemy’s triremes were, he found the crews of all save one already disembarked on the shore, but Melanippus, the Rhodian, had not only advised the others not to remain there, but had manned his own ship and was sailing out to sea. Now although he met the ships of Iphicrates, he nevertheless escaped, but all the ships from Syracuse were captured, along with their crews.

Thereupon Iphicrates cut off the beaks and towed the triremes into the harbour of Corcyra; as for the crews, he concluded an agreement that each man should pay a fixed ransom, with the exception of Crinippus the commander, whom he kept under guard, intending either to exact a very large ransom or to sell him. Crinippus, however, was so mortified that he died by a self-inflicted death, and Iphicrates let the rest go, accepting Corcyraeans as sureties for the ransoms.

Now he maintained his sailors for the most part by having them work for the Corcyraeans on their lands; the peltasts, however, and the hoplites from his ships he took with him and crossed over to Acarnania. There he gave aid to the cities which were friendly, in case any of them needed aid, and made war upon the Thyrians, who were very valiant men and were in possession of a very strong fortress.

Furthermore, he took over the fleet which was at Corcyra, and with almost ninety ships first sailed to Cephallenia and collected money, in some cases with the consent of the people, in other cases against their will. Then he made preparations to inflict damage upon the territory of the Lacedaemonians, and to bring over to his side such of the other hostile states in that region as were willing and to make war upon such as would not yield.

Now for my part I not only commend this campaign in particular among all the campaigns of Iphicrates, but I commend, further, his directing the Athenians to choose as his colleagues Callistratus, the popular orator, who was not very favourably inclined toward him, and Chabrias, who was regarded as a very good general. For if he thought them to be able men and hence wished to take them as advisers, he seems to me to have done a wise thing, while on the other hand if he believed them to be his adversaries and wished in so bold a way to prove that he was neither remiss nor neglectful in any point, this seems to me to be the act of a man possessed of great confidence in himself. He, then, was occupied with these things.

Meanwhile the Athenians, seeing that the Plataeans, who were their friends, had been expelled from Boeotia and had fled to them for refuge, and that the Thespians were beseeching them not to allow them to be left without a city, no longer commended the Thebans, but, on the contrary, while they were partly ashamed to make war upon them and partly reckoned it to be inexpedient, they nevertheless refused any longer to take part with them in what they were doing, inasmuch as they saw that they were campaigning against the Phocians, who were old friends of the Athenians, and were annihilating cities which had been faithful in the war against the barbarian and were friendly to Athens.

For these reasons the Athenian people voted to make peace, and in the first place sent ambassadors to Thebes to invite the Thebans to go with them to Lacedaemon to treat for peace if they so desired; then they sent ambassadors to Lacedaemon themselves. Among those who were chosen were Callias, the son of Hipponicus; Autocles, the son of Strombichides; Demostratus, the son of Aristophon; Aristocles, Cephisodotus, Melanopus, and Lycaethus.

Callistratus, the popular orator, also went with the embassy; for he had promised Iphicrates that if he would let him go home, he would either send money for the fleet or bring about peace, and consequently he had been at Athens and engaged in efforts to secure peace; and when the ambassadors came before the assembly of the Lacedaemonians and the representatives of their allies, the first of them who spoke was Callias, the torch-bearer. He was the sort of man to enjoy no less being praised by himself than by others, and on this occasion he began in about the following words:

Men of Lacedaemon, as regards the position I hold as your diplomatic agent, I am not the only member of our family who has held it, but my father’s father received it from his father and handed it on to his descendants; and I also wish to make clear to you how highly esteemed we have been by our own state. For whenever there is war she chooses us as generals, and whenever she becomes desirous of tranquillity she sends us out as peacemakers. I, for example, have twice before now come here to treat for a termination of war, and on both these embassies I succeeded in achieving peace both for you and for ourselves; now for a third time I am come, and it is now, I believe, that with greater justice than ever before I should obtain a reconciliation between us.

For I see that you do not think one way and we another, but that you as well as we are distressed over the destruction of Plataea and Thespiae. How, then, is it not fitting that men who hold the same views should be friends of one another rather than enemies? Again, it is certainly the part of wise men not to undertake war even if they should have differences, if they be slight; but if, in fact, we should actually find ourselves in complete agreement, should we not be astounding fools not to make peace?

The right course, indeed, would have been for us not to take up arms against one another in the beginning, since the tradition is that the first strangers to whom Triptolemus, our ancestor, revealed the mystic rites of Demeter and Core were Heracles, your state’s founder, and the Dioscuri, your citizens; and, further, that it was upon Peloponnesus that he first bestowed the seed of Demeter’s fruit. How, then, can it be right, either that you should ever come to destroy the fruit of those very men from whom you received the seed, or that we should not desire those very men, to whom we gave the seed, to obtain the greatest possible abundance of food? But if it is indeed ordered of the gods that wars should come among men, then we ought to begin war as tardily as we can, and, when it has come, to bring it to an end as speedily as possible.

After him Autocles, who had the reputation of being a very incisive orator, spoke as follows: Men of Lacedaemon, that what I am about to say will not be said to your pleasure, I am not unaware; but it seems to me that men who desire the friendship which they may establish to endure for the longest possible time, ought to point out to one another the causes of their wars. Now you always say, The cities must be independent, but you are yourselves the greatest obstacle in the way of their independence. For the first stipulation you make with your allied cities is this, that they follow wherever you may lead. And yet how is this consistent with independence?

And you make for yourselves enemies without taking counsel with your allies, and against those enemies you lead them; so that frequently they who are said to be independent are compelled to take the field against men most friendly to themselves. Furthermore — and there can be nothing in the world more opposed to independence — you establish governments of ten here and governments of thirty there; and in the case of these rulers your care is, not that they shall rule according to law, but that they shall be able to hold possession of their cities by force. So that you manifestly take pleasure in despotisms rather than in free governments.

Again, when the King directed that the cities be independent, you showed yourselves strongly of the opinion that if the Thebans did not allow each one of their cities, not only to rule itself, but also to live under whatever laws it chose, they would not be acting in accordance with the King’s writing; but when you had seized the Cadmea, you did not permit even the Thebans themselves to be independent. The right thing, however, is that those who are going to be friends should not insist upon obtaining their full rights from others, and then show themselves disposed to grasp the most they can.

By these words he caused silence on the part of all, while at the same time he gave pleasure to those who were angry with the Lacedaemonians. After him Callistratus said: Men of Lacedaemon, that mistakes have not been made, both on our side and on yours, I for one do not think I could assert; but I do not hold to the opinion that one ought never again to have any dealings with people who make mistakes. For I see that no one in the world remains always free from error. And it seems to me that through making mistakes men sometimes become even easier to deal with, especially if they have incurred punishment in consequence of their mistakes, as we have.

In your own case, also, I see that sometimes many reverses result from the things you have done with too little judgment, among which was, in fact, the seizure of the Cadmea in Thebes; now, at any rate, the cities which you were eager to make independent have all, in consequence of the wrong done to the Thebans, fallen again under their power. Hence I hope that now, when we have been taught that to seek selfish advantage is unprofitable, we shall again be reasonable in our friendship with each other.

Now touching the slanderous allegations of certain people who wish to defeat the peace, to the effect that we have come here, not because we desire friendship, but rather because we fear that Antalcidas may arrive with money from the King, consider how foolishly they are talking. For the King directed, as you know, that all the cities in Greece were to be independent; why then should we, who agree with the King in both word and deed, be afraid of him? Or does anyone imagine that the King prefers to spend money and make others great, rather than, without expense, to have those things accomplished for him which he judged to be best?

So much for that. Why, then, have we come? That it surely is not because we are in straits, you could discover, if you please, by looking at the situation by sea or, if you please, at the situation by land at the present time. What, then, is the reason? Manifestly that some of our allies are doing what is not pleasing to us. And perhaps we also should like to show you the gratitude we rightly conceived toward you because you preserved us.

Furthermore, to mention also the matter of expediency, there are, of course, among all the cities of Greece, some that take your side and others that take ours, and in each single city some people favour the Lacedaemonians and others the Athenians. If, therefore, we should become friends, from what quarter could we with reason expect any trouble? For who could prove strong enough to vex us by land if you were our friends? And who could do you any harm by sea if we were favourably inclined toward you?

Moreover, we all know that wars are forever breaking out and being concluded, and that we — if not now, still at some future time — shall desire peace again. Why, then, should we wait for the time when we shall have become exhausted by a multitude of ills, and not rather conclude peace as quickly as possible before anything irremediable happens?

Again, I for my part do not commend those men who, when they have become competitors in the games and have already been victorious many times and enjoy fame, are so fond of contest that they do not stop until they are defeated and so end their athletic training; nor on the other hand do I commend those dicers who, if they win one success, throw for double stakes, for I see that the majority of such people become utterly impoverished.

We, then, seeing these things, ought never to engage in a contest of such a sort that we shall either win all or lose all, but ought rather to become friends of one another while we are still strong and successful. For thus we through you, and you through us, could play even a greater part in Greece than in times gone by.

Since these men were adjudged to have spoken rightly, the Lacedaemonians voted to accept the peace, with the provision that all should withdraw their governors from the cities, disband their armaments both on sea and on land, and leave the cities independent. And if any state should act in violation of this agreement, it was provided that any which so desired might aid the injured cities, but that any which did not so desire was not under oath to be the ally of those who were injured.

On these terms the Lacedaemonians took the oath for themselves and their allies, while the Athenians and their allies took the oath severally, city by city. The Thebans also signed their names among the cities which had sworn, but on the following day their ambassadors came in again and demanded that the writing be changed to read that the Boeotians instead of the Thebans had sworn. Agesilaus, however, replied that he would change no part of what they had sworn to and signed in the first place; but if they did not wish to be included in the treaty, he said that he would strike out their names if they so directed.

When, accordingly, under these circumstances the others had concluded peace, while the only controversy was with the Thebans, the Athenians were of the opinion that now there was hope that the Thebans would be decimated, as the common saying puts it, and as for the Thebans themselves, they went home utterly despondent.

After this the Athenians, on their side, proceeded to withdraw their garrisons from the cities and to send after Iphicrates and his ships, and they compelled him to give back everything which he had captured after the time when the oaths were taken at Lacedaemon.

But the Lacedaemonians, on the other hand, while they withdrew both their governors and their garrisons from all the other cities, did not follow this course in the case of Cleombrotus, who was at the head of the army in Phocis and now asked the authorities at home what he should do. Prothous did indeed say that it seemed to him they ought first to disband the army in accordance with their oaths and send round word to the various cities to make contributions, as large as each city chose to make, to the temple of Apollo, and afterwards, in case anyone tried to prevent the cities from being independent, to call together again at that time all who wished to support the cause of independence and lead them against those who opposed it; for he thought, he continued, that in this way the gods would be most favourably inclined toward them and the cities would be least annoyed.

The Lacedaemonian assembly, however, upon hearing these words, came to the conclusion that he was talking nonsense; for at this moment, as it seems, Fate was leading them on; and they sent orders to Cleombrotus not to disband his army, but to lead it at once against the Thebans if they did not leave the cities independent. When, therefore, he learned that, so far from leaving the cities independent, the Thebans were not even disbanding their army, in order that they might marshal themselves against him, under these circumstances he undertook to lead his troops into Boeotia.Now Cleombrotus did not enter Boeotia from Phocis at the point where the Thebans expected him to enter and where they were keeping guard at a narrow pass; but proceeding by way of Thisbae along a mountainous and unexpected route, he arrived at Creusis, captured its wall, and took twelve triremes belonging to the Thebans.

After accomplishing this exploit and marching up from the sea-coast, he encamped at Leuctra, in the territory of Thespiae. And the Thebans encamped on the opposite hill not very far away, with no allies except the Boeotians. Then his friends went to Cleombrotus and said:

Cleombrotus, if you let the Thebans escape without a battle, you will be in danger of suffering the uttermost penalty at the hands of your state. For they will remember against you not only the time when you reached Cynoscephalae and laid waste no part of the country of the Thebans, but also the time when, on your later expedition, you were beaten back from effecting your entrace, although Agesilaus always made his entrance by way of Cithaeron. Therefore if you really have a care for yourself or a desire to see your fatherland again, you must lead against these men. Such were the words of his friends; but his opponents said: Now is the time when the man will make it clear whether he is in truth partial to the Thebans, as rumour has it.

Cleombrotus, then, as he heard these things was spurred on to join battle. The leaders of the Thebans, on the other hand, calculated that if they did not fight, the cities round about would revolt from them and they would themselves be besieged; further, that if the people of Thebes were thus cut off from provisions, the city itself would be in danger of turning against them. And since many of them had been in exile before, they estimated that it was better to die fighting than to be exiled again.

Besides this, they were also somewhat encouraged by the oracle which was reported — that the Lacedaemonians were destined to be defeated at the spot where stood the monument of the virgins, who are said to have killed themselves because they had been violated by certain Lacedaemonians. The Thebans accordingly decorated this monument before the battle. Furthermore, reports were brought to them from the city that all the temples were opening of themselves, and that the priestesses said that the gods revealed victory. And the messengers reported that from the Heracleium the arms also had disappeared, indicating that Heracles had gone forth to the battle. Some, to be sure, say that all these things were but devices of the leaders.

But in the battle, at any rate, everything turned out adversely for the Lacedaemonians, while for the other side everything went prosperously, even to the gifts of fortune. For it was after the morning meal that Cleombrotus held his last council over the battle, and drinking a little, as they did, at the middle of the day, it was said that the wine helped somewhat to excite them.

Again, when both sides were arming themselves and it was already evident that there would be a battle, in the first place, after those who had provided the market and some baggage-carriers and such as did not wish to fight had set out to withdraw from the Boeotian army, the Lacedaemonian mercenaries under Hieron, the peltasts of the Phocians, and, among the horsemen, the Heracleots and Phliasians made a circuit and fell upon these people as they were departing, and not only turned them about but chased them back to the camp of the Boeotians. Thereby they made the Boeotian army much larger and more densely massed than it had been before.

In the second place, since the space between the armies was a plain, the Lacedaemonians posted their horsemen in front of their phalanx, and the Thebans in like manner posted theirs over against them. Now the cavalry of the Thebans was in good training as a result of the war with the Orchomenians and the war with the Thespians, while the cavalry of the Lacedaemonians was exceedingly poor at that time.

For the richest men kept the horses, and it was only when the ban was called out that the appointed trooper presented himself; then he would get his horse and such arms as were given him, and take the field on the moment’s notice. As for the men, on the other hand, it was those who were least strong of body and least ambitious who were mounted on the horses.

Such, then, was the cavalry on either side. Coming now to the infantry, it was said that the Lacedaemonians led each half-company three files abreast, and that this resulted in the phalanx being not more than twelve men deep. The Thebans, however, were massed not less than fifty shields deep, calculating that if they conquered that part of the army which was around the king, all the rest of it would be easy to overcome.

Now when Cleombrotus began to lead his army against the enemy, in the first place, before the troops under him so much as perceived that he was advancing, the horsemen had already joined battle and those of the Lacedaemonians had speedily been worsted; then in their flight they had fallen foul of their own hoplites, and, besides, the companies of the Thebans were now charging upon them. Nevertheless, the fact that Cleombrotus and his men were at first victorious in the battle may be known from this clear indication: they would not have been able to take him up and carry him off still living, had not those who were fighting in front of him been holding the advantage at that time.

But when Deinon, the polemarch, Sphodrias, one of the king’s tent-companions, and Cleonymus, the son of Sphodrias, had been killed, then the royal bodyguard, the so-called aides of the polemarch, and the others fell back under the pressure of the Theban mass, while those who were on the left wing of the Lacedaemonians, when they saw that the right wing was being pushed back, gave way. Yet despite the fact that many had fallen and that they were defeated, after they had crossed the trench which chanced to be in front of their camp they grounded their arms at the spot from which they had set forth. The camp, to be sure, was not on ground which was altogether level, but rather on the slope of a hill. After the disaster some of the Lacedaemonians, thinking it unendurable, said that they ought to prevent the enemy from setting up their trophy and to try to recover the bodies of the dead, not by means of a truce, but by fighting.

The polemarchs, however, seeing that of the whole number of the Lacedaemonians almost a thousand had been killed; seeing, further, that among the Spartiatae themselves, of whom there were some seven hundred there, about four hundred had fallen; and perceiving that the allies were one and all without heart for fighting, while some of them were not even displeased at what had taken place, gathered together the most important personages and deliberated about what they should do. And as all thought it best to recover the bodies of the dead by a truce, they finally sent a herald to ask for a truce. After this, then, the Thebans set up a trophy and gave back the bodies under a truce.

After these things had happened, the messenger who was sent to carry the news of the calamity to Lacedaemon arrived there on the last day of the festival of the Gymnopaediae, when the chorus of men was in the theatre. And when the ephors heard of the disaster, they were indeed distressed, as, I conceive, was inevitable; yet they did not withdraw the chorus, but suffered it to finish its performance. Further, although they duly gave the names of the dead to their several kinsmen, they gave orders to the women not to make any outcry, but to bear the calamity in silence. And on the following day one could see those whose relatives had been killed going about in public with bright and cheerful faces, while of those whose relatives had been reported as living you would have seen but few, and these few walking about gloomy and downcast.

After this the ephors called out the ban of the two remaining regiments, going up as far as those who were forty years beyond the minimum military age; they also sent out all up to the same age who belonged to the regiments abroad; for in the original expedition to Phocis only those men who were not more than thirty-five years beyond the minimum age had served; furthermore, they ordered those who at that time had been left behind in public office to join their regiments.

Now Agesilaus as a result of his illness was not yet strong; accordingly the state directed Archidamus, his son, to act as commander. And the Tegeans served with him zealously; for the followers of Stasippus were still alive, who were favourable to the Lacedaemonians and had no slight power in their own state. Likewise the Mantineans from their villages supported him stoutly; for they chanced to be under an aristocratic government. Furthermore, the Corinthians, Sicyonians, Phliasians, and Achaeans followed him with all zeal, and other states also sent out soldiers. Meanwhile the Lacedaemonians themselves and the Corinthians manned triremes and requested the Sicyonians also to help them in so doing, intending to carry the army across the gulf on these ships.

And Archidamus accordingly offered his sacrifices at the frontier.As for the Thebans, immediately after the battle they sent to Athens a garlanded messenger, and while telling of the greatness of their victory, they at the same time urged the Athenians to come to their aid, saying that now it was possible to take vengeance upon the Lacedaemonians for all the harm they had done to them.

Now the Senate of the Athenians chanced to be holding its sitting on the Acropolis. And when they heard what had taken place, it was made clear to everyone that they were greatly distressed; for they did not invite the herald to partake of hospitality and about the matter of aid they gave him no answer. So the herald departed from Athens without having received a reply. But to Jason, who was their ally, the Thebans sent in haste, urging him to come to their aid; for they were debating among themselves how the future would turn out.

And Jason immediately proceeded to man triremes, as though he intended to go to their assistance by sea, but in fact he took his mercenary force and his bodyguard of cavalry and, although the Phocians were engaged in a bitter warfare against him, proceeded by land through their country into Boeotia, appearing in many of their towns before it was reported to them that he was on the march. At any rate, before they could gather troops together from here and there, he was already far on ahead, thus making it clear that in many cases it is speed rather than force which accomplishes the desired results.

But when he arrived in Boeotia and the Thebans said that now was the right moment to attack the Lacedaemonians, he with his mercenaries from the heights above and they by a frontal assault, Jason sought to dissuade them, pointing out that since they had done a good work, it was not worth while for them to venture a decisive engagement in which they would either accomplish yet greater things or would be deprived of the victory already gained.

Do you not see, he said, that in your own case it was when you found yourselves in straits that you won the victory? Therefore one must suppose that the Lacedaemonians also, if they were in like straits, would fight it out regardless of their lives. Besides, it seems that the deity often takes pleasure in making the small great and the great small.

With such words, then, he endeavoured to dissuade the Thebans from making the final venture; to the Lacedaemonians, on the other hand, he pointed out what manner of thing a defeated army was, and what an army victorious. And if you wish, he said, to forget the disaster which has befallen you, I advise you first to recover your breath and rest yourselves, and then, after you have become stronger, go into battle against men who are unconquered. But now, he said, be well assured that even among your allies there are those who are holding converse with the enemy about a treaty of friendship with them; by all means, then, try to obtain a truce. And I am myself eager for this, he said, out of a desire to save you, both because of my father’s friendship with you and because I am your diplomatic agent.

Such, then, were the arguments he urged, but he was acting perhaps with the purpose that these two parties, at variance as they were with one another, might both alike be in need of him. The Lacedaemonians, however, after hearing his words bade him negotiate for the truce; and when the report came that the truce had been made, the polemarchs gave orders that after dining all should have their baggage packed and ready with the purpose of setting out during the night, in order that at daybreak they might be climbing Cithaeron. But when the men had dined and before they went to rest, the polemarchs gave the order to follow, and led the way immediately upon the fall of evening by the road through Creusis, trusting to secrecy more than to the truce.

And proceeding with very great difficulty, since they were withdrawing at night and in fear and by a hard road, they arrived at Aegosthena in the territory of Megara. There they fell in with the army under Archidamus. And after waiting there until all the allies had joined him, Archidamus led back the whole army together as far as Corinth; from there he dismissed the allies and led the citizen troops back home.

As for Jason, on his way back through Phocis he captured the outer city of the Hyampolitans, laid waste their land, and killed many of them, but he passed through the rest of Phocis without any hostile act. Upon arriving at Heracleia, however, he destroyed the walled city of the Heracleots, manifestly having no fear that when this passage-way had been thus thrown open anyone would march against his own dominion, but rather making provision that none should seize Heracleia, situated as it was at a narrow pass, and block his way if he wanted to march to any place in Greece.

And when he had come back again to Thessaly, he was in great repute both because he had legally been made Tagus of the Thessalians and because he maintained about him many mercenaries, both foot-soldiers and horsemen, these moreover being troops which had been trained to the highest efficiency; his repute was yet greater by reason of his many allies, including, in addition to those whom he already had, also those who were desirous of becoming such. And he was the greatest of the men of his time in that he was not lightly to be despised by anyone soever.

Now when the Pythian festival was approaching, Jason sent orders to his cities to make ready cattle, sheep, goats, and swine for the sacrifice. And it was said that although he laid upon each city a very moderate demand, there were contributed no fewer than a thousand cattle and more than ten thousand of the other animals. He also made proclamation that a golden crown would be the prize of victory to the city which should rear the finest bull to lead the herd in honour of the god.

Furthermore, he gave orders to the Thessalians to make preparations for taking the field at the time of the Pythian festival; for he was intending, it was said, to be himself the director both of the festal assembly in honour of the god and of the games. What he intended, however, in regard to the sacred treasures, is even to this day uncertain; but it is said that when the Delphians asked the god what they should do if he tried to take any of his treasures, Apollo replied that he would himself take care of the matter.

At any rate this man, great as he was and purposing deeds so great and of such a kind, after he had held a review and inspection of the cavalry of the Pheraeans, and was now in his seat and making answer if anyone came to him with any request, was struck down and killed by seven young men who came up to him as though they had some quarrel with one another.

And when the guardsmen who attended him rushed stoutly to his aid, one of the young men, while still in the act of striking Jason, was pierced with a lance and killed; a second was caught while mounting his horse, suffered many wounds, and so was killed; but the rest leaped upon the horses which they had in readiness and escaped, and in most of the Greek cities to which they came they were honoured. This fact, indeed, made it plain that the Greeks had conceived a very great fear lest Jason should become tyrant.

When he had thus been slain, Polydorus, his brother, and Polyphron succeeded to the office of Tagus. Now Polydorus, while the two were on their way to Larisa, was killed at night in his sleep by Polyphron, his brother, as people thought; for his death was sudden and without manifest cause.

Then Polyphron, in his turn, held sway for a year, and made the office of Tagus like the rule of a tyrant. For in Pharsalus he put to death Polydamas and eight more of the best among the citizens, and from Larisa he drove many into exile. While thus engaged he, also, was slain by Alexander, who posed as avenger of Polydorus and destroyer of the tyranny.

But when Alexander had himself succeeded to the position of ruler, he proved a cruel Tagus to the Thessalians, a cruel enemy to the Thebans and Athenians, and an unjust robber both by land and by sea. Being such a man, he likewise was slain in his turn, the actual deed being done by his wife’s brothers, though the plan was conceived by the woman herself.

For she reported to her brothers that Alexander was plotting against them, and concealed them within the house for the entire day. Then after she had received Alexander home in a drunken state and had put him to bed, while the light was left burning she carried his sword out of the chamber. And when she perceived that her brothers were hesitating to go in and attack Alexander, she said that if they did not act at once she would wake him. Then, as soon as they had gone in, she closed the door and held fast to the knocker until her husband had been killed.

Now her hatred toward her husband is said by some people to have been caused by the fact that when Alexander had imprisoned his own favourite, who was a beautiful youth, and she begged him to release him, he took him out and slew him; others, however, say that inasmuch as no children were being born to him of this woman, Alexander was sending to Thebes and trying to win as his wife the widow of Jason. The reasons, then, for the plot on the part of his wife are thus stated; but as for those who executed this deed, Tisiphonus, who was the eldest of the brothers, held the position of ruler up to the time when this narrative was written.

All the events, then, which took place in Thessaly in connection with Jason, and, after his death, down to the rule of Tisiphonus, have thus been described; now I return to the point from which I digressed to discuss these matters. When, namely, Archidamus had led back his army from the relief expedition to Leuctra, the Athenians, taking thought of the fact that the Peloponnesians still counted themselves bound to follow the Lacedaemonians, and that the latter were not yet in the same situation to which they had brought the Athenians, invited to Athens all the cities which wished to participate in the peace which the King had sent down.

And when they had come together, they passed a resolution to take the following oath, in company with such as desired to share in the peace: I will abide by the treaty which the King sent down, and by the decrees of the Athenians and their allies. And if anybody takes the field against any one of the cities which have sworn this oath, I will come to her aid with all my strength. Now all the others were pleased with the oath; the Eleans only opposed it, saying that it was not right to make either the Marganians, Scilluntians, or Triphylians independent, for these cities were theirs.

But the Athenians and the others, after voting that both small and great cities alike should be independent, even as the King wrote, sent out the officers charged with administering the oath and directed them to administer it to the highest authorities in each city. And all took the oath except the Eleans.As a natural result of these proceedings the Mantineans, feeling that they were now entirely independent, all came together and voted to make Mantinea a single city and to put a wall about it.

But the Lacedaemonians, on the other hand, thought that it would be a grievous thing if this were done without their approval. They accordingly sent Agesilaus as ambassador to the Mantineans, because he was regarded as an ancestral friend of theirs. Now when he had come to them, the officials refused to assemble for him the Mantinean people, but bade him tell them what he desired. He then offered them his promise that, if they would desist from their wall-building for the present, he would arrange matters so that the wall should be constructed with the approval of Lacedaemon and without great expense.

And when they replied that it was impossible to desist, since a resolution to build at once had been adopted by the entire city, Agesilaus thereupon departed in anger. It did not seem to be possible, however, to make an expedition against them, inasmuch as the peace had been concluded on the basis of independence. Meanwhile some of the Arcadian cities sent men to help the Mantineans in their building, and the Eleans made them a contribution of three talents in money toward the expense of the wall. The Mantineans, then, were occupied with this work.

Among the Tegeans, on the other hand, the followers of Callibius and Proxenus were making efforts to the end that all the people of Arcadia should unite, and that whatever measure was carried in the common assembly should be binding on the several cities as well; but the followers of Stasippus made it their policy to leave their city undisturbed and to live under the laws of their fathers.

Now the followers of Proxenus and Callibius, defeated in the council of the magistrates, and conceiving the thought that if the people came together they would prove far superior in numbers, gathered openly under arms. Upon seeing this the followers of Stasippus also armed themselves in their turn, and they did indeed prove fewer in number; when, however, they had set forth for battle, they killed Proxenus and a few others along with him, but although they put the rest to flight they did not pursue them; for Stasippus was the sort of man not to desire to kill many of his fellow-citizens.

Then the followers of Callibius, who had retired to a position under the city wall and the gates on the side toward Mantinea, inasmuch as their adversaries were no longer attacking them, remained quietly gathered there. They had long before this sent to the Mantineans bidding them come to their aid, but with the followers of Stasippus they were negotiating for a reconciliation. When, however, the Mantineans were to be seen approaching, some of them leaped upon the wall, urged the Mantineans to come on to their assistance with all possible speed, and with shouts exhorted them to hurry; others meanwhile opened the gates to them.

Now when the followers of Stasippus perceived what was going on, they rushed out by the gates leading to Pallantium, gained refuge in the temple of Artemis before they could be overtaken by their pursuers, and after shutting themselves in, remained quiet there. But their foes who had followed after them climbed upon the temple, broke through the roof, and pelted them with the tiles. And when the people within realized the hopelessness of their situation, they bade them stop and said they would come out. Then their adversaries, as soon as they had got them in their power, bound them, threw them into a wagon, and carried them back to Tegea. There, in company with the Mantineans, they passed sentence upon them and put them to death.

While these things were going on, about eight hundred of the Tegeans who were partisans of Stasippus fled to Lacedaemon as exiles, and subsequently the Lacedaemonians decided that, in accordance with their oaths, they ought to avenge the Tegeans who had been slain and to aid those who had been banished. So they decided to make an expedition against the Mantineans on the ground that, in violation of their oaths, they had proceeded in arms against the Tegeans. The ephors accordingly called out the ban, and the state directed Agesilaus to act as commander.

Now most of the Arcadians were gathering together at Asea. But since the Orchomenians refused to be members of the Arcadian League on account of their enmity toward the Mantineans, and had even received into their city the mercenary force, commanded by Polytropus, which had been collected at Corinth, the Mantineans were remaining at home and keeping watch upon them. On the other hand, the Heraeans and Lepreans were serving with the Lacedaemonians against the Mantineans.

Agesilaus, then, when his sacrifices at the frontier proved favourable, at once proceeded to march against Arcadia. And having occupied Eutaea, which was a city on the border, and found there the older men, the women, and the children living in their houses, while the men of military age had gone to the Arcadian assembly, he nevertheless did the city no harm, but allowed the people to continue to dwell there, and his troops got everything that they needed by purchase; and if anything had been taken as booty at the time when he entered the city, he searched it out and gave it back. He also occupied himself, during the whole time that he spent there awaiting the mercenaries under Polytropus, in repairing all those portions of the city wall which needed it.

Meanwhile the Mantineans made an expedition against the Orchomenians. And they came off very badly from their attack upon the city wall, and some of them were killed; but when in their retreat they had reached Elymia and, although the Orchomenian hoplites now desisted from following them, Polytropus and his troops were very boldly pressing upon them, then the Mantineans, realizing that if they did not beat them off many of their own number would be struck down by javelins, turned about and charged their assailants.

Polytropus fell fighting where he stood; the rest fled, and very many of them would have been killed had not the Phliasian horsemen arrived, and by riding around to the rear of the Mantineans made them desist from their pursuit. The Mantineans, then, after accomplishing these things, went back home.

Agesilaus heard of this affair and came to the conclusion that the mercenaries from Orchomenus could not now join him; under these circumstances, therefore, he continued his advance. On the first day he took dinner in the territory of Tegea, and on the following day crossed into the territory of the Mantineans and encamped at the foot of the mountains to the west of Mantinea; there at the same time he laid waste the land and plundered the farms. Meanwhile the Arcadians who had assembled at Asea made their way by night to Tegea.

On the next day Agesilaus encamped at a distance of about twenty stadia from Mantinea. But the Arcadians from Tegea, a very large force of hoplites, made their appearance; they were skirting the mountains between Mantinea and Tegea, desiring to effect a junction with the Mantineans, for the Argives, who came with them, were not in full force. And there were some who tried to persuade Agesilaus to attack these troops separately; he, however, fearing that while he was marching against them the Mantineans might issue forth from their city and attack him in flank and rear, judged it best to allow the two hostile forces to come together and, in case they wished to fight, to conduct the battle in regular fashion and in the open.The Arcadians from Tegea had by now effected a junction with the Mantineans.

On the other hand, the peltasts from Orchomenus, and with them the horsemen of the Phliasians, made their way during the night past Mantinea and appeared as Agesilaus was sacrificing in front of his camp at daybreak; and they caused the Lacedaemonians to fall hurriedly into line and Agesilaus himself to retire to the camp. But when they had been recognized as friends, and Agesilaus had obtained favourable omens, immediately after breakfast he led his army forward. Later, as evening was coming on, he unwittingly encamped in the valley which lies behind the town of Mantinea; it is surrounded by mountains which are only a short distance away.

On the following day at daybreak he was offering sacrifices in front of the army; and seeing that troops were gathering from the city of the Mantineans on the mountains which were above the rear of his army, he decided that he must lead his men out of the valley with all possible speed. Now he feared that if he led the way himself, the enemy would fall upon his rear; accordingly, while keeping quiet and presenting his front toward the enemy, he ordered the men at the rear to face about to the right and march along behind the phalanx toward him. And in this manner he was at the same time leading them out of the narrow valley and making the phalanx continually stronger.

When the phalanx had thus been doubled in depth, he proceeded into the plain with the hoplites in this formation, and then extended the army again into a line nine or ten shields deep. The Mantineans, however, now desisted from coming forth from their city, for the Eleans, who were making the campaign with them, urged them not to fight a battle until the Thebans arrived; and they said they were quite sure that the Thebans would come, for they had borrowed ten talents from the Eleans themselves for the expenses of the expedition to aid them.

The Arcadians, then, upon hearing this, remained quiet in Mantinea; and Agesilaus, even though he was exceedingly desirous of leading back his army — for it was mid-winter — nevertheless remained there for three days, not far away from the city of the Mantineans, that he might not be thought to be hurrying his departure out of fear. On the fourth day, however, after breakfasting early he began his homeward march, intending to encamp at the place where he had originally made camp on his departure from Eutaea.

But since none of the Arcadians appeared, he continued his march as rapidly as possible to Eutaea, even though it was very late, with the desire of getting his hoplites away before they even saw the enemy’s fires, so that no one could say that he had withdrawn in flight. For he seemed to have brought the state some relief from its former despondency, inasmuch as he had invaded Arcadia and, though he laid waste the land, none had been willing to fight with him. And after he had arrived in Laconia, he let the Spartiatae go home and dismissed the Perioeci to their several cities.

As for the Arcadians, since Agesilaus had departed and they learned that his army had been disbanded, while they themselves were still gathered together, they made an expedition against the Heraeans, not only because they refused to be members of the Arcadian League, but also because they had joined with the Lacedaemonians in invading Arcadia. And after entering the territory of Heraea they proceeded to burn the houses and cut down the trees.It was not until the Thebans with their supporting force were reported to have arrived in Mantinea that the Arcadians departed from Heraea and united with the Thebans.

When they had joined forces, the Thebans thought that matters stood well with them, inasmuch as they had come to bring aid and there was no longer an enemy to be seen in the land; they accordingly made their preparations for going back. But the Arcadians, Argives, and Eleans urged them to lead the way with all speed into Laconia, pointing out the number of their own troops and praising beyond measure the army of the Thebans. For all the Boeotians were now training themselves in the craft of arms, glorying in their victory at Leuctra; and they were reinforced by the Phocians, who had become their subjects, the Euboeans from all their cities, both the Locrian peoples, the Acarnanians, the Heracleots, and the Malians; they were also reinforced by horsemen and peltasts from Thessaly. The Arcadians, then, seeing all this and describing the dearth of men in Lacedaemon, begged them by no means to turn back before invading the country of the Lacedaemonians.

But while the Thebans listened to this request, they took into account, on the other hand, the fact that Laconia was said to be exceedingly difficult to enter, and that they believed garrisons were posted at the points of easiest access. For Ischolaus was at Oeum, in Sciritis, commanding a garrison composed of emancipated Helots and about four hundred of the youngest of the Tegean exiles; and there was another garrison also at Leuctrum, above Maleatis. The Thebans likewise weighed this consideration, that the force of the Lacedaemonians would gather quickly and that they would fight nowhere better than in their own country. Therefore, taking into account all these things, they were by no means eager to proceed into Lacedaemon.

But when people had come from Caryae telling of the dearth of men, promising that they would themselves act as guides, and bidding the Thebans slay them if they were found to be practising any deception, and when, further, some of the Perioeci appeared, asking the Thebans to come to their aid, engaging to revolt if only they would show themselves in the land, and saying also that even now the Perioeci when summoned by the Spartiatae were refusing to go and help them — as a result, then, of hearing all these reports, in which all agreed, the Thebans were won over, and pushed in with their own forces by way of Caryae, while the Arcadians went by way of Oeum, in Sciritis.

Now if Ischolaus had advanced to the difficult part of the pass and had made his stand there, no one, by all accounts, could have accomplished the ascent by that route at least; but in fact, since he wished to employ the Oeans as allies, he remained in the village, and the Arcadians ascended the pass in very great numbers. There, in the face-to-face fighting, the troops with Ischolaus were victorious; but when the enemy showered blows and missiles upon them from the rear, on the flank, and from the houses upon which they mounted, then Ischolaus was killed and all the rest as well, unless one or another slipped through unrecognized.

After achieving this deed the Arcadians marched to join the Thebans at Caryae; and when the Thebans heard what had been accomplished by the Arcadians, they proceeded to make the descent with far greater boldness. Coming to Sellasia, they at once burned and pillaged it; but when they arrived in the plain, they encamped there, in the sacred precinct of Apollo. The next day they marched on.Now they did not even make the attempt to cross over by the bridge against Sparta, for in the sanctuary of Athena Alea the hoplites were to be seen, ready to oppose them; but keeping the Eurotas on their right they passed along, burning and plundering houses full of many valuable things.

As for the people in the city, the women could not even endure the sight of the smoke, since they had never seen an enemy; but the Spartiatae, their city being without walls, were posted at intervals, one here, another there, and so kept guard, thought they were, and were seen to be, very few in number. It was also determined by the authorities to make proclamation to the Helots that if any wished to take up arms and be assigned to a place in the ranks, they should be given a promise that all should be free who took part in the war.

And it was said that at first more than six thousand enrolled themselves, so that they in their turn occasioned fear when they were marshalled together, and were thought to be all too numerous; but when the mercenaries from Orchomenus remained true, and the Lacedaemonians received aid from the Phliasians, Corinthians, Epidaurians, Pelleneans, and likewise some of the other states, then the Spartiatae were less fearful of those who had been enrolled.

Now when, in its onward march, the army of the enemy came opposite Amyclae, at this point they crossed the Eurotas. And wherever the Thebans encamped they at once threw down in front of their lines the greatest possible quantity of the trees which they cut down, and in this way guarded themselves; the Arcadians, however, did nothing of this sort, but left their camp behind them and turned their attention to plundering the houses. After this, on the third or fourth day of the invasion, the horsemen advanced to the race-course in the sanctuary of Poseidon Gaeaochus by divisions, the Thebans in full force, the Eleans, and all the horsemen who were there of the Phocians, Thessalians, or Locrians.

And the horsemen of the Lacedaemonians, seemingly very few in number, were formed in line against them. Meanwhile the Lacedaemonians had set an ambush of the younger hoplites, about three hundred in number, in the house of the Tyndaridae, and at the same moment these men rushed forth and their horsemen charged. The enemy, however, did not await their attack, but gave way. And on seeing this, many of the foot-soldiers also took to flight. But when the pursuers stopped and the army of the Thebans stood firm, the enemy encamped again.

It now seemed somewhat more certain that they would make no further attempt upon the city; and in fact their army departed thence and took the road toward Helos and Gytheium. And they burned such of the towns as were unwalled and made a three days’ attack upon Gytheium, where the Lacedaemonians had their dockyards. There were some of the Perioeci also who not only joined in this attack, but did regular service with the troops that followed the Thebans.

When the Athenians heard of all these things, they were in a state of concern as to what they should do in regard to the Lacedaemonians, and by resolution of the Senate they called a meeting of the Assembly. Now it chanced that there were present ambassadors of the Lacedaemonians and of the allies who still remained to them. Wherefore the Lacedaemonians spoke — Aracus, Ocyllus, Pharax, Etymocles, and Olontheus — almost all of them saying much the same things. They reminded the Athenians that from all time the two peoples had stood by one another in the most important crises for good ends; for they on their side, they said, had aided in expelling the tyrants from Athens, while the Athenians, on the other hand, gave them zealous assistance at the time when they were hard pressed by the Messenians.

They also described all the blessings which were enjoyed at the time when both peoples were acting in union, recalling how they had together driven the barbarian back, recalling likewise how the Athenians had been chosen by the Greeks as leaders of the fleet and custodians of the common funds, the Lacedaemonians supporting this choice, while they had themselves been selected by the common consent of all the Greeks as leaders by land, the Athenians in their turn supporting this selection.

And one of them even said something like this: But if you and we, gentlemen, come to agreement, there is hope now that the Thebans will be decimated, as the old saying has it. The Athenians, however, were not very much inclined to accept all this, and a murmur went round to the effect that this is what they say now, but in the time when they were prosperous they were hostile to us. The weightiest of the arguments urged by the Lacedaemonians seemed to their hearers to be, that at the time when they subdued the Athenians, though the Thebans wanted to destroy Athens utterly, it was they who had prevented it.

Most stress was laid, however, upon the consideration that the Athenians were required by their oaths to come to their assistance; for it was not because the Lacedaemonians had done wrong that the Arcadians and those with them were making an expedition against them, but rather because they had gone to the aid of the Tegeans for the reason that the Mantineans, in violation of their oaths, had taken the field against them. At these words an uproar again ran through the Assembly; for some said that the Mantineans had done right in avenging the followers of Proxenus who had been slain by the followers of Stasippus, while others said that they were in the wrong because they had taken up arms against the Tegeans.

While the Assembly itself was trying to determine these matters, Cleiteles, a Corinthian, arose and spoke as follows: Men of Athens, it is perhaps a disputed point who began the wrong-doing; but as for us, can anyone accuse us of having, at any time since peace was concluded, either made a campaign against any city, or taken anyone’s property, or laid waste another’s land? Yet, nevertheless, the Thebans have come into our country, and have cut down trees, and burned down houses, and seized property and cattle. If, therefore, you do not aid us, who are so manifestly wronged, will you not surely be acting in violation of your oaths? They were the same oaths, you remember, that you yourselves took care to have all of us swear to all of you. Thereupon the Athenians shouted their approval, saying that Cleiteles had spoken to the point and fairly.

Then Procles, a Phliasian, arose after Cleiteles and said: Men of Athens, it is clear to everyone, I imagine, that you are the first against whom the Thebans would march if the Lacedaemonians were got out of the way; for they think that you are the only people in Greece who would stand in the way of their becoming rulers of the Greeks.

If this is so, I, for my part, believe that if you undertake a campaign, you would not be giving aid to the Lacedaemonians so much as to your own selves. For to have the Thebans, who are unfriendly to you and dwell on your borders, become leaders of the Greeks, would prove much more grievous to you, I think, than when you had your antagonists far away. Furthermore, you would aid yourselves with more profit if you should do so while there are still people who would fight on your side, than if they should perish first and you should then be compelled to enter by yourselves upon a decisive struggle with the Thebans.

Now if any are fearful that in case the Lacedaemonians escape this time, they may again in the future cause you trouble, take thought of this, that it is not those whom one benefits, but those whom one injures, of whom one has to fear that they may some day attain great power. And you should bear in mind this likewise, that it is meet both for individuals and for states to acquire a goodly store in the days when they are strongest, in order that, if some day they become powerless, they may draw upon their previous labours for succour.

So to you has now been offered by some god an opportunity, in case you aid the Lacedaemonians in their need, of acquiring them for all time as friends who will plead no excuses. For it is not in the presence of only a few witnesses, as it seems to me, that they would now receive benefit at your hands, but the gods will know of this, who see all things both now and for ever, and both your allies and your enemies know also what is taking place, and the whole world of Greeks and barbarians besides. For to none of them all is it a matter of indifference.

Therefore, if the Lacedaemonians should show themselves base in their dealings with you, who would ever again become devoted to them? But it is fair to expect that they will prove good rather than base men, for if any people in the world seem consistently to have striven for commendation and to have abstained from deeds of shame, it is truly they. Besides all this, take thought of the following considerations likewise.

If ever again danger should come to Greece from barbarians, whom would you trust more than the Lacedaemonians? Whom would you more gladly make your comrades in the ranks than these, whose countrymen, posted at Thermopylae, chose every man to die fighting rather than to live and admit the barbarian to Greece? Therefore, both because they proved themselves brave men along with you, and because there is hope that they will so prove themselves again, is it not surely right that you and we alike should show all good-will toward them?

It is also worth while to show the Lacedaemonians good-will for the sake of the allies who are present with them. For be well assured that those who remain faithful to them in their misfortunes are the very men who would be ashamed if they did not make due requital to you. And if we who are willing to share the peril with them seem to be small states, reflect that if your state is added to our number, we who aid them shall no longer be small states.

In former days, men of Athens, I used from hearsay to admire this state of yours, for I heard that all who were wronged and all who were fearful fled hither for refuge, and here found assistance; now I no longer hear, but with my own eyes at this moment see the Lacedaemonians, those most famous men, and their most loyal friends appearing in your state and in their turn requesting you to assist them.

I see also the Thebans, who then did not succeed in persuading the Lacedaemonians to enslave you, now requesting you to allow those who saved you to perish.It is truly a noble deed that is told of your ancestors, when they did not suffer those Argives who died at the Cadmea to go unburied; but you would achieve a far nobler deed if you did not suffer those Lacedaemonians who still live either to incur insult or to perish.

And while that other deed was also noble, when you checked the insolence of Eurystheus and preserved the sons of Heracles, would it not surely be an even nobler one if you saved from perishing, not merely the founders, but the whole state as well? And noblest of all deeds if, after the Lacedaemonians saved you then by a vote, void of danger, you shall aid them now with arms and at the risk of your lives.

Again, when even we, who by word urge you to aid brave men, are proud of doing so, it would manifestly be generous of you, who are able to aid by act, if, after being many times both friends and enemies of the Lacedaemonians, you should recall, not the harm you have suffered at their hands, but rather the favours which you have, received, and should render them requital, not in behalf of yourselves alone, but also in behalf of all Greece, because in her behalf they proved themselves brave men.

After this the Athenians deliberated, and they would not endure to listen to those who spoke on the other side, but voted to go to the aid of the Lacedaemonians in full force, and chose Iphicrates as general. And when his sacrifices had proved favourable and he had issued orders to his men to dine in the Academy, many, it is said, went thither ahead of Iphicrates himself. After this Iphicrates led the way and they followed, believing that he would lead them to some noble achievement. And when, after arriving in Corinth, he delayed there for some days, they at once began to censure him, for the first time, for this delay; then when he at length marched them forth, they eagerly followed wherever he led the way, and eagerly attacked any stronghold against which he brought them.

As for the enemy in Lacedaemon, many Arcadians, Argives, and Eleans had already departed, inasmuch as they lived just across the border, some of them leading and others carrying what they had taken as plunder. On the other hand, the Thebans and the rest were desirous of departing from the country, partly for the very reason that they saw their army growing daily smaller, and partly because provisions were scantier, the supply having been in part used up or stolen away, in part wasted or burned up; besides, it was winter, so that by this time all alike wanted to withdraw.

When, accordingly, they proceeded to retire from Lacedaemon, then, of course, Iphicrates likewise proceeded to lead back the Athenians from Arcadia to Corinth. Now I have no fault to find with any good generalship he may have shown on any other occasion; but as regards all his actions at that time, I find them to have been either futile or inexpedient. For while he undertook to keep guard at Oneum so that the Thebans should not be able to get back home, he left unguarded the best pass, which led past Cenchreae.

And when he wanted to find out whether the Thebans had passed Oneum, he sent as scouts all the horsemen both of the Athenians and of the Corinthians. And yet a few men would have been quite as efficient for seeing as the many; while if it were necessary to retire, it would be much easier for the few than for the many both to find an easy route and to retire at their leisure. But to employ a force that was numerous and still inferior to the enemy — was this not surely the height of folly? For inasmuch as the horsemen extended their line over a large space because they were a large force, when it was necessary to retire they encountered a large number of difficult places, so that no fewer than twenty horsemen lost their lives. At that time, then, the Thebans returned home as they pleased.

In the following year ambassadors of the Lacedaemonians and their allies, with full powers, came to Athens to take counsel as to what should be the terms of the alliance between the Lacedaemonians and the Athenians. And while many foreigners and many Athenians said that the alliance ought to be on terms of full equality, Procles the Phliasian made the following speech:

Men of Athens, since you have decided that it is a good thing to make the Lacedaemonians your friends, it seems to me that you ought to consider this point, how the friendship is to endure for the longest possible time. Now it is only by making the compact on such terms as will be most advantageous to each party that we can expect it to be, in all probability, most enduring. The other points, then, have been pretty well agreed upon, but the question of the leadership is at present under discussion. Now it has been proposed by your Senate that the leadership by sea shall belong to you, and the leadership by land to the Lacedaemonians. And I, too, think that this distinction is based, not so much upon human judgment as upon divine arrangement and ordering.

In the first place, you have a position most excellently adapted by nature for supremacy by sea. For most of the states which are dependent upon the sea are situated round about your state, and they are all weaker than yours. In addition to this, you have harbours, without which it is not possible to enjoy naval power. Furthermore, you already possess many triremes, and it is a traditional policy of yours to keep adding ships.

You likewise possess as peculiarly your own all the arts and crafts which have to do with ships. Again, you are far superior to other men in experience of nautical affairs, for most of you get your livelihood from the sea; hence, while attending to your private concerns, you are also at the same time gaining experience for encounters by sea. Here is another point also: there is no port from which more triremes can sail forth at one time than from your city. And this is a matter of no slight importance with reference to leadership, for all men love best to join forces with the power which is first to show itself strong.

Furthermore, it has also been granted you by the gods to be successful in this pursuit. For while you have engaged in very many and very great combats by sea, you have met with an exceedingly small number of misfortunes and have achieved an exceedingly large number of successes. Therefore it is likely that the allies would like best to share in such perils if they were under your leadership.

And that this devotion to the sea is indeed both necessary and proper for you, you must conclude from the following fact: the Lacedaemonians once made war upon you for many years, and though masters of your land could make no progress toward destroying you. But when at length the deity granted them to win the mastery by sea, straightway you fell completely under their power. In these circumstances, therefore, it is plain to be seen that all your safety depends upon the sea.

Such, then, being the situation ordained by nature, how could you be content to allow the Lacedaemonians to be leaders by sea, when, in the first place, they themselves admit that they are less experienced than you are in this work, and when, in the second place, they do not risk as much as you do in contests by sea, but merely the people on board the triremes, whereas you risk wives and children and the entire state.

This is the situation on your side; consider now that of the Lacedaemonians. Firstly, they dwell in the interior; hence, so long as they are masters of the land, they can lead a comfortable existence even if they are shut off from the sea. Therefore, realizing this fact themselves, they carry on their training from their very boyhood with a view to war by land. Furthermore, in that which is of the greatest importance, obedience to their commanders, they are best by land, as you are by sea.

Again, they on their side can set forth by land, as you can with a fleet, in greatest numbers and with greatest speed; therefore it is to them in turn that the armies of the allies would be likely to attach themselves with greatest confidence. Besides, the deity has granted, as to you success by sea, so to them success by land; for while they on their side have engaged in very many combats on the land, they have incurred an exceedingly small number of defeats, and have won an exceedingly large number of victories.

And that this devotion to the land is no less necessary for them than devotion to the sea for you, one may judge from the results. For you made war upon them for many years, and though you defeated them many times by sea, could make no progress toward subduing them. But so soon as they incurred one defeat on the land, immediately their wives and children and their entire state were at stake.

Hence for them, on their side, it would surely be a dreadful thing to allow others to be leaders by land, when they themselves are best at the administration of affairs by land. As for myself, therefore, the course which has been proposed by your Senate is that which I have urged, and which I believe to be most advantageous to both parties; and may you, for your part, be fortunate in reaching the conclusion that is best for us all.

Thus he spoke, and both the Athenians and those Lacedaemonians who were present applauded his speech vigorously. But Cephisodotus came forward and said: Men of Athens, you do not observe that you are being deceived; but if you will listen to me, I will prove it to you very speedily. As the matter now stands, you are to be leaders by sea. And if the Lacedaemonians are your allies, it is clear that the captains, and perhaps the marines whom they send out, will be Lacedaemonians, but it is also clear that the sailors will be either Helots or mercenaries. You, therefore, will be leaders of these people.

When, however, the Lacedaemonians give you the order for a campaign by land, it is clear that you will send your hoplites and your horsemen. By this plan, therefore, they become leaders of your own selves, while you become leaders merely of their slaves and their men of least account. Answer me, he said, Timocrates of Lacedaemon, did you not say a moment ago that you had come with intent to make the alliance on terms of full equality? I did say that.

Then, said Cephisodotus, is there anything more equal than that each party in turn should be leader of the fleet, and each in turn leader of the army, and that you, if there is any advantage in the leadership by sea, should share therein, and we likewise in the matter of leadership by land? Upon hearing this the Athenians were led to change their minds, and they voted that each party should hold the leadership in turn for periods of five days.

Now when both peoples and their allies had proceeded to Corinth, it was determined that they should together guard Oneum. Accordingly, while the Thebans and their allies were on the march, they formed their lines and proceeded to keep guard at one point and another of Oneum, but the Lacedaemonians and the Pelleneans at the most assailable point. And the Thebans and their allies, when they were distant thirty stadia from the troops on guard, encamped in the plain. Then, after calculating the time at which they thought they should start in order to finish their journey at dawn, they marched upon the garrison of the Lacedaemonians.

And in fact they did not prove mistaken in the hour, but fell upon the Lacedaemonians and the Pelleneans at the time when the night watches were just coming to an end, and the men were rising from their camp-beds and going wherever each one had to go. Thereupon the Thebans made their attack and laid on their blows — men prepared attacking those unprepared, and men in good order against those in disorder.

And when such as came out of the affair with their lives had made their escape to the nearest hill, although the polemarch of the Lacedaemonians might have got as many hoplites and as many peltasts as he pleased from the forces of the allies and might have held his position — for supplies might have been brought in safety from Cenchreae — he did not do this, but while the Thebans were in great perplexity as to how they were to descend on the side looking toward Sicyon, failing which they would have to go back again, he concluded a truce which, as most people thought, was more to the advantage of the Thebans than to that of his own side, and under these circumstances departed and led away the troops under his command.

The Thebans, then, after descending in safety and effecting a junction with their allies, the Arcadians, Argives, and Eleans, immediately attacked Sicyon and Pellene; they also made an expedition to Epidaurus, and laid waste the whole territory of the Epidaurians. Returning from there in a manner which showed great disdain for all their adversaries, as soon as they came near the city of the Corinthians they rushed at the double toward the gates through which one passes in going to Phlius, with the intention of bursting in if they chanced to be open.

But some light troops sallied forth from the city against them and met the picked men of the Thebans at a distance of not so much as four plethra from the city walls; then they climbed up on burial monuments and elevated spots, killed a very considerable number of the troops in the front ranks by hurling javelins and other missiles, and after putting the rest to flight, pursued them about three or four stadia. When this had taken place the Corinthians dragged the bodies to the wall, and after they had given them back under a truce, set up a trophy. In this way the allies of the Lacedaemonians were renewed in their spirits.

Just after these events had happened, the expedition sent by Dionysius to aid the Lacedaemonians sailed in, numbering more than twenty triremes. And they brought Celts, Iberians, and about fifty horsemen. On the following day the Thebans and the rest, their allies, after forming themselves in detached bodies and filling the plain as far as the sea and as far as the hills adjoining the city, destroyed whatever of value there was in the plain. And the horsemen of the Athenians and of the Corinthians did not approach very near their army, seeing that the enemy were strong and numerous.

But the horsemen sent by Dionysius, few though they were, scattering themselves here and there, would ride along the enemy’s line, charge upon them and throw javelins at them, and when the enemy began to move forth against them, would retreat, and then turn round and throw their javelins again. And while pursuing these tactics they would dismount from their horses and rest. But if anyone charged upon them while they were dismounted, they would leap easily upon their horses and retreat. On the other hand, if any pursued them far from the Theban army, they would press upon these men when they were retiring, and by throwing javelins work havoc with them, and thus they compelled the entire army, according to their own will, either to advance or to fall back.

After this, however, the Thebans remained but a few days and then returned home, and the others likewise to their several homes. Then the troops sent by Dionysius invaded the territory of Sicyon, and they not only defeated the Sicyonians in battle on the plain and killed about seventy of them, but captured by storm the stronghold of Deras. After these exploits the first supporting force sent out by Dionysius sailed back to Syracuse.Up to this time the Thebans and all who had revolted from the Lacedaemonians had been acting and carrying on their campaigns in full accord, under the leadership of the Thebans.

Now, however, there appeared a certain Lycomedes of Mantinea, a man inferior to none in birth, foremost in wealth, and ambitious besides, and filled the Arcadians with self-confidence, saying that it was to them alone that Peloponnesus was a fatherland, since they were the only autochthonous stock that dwelt therein, and that the Arcadian people was the most numerous of all the Greek peoples and had the strongest bodies. He also declared that they were the bravest, offering as evidence the fact that whenever men needed mercenaries, there were none whom they chose in preference to Arcadians. Furthermore, the Lacedaemonians had never, he said, invaded the territory of Athens without their help, nor had the Thebans at present come to Lacedaemon without the help of the Arcadians.

If you are wise, therefore, you will leave off following wherever anyone summons you; for in former days, by following the Lacedaemonians, you made them great, and now, if you follow the Thebans heedlessly and do not make the claim to enjoy the leadership by turns with them, it may be that you will soon find in them another set of Lacedaemonians. Upon hearing these words the Arcadians were puffed up, and loved Lycomedes beyond measure, and thought that he alone was a man; so that they appointed as their leaders whomsoever he directed them to appoint. But the Arcadians were exalted as a result also of the actual achievements which fell to their lot;

for when the Argives had invaded the country of Epidaurus and their way out had been barred by the mercenaries under Chabrias, and by the Athenians, and the Corinthians, they went to the rescue and released the Argives from an absolute blockade, although they had not only the enemy’s troops but also the character of the country to contend with. They also made an expedition to Asine in Laconia, defeated the garrison of the Lacedaemonians, slew Geranor, the Spartiate who had become polemarch, and plundered the outer city of the Asinaeans. And whenever they wished to take the field, neither night nor storm nor length of journey nor difficult mountains would prevent them; so that at that time they counted themselves altogether the strongest of the Greeks.

For these reasons the Thebans naturally felt somewhat jealous and no longer friendly toward the Arcadians. As for the Eleans, when they demanded back again from the Arcadians the cities of which they had been deprived by the Lacedaemonians and found that the Arcadians gave no heed to their words, but paid the highest regard to the Triphylians and the others who had revolted from them, because these people said they were Arcadians, as a result of this the Eleans in their turn felt unfriendly toward them.

While the several allies were each thus filled with proud confidence in themselves, Philiscus of Abydus came from Ariobarzanes with a large amount of money. And in the first place he brought together at Delphi the Thebans, their allies, and the Lacedaemonians to negotiate in regard to peace. But when they had arrived there, they did not consult the god at all as to how peace should be brought about, but deliberated for themselves. Since, however, the Thebans would not agree that Messene should be subject to the Lacedaemonians, Philiscus set about collecting a large mercenary force in order to make war on the side of the Lacedaemonians.

While these things were going on the second supporting force sent out by Dionysius arrived. And when the Athenians said that it ought to go to Thessaly to oppose the Thebans, while the Lacedaemonians urged that it should go to Laconia, the latter plan carried the day among the allies. Accordingly, after these troops from Dionysius had sailed round to Lacedaemon, Archidamus took them, along with his citizen soldiers, and set out on an expedition. He captured Caryae by storm and put to the sword all whom he took prisoners. From there he marched at once with his united forces against the people of Parrhasia, in Arcadia, and laid waste their land.

But when the Arcadians and Argives came to their assistance, he retired and encamped in the hills above Melea. While he was there Cissidas, the commander of the supporting force from Dionysius, said that the time for which he had been directed to stay had expired. And as soon as he had said this he departed by the road leading to Sparta. But when, as he was marching away, the Messenians tried to cut him off at a narrow place on the road, thereupon he sent to Archidamus and bade him come to his aid. And Archidamus did in fact do so. Then as soon as they all arrived at the branch road leading to the country of the Eutresians, there were the Arcadians and Argives advancing towards Laconia, they also having the intention of shutting off Archidamus from his homeward way. He accordingly, at just the point where there is a level space at the junction of the road leading to the Eutresians and the road to Melea, turned out of his path and formed his troops in line for battle.

It is said that he also went along in front of the battalions and exhorted his men in the following words: Fellow citizens, let us now prove ourselves brave men and thus be able to look people in the face; let us hand on to those who come after us the fatherland as it was when we received it from our fathers; let us cease to feel shame before wives and children and elders and strangers, in whose eyes we used once to be the most highly honoured of all the Greeks.

When these words had been spoken, it is said that from a clear sky there came lightnings and thunderings of favourable omen for him; and it chanced also that on the right wing was a sanctuary and a statue of Heracles. As a result, therefore, of all these things, it is reported that the soldiers were inspired with so much strength and courage that it was a task for their leaders to restrain them as they pushed forward to the front. And when Archidamus led the advance, only a few of the enemy waited till his men came within spear-thrust; these were killed, and the rest were cut down as they fled, many by the horsemen and many by the Celts.

Then as soon as the battle had ended and he had set up a trophy, he immediately sent home Demoteles, the herald, to report the greatness of his victory and the fact that not so much as one of the Lacedaemonians had been slain, while vast numbers of the enemy had fallen. And when the people at Sparta heard this, it is said that all of them wept, beginning with Agesilaus, the senators, and the ephors; so true it is, indeed, that tears belong to joy and sorrow alike. On the other hand, both the Thebans and the Eleans were almost as well pleased as the Lacedaemonians at the misfortune of the Arcadians — so vexed had they become by this time at their presumption.

And now the Thebans, who were continually planning how they might obtain the leadership of Greece, hit upon the idea that if they should send to the King of the Persians, they would gain some advantage in him. Thereupon they immediately summoned their allies, on the pretext that Euthycles, the Lacedaemonian, was also at the King’s court; and there went up thither Pelopidas for the Thebans, Antiochus, the pancratiast, for the Arcadians, and Archidamus for the Eleans; an Argive also went with them. And the Athenians, upon hearing of this, sent up Timagoras and Leon.

When the ambassadors arrived there, Pelopidas enjoyed a great advantage with the Persian. For he was able to say that his people were the only ones among the Greeks who had fought on the side of the King at Plataea, that they had never afterwards undertaken a campaign against the King, and that the Lacedaemonians had made war upon them for precisely the reason that they had declined to go with Agesilaus against him and had refused to permit Agesilaus to sacrifice to Artemis at Aulis, the very spot where Agamemnon, at the time when he was sailing forth to Asia, had sacrificed before he captured Troy.

It also contributed greatly toward the winning of honour for Pelopidas that the Thebans had been victorious in battle at Leuctra, and that they had admittedly ravaged the country of the Lacedaemonians. Pelopidas also said that the Argives and Arcadians had been defeated by the Lacedaemonians when the Thebans were not present with them. And the Athenian, Timagoras, bore witness in his behalf that all these things which he said were true, and so stood second in honour to Pelopidas.

Pelopidas was therefore asked by the King what he desired to have written for him; he replied, that Messene should be independent of the Lacedaemonians and that the Athenians should draw up their ships on the land; that if they refused obedience in these points, the contracting parties were to make an expedition against them; and that if any city refused to join in such expedition, they were to proceed first of all against that city.

When these things had been written and read to the ambassadors, Leon said in the King’s hearing, By Zeus, Athenians, it is time for you, it seems, to be seeking some other friend instead of the King. And when the secretary had interpreted to the King what the Athenian had said, he again brought out a further writing: And if the Athenians are aware of anything juster than these provisions, let them come to the King and inform him.

Now when the ambassadors had returned to their several homes, Timagoras was put to death by the Athenians on the complaint of Leon that he had refused to share quarters with him and had taken counsel in all matters with Pelopidas. As for the other ambassadors, Archidamus, the Elean, praised the doings of the King, because he had honoured Elis above the Arcadians; but Antiochus, because the Arcadian League was less regarded, did not accept the royal gifts, and reported back to the Ten Thousand that the King had bakers, and cooks, and wine-pourers, and doorkeepers in vast numbers, but as for men who could fight with Greeks, he said that though he sought diligently he could not see any. Besides this, he said that for his part he thought that the King’s wealth of money was also mere pretence, for he said that even the golden plane-tree, that was forever harped upon, was not large enough to afford shade for a grasshopper.

When the Thebans had called together representatives from all the cities to hear the letter from the King, and the Persian who bore the document, having shown the King’s seal, had read what was written therein, although the Thebans directed those who desired to be friends of the King and themselves to swear to these provisions, the representatives from the cities replied that they had not been sent to give their oaths, but to listen; and if the Thebans had any desire for oaths, they bade them send to the cities. Indeed the Arcadian, Lycomedes, said this besides, that it was not even proper for the congress to be held in Thebes, but rather at the seat of war, wherever it might be. Then, since the Thebans were angry with him and said that he was destroying the compact of alliance, he refused even to occupy a seat at the congress, but took himself off, and with him went all the ambassadors from Arcadia.

Accordingly, inasmuch as those who had come together refused to take the oath at Thebes, the Thebans sent ambassadors to the cities and directed them to swear that they would act in accordance with the King’s letter, believing that each one of the cities taken singly would hesitate to incur the hatred of themselves and the King at the same time. When, however, upon the arrival of the ambassadors at Corinth, their first stopping-place, the Corinthians resisted the proposal, and replied that they had no desire for oaths shared with the King, then other cities also followed suit, giving their answers in the same terms. Thus it was that this attempt on the part of Pelopidas and the Thebans to gain the leadership came to its end.

Epaminondas, on the other hand, wishing to bring over the Achaeans to the side of the Thebans, in order that the Arcadians and the other allies might be more inclined to give heed to them, decided that he must march forth against Achaea. He therefore persuaded Peisias, the Argive, who held the position of general at Argos, to occupy Oneum in advance. And Peisias, after he had learned that the guard over Oneum was being maintained carelessly by Naucles, who commanded the mercenary troops of the Lacedaemonians, and by Timomachus, the Athenian, did indeed seize the hill above Cenchreae by night with two thousand hoplites, having provisions for seven days.

Within this number of days the Thebans arrived and crossed over Oneum, and all the allies thereupon marched against Achaea, under the leadership of Epaminondas. Now upon the urgent entreaty which the aristocrats of Achaea addressed to him, Epaminondas effected through his personal influence an arrangement that their opponents were not to banish the aristocrats or to change the form of government, but after receiving pledges from the Achaeans that in very truth they would be allies and would follow wherever the Thebans led the way, he thereupon returned home.

When, however, the Arcadians and the Achaean opposition brought against him the charge that he had aranged matters in Achaea in the interest of the Lacedaemonians and had then gone away, the Thebans resolved to send governors to the Achaean cities. When they arrived they drove out the aristocrats, with the assistance of the commons, and established democracies in Achaea. But those who had been thus exiled speedily banded themselves together, proceeded against each one of the cities singly, and as they were not few in number, accomplished their restoration and gained possession of the cities. Then, since after their restoration they no longer followed a neutral course, but fought zealously in support of the Lacedaemonians, the Arcadians were hard pressed by the Lacedaemonians on the one side and by the Achaeans on the other.

As for Sicyon, its government up to this time had been in conformity with its ancient laws. But now Euphron, who had been the most powerful of the citizens in his influence with the Lacedaemonians and wished in like manner to stand first with their adversaries also, said to the Argives and to the Arcadians that if the richest men should remain in control of Sicyon, it was manifest that whenever an opportunity offered, the city would go over to the Lacedaemonians again, while if a democracy is established, be well assured, he said, that the city will remain true to you. If, therefore, you will be at hand to support me, I will be the one to call the people together, and I will not only give you in this act a pledge of my good faith, but will make the city steadfast in its alliance with you. This I do, you must understand, he said, because, like yourselves, I have long found the arrogance of the Lacedaemonians hard to endure, and I should be glad to escape from servitude to them.

Accordingly the Arcadians and the Argives, upon hearing these words, gladly presented themselves to support him. Then he immediately called the people together in the market-place in the presence of the Argives and the Arcadians, announcing that the government was to be on terms of full equality. When they had come together, he bade them choose whomsoever they saw fit as generals; and they chose Euphron himself, Hippodamus, Cleander, Acrisius, and Lysander. When this had been done, he also appointed Adeas, his own son, to the command of the mercenary troops, removing Lysimenes, their former commander.

And straightway Euphron made some of these mercenaries faithful to him by treating them generously, and took others into his pay, sparing neither the public nor the sacred funds. He likewise availed himself of the property of all those whom he banished for favouring the Lacedaemonians. Furthermore, he treacherously put to death some of his fellow-officials and banished others, so that he brought everything under his control and was manifestly a tyrant. And he managed to induce his allies to permit these proceedings of his, partly by the use of money, and partly by following with them zealously at the head of his mercenary force wherever they made an expedition.

When these matters had progressed to this point and the Argives had fortified Mount Tricaranum, above the Heraeum, as a base of attack upon Phlius, while the Sicyonians were fortifying Thyamia on its borders, the Phliasians were exceedingly hard pressed and suffered from lack of provisions; nevertheless, they remained steadfast in their alliance. But I will speak further of them; for while all the historians make mention of the large states if they have performed any noble achievement, it seems to me that if a state which is small has accomplished many noble deeds, it is even more fitting to set them forth.

Now the Phliasians had become friends of the Lacedaemonians at a time when they were greatest; and when they had been defeated in the battle at Leuctra, when many of the Perioeci had revolted from them and all the Helots also had revolted, and likewise their allies with the exception of a very few, and when all the Greeks, one might say, were in the field against them, the Phliasians remained steadfastly faithful, and, though they had as enemies the most powerful of the peoples in Peloponnesus — the Arcadians and Argives — nevertheless went to their assistance. Furthermore, when it fell to their lot to cross over to Prasiae last of those who joined in the expedition (and these were the Corinthians, Epidaurians, Troezenians, Hermionians, Halians, Sicyonians, and Pelleneans —

for at that time the last mentioned had not yet revolted from the Lacedaemonians), even when the Lacedaemonian leader went off with those who had crossed first and left the Phliasians, even so they did not turn back, but hired a guide from Prasiae, and, although the enemy were in the neighbourhood of Amyclae, slipped through as best they could and reached Sparta. And the Lacedaemonians, besides honouring them in other ways, sent them an ox as a gift of hospitality.

Again, when the enemy had retired from Lacedaemon, and the Argives, in anger at the devotion of the Phliasians toward the Lacedaemonians, had invaded the territory of Phlius in full force and were laying waste their land, even then they did not yield; but when the Argives were withdrawing, after having destroyed as much as they could, the horsemen of the Phliasians sallied forth and followed after them, and, although all the Argive horsemen and the companies posted behind them were employed to guard their rear, the Phliasians nevertheless, who were but sixty in number, attacked these troops and turned to flight the entire rearguard; to be sure they killed but few of them, yet they set up a trophy, with the Argives looking on, precisely as if they had killed them all.

Once again, the Lacedaemonians and their allies were guarding Oneum, and the Thebans were approaching with the intention of crossing over the mountain. At this time, as the Arcadians and Eleans were marching through Nemea in order to effect a junction with the Thebans, exiles of the Phliasians made them an offer that if they would only put in an appearance to help their party, they would capture Phlius; and when this plan had been agreed upon, during the night the exiles and others with them, about six hundred in number, set themselves in ambush close under the wall with scaling ladders. Then as soon as the watchmen signalled from Tricaranum that enemies were approaching, and the city was giving its attention to these last, at this moment those who sought to betray the city signalled to the people in ambush to climb up.

When they had climbed up and found the posts of the guards weakly manned, they pursued the day-guards, who numbered ten (for one out of each squad of five was regularly left behind as a day-guard); and they killed one while he was still asleep and another after he had fled for refuge to the Heraeum. And since the other day-guards in their flight leaped down from the wall on the side looking toward the city, the men who had climbed up were in undisputed possession of the Acropolis.

But when an outcry reached the city and the citizens came to the rescue, at first the enemy issued forth from the Acropolis and fought in the space in front of the gates which lead to the city; afterwards, being beset on all sides by those who came against them, they withdrew again to the Acropolis; and the citizens poured in with them. Now the space within the Acropolis was cleared at once, but the enemy mounted upon the wall and the towers and showered blows and missiles upon the people who were within. Meanwhile the latter defended themselves from the ground and attacked the enemy by the steps which led up to the wall.

When, however, the citizens gained possession of some of the towers on this side and on that, they closed in desperate battle with those who had mounted upon their walls. And the enemy, as they were forced back by them — by their courage as well as by their fighting — were being crowded together into an ever smaller space. At this critical moment the Arcadians and Argives were circling around the city and beginning to dig through the wall of the Acropolis from its upper side; and as for the citizens within, some were dealing blows upon the people on the wall, others upon those who were still climbing up from the outside and were on the ladders, and still others were fighting against those among the enemy who had mounted upon the towers; they also found fire in the tents and began to set the towers ablaze from below, bringing up some sheaves which chanced to have been harvested on the Acropolis itself. Then the people upon the towers, in fear of the flames, jumped off one after another, while those upon the walls, under the blows of their human adversaries, kept falling off.

And when they had once begun to give way, speedily the whole Acropolis had become bare of the enemy. Thereupon the horsemen straightway sallied forth from the city; and the enemy upon seeing them retired, leaving behind their ladders, their dead, and likewise some of the living who had been badly lamed. And the number of the enemy who were killed, both in the fighting within and by leaping down without, was not less than eighty. Then one might have beheld the men congratulating one another with handclasps on their preservation, and the women bringing them drink and at the same time crying for joy. Indeed, laughter mingled with tears did on that occasion really possess all who were present.

In the following year likewise the Argives and all the Arcadians invaded the territory of Phlius. The reason for their continually besetting the Phliasians was partly that they were angry with them, and partly that they had the country of the Phliasians between them, and were always in hope that through want of provisions they would bring them to terms. But on this invasion also the horsemen and the picked troops of the Phliasians, along with the horsemen of the Athenians who were present, attacked them at the crossing of the river; and having won the victory, they made the enemy retire under the heights for the rest of the day, just as if they were keeping carefully away from the corn in the plain as the property of friends, so as not to trample it down.

On another occasion the Theban governor at Sicyon marched upon Phlius at the head of the garrison which he had under his own command, and of the Sicyonians and Pelleneans — for at that time they were already following the Thebans; and Euphron also took part in the expedition with his mercenaries, about two thousand in number. Now the main body of the troops descended along Tricaranum toward the Heraeum with the intention of laying waste the plain; but the commander left the Sicyonians and Pelleneans behind upon the height over against the gates leading to Corinth, so that the Phliasians should not go around by that way and get above his men at the Heraeum.

When, however, the people in the city perceived that the enemy had set out for the plain, the horsemen and the picked troops of the Phliasians sallied forth against them, gave battle, and did not allow them to make their way to the plain. And they spent most of the day there in fighting at long range, the troops of Euphron pursuing up to the point where the country was suited for cavalry, and the men from the city as far as the Heraeum.

When, however, it seemed to be the proper time, the enemy retired by a circuitous route over Tricaranum, for the ravine in front of the wall prevented them from reaching the Pelleneans by the direct way. Then the Phliasians, after following them a little way up the hill, turned back and charged along the road which leads past the wall, against the Pelleneans and those with them.

And the troops of the Theban general, upon perceiving the haste of the Phliasians, began racing with them in order to reach the Pelleneans first and give them aid. The horsemen, however, arrived first, and attacked the Pelleneans. And when at the outset they withstood the attack, the Phliasians fell back, but then attacked again in company with such of the foot-soldiers as had come up, and fought hand-to-hand. At this the enemy gave way, and some of the Sicyonians fell and very many of the Pelleneans, and brave men, too.

When these things had taken place the Phliasians set up a trophy, sounding their paean loudly, as was natural; and the troops of the Theban general and Euphron allowed all this to go on, just as if they had made their race to see a spectacle. Then, after these proceedings were finished, the one party departed for Sicyon and the other returned to the city.

Another noble deed which the Phliasians performed was this: when they had made a prisoner of Proxenus, the Pellenean, even though they were in want of everything, they let him go without a ransom. How could one help saying that men who performed such deeds were noble and valiant?

Furthermore, that it was only by stout endurance that they maintained their fidelity to their friends is clearly manifest; for when they were shut off from the products of their land, they lived partly by what they could get from the enemy’s territory, and partly by buying from Corinth; they went to the market through the midst of many dangers, with difficulty provided the price of supplies, with difficulty brought through the enemy’s lines the people who fetched these supplies, and were hard put to it to find men who would guarantee the safety of the beasts of burden which were to convey them.

At length, when they were in desperate straits, they arranged that Chares should escort their supply train. Upon his arrival at Phlius they begged him to help them also to convoy their non-combatants to Pellene. Accordingly they left these people at Pellene, and after making their purchases and packing as many beasts of burden as they could, they set off during the night, not unaware that they would be ambushed by the enemy, but thinking that to be without provisions was a more grievous thing than fighting.

Now the Phliasians, together with Chares, went on ahead, and when they came upon the enemy they immediately set to work, and, cheering one another on, pressed their attack, while at the same time they shouted to Chares to come to their aid. And when victory had been achieved and the enemy driven out of the road, in this wise they brought home in safety both themselves and the supplies they were conveying.Now inasmuch as the Phliasians had passed the night without sleep, they slept until far on in the day.

But when Chares arose, the horsemen and the best of the hoplites came to him and said: Chares, it is within your power to-day to accomplish a splendid deed. For the Sicyonians are fortifying a place upon our borders, and they have many builders but not very many hoplites. Now therefore we, the horsemen and the stoutest of the hoplites, will lead the way; and if you will follow us with your mercenary force, perhaps you will find the business already settled for you, and perhaps your appearance will turn the scale, as happened at Pellene. But if anything in what we propose is unacceptable to you, consult the gods by sacrifices; for we think that the gods will bid you do this even more urgently than we do. And this, Chares, you should well understand, that if you accomplish these things you will have secured a stronghold as a base of attack upon the enemy and have preserved a friendly city, and you will win the fairest of fame in your fatherland and be most renowned among both allies and enemies.

Chares accordingly was persuaded and offered sacrifice, while on the Phliasian side the horsemen straightway put on their breastplates and bridled their horses, and the hoplites made all the preparations necessary for infantry. When they had taken up their arms and were proceeding to the place where he was sacrificing, Chares and the seer met them and said that the sacrifices were favourable. Wait for us, they said, for we, too, will set forth at once. And as soon as word had been given by the herald, Chares’ mercenaries also speedily rushed out with a kind of heaven-sent eagerness.

Now when Chares had begun to march, the cavalry and infantry of the Phliasians went on ahead of him; and at first they led the way rapidly, and then they began to run; finally, the horsemen were riding at the top of their speed and the foot-soldiers were running as fast as it is possible for men in line to go, while after them came Chares, following in haste. The time was a little before sunset, and they found the enemy at the fortress, some bathing, some cooking, some kneading, and some making their beds.

Now so soon as the enemy saw the vehemence of the onset they straightway fled in terror, leaving all their provisions behind for these brave men. The latter accordingly made their dinner off these provisions and more which came from home, and after pouring libations in honour of their good fortune, singing a paean, and posting guards, they went to sleep. And the Corinthians, after news had reached them during the night in regard to Thyamia, in a most friendly way ordered out by proclamation all their teams and pack-animals, loaded them with corn, and convoyed them to Phlius; and so long as the fortifications were building, convoys continued to be sent out every day.

The story of the Phliasians, then, how they proved themselves faithful to their friends and continued valiant in the war, and how, though in want of everything, they remained steadfast in their alliance, has been told. At about this time Aeneas the Stymphalian, who had become general of the Arcadians, thinking that conditions in Sicyon were not to be endured, went up to the Acropolis with his own army, called together the aristocrats among the Sicyonians who were in the city, and sent after those who had been exiled therefrom without a decree of the people.

And Euphron, seized with fear at these proceedings, fled for refuge to the port of the Sicyonians, and after summoning Pasimelus to come from Corinth, through him handed over the port to the Lacedaemonians and appeared once more in their alliance, saying that he had all the time remained faithful to the Lacedaemonians. For he said that at the same time when a vote was taken in the city as to whether the Sicyonians should decide to revolt from them, he, with a few others, voted against it;

and that afterwards he had set up a democracy out of his desire to avenge himself on those who had betrayed him. And at this moment, he said, all who were traitors to you are in exile by my act. Now if I had found myself able, I should have gone over to you with the entire city. As it is, I have given over to you the port, over which alone I had gained control. Those who heard him say these words were many, but how many believed him is by no means clear.

However, since I have begun it, I desire to finish the story of Euphron. When the aristocrats and the commons at Sicyon had fallen into strife, Euphron obtained a force of mercenaries from Athens and came back again. And with the help of the commons he was master of the town; a Theban governor, however, held the Acropolis, and since Euphron realized that with the Thebans holding the Acropolis he could not possibly be master of the state, he got together money and set out with the intention of persuading the Thebans, by means of this money, to banish the aristocrats and give the state over to him again.

When, however, the former exiles learned of his journey and his plans, they likewise proceeded to Thebes. And as they saw him in familiar association with the Theban officials, they were seized with fear that he might accomplish what he wanted, and some of them took the risk and slew Euphron upon the Acropolis while the officials and the senate were in session there. But the officials brought those who had done the deed before the senate and spoke as follows:

Fellow citizens, we arraign on the capital charge these men who have slain Euphron, seeing, as we do, that while right-minded men commit no unjust or unrighteous deed, and the wicked, although they commit them, strive to do them in secret, these persons have so far surpassed all mankind in hardihood and villainy that in the presence of the very magistrates and in the presence of you, who alone have authority to decide who shall die and who shall not, they took decision into their own hands and slew the man. Therefore if these men do not suffer the extreme penalty, who will ever have the courage to visit our city? And what will become of the city if any one who so desires is to be allowed to slay a man before he has made known for what purpose he has come here? We, then, arraign these men as utterly unrighteous, unjust, and lawless, and as having shown the utmost contempt for our city. It is for you, after you have heard, to inflict upon them such penalty as they seem to you to deserve.

Such were the words of the officials; as for those who had slain Euphron, all except one denied that they had been the perpetrators of the deed; but one had admitted it, and began his defence in some such words as these: Surely, Thebans, to feel contempt for you is not possible for a man if he knows that you have authority to do with him as you will; in what, then, did I trust when I here slew the man? Be well assured that it was first of all in the belief that I was doing a just deed, and secondly in the thought that you would decide rightly; for I knew that you likewise, in dealing with the party of Archias and Hypates, whom you found to have performed acts like those of Euphron, did not wait for a vote, but punished them as soon as you found yourselves able to do so, believing that those who are manifestly unrighteous and those who are plainly traitors and attempting to be tyrants are already condemned to death by all mankind.

Was not Euphron also, I ask, guilty under all these heads? In the first place, he found the shrines full of offerings both of silver and of gold, and left them empty of all these treasures. Again, who could be more manifestly a traitor than Euphron, who was the closest of friends to the Lacedaemonians and then chose you in their stead, and after he had given you pledges and received pledges from you, betrayed you again and handed over the port to your adversaries? Once again, was he not beyond question a tyrant, when he made slaves not only free men but even citizens, and put to death and banished and robbed of property, not the people who were guilty of wrong-doing, but those whom it suited him to treat thus? And these were the better classes.

Then after he had returned again to the city in company with your bitter adversaries, the Athenians, he set himself in arms against your governor; but since he found himself unable to expel him from the Acropolis, he got together money and came hither. Now if he had been shown to have gathered armed forces with which to attack you, you would even feel grateful to me for slaying him; but when he provided himself with money instead, and came with the purpose of corrupting you by means of this money and persuading you to make him lord of the city again, how can I justly be put to death by you for inflicting upon the man his due punishment? For whereas those who are constrained by arms suffer damage, yet they are not thereby shown to be wicked at any rate; but those who are corrupted by money in violation of the right not only suffer damage, but at the same time incur shame.

To be sure, if he had been an enemy of mine but a friend of yours, I admit myself that it would not have been seemly for me to slay this man in your city; but wherein was he, who was a traitor to you, more of an enemy to me than to you? But, by Zeus, someone might say, he came of his own free will. So, then, if anyone had slain him while he was keeping away from your city, he would have obtained praise; but as it is, when he came again to do you more wrong in addition to what he had done before, does one say that he has not been slain justly? Where can such a one show that a truce exists between Greeks and traitors, or double-deserters, or tyrants?

Besides all this, remember also that you voted, and properly, that exiles should be subject to extradition from all the cities of the alliance. But as for an exile who returns without a general resolution of the allies, can anyone explain why it is unjust for such a one to be put to death? I maintain, gentlemen, that if you put me to death, you will have avenged a man who was the worst of all your enemies, but if you decide that I have done what was right, you will be found to have taken vengeance both for your own selves and for all the allies.

The Thebans, after hearing these words, decided that Euphron had met his deserts; his own citizens, however, esteeming him a good man, brought him home, buried him in their market-place, and pay him pious honours as the founder of their city. So true it is, as it seems, that most people define as good men their own benefactors.

The story of Euphron has been told, and I return to the point from which I digressed to this subject. While, namely, the Phliasians were still fortifying Thyamia and Chares was still with them, Oropus was seized by those who had been exiled therefrom. When, however, the Athenians had set out in full force against the city and had summoned Chares from Thyamia, the port of the Sicyonians in its turn was recaptured by the citizens of Sicyon themselves and the Arcadians; as for the Athenians, none of their allies came to their assistance, and they retired and left Oropus in the possession of the Thebans pending a judicial decision.

And now Lycomedes, upon learning that the Athenians were finding fault with their allies because, while they were themselves suffering many troubles on their account, none gave them any assistance in return, persuaded the Ten Thousand to negotiate for an alliance with the Athenians. At first, indeed, some of the Athenians took it ill that, when they were friends of the Lacedaemonians, they should become allies of their adversaries; but when upon consideration they found that it was no less advantageous to the Lacedaemonians than to themselves that the Arcadians should not require the support of the Thebans, under these circumstances they accepted the alliance with the Arcadians.

While Lycomedes was engaged in these negotiations, upon his departure from Athens he met his death by what was quite manifestly a divine interposition. For there were very many ships available and he selected from them the one he wanted and made an agreement with the sailors to land him wherever he should himself direct; and he chose to land at the very spot where the Arcadian exiles chanced to be. He, then, met his death in this way, but the alliance was really accomplished.

Meantime Demotion said in the Assembly of the Athenians that while it seemed to him a good thing to be negotiating this friendship with the Arcadians, they ought, he said, to give instructions to their generals to see to it that Corinth also should be kept safe for the Athenian people; and on hearing of this the Corinthians speedily sent adequate garrisons of their own to every place where Athenians were on guard and told the latter to depart, saying that they no longer had any need of garrisons. The men accordingly obeyed. And as soon as the Athenians had come together from their guard-stations to the city of Corinth, the Corinthians made proclamation that if any of the Athenians had been wronged, they were to register their names, in the assurance that they would receive their just dues.

While these matters were in this state, Chares arrived at Cenchreae with a fleet. And when he learned what had been done, he said that he had heard there was plotting against the state and had come to give aid. The Corinthians, however, while they thanked him, were none the more disposed to admit his ships into their harbour, but bade him sail away; and they likewise sent away the hoplites after rendering them their just dues. It was in this way, then, that the Athenians departed from Corinth.

On the other hand, they were bound by the terms of their alliance to send their cavalry to the aid of the Arcadians in case anyone took the field against Arcadia; but they did not set foot upon Laconia for the purpose of war.And now the Corinthians, in the thought that it would be difficult for them to come off safe, since even before this time they had been overmastered by land and now the Athenians had been added to the number of those who were unfriendly to them, resolved to collect mercenaries, both infantry and cavalry. Once in command of these troops, they not only guarded their city but likewise inflicted much harm upon their enemies near home; but to Thebes they sent messengers to ask whether they could obtain peace if they came for it.

And when the Thebans bade them come, saying that peace would be granted, the Corinthians requested that they should allow them to go to their allies also, to the end that they might conclude the peace in company with those who desired peace, and leave those who preferred war to continue war. The Thebans having permitted them to do this likewise, the Corinthians went to Lacedaemon and said:

Men of Lacedaemon, we have come to you as your friends, and we ask that in case you see any safety for us if we persist in the war, you make it known to us; but in case you judge our situation to be hopeless, that you join with us in concluding peace if it is to your advantage also; for there is no one in the world along with whom we should more gladly gain safety than with you; if, however, you consider that it is to your advantage to continue the war, we beg you to allow us to conclude peace. For if we are saved, we might perhaps make ourselves useful to you again at some future time; whereas if we are now destroyed, it is plain that we shall never be of service in the future.

Upon hearing these words the Lacedaemonians not only advised the Corinthians to conclude the peace, but gave permission to such of their other allies as preferred not to continue the war in company with them, to cease; as for themselves, however, they said that they would fight on and accept whatever fortune it pleased the deity to send, and that they would never submit to be deprived of what they had received from their fathers — Messene.

So the Corinthians, upon hearing these words, proceeded to Thebes to make the peace. The Thebans, however, wanted them to bind themselves to an alliance as well; but they replied that an alliance was not peace but an exchange of war, and they said that they had come to conclude a real peace, if the Thebans so pleased. And the Thebans, seized with admiration for them because, even though they were in peril, they refused to be involved in war with their benefactors, granted peace to them, to the Phliasians, and to those who had come with them to Thebes, with the condition that each party should keep its own territory. And on these terms the oaths were taken.

Then the Phliasians, inasmuch as the compact had been concluded on this basis, at once withdrew from Thyamia; but the Argives, who had sworn to make peace on these same terms, when they found themselves unable to bring it about that the Phliasian exiles should remain at Tricaranum on the ground that they would be within their own state, took over the place and kept it garrisoned, claiming now that this territory, which a little while before they had been laying waste as though it were an enemy’s, was theirs; and although the Phliasians proposed a judicial decision, they refused to grant the requust.

At about this time, the first Dionysius being now dead, his son sent to the aid of the Lacedaemonians twelve triremes and Timocrates as their commander. And upon his arrival he helped them to capture Sellasia; and after accomplishing this deed he sailed back home.Not long after this the Eleans seized Lasion, which in ancient times had been theirs, but at present belonged to the Arcadian League.

The Arcadians, however, did not let the matter pass, but at once called out their troops and went to the rescue. And on the side of the Eleans the Three Hundred and likewise the Four Hundred came out to meet them. Now after the Eleans had lain encamped on a somewhat level spot opposite the enemy throughout the day, the Arcadians climbed up by night to the summit of the mountain which was above the Eleans; and at daybreak they proceeded to descend upon the Eleans. Then the latter, seeing that the Arcadians were not only approaching from higher ground but were also many times their number, were yet ashamed to retreat while still at a distance, but advanced to meet the enemy, and took to flight only after letting them come to close quarters; and they lost many men and many arms, since they retreated over difficult ground.

When the Arcadians had accomplished these things, they proceeded against the cities of the Acrorians. And having captured them, with the exception of Thraustus, they arrived at Olympia, and after building a stockade around the hill of Cronus, kept guard there and were masters of the Olympian mountain; they likewise gained possession of Margana, which was betrayed to them by some of its citizens. When matters had progressed to this point, the Eleans fell back into complete despondency, while the Arcadians proceeded against their capital. And they advanced as far as the marketplace; there, however, the horsemen and the rest of the Eleans made a stand, and they drove the Arcadians out, killed some of them, and set up a trophy.

Now there had been dissension in Elis even before this time. For the party of Charopus, Thrasonidas, and Argeius were trying to convert the state into a democracy, and the party of Eualcas, Hippias, and Stratolas into an oligarchy. But when the Arcadians with a large force seemed to be allies of those who wished to have a democracy, thereupon the party of Charopus were bolder, and after making arrangements with the Arcadians to aid them, seized the Acropolis.

The horsemen, however, and the Three Hundred made no delay, but at once marched up and ejected them, so that about four hundred of the citizens, with Argeius and Charopus, were banished.Not long afterwards these exiles enlisted the aid of some of the Arcadians and seized Pylus. And many of the democrats withdrew from the capital and joined them, inasmuch as they were in possession of a good stronghold and had a large force — that of the Arcadians — to support them. Afterwards the Arcadians invaded the territory of the Eleans again, being persuaded by the exiles that the city would come over to them.

But on that occasion the Achaeans, who had become friends of the Eleans, defended their city successfully, so that the Arcadians retired without accomplishing anything more than the laying waste of the land of the Eleans. At the moment, however, when they were departing from the Elean territory, they learned that the Pelleneans were in Elis, and after making an exceedingly long march by night seized their town of Olurus; for by this time the Pelleneans had come back again to their alliance with the Lacedaemonians.

Now when the Pelleneans learned the news in regard to Olurus, they in their turn made a roundabout march and as best they could got into their own city, Pellene. And after this they carried on war not only with the Arcadians at Olurus, but also with the entire body of the democrats of their own state, although they were themselves very few in number; but nevertheless they did not cease until they had captured Olurus by siege.

The Arcadians on their side made yet another expedition into Elis. And while they were encamped between Cyllene and the capital, the Eleans made an attack upon them, but the Arcadians stood their ground and defeated them. Then Andromachus, the Elean commander of horse, the man who was thought to be responsible for having joined battle, killed himself; but the rest retired to the city. Among those who perished in this battle was also Socleides the Spartiate, who had meanwhile arrived; for by this time the Lacedaemonians were allies of the Eleans.

And now the Eleans, being hard pressed in their own land, sent ambassadors and asked the Lacedaemonians also to take the field against the Arcadians, believing that the Arcadians would be most likely to give up the struggle in this event, that is, if they were beset by war from both sides. As a result of this request Archidamus took the field with the citizen troops and seized Cromnus. And after leaving in the town as a garrison three of the twelve battalions, he then returned homewards.

But the Arcadians, gathered together as they were in consequence of their expedition into Elis, came to the rescue and surrounded Cromnus with a double stockade, and, being thus in a safe position, besieged the people in Cromnus. Then the city of Lacedaemon, distressed at the besieging of its citizens, sent out an army. And on this occasion also Archidamus was in command. When he had come, he laid waste as much as he could both of Arcadia and of Sciritis, and did everything in order, if possible, to draw off the besiegers. The Arcadians, however, were not any more disposed to stir than before, but disregarded all these doings.

Then Archidamus, espying a hill over which the Arcadians had carried their outer stockade, came to the conclusion that he could capture it, and that if he became master of this hill, the besiegers at its foot would not be able to hold their position. Now while he was leading the way to this place by a roundabout route, as soon as the peltasts who were running on ahead of Archidamus caught sight of the Epariti outside the stockade, they attacked them, and the cavalry endeavoured to join in the attack. The enemy, however, did not give way, but forming themselves into a compact body, remained quiet. Then the Lacedaemonians attacked again. The enemy did not give way even then, but on the contrary proceeded to advance, and by this time there was a deal of shouting; Archidamus himself thereupon came to the rescue, turning off along the wagon road which runs to Cromnus and leading his men in double file, just as he chanced to have them formed.

Now as soon as the two forces had come near to one another, the troops of Archidamus in column, since they were marching along a road, and the Arcadians massed together in close order, at this juncture the Lacedaemonians were no longer able to hold out against the superior weight of the Arcadians, but Archidamus speedily received a wound straight through his thigh and speedily those who fought in front of him kept falling, among them Polyaenidas and Chilon, who was married to the sister of Archidamus; and the whole number of them who fell at that time was not less than thirty.

But when the Lacedaemonians as they retired along the road came out into open ground, they immediately formed themselves in line of battle against the enemy. The Arcadians on their side stood in close order, just as they were, and while inferior in numbers, they were in better spirits by far, since they had attacked a foe who retreated and had killed men. The Lacedaemonians, on the other hand, were exceedingly despondent, for they saw that Archidamus was wounded and they had heard the names of the dead, who were not only brave men but well nigh their most distinguished.

But when, the Arcadians being now close at hand, one of the older men shouted out and said: Why, sirs, should we fight, and not rather make a truce and become reconciled? both sides heard him gladly and made a truce. Accordingly the Lacedaemonians took up their dead and departed, while the Arcadians returned to the place where they had originally begun to advance, and there set up a trophy.

While the Arcadians were occupied about Cromnus, the Eleans in the capital proceeded in the first place against Pylus, and fell in with the Pylians after the latter had been driven out of Thalamae. And when the horsemen of the Eleans, as they rode along, caught sight of the Pylians, they did not delay, but attacked at once, and they killed some of them, while others fled for refuge to a hill; but as soon as the infantry came up they dislodged those upon the hill also, and killed some of them on the spot and took captive others, nearly two hundred in number. Thereupon they sold all among the prisoners who were foreigners and put to the sword all who were Elean exiles. After this the Eleans not only captured the Pylians, along with their stronghold, inasmuch as no one came to their aid, but also recovered Margana.

As for the Lacedaemonians, they afterwards went against Cromnus again by night, made themselves masters of the stockade which was opposite the Argives, and immediately proceeded to call forth the Lacedaemonians who were besieged there. Now all who chanced to be nearest at hand and seized the opportunity promptly, came forth; but such as were forestalled by a large body of the Arcadians which came to the rescue, were shut off inside the stockade, captured, and distributed. And the Argives received one portion, the Thebans one, the Arcadians one, and the Messenians one. And the whole number who were captured of the Spartiatae and the Perioeci came to more than one hundred.

When the Arcadians were no longer occupied with Cromnus, they occupied themselves again with the Eleans, and they not only kept Olympia more strongly garrisoned, but also, since an Olympic year was coming on, prepared to celebrate the Olympic games in company with the Pisatans, who say that they were the first to have charge of the sanctuary. But when the month came in which the Olympic games take place and the days on which the festal assembly gathers, at this time the Eleans, after making their preparations openly and summoning the Achaeans to their aid, proceeded to march along the road leading to Olympia.

Now the Arcadians had never imagined that the Eleans would come against them, and were themselves directing the festal meeting in company with the Pisatans. They had already finished the horse-race, and the events of the pentathlon held in the race-course. And the competitors who had reached the wrestling were no longer in the race-course, but were wrestling in the space between the race-course and the altar. For the Eleans, under arms, had by this time reached the sacred precinct. Then the Arcadians, without advancing to meet them, formed in line of battle on the river Cladaus, which flows past the Altis and empties into the Alpheus. They had allies also to support them, about two thousand hoplites of the Argives and about four hundred horsemen of the Athenians.

And the Eleans formed in line on the opposite side of the river, and, after offering sacrifice, immediately advanced. And although in former time they had been despised in matters of war by the Arcadians and Argives, and despised by the Achaeans and Athenians, nevertheless on that day they led their allies forward, as men who were unexcelled in valour, and they not only routed the Arcadians at once — for it was these whom they encountered first — but withstood the attack of the Argives when they came to the rescue, and won the victory over them also.

When, however, they had pursued the enemy to the space between the senate house and the temple of Hestia and the theatre which adjoins these buildings, although they fought no less stoutly and kept pushing the enemy towards the altar, still, since they were pelted from the roofs of the porticoes, the senate house, and the great temple, and were themselves fighting on the ground-level, some of the Eleans were killed, among them Stratolas himself, the leader of the Three Hundred. When this happened, they retired to their own camp.

But the Arcadians and those with them were so fearful for the coming day that they did not so much as go to rest during the night, being engaged in cutting down the carefully constructed booths and building a stockade. As for the Eleans, when they returned on the next day and saw that the stockade was a strong one and that many men had climbed up on the temples, they withdrew to their city, having shown themselves such men in point of valour as a god no doubt could produce by his inspiration even in a day, but human creatures could not make even in a long time out of those who were not valiant.

Now while the leaders of the Arcadians were using the sacred treasures, and therefrom maintaining the Epariti, the Mantineans were the first to pass a vote not to make use of the sacred treasures. For themselves, they collected in their city the amount which fell to their share towards the payment of the Epariti and sent it off to the leaders. The leaders, however, said that they were doing harm to the Arcadian League, and summoned their rulers before the Ten Thousand; and when they refused to heed the summons, they passed sentence upon them and sent the Epariti to bring those who had been thus condemned. Then the Mantineans shut their gates and would not admit the Epariti within their walls.

As a result of this some others likewise were soon saying in the meeting of the Ten Thousand that they ought not to use the sacred treasures, or to leave to their children for all time such an offence in the eyes of the gods. When, accordingly, a vote had been passed in the Arcadian assembly not to make use of the sacred treasures any longer, those who could not belong to the Epariti without pay speedily began to melt away, while those who could, spurred on one another and began to enroll themselves in the Epariti, in order that they might not be in the power of that body, but rather that it might be in their power. Then such of the Arcadian leaders as had handled the sacred treasures, realizing that, if they had to render an account, they would be in danger of being put to death, sent to Thebes and explained to the Thebans that if they did not take the field, the Arcadians would be likely to go over to the Lacedaemonians again.

The Thebans accordingly prepared to take the field; but those who sought the best interests of Peloponnesus persuaded the general assembly of the Arcadians to send ambassadors and tell the Thebans not to come under arms to Arcadia unless they sent them a summons. And while they said this to the Thebans, at the same time they reasoned that they had no desire for war. For they held that they had no desire for the presidency of the shrine of Zeus, but that they would be acting more justly as well as more righteously if they gave it back, and that in this way, as they supposed, they would please the god better. Now since the Eleans also were desirous of this course, both parties resolved to make peace; and a truce was concluded.

After the oaths had been taken and, besides all the rest, the Tegeans had sworn and the Theban governor himself, who chanced to be in Tegea with three hundred hoplites of the Boeotians, then, while the bulk of the Arcadians, still remaining there in Tegea, feasted and made merry, poured libations and sang paeans over the conclusion of peace, the Theban and such of the Arcadian leaders as were fearful about their accounts, after closing the gates in the wall of Tegea with the help of the Boeotians and their partisans among the Epariti, sent to the feasters and proceeded to seize the aristocrats. But inasmuch as the Arcadians of all the cities were present and all of them were desirous of having peace, those who were seized were necessarily many, so that their prison was speedily full, and the city hall likewise.

Since, however, there were many who had been imprisoned, and many who had leaped down outside the wall, and some also who had been let out through the gates (for no one, unless he expected to be put to death, felt resentment against anyone else), it was a cause of the greatest embarrassment to the Theban governor and those who were acting with him in this matter that of the Mantineans, whom they most wanted to capture, they had but a very few; for because their city was near by, almost all of them had gone home.

Now when day came and the Mantineans learned what had been done, they straightway sent to the other Arcadian cities and gave them word to hold themselves under arms and to guard the passes. The Mantineans likewise followed this course themselves, and at the same time, sending to Tegea, demanded back all the men of Mantinea whom they were holding there; and they said that they demanded in the case of the other Arcadians also that no one of them should be kept in prison or put to death without a trial. And if anyone had any charges to bring against these men, they gave assurances that the city of Mantinea pledged itself in very truth to produce before the general assembly of the Arcadians all whom anyone might summon to trial.

The Theban accordingly, on hearing this, was at a loss to know how he should deal with the matter, and released all the men. Then on the following day he called together as many of the Arcadians as chose to gather and said in his defence that he had been deceived. For he had heard, he said, that the Lacedaemonians were on the borders under arms and that some of the Arcadians were going to betray Tegea to them. Upon hearing this they acquitted him, although they knew that he was speaking falsely about them, but they sent ambassadors to Thebes and brought charges against him, saying that he ought to be put to death.

It was said, however, that Epaminondas (for he chanced to be general at that time) urged that he had acted far more rightly when he seized the men than when he released them. For, he said to the ambassadors, it was on your account that we entered upon war, and you concluded peace without our approval; should we not, therefore, be justified in charging you with treason for this act? But be well assured, said he, that we shall make an expedition to Arcadia and shall wage war in company with those who hold to our side.

When these things were reported back to the general assembly of the Arcadians and to the several cities, the Mantineans and such of the other Arcadians as were concerned for Peloponnesus inferred therefrom, as did likewise the Eleans and the Achaeans, that the Thebans manifestly wanted Peloponnesus to be as weak as possible so that they might as easily as possible reduce it to slavery.

For why in the world, they said, do they wish us to make war unless it is in order that we may do harm to one another and consequently may both feel the need of them? Or why, when we say that we do not at present need them, are they preparing to march forth? Is it not clear that it is for the purpose of working some harm upon us that they are preparing to take the field?

And they sent to Athens also, bidding the Athenians come to their aid, while ambassadors from the Epariti proceeded to Lacedaemon as well, to invite the help of the Lacedaemonians in case they wanted to join in checking any who might come to enslave Peloponnesus. As for the matter of the leadership, they arranged at once that each people should hold it while within its own territory.

While these things were being done, Epaminondas was on his outward march at the head of all the Boeotians, the Euboeans, and many of the Thessalians, who came both from Alexander and from his opponents. The Phocians, however, declined to join the expedition, saying that their agreement was to lend aid in case anyone went against Thebes, but that to take the field against others was not in the agreement.

Epaminondas reflected, however, that his people had supporters in Peloponnesus also — the Argives, the Messenians, and such of the Arcadians as held to their side. These were the Tegeans, the Megalopolitans, the Aseans, the Pallantians, and whatever cities were constrained to adopt this course for the reason that they were small and surrounded by these others.

Epaminondas accordingly pushed forth with speed; but when he arrived at Nemea he delayed there, hoping to catch the Athenians as they passed by, and estimating that this would be a great achievement, not only in the view of his people’s allies, so as to encourage them, but also in that of their opponents, so that they would fall into despondency — in a word, that every loss the Athenians suffered was a gain for the Thebans.

And during this delay on his part all those who held the same views were gathering together at Mantinea. But when Epaminondas heard that the Athenians had given up the plan of proceeding by land and were preparing to go by sea, with the intention of marching through Lacedaemon to the aid of the Arcadians, under these circumstances he set forth from Nemea and arrived at Tegea.

Now I for my part could not say that his campaign proved fortunate; yet of all possible deeds of forethought and daring the man seems to me to have left not one undone. For, in the first place, I commend his pitching his camp within the wall of Tegea, where he was in greater safety than if he had been encamped outside, and where whatever was being done was more entirely concealed from the enemy. Furthermore, it was easier for him, being in the city, to provide himself with whatever he needed. Since the enemy, on the other hand, was encamped outside, it was possible to see whether they were doing things rightly or were making mistakes. Again, while he believed that he was stronger than his adversaries, he could never be induced to attack them when he saw that they held the advantage in position.

However, when he perceived that no city was coming over to him and that time was passing on, he decided that some action must be taken; otherwise, in place of his former fame, he must expect deep disgrace. When he became aware, therefore, that his adversaries had taken up a strong position in the neighbourhood of Mantinea and were sending after Agesilaus and all the Lacedaemonians, and learned, further, that Agesilaus had marched forth and was already at Pellene, he gave orders to his men to get their dinner and led his army straight upon Sparta.

And had not a Cretan by a kind of providential chance come and reported to Agesilaus that the army was advancing, he would have captured the city, like a nest entirely empty of its defenders. But when Agesilaus, having received word of this in time, had got back to the city ahead of the enemy, the Spartiatae posted themselves at various points and kept guard, although they were extremely few. For all their horsemen were away in Arcadia and likewise the mercenary force and three of the battalions, which numbered twelve.

Now when Epaminondas had arrived within the city of the Spartiatae, he did not attempt to enter at the point where his troops would be likely to have to fight on the ground-level and be pelted from the house-tops, nor where they would fight with no advantage over the few, although they were many; but after gaining the precise position from which he believed that he would enjoy an advantage, he undertook to descend (instead of ascending) into the city.

As for what happened thereupon, one may either hold the deity responsible, or one may say that nobody could withstand desperate men. For when Archidamus led the advance with not so much as a hundred men and, after crossing the very thing which seemed to present an obstacle, marched uphill against the adversary, at that moment the fire-breathers, the men who had defeated the Lacedaemonians, the men who were altogether superior in numbers and were occupying higher ground besides, did not withstand the attack of the troops under Archidamus, but gave way.

And those in the van of Epaminondas’ army were slain, but when the troops from within the city, exulting in their victory, pursued farther than was fitting, they in their turn were slain; for, as it seems, the line had been drawn by the deity indicating how far victory had been granted them. Archidamus accordingly set up a trophy at the spot where he had won the victory, and gave back under a truce those of the enemy who had fallen there.

Epaminondas, on the other hand, reflecting that the Arcadians would be coming to Lacedaemon to bring aid, had no desire to fight against them and against all the Lacedaemonians after they had come together, especially since they had met with success and his men with disaster; so he marched back as rapidly as he could to Tegea, and allowed his hoplites to rest there, but sent his horsemen on to Mantinea, begging them to endure this additional effort and explaining to them that probably all the cattle of the Mantineans were outside the city and likewise all the people, particularly as it was harvest time.

They then set forth; but the Athenian horsemen, setting out from Eleusis, had taken dinner at the Isthmus and, after having passed through Cleonae also, chanced to be approaching Mantinea or to be already quartered within the wall in the houses. And when the enemy were seen riding toward the city, the Mantineans begged the Athenian horsemen to help them, if in any way they could; for outside the wall were all their cattle and the labourers, and likewise many children and older men of the free citizens. When the Athenians heard this they sallied forth to the rescue, although they were still without breakfast, they and their horses as well.

Here, again, who would not admire the valour of these men also? For although they saw that the enemy were far more numerous, and although a misfortune had befallen the horsemen at Corinth, they took no account of this, nor of the fact that they were about to fight with the Thebans and the Thessalians, who were thought to be the best of horsemen, but rather, being ashamed to be at hand and yet render no service to their allies, just as soon as they saw the enemy they crashed upon them, eagerly desiring to win back their ancestral repute.

And by engaging in the battle they did indeed prove the means of saving for the Mantineans everything that was outside the wall, but there fell brave men among them; and those also whom they slew were manifestly of a like sort; for neither side had any weapon so short that they did not reach one another therewith. And the Athenians did not abandon their own dead, and they gave back some of the enemy’s under a truce.

As for Epaminondas, on the other hand, when he considered that within a few days it would be necessary for him to depart, because the time fixed for the campaign had expired, and that if he should leave behind him unprotected the people to whom he had come as an ally, they would be besieged by their adversaries, while he himself would have completely tarnished his own reputation, — for with a large force of hoplites he had been defeated at Lacedaemon by a few, and defeated likewise in a cavalry battle at Mantinea, and through his expedition to Peloponnesus had made himself the cause of the union of the Lacedaemonians, the Arcadians, the Achaeans, the Eleans, and the Athenians, — he thought for these reasons that it was not possible for him to pass by the enemy without a battle, since he reasoned that if he were victorious, he would make up for all these things, while if he were slain, he deemed that such an end would be honourable for one who was striving to leave to his fatherland dominion over Peloponnesus.

Now the fact that Epaminondas himself entertained such thoughts, seems to me to be in no wise remarkable, — for such thoughts are natural to ambitious men; but that he had brought his army to such a point that the troops flinched from no toil, whether by night or by day, and shrank from no peril, and although the provisions they had were scanty, were nevertheless willing to be obedient, this seems to me to be more remarkable.

For at the time when he gave them the last order to make ready, saying that there would be a battle, the horsemen eagerly whitened their helmets at his command, the hoplites of the Arcadians painted clubs upon their shields, as though they were Thebans, and all alike sharpened their spears and daggers and burnished their shields.

But when he had led them forth, thus made ready, it is worth while again to note what he did. In the first place, as was natural, he formed them in line of battle. And by doing this he seemed to make it clear that he was preparing for an engagement; but when his army had been drawn up as he wished it to be, he did not advance by the shortest route towards the enemy, but led the way towards the mountains which lie to the westward and over against Tegea, so that he gave the enemy the impression that he would not join battle on that day.

For as soon as he had arrived at the mountain, and when his battle line had been extended to its full length, he grounded arms at the foot of the heights, so that he seemed like one who was encamping. And by so doing he caused among most of the enemy a relaxation of their mental readiness for fighting, and likewise a relaxation of their readiness as regards their array for battle. It was not until he had moved along successive companies to the wing where he was stationed, and had wheeled them into line thus strengthening the mass formation of this wing, that he gave the order to take up arms and led the advance; and his troops followed. Now as soon as the enemy saw them unexpectedly approaching, no one among them was able to keep quiet, but some began running to their posts, others forming into line, others bridling horses, and others putting on breast-plates, while all were like men who were about to suffer, rather than to inflict, harm.

Meanwhile Epaminondas led forward his army prow on, like a trireme, believing that if he could strike and cut through anywhere, he would destroy the entire army of his adversaries. For he was preparing to make the contest with the strongest part of his force, and the weakest part he had stationed far back, knowing that if defeated it would cause discouragement to the troops who were with him and give courage to the enemy. Again, while the enemy had formed their horsemen like a phalanx of hoplites, — six deep and without intermingled foot soldiers, —

Epaminondas on the other hand had made a strong column of his cavalry, also, and had mingled foot soldiers among them, believing that when he cut through the enemy’s cavalry, he would have defeated the entire opposing army; for it is very hard to find men who will stand firm when they see any of their own side in flight. And in order to prevent the Athenians on the left wing from coming to the aid of those who were posted next to them, he stationed both horsemen and hoplites upon some hills over against them, desiring to create in them the fear that if they proceeded to give aid, these troops would fall upon them from behind.Thus, then, he made his attack, and he was not disappointed of his hope; for by gaining the mastery at the point where he struck, he caused the entire army of his adversaries to flee.

When, however, he had himself fallen, those who were left proved unable to take full advantage thereafter even of the victory; but although the opposing phalanx had fled before them, their hoplites did not kill a single man or advance beyond the spot where the collision had taken place; and although the cavalry also had fled before them, their cavalry in like manner did not pursue and kill either horsemen or hoplites, but slipped back timorously, like beaten men, through the lines of the flying enemy. Furthermore, while the intermingled footmen and the peltasts, who had shared in the victory of the cavalry, did make their way like victors to the region of the enemy’s left wing, most of them were there slain by the Athenians.

When these things had taken place, the opposite of what all men believed would happen was brought to pass. For since well-nigh all the people of Greece had come together and formed themselves in opposing lines, there was no one who did not suppose that if a battle were fought, those who proved victorious would be the rulers and those who were defeated would be their subjects; but the deity so ordered it that both parties set up a trophy as though victorious and neither tried to hinder those who set them up, that both gave back the dead under a truce as though victorious, and both received back their dead under a truce as though defeated, and that while each party claimed to be victorious,

neither was found to be any better off, as regards either additional territory, or city, or sway, than before the battle took place; but there was even more confusion and disorder in Greece after the battle than before.Thus far be it written by me; the events after these will perhaps be the concern of another.