Diodorus Siculus, Library 8-40

§ 15.41.5 For Pharnabazus marched slowly and had given plenty of time for the enemy to prepare. Indeed it is the usual custom for the Persian commanders, not being independent in the general conduct of war, to refer all matters to the King and await his replies concerning every detail.

§ 15.42.1 The Egyptian king Nectanebos learned the size of the Persian armies, but was emboldened, for Egypt is extremely difficult of approach, and secondly by the fact that all points of invasion from land or sea had been carefully blocked.

§ 15.42.2 For the Nile empties into the Egyptian Sea by seven mouths, and at each mouth a city had been established along with great towers on each bank of the stream and a wooden bridge commanding its entrance. He especially fortified the Pelusiac mouth because it is the first to be encountered by those approaching from Syria and seemed to be the most likely route of the enemy approach.

§ 15.42.3 He dug channels connecting with this, fortified the entrances for ships at the most suitable points, and inundated the approaches by land while blocking the sea approaches by embankments. Accordingly it was not easy either for the ships to sail in, or for the cavalry to draw near, or for the infantry to approach.

§ 15.42.4 Pharnabazus' staff, finding the Pelusiac mouth so remarkably fortified and guarded by a multitude of soldiers, rejected utterly the plan of forcing a way through it and decided to make the invasion by ship through another mouth. Accordingly they voyaged on the open sea so that the ships should not be sighted by the enemy, and sailed in by the mouth known as Mendesian, which had a beach stretching over a considerable space. Landing here with three thousand men, Pharnabazus and Iphicrates pushed forward to the walled stronghold at the mouth.

§ 15.42.5 The Egyptians rushed out with three thousand horse and infantry, and a sharp battle ensued, but many men from their ships came to increase the number of the Persians, until finally the Egyptians were surrounded, many slain, and not a few captured alive; and the rest were driven in confusion into the city. Iphicrates' men dashed in with the defenders inside the walls, took possession of the fortress, razed it, and enslaved the inhabitants.

§ 15.43.1 After this, discord set in amongst the commanders, causing the failure of the enterprise. For Iphicrates, learning from the captives that Memphis, the most strategically situated of the Egyptian cities, was undefended, advised sailing immediately up to Memphis before the Egyptian forces arrived there, but Pharnabazus thought they should await the entire Persian force; for in this way the campaign against Memphis would be less dangerous.

§ 15.43.2 When Iphicrates demanded that he be given the mercenaries that were on hand and promised if he had them to capture the city, Pharnabazus became suspicious of his boldness and his courage for fear lest he take possession of Egypt for himself. Accordingly when Pharnabazus would not yield, Iphicrates protested that if they let slip the exact moment of opportunity, they would make the whole campaign a failure. Some generals indeed bore a grudge against him and were attempting to fasten unfair charges upon him.

§ 15.43.3 Meanwhile the Egyptians, having had plenty of time to recuperate, first sent an adequate garrison into Memphis, and then, proceeding with all their forces against the ravaged stronghold at the Mendesian mouth of the Nile and being now at a great advantage owing to the strength their position, fought constant engagements with the enemy. With ever-increasing strength they slew many Persians and gained confidence against them.

§ 15.43.4 As the campaign about this stronghold dragged on, and the Etesian winds had already set in, the Nile, which was filling up and flooding the whole region with the abundance of its waters, made Egypt daily more secure. The Persian commanders, as this state of affairs constantly operated against them, decided to withdraw from Egypt.

§ 15.43.5 Consequently, on their way back to Asia, when a disagreement arose between him and Pharnabazus, Iphicrates, suspecting that he might be arrested and punished as Conon the Athenian had been, decided to flee secretly from the camp. Accordingly, having secured a ship he covertly got away at night and reached port at Athens.

§ 15.43.6 Pharnabazus dispatched ambassadors to Athens and accused Iphicrates of being responsible for the failure to capture Egypt. The Athenians, however, replied to the Persians that if they detected him in wrongdoing they would punish him as he deserved, and shortly afterward appointed Iphicrates general in command of their fleet.

§ 15.44.1 It will not be out of place to set forth what I have learned about the remarkable character of Iphicrates. For he is reported to have possessed shrewdness in common and to have enjoyed an exceptional natural genius for every kind of useful invention. Hence we are told, after he had acquired his long experience of military operations in the Persian War, he devised many improvements in the tools of war, devoting himself especially to the matter of arms.

§ 15.44.2 For instance, the Greeks were using shields which were large and consequently difficult to handle; these he discarded and made small oval ones of moderate size, thus successfully achieving both objects, to furnish the body with adequate cover and to enable the user of the small shield, on account of its lightness, to be completely free in his movements.

§ 15.44.3 After a trial of the new shield its easy manipulation secured its adoption, and the infantry who had formerly been called “hoplites” because of their heavy shield, then had their name changed to “peltasts” from the light pelta they carried. As regards spear and sword, he made changes in the contrary direction: namely, he increased the length of the spears by half, and made the swords almost twice as long. The actual use of these arms confirmed the initial test and from the success of the experiment won great fame for the inventive genius of the general.

§ 15.44.4 He made soldiers' boots that were easy to untie and light and they continue to this day to be called “iphicratids” after him. He also introduced many other useful improvements into warfare, but it would be tedious to write about them. So the Persian expedition against Egypt, for all its huge preparations, disappointed expectations and proved a failure in the end.

§ 15.45.1 Throughout Greece now that its several states were in confusion because of unwonted forms of government, and many uprisings were occurring in the midst of the general anarchy, the Lacedemonians gave assistance to such as were trying to establish oligarchies, while the Athenians supported those groups which clung to democracy.

§ 15.45.2 For both these states did maintain the truce for a short time, but then, acting in co operation with their affiliated cities renewed the war, no longer respecting the general peace that had been agreed upon. So it came about that in Zacynthos the popular party, being angry and resentful toward those who had held control of the government during the domination of the Lacedemonians, drove them all into exile.... These Zacynthians, having taken refuge with Timotheus the Athenian in charge of the fleet, joined his naval force and fought with him.

§ 15.45.3 Accordingly they made him their confederate, were transported by him to the island, and seized a stronghold by the sea which they called Arcadia. With this as their base and having the support of Timotheus they inflicted damage upon those in the city.

§ 15.45.4 And when the Zacynthians asked the Lacedemonians to help them, these latter at first sent envoys to Athens to denounce Timotheus; but then, seeing that the Athenian people favoured the exiles, they organized a fleet, and manning twenty-five triremes sent them to assist the Zacynthians, placing Aristocrates in command.

§ 15.46.1 While these things were going on, some partisans of the Lacedemonians in Corcyra revolted against the democracy and called upon the Spartans to dispatch a fleet, promising to betray Corcyra to them. The Lacedemonians, aware of the great importance that Corcyra had for the aspirants to sea power, made haste to possess themselves of this city.

§ 15.46.2 So they immediately dispatched to Corcyra twenty-two triremes, having given the command to Alcidas. They pretended that this expedition was sent to Sicily, in order to be received as friends by the Corcyraeans and then with the assistance of the exiles to occupy the city.

§ 15.46.3 But the Corcyraeans, discovering the design of the Spartans, kept careful guard over the city and sent envoys to Athens to get help. The Athenians voted help for the Corcyraeans and the Zacynthian exiles, sent to Zacynthos Ctesicles as general in command of the exiles, and prepared to dispatch a naval force to Corcyra.

§ 15.46.4 While these things were going on, the Plataeans in Boeotia, clinging to the alliance with the Athenians, sent to them for soldiers, having decided to hand their city over to the Athenians. At this the Boeotarchs became incensed with the Plataeans, and being eager to forestall the allied force from Athens, immediately brought a considerable army against the Plataeans.

§ 15.46.5 They reached the neighbourhood of Plataeae when the attack was not expected, so that a large number of the Plataeans were arrested in the fields and carried off by the cavalry, while the rest, who had escaped to the city, being helpless without any allies, were forced to make a covenant agreeable to their enemies; they were obliged, namely, to depart from the city with their movable possessions and never again to set foot on Boeotian soil.

§ 15.46.6 Thereupon the Thebans, having razed Plataeae completely, pillaged Thespiae as well, which was at odds with them. The Plataeans with their wives and children, having fled to Athens, received equality of civic rights as a mark of favour from the Athenian people. Such was the state of affairs in Boeotia.

§ 15.47.1 The Lacedemonians appointed Mnasippus general and ordered him to proceed to Corcyra with sixty-five triremes, his forces consisting of fifteen hundred soldiers. Touching at the island, he picked up the exiles, then sailed into the harbour and captured four ships, the three remaining ships having fled to the shore, where they were burned by the Corcyraeans to prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy. He also defeated with his infantry a contingent on land which had seized a certain hill, and generally terrorized the Corcyraeans.

§ 15.47.2 The Athenians had some time previously dispatched Timotheus, Conon's son, with sixty ships to aid Corcyra. He, however, before intervening in their favour, had sailed to the region of Thrace. Here he summoned many cities to join the alliance, and added thirty triremes to his fleet.

§ 15.47.3 At this point, because he was too late to assist Corcyra, he was at first deprived of his command as a result of his loss of popularity. Later, however, when he sailed along the Attic coast to Athens, bringing with him a great number of envoys from states which were ready to conclude an alliance with Athens, having added thirty triremes to his fleet and put the whole fleet in good trim for the war, the people repented and reinstated him in his command.

§ 15.47.4 They furthermore equipped forty additional triremes, so that altogether he had one hundred thirty; they also provided liberal stores of food, engines of war, and other supplies needed for war. To meet the immediate emergency, they chose Ctesicles general and sent him with five hundred soldiers to aid the Corcyraeans.

§ 15.47.5 He arrived there secretly by night and sailed into Corcyra undetected by the besiegers. Finding the inhabitants of the city at strife with one another and handling military matters badly, he composed the dissensions, devoted much attention to the city's business, and heartened the besieged.

§ 15.47.6 At first in an unexpected attack on the besiegers he slew about two hundred, and later in a great battle slew Mnasippus and not a few others. Finally he encircled and laid siege to the besiegers and won great approval.

§ 15.47.7 The war to possess Corcyra was practically at an end when the Athenian fleet sailed in with the generals Timotheusand Iphicrates. These, having arrived too late for the critical moment, accomplished nothing worth mentioning except that, falling in with some Sicilian triremes which Dionysius had dispatched under the command of Cissides and Crinippus to assist his allies the Lacedemonians, they captured them with their crews, nine ships in all. By selling the captives as booty they collected more than sixty talents, with which they paid their forces.

§ 15.47.8 While these things were going on, in Cyprus Nicocles the eunuch assassinated the king Evagoras and possessed himself of the royal power over the Salaminians; and Italy the Romans, arrayed in battle against the Praenestini, defeated them and slew almost all their opponents.

§ 15.48.1 When Asteius was archon at Athens, the Romans elected six military tribunes with consular power, Marcus Furius, Lucius Furius, Aulus Postumius, Lucius Lucretius, Marcus Fabius, and Lucius Postumius. During their term of office great earthquakes occurred in the Peloponnese accompanied by tidal waves which engulfed the open country and cities in a manner past belief; for never in the earlier periods had such disasters befallen Greek cities, nor had entire cities along with their inhabitants disappeared as a result of some divine force wreaking destruction and ruin upon mankind.

§ 15.48.2 The extent of the destruction was increased by the time of its occurrence; for the earthquake did not come in the daytime when it would have been possible for the sufferers to help themselves, but the blow came at night, so that when the houses crashed and crumbled under the force of the shock, the population, owing to the darkness and to the surprise and bewilderment occasioned by the event, had no power to struggle for life.

§ 15.48.3 The majority were caught in the falling houses and annihilated, but as day returned some survivors dashed from the ruins and, when they thought they had escaped the danger, met with a greater and still more incredible danger. For the sea rose to a vast height, and a wave towering even higher washed away and drowned all the inhabitants and their native lands as well. Two cities in Achaia bore the brunt of this disaster, Helice and Bura, the former of which had, as it happened, before the earthquake held first place among the cities of Achaia.

§ 15.48.4 These disasters have been the subject of much discussion. Natural scientists make it their endeavour to attribute responsibility in such cases not to divine providence, but to certain natural circumstances determined by necessary causes, whereas those who are disposed to venerate the divine power assign certain plausible reasons for the occurrence, alleging that the disaster was occasioned by the anger of the gods at those who had committed sacrilege. This question I too shall endeavour to deal with in detail in a special chapter of my history.

§ 15.49.1 In Ionia nine cities were in the habit of holding sacrifices of great antiquity on a large scale to Poseidon in a lonely region near the place called Mycale. Later, however, as a result of the outbreak of wars in this neighbourhood, since they were unable to hold the Panionia there, they shifted the festival gathering to a safe place near Ephesus. Having sent an embassy to Delphi, they received an oracle telling them to take copies of the ancient ancestral altars at Helice, which was situated in what was then known as Ionia, but is now known as Achaea.

§ 15.49.2 So the Ionians in obedience to the oracle sent men to Achaea to make the copies, and they spoke before the council of the Achaeans and persuaded them to give them what they asked. The inhabitants of Helice, however, who had an ancient saying that they would suffer danger when Ionians should sacrifice at the altar of Poseidon, taking account of the oracle, opposed the Ionians in the matter of the copies, saying that the sanctuary was not the common property of the Achaeans, but their own particular possession. The inhabitants of Bura also took part with them in this.

§ 15.49.3 But since the Achaeans by common decree had concurred, the Ionians sacrificed at the altar of Poseidon as the oracle directed, but the people of Helice scattered the sacred possessions of the Ionians and seized the persons of their representatives, thus committing sacrilege. It was because of these acts, they say, that Poseidon in his anger brought ruin upon the offending cities through the earthquake and the flood.

§ 15.49.4 That it was Poseidon's wrath that was wreaked upon these cities they allege that clear proofs are at hand: first, it is distinctly conceived that authority over earthquakes and floods belongs to this god, and also it is the ancient belief that the Peloponnese was an habitation of Poseidon; and this country is regarded as sacred in a way to Poseidon, and, speaking generally, all the cities in the Peloponnese pay honour to this god more than to any other of the immortals.

§ 15.49.5 Furthermore, the Peloponnese has beneath its surface huge caverns and get underground accumulations of flowing water. Indeed the two rivers in it which clearly have underground courses; one of them, in fact, near Pheneus, plunges into the ground, and in former times completely disappeared, swallowed up by underground caves, and the other, near Stymphalus, plunges into a chasm and flows for two hundred stades concealed underground, then pours forth by the city of the Argives.

§ 15.49.6 In addition to these statements the pious say further that except for those who committed the sacrilege no one perished in the disaster. Concerning the earthquakes and floods which occurred we shall rest content with what has been said.

§ 15.50.1 When Alcisthenes was archon at Athens, the Romans elected eight military tribunes with consular power, Lucius and Publius Valerius, Gaius Terentius, Lucius Menenius, Gaius Sulpicius, Titus Papirius, and Lucius Aemilius, and the Eleians celebrated the hundred and second Olympiad in which Damon of Thurii won the stadium race.

§ 15.50.2 During their term of office, after the Lacedemonians had held the supremacy in Greece for almost five hundred years, a divine portent foretold the loss of their empire; for there was seen in the heavens during the course of many nights a great blazing torch which was named from its shape a “flaming beam,” and a little later, to the surprise of all, the Spartans were defeated in a great battle and irretrievably lost their supremacy.

§ 15.50.3 Some of the students of nature ascribed the origin of the torch to natural causes, voicing the opinion that such apparitions occur of necessity at appointed times, and that in these matters the Chaldaeans in Babylon and the other astrologers succeeded in making accurate prophecies. These men, they say, are not surprised when such a phenomenon occurs, but rather if it does not, since each particular constellation has its own peculiar cycle and they complete these cycles through age-long movements in appointed courses. At any rate this torch had such brilliancy, they report, and its light such strength that it cast shadows on the rather similar to those cast by the moon.

§ 15.50.4 At this time Artaxerxes the Persian King, seeing that the Greek world was again in a turmoil, sent ambassadors, calling upon the Greeks to settle their internecine wars and establish a common peace in accordance with the covenants they had formerly made. All the Greeks gladly received this proposal, and all the cities agreed to a general peace except Thebes; for the Thebans alone, being engaged in bringing Boeotia under a single confederacy, were not admitted by the Greeks because of the general determination to have the oaths and treaties made city by city. So, remaining outside of the treaties as formerly, the Thebans continued to hold Boeotia in a single confederacy subject to themselves.

§ 15.50.5 The Lacedemonians, being exasperated by this, decided to lead a large army against them as common enemies, for they cast an extremely jealous eye upon their increase of power, fearing lest with the leadership of all Boeotia they might break up the Spartan supremacy, given a suitable opportunity. For they constantly practised gymnastics and had great bodily strength, and since they were naturally lovers of war, they were inferior to no Greek nation in deeds of valour.

§ 15.50.6 They had besides leaders conspicuous for their virtues, greatest among them being three men, Epameinondas, Gorgidas, and Pelopidas. The city of the Thebans was full of pride because of the glory of its ancestors in the heroic age and aspired to mighty deeds. In this year, then, the Lacedemonians were making ready for war, levying armies both of their own citizens and from their allies as well.

§ 15.51.1 When Phrasicleides was archon at Athens, the Romans elected eight military tribunes with consular power, Publius Manius, Gaius Erenucius, Gaius Sextus, Tiberius Julius, Lucius Lavinius, Publius Tribonius, and Gaius Manlius, and besides Lucius Anthestius. During their term of office the Thebans, since they were not participants in the truce, were forced to undertake alone the war with the Lacedemonians; for there was no city that could legally join them, because all had agreed to the general peace.

§ 15.51.2 The Lacedemonians, since the Thebans were isolated, determined to fight them and reduce Thebes to complete slavery. And since the Lacedemonians were making their preparations without concealment and the Thebans were destitute of allies, everyone assumed that they would be easily defeated by the Spartans.

§ 15.51.3 Accordingly some of the Greeks who were friendly to the Thebans sympathized with them at the prospect of defeat, while others who were at odds with them were overjoyed at the thought that Thebes would in a trice be reduced to utter slavery. Finally the Lacedemonians, their huge army ready, gave command of it to Cleombrotus their king, and first of all sent envoys ahead to Thebes, directing the Thebans to permit all of the Boeotian cities to be independent, to people Plataea and Thespiae, and to restore the land to its former owners.

§ 15.51.4 When the Thebans replied that they never meddled with affairs in Laconia and the Spartans had no right to touch those of Boeotia, such being the tenor of their answers, the Lacedemonians sent Cleombrotus forth immediately with his army against Thebes; and the Spartan allies were eager for the war, confident that there would be no contest or battle but that they would master the Boeotians without a struggle.

§ 15.52.1 The Spartans accordingly advanced till they came to Coroneia, where they encamped and waited for such of their allies as were tardy. The Thebans, in view of the presence of the enemy, first voted to remove their wives and children to safety in Athens, then chose Epameinondas general and turned over to him the command in the war, giving him as his advisers six boeotarchs.

§ 15.52.2 Epameinondas, having conscripted for the battle all Thebans of military age and the other Boeotians who were willing and qualified, led forth from Thebes his army, numbering in all not more than six thousand.

§ 15.52.3 As the soldiers were marching out from the city it seemed to many that unfavourable omens appeared to the armament. For by the gates Epameinondas was met by a blind herald, who, seeking recovery of runaway slaves, just as was usual, cried his warning not to take them from Thebes nor to spirit them away, but to bring them home and keep them secure.

§ 15.52.4 Now the older people amongst those who heard the herald considered it an omen for the future; but the younger folk kept quiet so as not to appear through cowardice to hold Epameinondas back from the expedition. But Epameinondas replied to those who told him that he must observe the omens: One only omen is best, to fight for the land that is ours."

§ 15.52.5 Though Epameinondas astounded the cautious by his forthright answer, a second omen appeared more unfavourable than the previous one. For as the clerk advanced with a spear and a ribbon attached to it and signalled the orders from headquarters, a breeze came up and, as it happened, the ribbon was torn from the spear and wrapped itself around a slab that stood over a grave, and there were buried in this spot some Lacedemonians and Peloponnesians who had died in the expedition under Agesilaus.

§ 15.52.6 Some of the older folk who again chanced to be there protested earnestly against leading the force out in the face of the patent opposition of the gods; but Epameinondas, deigning them no reply, led forth his army, thinking that considerations of nobility and regard for justice should be preferred as motives to the omens in question.

§ 15.52.7 Epameinondas accordingly, who was trained in philosophy and applied sensibly the principles of his training, was at the moment widely criticized, but later in the light of his successes would considered to have excelled in military shrewdness and did contribute the greatest benefits to his country. For he immediately led forth his army, seized in advance the pass at Coroneia, and encamped there.

§ 15.53.1 Cleombrotus, learning that the enemy had seized the pass first, decided against forcing a passage there, proceeded instead through Phocis, and, when he had traversed the shore road which was difficult, entered Boeotia without danger. In his passage he took some of the fortresses and seized ten triremes.

§ 15.53.2 Later, when he reached the place called Leuctra, he encamped there and allowed the soldiers to recover after their march. As the Boeotians neared the enemy in their advance, and then, after surmounting some ridges, suddenly caught sight of the Lacedemonians covering the entire plain of Leuctra, they were astounded at beholding the great size of the army.

§ 15.53.3 And when the boeotarchs held a conference to decide whether they ought to remain and fight it out with an army that many times outnumbered them, or whether they should retreat and join battle in a commanding position, it chanced that the votes of the leaders were equal. For of the six boeotarchs, three thought that they should withdraw the army, and three that they should stay and fight it out, and among the latter Epameinondas was numbered. In this great and perplexing deadlock, the boeotarch came to vote, whom Epameinondas persuaded to vote with him, and thus he carried the day. So the decision to stake all on the issue of battle was thus ratified.

§ 15.53.4 But Epameinondas, who saw that the soldiers were superstitious on account of the omens that had occurred, earnestly desired through his own ingenuity and strategy to reverse the scruples of the soldiery. Accordingly, a number of men having recently arrived from Thebes, he persuaded them to say that the weapons at the temple of Heracles had surprisingly disappeared and that word had gone abroad in Thebes that the heroes of old had taken them up and set off to help the Boeotians. He placed before them another man as one who had recently ascended from the cave of Trophonius, who said that the god had directed them, when they won at Leuctra, to institute a contest with crowns for prizes in honour of Zeus the king. This indeed is the origin of this festival which the Boeotians now celebrate at Lebadeia.

§ 15.54.1 An aider and abettor of this device was Leandrias the Spartan, who had been exiled from Lacedemonian and was then a member of the Theban expedition. He was produced in the assembly and declared that there was an ancient saying amongst the Spartans, that they would lose the supremacy when they should be defeated at Leuctra at the hands of the Thebans.

§ 15.54.2 Certain local oracle-mongers likewise came up to Epameinondas, saying that the Lacedemonians were destined to meet with a great disaster by the tomb of the daughters of Leuctrus and Scedasus for the following reasons.

§ 15.54.3 Leuctrus was the person for whom this plain was named. His daughters and those of a certain Scedasus as well, being maidens, were violated by some Lacedemonian ambassadors. The outraged girls, unable to endure their misfortune, called down curses on the country that had sent forth their ravishers and took their lives by their own hands.

§ 15.54.4 Many other such occurrences were reported, and when Epameinondas had convened an assembly and exhorted the soldiers by the appropriate pleas to meet the issue, they all shifted their resolutions, rid themselves of their superstition, and with courage in their hearts stood ready for the battle.

§ 15.54.5 There came also at this time to aid the Thebans an allied contingent from Thessaly, fifteen hundred infantry, and five hundred horsemen, commanded by Jason. He persuaded both the Boeotians and the Lacedemonians to make an armistice and so to guard against the caprices of Fortune.

§ 15.54.6 When the truce came into effect, Cleombrotus set out with his army from Boeotia, and there came to meet him another large army of Lacedemonians and their allies under the command of Archidamus, son of Agesilaus. For the Spartans, seeing the preparedness of the Boeotians, and taking measures to meet their boldness and recklessness in battle, had dispatched the second army to overcome by the superior number of their combatants the daring of the enemy.

§ 15.54.7 Once these armies had united, the Lacedemonians thought it cowardly to fear the valour of the Boeotians. So they disregarded the truce and with high spirits returned to Leuctra. The Boeotians too were ready for the battle and both sides marshalled their forces.

§ 15.55.1 Now on the Lacedemonian side the descendants of Heracles were stationed as commanders of the wings, namely Cleombrotus the king and Archidamus, son of the King Agesilaus, while on the Boeotian side Epameinondas, by employing an unusual disposition of his own, was enabled through his own strategy to achieve his famous victory.

§ 15.55.2 He selected from the entire army the bravest men and stationed them on one wing, intending to fight to the finish with them himself. The weakest he placed on the other wing and instructed them to avoid battle and withdraw gradually during the enemy's attack. So then, by arranging his phalanx in oblique formation, he planned to decide the issue of the battle by means of the wing in which were the elite.

§ 15.55.3 When the trumpets on both sides sounded the charge and the armies simultaneously with the first onset raised the battle-cry, the Lacedemonians attacked both wings with their phalanx in crescent formation, while the Boeotians retreated on one wing, but on the other engaged the enemy in double-quick time.

§ 15.55.4 As they met in hand-to hand combat, at first both fought ardently and the battle was evenly poised; shortly, however, as Epameinondas' men began to derive advantage from their valour and the denseness of their lines, many Peloponnesians began to fall. For they were unable to endure the weight of the courageous fighting of the elite corps; of those who had resisted some fell and others were wounded, taking all the blows in front.

§ 15.55.5 Now as long as King Cleombrotus of the Lacedemonians was alive and had with him many comrades-in arms who were quite ready to die in his defence, it was uncertain which way the scales of victory inclined; but when, though he shrank from no danger, he proved unable to bear down his opponents, and perished in an heroic resistance after sustaining many wounds, then, as masses of men thronged about his body, there was piled up a great mound of corpses.

§ 15.56.1 There being no one in command of the wing, the heavy column led by Epameinondas bore down upon the Lacedemonians, and at first by sheer force caused the line of the enemy to buckle somewhat; then, however, the Lacedemonians, fighting gallantly about their king, got possession of his body, but were not strong enough to achieve victory.

§ 15.56.2 For as the corps of elite outdid them in feats of courage, and the valour and exhortations of Epameinondas contributed greatly to its prowess, the Lacedemonians were with great difficulty forced back; at first, as they gave ground they would not break their formation, but finally, as many fell and the commander who would have rallied them had died, the army turned and fled in utter rout.

§ 15.56.3 Epameinondas' corps pursued the fugitives, slew many who opposed them, and won for themselves a most glorious victory. For since they had met the bravest of the Greeks and with a small force had miraculously overcome many times their number, they won a great reputation for valour. The highest praises were accorded the general Epameinondas, who chiefly by his own courage and by his shrewdness as a commander had defeated in battle the invincible leaders of Greece.

§ 15.56.4 More than four thousand Lacedemonians fell in the battle but only about three hundred Boeotians. Following the battle they made a truce to allow for taking up the bodies of the dead and the departure of the Lacedemonians to the Peloponnese. Such was the outcome of events relating to the battle of Leuctra.

§ 15.57.1 When the year had ended, at Athens Dysnicetus was archon, and in Rome military tribunes with consular power were elected, four in number: Quintus Servilius, Lucius Furius, Gaius Licinius, and Publius Coelius. During their term of office the Thebans, taking the field with a large army against Orchomenus, aimed to reduce the city to slavery, but when Epameinondas advised them that any who aimed at supremacy over the Greeks ought to safeguard by their generous treatment what they had achieved by their valour, they changed their mind. Accordingly they reckoned the people of Orchomenus as belonging to the territory of their allies, and later, having made friends of the Phocians, Aetolians, and Locrians, returned to Boeotia again.

§ 15.57.2 Jason, tyrant of Pherae, whose power was constantly increasing, invaded Locris, first took Heracleia in Trachinia by treachery, laid it waste, and gave the country to the Oetaeans and Malians; then later, moving into Perrhaebia, he won over some of the cities by generous promises, and subdued others by force. As his position of influence speedily became established, the inhabitants of Thessaly looked with suspicion on his aggrandizement and encroachments.

§ 15.57.3 While these things were going on, in the city of Argos civil strife broke out accompanied by slaughter of a greater number than is recorded ever to have occurred anywhere else in Greece. Among the Greeks this revolutionary movement was called “Club-law,” receiving this appellation on account of the manner of the execution.

§ 15.58.1 Now the strife arose from the following causes: the city of Argos had a democratic form of government, and certain demagogues instigated the populace against the outstanding citizens of property and reputation. The victims of the hostile charges then got together and decided to overthrow the democracy.

§ 15.58.2 When some of those who were thought to be implicated were subjected to torture, all but one, fearing the agony of torture, committed suicide, but this one came to terms under torture, received a pledge of immunity, and as informer denounced thirty of the most distinguished citizens, and the democracy without a thorough investigation put to death all those who were accused and confiscated their property.

§ 15.58.3 But many others were under suspicion, and as the demagogues supported false accusations, the mob was wrought up to such a pitch of savagery that they condemned to death all the accused, who were many and wealthy. When, however, more than twelve hundred influential men had been removed, the populace did not spare the demagogues themselves.

§ 15.58.4 For because of the magnitude of the calamity the demagogues were afraid that some unforeseen turn of fortune might overtake them and therefore desisted from their accusation, whereas the mob, now thinking that they had been left in the lurch by them, were angry at this and put to death all the demagogues. So these men received the punishment which fitted their crimes as if some divinity were visiting its just resentment upon them, and the people, eased of their mad rage, were restored to their senses.

§ 15.59.1 About the same time, Lycomedes of Tegea prevailed upon the Arcadians to form a single confederacy with a common council to consist of ten thousand men empowered to decide issues of war and peace.

§ 15.59.2 But since civil war broke out in Arcadia on a large scale and the quarrelling factions came to a decision by force of arms, many were killed and more than fourteen hundred fled, some to Sparta, others to Pallantium.

§ 15.59.3 Now these latter refugees were surrendered by the Pallantians and slaughtered by the victorious party, whereas those who took refuge in Sparta prevailed upon the Lacedemonians to invade Arcadia.

§ 15.59.4 Accordingly King Agesilaus with an army and the band of fugitives invaded the territory of the Tegeans, who were believed to have been the cause of the insurrection and the expulsions. By devastation of the countryside and assaults upon the city, he cowed the Arcadians of the opposing party.

§ 15.60.1 While these things were going on, Jason, tyrant of Pherae, because of his superior shrewdness as a general and his success in attracting many of his neighbours into an alliance, prevailed upon the Thessalians to lay claim to the supremacy in Greece; for this was a sort of prize for valour open to those strong enough to contend for it.

§ 15.60.2 Now it happened that the Lacedemonians had sustained a great disaster at Leuctra; that the Athenians laid claim to the mastery of the sea only; that the Thebans were unworthy of first rank; and that the Argives had been brought low by civil wars and internecine slaughter. So the Thessalians put Jason forward as leader of the whole country, and as such gave him supreme command in war. Jason accepted the command, won over some of the tribes near by, and entered into alliance with Amyntas king of the Macedonians.

§ 15.60.3 A peculiar coincidence befell in this year, for three of those in positions of power died about the same time. Amyntas, son of Arrhidaeus, king of Macedonia, died after a rule of twenty-four years, leaving behind him three sons, Alexander, Perdiccas, and Philip. The son Alexander succeeded to the throne and ruled for one year.

§ 15.60.4 Likewise Agesipolis, king of the Lacedemonians, died after ruling a year, the kingship going to Cleomenes his brother who succeeded to the throne and had a reign of thirty-four years.

§ 15.60.5 Thirdly, Jason of Pherae, who had been chosen ruler of Thessaly and was reputed to be governing his subjects with moderation, was assassinated, either, as Ephorus writes, by seven young men who conspired together for the repute it would bring, or, as some historians say, by his brother Polydorus.

§ 15.60.6 This Polydorus himself also, after succeeding to the position of leader, ruled for one year. Duris of Samos, the historian, began his History of the Greeks at this point. These then were the events of this year.

§ 15.61.1 When Lysistratus was archon at Athens, civil strife arose among the Romans, one party thinking there should be consuls, others that military tribunes should be chosen. For a time then anarchy supervened on civil strife, later they decided to choose six military tribunes, and those elected were Lucius Aemilius, Gaius Verginius, Servius Sulpicius, Lucius Quintius, Gaius Cornelius, and Gaius Valerius.

§ 15.61.2 During their term of office Polydorus of Pherae the ruler of Thessaly was poisoned by Alexander his nephew, who had challenged him to a drinking bout, and the nephew Alexander succeeded to the rule as overlord and held it for eleven years. Having acquired the rule illegally and by force, he administered it consistently with the policy he had chosen to follow. For while the rulers before him had treated the peoples with moderation and were therefore loved, he was hated for his violent and severe rule.