Complete Works of Xenophon (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics) (113 page)

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.
[40]
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.
[41]

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.
[42]
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.
[43]
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.
[44]

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.”
[45]
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.
[46]
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.

2.

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.
[2]
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 —
[3]
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.
[4]
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.
[5]

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.
[6]
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.
[7]
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.
[8]
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.
[9]
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.
[10]

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.
[11]

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.
[12]
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.
[13]
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.
[14]
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.
[15]
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.
[16]