History of the Peloponnesian War

On this occasion there were posted on the left wing the Sciritae,[*](Inhabitants of the rough hilly country towards the territory of Tegea.) who alone of the Lacedaemonians always have that post by themselves; next to them the soldiers who had served with Brasidas in Thrace, and with them the Neodamodes; next the Lacedaemonians themselves, with their battalions posted one after another, and by them the Heraeans of Arcadia; after these the Maenalians; on the right wing the Tegeates, with a few of the Lacedaemonians holding the end of the line; and on either wing the cavalry.

The Lacedaemonians were thus arrayed. On their enemy's side the Mantineans had the right wing, because the action was to be fought in their country; by their side were their Arcadian allies; then the thousand picked men of the Argives, for whom the state had for a long time furnished at public expense training in matters pertaining to war; next to them the rest of the Argives; after these their allies, the Cleonaeans and Orneates; then the Athenians last, on the left wing, and with them their own cavalry.

Such was the order and the composition of the two sides. The army of the Lacedaemonians appeared the larger;

but the number, either of the separate contingents or of the total on either side, I could not possibly state accurately. For on account of the secrecy of their polity the number of the Lacedaemonians was unknown; and that claimed for the others, on account of men's tendency to boast with regard to their own numbers, was discredited.