History of the Peloponnesian War

Then, however, the ephors, on his showing them the letter, gave greater credence to it; but still wished to be ear-witnesses of Pausanias' saying something. When therefore, from a concerted plan, the man had gone to Taenarus [*]( i. e. to the temple of Neptune on the promontory of Taenarus, which enjoyed the privileges of an asylum, or sanctuary.) as a suppliant, and had built himself a hut, divided into two by a partition wall, in which he concealed some of the ephors; and when Pausanias came to him, and asked the reason for his becoming a suppliant, they heard all distinctly; while the man charged him with what had been written, and set forth the other particulars, one by one, saying that he had never yet endangered him at all in his services with respect to the king, yet had been, just like the mass of his servants, preferred to death; and Pausanias acknowledged these very things, and desired him not to be angry for what had happened, but gave him the security of raising him up from the temple, and begged him to go as quickly as possible, and not to put an obstacle in the way of his designs.

After hearing him accurately, the ephors then went away, and having now certain knowledge [of his guilt], were preparing to arrest him in the city. But it is said that when he was just going to be arrested in the street, from seeing the face of one of the ephors as he approached him, he understood for what purpose he was coming; and on another of them making a secret nod, and out of kindness showing him [their object], he set off running to the temple of Minerva of the Brazen-House, and reached his place of refuge first; for the sacred ground was near at hand. To avoid suffering from exposure to the open air, he entered a building of no great size, which formed part of the temple, and remained quiet in it.

The ephors were at the moment distanced in the pursuit; but afterwards they took off the roof of the building; and having watched him in, and cut him off from egress, they barricaded the doors; and sitting down before the place, reduced him by starvation.

When he was on the point of expiring in his present situation in the building, on perceiving it, they took him out of the temple while still breathing;

and when he was taken out, he died immediately. They were going therefore to cast him, as they do malefactors, into the Caeadas; but afterwards they thought it best to bury him some where near But the god at Delphi subsequently ordered the Lacedaemonians to remove the tomb to where he died, (and he now lies in the entrance to the sacred ground, as monumental columns declare in writing;) and as what had been done was a pollution to them, he ordered them to give back two bodies instead of one to the goddess of the Brazen-House. So they had two brazen statues made, and dedicated them as a substitute for Pausanias.