Agis and Cleomenes

But Cleomenes, marching up from Argos and taking over Troezen, Epidaurus, and Hermioné, came to Corinth. Its citadel he blockaded, since the Achaeans would not abandon it, and after summoning the friends and stewards of Aratus, ordered them to take the house and property of Aratus into their charge and management.

Then he sent Tritymallus the Messenian once more to Aratus, proposing that Acrocorinthus should be garrisoned by Achaeans and Lacedaemonians together, and promising Aratus personally double the stipend which he was receiving from King Ptolemy.[*](Ptolemy III., surnamed Euergetes, king of Egypt 247-222 B.C. See the Aratus, xli. 3. ) Aratus, however, would not listen to the proposition, but sent his son to Antigonus along with the other hostages, and persuaded the Achaeans to vote the surrender of Acrocorinthus to Antigonus. Therefore Cleomenes invaded the territory of Sicyon and ravaged it, and accepted the property of Aratus when the Corinthians voted it to him as a gift.

When Antigonus with a large force was crossing the mountain-range of Geraneia, Cleomenes thought it more advisable to fortify thoroughly, not the Isthmus, but the Oneian range of hills, and to wear out the Macedonians by a war of posts and positions, rather than to engage in formal battle with their disciplined phalanx. He carried out this plan, and thereby threw Antigonus into straits.

For he had not a sufficient store of provisions, and it was no easy matter to force his passage while Cleomenes sat entrenched. Moreover, when he attempted to slip past his enemy in the night by way of Lechaeum, he was driven out and lost some of his soldiers. Therefore Cleomenes was altogether encouraged, and his men, elated by their victory, betook themselves to supper; but Antigonus was dejected, since he was shut up by necessity to difficult plans.

For he was planning to march off to the promontory of the Heraeum, and from there to put his army across to Sicyon in transports—an undertaking requiring much time and extraordinary preparations. But when it was already towards evening, there came to him from Argos by sea some friends of Aratus, who summoned him to the city, on the ground that the Argives were ready to revolt from Cleomenes. The author of the revolt was Aristotle; and the multitude were easy to persuade, being incensed because Cleomenes had not brought about the abolition of debts which they expected.