Hellenica

But now Tithraustes, who thought he had found out that Agesilaus despised the power of the King and did not in the least intend to depart from Asia, but rather had great hopes that he would overcome the King, being perplexed to know how to deal with the situation, sent Timocrates the Rhodian to Greece, giving him gold to the value of fifty talents of silver, and bade him undertake, on receipt of the surest pledges, to give this money to the leaders in the various states on condition that they[*](395 B.C.) should make war upon the Lacedaemonians. So Timocrates went and gave his money, at Thebes to Androcleidas, Ismenias, and Galaxidorus; at Corinth to Timolaus and Polyanthes; and at Argos to Cylon and his followers.

And the Athenians, even though they did not receive a share of this gold, were nevertheless eager for the war, thinking that theirs was the right to rule. Then those who had taken the money set to work in their own states to defame the Lacedaemonians; and when they had brought their people to a feeling of hatred toward them, they undertook, further, to unite the largest states with one another.

But the leading men in Thebes, being aware that unless someone began war the Lacedaemonians would not break the peace with their allies, persuaded the Opuntian Locrians to levy money from the territory which was in dispute between the Phocians and themselves, for they thought that if this was done the Phocians would invade Locris. And they were not disappointed, for the Phocians did at once invade Locris and seize property many times as valuable.

Then Androcleidas and his followers speedily persuaded the Thebans to aid the Locrians, on the ground that the Phocians had invaded, not the disputed territory, but Locris, which was admitted to be a friendly and allied country. And when the Thebans made a counter-invasion into Phocis and laid waste the land, the Phocians straightway sent ambassadors to Lacedaemon and asked the Lacedaemonians to aid them, setting forth that they had not begun war, but had gone against the Locrians in self-defence.

Now the Lacedaemonians were[*](395 B.C.) glad to seize a pretext for undertaking a campaign against the Thebans, for they had long been angry with them both on account of their claiming Apollo’s tenth[*](i.e., of the spoils of the Peloponnesian War.) at Decelea and their refusing to follow them against Piraeus.[*](Cp. II. iv. 30.) Furthermore, they charged them with persuading the Corinthians likewise not to join in that campaign. Again, they recalled that they had refused to permit Agesilaus to sacrifice at Aulis and had cast from the altar the victims already offered, and that they also would not join Agesilaus for the campaign in Asia. They also reasoned that it was a favourable time to lead forth an army against the Thebans and put a stop to their insolent behaviour toward them; for matters in Asia were in an excellent condition for them, Agesilaus being victorious, and in Greece there was no other war to hinder them.

The city of the Lacedaemonians being thus minded, the ephors called out the ban and sent Lysander to Phocis with orders to report at Haliartus, bringing with him the Phocians themselves and also the Oetaeans, Heracleots, Malians, and Aenianians. And Pausanias also, who was to have chief command, agreed to appear at Haliartus on an appointed day, with the troops of the Lacedaemonians and the other Peloponnesians. Now Lysander carried out all his orders and, besides, caused the Orchomenians to revolt from the Thebans.

And Pausanias, when his sacrifice at the frontier proved favourable, sent out his officers to muster the allies, and waited for the troops from the outlying towns of Laconia, he meanwhile resting at Tegea. But when it became clear to the Thebans that the Lacedaemonians were going to invade their land, they sent ambassadors to Athens with the[*](395 B.C.) following message:

Men of Athens, as regards your complaints against us for having voted for harsh measures toward you at the conclusion of the war,[*](Cp. II. ii. 19.) your complaints are not justified; for it was not the state which voted for those measures, but only the one individual who proposed them, a man who chanced at that time to have a seat in the assembly of the allies. But when the Lacedaemonians summoned us to the attack upon Piraeus, then the whole state voted not to join them in the campaign.[*](Cp. II. iv. 30.) Therefore, since it is chiefly on your account that the Lacedaemonians are angry with us, we think it is fair that you should aid our state.

And we consider it in a far greater degree incumbent upon all those among you who belonged to the city[*](Cp. II. iv. 11, 24, etc.) party that you should zealously take the field against the Lacedaemonians. For the Lacedaemonians, after establishing you as an oligarchy and making you objects of hatred to the commons, came with a great force, ostensibly as your allies, and delivered you over to the democrats. Consequently, in so far as it depended upon them, you would certainly have perished, but the commons here saved you.