So far do they go in their selfish greed, so great is the cowardice which they impute to us, that they, who have time and again called upon us to make war in defense of their own territory,Especially Corinth and Phlius. See Xen. Hell. 4.4.7 and 15. think we ought not to risk battle for Messene, but, in order that they may themselves cultivate their lands in security, seek to convince us that we ought to yield to the enemy a portion of our own; and, besides all that, they threaten that if we do not comply with these terms, they will make a separate peace.

For my part, I do not think that our risk without their alliance will be as much more serious for us as it will be more glorious and splendid and notable in the eyes of all mankind; for to endeavor to preserve ourselves and to prevail over our enemies, not through the aid of others, but through our own powers, is in keeping with the past achievements of our state.

Although I have never been fond of oratory, having in fact always thought that those who cultivate the power of speech are somewhat lacking in capacity for action,An allusion to the traditional Spartan fondness for brevity and distrust of eloquence. yet at the moment there is nothing I should value more than the ability to speak as I desire about the question now before us; for in the present crisis I am confident that with this aid I could render a very great service to the state.

First, I think that I ought to explain to you in what way we acquired Messene, and for what reasons you settled in the Peloponnesus—you who from of old are Dorians. And the reason why I shall go back to remote times is that you may understand why your enemies are trying to rob you of this country, which you acquired, no less than Lacedaemon itself, with a just title.

When Heracles had put off this life and from being mortal became a god, his sons at first went on divers wanderings and faced many perils because of the power of their enemies;For the return of the the sons of Heracles and details connected therewith see Apollod. 2.8.2-4, and Frazer's notes on this passage (Loeb Classical Library, Vol.I). Cf. Isoc. 4.54-58 and notes. but after the death of Eurystheus they fixed their habitation among the Dorians. In the third generation thereafter they came to Delphi, desiring to consult the oracle about certain matters. Apollo, however, made them no answer to the questions which they asked, but merely bade them seek the country of their fathers.

Searching into the meaning of the oracle, they found, first, that Argos belonged to them by right of their being next of kin, for after the death of Eurystheus they were the sole survivors of Perseus' line;Sthenelus, father of Eurystheus, was a son of Perseus. For the manner of Eurystheus' death see Isoc. 4.60. next, that Lacedaemon was theirs by right of gift, for when Tyndareus, having been driven from his throne,Tyndareus, son of Perieres and of Perseus' daughter, Gorgophone, was king of Lacedaemon until driven out by his half-brother Hippocoön and by Hippocoön's sons. See Apollod. 3.10.5. was restored to it by Heracles,Heracles slew Hippocoön and his twenty sons and restored Tyndareus. after Castor and Polydeuces had vanished from among men,Castor was slain during a foray in Messene. His brother, Polydeuces, who according to most accounts was a son of Zeus by Leda, while Castor was a son of Tyndareus by Leda, refused to accept immortality unless it was shared by his brother. Zeus, therefore, granted that the two brothers dwell, on alternate days, among the gods and among men. According to others both were sons of Zeus. Hence Isocrates can refer to their kinship with Heracles, the son of Zeus and Alcmene. See Apollod. 3.11.2 and Isoc. 10.61. he gave the land to Heracles because of this act of kindness and also because of the kinship of Heracles and his own sons;

and lastly, they found that Messene was theirs as a prize taken in war, for Heracles, when he had been robbed of the cattle from Erytheia,To fetch the cattle of Geryon from Erytheia, an island off the coast of Spain, was the tenth labor imposed on Heracles by Eurystheus. See Apollod. 2.5.10. by Neleus and all his sons except Nestor, had taken the country captive and slain the offenders, but had committed the city to Nestor's charge, believing him to be prudent, because, although the youngest of his brethren, he had taken no part in their iniquity.

Assuming this to be the purport of the oracle, they joined forces with your forefathers and organized an army, sharing meantime their own country with their followers,That is, the common folk of the Dorians as distinguished from the descendants of Heracles, the ancestors of Archidamus. but receiving from them the kingship as the prize reserved for themselves alone; then having confirmed these covenants by mutual pledges, they set out upon the expedition.

The perils which befell them on the march, and the other incidentsSuch as are told in Apollod. 2.8.3. which have no bearing on the present theme, I need not take the time to describe. Let it suffice that, having conquered in war those who dwelt in the regions which I have mentioned, they divided their kingdom into three parts.Procles and Eurysthenes, twin sons of Aristodemus, along with Temenos and Cresphontes, sons of Aristomachus, drew lots for Argos, Lacedaemon, and Messene. Now you men of Sparta have until this day remained faithful to the oaths and to the covenants which you made with my forefathers;

therefore in time past you have fared better than the rest of the world, and in time to come you may reasonably hope, if you continue as you have been, to fare better than at present. But the Messenians went so far in their wickedness that they plotted against and slew Cresphontes, albeit he was the founder of their state, the sovereign of their land, a descendant of Heracles, and once the leader of their armies.

His sons, however, escaped the perils which confronted them and threw themselves upon the mercy of Sparta, beseeching us to come to the aid of their dead fatherAccording to the usual account, it was Aepytus, a son of Cresphontes, who avenged the death of his father. Apollod. 2.8.5. and offering us their land. And you, after inquiring of Apollo, and being directed by him to accept this gift and avenge the wronged, thereupon beleaguered the Messenians, forced them to surrender, and thus gained possession of their territory.