Histories

These were the suitors. When they arrived on the appointed day, Cleisthenes first inquired the country and lineage of each; then he kept them with him for a year, testing their manliness and temper and upbringing and manner of life; this he did by consorting with them alone and in company, putting the younger of them to contests of strength, but especially watching their demeanor at the common meal; for as long as he kept them with him, he did everything for them and entertained them with magnificence.

The suitors that most pleased him were the ones who had come from Athens [23.7333,37.9667] (Perseus)Athens, and of these Hippocleides son of Tisandrus was judged foremost, both for his manliness and because in ancestry he was related to the Cypselids of Corinth [22.9083,37.9083] (Perseus) Corinth.

When the appointed day came for the marriage feast and for Cleisthenes' declaration of whom he had chosen out of them all, Cleisthenes sacrificed a hundred oxen and gave a feast to the suitors and to the whole of Sikyon [22.725,37.9833] (Perseus)Sicyon.

After dinner the suitors vied with each other in music and in anecdotes for all to hear. As they sat late drinking, Hippocleides, now far outdoing the rest, ordered the flute-player to play him a dance-tune; the flute-player obeyed and he began to dance. I suppose he pleased himself with his dancing, but Cleisthenes saw the whole business with much disfavor.