Hellenica

All the events, then, which took place in Thessaly in connection with Jason, and, after his death, down to the rule of Tisiphonus, have thus been described; now I return to the point from which I digressed to discuss these matters. When, namely, Archidamus had led back his army from[*](371 B.C.) the relief expedition to Leuctra, the Athenians, taking thought of the fact that the Peloponnesians still counted themselves bound to follow the Lacedaemonians, and that the latter were not yet in the same situation to which they had brought the Athenians, invited to Athens all the cities which wished to participate in the peace which the King had sent down.

And when they had come together, they passed a resolution to take the following oath, in company with such as desired to share in the peace: I will abide by the treaty which the King sent down, and by the decrees of the Athenians and their allies. And if anybody takes the field against any one of the cities which have sworn this oath, I will come to her aid with all my strength. Now all the others were pleased with the oath; the Eleans only opposed it, saying that it was not right to make either the Marganians, Scilluntians, or Triphylians independent, for these cities were theirs.

But the Athenians and the others, after voting that both small and great cities alike should be independent, even as the King wrote, sent out the officers charged with administering the oath and directed them to administer it to the highest authorities in each city.[*](371 B.C.) And all took the oath except the Eleans.As a natural result of these proceedings the Mantineans, feeling that they were now entirely independent, all came together and voted to make Mantinea a single[*](cp. v. ii. 7.) city and to put a wall about it.

But the Lacedaemonians, on the other hand, thought that it would be a grievous thing if this were done without their approval. They accordingly sent Agesilaus as ambassador to the Mantineans, because he was regarded as an ancestral friend of theirs.[*](cp. v. ii. 3.) Now when he had come to them, the officials refused to assemble for him the Mantinean people, but bade him tell them what he desired. He then offered them his promise that, if they would desist from their wall-building for the present, he would arrange matters so that the wall should be constructed with the approval of Lacedaemon and without great expense.

And when they replied that it was impossible to desist, since a resolution to build at once had been adopted by the entire city, Agesilaus thereupon departed in anger. It did not seem to be possible, however, to make an expedition against them, inasmuch as the peace had been concluded on the basis of independence. Meanwhile some of the Arcadian cities sent men to help the Mantineans in their building, and the Eleans made them a contribution of three talents in money toward the expense of the wall. The Mantineans, then, were occupied with this work.

Among the Tegeans, on the other hand, the followers[*](370 B.C.) of Callibius and Proxenus were making efforts to the end that all the people of Arcadia should unite, and that whatever measure was carried in the[*](370 B.C.) common assembly should be binding on the several cities as well; but the followers of Stasippus made it their policy to leave their city undisturbed and to live under the laws of their fathers.

Now the followers of Proxenus and Callibius, defeated in the council of the magistrates, and conceiving the thought that if the people came together they would prove far superior in numbers, gathered openly under arms. Upon seeing this the followers of Stasippus also armed themselves in their turn, and they did indeed prove fewer in number; when, however, they had set forth for battle, they killed Proxenus and a few others along with him, but although they put the rest to flight they did not pursue them; for Stasippus was the sort of man not to desire to kill many of his fellow-citizens.

Then the followers of Callibius, who had retired to a position under the city wall and the gates on the side toward Mantinea, inasmuch as their adversaries were no longer attacking them, remained quietly gathered there. They had long before this sent to the Mantineans bidding them come to their aid, but with the followers of Stasippus they were negotiating for a reconciliation. When, however, the Mantineans were to be seen approaching, some of them leaped upon the wall, urged the Mantineans to come on to their assistance with all possible speed, and with shouts exhorted them to hurry; others meanwhile opened the gates to them.

Now when the followers of Stasippus perceived what was going on, they rushed out by the gates leading to Pallantium, gained refuge in the temple of Artemis before they could be overtaken by their pursuers, and after shutting themselves in, remained quiet there. But their foes who had followed after them climbed[*](370 B.C.) upon the temple, broke through the roof, and pelted them with the tiles. And when the people within realized the hopelessness of their situation, they bade them stop and said they would come out. Then their adversaries, as soon as they had got them in their power, bound them, threw them into a wagon, and carried them back to Tegea. There, in company with the Mantineans, they passed sentence upon them and put them to death.

While these things were going on, about eight hundred of the Tegeans who were partisans of Stasippus fled to Lacedaemon as exiles, and subsequently the Lacedaemonians decided that, in accordance with their oaths, they ought to avenge the Tegeans who had been slain and to aid those who had been banished. So they decided to make an expedition against the Mantineans on the ground that, in violation of their oaths, they had proceeded in arms against the Tegeans. The ephors accordingly called out the ban, and the state directed Agesilaus to act as commander.

Now most of the Arcadians were gathering together at Asea. But since the Orchomenians refused to be members of the Arcadian League on account of their enmity toward the Mantineans, and had even received into their city the mercenary force, commanded by Polytropus, which had been collected at Corinth, the Mantineans were remaining at home and keeping watch upon them. On the other hand, the Heraeans and Lepreans were serving with the Lacedaemonians against the Mantineans.

Agesilaus, then, when his sacrifices at the frontier proved favourable, at once proceeded to march against Arcadia. And having occupied Eutaea, which was a city on the border,[*](370 B.C.) and found there the older men, the women, and the children living in their houses, while the men of military age had gone to the Arcadian assembly, he nevertheless did the city no harm, but allowed the people to continue to dwell there, and his troops got everything that they needed by purchase; and if anything had been taken as booty at the time when he entered the city, he searched it out and gave it back. He also occupied himself, during the whole time that he spent there awaiting the mercenaries under Polytropus, in repairing all those portions of the city wall which needed it.

Meanwhile the Mantineans made an expedition against the Orchomenians. And they came off very badly from their attack upon the city wall, and some of them were killed; but when in their retreat they had reached Elymia and, although the Orchomenian hoplites now desisted from following them, Polytropus and his troops were very boldly pressing upon them, then the Mantineans, realizing that if they did not beat them off many of their own number would be struck down by javelins, turned about and charged their assailants.

Polytropus fell fighting where he stood; the rest fled, and very many of them would have been killed had not the Phliasian horsemen arrived, and by riding around to the rear of the Mantineans made them desist from their pursuit. The Mantineans, then, after accomplishing these things, went back home.

Agesilaus heard of this affair and came to the conclusion that the mercenaries from Orchomenus could not now join him; under these circumstances, therefore, he continued his advance. On the first day he took dinner in the territory of Tegea, and on the[*](370 B.C.) following day crossed into the territory of the Mantineans and encamped at the foot of the mountains to the west of Mantinea; there at the same time he laid waste the land and plundered the farms. Meanwhile the Arcadians who had assembled at Asea made their way by night to Tegea.

On the next day Agesilaus encamped at a distance of about twenty stadia from Mantinea. But the Arcadians from Tegea, a very large force of hoplites, made their appearance; they were skirting the mountains between Mantinea and Tegea, desiring to effect a junction with the Mantineans, for the Argives, who came with them, were not in full force. And there were some who tried to persuade Agesilaus to attack these troops separately; he, however, fearing that while he was marching against them the Mantineans might issue forth from their city and attack him in flank and rear, judged it best to allow the two hostile forces to come together and, in case they wished to fight, to conduct the battle in regular fashion and in the open.The Arcadians from Tegea had by now effected a junction with the Mantineans.

On the other hand, the peltasts from Orchomenus, and with them the horsemen of the Phliasians, made their way during the night past Mantinea and appeared as Agesilaus was sacrificing in front of his camp at daybreak; and they caused the Lacedaemonians to fall hurriedly into line and Agesilaus himself to retire to the camp. But when they had been recognized as friends, and Agesilaus had obtained favourable omens, immediately after breakfast he led his army forward. Later, as evening was coming on, he unwittingly encamped in the valley which lies behind the town[*](370 B.C.) of Mantinea; it is surrounded by mountains which are only a short distance away.

On the following day at daybreak he was offering sacrifices in front of the army; and seeing that troops were gathering from the city of the Mantineans on the mountains which were above the rear of his army, he decided that he must lead his men out of the valley with all possible speed. Now he feared that if he led the way himself, the enemy would fall upon his rear; accordingly, while keeping quiet and presenting his front toward the enemy, he ordered the men at the rear to face about to the right and march along behind the phalanx toward him. And in this manner he was at the same time leading them out of the narrow valley and making the phalanx continually stronger.[*]( The scene is a long, narrow valley. The rear (οὐρά) of the Lacedaemonian line is at the head of the valley, while the van, where Agesilaus has his position, is at the opening of the valley into the plain. The enemy are gathering upon the hills on one side of the valley. Agesilaus first faces his troops toward the enemy (τὰ ὅπλα . . . φαίνων). The marching line is thus transformed, technically, into a phalanx, or line of battle. Then, by the ἀναστροφή (see note on ii. 21), the οὐρά, i.e., the original rear of the marching line, is folded back and gradually drawn out, behind the phalanx, to the open end of the valley. The entire army now marches out into the plain. There the process just described is reversed, so bringing the line back to its original form.)

When the phalanx had thus been doubled in depth, he proceeded into the plain with the hoplites in this formation, and then extended the army again into a line nine or ten shields deep. The Mantineans, however, now desisted from coming forth from their city, for the Eleans, who were making the campaign with them, urged them not to fight a battle until the Thebans arrived; and they said they were quite sure that the Thebans would come, for they had borrowed ten talents from the Eleans themselves for the expenses of the expedition to aid them.

The Arcadians, then, upon hearing this, remained quiet in Mantinea; and Agesilaus, even though he was exceedingly desirous[*](370 B.C.) of leading back his army — for it was mid-winter — nevertheless remained there for three days, not far away from the city of the Mantineans, that he might not be thought to be hurrying his departure out of fear. On the fourth day, however, after breakfasting early he began his homeward march, intending to encamp at the place where he had originally made camp on his departure from Eutaea.