LIFE OF PELOPIDAS.
LIFE OF MARCELLUS.
THE COMPARISON OF PELOPIDAS WITH MARCELLUS.
LIFE OF ARISTEIDES.
LIFE OF MARCUS CATO.
COMPARISON OF ARISTEIDES AND CATO.
LIFE OF PHILOPŒMEN.
LIFE OF TITUS FLAMININUS.
COMPARISON OF PHILOPŒMEN AND TITUS.
LIFE OF PYRRHUS.
LIFE OF CAIUS MARIUS.
LIFE OF SULLA.
LIFE OF KIMON.
LIFE OF LUCULLUS.
COMPARISON OF KIMON AND LUCULLUS.
LIFE OF PELOPIDAS.
I.
Cato the elder, speaking to some persons who were praising a man of
reckless daring and audacity in war, observed that there is a
difference between a man's setting a high value on courage, and
setting a low value on his own life—and rightly. For a daring
soldier in the army of Antigonus, but of broken and ill health, being
asked by the king the reason of his paleness, confessed that he was
suffering from some secret disorder. When then the king, anxious for
him, charged his physicians to use the greatest care in their
treatment, if a cure were possible, at length this brave fellow,
being restored to health, was no longer fond of peril and furious in
battle, so that Antigonus reproved him, and expressed surprise at the
change. The man made no secret of his reason, but answered: "My,
king, you have made me less warlike by freeing me from those miseries
on account of which I used to hold my life cheap." And the
Sybarite seems to have spoken to the same effect about the Spartans,
when he said that "they do no great thing by dying in the wars
in order to escape from such labours and such a mode of life as
theirs." However, no wonder if the Sybarites, effete with
luxurious debauchery, thought men mad who despised death for love of
honour and noble emulation; whereas the Lacedæmonians were enabled
by their valour both to live and to die with pleasure, as the elegy
shows, which runs thus:"'Twas
not that life or death itself was good,That
these heroic spirits shed their blood:This
was their aim, and this their latest cry,'Let
us preserve our honour, live or die.'"For
neither is avoidance of death blameable, if a man does not cling to
his life from dishonourable motives; nor is exposure to peril
honourable, if it springs from carelessness of life. For this reason
Homer always brings the most daring and warlike heroes into battle
well and beautifully armed, and the Greek lawgivers punish the man
who throws away his shield, but not him who throws away his sword or
spear, showing that it is each man's duty to take more care that he
does not receive hurt himself, than to hurt the enemy, especially if
he be the chief of an army or city.II.
For if, as Iphikrates defined it, the light troops resemble the
hands, the cavalry the feet, the main body the breast and trunk, and
the general the head, then it would appear that he, if he runs into
danger and shows personal daring, risks not only his own life, but
that of all those whose safety depends upon him; and
vice versâ.
Wherefore Kallikratidas, although otherwise a great man, yet did not
make a good answer to the soothsayer; for when he begged him to
beware of death, which was presaged by the sacrifices, he replied
that Sparta had more men besides himself. No doubt, in fighting
either by sea or land[1]
Kallikratidas only counted for one, but as a general, he combined in
his own person the strength of all the rest, so that he by whose
death so many perished, was indeed more than one. A better answer was
that of old Antigonus, who, as he was about to begin a sea-fight off
Andros, some one having said that the enemy's fleet was the more
numerous, asked, "And for how many do you count
me?"—setting
a high value, as is due, upon a skilful and brave leader, whose first
duty is to keep safe him who preserves all the rest.So
Timotheus said well, when Chares was displaying to the Athenians the
wounds on his body, and his shield pierced by a dart. "Now I,"
said he, "when I was besieging Samos, was quite ashamed if an
arrow fell near me, thinking that I was exposing myself more boyishly
than was fitting for the general and leader of so important a force."
In cases where the personal risk of the general is of great moment to
his army, then he must fight and expose himself without stint, and
disregard those who say that a general should die of old age, or at
any rate, when an old man. But where the gain is small in case of
success, while failure ruins everything, no one demands that the work
of the common soldier be performed at the risk of the general's life.These
prefatory remarks occurred to me in writing the Lives of Pelopidas
and Marcellus, great men who fell in a manner scarce worthy of
themselves: for being both of them most stout in battle, and having
each illustrated his country by splendid campaigns, against, too, the
most terrible antagonists—the one, as we read, having routed
Hannibal, who before was invincible, and the other having in a
pitched battle conquered the Lacedæmonians, the ruling state by sea
and land—yet they without any consideration endangered themselves
and flung away their lives just at the time when there was special
need for such men to live and command. And on this account I have
drawn a parallel between their lives, tracing out the points of
resemblance between them.III.
The family of Pelopidas, the son of Hippokles, was an honourable one
at Thebes, as likewise was that of Epameinondas. Bred in great
affluence, and having early succeeded to a splendid inheritance, he
showed eagerness to relieve the deserving poor, that he might prove
that he had become the master, not the servant of his riches. In most
cases, Aristotle observes, men either do not use their wealth through
narrow-mindedness, or else abuse it through extravagance, and the one
class are always the slaves of their pleasures, the other of their
gains.Now,
while all other persons gratefully made use of Pelopidas's liberality
and kindness, Epameinondas alone could not be induced to share his
wealth; he thereupon shared the other's poverty, priding himself on
simplicity of dress and plainness of food, endurance of fatigue, and
thoroughness in the performance of military service; like Kapaneus,
in Euripides, who "had plenty of wealth, but was far from proud
on account of his wealth," for he felt ashamed to be seen using
more bodily luxuries than the poorest Theban citizen. Epameinondas,
whose poverty was hereditary, made it lighter and more easily borne
by the practice of philosophy, and by choosing from the beginning a
single life; while Pelopidas made a brilliant marriage and had
children born to him, yet, in spite of this, diminished his fortune
by disregard of money-making and by giving up all his time to the
service of his country. And when his friends blamed him, and said
that he was treating lightly a necessary of life, the possession of
money, "Necessary, indeed," he answered, "for
Nikodemus here," pointing to a man who was a cripple and blind.IV.
They were both alike in nobleness of spirit, save that Pelopidas took
more pleasure in bodily exercise, and Epameinondas in learning, and
that the one in his leisure time frequented the palæstra and the
hunting field, while the other would listen to and discuss
philosophy. And though they have both many titles to glory, yet
judicious persons think nothing so much to their credit as that their
friendship should have remained from beginning to end unimpaired
through so many important crises, campaigns, and administrations. For
any one who considers the administrations of Aristeides and
Themistokles, and Kimon and Perikles, and Nikias and Alkibiades, how
full they were of mutual enmity, distrust, and jealousy, and then
contrasts them with the kindness and respect shown by Pelopidas to
Epameinondas, will pronounce with truth these men to have really been
colleagues in government and war rather than those who were
constantly struggling to get the better of one another instead of the
enemy. The true cause of this was their virtue, guided by which they
sought no glory or gain for themselves from their deeds, from which
envious rivalry always results, but both, inflamed by a noble desire
to see their country reach its climax of power and renown in their
own time, used one another's successes for this purpose as if they
were their own. Not but what most people think that their closest
friendship arose from the campaign of Mantinea, which they made with
a contingent sent from Thebes to serve with the Lacedæmonians, who
were then their friends and allies. Stationed together in the
ranks,[2]
and fighting against the Arcadians, when the wing of the Lacedæmonian
army in which they were gave way, and many took to flight, they
closed up together and beat off their assailants. Pelopidas, having
received seven wounds in front, fell down upon a heap of slain,
friends and enemies together; but Epameinondas, though he thought him
desperately[3]
hurt, ran forward and stood in defence of his body and arms, risking
his life alone against a multitude, determined to die rather than
leave Pelopidas lying there. He too was in evil plight, with a spear
wound in the breast, and a sword-cut on the arm, when Agesipolis, the
Spartan king, came to the rescue from the other wing, and most
unexpectedly saved the lives of both.V.
After this, the Spartans behaved towards Thebes outwardly as friends
and allies, but really viewed with suspicion the spirit and strength
of that state. They especially disliked the club presided over by
Ismenias and Androkleides, of which Pelopidas was a member, as being
of democratic and revolutionary principles. Consequently Archias and
Leontidas[4]
and Philippus, men of the aristocratic party, wealthy and
unscrupulous, persuaded Phœbidas, a Laconian who was passing through
the town with an armed force, to seize the Kadmeia[5]
by surprise, and, banishing the party that opposed them, establish an
aristocratic oligarchy which would be subservient to Sparta.He
was persuaded to do this, and attacked the unsuspecting Thebans
during the feast of Thesmophoria. When he gained possession of the
height, Ismenias was seized and conveyed to Lacedæmon, and there not
long afterwards made away with. Pelopidas, Pherenikus, and
Androkleides, with many others, went into exile and were outlawed by
proclamation. Epameinondas stayed at home disregarded, not being
thought to be a man of action, because of his philosophical habits,
nor a man of any power, because of his poverty.VI.
When the Lacedæmonians removed Phœbidas from his command and fined
him a hundred thousand drachmas, but nevertheless held the Kadmeia
with a garrison, all the other Greeks wondered at their
inconsistency, in punishing the doer but approving of the deed; but
the Thebans, who had lost their old constitution and were now held in
bondage by the party of Archias and Leontidas, had lost all hope of
release from their tyrants, who they perceived were merely acting as
a guard to the Spartan supremacy in Greece, and therefore could not
be put a stop to, unless their enterprise by sea and land could also
be checked. However, Leontidas and his party, learning that the
exiles were living at Athens, and were popular with the people there,
and respected by the upper classes, began to plot against them, and
by sending thither men who were unknown to the exiles, they killed
Androkleides by stratagem, but failed with the others. There came
also despatches from Lacedæmon to the Athenians, ordering them not
to take them in nor to meddle in the matter, but to banish the
exiles, on the ground that they had been proclaimed to be public
enemies by their allies. But the Athenians, who besides their natural
and innate kindness were returning a debt of gratitude to the
Thebans, who had been main instruments in the re-establishment of
their government, and had decreed that if an Athenian should march in
arms against the tyrants through Bœotia, no Bœotian should see or
hear him, did the Theban exiles no harm.VII.
Now Pelopidas, although one of the youngest of the exiles, yet used
to encourage each of them separately, and would make speeches to them
all, pointing out that it was both dishonourable and wicked for them
to endure to see their country enslaved and garrisoned by foreigners,
and, caring only to save their own lives, to shelter themselves
behind decrees of the Athenians, and to pay servile court to the
orators who had influence with the people. Rather was it, he urged,
their duty to run the greatest risk, taking pattern by the courage
and patriotism of Thrasybulus, so that, as he once, starting from
Thebes, drove out the thirty tyrants from Athens, they also in their
turn, starting from Athens, might set Thebes free. When then he
prevailed with these arguments, they sent secretly to Thebes to
communicate their determination to such of their friends as were left
there. They agreed, and Charon, who was the leading man among them,
offered his house for their reception, and Phillidas proceeded to act
as secretary to the polemarchs, Archias and Philippus. Epameinondas
had long been instilling feelings of patriotism into the youth of
Thebes; for in the gymnasia he would bid them lay hold of the
Lacedæmonians and wrestle with them, and then seeing them pluming
themselves on their success, he would upbraid them, telling them that
they ought rather to feel ashamed at being, through their own
cowardice, in bondage to men whom they so greatly excelled in
strength.VIII.
When a day was fixed on for the attempt, the exiles determined that
Pherenikus, with the main body, should remain in the Thriasian[6]
plain, while a few of the youngest men ran the risk of entering the
city; and if anything were to befall these men, the others would take
care that neither their parents nor their children should want for
necessaries. First Pelopidas volunteered for the attempt, then Mellon
and Damokleides and Theopompus, men of the first families, faithful
friends to one another, and ever rivals in glory and bravery. Having
made up a party of twelve in all, and embraced those who were to
stay, and sent a messenger before them to Charon, they set out,
dressed in short cloaks, with hounds and carrying stakes for hunting
nets, so that no one whom they met on the road might suspect them,
but that they might seem to be merely ranging about the country and
hunting. When their messenger reached Charon, and told him that they
were on their way, Charon did not, even now that the danger was close
to him, falter in his determination, but acted like an honourable
man, and received them into his house. But one Hipposthenides, not a
bad man, but one who loved his country and favoured the exiles, yet
proved wanting in that audacity which this emergency, a hazardous one
indeed, and the attempt they had in hand, required.Apparently
the importance of the issue with which he was dealing turned him
dizzy; he with difficulty grasped the idea that, trusting in the
desperate hopes of exiles, these men were in some fashion about to
attempt to overthrow the Lacedæmonian government in Thebes, and the
power of Sparta. He went quietly home, and sent one of his friends to
Mellon and Pelopidas, bidding them put off their design for the
present, to go back to Athens, and await a better opportunity.
Chlidon was the name of the messenger, and he hurriedly went to his
own house, and, leading out his horse, asked for his bridle. His wife
was at her wit's end, as she had it not to give him, but she said
that she had lent it to a neighbour. Hereupon there was a quarrel,
and words of ill omen were used, for his wife said that she wished it
might be a bad journey for him, and for those that sent him; so that
Chlidon, having wasted a great part of the day in this squabble, and
also drawing a bad augury from what had happened, gave up his journey
altogether, and betook himself to something else. So near was this
greatest and most glorious of his adventures of missing its
opportunity at its very outset.IX.
Now Pelopidas and his party changed their clothes with country
people, and separating, came into the city by different ways while it
was still daylight. There was a strong wind, and the weather was
snowy, so that they were the less noticed, as most people had betaken
themselves to their houses on account of the storm; but those who
were in the plot met them as they entered, and brought them to
Charon's house. With the exiles, they amounted to forty-eight in all.As
to their oppressors, Phillidas the secretary, who had been working
with the exiles and knew all their plans, having long before invited
Archias and his friends to a wine party to meet certain courtesans,
intended to endeavour to hand them over to their assailants in as
enervated and intoxicated a condition as possible. However before
they were very far gone in liquor a rumour was brought to their ears,
which, although true, was without confirmation and very vague, to the
effect that the exiles were concealed in the city. Though Phillidas
endeavoured to change the subject, still Archias sent one of his
servants to Charon, ordering him to come instantly. Now it was
evening, and Pelopidas and his party were preparing themselves, in
the house, and had already got their corslets on, and had girt on
their swords. Suddenly, a knock was heard at the door. One of them
ran out, and hearing the servant say that Charon had been sent for by
the polemarchs, he in great trepidation brought the news to the rest.
At once it occurred to all that the plot had been betrayed, and that
they all were lost, without even having done anything worthy of their
courage. Yet they agreed that Charon should comply with the summons
and that he should unsuspiciously present himself before the Spartan
chiefs. He was a man of courage, and slow to lose heart, but now he
was panic-stricken and terrified lest when so many brave citizens
lost their lives, some suspicion of treachery might rest on himself.
So, just when he was going, he brought his son from the women's
apartments, a boy still, but in beauty and strength surpassing all of
his own age, and handed him over to Pelopidas's party, bidding them
treat him as an enemy and show no mercy, if they should find
him guilty of any
deceit or treachery. Many of them shed tears at the feeling shown by
Charon, and his noble spirit, and all felt shame, that he should
think any of them so base and so affected by their present danger, as
to suspect him or even to blame him, and they begged him not to mix
up his son with them, but put him out of the way of the coming
stroke, that he might be saved and escape from the tyrants, and some
day return and avenge his father and his friends. But Charon refused
to take away his son, for what life, he asked, or what place of
safety could be more honourable to him than an easy death with his
father and so many friends? After praying and embracing them all, and
bidding them be of good cheer, he went away, taking great pains to
adopt a look and tone of voice as different as possible to that of a
conspirator.X.
When he came to the door, Archias and Philippus met him and said,
"Charon, I have heard that some people have come here, and are
concealed in the city, and that some of the citizens are in league
with them." Charon was at first disconcerted, but then enquired
who these persons might be, and who they were that gave them shelter.
Seeing then that Archias knew nothing for certain, he perceived that
the news did not come from any one who knew the truth. "Take
care," said he, "that this be not a mere idle rumour that
is alarming you. However, I will make due enquiries; for we ought not
to disregard anything." Phillidas, who was present, expressed
his approval of this, and carrying Archias back again plied him with
liquor, prolonging his debauch by holding out the expectation of the
women.Now
when Charon returned to his house, he found the conspirators there
prepared to fight, not expecting to survive or to win the day, but to
die gloriously and kill as many of their enemies as possible. He told
Pelopidas's party the truth, and made up some story about Archias to
satisfy the others. This storm was just blown over when Fortune sent
a second upon them. A messenger came from Athens, from Archias the
hierophant[7]
to his namesake Archias the Spartan, whose guest and friend he was,
bearing a letter which contained no vague and conjectural suspicion,
but a detailed account of all that was being done, as was afterwards
discovered. Now the messenger, when brought before Archias who was
drunk, gave him the letter, and said, "He who sent you this
letter bade you read it instantly, for he said it was written about
most serious matters." Archias laughing, said, "Serious
matters to-morrow." He took the letter and placed it under the
pillow on which he rested, and again listened to Phillidas about what
they were talking of before. This story, handed down in the form of a
proverb, is current among the Greeks even now.XI.
As the hour for the attempt seemed now to have arrived, they sallied
forth, in two bodies: the one, under Pelopidas and Damokleides, to
attack Leontidas and Hypates, who lived near one another, while the
other, under Charon and Mellon, went to Archias and Philippus, with
women's gowns over their steel corslets, and their faces concealed by
thick wreaths of fir and pine wood; and so when first they entered
the door of the dining-room they caused great applause and
disturbance, as the guests imagined that the long-expected ladies had
at length come. They looked carefully round the party, and having
ascertained who each of the guests were, they drew their swords, and
made for Archias and Philippus. When they thus betrayed themselves,
Phillidas persuaded some few of the guests to remain quiet, but the
rest, who rose and tried to assist the polemarchs, were easily
disposed of on account of their drunken condition.The
task of Pelopidas and his party was a harder one; for they went to
attack Leontidas, a sober and brave man, and, finding his house shut
up, for he was already asleep, they knocked for some time without
rousing any one. At length the servant heard them and came and drew
back the bolt of the door; then, as soon as the leaves of the door
yielded they burst in in a body, and upsetting the servant made for
the bedchamber. Leontidas, guessing from the noise and confusion what
was going on, started up and seized his dagger, but he forgot to put
out the light, and make the men fall upon each other in the darkness.
In full view of them, in a blaze of light, he met them at his chamber
door, and with a blow of his dagger struck down Kephisodorus, the
first man who entered. As he fell dead Leontidas grappled with the
next, Pelopidas. The struggle was a fierce one and rendered difficult
by the narrow passage and the corpse of Kephisodorus lying in it, but
at length Pelopidas gained the upper hand, and having despatched him,
immediately went with his party to attack Hypates. And in the same
way they broke into his house, but he heard them sooner, and fled
away to the neighbours, but was pursued and slain.XII.
Having accomplished this, and joined Mellon's party, they sent word
to the remaining exiles in Attica, and called together the citizens
to complete their deliverance, and as they came, gave them arms,
taking down the trophies which hung in the public colonnades, and
breaking into the workshops of spear-makers and sword-cutlers. And
Epameinondas and Gorgidas, with their party, came to help them,
armed; for they had collected together no small number of the younger
men and the strongest of the elder ones. By this time the whole city
was roused, and there was great confusion, lights flitting about, and
people running to one another's houses, but the people had not yet
assembled, but being alarmed at what had happened, and knowing
nothing for certain, they waited for daylight. And here the generals
of the Lacedæmonian garrison seem to have missed an opportunity in
not at once sallying out and attacking them, for the garrison itself
consisted of 1500 men, and many people kept running to them for
refuge from the city; however, alarmed at the shouts and fires and
mass of people assembling from all parts, they remained quiet,
holding the Kadmeia only. At daybreak arrived the exiles from Attica,
fully armed, and the public assembly met. Epameinondas and Gorgidas
led forward the band of Pelopidas, surrounded by the priests, who
crowned them with wreaths, and called upon the citizens to fight for
their country and their gods. The whole assembly, with shouts and
applause, rose at the sight, and received them as their benefactors
and saviours.XIII.
After this, Pelopidas, who was chosen Bœotarch,[8]
with Mellon and Charon as colleagues, at once blockaded the citadel,
and made assaults upon it on all sides, being eager to drive out the
Lacedæmonians and recover the Kadmeia before an army should come
upon them from Sparta. And so little time had he to spare, that the
garrison, when going home after their capitulation, met at Megara
Kleombrotus, marching with a great force against Thebes. Of the three
men who had been governors of Thebes, the Spartans condemned two,
Herippidas and Arkissus, to death, and the third, Lysanorides, was
heavily fined and banished.This
adventure was called by the Greeks the "sister" of that of
Thrasybulus, as it resembled it in the bravery and personal risk of
its chief actors, and was, like the other, favoured by fortune. It is
difficult to mention any other persons, who with fewer numbers and
scantier means than these, conquered men more numerous and powerful
than themselves, by sheer daring and ability, or who conferred
greater blessings on their own countries; and that which made this
more remarkable was the change which it effected. The war which
destroyed the prestige of Sparta, and put an end to her empire by sea
and land, began in that night, in which Pelopidas, without having
made himself master of any fort, stronghold, or citadel, but merely
coming to a private house with eleven others, loosed and broke to
pieces, if we may use a true metaphor, the chains of Lacedæmonian
supremacy, which seemed fixed and immovable.XIV.
Now when a great Lacedæmonian army invaded Bœotia, the Athenians
manifested great alarm. They repudiated their alliance with the
Thebans, and impeached those who had shown Bœotian sympathies; some
of these men were put to death, others fined and banished. The case
of the Thebans seemed desperate, as no one offered to help them; but
Pelopidas, who with Gorgidas was Bœotarch, contrived to alienate the
Athenians from Sparta by the following plot. Sphodrias, a Spartan, of
great renown in the wars, but somewhat flighty and prone to wild
enterprises and reckless ambition, had been left near Thespiæ with
an army, to receive and assist those Thebans[9]
who were now sent into exile because they favoured the Lacedæmonians.
Pelopidas sent secretly to this man a merchant, a friend of his own,
who gave him a bribe, and also made proposals which fascinated him
more than the money, that he should attempt some enterprise on a
great scale, and surprise Peiræus by a sudden attack when the
Athenians were off their guard: for the Lacedæmonians would be
better pleased with the capture of Athens than with anything else,
and the Thebans would not assist them, for they were at variance with
them and regarded them as traitors. At length Sphodrias was prevailed
upon to agree to this, and, with his soldiery, invaded Attica by
night. He got as far as Eleusis, but there the soldiers lost heart,
and the attempt was detected. So, having involved the Spartans in a
war of no slight importance, he retired to Thespiæ.XV.
Upon this the Athenians again most eagerly allied themselves with the
Thebans, and, aspiring to supremacy at sea, sent embassies round to
the other maritime states, and brought over to their own side those
who were willing to revolt from the Spartans. Meanwhile the Thebans,
alone in their country of Bœotia, constantly skirmishing with the
Lacedæmonians, and not fighting any great battles with them, but
organising themselves with the greatest care and discipline, began to
pluck up spirit, gaining skill from practice, and becoming confident
from the result of these encounters. This was why they say that
Antalkidas the Spartan, when King Agesilaus was being carried home
wounded from Bœotia, said to him, "Indeed, you are receiving
nice lessons from the Thebans, now that you have taught them how to
fight against their will." But their real teacher was not
Agesilaus, but those who, seizing fit opportunities, and with due
management, skilfully used to let them loose upon their enemies, as
men train young mastiffs, and then when they had tasted victory and
self-confidence brought them safely back. Of these leaders Pelopidas
received the chief credit. From the year in which he was first
elected general they never ceased to re-elect him, and he was always
either in command of the Sacred Band or most commonly acting as
Bœotarch until his death. There took place also about Platæa and
Thespiæ defeats and routs of the Lacedæmonians, in which Phœbidas,
who seized the Kadmeia, perished; and Pelopidas routed a number of
them near Tanagra, and slew Panthoides the governor. Still, although
these skirmishes raised the spirits and confidence of the victors,
yet they did not cast down the pride of the vanquished; for they were
not regular battles, but the Thebans won their successes by
well-timed charges and harassing the enemy by alternate retreat and
advance.However,
the affair at Tegyra, which in a manner was preliminary to that at
Leuktra, won Pelopidas a great reputation; for there was no question
of any other general having assisted in the design of the battle, nor
of the enemy being thoroughly routed. The city of Orchomenus had
taken the Spartan side, and had received two moras[10]
of Spartan troops for its protection. He always had his eye upon this
place, and watched his opportunity. Hearing that the garrison had
made an expedition into Lokris, he marched, hoping to catch
Orchomenus defenceless, taking with him the Sacred Band and a few
cavalry. When he came to the city he found that the garrison had been
relieved by fresh troops from Sparta, and so he led off his men
homewards through Tegyra, the only way that he could, by a circuitous
route at the foot of the mountains; for the river Melas, which from
its very source spreads into morasses and quagmires, made the direct
way impassable.Near
the marshes stands a temple of Apollo of Tegyra and an oracle, which
is now forsaken; it has not been long so, but flourished up to the
Persian War, when Echekrates was priest. There the myths say that the
god was born; and the neighbouring mountain is called Delos, and
there the overflowings of the river Melas cease, while behind the
temple there flow two springs remarkable for the sweetness, coldness,
and volume of their waters, which we up to this day call, the one
"The Palm," and the other "The Olive," as though
the goddess had not been delivered between two trees, but two
fountains. Indeed, close by is the Ptoüm, whence they say that she
was driven in terror by the sudden apparition of a wild boar, and
with regard to the legends of Tityos and Pytho, the localities are in
like manner associated with the birth of the god. I omit the greater
part of these proofs, for our ancestral religion tells us that this
god is not to be ranked among those divinities who were born as men,
like Herakles and Dionysus, and by their merits were translated from
this earthly and suffering body, but he is one of the eternal ones
who know no birth, if one may form any conjecture upon such matters
from the writings of our wisest and most ancient writers.XVII.
At Tegyra, then, Pelopidas and the Thebans retiring from Orchomenus
met the Lacedæmonians marching back from Lokris, in the opposite
direction. When they were first descried coming out from the narrow
gorges of the hills, some one ran to Pelopidas, and cried out, "We
have fallen into the midst of the enemy!" "Why so,"
asked he, "more than they into the midst of us?" He at once
ordered his cavalry to the front to charge the enemy first, and
closed up his infantry, three hundred in number, into a compact body,
trusting that wherever he attacked the enemy he should break through,
although they outnumbered him. They consisted of two moras of
Lacedæmonians: now Ephorus says that a mora consists of 500 men, but
Kallisthenes says 700, and some other authorities, and amongst them
Polybius, put it at 900.Gorgoleon
and Theopompus, the polemarchs in command of the Spartans, moved
confidently to the attack of the Thebans; and the onset was directed
on both sides, with great fury, specially at the persons of the
leaders. The two polemarchs dashed against Pelopidas, and both fell;
then the slaughter of their immediate followers produced a panic in
the whole force, and it gave way to the Thebans, opening a lane
through the centre as if for them to pass through. But when Pelopidas
led his men into the passage thus offered, and assailed those who
stood their ground, passing through it with great slaughter, then all
fled in hopeless rout.The
pursuit was not pressed far, for the Thebans feared the vicinity of
Orchomenus and of the Spartan reinforcement there; but as far as
winning the victory, and forcing their way through the beaten enemy,
they were completely successful; so after setting up a trophy and
spoiling the dead they returned home in high spirits. For in all the
wars which had previously taken place, both with Greeks and
barbarians, it never before had happened that Lacedæmonians should
be conquered by an inferior force, nor yet even when the numbers on
each side were equal. Wherefore they were invincible in their own
estimation, and established an ascendant over the minds of their
opponents, for they were wont to engage with men who did not
themselves think that with equal force they could be a match for the
same number of Spartans. But this battle first proved to the rest of
Greece that it is not only the Eurotas, and the country between
Babuke and Knacion[11]
that nurtures brave and warlike men, but that wherever the youth of a
nation fears disgrace and is willing to risk life for honour, and
shrinks from shame more than from danger, these form the troops most
terrible to their foes.XVIII.
The Sacred Band, they say, was first formed by Gorgidas, of 300
picked men, whom the city drilled and lodged in the Kadmeia when on
service, wherefore they were called the "city" regiment;
for people then generally called the citadel the "city."
Some say that this force was composed of intimate friends, and indeed
there is current a saying of Pammenes, that Homer's Nestor is not a
good general when he bids the Greeks assemble by their tribes and
clans:"That
tribe to tribe, and clan to clan give aid,"whereas
he ought to have placed side by side men who loved each other, for
men care little in time of danger for men of the same tribe or clan,
whereas the bond of affection is one that cannot be broken, as men
will stand fast in battle from the strength of their affection for
others, and from feeling shame at showing themselves cowards before
them. Nor is this to be wondered at, seeing that men stand more in
awe of the objects of their love when they are absent than they do of
others when present, as was the case with that man who begged and
entreated one of the enemy to stab him in the breast as he lay
wounded, "in order," said he, "that my friend may not
see me lying dead with a wound in the back, and be ashamed of me."
And Iolaus, the favourite of Herakles, is said to have taken part in
his labours and to have accompanied him; and Aristotle says that even
in his own time lovers would make their vows at the tomb of Iolaus.It
is probable, therefore, that the Sacred Band was so named, because
Plato also speaks of a lover as a friend inspired from Heaven. Up to
the battle of Chæronea it is said to have continued invincible, and
when Philip stood after the battle viewing the slain, in that part of
the field where the Three Hundred lay dead in their armour, heaped
upon one another, having met the spears of his phalanx face to face,
he wondered at the sight, and learning that it was the Band of
Lovers, burst into tears, and said, "Perish those who suspect
those men of doing or enduring anything base."XIX.
As to these intimacies between friends, it was not, as the poets say,
the disaster of Laius which first introduced the custom into Thebes,
but their lawgivers, wishing to soften and improve the natural
violence and ferocity of their passions, used music largely in their
education, both in sport and earnest, giving the flute especial
honour, and by mixing the youth together in the palæstra, produced
many glorious examples of mutual affection. Rightly too did they
establish in their city that goddess who is said to be the daughter
of Ares and Aphrodite, Harmonia; since, wherever warlike power is
duly blended with eloquence and refinement, there all things tend to
the formation of a harmonious and perfect commonwealth.Now,
as to the Sacred Band, Gorgidas originally placed them in the first
rank, and so spread them all along the first line of battle, and did
not by this means render their valour so conspicuous, nor did he use
them in a mass for any attack, but their courage was weakened by so
large an infusion of inferior soldiery; but Pelopidas, after the
splendid display of their valour under his own eye at Tegyra, never
separated or scattered them, but would stand the brunt of battle,
using them as one body. For as horses driven in a chariot go faster
than those going loose, not because they more easily cleave the air
when galloping in a solid body, but because their rivalry and racing
with one another kindles, their spirit, so he imagined that brave
men, inciting each other to an emulation in adventure, would prove
most useful and forward when acting in one body.XX.
When the Lacedæmonians made peace with all the other Greeks and
attacked the Thebans alone, and Kleombrotus, their king, invaded
Bœotia with ten thousand hoplites and a thousand cavalry, the danger
was not that they should be reduced to their former condition, but
absolute destruction plainly threatened their city, and such terror
prevailed as never before had been in Bœotia. Pelopidas, when
leaving his house, as his wife wept at parting with him and begged
him to be careful of his life, answered, "My dear, this is very
good advice for private soldiers, but we who are commanders must
think about saving the lives of others." When he reached the
camp, he found the Bœotarchs differing in opinion, and he at once
gave his voice for the plan of Epameinondas, who voted for battle. He
was not named Bœotarch, but he was in command of the Sacred Band,
and enjoyed great confidence, as was only just a man should who had
given such proofs of patriotism.When,
then, they had determined to face the enemy, and taken up a position
at Leuktra opposite to the Spartan army, Pelopidas saw a vision in
his sleep which greatly disturbed him. In the plain of Leuktra there
are the tombs of the daughters of Skedasus, whom they call Leuktridæ
because of the place of their burial; for there it was that they were
buried after they had been violated by some Spartan strangers. When
this base and impious deed was done, their father, as he could get no
satisfaction from the Lacedæmonians, invoked curses upon the Spartan
race, and slew himself at the tombs of his daughters. Oracles and
legends always had warned the Spartans to beware of the vengeance of
Leuktra, though most of them did not understand it, and were not
clear as to the place, since a small sea-side town in Laconia is also
called Leuktron, and there is a place of the same name near
Megalopolis in Arcadia, and, also, this crime was committed a long
time before the battle.XXI.
So now Pelopidas, when asleep in the camp, seemed to see the maidens
weeping over their tombs and invoking curses on the Spartans, and
Skedasus, who bade him sacrifice a red virgin to the maidens, if he
wished to conquer his enemies. And as this command seemed to him
shocking and impious, he started up and consulted the prophets and
the generals. Some of them forbade him to neglect or disobey the
warning, quoting the famous old instances of Menækeus the son of
Kreon and Makaria the daughter of Herakles, and, in later times,
Pherekydes the philosopher, who was killed by the Lacedæmonians, and
whose skin, according to some oracle, is still kept by their kings,
and Leonidas, who following the oracle did in some sort offer himself
as a victim on behalf of Greece; and futhermore they spoke of those
persons whom Themistokles sacrificed to Dionysus before the sea-fight
at Salamis. All these are verified by the success which followed
them. And again, Agesilaus when starting from the same place that
Agamemnon did to fight the same enemies, was asked by the god, during
a vision at Aulis, to give him his daughter as a sacrifice; but he
did not give her, but by his softheartedness ruined the expedition,
which ingloriously failed. Others spoke on the other side, urging
that so barbarous and impious a sacrifice could not be pleasing to
any of the powers above, for, they said, it is not the Typhons and
giants of legend that rule in heaven, but the father of all gods and
men. To believe that there are deities that delight in the blood and
slaughter of mankind is probably a foolish fancy; but if there be
such, it is our duty to disregard them and treat them as powerless,
for these strange and shocking desires can only take their origin and
exist in feeble and depraved minds.XXII.
While the chiefs of the army were engaged in this discussion, and
Pelopidas especially was at a loss what to do, a filly escaped from
some horses at pasture, and running through the ranks stopped
opposite them. They admired her coat shining with the brightest red,
and the mettled courage of her neigh, but Theokritus the prophet,
comprehending what was meant, called to Pelopidas: "Happy man!
Here is your victim; let us not expect any other virgin, but take the
gift the gods provide you." Hereupon they caught the filly and
led it to the tombs of the maidens. Here, after prayer, they hung
garlands on the tombs, and made the sacrifice with joy, explaining to
the whole army the vision of Pelopidas and their reasons for the
sacrifice.XXIII.
In the battle, Epameinondas brought his main body slantingly towards
the left, in order that the Spartan right might be drawn as far as
possible away from the other Greeks, and that by falling violently on
Kleombrotus with his whole force on that wing, he might overpower and
crush him. The enemy, perceiving what was being done, began to alter
their own formation, extending their right, with the intention of
outflanking and enveloping Epameinondas. At this moment Pelopidas
charged with the Three Hundred in serried ranks. He caught the
Lacedæmonians in a moment of confusion, when they were not standing
ready to make an attack, for Kleombrotus had not time either to
extend his right, or to bring the troops back again and close up the
ranks. Yet the Spartans, skilled as they were to the highest pitch in
war, had been specially educated and practised in changing their
formation without disorder or confusion; each man used any other as
his right-hand or rear-rank man, and wherever danger threatened they
would meet it, forming and fighting simultaneously. But now, when the
main Theban phalanx under Epameinondas, projecting before all the
rest of the line, bore down upon them, and when Pelopidas, by a
charge of inconceivable speed and daring was already amongst their
ranks, their spirit and discipline was so shaken that the rout and
slaughter of the Spartans was such as had never been before. In this
victory and success as much glory belonged to Pelopidas, though not
one of the generals, and only in command of a few men, as to
Epameinondas, who was Bœotarch and leader of the whole force.XXIV.
In the invasion of Peloponnesus they were both Bœotarchs, and they
brought over to their side most of the nations there, for they
detached from the Lacedæmonian alliance Elis, Argos, the whole of
Arcadia, and most part of Laconia itself. It was mid-winter, a few
days only remained of the last month, and with the new year the law
was that the commands should be delivered up and new generals chosen.
Death was the penalty in case of disobedience, and all the other
Bœotarchs, fearing this law and wishing to avoid the severe weather,
wished to withdraw the army homewards, but Pelopidas first, supported
by Epameinondas, encouraged his fellow citizens, and crossed the
Eurotas. He took many of their towns and wasted all their country up
to the sea-coast, with an army of 70,000 Greeks, of whom the Thebans
formed less than a twelfth part. But the great reputation which these
men enjoyed made the rest follow them without any formal vote or
decree to do so; for the first and most fundamental law is that which
makes men in need of help follow him who can save them; and even if,
like men sailing on a calm sea or anchored close to port, they
sometimes murmur at and brave their pilot, yet in time of danger and
storm they look up to him and place all their hopes in him, so the
Argives and Eleans and Arcadians would at the council-board dispute
the Theban claims to supremacy, but in war and at critical moments
they of their own accord obeyed the Theban generals. In this
campaign, Arcadia was consolidated into one state; they also
separated Messenia, which had been annexed by the Spartans, and
bringing back the Messenian exiles established them in the old
capital, Ithome. On their homeward march through Kenchreæ they
gained a victory over the Athenians, who attempted to harass them and
hinder their march through the narrow isthmus of Corinth.XXV.
After these exploits all men were full of admiration and wonder at
their courage and success, but at home the envious feelings of their
countrymen and political opponents, which grew along with the growth
of their renown, prepared a most scurvy reception for them. On their
return they were both tried for their lives, on the ground that
whereas the law is that during the first month of the year, which
they call Boukation, the Bœotarchs must lay down their office, they
had held it for four additional months, during which they had been
settling the affairs of Messenia, Laconia, and Arcadia. Pelopidas was
tried first, and so incurred the greater danger, but both were
acquitted.Epameinondas,
who thought that true courage and magnanimity was best shown by
forbearance in political strife, bore this contemptible attack with
patience, but Pelopidas, who was of a hotter temper, and whose
friends encouraged him to revenge, chose this for its opportunity.
Menekleides the orator had been one of the conspirators who came with
Pelopidas and Mellon to Charon's house. As, after the revolution, he
did not obtain equal rights with the rest, being a man of great
ability in speaking, but reckless and ill-conditioned, he took to
using his powers to slander and assail the men in power, and was not
silenced even by the result of that trial. He got Epameinondas turned
out of his office of Bœotarch, and for a long time succeeded in
lessening his influence in the state; but Pelopidas he could not
misrepresent to the people, so he endeavoured to make a quarrel
between him and Charon. He used the usual method of detractors, who
if they themselves be inferior to the object of their spite, try at
any rate to prove that he is inferior to some one else; and having
the ear of the people, he was ever singing the praises of Charon, and
uttering panegyrics on his skill and his success. He endeavoured to
set up a memorial of the cavalry battle at Platæa, before the battle
of Leuktra, in which the Thebans under Charon were victorious, in the
following manner. Androkydes of Kyzikus had been entrusted by the
state with the task of painting a picture of some other battle, and
had been engaged on it at Thebes. When the war broke out, this
picture, nearly completed, was left in the hands of the Thebans; and
Menekleides persuaded them to put it up publicly and to write on it
the name of Charon, in order to throw the glory of Pelopidas and
Epameinondas into the shade; a silly exhibition of ill-feeling
indeed, to compare one poor skirmish, in which Gerandas, an obscure
Spartan, and some forty men fell, with the great and important
services of the others.Pelopidas
indicted this proposal as illegal, arguing that it was not the custom
of the Thebans to show honour to individuals, but to keep alive the
name of a victory for the glory of the country at large. He bestowed
unmeasured praise upon Charon throughout the trial, and proved
Menekleides to be a malignant slanderer. He was fined a large sum,
and not being able to pay it, subsequently endeavoured to bring about
a revolution in the state; by which one gains some insight into his
character.XXVI.
Alexander, the tyrant of Pheræ, was at this time at open war with
many states of Thessaly, and threatened the independence of all.
Ambassadors from these states were sent to Thebes, begging for a
military force and a general to be despatched to their assistance.
Pelopidas, since Epameinondas was busy settling the affairs of
Peloponnesus, offered himself to the Thessalians, as he could not
bear that his talents and skill should lie idle, and he thought that
where Epameinondas was, no second general could be needed. So he
marched with a sufficient army into Thessaly, took Larissa, and, when
Alexander begged for terms of peace, endeavoured to convert him into
a mild and law-abiding ruler. But he, a wild, desperate, cruel
barbarian, when he was accused of insolent and grasping practices,
and Pelopidas used harsh and angry language, went off in a rage, with
his body-guard. Pelopidas, having relieved the Thessalians from fear
of the tyrant, and reconciled them one to another, proceeded to
Macedonia. Here Ptolemy was at war with Alexander the king of
Macedonia, and each of them had sent for him to act as arbitrator and
judge between them, thinking that he would right whichever of them
should prove to have been wronged. He came, and settled their
dispute, and after bringing back the exiled party, took Philip, the
king's brother, and thirty other sons of the noblest families as
hostages, and kept them at Thebes, to show the Greeks how far the
Theban policy extended, merely through its reputation for power and
for justice.This
was that Philip who afterwards endeavoured to enslave Greece; at that
time he was but a lad, and lived in the house of Pammenes. On this
account he was thought to be an imitator of Epameinondas, and perhaps
he did take to heart that great man's energy in war, which was one of
his virtues, but as to the spirit of self-restraint, justice,
magnanimity and mildness, which formed the true greatness of his
character, of this Philip neither by nature or education had the
least idea.XXVII.
After these events, the Thessalians again complained of Alexander of
Pheræ for attacking their cities, and Pelopidas and Ismenias were
sent as ambassadors to them. Pelopidas, however, brought no army with
him, as no war was expected, and was forced to make use of the native
Thessalians in this emergency. As affairs in Macedonia had again
fallen into disorder (for Ptolemy had assassinated the king, and was
in possession of the sovereignty, while the friends of the deceased
invited Pelopidas to interfere), he wished to do something; and
having no troops of his own, he hired some local mercenaries and
marched off at once against Ptolemy. When they drew near to each
other, Ptolemy by bribes induced the mercenaries to desert to
himself, but, fearing the mere name and prestige of Pelopidas, he
went out to him as though he were the more powerful of the two, and
after greeting him and begging him to be his friend, he agreed to
hold the kingdom in trust for the brothers of the deceased king, and
to form a defensive and offensive alliance with Thebes. For the
fulfilment of these conditions he gave as hostages his own son
Philoxenus and fifty of his companions, whom Pelopidas sent to
Thebes, but as he was angry at the desertion of his mercenaries, and
learned that their property, wives and children were for the most
part placed in Pharsalus, so that by capturing that place he could
make them pay the penalty of their crime, he got together a force of
Thessalians and came to Pharsalus. When he was just arrived,
Alexander the tyrant appeared with his army. Pelopidas and his
friends supposed that he had come to establish his innocence, and
went to meet him, knowing him to be profligate and bloodthirsty, yet
fearing no harm, because of the name of Thebes and their own personal
prestige. But he, when he saw them approaching him unarmed and alone,
at once secured them and took Pharsalus, striking fear and terror
into all his subjects; for they expected that after an act of such
daring lawlessness he would spare no one, but treat them as one who
had made up his mind to lose his own life.XXVIII.
The Thebans when they heard of this were greatly moved, and at once
despatched an army to the rescue, but on account of some quarrel with
Epameinondas they appointed others to the command. The tyrant took
Pelopidas to Pheræ, and at first allowed any who chose to converse
with him, supposing that he would be cast down and humbled by his
misfortunes; but when the people of Pheræ came to lament over him,
Pelopidas bade them be of good courage, as now if ever the tyrant
would have to pay the penalty of his crimes: and he sent a message to
the tyrant himself, saving that he was a strange man, to torture and
murder his wretched and innocent citizens every day, and to spare
him, who he knew would be sure to wreak vengeance on him if he should
escape. The tyrant, admiring his spirit and fearlessness, said,
"What! does Pelopidas wish to die?" The other, hearing of
this answered, "Yes, that you may become even more hateful to
heaven than you are now, and so may die sooner."Hereupon
he prevented the people from having access to him, but Thêbê, the
daughter of Jason, and Alexander's wife, having heard from the guards
of Pelopidas of his daring and nobleness, desired to see the man and
converse with him. When she was come she did not, woman-like, at once
perceive the greatness of his mind in the position in which he was,
but judging from his short-cut hair, his dress and his food, that he
was treated ill and not as became such a man, she wept. Pelopidas,
not knowing at first who she was, was surprised at this, but, when he
knew her, addressed her by her father's name, for he was a companion
and friend of Jason. When she said, "I pity your wife," "So
do I pity you," answered he, "that without being a prisoner
you stay with Alexander." This speech somehow touched the lady,
for she was grieved at the ferocity and licentiousness of the tyrant,
who, besides his other atrocities, had debauched her youngest
brother. She constantly visited Pelopidas, and, talking to him of her
sufferings, became filled with courage, and with hatred of Alexander.XXIX.
The Theban generals invaded Thessaly, but through incompetence or
misfortune effected nothing, and had to retreat in disgrace. The
state fined them ten thousand drachmas, but sent Epameinondas with
the army. There was at once a great fluttering of hope among the
cities of Thessaly at the reputation of that general, and the cause
of the tyrant tottered to its fall, such fear fell upon his officers
and friends, and such a longing to subvert his government upon his
subjects, who viewed the future with hope, as now they expected to
see the tyrant meet with his deserts. However, Epameinondas,
disregarding his own glory in comparison with the safety of
Pelopidas, and fearing that if Alexander were driven to despair by
seeing his kingdom falling to pieces, he might turn upon him like a
wild beast, conducted the war remissly. By degrees and after slow
preparation he surrounded the tyrant and confined him to one spot, so
as to be able to check any attack that he might venture on, and yet
not to excite his savage and ferocious nature; for he had heard of
his cruelty and disregard of what is right, and how he would bury men
alive, and dress them in the skins of wild boars and bears and then
set dogs at them and hunt them with spears, making this his sport,
and how he surrounded two peaceful cities, Melibœa and Skottusa,
with his body-guard when the inhabitants were at their public
assembly, and slew them all from the youth upwards, and how he had
consecrated and crowned the spear with which he killed his uncle
Polyphron, and used to address prayers to it and call it the Slayer.
Once when he saw a tragedian performing Euripides' tragedy, the
'Troades,' he went suddenly out of the theatre, and sent a message to
him to be of good courage, and not act worse for this, for he had not
left the house because he disliked his acting, but because he felt
ashamed that the citizens should see him weeping at the woes of
Hekuba and Andromache, though he never had pitied any of the people
whom he had put to death himself. But he, terrified by the prestige
and reputation of Epameinondas for strategy,"Let
fall his feathers like a craven cock,"and
quickly sent an embassy to him to make peace. Epameinondas scorned to
make a treaty of peace and friendship between the Thebans and such a
man, but agreed to an armistice for thirty days, and taking Pelopidas
and Ismenias returned home.XXX.
When the Thebans heard that ambassadors were being sent from Athens
and Sparta to the Great King to make an alliance with him, they also
sent Pelopidas, a step most advantageous to his reputation. As he
went on his journey through the Persian provinces he excited the
greatest admiration, for the fame of his victories over the
Lacedæmonians had spread trumpet-tongued through Asia, and from the
time of his first success at Leuktra it had begun to reach far and
wide, some new exploit being ever added to it, till it reached to the
furthest peoples. Next, when he reached the court, he was an object
of wonder and interest to the satraps, generals, and officers there.
"This is the man," they said, "who destroyed the
Lacedæmonian dominion over sea and land, and who reduced to the
little state at the foot of Taygetus by the Eurotas, that Sparta
which a little while before went to war under Agesilaus with the
Great King himself about Susa and Ecbatana." At this Artaxerxes
himself was pleased, and admired Pelopidas and showed him great
honour, as he wished it to appear that he was courted and sought
after by the most powerful Greeks. After an interview, in which he
found that he spoke with sounder sense than the Athenians, and
greater simplicity than the Spartans, he esteemed him still more, and
after the fashion of monarchs, did not conceal his regard, but let
the other ambassadors see plainly that he was highest in favour. Of
all the Greeks he showed Antalkidas the greatest honour, when he took
off his own wreath of flowers at table and dipping it in scent, gave
it him to put on. He attempted no such refinements with Pelopidas,
but gave him presents, more splendid and valuable than was customary,
and assented to his proposals that all Greek states should be
independent, that Messenia should be reconstituted, and that the
Thebans should be accounted the king's old friends.With
these answers, and none of the presents except such as were pledges
of friendship and good will, he returned, to the great discredit of
the other ambassadors. The Athenians condemned and executed
Timagoras, and if it was for the amount of presents which he
received, rightly enough; for he not only took silver and gold, but a
costly bed and slaves to make it, as if Greeks did not know how, and
also eighty cows and their herdsmen, on the pretence of wanting cow's
milk for some weakness that he suffered from; and at last he went
down to the sea-coast carried in a palanquin, and four talents were
given by the king to his bearers—still, it does not seem to have
been his venality which especially disgusted the Athenians. At any
rate, Epikrates, called the "Bearded," once brought a
motion before the assembly that instead of electing nine archons
yearly they should send nine poor citizens as ambassadors to the
Great King, that they might be enriched by him, at which there was
great laughter. But it was because of the success of the Thebans that
they were so vexed, not reflecting on the power of Pelopidas's name,
and how far it outweighed all their rhetoric in the estimation of one
who always inclined to the stronger side.XXXI.
On his return, Pelopidas was welcomed with no little gratitude
because he had re-established Messenia, and obtained freedom for all
other Greeks. But Alexander of Pheræ had relapsed into his old
courses, and had ravaged the territory of many cities of Thessaly.
The Phthiot Achæans and Magnetes formed a league to oppose him, and
hearing of Pelopidas's return, these cities sent to Thebes begging
for a force to help them and for him as its general. The Thebans
willingly decreed this, but when all was ready and the general was
about to march, the sun was eclipsed and darkness fell upon the city.
Pelopidas, seeing that all men were disheartened at this, thought
that it was useless to force frightened men full of presage of evil,
to march with him, nor did he like to risk the lives of six thousand
citizens, but he offered his own services to the Thessalians, and
took with him three hundred horsemen, volunteers and men of other
states. With this force he started, though forbidden by the prophets
and against the will of his fellow citizens, who all held that a
great portent had been shown in heaven about some celebrated man.
However, he was all the fiercer against Alexander, remembering his
own sufferings, and hoping from his conversations with Thêbê, that
by this time his own family would have turned against him. He was
also much encouraged by the glory of the action, that, at a time when
the Lacedæmonians were sending out generals and governors to help
Dionysius the Sicilian tyrant, and when the Athenians had Alexander
in their pay, and had even set up a bronze statue of him as a public
benefactor, he might show the Greeks that it was the Thebans alone
who took up arms in defence of the oppressed, and who put an end to
the violent and illegal rule of despots in Greece.XXXII.