Delphi Complete Works of Cornelius Nepos

by Cornelius Nepos

  IX. When, towards the close of his career, he was commander at Mantinea, and, pressing very boldly upon the enemy with his army in full array, was recognized by the Lacedaemonians, they directed their efforts in a body against him alone, because they thought the salvation of their country depended upon his destruction, nor did they fall back, until, after shedding much blood, and killing many of the enemy, they saw Epaminondas himself, while fighting most valiantly, fall wounded with a spear hurled from a distance. By his fall the Boeotians were somewhat disheartened; yet they did not quit the field till they had put to flight those opposed to them. As for Epaminondas himself, when he found that he had received a mortal wound, and also that if he drew out the iron head of the dart, which had stuck in his body, he would instantly die, he kept it in until it was told him that “the Boeotians were victorious.” When he heard these words, he said “I have lived long enough; for I die unconquered.” The iron head being then extracted, he immediately died.

  X. He was never married; and when he was blamed on this account (as he would leave no children 163) by Pelopidas, who had a son of bad character, and who said that he, in this respect, but ill consulted the interest of his country, “Beware,” he replied, “lest you should consult it worse, in being about to leave behind you a son of such a reputation. But neither can I,” he added, “want issue; for I leave behind me a daughter, the battle of Leuctra, that must of necessity not only survive me, but must be immortal.”

  At the time when the Theban exiles, under the leadership of Pelopidas, possessed themselves of Thebes, and expelled the garrison of the Lacedaemonians from the citadel, Epaminondas, as long as the slaughter of the citizens continued, confined himself to his own house, for he would neither defend the unworthy, nor attack them, that he might not stain his hands with the blood of his own countrymen. But when the struggle began at the Cadmea 164 with the Lacedaemonians, he took his stand among the foremost.

  Of his merits and his life enough will have been said, if I add but this one remark, of which none can deny the truth; that Thebes, as well before Epaminondas was born, as after his death, was always subject to some foreign power, 165 but that, as long as he held the reigns of government, it was the head of all Greece. Hence it may be understood, that one man was of more efficacy than the whole people.

  XVI. PELOPIDAS.

  Phoebidas seizes on the citadel of Thebes; Pelopidas banished, I. Pelopidas, with twelve followers, effects a return to Thebes, II. He delivers his country from the Lacedaemonians, expelling their garrison, III. His acts in conjunction with Epaminondas, IV. His contest with Alexander of Pherae; his death, V.

  I. PELOPIDAS, of Thebes, is better known to those acquainted with history than to the multitude. As to his merits, I am in doubt how I shall speak of them; for I fear that, if I begin to give a full account of his actions, I may seem, not to be relating his life, but to be writing a history, or that, if I touch only on his principal exploits, it may not clearly appear to those ignorant of Grecian literature how great a man he was, I will therefore, as far as I can, meet both difficulties, and provide against the satiety, as well as for the imperfect knowledge, of my readers.

  Phoebidas, the Lacedaemonian, when he was leading an army to Olynthus,166 and marching through the territory of Thebes,167 possessed himself (at the instigation of a few of the Thebans, who, the better to withstand the opposite faction, favoured the interest of the Lacedaemonians,) of the citadel of Thebes, which is called the Cadmea,168 and this he did of his own private determination, not from any public resolution of his countrymen. For this act the Lacedaemonians removed him from his command of the army, and fined him a sum of money, but did not show the more inclination, on that account, to restore the citadel to the Thebans, because, as enmity had arisen between them, they thought it better that they should be under a check than left at liberty; for, after the Peloponnesian war was ended, and Athens subdued, they supposed that the contest must be between them and the Thebans, and that they were the only people who would venture to make head against them. With this belief they committed the chief posts to their own friends, while they partly put to death, and partly banished, the leading men of the opposite party; and amongst them Pelopidas, of whom we have begun to write, was expelled from his country.

  II. Almost all these exiles had betaken themselves to Athens, not that they might live in idleness, but that, whatever opportunity chance should first offer, they might avail themselves of it to regain their country.169 As soon, therefore, as it seemed time for action, they, in concert with those who held similar views at Thebes, fixed on a day for cutting off their enemies and delivering their country, and made choice of that very day on which the chief magistrates were accustomed to meet at a banquet together. Great exploits have been often achieved with no very numerous forces, but assuredly never before was so great a power overthrown from so small a beginning. For, out of those who had been banished, twelve young men (there not being in all more than a hundred who were willing to encounter so great a danger,) agreed to attempt the enterprise; and by this small number the power of the Lacedaemonians was overcome; for these youths made war on that occasion, not more upon the faction of their adversaries than upon the Spartans, who were lords of Greece, and whose imperious domination, shaken by this commencement, was humbled not long after in the battle of Leuctra.

  These twelve, then, whose leader was Pelopidas, quitting Athens in the day-time, with a view to reach Thebes when the sky was obscured by evening, set out with hunting dogs, carrying nets in their hands, and in the dress of countrymen, in order that they might accomplish their journey with less suspicion. Having arrived at the very time that they had desired, they proceeded to the house of Charon, by whom the hour and day 170 had been fixed.

  III. Here I would observe in passing, although the remark be unconnected with the subject before us,171 how great mischief excessive confidence is wont to produce; for it soon came to the ears of the Theban magistrates that some of the exiles had entered the city, but this intelligence, being intent upon their wine and luxuries, they so utterly disregarded, that they did not take the trouble even to inquire about so important a matter. Another circumstance was added, too, which may show their folly in a more remarkable light. A letter was brought from Athens by Archias the hierophant,172 to Archias, who then held the chief post at Thebes, in which a full account had been written concerning the expedition of the exiles. This letter being delivered to Archias as he was reclining at the banquet, he, thrusting it under the bolster, sealed as it was, said, “I put off serious matters till to-morrow.” But those revellers, when the night was far advanced, and they were overcome with wine, were all put to death by the exiles under the command of Pelopidas. Their object being thus effected, and the common people being summoned to take arms and secure their liberty, not only those who were in the city, but also others from all parts out of the country, flocked together to join them; they then expelled the garrison of the Lacedaemonians from the citadel, and delivered their country from thraldom. The promoters of the seizure of the Cadmea they partly put to death, and partly sent into exile.

  IV. During this period of turbulence, Epaminondas, as we have already observed, remained quiet, so long as the struggle was between fellow-citizens, in his own house. The glory of delivering Thebes, therefore, belongs wholly to Pelopidas; almost all his other honours were gained in conjunction with, Epaminondas. In the battle of Leuctra, where Epaminondas was commander-in-chief, Pelopidas was leader of a select body of troops, which were the first to bear down the phalanx of the Spartans. He was present with him, too, in all his dangers. When he attacked Sparta, he commanded one wing of the army; and, in order that Messene might be sooner restored,173 he went ambassador to Persia. He was, indeed, the second of the two great personages at Thebes, but second only in such a way that he approached very near to Epaminondas.

  V. Yet he had to struggle with adverse fortune. He lived in exile, as we have shown, in the early part of his life; and, when h
e sought to bring Thessaly under the power of the Thebans, and thought that he was sufficiently protected by the law of embassies, which used to be held sacred by all nations, he was seized, together with Ismenias, by Alexander, tyrant of Pherae, and thrown into prison. Epaminondas, making war upon Alexander, restored him to liberty. But after this occurrence, he could never be reconciled in feeling to him by whom he had been unjustly treated. He therefore persuaded the Thebans to go to the relief of Thessaly, and to expel its tyrants. The chief command in the expedition being given to him, and he having gone thither with an army, he did not hesitate to come to a battle the moment he saw the enemy. In the encounter, as soon as he perceived Alexander, he spurred on his horse, in a fever of rage, to attack him, and, separating too far from his men, was killed by a shower of darts. This happened when victory was in his favour, for the troops of the tyrant had already given way. Such being the event, all the cities of Thessaly honoured Pelopidas, after his death, with golden crowns and brazen statues, and presented his children with a large portion of land.

  XVII. AGESILAUS.

  Agesilaus elected king of Sparta, his brother’s son being set aside, I. His expedition to Asia; his strict observance of his truce with Tissaphernes, II. He lays waste Phrygia; winters at Ephesus; deceives Tissaphernes, III. Is recalled to defend his country; defeats the Thebans at Coronea; his clemency, IV. His success in the Corinthian war; spares Corinth, V. Refuses to go to the battle at Leuctra; saves Sparta by a stratagem, VI. Replenishes the treasury of his country, VII. His personal appearance and mode of life; his death at the harbour of Menelaus, VIII.

  I. AGESILAUS the Lacedaemonian has been praised not only by other writers, but, above all, by Xenophon, the disciple of Socrates, for he treated Xenophon as an intimate friend.

  In his early days he had a dispute with Leotychides, his brother’s son, about the throne; for it was a custom handed down among the Lacedaemonians from their ancestors, that they should always have two kings, in name rather than power, of the two families of Procles and Eurysthenes, who were the first kings of Sparta, of the progeny of Hercules. It was not lawful for a king to be made out of one of these families instead of the other; each of the two, therefore, maintained its order of succession. Regard was had, in the first place, to the eldest of the sons of him who died while on the throne; but if he had left no male issue, the choice then fell on him who was next of kin. King Agis, the brother of Agesilaus, had recently died, and had left a son named Leotychides, whom, during his life, he had not acknowledged, but, at his death, had declared to be his. Leotychides contended for the royal dignity with his uncle Agesilaus, but did not obtain what he sought, for Agesilaus was preferred through the interest of Lysander, a man, as we have already stated, of a factious character, and at that time of great influence.

  II. Agesilaus, as soon as he got possession of the throne, solicited the Lacedaemonians to send an army into Asia, and make war upon the king of Persia, assuring them that it was better to fight in Asia than in Europe; for a rumour had gone abroad that Artaxerxes was equipping a fleet, and raising land forces, to send into Greece. Permission being granted him, he exerted so much expedition, that he arrived in Asia with his troops before the king’s satraps knew that he had set out; hence it happened that he surprised them all unprepared, and expecting nothing of the kind. But as soon as Tissaphernes, who had the chief authority among the royal satraps, heard of his arrival, he begged a truce of the Spartan, on pretence that he would try to effect an agreement between the Lacedaemonians and the king, but in reality to gain time for collecting troops; and he obtained a truce for three months. Each of them, however, took an oath to observe the truce without fraud; to which engagement Agesilaus adhered with the greatest honour; but Tissaphernes, on the other hand, did nothing but make preparations for war. Though Agesilaus became aware of his proceedings, he still kept his oath, and said that “he was a great gainer by doing so, for Tissaphernes, by his perjury, both alienated men from his interest, and made the gods angry with him; while he, by being faithful to his obligation, produced confidence among his troops, as they felt that the power of the gods was on their side, and that men were rendered greater friends to them, because they were accustomed to favour those whom they saw keeping faith.”

  III. When the period of the truce was expired, the barbarian, not doubting that as he had many residences in Caria, and as that province was then thought by far the richest in Asia, the enemy would direct their attacks on that quarter especially, assembled his whole force on that side. But Agesilaus turned into Phrygia, and laid waste the country before Tissaphernes could make a movement in any direction. After enriching his men with abundance of plunder, he led back his army to Ephesus to winter, and erecting forges for arms there, made preparations for war with great industry. That his soldiers might be armed with greater care, too, and equipped with more display, he proposed rewards, with which those were to be presented whose efforts to that end should be remarkably distinguished. He pursued the same course with regard to different kinds of exercises, so as to honour with valuable gifts those who excelled others in them. By this means he succeeded in getting an army most admirably accoutred and trained.

  When he thought it time to draw his troops out of winter quarters, he saw that if he openly declared in what direction he was going to march, the enemy would not give credit to his statement, but would occupy other parts with their forces, not doubting that he would do something quite different from what he said. Agesilaus, accordingly, giving out that ho would march for Sardis, Tissaphernes felt convinced that Caria must again be defended. When his expectation deceived him in the matter, and he found himself outwitted by his adversary’s shrewdness, he hastened to protect his dependants, but too late, for, when he arrived, Agesilaus had taken many places, and secured abundance of spoil.

  The Lacedaemonian king, seeing that the enemy were superior to him in cavalry, never gave them an opportunity of attacking him in the plains, but engaged them in those parts in which infantry would be of greater service. As often as he came to a battle, therefore, he routed forces of the enemy far more numerous than his own; and he so conducted himself in Asia that he was in the judgment of every one accounted superior to his opponent.

  IV. While he was thinking of marching into Persia, and attacking the king himself, a messenger came to him from home, by order of the Ephori, to acquaint him that the Athenians and Boeotians had declared war against the Lacedaemonians, and that he should therefore not delay to return. In this juncture is dutifulness to his country is not less to be admired than his merit in war, for though he was at the head of a victorious army, and felt assured, to the utmost, of becoming master of the kingdom of Persia, he obeyed the orders of the absent magistrates with as much respect as if he had been a private person in the comitium 174 at Sparta. Would that our generals had followed his example! But let us proceed with our subject. Agesilaus preferred an honourable name to the most powerful empire, and thought it much more glorious to obey the laws of his country than to subdue Asia in war. With these feelings, therefore, he led his forces over the Hellespont, and employed such expedition, that he accomplished in thirty days a journey which Xerxes had taken a year to perform.175 When he was not very far from the Peloponnesus, the Athenians and Boeotians, and others in alliance with them, endeavoured to make a stand against him at Coronea, all of whom he defeated in a great battle. It was an eminent merit in his victory, that when a numerous body of the enemy had taken refuge in a temple of Minerva after the defeat, and the question was put to him, “what he would wish to be done with them,” he, though he had received some wounds in the battle, and seemed angry with all who had borne arms against him, preferred, nevertheless, respect for religion to the gratification of his resentment, and gave orders that they should suffer no injury. Nor did he act thus in Greece only, so as to save the temples of the gods from profanation, but even among the barbarians also, he preserved every image and altar with the utmost scrupulosity. He used publicly t
o observe, therefore, that “he wondered those were not counted in the number of the sacrilegious who injured the suppliants of the gods,176 or that those who lessened respect for religion were not visited with severer punishments than those who robbed temples.”

  V. After this battle all the war was concentrated about Corinth, and was accordingly called the Corinthian war. During this contest, when, in one battle, in which Agesilaus was general,177 there had fallen ten thousand of the enemy, and the strength of his opponents seemed broken by that catastrophe, he was so far from presumptuous boasting,178 that he expressed commiseration for the fortune of Greece, since it was through the fault of his enemies that so many had been defeated and killed by him, for with that number, if the mind of his adversaries had been but right, the Persians might have been forced to make atonement to Greece. When he had driven the enemy, too, within their walls, and many exhorted him to attack Corinth, he said, “that it would not be consistent with his character in war to do so; since he was one,” he said, “who would oblige offenders to return to their duty, not one who would destroy the noblest cities of Greece; for if we should proceed,” he added, “to extirpate those who have supported us against the barbarians, we should weaken ourselves while the barbarians remain at their ease; and, when this has taken place, they will easily bring us under their power whenever they please.”