The Rise of Rome (Penguin Classics)

by Plutarch

  162. At this time: In 229.

  163. Phlius: At about this time Cleonymus, the tyrant of Phlius (a city to the south of Sicyon), abdicated and joined the Achaean League.

  164. general: Lydiades was general in 230/29, followed by Aratus in 229/8 and Aristomachus in 228/7.

  165. invade Laconia: Argos, like Megalopolis and other new additions to the league, was traditionally hostile to Sparta. By 228 the Achaeans had declared war on Sparta (Polybius 2.46.6).

  166. Aratus to come … from Athens: Where he was helping to settle the financial aspects of Athens’ liberation from Macedonian control.

  167. Cleomenes: Cleomenes III (c. 260–222) became king of Sparta around 235. He is the subject of Plutarch’s Cleomenes. Although the war between Cleomenes and the Achaean League was crucial to Aratus’ subsequent career (see below), Plutarch says little about its origins.

  168. Pallantium: (Pallantion) An Arcadian city, west of Tegea, near modern Tripoli.

  169. Aratus prevented … engaging him in battle: See also Cleomenes 4.

  170. twelfth time: It was actually Aratus’ tenth term as general, 227/6. That year Lydiades was elected hipparch, the second highest office in the league.

  171. Lycaeum: (Modern Diaphorti) A mountain in Arcadia. Aratus fled from this battle in 227.

  172. made … full citizens: Aratus’ treatment of resident aliens (also reported by Polybius 2.57) is unclear. It has been suggested that, in addition to a garrison, Achaean settlers were introduced: Walbank, Commentary, vol. 1, p. 263.

  173. Aratus gained … victorious: Polybius (4.8.4) includes this feat among Aratus’ most significant military achievements.

  174. ambushed by Cleomenes and fell: See also Cleomenes 6.

  175. Aegium: Located on the Gulf of Corinth, the capital of the Achaean League (modern Aigio).

  176. continue this war … own means for doing so: It appears from the sequel (ch. 38) that this decree was not enforced.

  177. Orchomenus: Arcadian Orchomenus (there was also a Boeotian city with this name) near modern Kalpaki.

  178. Megistonous: A rich landowner, he was the husband of Cleomenes’ mother, Cratesicleia; he was later ransomed. See also ch. 41.

  179. battle … victory: Neither Cleomenes 6 nor Polybius 2.51.3 mentions Aratus’ victory at Orchomenus. In any event, Cleomenes did not allow the Achaeans to capture the town.

  180. general: Elected for 225/4. This was the first generalship of Timoxenus, a protégé of Aratus. He was general several more times (certainly in 221/20 and 216/15).

  181. ephors: Each year the Spartans elected ten ephors. They, and not the kings of Sparta, were the city’s chief magistrates, and in 227 the ephors opposed Cleomenes’ ambitions for Sparta.

  182. complete control of Sparta: In 227 Cleomenes seized power in Sparta (aided by Megistonous) and over the course of the next year instituted revolutionary social reforms; see Cartledge and Spawforth, Hellenistic and Roman Sparta, pp. 49–58. One significant result of these reforms was a dramatic increase in Sparta’s available military manpower.

  183. menace the Achaeans … over the league: In the winter of 226/5, after inflicting a serious defeat on the Achaeans (chs. 39 and 41). At this time, Ptolemy III was the nominal leader of the league (ch. 24); at the same time, he was and remained Cleomenes’ ally, indicating that there was no rift as a result of Cleomenes’ demands.

  184. affairs of state … leaves the rudder to someone else: Plutarch applies the same metaphor to Aratus at Cleomenes 15.

  185. allowing Macedonian garrisons to be installed: Plutarch is referring to Aratus’ decision to ally the Achaean League with Macedon (ch. 42).

  186. Illyrians and Gauls: The army Antigonus Doson led in the war against Cleomenes included Gallic troops and Illyrians commanded by an Illyrian ruler, Demetrius of Pharus (modern Hvar); see ch. 50 and Polybius 2.65.2–4. The Illyrians were a large group of related peoples inhabiting the western Balkans.

  187. the Heracleidae: According to myth, the descendants of Heracles returned to the Peloponnese and divided its territories among themselves, thereby establishing the regional authority of various Dorian states (Diodorus 4.57–8), including Sparta, whose kings were believed to derive from the Heracleidae. Cleomenes emphasized his descent from Heracles (Cleomenes 13).

  188. Cleomenes … promised … bestowing: Cleomenes’ offer to the Achaeans is described at Cleomenes 15.

  189. Antigonus: Antigonus Doson (c. 263–221), who in 229 succeeded Demetrius II (who was his cousin), first as regent for Philip V but then as king in his own right.

  190. offer him the Acrocorinth as payment: See ch. 42.

  191. Aesop’s fable … bridles: A version of this fable is also reported at Aristotle, Rhetoric 1393b, and Horace, Epistles 1.10.34–8.

  192. Polybius … says … negotiations with Antigonus: Polybius 2.47. It was in reaction to Cleomenes’ revolution and Sparta’s greater military resources that Aratus began to look towards a Macedonian alliance.

  193. an appeal to Antigonus: Megalopolis had also enjoyed good relations with Macedon before it was drawn into the Achaean League. Polybius (2.48–51) describes this embassy, which took place in 227, as well as subsequent negotiations with Antigonus.

  194. Phylarchus: Third-century BC historian (whose works are now lost); see Introduction.

  195. Cleomenes recaptured it: Mantinea was taken in 226 (a year before Timoxenus was elected general).

  196. battle near Hecatombaeum: In 226. Hecatombaeum was in the territory of Dyme (modern Kato Achaia).

  197. invited Cleomenes … accept leadership of the league: Plutarch here conflates two meetings between Cleomenes and the league. In late 226, the league was prepared to accept Cleomenes’ terms at an emergency session held at Lerna (Cleomenes 15), but this was cancelled when Cleomenes fell ill. Another meeting was arranged for the summer of the next year, to be held at Argos, but Aratus, no doubt fearing a favourable outcome for Cleomenes, managed to forestall it (the details related at Cleomenes 17 differ from the account here).

  198. Lerna: Modern Myli Navpliou, on the Gulf of Argos.

  199. close … to capturing the city of Sicyon: See ch. 40.

  200. Achaean commander: Not the Achaean general Timoxenus (although the word used here by Plutarch is strategos, which could refer to the Achaean general) but the Achaean commander on the spot (Cleomenes 17).

  201. Pheneus … Penteleium: An Arcadian town (modern Feneos), at the foot of Mt Cyllene, and a fortress, presumably located on Mt Penteleium (modern Mt Pentelikon).

  202. Peloponnese … disrupted by revolutionaries: In Sparta, Cleomenes had redistributed land and regulated debts, policies which many in the Achaean cities believed might be extended to them if he were in authority (Cleomenes 17).

  203. invested with absolute power: It was probably at this point that Aratus was named general with absolute authority and granted a bodyguard, although Plutarch does not mention this until ch. 41.

  204. simmering hostility … oppressed by it: It is probably the case that it was by now known that the league had decided to offer Antigonus control of the Acrocorinth, which the Corinthians regarded as a betrayal.

  205. Acte: The east coast of the Argolid peninsula. That is, Cleomenes gained Epidaurus, Troezen and Hermione.

  206. For thirty-three years: Plutarch’s reckoning is faulty: his narrative has reached 225, but Aratus held his first generalship in 245 and, prior to that, had liberated Sicyon in 251. Neither date yields a span of thirty-three years. Plutarch offers the same figure at Cleomenes 16.

  207. the Aetolians … refused him: Although they were Achaean allies (ch. 33).

  208. Eurycleides and Micion: Brothers who were the leading Athenian statesmen in the second half of the third century BC. They cooperated with Diogenes in the liberation of Athens (ch. 34) and afterwards pursued a policy of strict neutrality.

  209. Tripylus: Not otherwise known.

  210. Ptolemy … each year paid … 6 talents: By this point
Ptolemy had transferred Aratus’ subsidy to Cleomenes.

  211. an assembly … summoned Aratus to attend: In the spring of 224.

  212. his son … a young man: Aratus’ son was also named Aratus (chs. 49–51). He was later general of the league, in 219/18.

  213. federal magistrates: These were the ten damiorgoi, who were elected annually and ranked next in importance to the general and hipparch of the league; see Larsen, Greek Federal States: Their Institutions and History, pp. 221–3.

  214. Pegae: A port on the Gulf of Corinth, northwest of Megara on the Isthmus of Corinth.

  215. Antigonus was still young: He was born c. 263 and so was possibly not yet forty.

  216. their struggle … was a difficult one: Plutarch’s focus is on Corinth, but this city’s fortifications were part of Cleomenes’ defence of the Isthmus, which Antigonus and the Achaeans failed to penetrate.

  217. Aristotle of Argos: Apart from his role in this episode, he is not otherwise known.

  218. 1,500 soldiers: A force of Achaeans was also sent under Timoxenus’ command (Polybius 2.53.2).

  219. rushed to the aid of … Argos: Megistonous had been dispatched to relieve Argos but was defeated and killed in battle.

  220. Cleomenes withdrew to Mantinea: A fuller account is provided in Cleomenes 20; see also Polybius 2.53.

  221. Aratus was elected … by the Argives: It is unclear how Aratus qualified for an elected office in Argos, though under the circumstances his immediate patronage may have been more attractive to the Argives than constitutional niceties.

  222. the tyrant: Aristomachus. He had cooperated with Cleomenes in the defection of Argos from the Achaean League.

  223. episode did great damage … so lawless a fashion: This criticism of Aratus was included in his history by Phylarchus and is the object of a lengthy rebuttal by Polybius (2.59–60).

  224. Orchomenus: Aratus had once taken this city (ch. 38) but Cleomenes had recovered it. In 223 Antigonus captured it (Polybius 2.54.10–11 and 4.9).

  225. neither write … without Antigonus’ permission: This restriction is not otherwise attested but perhaps was a condition of the Achaean League’s membership in the Hellenic League, founded by Antigonus in 224 (see Introduction). Plutarch does not actually comment on the establishment of the Hellenic League in this Life.

  226. furnish supplies … for Macedonian soldiers: This was certainly the case in 218, when Philip V was king (Polybius 5.1.10–12). These payments were owed only when the Macedonian army was fighting on the league’s behalf. They appear, however, to have been a new policy that helped to preserve the Achaean League’s status as an ally, not a subject, of Macedon: see Walbank in CAH vii.1, p. 478.

  227. games in Antigonus’ honour … city: After the battle of Sellasia (ch. 46), Antigonus was celebrated throughout Greece. Aratus established a festival in his honour, the Antigonea (Polybius 28.19.3, 30.29.3; and Cleomenes 16). Antigonus was at Sicyon during the winter of 224/3.

  228. statues … removed from view: Presumably when Argos joined the Achaean League (ch. 35). These tyrants had been Macedonian allies.

  229. captured the Acrocorinth: An act of aggression against Macedon (chs. 18–24).

  230. behaviour … towards Mantinea: Mantinea was sacked in 223 in retribution for a massacre of Achaean settlers there when the city went over to Cleomenes in 226 (ch. 39). See also Cleomenes 23 and Polybius 2.54.11–12 and 2.56–8 (in which Polybius reacts to Phylarchus’ treatment of this event).

  231. ‘in the midst of necessity … sweet’: Semonides fr. 590 in D. A. Campbell, Greek Lyric, vol. 3 (1991).

  232. Mantinea … Antigonea … today: In AD 125 Hadrian restored the city’s original name.

  233. ‘lovely Mantinea’: Iliad 2.607.

  234. Cleomenes … defeated in … battle: The battle of Sellasia (modern Oinountas) was the decisive battle of the war, fought in July 222.

  235. Cleomenes … sailed for Egypt: He committed suicide in Alexandria.

  236. Philip … a young man: In 222 Philip V was sixteen years old.

  237. death of Antigonus: In 221.

  238. Patrae … Dyme: (Modern Patras) patrae in the northern Peloponnese, and Dyme were both members of the Achaean League.

  239. invaded Messenia and ravaged it: See also Polybius 4.6–11 and 15. Messenia was in the southwest Peloponnese. Long dominated by Sparta, this region was liberated by the Thebans in the fourth century BC, when its leading city, Messene, was founded. Aetolian raids commenced in 221, when Messenia, which was not a member of the Hellenic League, expressed interest in joining (Polybius 4.5.8), but this invasion took place in 220.

  240. Caphyae: (Kephyai) An Arcadian city near Orchomenus.

  241. the king’s goodwill and loyalty to Aratus: The Hellenic League declared war against Aetolia in 219. In what follows, Plutarch devotes scant attention to the events of this war, focusing instead on Aratus’ relationship with Philip.

  242. It was then: During the campaign of 219 and the subsequent winter.

  243. Apelles and Megaleas: Important courtiers, Apelles was one of the king’s guardians and Megaleas was the king’s minister for official correspondence (Polybius 4.76.1 and 4.87.8). These and other advisers pressed Philip to exploit the war in order to reduce the Achaean League to a condition of complete dependency on Macedon, and it is this policy that brought them into conflict with Aratus.

  244. Eperatus: Eperatus of Pharae was elected general for 218/17, ahead of Timoxenus, Aratus’ candidate (Aratus did not put himself forward although he was eligible).

  245. Philip then perceived the magnitude of his error: That year Philip had a very successful campaign against Elis (modern Ilida), in the northwest Peloponnese, but during that time he realized that Eperatus was less able to manage Achaean affairs than was Aratus, with whom he thereafter consulted.

  246. Lacedaemonians … wronged him: Following violent civil disruptions in Sparta in 220, Philip was urged towards very harsh treatment of the city by some of his advisers; others, however, persuaded the king to be moderate. Polybius (4.22–4) infers the counsel of Aratus from Philip’s wise decision.

  247. Cretans … to his side in only a few days: In 219 (Polybius 4.53–5).

  248. Once they went so far … 20 talents: In 218 (Polybius 5.15 provides a much fuller account).

  249. Later … put them to death: In 218, perhaps in response to a conspiracy, several courtiers were executed; Apelles (and his son) and Megaleas committed suicide (Polybius 5.28).

  250. his wife: The younger Aratus’ wife was Polycrateia, who left Sicyon to become Philip’s wife and the mother of Perseus, his successor as king (Livy 27.31.8).

  251. first exhibited suspicious behaviour: Polybius cites Philip’s behaviour at Messene as the beginning of a change for the worse in his character. The events described here took place in 215, after the conclusion of the war with Aetolia in 217; Polybius’ account (7.10–12), now fragmentary, was Plutarch’s source for this episode.

  252. the Ithomatas: Messene (note 239) was located on the western slope of Mt Ithome, which was strongly fortified. The Ithomatas was a citadel atop this mountain.

  253. Demetrius: An Illyrian ruler of Pharus, who had been an ally and adviser to Antigonus Doson. He fought the Romans during the Second Illyrian War (219) and subsequently fled to the court of Philip, where he became his closest adviser. He died in 214 in an attack on Messene.

  254. Phocis … Acarnania: Regions of central Greece, one on the Gulf of Corinth between Aetolia and Boeotia, the other in northwest Greece; Acarnania was west of Aetolia and lay along the Ionian Sea.

  255. all … obey you: Aratus alludes to Philip’s stature as hegemon of the Hellenic League, since the Boeotian, Phocian and Acarnanian leagues were all members.

  256. ‘There are, Philip … master there’: Plutarch’s version of Aratus’ response is more ambitious in scale and sentiment than Polybius’ (7.12.5–7).

  257. Epirus … expedition: In 214, Philip, who was by then an al
ly of Hannibal, campaigned in Illyria, where he came into conflict with Roman forces and precipitated the First Macedonian War (214–205). Epirus is en route to Illyria.

  258. pressed by the Romans … failure: Philip attacked the city of Apollonia, in Illyria (its site is near modern Vlore), but when he was surprised by the praetor Marcus Laevinus, he was forced to destroy his fleet in order to escape (Livy 20.40).

  259. Messenians … ravaging their lands: In 214 Demetrius of Pharus, with Philip’s support, tried to capture Messenia (Polybius 3.19.11; cf. Pausanias 4.29.1–5, confusing this Demetrius with Philip’s son) but fell in the attempt. Thereafter, Philip made his own advance (Polybius 8.8); on the date, see Walbank, Commentary, vol. 2, p. 78. The significance of this episode for Aratus’ relationship with Philip Plutarch found in Polybius (8.12.1).

  260. he had become aware … household: See ch. 49 and note 250.

  261. Philip … inexplicable transformation … perversity: Plutarch was, however, open to the idea that one’s character could suffer a change: see C. Gill, CQ 33 (1983), pp. 469–87.

  262. Taurion: Installed by Antigonus Doson, probably in 222, as the commander of Macedonian forces in the Peloponnese and Antigonus’ official representative in Greek affairs. As such, he worked closely with all the Achaean generals.

  263. seventeenth time: In 213/12. This should have been Aratus’ sixteenth term as general; however, Aratus’ extraordinary appointment as general with full powers, in 225/4 (ch. 40), may have led Plutarch to add an extra term. Few modern historians credit the belief that Aratus (and his son) were poisoned by Philip (which is not to say that Philip was above such conduct).

  264. ancient law … observed: Nevertheless, Euphron, a fourth-century BC politician, had been buried in the market-place (Xenophon, A History of My Times 7.3.12).

  265. the Pythia: This was the priestess at Delphi who, while in a trance, received the oracle of Apollo, which was then reported to the priests at Delphi, who furnished it in verse form.

  266. Do you wish … sky or sea: It has been suggested that the transmission of this oracle is faulty and that there is a lacuna between lines two and three; see H. W. Parke and D. E. W. Wormell, The Delphic Oracle (1956), vol. 1, p. 260, and vol. 2, p. 145.