Pausanias, Description of Greece, W.H.S. Jones (Translator), H.A. Ormerod (Translator), 7.13

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[1]
So the result of the debate was that the Achaeans again came near to actual war with the Lacedaemonians, and Damocritus, who had been elected general of the Achaeans at this time, proceeded to mobilize an army against Sparta . But about this time there arrived in Macedonia a Roman force under Metellus, whose object was to put down the rebellion of Andriscus, the son of Perseus, the son of Philip. The war in Macedonia , it turned out, was easily decided in favour of the Romans,

[2] but Metellus urged the envoys, sent by the Roman senate to settle the affairs of Asia , to parley with the chiefs of the Achaeans before making the crossing. They were to order them not to attack Sparta , but to await the arrival from Rome of the envoys sent for the purpose of arbitrating between the Lacedaemonians and the Achaeans.

[3] They delivered their instructions to the Achaeans under Damocritus when these had already begun a campaign against Lacedaemon , and so, realizing that the Achaeans were set against their advice, proceeded on their way to Asia . The Lacedaemonians, with a spirit greater than their strength, took up arms, and sallied forth to defend their country. But they were soon crushed; a thousand of their bravest youths fell in the battle, and the rest of the soldiery fled towards the city with all the haste they could.

[4] If Damocritus had made a vigorous effort, the Achaeans could have dashed into the walls of Sparta along with the fugitives from the field of battle. As it was, he at once recalled the Achaeans from the pursuit, and confined his future operations to raids and plunder, instead of prosecuting the siege with energy.

[5] So Damocritus withdrew his army, and the Achaeans sentenced him to pay a fine of fifty talents for his treachery. Being unable to pay, he left the Peloponnesus and went into exile. Diaeus, who was elected general after Damocritus, agreed, when Metellus sent another embassy, to involve the Lacedaemonians in no war, but to await the arrival of the arbitrators from Rome .

[6] But he invented another trick to embarrass the Lacedaemonians. He induced the towns around Sparta to be friendly to the Achaeans, and even introduced garrisons into them, to be Achaean bases against Sparta .

[7] The Lacedaemonians elected Menalcidas to be their general against Diaeus, and although they were utterly unprepared for war, being especially ill-provided with money, while in addition their land had remained unsown, he nevertheless dared to break the truce, and took by assault and sacked Iasus, a town on the borders of Laconia , but at that time subject to the Achaeans.

[8] Having again stirred up war between Lacedaemonians and Achaeans he incurred blame at the hands of his countrymen, and, failing to find a way of escape for the Lacedaemonians from the peril that threatened them, he took his own life by poison. Such was the end of Menalcidas. At the time he was in command of the Lacedaemonians, and previously he had commanded the Achaeans. In the former office he proved a most stupid general, in the latter an unparalleled villain.

Description of Greece. Pausanias. W.H.S. Jones (Translator), H.A. Ormerod (Translator). Cambridge, MA. 1918-1935.

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Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.

Current edition Perseus

Description of Greece (English) (Pausanias. Pausanias Description of Greece, Volumes 1-4. Jones, W.H.S. (William Henry Samuel), translator; Ormerod, Henry Arderne, translator. London, New York: W. Heinemann, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1918-1935.)

Editions (1)

Ἑλλάδος Περιηγήσεως Perseus (Pausanias. Pausaniae Graeciae descriptio, Volumes 1-3. Spiro, Friedrich, editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1903.) — 7.13 focus

[1]
αὖθις οὖν ἐκ τῶν ἀντιλογιῶν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὥρμηντο Ἀχαιοὶ πολεμεῖν, καὶ στρατὸς ἐπὶ τὴν Σπάρτην ἠθροίζετο ὑπὸ Δαμοκρίτου στρατηγεῖν τηνικαῦτα Ἀχαιῶν ᾑρημένου. περὶ δὲ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον τοῦτον ἀφίκετο ἐς Μακεδονίαν στρατιά τε Ῥωμαίων καὶ ἡγεμὼν ἐπʼ αὐτῇ Μέτελλος, Ἀνδρίσκῳ τῷ Περσέως τοῦ Φιλίππου πολεμήσοντες ἀφεστηκότι ἀπὸ Ῥωμαίων. καὶ ὁ μὲν ἐν Μακεδονίᾳ πόλεμος ἔμελλεν ὡς ῥᾷστα κατὰ τὸ ἐπιτηδειότατον Ῥωμαίοις κριθήσεσθαι·

[2] Μέτελλος δὲ ἄνδρας ὑπὸ τῆς Ῥωμαίων ἀπεσταλμένους βουλῆς ἐπὶ τὰ ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ πράγματα ἐκέλευε, πρὶν ἢ ἐς τὴν Ἀσίαν διαβῆναι, τοῖς ἡγεμόσιν αὐτοὺς τοῖς Ἀχαιῶν ἐς λόγους ἐλθεῖν, ὅπλα μὲν ἐπὶ τὴν Σπάρτην μὴ ἐπιφέρειν σφίσιν ἀπαγορεύσοντας, τὴν δὲ ἐκ Ῥώμης παρουσίαν τῶν 0 ἀνδρῶν προεροῦντας μένειν, οἳ κατὰ τοῦτο ἦσαν ἀπεσταλμένοι Λακεδαιμονίοις δικασταὶ καὶ Ἀχαιοῖς γενέσθαι.

[3] οἱ μὲν δὴ τὰ ἐντεταλμένα Δαμοκρίτῳ καὶ Ἀχαιοῖς ἐπήγγελλον ἐφθακόσιν ἔξοδον ἐπὶ Λακεδαίμονα πεποιῆσθαι καὶ—ἑώρων γὰρ τὰ πρὸς τὴν παραίνεσιν ἀνθεστηκότα τὰ Ἀχαιῶν—ἀπηλλάσσοντο ἐς τὴν Ἀσίαν· Λακεδαιμόνιοι δὲ ὑπὸ φρονήματος μᾶλλον ἢ ἰσχύος ἔλαβον μὲν τὰ ὅπλα καὶ ἐπεξῆλθον ἀμυνοῦντες τῇ οἰκείᾳ, βιασθέντες δὲ οὐ μετὰ πολύ, ὅσον μὲν ἐς χιλίους οἱ ἡλικίᾳ μάλιστα αὐτῶν καὶ τόλμαις ἀκμάζοντες πίπτουσιν ἐν τῇ μάχῃ, τὸ δὲ ἄλλο στρατιωτικόν, ὡς ἕκαστος τάχους εἶχεν, ἔφευγον πρὸς τὴν πόλιν.

[4] εἰ δὲ ὁ Δαμόκριτος προθυμίαν ἐποιήσατο, τοῖς φεύγουσιν ἐκ τῆς παρατάξεως ὁμοῦ καὶ Ἀχαιοῖς ἐσδραμεῖν ὑπῆρξεν ἂν ἐς τὸ τεῖχος τῆς Σπάρτης εἰς Σπάρτην· νῦν δὲ αὐτίκα τε ἀνεκάλεσεν ἀπὸ τῆς διώξεως τοὺς Ἀχαιοὺς καὶ ἐχρῆτο καὶ ἐς τὸ ἔπειτα καταδρομαῖς μᾶλλον καὶ ἁρπαγαῖς ἐκ τῆς χώρας ἢ συντόνῳ πολιορκίᾳ.

[5] Δαμοκρίτῳ μὲν οὖν ἀπαγαγόντι ὀπίσω τὴν στρατιὰν ἐπιβάλλουσιν οἱ Ἀχαιοὶ ζημίαν πεντήκοντα ἅτε ἀνδρὶ προδότῃ τάλαντα, καὶ—οὐ γὰρ εἶχεν ἐκτῖσαι— φεύγων ᾤχετο ἐκ Πελοποννήσου· Δίαιος δὲ Ἀχαιῶν μετὰ Δαμόκριτον στρατηγεῖν ᾑρημένος ἀποστείλαντι αὖθις Μετέλλῳ πρέσβεις ὡμολόγησε μηδένα ἐπάξειν Λακεδαιμονίοις πόλεμον, ἀλλὰ ἔστʼ ἂν ἥκωσιν ἐκ Ῥώμης, ἀναμενεῖν τοὺς διαλλακτάς.

[6] στρατήγημα δὲ ἄλλο ἐς τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους παρεῦρε τοιόνδε· τὰ ἐν κύκλῳ τῆς Σπάρτης πολίσματα ἐς τὴν Ἀχαιῶν ὑπηγάγετο 0 εὔνοιαν, ἐσήγαγε δὲ ἐς αὐτὰ καὶ φρουράς, ὁρμητήρια ἐπὶ τὴν Σπάρτην Ἀχαιοῖς εἶναι.

[7] Μεναλκίδας δὲ ᾕρητο μὲν ὑπὸ Λακεδαιμονίων ἐναντία Διαίῳ στρατηγεῖν· ἐχόντων δὲ αὐτῶν ἔς τε τὴν πᾶσαν πολέμου παρασκευὴν καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστα τοῖς χρήμασιν ἀσθενῶς, πρὸς δὲ καὶ τῆς γῆς σφισιν ἀσπόρου μεμενηκυίας, † διας ὅμως τὰς σπονδὰς ὑπερβῆναι καὶ πόλισμα Ἴασον ἑλὼν ἐξ ἐπιδρομῆς ἐπόρθησεν, ἐν ὅροις μὲν χώρας τῆς Λακωνικῆς, Ἀχαιῶν δὲ ἐν τῷ τότε ὑπήκοον.

[8] ἐξεγείρας δὲ αὖθις Λακεδαιμονίοις καὶ Ἀχαιοῖς πόλεμον ἐν ἐγκλήμασί τε ἦν ὑπὸ τῶν πολιτῶν καὶ— οὐ γάρ τινα ἐκ τοῦ προσδοκωμένου κινδύνου Λακεδαιμονίοις σωτηρίαν εὕρισκεν—ἀφίησιν ἑκουσίως τὴν ψυχὴν πιὼν φάρμακον. καὶ Μεκαλκίδᾳ μὲν τέλος τοιοῦτον ἐγένετο, ἄρξαντι ἐν τῷ ἑαυτοῦ νῷ τότε μὲν Λακεδαιμονίων ὡς ἂν ὁ ἀμαθέστατος στρατηγός, πρότερον δὲ ἔτι τοῦ Ἀχαιῶν ἔθνους ὡς ἀνθρώπων ὁ ἀδικώτατος.

Translations (1)

English (Jones and Ormerod; retranslated Gregory Nagy, CHS, 2018) (OCR draft) Experimental (CHS Pausanias Reader retranslation by Gregory Nagy, based on Jones and Ormerod, with marked Greek terms, notes, quotations, and bibliographic attributions preserved.) — 7.13 focus

[1] So the result of the debate was that the Achaeans again came near to actual war with the Lacedaemonians, and Damokritos, who had been elected general of the Achaeans at this time, proceeded to mobilize an army against Sparta. But about this time there arrived in Macedonia a Roman force under Metellus, whose object was to put down the rebellion of Andriskos, the son of Perseus, the son of Philip. The war in Macedonia, it turned out, was easily decided in favor of the Romans,

[2] but Metellus urged the envoys, sent by the Roman senate to settle the affairs of Asia, to parley with the chiefs of the Achaeans before making the crossing. They were to order them not to attack Sparta, but to await the arrival from Rome of the envoys sent for the purpose of arbitrating between the Lacedaemonians and the Achaeans.

[3] They delivered their instructions to the Achaeans under Damokritos when these had already begun a campaign against Lacedaemon, and so, realizing that the Achaeans were set against their advice, proceeded on their way to Asia. The Lacedaemonians, with a spirit greater than their strength, took up arms, and sallied forth to defend their country. But they were soon crushed; a thousand of their bravest youths fell in the battle, and the rest of the soldiery fled towards the city with all the haste they could.

[4] If Damokritos had made a vigorous effort, the Achaeans could have dashed into the walls of Sparta along with the fugitives from the field of battle. As it was, he at once recalled the Achaeans from the pursuit, and confined his future operations to raids and plunder, instead of prosecuting the siege with energy.

[5] So Damokritos withdrew his army, and the Achaeans sentenced him to pay a fine of fifty talents for his treachery. Being unable to pay, he left the Peloponnesus and went into exile. Diaios, who was elected general after Damokritos, agreed, when Metellus sent another embassy, to involve the Lacedaemonians in no war, but to await the arrival of the arbitrators from Rome.

[7] The Lacedaemonians elected Menalkidas to be their general against Diaios, and although they were utterly unprepared for war, being especially ill-provided with money, while in addition their land had remained unsown, he nevertheless dared to break the truce, and took by assault and sacked Iasos, a town on the borders of Laconia, but at that time subject to the Achaeans.

[8] Having again stirred up war between Lacedaemonians and Achaeans he incurred blame at the hands of his countrymen, and, failing to find a way of escape for the Lacedaemonians from the peril that threatened them, he took his own life by poison. Such was the end of Menalkidas. At the time he was in command of the Lacedaemonians, and previously he had commanded the Achaeans. In the former office he proved a most stupid general, in the latter an unparalleled villain.

New Alexandria Commentaries

Gregory Nagy, Editors: Angelia Hanhardt and Keith DeStone, Web producer: Noel Spencer, Consultant for images: Jill Curry Robbins, \[\[Noel gives this a separate URN\]\]

Pausanias Description of Greece 7.13

W.H.S. Jones (Translator), H.A. Ormerod (Translator)

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