Geography

​Ephorus says that the Heracleidae, Eurysthenes and Procles, who took possession of Laconica, divided the land into six parts and founded cities in it. Now they gave one of the portions, Amyclae, as a special gift to the man who betrayed Laconica to them and persuaded its ruler to depart under a treaty with the Achaeans to Ionia. But they declared Sparta as their own royal residence, and sent kings to the other cities, allowing them to receive any foreigners who wished to dwell with them because of the scarcity of men. They used Las as a harbor, Aegyus for war (for it bordered on the surrounding peoples), Pharis because of its safety from within, and [...]. Although all the perioeci were subject to the Spartans, they nevertheless had equal rights, participating in both the citizenship and the offices. But Agis, the son of Eurysthenes, took away their equal status and ordered them to pay tribute to Sparta. The others, indeed, submitted, but the Heleians who held Helos (who were called Helots) made a revolt and were conquered by force in a war, and were condemned to be slaves under certain conditions, so that it was not permitted for their owner either to set them free or to sell them outside the borders. And this was called the war against the Helots. It was virtually Agis and his followers who introduced the Helot system, which later continued until the Roman supremacy; for the Lacedaemonians held them in a way as public slaves, assigning to them certain habitations and special services.

​Concerning the constitution of the Laconians and the changes that took place among them, one might omit most of it because it is well known, but some points are perhaps worthy of mention. For they say that the Achaeans of Phthiotis, who came down with Pelops into the Peloponnesus, inhabited Laconica, and excelled so much in valor that the Peloponnesus, which had already for many years been called Argos, was then called Achaean Argos, and not only the Peloponnesus but also specifically Laconica was so addressed. At any rate, the poet’s words, “Where was Menelaus? Or was he not in Achaean Argos?” some interpret in this way: “Or was he not in Laconica?” But at the return of the Heracleidae, when Philonomus betrayed the country to the Dorians, they migrated from Laconica to the land of the Ionians, which is even now called Achaea; and we shall speak of them in our account of Achaea. Those who took possession of Laconica were moderate at first, but when they entrusted the constitution to Lycurgus, they so far surpassed the others that they alone of the Greeks ruled over both land and sea, and continued to lead the Greeks until the Thebans, and immediately after them the Macedonians, took the hegemony away from them. Nevertheless, they did not yield completely even to these, but, guarding their autonomy, they were always in a rivalry for the first place both against the other Greeks and against the kings of the Macedonians. When these were overthrown by the Romans, they clashed slightly with the generals sent by the Romans, being ruled by tyrants at that time and having a wretched government; but having recovered themselves, they were honored exceptionally and remained free, paying nothing else except the friendly services. Recently, Eurycles disturbed them, being thought to have abused the friendship of Caesar beyond measure for his oversight of them, but his rule ended quickly, as he departed to his destiny, and his son turned away from all such friendship. It also happened that the Free Laconians received a certain constitutional status, since the perioeci were the first to side with the Romans when Sparta was ruled by tyrants, both the others and the Helots. Now Hellanicus says that Eurysthenes and Procles regulated the constitution, but Ephorus censures him, saying that he nowhere mentions Lycurgus, and attributes his works to those to whom they do not belong; at any rate, a temple has been built and sacrifices are offered yearly to Lycurgus alone, whereas to those, although they were founders, not even this has been granted, so that their descendants are called not Eurysthenidae and Procleidae, but Agiads from Agis the son of Eurysthenes, and Eurypontids from Eurypon the son of Procles. That is, the former ruled justly, but the latter, having admitted strangers, ruled through them; whence they were not thought [worthy of the honor given to all...], and Pausanias, having been banished, composed in exile a discourse on his own constitution, since it was a law of the city that banished him to declare the oracles that had been given, of which there were very many.