Description of Greece

​Dorieus indeed—for he could not endure to remain in Lacedaemon and be subject to Cleomenes—set out for a colony; and Cleomenes, when he became king, immediately invaded Argolis, having assembled a force of the Lacedaemonians themselves and of the allies. When the Argives came out to meet him in arms, Cleomenes was victorious in the battle; and—for nearby there was a sacred grove of Argos, the son of Niobe—as they turned to flight, about five thousand of the Argives fled for refuge into the grove. But Cleomenes—for he was for the most part out of his mind—ordered even then the helots to set fire to the grove, and the flame took hold of the entire grove, and as the grove burned, the suppliants were burned to death together with it.

​And he also marched against Athens, at first to acquire both freedom for the Athenians from the sons of Peisistratus and a good reputation for himself and the Lacedaemonians among the Greeks, but later to help establish a tyranny for Isagoras, an Athenian man, out of favor to him. But when he failed in his hope, and the Athenians fought vigorously for their freedom, Cleomenes then ravaged other parts of the land, and also the sacred land of the goddesses at Eleusis, which is called Orgas, and they say that he cut down its trees. He also went to Aegina, and arrested those of the influential Aeginetans who had participated in Medism and had persuaded the citizens to give earth and water to King Darius, the son of Hystaspes.

​While Cleomenes was spending time in Aegina, Demaratus, the king of the other house, slandered him to the multitude of the Lacedaemonians; and Cleomenes, when he returned from Aegina, was active to depose Demaratus from being king, and he bribed the prophetess at Delphi to deliver to the Lacedaemonians whatever he himself instructed her concerning Demaratus, and he incited Leotychides, a man of the royal line and of the same house as Demaratus, to dispute about the rule.

​Leotychides made use of the words which Ariston once, through foolishness, had let fall concerning Demaratus when he was born, saying that he was not his own son. At that time, the Lacedaemonians, as they were accustomed to do in other matters, referred the dispute concerning Demaratus to the oracle at Delphi; and the prophetess delivered to them whatever was in accordance with the mind of Cleomenes.

​Demaratus indeed was deposed from the kingship because of the hatred of Cleomenes and not with justice, but after these things end overtook Cleomenes when he had gone mad; for when he had seized a sword, he began to wound himself and went through his whole body, cutting and mutilating it. The Argives indeed say that he met with such an end of his life because he was paying the penalty to the suppliants of Argos, the Athenians because he ravaged the Orgas, and the Delphians because of the gifts which he gave to the prophetess, persuading her to speak false things against Demaratus.