Description of Greece

​But what has not escaped me, and indeed had not escaped the Messenians either, was that even though they did not contribute to the congress, the resources of the Achaeans were available to them against the Lacedaemonians; for indeed among the Achaeans, both the Argives and the Arcadians constituted no small part. In course of time, however, they joined the Achaean League. Not long afterwards, Cleomenes, the son of Leonidas who was the son of Cleonymus, captured Megalopolis, a city of the Arcadians, during a truce.

​Of those captured, some perished at the taking of the city, but Philopoemen, the son of Craugis, and all who retreated with Philopoemen—and they say that the portion of the Megalopolitans who escaped was even more than two thirds—these the Messenians received, because of all the ancient services rendered to the Arcadians in the time of Aristomenes, and later at the founding of Messene, thus returning the like to them.

​It is indeed the nature of human affairs to change completely on the whole, seeing that the deity granted to the Messenians both to save the Arcadians in turn and, what was still more unexpected, to capture Sparta; for they fought against Cleomenes near Sellasia and helped Aratus and the Achaeans to overthrow Sparta.

​When the Lacedaemonians were rid of Cleomenes, the tyrant Machanidas rose against them, and after his death, Nabis arose as tyrant over them in turn. Since he did not only plunder the possessions of men but also despoiled temples, in a short time abundant wealth and, by means of it, an army was collected. When this Nabis seized Messene, Philopoemen and the Megalopolitans arrived on the same night.

​And the Spartan tyrant departed under a treaty, but the Achaeans, after these events, finding some fault with the Messenians, marched against them with all their forces and ravaged most of their territory. And they again assembled about the time when the corn was ripe, intending to invade Messenia; but Deinocrates, who was at the head of the people and had been chosen to rule the Messenians at that time, caused Lycortas and the army with him to retreat without accomplishing anything, having preoccupied the passes from Arcadia into Messenia with the Messenians from the city and all of the periokoi who helped them.

​But when Philopoemen arrived with a few horsemen, much later than the army under Lycortas, and was not yet able to learn anything of their situation, the Messenians won the battle, which took place from higher ground in their favor, and captured Philopoemen alive. In what manner Philopoemen was captured and how he died, my Arcadian history will relate in detail later; but those of the Messenians who were responsible for the death of Philopoemen paid the penalty, and Messene again contributed to the Achaean League.

​Up to this point, then, my narrative has gone over the many sufferings of the Messenians, and how the deity, having scattered them to the furthest ends of the earth and to the most distant parts from the Peloponnese, later in time saved them and restored them to their own land; but after this, let us turn to the description of the country and its cities.