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Pausanias · Description of Greece §1.13.5-1.13.9

Pyrrhus's Invasion of Sparta and Death at Argos

Passage 15 of 465 · Greek

Summary

Discusses the Spartan succession dispute after Cleomenes, Pyrrhus' invasion of Laconia at Cleonymus' invitation, his death in Argos, and various mythological and historical accounts surrounding his demise.

§1.13.5Κλεομένει δὲ παῖδες γίνονται πρεσβύτερος μὲν Ἀκρότατος, νεώτερος δὲ Κλεώνυμος.
To Cleomenes were born sons, the elder Acrotatus, and the younger Cleonymus.
Ἀκρότατον μὲν οὖν πρότερον κατέλαβεν ἡ τελευτή· Κλεομένους δὲ ἀποθανόντος ὕστερον ἐς ἀμφισβήτησιν κατέστη περὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς Ἀρεὺς ὁ Ἀκροτάτου, καὶ Κλεώνυμος ὅτῳ δὴ τρόπῳ μετελθὼν ἐπάγει Πύρρον ἐς τὴν χώραν.
Now Acrotatus was overtaken by death first; and when Cleomenes died later, Areus, the son of Acrotatus, entered into a dispute over the rule, and Cleonymus, in whatever way he went about it, brought Pyrrhus into the country.
Λακεδαιμονίοις δὲ πρὸ μὲν τοῦ ἐν Λεύκτροις οὐδὲν ἐγεγόνει πταῖσμα, ὥστε οὐδὲ συνεχώρουν ἀγῶνί πω κεκρατῆσθαι πεζῷ· Λεωνίδᾳ μὲν γὰρ νικῶντι οὐκ ἔφασαν τοὺς ἑπομένους ἐς τελέαν ἐξαρκέσαι φθορὰν τῶν Μήδων, τὸ δὲ Ἀθηναίων καὶ Δημοσθένους ἔργον πρὸς τῇ νήσῳ Σφακτηρίᾳ κλοπὴν εἶναι πολέμου καὶ οὐ νίκην.
For the Lacedaemonians, before the battle at Leuctra, no setback had occurred, so they would not even admit that they had ever been defeated in a land battle; for they asserted that when Leonidas was victorious, his followers were not sufficient for the complete destruction of the Medes, and that the achievement of the Athenians and Demosthenes at the island of Sphacteria was a theft of war and not a victory.
§1.13.6πρώτης δὲ γενομένης σφίσι συμφορᾶς ἐν Βοιωτοῖς, ὕστερον Ἀντιπάτρῳ καὶ Μακεδόσι μεγάλως προσέπταισαν· τρίτος δὲ ὁ Δημητρίου πόλεμος κακὸν ἀνέλπιστον ἦλθεν ἐς τὴν γῆν.
But when their first disaster occurred among the Boeotians, they later met with a great setback against Antipater and the Macedonians; and thirdly, the war of Demetrius came to their land as an unexpected evil.
Πύρρου δὲ ἐσβαλόντος τέταρτον δὴ τότε στρατὸν ὁρῶντες πολέμιον αὐτοί τε παρετάσσοντο καὶ Ἀργείων ἥκοντες καὶ Μεσσηνίων σύμμαχοι· Πύρρος δὲ ὡς ἐπεκράτησεν, ὀλίγου μὲν ἦλθεν ἑλεῖν αὐτοβοεὶ τὴν πόλιν, δῃώσας δὲ τὴν γῆν καὶ λείαν ἐλάσας μικρὸν ἡσύχαζεν.
And when Pyrrhus invaded, seeing then indeed a fourth hostile army, they themselves drew up for battle, as did the allies who came from Argos and Messene; and Pyrrhus, when he prevailed, came within a little of taking the city at the first cry, but having ravaged the land and driven off the booty, he rested for a short time.
οἱ δὲ ἐς πολιορκίαν εὐτρεπίζοντο, πρότερον ἔτι τῆς Σπάρτης ἐπὶ τοῦ πολέμου τοῦ πρὸς Δημήτριον τάφροις τε βαθείαις καὶ σταυροῖς τετειχισμένης ἰσχυροῖς, τὰ δὲ ἐπιμαχώτατα καὶ οἰκοδομήμασιν.
Meanwhile, they prepared themselves for a siege, since Sparta had even earlier, during the war against Demetrius, been fortified with deep trenches and strong palisades, and at the most assailable points even with buildings.
§1.13.7ὑπὸ δὲ τοῦτον τὸν χρόνον καὶ τὴν τοῦ πολέμου τοῦ Λακωνικοῦ τριβὴν Ἀντίγονος τὰς πόλεις τῶν Μακεδόνων ἀνασωσάμενος ἠπείγετο ἐς Πελοπόννησον οἷα ἐπιστάμενος Πύρρον, ἢν Λακεδαίμονα καταστρέψηται καὶ Πελοποννήσου τὰ πολλά, οὐκ ἐς Ἤπειρον ἀλλʼ ἐπί τε Μακεδονίαν αὖθις καὶ τὸν ἐκεῖ πόλεμον ἥξοντα·
About this time and during the delay of the Laconic war, Antigonus, having recovered the cities of the Macedonians, hastened to the Peloponnese, as he knew that Pyrrhus, if he subdued Lacedaemon and most of the Peloponnese, would come not to Epirus but against Macedonia again and the war there.
μέλλοντος δὲ Ἀντιγόνου τὸν στρατὸν ἐξ Ἄργους ἐς τὴν Λακωνικὴν ἄγειν, αὐτὸς ἐς τὸ Ἄργος ἐληλύθει Πύρρος.
And as Antigonus was about to lead his army from Argos into Laconia, Pyrrhus himself entered Argos.
κρατῶν δὲ καὶ τότε συνεσπίπτει τοῖς φεύγουσιν ἐς τὴν πόλιν καί οἱ διαλύεται κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς ἡ τάξις·
Prevailing even then, he rushed in with those fleeing into the city, and, as was to be expected, his formation was broken.
§1.13.8μαχομένων δὲ πρὸς ἱεροῖς ἤδη καὶ οἰκίαις καὶ κατὰ τοὺς στενωποὺς καὶ κατʼ ἄλλο ἄλλων τῆς πόλεως, ἐνταῦθα ὁ Πύρρος ἐμονώθη καὶ τιτρώσκεται τὴν κεφαλήν.
And while they were already fighting near temples and houses and in the narrow streets and in various parts of the city, there Pyrrhus was isolated and wounded in the head.
κεράμῳ δὲ βληθέντα ὑπὸ γυναικὸς τεθνάναι φασὶ Πύρρον· Ἀργεῖοι δὲ οὐ γυναῖκα τὴν ἀποκτείνασαν, Δήμητρα δέ φασιν εἶναι γυναικὶ εἰκασμένην.
They say that Pyrrhus died when hit by a tile thrown by a woman; but the Argives say that it was not a woman who killed him, but Demeter in the likeness of a woman.
ταῦτα ἐς τὴν Πύρρου τελευτὴν αὐτοὶ λέγουσιν Ἀργεῖοι καὶ ὁ τῶν ἐπιχωρίων ἐξηγητὴς Λυκέας ἐν ἔπεσιν εἴρηκε· καί σφισιν ἔστι τοῦ θεοῦ χρήσαντος, ἔνθα ὁ Πύρρος ἐτελεύτησεν, ἱερὸν Δήμητρος· §1.13.9ἐν δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ ὁ Πύρρος τέθαπται.
These things the Argives themselves say concerning the death of Pyrrhus, and Lyceas, the guide of the local sights, has said so in verse; and they have a sanctuary of Demeter, built at the bidding of the god, where Pyrrhus died; and in it Pyrrhus himself is buried.
θαῦμα δὴ ποιοῦμαι τῶν καλουμένων Αἰακιδῶν τρισὶ κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ συμβῆναι τὴν τελευτήν, εἴ γε Ἀχιλλέα μὲν Ὅμηρος ὑπὸ Ἀλεξάνδρου φησὶ τοῦ Πριάμου καὶ Ἀπόλλωνος ἀπολέσθαι, Πύρρον δὲ τὸν Ἀχιλλέως ἡ Πυθία προσέταξεν ἀποκτεῖναι Δελφοῖς, τῷ δὲ Αἰακίδου συνέβη τὰ ἐς τὴν τελευτὴν οἷα Ἀργεῖοί τε λέγουσι καὶ Λυκέας ἐποίησε.
I indeed find it a wonder that to three of those called Aeacidae, their death should have occurred in the same manner from the god, since Homer says that Achilles was destroyed by Alexander, the son of Priam, and Apollo, while the Pythia commanded the Delphians to kill Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles, and to this descendant of Aeacus there happened such a death as the Argives say and Lyceas composed in verse.
διάφορα δὲ ὅμως ἐστὶ καὶ ταῦτα ὧν Ἱερώνυμος ὁ Καρδιανὸς ἔγραψεν· ἀνδρὶ γὰρ βασιλεῖ συνόντα ἀνάγκη πᾶσα ἐς χάριν συγγράφειν.
However, these things are different from what Hieronymus of Cardia wrote; for it is absolutely necessary for a man who associates with a king to write to please him.
εἰ δὲ καὶ Φίλιστος αἰτίαν δικαίαν εἴληφεν, ἐπελπίζων τὴν ἐν Συρακούσαις κάθοδον, ἀποκρύψασθαι τῶν Διονυσίου τὰ ἀνοσιώτατα, ἦ που πολλή γε Ἱερωνύμῳ συγγνώμη τὰ ἐς ἡδονὴν Ἀντιγόνου γράφειν.
And if even Philistus has incurred just blame for hiding the most unholy deeds of Dionysius in hope of his return to Syracuse, surely there is great excuse for Hieronymus to write to please Antigonus.

Notes

  1. 1.13.5Λεωνίδᾳ μὲν γὰρ νικῶντι οὐκ ἔφασαν... — The dative `Λεωνίδᾳ` (accompanied by the present participle `νικῶντι`) functions as a dative of reference ("in the case of Leonidas when he was victorious"). The accusative `τοὺς ἑπομένους` acts as the subject of the infinitive `ἐξαρκέσαι` ("that those who followed him were sufficient").
  2. 1.13.6ὀλίγου μὲν ἦλθεν ἑλεῖν — The genitive `ὀλίγου` (originating from idiomatic expressions like `ὀλίγου δεῖν`, meaning "almost") is combined with the verb `ἦλθεν` and the infinitive `ἑλεῖν`, signifying "he came within a little of taking" or "he almost captured."
  3. 1.13.7οἷα ἐπιστάμενος — The particle `οἷα` preceding the causal participle `ἐπιστάμενος` stresses a subjective or objective reason, meaning "since he knew well" or "as one who understood."
  4. 1.13.9τῷ δὲ Αἰακίδου — The article `τῷ` is used as a demonstrative pronoun with the genitive `Αἰακίδου` ("to this descendant of Aeacus"), referring here to King Pyrrhus of Epirus, following the mention of the deaths of two other Aeacidae (Achilles and his son Pyrrhus).

Cite this passage

Pausanias, Description of Greece §1.13.5-1.13.9. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:1.13.5-1.13.9

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