§9.14.1τὸ μὲν δὴ παραυτίκα ὁ Ἐπαμινώνδας μετὰ τὴν μάχην Πελοποννησίων τοῖς λοιποῖς ἀπιέναι προειπὼν ἐπὶ τὰ οἰκεῖα Λακεδαιμονίους ἐν τοῖς Λεύκτροις εἶχεν ἀπειλημμένους· ὡς δὲ ἤκουε τοὺς ἐκ τῆς πόλεως Σπαρτιάτας βοηθήσοντας τοῖς σφετέροις ἐς Λεῦκτρα ἰέναι πανδημεί, δίδωσιν οὕτω τοῖς ἀνδράσιν ἀπελθεῖν ὑποσπόνδους ἔφη τε ἄμεινον ἔσεσθαι τὸν πόλεμόν σφισιν ἐκ Βοιωτῶν ἐς τὴν Λακεδαίμονα ἀπώσασθαι.
Immediately after the battle, Epaminondas, having ordered the rest of the Peloponnesians to depart to their own homes, kept the Lacedaemonians shut up in Leuctra; but when he heard that the Spartans from the city were marching with all their forces to Leuctra to help their men, he then permitted the men to depart under a truce, saying that it would be better for them to push the war back from Boeotia into Lacedaemon.
§9.14.2Θεσπιεῦσι δέ, ὑφορωμένοις τήν τε ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐκ τῶν Θηβαίων δυσμένειαν καὶ τὴν ἐν τῷ παρόντι αὐτῶν τύχην, τὴν μὲν πόλιν ἔδοξεν ἐκλιπεῖν, ἀναφεύγειν δὲ ἐς Κερησσόν.
As for the Thespians, since they suspected both the hostility of the Thebans from the beginning and their present good fortune, they decided to abandon their city and flee to Ceressus.
ἔστι δὲ ἐχυρὸν χωρίον ὁ Κερησσὸς ἐν τῇ Θεσπιέων, ἐς ὃ καὶ πάλαι ποτὲ ἀνεσκευάσαντο κατὰ τὴν ἐπιστρατείαν τὴν Θεσσαλῶν·
Ceressus is a strong stronghold in the territory of the Thespians, to which they had also packed up and fled in the ancient times during the invasion of the Thessalians.
οἱ Θεσσαλοὶ δὲ τότε, ὡς ἑλεῖν τὸν Κερησσόν σφισι πειρωμένοις ἐφαίνετο ἐλπίδος κρεῖσσον, ἀφίκοντο ἐς Δελφοὺς παρὰ τὸν θεόν, καὶ §9.14.3αὐτοῖς γίνεται μάντευμα τοιόνδε· "
Λεῦκτρά τέ μοι σκιόεντα μέλει καὶ Ἀλήσιον οὖδας,
καί μοι τὼ Σκεδάσου μέλετον δυσπενθέε κούρα.
At that time, when it seemed to the Thessalians, as they attempted to take Ceressus, to be beyond their hope of success, they came to the god at Delphi, and they received the following oracle: "Shady Leuctra is a care to me, and the soil of Alesium, and to me the two sad daughters of Scedasus are a care.
ἔνθα μάχη πολύδακρυς ἐπέρχεται· οὐδέ τις αὐτήν
φράσσεται ἀνθρώπων, πρὶν κούριον ἀγλαὸν ἥβην
Δωριέες ὀλέσωσʼ, ὅταν αἴσιμον ἦμαρ ἐπέλθῃ.
There a battle of many tears approaches; nor shall any of men foresee it, until the Dorians destroy their glorious young youth, when the destined day comes.
τουτάκι δʼ ἔστι Κερησσὸς ἁλώσιμος, ἄλλοτε δʼ οὐχί. "
Then is Ceressus captureable, but at no other time.
§9.14.4τότε δὲ ὁ Ἐπαμινώνδας ὡς τοὺς Θεσπιεῖς καταφεύγοντας ἐς τὸν Κερησσὸν ἐξεῖλε, πρὸς τὰ ἐν Πελοποννήσῳ παραυτίκα ἔσπευδεν ἅτε καὶ τῶν Ἀρκάδων προθύμως μεταπεμπομένων.
"At that time, when Epaminondas had captured the Thespians who had fled to Ceressus, he immediately hastened to the affairs in the Peloponnese, since the Arcadians also were eagerly sending for him.
ἐλθὼν δὲ Ἀργείους μὲν προσελάβετο ἑκουσίους συμμάχους, Μαντινέας δὲ κατὰ κώμας ὑπὸ Ἀγησιπόλιδος διῳκισμένους ἐς τὴν ἀρχαίαν συνήγαγεν αὖθις πόλιν· τὰ δὲ πολίσματα τὰ Ἀρκάδων ὁπόσα εἶχεν ἀσθενῶς καταλῦσαι πείσας τοὺς Ἀρκάδας, πατρίδα ἐν κοινῷ σφισιν ᾤκισεν, ἣ Μεγάλη καὶ ἐς ἡμᾶς ἔτι καλεῖται πόλις.
On his arrival, he took the Argives as willing allies, and gathered back into their ancient city the Mantineans who had been dispersed into villages by Agesipolis; and having persuaded the Arcadians to dismantle all the small towns of the Arcadians which were weak, he founded a common homeland for them, which is still called Megalopolis (Great City) down to our time.
§9.14.5ὁ μὲν δὴ χρόνος βοιωταρχοῦντι Ἐπαμινώνδᾳ διήνυστο, τεθνάναι δὲ ἐτέτακτο ἐπιλαβόντα ἄνδρα τῆς ἀρχῆς· ὁ οὖν Ἐπαμινώνδας ὑπεριδὼν ὡς οὐκ ὄντα ἐν καιρῷ τὸν νόμον ἐβοιωτάρχει καὶ ἀφικόμενος τῷ στρατῷ πρὸς τὴν Σπάρτην, ὡς οὐκ ἀντεπῆγεν Ἀγησίλαος μαχούμενος, οὕτω πρὸς τὸν οἰκισμὸν τρέπεται Μεσσήνης.
Now the period of Epaminondas' office as Boeotarch had expired, and it was ordained that any man who held office beyond his term should be punished with death; Epaminondas, therefore, disregarding the law as being inopportune, continued to act as Boeotarch, and having marched with his army against Sparta, when Agesilaus did not lead out against him to fight, he turned in this way to the founding of Messene.
καὶ οἰκιστὴς Μεσσηνίοις τοῖς νῦν ἐστιν Ἐπαμινώνδας· καί μοι τὰ ἐς τὸν οἰκισμὸν ἐδήλωσε τὰ ἐς αὐτοὺς ἔχοντα Μεσσηνίους.
And Epaminondas is the founder of the Messenians of today; and the circumstances regarding the founding have been made clear by me in my account concerning the Messenians themselves.
§9.14.6ἐν τούτῳ δὲ οἱ τῶν Θηβαίων σύμμαχοι κατέτρεχον διασκεδασθέντες χώραν τὴν Λακωνικὴν καὶ ἥρπαζον τὰ ἐξ αὐτῆς· τοῦτο Ἐπαμινώνδᾳ παρέστησεν ὀπίσω Θηβαίους ἐς Βοιωτίαν ἀπαγαγεῖν.
Meanwhile, the allies of the Thebans, having dispersed, were overrunning the Laconian territory and plundering its contents; this decided Epaminondas to lead the Thebans back to Boeotia.
καὶ ὡς προϊὼν τῷ στρατῷ κατὰ Λέχαιον ἐγίνετο καὶ διεξιέναι τῆς ὁδοῦ τὰ στενὰ καὶ δύσβατα ἔμελλεν, Ἰφικράτης ὁ Τιμοθέου πελταστὰς καὶ ἄλλην Ἀθηναίων ἔχων δύναμιν ἐπιχειρεῖ τοῖς Θηβαίοις.
And as he was advancing with his army near Lechaeum and was about to pass through the narrow and difficult parts of the road, Iphicrates the son of Timotheus, having peltasts and another Athenian force, attacked the Thebans.
§9.14.7Ἐπαμινώνδας δὲ τοὺς ἐπιθεμένους τρέπεται καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸ ἀφικόμενος Ἀθηναίων τὸ ἄστυ, ὡς ἐπεξιέναι μαχουμένους τοὺς Ἀθηναίους ἐκώλυεν Ἰφικράτης, ὁ δὲ αὖθις ἐς τὰς Θήβας ἀπήλαυνε.
But Epaminondas routed his attackers and reached the very city of the Athenians; when Iphicrates prevented the Athenians from marching out to fight, he marched back again to Thebes.
καὶ δίκην μὲν ἔφυγεν ὑπὲρ θανάτου, διότι ἐβοιωτάρχησεν ἐξήκοντος ἤδη τοῦ χρόνου· λέγονται δὲ οἱ δικάζειν λαχόντες οὐδὲ ἀρχὴν περὶ αὐτοῦ θέσθαι τὴν ψῆφον.
He was put on trial for his life because he had acted as Boeotarch when his term had already expired; but it is said that the judges chosen by lot did not even begin to cast their votes concerning him.