CHAPTER IV.
And in the reign of Phintas, the son of Sybotas, the Messenians first sent to Apollo at Delos sacrifices and a choir of men. And their processional Hymn to the god was composed by Eumelus, and these are considered the only genuine lines of Eumelus. It was during the reign of this Phintas that a disagreement for the first time came about between the Lacedæmonians and the Messenians. The cause is doubtful, but is traditionally as follows. On the borders of Messenia is a temple of Artemis Limnas, in which the Messenians and Lacedæmonians were the only Dorians that had a share. The Lacedæmonians say that some maidens of theirs who were present at the feast were violated by some Messenians, and that their king Teleclus, (the son of Archelaus, the son of Agesilaus, the son of Doryssus, the son of Labotas, the son of Echestratus, the son of Agis,) was slain in endeavouring to prevent this outrage. They also say that the maidens who were violated put themselves to death from shame. But the Messenian account is that Teleclus plotted against their persons of quality that came to the temple, on account of the excellence of the Messenian soil, and picked out some beardless Spartans, and, dressing them in female attire and ornaments like maidens, introduced them armed with daggers among some of the Messenians who were resting: but the other Messenians came up to the rescue, and killed the beardless young men and Teleclus himself. And the Lacedæmonians—for their king had not contrived all this without the common consent—knowing that they had begun the wrong, did not demand vengeance for the murder of Teleclus. These are the different accounts the two nations give, let everyone accept the view he prefers.
And a generation afterwards, when Alcamenes the son of Teleclus was king at Lacedæmon, and the king of the other family was Theopompus, the son of Nicander, the son of Charillus, the son of Polydectes, the son of Eunomus, the son of Prytanis, the son of Eurypon, and Antiochus and Androcles the sons of Phintas were kings of the Messenians, strife arose between the Lacedæmonians and Messenians, and the Lacedæmonians began hostilities, availing themselves, as they were full of animosity and very warlike, of an adequate and even specious pretext. But had their disposition been more peaceable it would have been settled by arbitration. This is what happened. Polychares a Messenian in other respects not obscure was a victor at Olympia in the games, when the people of Elis were celebrating their 4th Olympiad and competed only in the race in which Polychares was victor. This man had much cattle and, because he had not sufficient land to pasture them upon, he handed them over to Euæphnus a Spartan to feed on his land, on condition that he should have a share in the produce of the cattle. Now Euæphnus was a person who preferred unrighteous gains to acting with integrity, and was generally speaking a wheedling fellow, so he sold the oxen of Polychares to merchants who sailed to Laconia, and went himself to Polychares and reported to him that some pirates had landed on the spot, and violently robbed him both of cattle and herdsmen. And while he was deceiving Polychares one of the herdsmen fled from the merchants, and coming back to Polychares found Euæphnus with him, and accused him to his master. And being detected and having no defence, he earnestly begged for pardon from Polychares and his son: on the score that, among the elements in human nature whereby we become unjust almost by compulsion, the love of gain is the most powerful. And he stated the sum which he had received for the cattle, and asked Polychares’ son to go with him and carry it back to his father. And when they went on their journey and got to Laconia, Euæphnus dared a deed more unholy than the former, he slew the son of Polychares. And when Polychares knew of this last misfortune, he went to Lacedæmon to the kings and Ephors, and went wailing through the multitude, reckoning up what he had suffered at the hands of Euæphnus, whom he had treated as a friend, and trusted more than all the Lacedæmonians. And when he got no redress, though he went continually to the authorities, then he went off his head, and giving way to his anger, and being perfectly reckless of the consequences, endeavoured to kill every Lacedæmonian he met.