CHAPTER IX.
Cleomenes, the son of Leonidas, and grandson of Cleonymus, when he succeeded to the kingdom in Sparta, imitated Pausanias in desiring to be an autocrat, and not to obey the established laws. And as he was more impetuous than Pausanias, and brave as a lion, he quickly moulded everything to his will by his sagacity and boldness, and took off by poison Eurydamidas, the king of the other royal branch, while quite a lad, and vested the power of the Ephors in his brother Epiclidas, and having put down the power of the Senate, he established instead of them The Great Council of Patronomi (as they were called). And being very ambitious of greater fortunes, and even the supremacy over Greece, he attacked the Achæans first, hoping to have them as allies if he conquered them, and not wishing to give them the chance to hinder his actions. And he attacked them and beat them at Dyme above Patræ, Aratus being in this action the Achæan general, and this defeat it was that compelled Aratus to invite the aid of Antigonus, being afraid for the Achæans, and even for the safety of Sicyon. And Cleomenes having violated his conditions with Antigonus, (having openly acted against the terms of the treaty in other respects, and especially by turning out the inhabitants of Megalopolis,) Antigonus crossed into the Peloponnese, and in concert with the Achæans attacked Cleomenes at Sellasia. And the Achæans were victorious, and Sellasia was enslaved, and Lacedæmon captured. Antigonus and the Achæans then gave back to the Lacedæmonians their old Polity: and of Leonidas’s sons, Epiclidas was killed in battle, and Cleomenes, (who fled to Egypt and received the greatest honours from Ptolemy), was cast into prison subsequently for inciting the Egyptians to revolt. And he escaped out of prison, and caused some trouble at Alexandria: but at last he was taken and committed suicide. And the Lacedæmonians, glad to get rid of Cleomenes, chose to submit to kingly government no longer, but from thenceforth until now had the republican form of government. And Antigonus continued friendly to Aratus, as he had done him many good and splendid services. But when Philip took the government into his own hands, because Aratus did not praise his frequent exhibition of temper to his subjects, and sometimes even checked him in his outbursts, he murdered him, giving him poison when he didn’t expect it. And from Ægium, for here fate took him, they took his body to Sicyon and buried him, and the hero-chapel Arateum is still called after him. And Philip acted in just the same way to Euryclides and Micon, who were Athenians: for them too, (being orators and not unpersuasive with the people), he took off by poison. But poison was it seems destined to bring disaster to Philip himself: for his son Demetrius was poisoned by Perseus, his youngest brother, and so caused his father’s death by sorrow. And I have gone out of my way to give this account, remembering the divine saying of Hesiod, that he who plots mischief for another brings it first on his own pate.[16]
And next to the hero-chapel of Aratus is an altar to Poseidon Isthmius, and rude statues of Milichian Zeus and Tutelary Artemis. Milichian Zeus is in the shape of Pyramid, Artemis in that of a Pillar. Here too has been built a Council Chamber, and a Porch called the Clisthenic from its builder Clisthenes, who built it out of spoil which he took in the war against Cirrha, as an ally of the Amphictyones. And in the part of the market-place which is in the open air there is a Zeus in brass, the work of Lysippus, and near it a golden Artemis. And next is the temple of Lycian (Wolf-god) Apollo, in a very dilapidated condition. When wolves used to devour the flocks so that there was no profit in keeping sheep, Apollo pointed out a certain place where some dry wood lay, and ordered the bark of this wood and flesh to be laid together before the wolves. And this bark killed the wolves immediately they tasted it. This wood is kept stored up in the temple of the Wolf-god: but what tree it is of none of the Sicyonian antiquaries know. And next are some brazen statues, said to be the daughters of Prœtus, but the inscription has other women’s names. There is also a Hercules in brass, by Sicyonian Lysippus. And near it is a statue of Hermes of the Market.