These five short stories are interesting to the modern reader chiefly as examples of the kind of tale which appealed to the readers of Plutarch’s time; for they were probably written during his lifetime, though not by him. In style and content they differ greatly from his genuine works. The elements of passion and of sentimental love are made to appear important in them rather on account of their dire consequences than for their own sake. At Haliartus, in Boeotia, there was a girl of remarkable beauty, named Aristocleia, the daughter of Theophanes. She was wooed by Strato of Orchomenus and Callisthenes of Haliartus. Strato was the richer and was rather the more violently in love with the maiden; for he had seen her in Lebadeia bathing at the fountain called Hercynê in preparation for carrying a basket in a sacred procession in honour of Zeus the King. But Callisthenes had the advantage, for he was a blood-relation of the girl. Theophanes was much perplexed about the matter, for he was afraid of Strato, who excelled nearly all the Boeotians in wealth and in family connexions, and he wished to submit the choice to Trophonius but Strato had been persuaded by the maiden’s servants that she was more inclined towards him, so he asked that the choice be left to the bride-to-be herself. But when Theophanes in the presence of everyone asked the maiden, and she chose Callisthenes, it was plain at once that Strato found the slight hard to bear. But he let two days go by and came to Theophanes and Callisthenes asking that the friendship between him and them be preserved, even though he had been deprived of the marriage by some jealous divinity. And they approved of what he said, so that they even invited him to the wedding-feast. But before he came he got ready a crowd of his friends and a considerable number of servants, who were scattered among the others present and were not noticed; but when the girl went, according to the ancestral custom, to the spring called Cissoessa to make the preliminary sacrifice to the nymphs, then his men who were in ambush all rushed out at once and seized her. Strato also had hold of the maiden; and naturally Callisthenes and his supporters in turn took hold of her and held on until, although they did not know it at the time, she died in their hands as they pulled against each other. Callisthenes immediately disappeared, whether by committing suicide or by going away as an exile from Boeotia; at any rate nobody could tell what had happened to him. But Strato slew himself in sight of all upon the body of the maiden.
Ἑν Ἀλιάρτῳ τῆς Βοιωτίας κόρη τις γίνεται κάλλει διαπρέπουσα ὄνομα Ἀριστόκλεια θυγάτηρ δʼ ἦν Θεοφάνους. ταύτην μνῶνται Στράτων Ὀρχομένιος καὶ Καλλισθένης Ἁλιάρτιος. πλουσιώτερος δʼ ἦν Στράτων καὶ μᾶλλόν τι τῆς παρθένου ἡττημένος· ἐτύγχανε γὰρ ἰδὼν αὐτὴν ἐν Λεβαδείᾳ λουομένην ἐπὶ τῇ κρήνῃ τῇ Ἑρκύνῃ ἔμελλε γὰρ τῷ Διὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ κανηφορεῖν. ἀλλʼ ὁ Καλλισθένης γε πλέον ἐφέρετο ἦν γὰρ καὶ γένει προσήκων τῇ κόρῃ. ἀπορῶν δὲ τῷ πράγματι ὁ Θεοφάνης, ἐδεδίει γὰρ τὸν Στράτωνα πλούτῳ τε καὶ γένει σχεδὸν ἁπάντων διαφέροντα τῶν Βοιωτῶν, τὴν αἵρεσιν ἐβούλετο τῷ Τροφωνίῳ ἐπιτρέψαι καὶ ὁ Στράτων, ἀνεπέπειστο γὰρ ὑπὸ τῶν τῆς παρθένου οἰκετῶν, ὡς πρὸς αὐτὸν μᾶλλον ἐκείνη ῥέποι, ἠξίου ἐπʼ αὐτῇ ποιεῖσθαι τῇ γαμουμένῃ τὴν ἐκλογήν. ὡς δὲ τῆς παιδὸς ὁ Θεοφάνης ἐπυνθάνετο ἐν ὄψει πάντων, ἡ δὲ τὸν Καλλισθένην προὔκρινεν, εὐθὺς μὲν ὁ Στράτων δῆλος ἦν βαρέως φέρων τὴν ἀτιμίαν ἡμέρας δὲ διαλιπὼν δύο προσῆλθε τῷ Θεοφάνει καὶ τῷ Καλλισθέναι, ἀξιῶν τὴν φιλίαν αὐτῷ πρὸς αὐτοὺς διαφυλάττεσθαι, εἰ καὶ τοῦ γάμου ἐφθονήθη ὑπὸ δαιμονίου τινός. οἱ δʼ ἐπῄνουν τὰ λεγόμενα, ὥστε καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν ἑστίασιν τῶν γάμων παρεκάλουν αὐτόν. ὁ δὲ παρεσκευασμένος ἑταίρων ὄχλον, καὶ πλῆθος οὐκ ὀλίγον θεραπόντων, διεσπαρμένους παρὰ τούτοις καὶ λανθάνοντας, ἕως ἡ κόρη κατὰ τὰ πάτρια ἐπὶ τὴν Κισσόεσσαν καλουμένην κρήνην κατῄει ταῖς νύμφαις τὰ προτέλεια θύσουσα, τότε δὴ συνδραμόντες πάντες οἱ λοχῶντες ἐκείνῳ συνελάμβανον αὐτήν. καὶ ὁ Στράτων γʼ εἴχετο τῆς παρθένου· ἀντελαμβάνετο δʼ ὡς εἰκὸς ὁ Καλλισθένης ἐν μέρει καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ, ἕως ἔλαθεν ἡ παῖς; ἐν χερσὶ τῶν ἀνθελκόντων διαφθαρεῖσα. ὁ Καλλισθένης μὲν οὖν παραχρῆμα ἀφανὴς ἐγένετο, εἴτε διαχρησάμενος ἑαυτὸν εἴτε φυγὰς ἀπελθὼν ἐκ τῆς Βοιωτίας· οὐκ εἶχε δʼ οὖν τις εἰπεῖν ὅ, τι καὶ πεπόνθοι. ὁ δὲ Στράτων φανερῶς ἐπικατέσφαξεν ἑαυτὸν τῇ παρθένῳ.
2. A man named Pheidon, who was striving to make himself ruler of the Peloponnesians and wished his own native city of Argos to be the leader of all the other states, plotted first against the Corinthians. He sent and asked of them the thousand young men who were the best in vigour and valour; and they sent the thousand, putting Dexander in command of them. Now Pheidon intended to make an onslaught upon these young men, that Corinth might be weakened and he might have the city in his power, for he considered that it would be the most advantageous bulwark of the whole Peloponnesus, and he confided this matter to some of his friends, among whom was Habron. Now he was a friend of Dexander and told him of the plot, so before the onslaught was made the thousand young men escaped safely to Corinth; but Pheidon tried to discover the betrayer of his plot and searched for him with, great care. So Hatron was frightened and fled to Corinth with his wife and his servants, settling in Melissus, a village in Corinthian territory. There he begot a son whom he called Melissus from the name of the place. This Melissus had a son named Actaeon, the handsomest and most modest youth of his age, who had many lovers, chief of whom was Archias, of the family of the Heracleidae, in wealth and general influence the most outstanding man in Corinth. Now when he could not gain the boy by persuasion, he determined to carry him off by force. So he got together a crowd of friends and servants, went as in a drunken frolic to the house of Melissus, and tried to take the boy away. But his father and his friends resisted, the neighbours also ran out and pulled against the assailants, and so Actaeon was pulled to pieces and killed; the assailants thereupon went away. But Melissus took his son’s body and exhibited it in the market-place of the Corinthians, demanding the punishment of the men who had done the deed; but the Corinthians merely pitied him and did nothing further. So, being unsuccessful, he went away and waited for the Isthmian festival, when he went up upon the temple of Poseidon, shouted accusations against the Bacchiadae, and reminded the people of his father Habron’s benefactions, whereupon, calling upon the gods to avenge him, he threw himself down from the rocks. Not long afterwards the city was afflicted by drought and pestilence, and when the Corinthians consulted the oracle concerning relief, the god replied that the wrath of Poseidon would not relax until they inflicted punishment for the death of Actaeon. Archias knew of this, for he was himself one of those sent to consult the oracle, and voluntarily rgfrained from returning to Corinth. Instead he sailed to Sicily and founded Syracuse. There he became the father of two daughters, Ortygia and Syracusa, and was treacherously murdered by Telephus, who had been his beloved and had sailed with him to Sicily in command of a ship.
2. Φείδων τις τῶν Πελοποννησίων ἐπιτιθέμενος ἀρχῇ, τὴν Ἀργείων πόλιν, τὴν πατρίδα τὴν ἑαυτοῦ, ἡγεμονεύειν τῶν λοιπῶν βουλόμενος, πρῶτον ἐπεβούλευσε Κορινθίοις· πέμψας γὰρ ᾔτει παρʼ αὐτῶν νεανίας χιλίους τοὺς ἀκμῇ διαφέροντας καὶ ἀνδρείᾳ· οἱ δὲ πέμπουσι τοὺς χιλίους, στρατηγὸν αὐτῶν ἀποδείξαντες Δέξανδρον. ἐν νῷ δʼ ἔχων ὁ Φείδων ἐπιθέσθαι τούτοις, ἵνʼ ἔχοι Κόρινθον ἀτονωτέραν καὶ τῇ πόλει χρήσαιτο, προτείχισμα γὰρ τοῦτο ἐπικαιρότατον ἔσεσθαι τῆς ὅλης Πελοποννήσου, τὴν πρᾶξιν ἀνέθετο τῶν ἑταίρων τισίν. ἦν δὲ καὶ Ἅβρων ἐν αὐτοῖς· οὗτος δὲ ξένος ὢν τοῦ Δεξάνδρου ἔφρασεν αὐτῷ τὴν ἐπιβουλήν. καὶ οὕτως οἱ μὲν Φλιάσιοι πρὸ τῆς ἐπιθέσεως εἰς τὴν Κόρινθον ἐσώθησαν, Φείδων δʼ ἀνευρεῖν ἐπειρᾶτο τὸν προδόντα καὶ ἐπιμελῶς ἐζήτει. δείσας δʼ ὁ Ἅβρων φεύγει εἰς Κόρινθον, ἀναλαβὼν τὴν γυναῖκα καὶ τοὺς οἰκέτας, ἐν Μελίσσῳ, κώμῃ τινὶ τῆς Κορινθίων χώρας ἔνθα καὶ παῖδα γεννήσας Μέλισσον προσηγόρευσεν, ἀπὸ τοῦ τόπου θέμενος τοὔνομα αὐτῷ. τούτου δὴ τοῦ Μελίσσου υἱὸς Ἀκταίων γίνεται, κάλλιστος καὶ σωφρονέστατος τῶν ὁμηλίκων, οὗ πλεῖστοι μὲν ἐγένοντο ἐρασταί, διαφερόντως δʼ Ἀρχίας, γένους μὲν ὢν τοῦ τῶν Ἡρακλειδῶν, πλούτῳ δὲ καὶ τῇ ἄλλῃ δυνάμει λαμπρότατος Κορινθίων. ἐπεὶ δὲ πείθειν οὐκ ἠδύνατο τὸν παῖδα, ἔγνω βιάσασθαι καὶ συναρπάσαι τὸ μειράκιον· ἐπεκώμασεν οὖν ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκίαν τοῦ Μελίσσου, πλῆθος ἐπαγόμενος καὶ φίλων καὶ οἰκετῶν, καὶ ἀπάγειν τὸν παῖδα ἐπειρᾶτο. ἀντιποιουμένου δὲ τοῦ πατρὸς καὶ τῶν φίλων, ἐπεκδραμόντων δὲ καὶ τῶν γειτόνων καὶ ἀνθελκόντων, ἀνθελκόμενος ὁ Ἀκταίων διεφθάρη· καὶ οἱ μὲν οὕτως ἀπεχώρουν. Μέλισσος δὲ τὸν νεκρὸν τοῦ παιδὸς εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν τῶν Κορινθίων παρακομίσας ἐπεδείκνυε, δίκην ἀπαιτῶν παρὰ τῶν ταῦτα πραξάντων· οἱ δὲ πλέον οὐδὲν ἢ τὸν ἄνδρα ἠλέουν. ἄπρακτος δʼ ἀναχωρήσας παρεφύλασσε τὴν πανήγυριν τῶν Ἰσθμίων, ἀναβὰς τʼ ἐπὶ τὸν τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος νεὼν κατεβόα τῶν Βακχιαδῶν καὶ τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς Ἅβρωνος εὐεργεσίαν ὑπεμίμνησκε, τούς τε θεοὺς ἐπικαλεσάμενος ῥίπτει ἑαυτὸν κατὰ τῶν πετρῶν. μετʼ οὐ πολὺ δʼ αὐχμὸς καὶ λοιμὸς κατελάμβανε τὴν πόλιν καὶ τῶν Κορινθίων περὶ ἀπαλλαγῆς χρωμένων, ὁ θεὸς ἀνεῖλε μῆνιν εἶναι Ποσειδῶνος οὐκ ἀνήσοντος, ἕως ἂν τὸν Ἀκταίωνος θάνατον μετέλθοιεν. ταῦτα πυθόμενος Ἀρχίας, αὐτὸς γὰρ θεωρὸς ἦν, εἰς μὲν τὴν Κόρινθον ἑκὼν οὐκ ἐπανῆλθε, πλεύσας δʼ εἰς τὴν Σικελίαν Συρακούσας ἔκτισε. πατὴρ δὲ γενόμενος ἐνταῦθα θυγατέρων δυεῖν, Ὀρτυγίας τε καὶ Συρακούσης, ὑπὸ τοῦ Τηλέφου δολοφονεῖται, ὃς ἐγεγόνει μὲν αὐτοῦ παιδικά, νεὼς δʼ ἀφηγούμενος συνέπλευσεν εἰς Σικελίαν.
3. There was a poor man named Scedasus who lived at Leuctra; that is a village of the country of the Thespians. This man had two daughters, called Hippo and Miletia, or, as some say, Theano and Euxippê. Now Scedasus was a worthy man and friendly to strangers, though he was not very well off. So when two Spartan youths came to his house he received them gladly. They fell in love with the maidens, but were restrained from overboldness by the worthy character of Scedasus, and the next day went away to Delphi, for that was the place for which they were bound. And when they had consulted the god about the matters which concerned them, they went back again towards home, and passing through Boeotia they stopped again at the house of Scedasus. Now he, as it happened, was not at Leuctra; but his daughters, in accordance with their usual custom, received the strangers, who, finding the maidens unprotected, ravished them; and then, seeing that they were exceedingly distressed by the violent wrong they had suffered, they killed them, threw their bodies into a well, and went away. When Scedasus came home, he missed the girls, but found everything that he had left in the house undisturbed, and so he did not know what to make of it all until, because his dog kept whimpering and often running up to him and from him to the well, he guessed the truth, and so drew up the bodies of his daughters. And finding out from his neighbours that on the previous day they had seen going into his house the Lacedaemonians who had been entertained there shortly before, he guessed that they had done the deed, because during their previous visit they had constantly been praising the girls and talking of the happiness of their future husbands. Scedasus set out for Lacedaemon to see the ephors, and when he was in the territory of Argos night came upon him, so he put up at an inn, and at the same inn was another elderly man, a native of the city of Oreus in the territory of Hestiaea. Scedasus heard him groaning and uttering curses against the Lacedaemonians, so he asked him what harm the Lacedaemonians had done him. Then he proceeded to tell that he was a subject of Sparta and that Aristodemus, who had been sent by the Lacedaemonians to Oreus as governor, had shown himself very lawless and cruel. “For,” said he, “he fell in love with my young son and, when he could not gain him by persuasion, he tried to take him from the palaestra by force. But the teacher of gymnastics interfered, and many young fellows came out to help, so for the time being Aristodemus went away; but the next day he manned a ship of war, seized the boy, sailed from Oreus to the opposite shore, and tried to rape him; then when the boy would not submit, he cut his throat and killed him, after which he went back to Oreus and gave a dinner-party. But as for me,” he said, “I learned of the deed, performed the funeral rites over the body, then went to Sparta and had an audience with the ephors; but they paid no attention to me.” When Scedasus heard this he was disheartened, for he suspected that the Spartans would pay no attention to him either; and he in turn told the stranger of his own misfortune. Then the stranger advised him not even to go to see the ephors, but to turn back to Boeotia and build his daughters’ tomb. Scedasus, however, did not take this advice, but went to Sparta and spoke with the ephors. They paid no attention to him, so he hurried to the kings, and from them he went up to every one of the citizens and told his tale of woe. And when nothing did any good, he ran through the midst of the city stretching up his hands towards the sun, and again he beat upon the ground and summoned up the Erinyes, and finally he put an end to his life. Later, however, the Lacedaemonians certainly paid the penalty. For when they were rulers of all the Greeks and had placed their garrisons in the cities, Epaminondas the Theban first slaughtered the garrison of the Lacedaemonians in his own city, and when thereupon the Lacedaemonians made war upon the Thebans, the latter met them at Leuctra, thinking it a place of good omen, because at an earlier time they had gained their freedom there, when Amphictyon, having been driven into exile by Sthenelus, came to the city of the Thebans and, finding them tributaries of the Chalcidians, freed them from the tribute by killing Chalcodon, king of the Euboeans. Now it happened that the utter defeat of the Lacedaemonians took place precisely in the vicinity of the tombstone of the daughters of Scedasus. And the story goes that before the battle Pelopidas, one of the generals of the Theban army, was disturbed by some omens which were considered unfavourable and that in his sleep Scedasus came and stood over him and told him to be of good courage, for the Lacedaemonians were coming to Leuctra to pay the penalty to him and his daughters; and he enjoined upon him one day before fighting the Lacedaemonians to make ready a white colt and sacrifice it at the tomb of the maidens. So Pelopidas, while the Lacedaemonians were still in camp at Tegea, sent some men to Leuctra to find out about this tomb, and when he learned about it from the inhabitants of the place, he led out his army with confidence and was victorious.
3. ἀνὴρ πένης Σκέδασος τοὔνομα κατῴκει Λεῦκτρα· ἔστι δὲ κώμιον τῆς τῶν Θεσπιέων χώρας. τούτῳ θυγατέρες γίνονται δύο· ἐκαλοῦντο δʼ Ἱππὼ καὶ Μιλητία, ἤ, ὥς τινες, Θεανὼ καὶ Εὐξίππη. ἦν δὲ χρηστὸς ὁ Σκέδασος καὶ τοῖς ξένοις ἐπιτήδειος, καίπερ οὐ πολλὰ κεκτημένος. ἀφικομένους οὖν πρὸς αὐτὸν δύο Σπαρτιάτας; νεανίας ὑπεδέξατο προθύμως· οἱ δὲ τῶν παρθένων ἡττώμενοι διεκωλύοντο πρὸς τὴν τόλμαν ὑπὸ τῆς τοῦ Σκεδάσου χρηστότητος. τῇ δʼ ὑστεραίᾳ Πυθώδε ἀπῄεσαν αὕτη γὰρ αὐτοῖς προὔκειτο ἡ ὁδός· καὶ τῷ θεῷ χρησάμενοι περὶ ὧν ἐδέοντο, πάλιν ἐπανῄεσαν οἴκαδε, καὶ χωροῦντες διὰ τῆς Βοιωτίας ἐπέστησαν πάλιν τῇ τοῦ Σκεδάσου οἰκίᾳ; ὁ δʼ ἐτύγχανεν οὐκ ἐπιδημῶν τοῖς Λεύκτροις, ἀλλʼ αἱ θυγατέρες αὐτοῦ ὑπὸ τῆς συνήθους ἀγωγῆς τοὺς ξένους ὑπεδέξαντο. οἱ δὲ καταλαβόντες ἐρήμους; τὰς κόρας βιάζονται ὁρῶντες δʼ αὐτὰς καθʼ ὑπερβολὴν τῇ ὕβρει χαλεπαινούσας ἀπέκτειναν, καὶ ἐμβαλόντες ἔς τι φρέαρ ἀπηλλάγησαν. ἐπανελθὼν δʼ ὁ Σκέδασος τὰς μὲν κόρας οὐχ ἑώρα, πάντα δὲ τὰ καταλειφθέντα εὑρίσκει σῷα καὶ τῷ πράγματι ἠπόρει, ἕως τῆς κυνὸς κνυζωμένης καὶ πολλάκις μὲν προστρεχούσης πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀπὸ δʼ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸ φρέαρ ἐπανιούσης, εἴκασεν ὅπερ ἦν, καὶ τῶν θυγατέρων τὰ νεκρὰ οὕτως ἀνιμήσατο. πυθόμενος δὲ παρὰ τῶν γειτόνων, ὅτι ἴδοιεν τῇ χθὲς ἡμέρᾳ τοὺς καὶ πρῴην καταχθέντας ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους εἰσιόντας, συνεβάλετο τὴν πρᾶξιν ἐκείνων, ὅτι καὶ πρῴην συνεχῶς ἐπῄνουν τὰς κόρας, μακαρίζοντες τοὺς γαμήσοντας. ἀπῄει εἰς Λακεδαίμονα, τοῖς ἐφόροις ἐντευξόμενος· γενόμενος δʼ ἐν τῇ Ἀργολικῇ, νυκτὸς καταλαμβανούσης, εἰς πανδοκεῖόν τι κατήχθη κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ δὲ καὶ πρεσβύτης τις ἕτερος τὸ γένος ἐξ Ὠρεοῦ· πόλεως τῆς Ἑστιαιάτιδος· οὗ στενάξαντος καὶ κατὰ Λακεδαιμονίων ἀρὰς ποιουμένου ἀκούσας ὁ Σκέδασος ἐπυνθάνετο τί κακὸν ὑπὸ Λακεδαιμονίων πεπονθὼς εἴη. ὁ δὲ διηγεῖτο, ὡς ὑπήκοος μέν ἐστι τῆς Σπάρτης, πεμφθεὶς δʼ εἰς Ὠρεὸν Ἀριστόδημος ἁρμοστὴς παρὰ Λακεδαιμονίων ὠμότητα καὶ παρανομίαν ἐπιδείξαιτο πολλήν. ἐρασθεὶς γάρ ἔφη τοῦ ἐμοῦ παιδός, ἐπειδὴ πείθειν ἀδύνατος ἦν, ἐπεχείρει βιάσασθαι καὶ ἀπάγειν αὐτὸν τῆς παλαίστρας· κωλύοντος δὲ τοῦ παιδοτρίβου καὶ νεανίσκων πολλῶν ἐκβοηθούντων, παραχρῆμα ὁ Ἀριστόδημος ἀπεχώρησε· τῇ δʼ ὑστεραίᾳ πληρώσας τριήρη συνήρπασε τὸ μειράκιον, καὶ ἐξ Ὠρεοῦ διαπλεύσας εἰς τὴν περαίαν ἐπεχείρει ὑβρίσαι, οὐ συγχωροῦντα δʼ αὐτὸν ἀπέσφαξεν. ἐπανελθὼν δʼ εἰς τὴν Ὠρεὸν εὐωχεῖτο. ἐγὼ δʼ ἔφη τὸ πραχθὲν πυθόμενος καὶ τὸ σῶμα κηδεύσας παρεγενόμην εἰς τὴν Σπάρτην καὶ τοῖς ἐφόροις ἐνετύγχανον· οἱ δὲ λόγον οὐκ ἐποιοῦντο Σκέδασος δὲ ταῦτα ἀκούων ἀθύμως διέκειτο, ὑπολαμβάνων ὅτι οὐδʼ αὐτοῦ λόγον τινὰ ποιήσονται οἱ Σπαρτιᾶται ἐν μέρει τε τὴν οἰκείαν διηγήσατο συμφορὰν τῷ ξένῳ· ὁ δὲ παρεκάλει αὐτὸν μηδʼ ἐντυχεῖν τοῖς ἐφόροις, ἀλλʼ ὑποστρέψαντα εἰς τὴν Βοιωτίαν κτίσαι τῶν θυγατέρων τὸν τάφον. οὐκ ἐπείθετο δʼ ὅμως ὁ Σκέδασος, ἀλλʼ εἰς τὴν Σπάρτην ἀφικόμενος; τοῖς ἐφόροις ἐντυγχάνει ὧν μηδὲν προσεχόντων, ἐπὶ τοὺς βασιλέας ἵεται καὶ ἀπὸ τούτων ἑκάστῳ τῶν δημοτῶν προσιὼν ὠδύρετο. μηδὲν δὲ πλέον ἀνύων ἔθει διὰ μέσης τῆς πόλεως, ἀνατείνων πρὸς ἣλιον τὼ χεῖρε, αὖθις δὲ τὴν γῆν τύπτων ἀνεκαλεῖτο τὰς Ἐρινύας καὶ τέλος αὑτὸν τοῦ ζῆν μετέστησεν. ὑστέρῳ γε μὴν χρόνῳ δίκας ἔδοσαν οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι ἐπειδὴ γὰρ τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἁπάντων ἦρχον καὶ τὰς πόλεις φρουραῖς κατειλήφεσαν, Ἐπαμεινώνδας ὁ Θηβαῖος πρῶτον μὲν τὴν παρʼ αὑτῷ φρουρὰν ἀπέσφαξε Λακεδαιμονίων τῶν δʼ ἐπὶ τούτῳ πόλεμον ἐξενεγκάντων, ἀπήντων οἱ Θηβαῖοι ἐπὶ τὰ Λεῦκτρα, αἰσιούμενοι τὸ χωρίον, ὅτι καὶ πρότερον ἐνταῦθα ἠλευθερώθησαν, ὅτε Ἀμφιτρύων ὑπὸ Σθενέλου φυγὰς ἐλαθεὶς εἰς τὴν Θηβαίων ἀφίκετο πόλιν καὶ Χαλκιδεῦσιν ὑποφόρους λαβὼν ἔπαυσε τὸν δασμόν, Χαλκώδοντα τὸν βασιλέα τῶν Εὐβοέων ἀποκτείνας. συνέβη δὲ Λακεδαιμονίων ἧτταν παντελῆ γενέσθαι περὶ αὐτὸ τὸ μνῆμα τῶν Σκεδάσου θυγατέρων. φασὶ δὲ πρὸ τῆς μάχης Πελοπίδᾳ, ἑνὶ τῶν στρατηγῶν τοῦ θηβαϊκοῦ στρατεύματος, ἐπὶ σημείοις τισὶν οὐ καλοῖς κρινομένοις θορυβουμένῳ Σκέδασον ἐπιστῆναι κατὰ τοὺς ὕπνους, θαρρεῖν κελεύοντα· παραγίνεσθαι γὰρ εἰς Λεῦκτρα Λακεδαιμονίους, αὐτῷ τε καὶ ταῖς θυγατράσι δώσοντας δίκας· πρὸ μιᾶς δʼ ἡμέρας ἢ συμβαλεῖν τοῖς Λακεδαιμονίοις, πῶλον ἐκέλευεν ἵππου λευκὸν ἕτοιμον παρὰ τῷ τάφῳ τῶν παρθένων σφαγιάσασθαι. τὸν δὲ Πελοπίδαν, ἔτι τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων στρατευομένων ἐν Τεγέᾳ, εἰς Λεῦκτρα πέμψαι τοὺς ἐξετάσοντας περὶ τοῦ τάφου τούτου, καὶ πυθόμενον παρὰ τῶν ἐγχωρίων θαρροῦντα τὴν στρατιὰν ἐξαγαγεῖν καὶ νικῆσαι.
4. Phocus was by birth a Boeotian, for he was from the town of Glisas, and he was the father of Callirrhoê, who excelled in beauty and modesty. She was wooed by thirty young men, the most highly esteemed in Boeotia; but Phocus found one reason after another for putting off her marriage, for he was afraid that violence would be done to him; at last, however, he yielded to their demands, but asked to leave the choice to the Pythian oracle. The suitors were incensed by the proposal, rushed upon Phocus, and killed him. In the confusion the maiden got away and fled through the country, but the young men pursued her. She came upon some farmers making a threshing-floor, and found safety with them, for the farmers hid her in the grain, and so her pursuers passed by. But she waited in safety until the festival of the Pamboeotia, when she went to Coroneia, took her seat on the altar of Athena Itonia, and told of the lawless act of the suitors, giving the name and birthplace of each. So the Boeotians pitied the maid and were angry with the young men. When they learned of this, they fled for refuge to Orchomenus, and when the Orchomenians refused to receive them, they forced their way into Hippotae, a village lying on the slope of Mount Helicon between Thisbe and Coroneia. There they were received. Then the Thebans sent and demanded the slayers of Phocus, and when the people of Hippotae refused to deliver them, the Thebans, along with the rest of the Boeotians, took the field under the command of Phoedus, who at that time administered the government of Thebes. They besieged the village, which was well fortified, and when they had overcome the inhabitants by thirst, they took the murderers and stoned them to death and made slaves of the villagers; then they pulled down the walls and the houses and divided the land between the people of Thisbê and of Coroneia. It is said that in the night, before the capture of Hippotae, there was heard many times from Helicon a voice of someone saying “I am here,” and that the thirty suitors recognized the voice as that of Phocus. It is said also that on the day when they were stoned to death the old man’s monument at Glisas ran with saffron; and that as Phoedus, the ruler and general of the Thebans, was returning from the battle, he received the news of the birth of a daughter and, thinking it of good omen, he named her Nicostrata.
4. Φῶκος Βοιώτιος μὲν ἦν τῷ γένει, ἦν γὰρ ἐκ Γλίσαντος, πατὴρ δὲ Καλλιρρόης κάλλει τε καὶ σωφροσύνῃ διαφερούσης. ταύτην ἐμνηστεύοντο νεανίαι τριάκοντα εὐδοκιμώτατοι ἐν Βοιωτίᾳ· ὁ δὲ Φῶκος ἄλλας ἐξ ἄλλων ἀναβολὰς τῶν γάμων ἐποιεῖτο, φοβούμενος μὴ βιασθείη, τέλος δὲ λιπαρούντων ἐκείνων, ἠξίου ἐπὶ τῷ Πυθίῳ ποιήσασθαι τὴν αἵρεσιν. οἱ δὲ πρὸς τὸν λόγον ἐχαλέπηναν καὶ ὁρμήσαντες ἀπέκτειναν τὸν Φῶκον ἐν δὲ τῷ θορύβῳ ἡ κόρη φυγοῦσα ἵετο διὰ τῆς χώρας· ἐδίωκον δʼ αὐτὴν οἱ νεανίαι. ἡ δʼ ἐντυχοῦσα γεωργοῖς ἅλω συντιθεῖσι σωτηρίας ἔτυχε παρʼ αὐτῶν· ἀπέκρυψαν γὰρ αὐτὴν οἱ γεωργοὶ ἐν τῷ σίτῳ καὶ οὕτω παρῇξαν μὲν οἱ διώκοντες· ἡ δὲ διασωθεῖσα ἐφύλαξε τὴν τῶν Παμβοιωτίων ἑορτήν, καὶ τότε εἰς Κορώνειαν ἐλθοῦσα ἱκέτις καθέζεται ἐπὶ τῷ βωμῷ τῆς Ἰτωνίας Ἀθηνᾶς καὶ τῶν μνηστήρων τὴν παρανομίαν διηγεῖτο, τό τε ἑκάστου ὄνομα καὶ τὴν πατρίδα σημαίνουσα. ἠλέουν οὖν οἱ Βοιωτοὶ τὴν παῖδα καὶ τοῖς νεανίαις ἠγανάκτουν οἱ δὲ ταῦτα πυθόμενοι εἰς Ὀρχομενὸν καταφεύγουσιν. οὐ δεξαμένων δʼ αὐτοὺς τῶν Ὀρχομενίων πρὸς Ἱππότας εἰσώρμησαν κώμη δʼ ἦν παρὰ τῷ Ἑλικῶνι κειμένη μεταξὺ Θίσβης καὶ Κορωνείας· οἱ δʼ ὑποδέχονται αὐτούς. εἶτα πέμπουσι Θηβαῖοι ἐξαιτοῦντες τοὺς Φώκου φονεῖς· τῶν δʼ οὐ διδόντων, ἐστράτευσαν μὲν μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων Βοιωτῶν, στρατηγοῦντος Φοίδου, ὃς τότε τὴν ἀρχὴν τῶν Θηβαίων διεῖπε· πολιορκήσαντες δὲ τὴν κώμην ὀχυρὰν οὖσαν, δίψει δὲ τῶν ἔνδον κρατηθέντων, τοὺς μὲν φονεῖς ληφθέντας κατέλευσαν, τοὺς δʼ ἐν τῇ κώμῃ ἐξηνδραποδίσαντο κατασκάψαντες δὲ τὰ τείχη καὶ τὰς οἰκίας διένειμαν τὴν χώραν Θισβεῦσι τε καὶ Κορωνεῦσι. φασὶ δὲ νυκτός, πρὸ τῆς ἁλώσεως τῶν Ἱπποτῶν, φωνὴν ἐκ τοῦ Ἑλικῶνος πολλάκις ἀκουσθῆναι λέγοντός τινος πάρειμι· τοὺς δὲ μνηστῆρας τοὺς τριάκοντα τόδε τὸ φώνημα γνωρίζειν, ὅτι Φώκου εἴη. ᾗ δʼ ἡμέρᾳ κατελεύσθησαν, τὸ ἐν Γλίσαντι μνῆμα τοῦ γέροντος κρόκῳ φασὶ ῥεῦσαι Φοίδῳ δέ, τῷ Θηβαίων ἄρχοντι καὶ στρατηγῷ, ἐκ τῆς μάχης ἐπανιόντι ἀγγελθῆναι θυγατέρα γεγενημένην, ἣν αἰσιούμενον προσαγορεῦσαι Νικοστράτην.
5. Alcippus was a Lacedaemonian by birth; he married Damocrita and became the father of two daughters. Now since he was a most excellent counsellor to the state and conducted affairs to the satisfaction of the Lacedaemonians, he was envied by his political opponents, who misled the ephors by false statements to the effect that Alcippus wished to destroy the constitution, and they thereby brought about his exile. So he departed from Sparta, but wher his wife Damocrita, with their daughters, wished to follow her husband, she was prevented from doing so, and moreover his property was confiscated, that the girls might not be provided with dowries. And when even so there were some suitors who wooed the girls on account of their father’s high character, his enemies got a bill passed, forbidding anyone to woo the girls, saying that their mother Damocrita had often prayed that her daughters might speedily bear sons who should grow up to be their father’s avengers. Damocrita, being harassed on all sides, waited for a general festival in which married women along with unmarried girls, slaves, and infant children took part, and the wives of those in authority passed the whole night in a great hall by themselves. Then she buckled a sword about her waist, took the girls, and went by night into the sacred place, waiting for the moment when all the women were performing the mysteries in the hall. Then, after the entrances had all been closed, she heaped a great quantity of wood against the doors (this had been prepared by the othei’s for the sacrifice belonging to the festival) and set it on fire. And when the men came running up to save their wives, Damocrita killed her daughters with the sword and then herself over their dead bodies. But the Lacedaemonians, not knowing how to vent their anger, threw the bodies of Damocrita and her daughters out beyond the boundaries; and they say that because the god was offended by this the great earthquake came upon the Lacedaemonians.
5. Ἄλκιππος τὸ μὲν γένος Λακεδαιμόνιος ἦν· γήμας δὲ Δαμοκρίταν πατὴρ θυγατέρων γίνεται δύο· συμβουλεύων τε τῇ πόλει κράτιστα τε καὶ πράττων ὅτου δέοιντο Λακεδαιμόνιοι, ἐφθονήθη ὑπὸ τῶν ἀντιπολιτευομένων, οἳ τοὺς ἐφόρους ψευδέσι λόγοις παραγαγόντες, ὡς τοῦ Ἀλκίππου βουλομένου τοὺς νόμους καταλῦσαι, φυγῇ περιέβαλον τὸν ἄνδρα. καὶ ὁ μὲν ὑπεξῆλθε τῆς Σπάρτης, Δαμοκρίταν δὲ τὴν γυναῖκα μετὰ τῶν θυγατέρων βουλομένην ἕπεσθαι τἀνδρὶ ἐκώλυον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν οὐσίαν αὐτοῦ ἐδήμευσαν, ἵνα μὴ εὐπορῶσι προικὸς αἱ παρθένοι. ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ ὣς ἐμνηστεύοντό τινες τὰς παῖδας διὰ τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς ἀρετήν, ἐκώλυσαν οἱ ἐχθροὶ διὰ ψηφίσματος μνηστεύεσθαί τινας τὰς κόρας, λέγοντες ὡς ἡ μήτηρ αὐτῶν Δαμοκρίτα πολλάκις εὔξατο τὰς θυγατέρας ταχέως γεννῆσαι παῖδας τιμωροὺς τῷ πατρὶ γενησομένους. πανταχόθεν δʼ ἡ Δαμοκρίτα περιελαυνομένη ἐτήρησέ τινα πάνδημον ἑορτήν, ἐν ᾗ γυναῖκες; ἅμα παρθένοις καὶ οἰκείοις καὶ νηπίοις ἑώρταζον, αἱ δὲ τῶν ἐν τέλει καθʼ ἑαυτὰς ἐν ἀνδρῶνι μεγάλῳ διεπαννύχιζον ξίφος τε ὑποζωσαμένη καὶ τὰς κόρας λαβοῦσα νυκτὸς ἦλθεν εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν καιρὸν παραφυλάξασα, ἐν ᾧ πᾶσαι τὸ μυστήριον ἐπετέλουν ἐν τῷ ἀνδρῶνι καὶ κεκλεισμένων τῶν εἰσόδων, ξύλα ταῖς θύραις πολλὰ προσνήσασα ταῦτα δʼ ἦν εἰς τὴν τῆς ἑορτῆς θυσίαν ὑπʼ ἐκείνων παρεσκευασμένα, πῦρ ἐνῆκε. συνθεόντων δὲ τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐπὶ τὴν βοήθειαν, ἡ Δαμοκρίτα τὰς θυγατέρας ἀπέσφαξε καὶ ἐπʼ ἐκείναις ἑαυτήν. οὐκ ἔχοντες δʼ οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι, ὅπη τὸν θυμὸν ἀπερείσωνται, ἐκτὸς ὅρων ἔρριψαν τῆς τε Δαμοκρίτας καὶ τῶν θυγατέρων τὰ σώματα. ἐφʼ ᾧ μηνίσαντος τοῦ θεοῦ τὸν μέγαν ἱστοροῦσι Λακεδαιμονίοις σεισμὸν ἐπιγενέσθαι.