23.5. but Thoenon was accused by Pyrrhus of complicity with Sosistratus and put to death. With this, the situation of Pyrrhus was suddenly and entirely changed. A terrible hatred arose against him in the cities, some of which joined the Carthaginians, while others called in the Mamertines. And now, as he saw everywhere secessions and revolutionary designs and a strong faction opposed to him, he received letters from the Samnites and Tarentines, who had been excluded from all their territories, could with difficulty maintain the war even in their cities, and begged for his assistance.
23.5. ἀποστάσεις δὲ ὁρῶν ἅπαντα καὶ νεωτερισμοὺς καὶ σύστασιν ἰσχυρὰν ἐφʼ αὑτόν, ἐδέξατο γράμματα Σαυνιτῶν καὶ Ταραντίνων μόλις ἀντεχόντων ταῖς πόλεσιν αὐταῖς πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον, εἰργομένων δὲ τῆς χώρας ἁπάσης καὶ δεομένων βοηθεῖν.
23.6. This gave him a fair pretext for his sailing away, without its being called a flight or despair of his cause in the island; but in truth it was because he could not master Sicily, which was like a storm-tossed ship, but desired to get out of her, that he once more threw himself into Italy. And it is said that at the time of his departure he looked back at the island and said to those about him: “My friends, what a wrestling ground for Carthaginians and Romans we are leaving behind us!” And this conjecture of his was soon afterwards confirmed.
23.6. τοῦτο δὲ ἦν εὐπρέπεια μὴ φυγὴν εἶναι μηδὲ ἀπόγνωσιν τὸν ἀπόπλουν τῶν αὐτόθι πραγμάτων τὸ δὲ ἀληθὲς οὐ δυνάμενος κρατεῖν Σικελίας ὥσπερ νεὼς ταραχθείσης, ἀλλʼ ἔκβασιν ζητῶν, αὖθις ἔρριψεν ἑαυτὸν εἰς Ἰταλίαν. λέγεται δ’ ἀπαλλαττόμενος ἤδη πρὸς τὴν νῆσον ἀπιδὼν εἰπεῖν τοῖς περὶ αὐτὸν οἵαν ἀπολείπομεν, ὦ φίλοι, Καρχηδονίοις καὶ Ῥωμαίοις παλαίστραν. καὶ τοῦτο μέν, ὥσπερ εἰκάσθη, μετʼ οὐ πολὺν χρόνον ἐγένετο.
24.1. But the Barbarians combined against him as he was setting sail. With the Carthaginians he fought a sea-fight in the strait and lost many of his ships, but escaped with the rest to Italy; and here the Mamertines, more than ten thousand of whom had crossed in advance of him, though they were afraid to match forces with him, yet threw his whole army into confusion by setting upon him and assailing him in difficult regions. Two of his elephants fell, and great numbers of his rearguard were slain.
24.1. τῶν δὲ βαρβάρων συστάντων ἐπʼ αὐτὸν ἀποπλέοντα, Καρχηδονίοις μὲν ἐν τῷ πορθμῷ ναυμαχήσας ἀπέβαλε τῶν νεῶν πολλάς, ταῖς δ’ ἄλλαις κατέφυγε πρὸς τὴν Ἰταλίαν, Μαμερτῖνοι δὲ μυρίων οὐκ ἐλάττους προδιαβάντες ἀντιτάξασθαι μὲν ἐφοβήθησαν, ἐν δὲ ταῖς δυσχωρίαις ἐπιτιθέμενοι καὶ προσπίπτοντες ἅπαν τὸ στράτευμα συνετάραξαν. ἔπεσε δὲ δύο θηρία καὶ συχνοὶ τῶν ὀπισθοφυλακούντων ἀπέθνῃσκον.
24.2. Accordingly, riding up in person from the van, he sought to ward off the enemy, and ran great risks in contending with men who were trained to fight and were inspired with high courage. And when he was wounded on the head with a sword and withdrew a little from the combatants, the enemy were all the more elated. One of them ran forth far in advance of the rest, a man who was huge in body and resplendent in armour, and in a bold voice challenged Pyrrhus to come out, if he were still alive.
24.2. αὐτὸς οὖν ἀπὸ τοῦ στόματος παρελάσας ἠμύνετο καὶ διεκινδύνευε πρὸς ἄνδρας ἠσκημένους μάχεσθαι καὶ θυμοειδεῖς. πληγεὶς δὲ τὴν κεφαλὴν ξίφει καὶ μικρὸν ἐκ τῶν μαχομένων ἀποστὰς ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐπῆρε τοὺς πολεμίους. εἷς δὲ καὶ πολὺ πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἐπιδραμών, ἀνήρ τῷ τε σώματι μέγας καὶ τοῖς ὅπλοις λαμπρός, ἐχρῆτο τῇ φωνῇ θρασυτέρᾳ καὶ προελθεῖν ἐκέλευεν αὐτόν, εἰ ζῇ.
24.3. This angered Pyrrhus, and wheeling round in spite of his guards, he pushed his way through them-full of wrath, smeared with blood, and with a countenance terrible to look upon, and before the Barbarian could strike dealt him such a blow on the head with his sword that, what with the might of his arm and the excellent temper of his steel, it cleaved its way down through, so that at one instant the parts of the sundered body fell to either side.
24.3. παροξυνθεὶς δὲ ὁ Πύρρος ἐπέστρεψε βίᾳ τῶν ὑπασπιστῶν, καὶ μετʼ ὀργῆς αἵματι πεφυρμένος καὶ δεινὸς ὀφθῆναι τὸ πρόσωπον ὠσάμενος διʼ αὐτῶν καὶ φθάσας τὸν βάρβαρον ἔπληξε κατὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς τῷ ξίφει πληγὴν ῥώμῃ τε τῆς χειρὸς ἅμα καὶ βαφῆς ἀρετῇ τοῦ σιδήρου μέχρι τῶν κάτω διαδραμοῦσαν, ὥστε ἑνὶ χρόνῳ περιπεσεῖν ἑκατέρωσε τὰ μέρη τοῦ σώματος διχοτομηθέντος.
24.4. This checked the Barbarians from any further advance, for they were amazed and confounded at Pyrrhus, and thought him some superior being. So he accomplished the rest of his march unmolested and came to Tarentum, bringing twenty thousand foot and three thousand horse. Then, adding to his force the best troops of the Tarentines, he forthwith led them against the Romans, who were encamped in the country of the Samnites.
24.4. τοῦτο τοὺς βαρβάρους ἐπέσχε τοῦ πρόσω χωρεῖν, ὥς τινα τῶν κρειττόνων θαυμάσαντας καὶ καταπλαγέντας τὸν Πύρρον. ὁ δὲ τὴν ἄλλην ὁδὸν ἀδεῶς διεξελθὼν ἧκεν εἷς Τάραντα, δισμυρίους πεζοὺς καὶ τρισχιλίους ἱππεῖς κομίζων. ἀναλαβὼν δὲ τῶν Ταραντίνων τοὺς κρατίστους, εὐθὺς ἐπὶ Ῥωμαίους ἦγεν ἐν τῇ Σαυνίτιδι στρατοπεδεύοντας.
25.1. But the power of the Samnites had been shattered, and their spirits were broken, in consequence of many defeats at the hands of the Romans. They also cherished considerable resentment against Pyrrhus because of his expedition to Sicily; hence not many of them came to join him. Pyrrhus, however, divided his army in to two parts, sent one of them into Lucania to attack the other consul, that he might not come to the help of his colleague, and led the other part himself against Manius Curius, who was safely encamped near the city of Beneventum and was awaiting assistance from Lucania; in part also it was because his soothsayers had dissuaded him with unfavourable omens and sacrifices that he kept quiet.
25.1. τῶν δὲ Σαυνιτῶν τά τε πράγματα διέφθαρτο, καὶ τοῦ φρονήματος ὑφεῖντο, κεκρατημένοι μάχαις πολλαῖς ὑπὸ τῶν Ῥωμαίων. ἐνῆν δέ τι καὶ πρὸς τὸν Πύρρον ὀργῆς διὰ τὸν εἰς Σικελίαν πλοῦν· ὅθεν οὐ πολλοὶ τούτων αὐτῷ συνῆλθον. πάντας δὲ νείμας δίχα τοὺς μὲν εἰς τὴν Λευκανίαν ἔπεμψεν ἀντιληψομένους τοῦ ἑτέρου τῶν ὑπάτων, ὡς μὴ βοηθοίη, τοὺς δὲ ἦγεν αὐτὸς ἐπὶ Μάνιον Κούριον περὶ πόλιν Βενεουεντὸν ἱδρυμένον ἐν ἀσφαλεῖ καὶ περιμένοντα τὴν ἐκ τῆς Λευκανίας βοήθειαν·
25.2. Pyrrhus, accordingly, hastening to attack this consul before the other one came up, took his best men and his most warlike elephants and set out by night against his camp.
25.2. ἔστι δ’ ὅτε καὶ μάντεων αὐτὸν οἰωνοῖς καὶ ἱεροῖς ἀποτρεπόντων ἡσύχαζε, σπεύδων οὖν ὁ Πύρρος ἐπιθέσθαι τούτοις, πρὶν ἐκείνους ἐπελθεῖν, ἄνδρας τε τοὺς κρατίστους καὶ τῶν θηρίων τὰ μαχιμώτατα λαβὼν νυκτὸς ὥρμησεν ἐπὶ τὸ στρατόπεδον.
25.3. But since he took a long circuit through a densely wooded country, his lights did not hold out, and his soldiers lost their way and straggled. This caused delay, so that the night passed, and at daybreak he was in full view of the enemy as he advanced upon them from the heights, and caused much tumult and agitation among them. Manius, however, since the sacrifices were propitious and the crisis forced action upon him, led his forces out and attacked the foremost of the enemy, and after routing these, put their whole army to flight, so that many of them fell and some of their elephants were left behind and captured.
25.3. περιιόντι δὲ αὐτῷ μακρὰν καὶ δασεῖαν ὕλαις ὁδὸν οὐκ ἀντέσχε τὰ φῶτα, καὶ πλάναι τοῖς στρατιώταις συνέτυχον· καὶ περὶ ταῦτα γινομένης διατριβῆς ἥ τε νὺξ ἐπέλιπε καὶ καταφανὴς ἦν ἅμʼ ἡμέρᾳ τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐπερχόμενος ἀπὸ τῶν ἄκρων, ὥστε θόρυβον πολὺν καὶ κίνησιν παρασχεῖν. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ τῶν ἱερῶν τῷ Μανίῳ γενομένων, καὶ τοῦ καιροῦ βοηθεῖν ἀναγκάζοντος, ἐξελθὼν ἐνέβαλε τοῖς πρώτοις καὶ τρεψάμενος ἐφόβησε πάντας, ὥστε καὶ πεσεῖν οὐκ ὀλίγους καὶ τῶν ἐλεφάντων τινὰς ἁλῶναι καταλειφθέντας.
25.4. This victory brought Manius down into the plain to give battle; here, after an engagement in the open, he routed the enemy at some points, but at one was overwhelmed by the elephants and driven back upon his camp, where he was obliged to call upon the guards, who were standing on the parapets in great numbers, all in arms, and full of fresh vigour.
25.4. αὕτη τὸν Μάνιον ἡ νίκη κατήγαγε μαχούμενον εἰς τὸ πεδίον· καὶ συμβαλὼν ἐκ προδήλου τὸ μὲν ἐτρέψατο τῶν πολεμίων, ἔστι δ’ ᾗ βιασθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν θηρίων καὶ συσταλεὶς πρὸς τὸ στρατόπεδον τοὺς φύλακας ἐκάλει συχνοὺς ἐφεστῶτας τῷ χάρακι μετὰ τῶν ὅπλων καὶ ἀκμῆτας.
25.5. Down they came from their strong places, and hurling their javelins at the elephants compelled them to wheel about and run back through the ranks of their own men, thus causing disorder and confusion there. This gave the victory to the Romans, and at the same time the advantage also in the struggle for supremacy. For having acquired high courage and power and a reputation for invincibility from their valour in these struggles, they at once got control of Italy, and soon afterwards of Sicily.
25.5. οἱ δὲ ἐπιφανέντες ἐκ τόπων ὀχυρῶν καὶ τὰ θηρία βάλλοντες ἠνάγκασαν ἀποστρέφεσθαι καὶ φυγῇ χωροῦντα διὰ τῶν συμμάχων ὀπίσω ταραχὴν ἀπεργάσασθαι καὶ σύγχυσιν, ἣ τὸ νίκημα παρέδωκε τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις, ἅμα δὲ καὶ τὸ κράτος τῆς ἡγεμονίας, καὶ γάρ φρόνημα καὶ δύναμιν καὶ δόξαν ὡς ἄμαχοι προσλαβόντες ἐκ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐκείνης καὶ τῶν ἀγώνων Ἰταλίαν μὲν εὐθύς, ὀλίγῳ δὲ ὕστερον Σικελίαν κατέσχον.
26.1. Thus Pyrrhus was excluded from his hopes of Italy and Sicily, after squandering six years’ time in his wars there, and after being worsted in his undertakings, but he kept his brave spirit unconquered in the midst of his defeats; and men believed that in military experience, personal prowess, and daring, he was by far the first of the kings of his time, but that what he won by his exploits he lost by indulging in vain hopes, since through passionate desire for what he had not he always failed to establish securely what he had.
26.1. οὕτω μὲν ἐξέπεσε τῶν Ἰταλικῶν καὶ Σικελικῶν ὁ Πύρρος ἐλπίδων, ἑξαετῆ χρόνον ἀναλώσας περὶ τοὺς ἐκεῖ πολέμους, καὶ τοῖς πράγμασιν ἐλαττωθείς, τὸ δὲ ἀνδρεῖον ἀνίκητον ἐν ταῖς ἥτταις διαφυλάξας· καὶ νομισθεὶς ἐμπειρίᾳ μὲν πολεμικῇ καὶ χειρὶ καὶ τόλμῃ πολὺ πρῶτος εἶναι τῶν καθʼ αὑτὸν βασιλέων, ἃ δὲ ταῖς πράξεσιν ἐκτᾶτο ταῖς ἐλπίσιν ἀπολλύναι, διʼ ἔρωτα τῶν ἀπόντων οὐδὲν εἷς ὃ δεῖ θέσθαι τῶν ὑπαρχόντων φθάσας.
26.2. For this reason Antigonus used to liken him to a player with dice who makes many fine throws but does not understand how to use them when they are made. He returned to Epeirus with eight thousand foot and five hundred horse, and since he had no money he sought for a war by which he could maintain his army. Some Gauls joined him, and he thereupon made an incursion into Macedonia, where Antigonus the son of Demetrius was reigning, designing to strip and plunder the country.
26.2. ὅθεν ἀπείκαζεν αὑτὸν ὁ Ἀντίγονος κυβευτῇ πολλὰ βάλλοντι καὶ καλά, χρῆσθαι δὲ οὐκ ἐπισταμένῳ τοῖς πεσοῦσι, κομίσας δὲ εἷς Ἤπειρον ὀκτακισχιλίους πεζοὺς καὶ πεντακοσίους ἱππεῖς, χρήματα δὴ οὐκ ἔχων ἐζήτει πόλεμον ᾧ θρέψει τὸ στράτευμα, καὶ τινων Γαλατῶν αὐτῷ προσγενομένων ἐνέβαλεν εἷς Μακεδονίαν Ἀντιγόνου τοῦ Δημητρίου βασιλεύοντος ὡς ἁρπαγῇ καὶ λεηλασίᾳ χρησόμενος.
26.3. But after he had taken a great number of cities and two thousand Macedonian soldiers had come over to him, he began to hope for greater things, and set out to attack Antigonus, and falling upon him in a narrow pass, threw his whole army into confusion. The Gauls who formed the rearguard of Antigonus, a numerous body, made a sturdy resistance; but after a fierce battle most of these were cut to pieces, while those who had charge of the elephants were hemmed in and surrendered themselves and all their animals.
26.3. ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ πόλεις ἐλάμβανε συχνὰς καὶ στρατιῶται δισχίλιοι μετέστησαν ὡς αὐτόν, ἐλπίσας τι πλέον ὥρμησεν ἐπὶ τὸν Ἀντίγονον καὶ περὶ τὰ Στενὰ προσπεσὼν συνετάραξε τὴν στρατιὰν ἅπασαν, οἱ δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς οὐραγίας τοῦ Ἀντιγόνου τεταγμένοι Γαλάται, συχνοὶ τὸ πλῆθος ὄντες, ὑπέστησαν εὐρώστως· καὶ καρτερᾶς μάχης γενομένης τούτων μὲν οἱ πλεῖστοι κατεκόπησαν, οἱ δὲ τῶν ἐλεφάντων ἡγεμόνες ἐγκαταλαμβανόμενοι παρέδωκαν ἑαυτοὺς καὶ τὰ θηρία πάντα.
26.4. Then Pyrrhus, thus greatly strengthened, and consulting his good fortune rather than his judgment, advanced upon the phalanx of the Macedonians, which was filled with confusion and fear because of their previous defeat. For this reason they refrained from engagement or battle with him, whereupon Pyrrhus, stretching out his right hand and calling upon the generals and captains, brought over to him all the infantry of Antigonus in a body.
26.4. προσλαβὼν δὲ ὁ Πυρρος τηλικαῦτα, καὶ τῇ τύχῃ μᾶλλον ἢ τοῖς λογισμοῖς χρώμενος, ἐπῆγε τῇ φάλαγγι τῶν Μακεδόνων ἀναπεπλησμένῃ ταραχῆς καὶ φόβου διὰ τὴν ἧτταν. ὅθεν ἐμβολῆς μὲν ἔσχοντο καὶ μάχης πρὸς αὐτόν, τὴν δὲ δεξιὰν προτείνων καὶ στρατηγοὺς καὶ ταξιάρχους ἀνακαλούμενος, ἅπαντας ὁμαλῶς ἀπέστησε τοὺς πεζοὺς τὸν Ἀντιγόνου.
26.5. So Antigonus took to flight with a few of his horsemen, and occupied some of the seaboard cities; while Pyrrhus, thinking that amid so many successes his achievement against the Gauls conduced most to his glory, dedicated the most beautiful and splendid of the spoils in the temple of Athena Itonis, with the following elegiac inscription:These shields, now suspended here as a gift to Athena Itonis, Pyrrhus the Molossian took from valiant Gauls, after defeating the entire army of Antigonus; which is no great wonder; for now, as well as in olden time, the Aeacidae are brave spearmen.
26.5. κἀκεῖνος μὲν ὑποφεύγων ἅμα τῶν ἱππέων ὀλίγοις τῶν παραλίων τινὰς πόλεων κατέσχεν, ὁ δὲ Πύρρος ἐν εὐτυχήμασι τοσούτοις μέγιστον αὐτῷ πρὸς δόξαν οἰόμενος διαπεπρᾶχθαι τὸ περὶ τοὺς Γαλάτας, τὰ κάλλιστα καὶ λαμπρότατα τῶν λαφύρων ἀνέθηκεν εἷς τὸ ἱερὸν τῆς Ἰτωνίδος ʼ Ἀθηνᾶς, τόδε τὸ ἐλεγεῖον ἐπιγράψαςτοὺς θυρεοὺς ὁ Μολοσσὸς Ἰτωνίδι δῶρον ἈθάνᾳΠύρρος ἀπὸ θρασέων ἐκρέμασεν Γαλατᾶν,πάντα τὸν Ἀντιγόνου καθελὼν στρατὸν οὐ μέγαθαῦμα·αἰχμηταὶ καὶ νῦν καὶ πάρος Αἰακίδαι.
26.6. After the battle, however, he at once proceeded to occupy the cities. And after getting Aegae into his power, besides other seventies exercised upon its inhabitants he left as a garrison in the city some of the Gauls who were making the campaign with him. But the Gauls, a race insatiable of wealth, set themselves to digging up the tombs of the kings who had been buried there; the treasure they plundered, the bones they insolently cast to the four winds.
26.6. μετὰ τὴν μάχην δὲ εὐθὺς ἀνελάμβανε τὰς πόλεις, τῶν δὲ Αἰγαίων κρατήσας τά τε ἄλλα χαλεπῶς ἐχρήσατο τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, καὶ φρουρὰν Γαλατικὴν ἐν τῇ πόλει κατέλιπε τῶν μετʼ αὐτοῦ στρατευομένων, οἱ δὲ Γαλάται γένος ἀπληστότατον χρημάτων ὄντες ἐπέθεντο τῶν βασιλέων αὐτόθι κεκηδευμένων τοὺς τάφους ὀρύττειν, καὶ τὰ μὲν χρήματα διήρπασαν, τὰ δὲ ὀστᾶ πρὸς ὕβριν διέρριψαν.
26.7. This outrage Pyrrhus treated with lightness and indifference, as it was thought; he either postponed punishment because he had some business on hand, or remitted it altogether because he was afraid to chastise the Barbarians; and on this account he was censured by the Macedonians. Moreover, before his affairs were securely and firmly established, his thoughts swung again towards new hopes. He railed at Antigonus and called him a shameless man for not laying aside the purple and wearing a common robe; and when Cleonymus the Spartan came and invited him to come to Lacedaemon, he readily listened to him.
26.7. τοῦτο κούφως ἔδοξε καὶ ὀλιγώρως ἐνεγκεῖν ὁ Πύρρος, ἢ διʼ ἀσχολίας τινὰς ὑπερθέμενος ἢ παρεὶς ὅλως διὰ φόβον τὸ κολάσαι τοὺς βαρβάρους· ὅθεν ἤκουσε κακῶς ὑπὸ τῶν Μακεδόνων. οὔπω δὲ τῶν πραγμάτων αὐτῷ βεβαιότητα καὶ σύστασιν ἐχόντων μόνιμον, ᾐωρεῖτο τῇ γνώμῃ πάλιν πρὸς ἑτέρας ἐλπίδας, καὶ τὸν μὲν Ἀντίγονον ἐφυβρίζων ἀναίσχυντον ἐκάλει μὴ λαμβάνοντα θοἱμάτιον, ἀλλʼ ἔτι τὴν πορφύραν φοροῦντα. Κλεωνύμου δὲ τοῦ Σπαρτιάτου παραγενομένου καὶ καλοῦντος αὑτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν Λακεδαίμονα προθύμως ὑπήκουσεν.
26.8. Now, Cleonymus was of royal lineage, but because he was thought to be of a violent and arbitrary temper, he enjoyed neither goodwill nor confidence at home, but Areus was king there. This was one general ground of complaint which he had against his fellow citizens, and it was of long standing. Besides, Cleonymus in his later years had married Chilonis the daughter of Leotychides, a beautiful woman of royal lineage; but she had fallen desperately in love with Acrotatus the son of Areus, a young man in the flower of his age, and thus rendered his marriage distressing to Cleonymus, since he loved her, and at the same time disgraceful; for every Spartan was well aware that the husband was despised by his wife.
26.8. ὁ δὲ Κλεώνυμος ἦν μὲν γένους βασιλικοῦ, δοκῶν δὲ βίαιος εἶναι καὶ μοναρχικὸς οὔτʼ εὔνοιαν οὔτε πίστιν εἶχεν, ἀλλʼ Ἄρευς ἐβασίλευε. καὶ τοῦτο μὲν ἓν ἦν κοινὸν ἔγκλημα καὶ πρεσβύτερον αὐτῷ πρὸς τοὺς πολίτας· γυναῖκα δὲ καλὴν καὶ γένους βασιλικοῦ Χιλωνίδα τὴν Λεωτυχίδου πρεσβύτερος ὢν ἔγημεν ὁ Κλεώνυμος. ἢ δὲ Ἀκροτάτῳ τῷ Ἄρεως ἐπιμανεῖσα, μειρακίῳ καθʼ ὥραν ἀκμάζοντι, λυπηρὸν ἐρῶντι τῷ Κλεωνύμῳ καὶ ἄδοξον ὁμοῦ παρεῖχε τὸν γάμον οὐδένα γὰρ ἐλάνθανε Σπαρτιατῶν καταφρονούμενος ὑπὸ τῆς γυναικός.
26.9. Thus his domestic vexations added themselves to his political disappointment, and in indignation and wrath he brought Pyrrhus against Sparta. Pyrrhus had twenty-five thousand foot and two thousand horse, besides twenty-four elephants, so that the magnitude of his preparations made it clear at once that he was not aiming to acquire Sparta for Cleonymus, but the Peloponnesus for himself. And yet his professions were all to the contrary, and particularly those which he made to the Lacedaemonian ambassadors themselves when they met him at Megalopolis.
26.9. οὕτω δὲ τῶν κατʼ οἶκον ἀνιαρῶν τοῖς πολιτικοῖς προσγενομένων ὑπʼ ὀργῆς καὶ βαρυθυμίας ἐπῆγε τῇ Σπάρτῃ τὸν Πύρρον, ἔχοντα δισμυρίους καὶ πεντακισχιλίους πεζούς, δισχιλίους δ’ ἱππεῖς, ἐλέφαντας δὲ εἰκοσιτέσσαρας, ὥστε τῷ μεγέθει τῆς παρασκευῆς εὐθὺς εἶναι κατάδηλον οὐ Κλεωνύμῳ τὴν Σπάρτην, ἀλλὰ τὴν Πελοπόννησον ἑαυτῷ κτώμενον, ἐπεὶ τῷ γε λόγῳ καὶ πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἔξαρνος ἦν τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους πρεσβεύσαντας εἷς Μεγάλην πόλιν.
26.10. He told them he had come to set free the cities which were subject to Antigonus, yes, and that he was going to send his younger sons to Sparta, if nothing prevented, to be brought up in the Lacedaemonian customs, that so they might presently have the advantage over all other princes. With these fictions he beguiled those who came to meet him on his march, but as soon as he reached Laconian territory he began to ravage and plunder it.
26.10. ἔφη γάρ ἐλευθερώσων τὰς ὑπʼ Ἀντιγόνῳ πόλεις ἀφῖχθαι, καὶ νὴ Δία τοὺς νεωτέρους παῖδας εἷς Σπάρτην, εἰ μή τι κωλύει, πέμψων ἐντραφησομένους τοῖς Λακωνικοῖς ἔθεσιν, ὡς τούτῳ πλέον ἔχοιεν ἤδη τῶν πάντων βασιλέων, ταῦτα πλαττόμενος καὶ παράγων τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας αὐτῷ καθʼ ὁδόν, ὡς πρῶτον ἥψατο τῆς Λακωνικῆς ἁρπαγὴν ἐποιεῖτο καὶ λεηλασίαν·
26.11. And when the Spartan ambassadors upbraided him for making war upon them without previous declaration, he said: “Yet we know that you Spartans also do not tell others beforehand what you are going to do.” Whereupon one of those who were present, Mandrocleidas by name, said to him in the broad Spartan dialect: “If thou art a god, we shall suffer no harm at thy hands; for we have done thee no wrong; but if a man, another will be found who is even stronger than thou.”
26.11. ἐγκαλούντων δὲ τῶν πρέσβεων, ὅτι μὴ καταγγείλας πόλεμον ἐξενήνοχε πρὸς αὐτούς, ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ὑμᾶς, ἔφη· τοὺς Σπαρτιάτας ἴσμεν ὅ τι ἂν μέλλητε ποιεῖν ἑτέροις προλέγοντας εἷς δὲ τῶν παρόντων, ὄνομα Μανδροκλείδας, εἶπε τῇ φωνῇ λακωνίζων αἰ μὲν ἐσσὶ τύ γε θεός, οὐδὲν μὴ πάθωμεν οὐ γὰρ ἀδικεῦμεν αἰ δ’ ἄνθρωπος, ἔσσεται καὶ τεῦ κάρρων ἄλλος.
27.1. After this, he marched down against the city of Sparta. Cleonymus urged him to make the assault as soon as he arrived, but Pyrrhus was afraid, as we are told, that his soldiers would plunder the city if they fell upon it at night, and therefore restrained them, saying that they would accomplish just as much by day. For there were but few men in the city, and they were unprepared, owing to the suddenness of the peril; and Areus was not at home, but in Crete, whither he was bringing military aid for the Gortynians. And this, indeed, more than anything else, proved the salvation of the city, which its weakness and lack of defenders caused to be despised.
27.1. ἐκ τούτου κατέβαινεν ἐπὶ τὴν Λακεδαίμονα· καὶ τοῦ Κλεωνύμου κελεύοντος ἕξ ἐφόδου προσβαλεῖν φοβηθεὶς ὁ Πύρρος, ὡς λέγεται, μὴ διαρπάσωσιν οἱ στρατιῶται τὴν πόλιν ἐν νυκτὶ προσπεσόντες, ἐπέσχεν, εἰπὼν ὅτι ταὐτὸ ποιήσουσι μεθʼ ἡμέραν. αὐτοί τε γάρ ἦσαν ὀλίγοι καὶ ἀπαράσκευοι διὰ τὸ αἰφνίδιον, ὅ τε Ἄρευς οὐκ ἐτύγχανε παρών, ἀλλʼ ἐν Κρήτῃ Γορτυνίοις πολεμουμένοις βοηθῶν· καὶ τοῦτο δὴ μάλιστα τὴν πόλιν ἔσωσε διʼ ἐρημίαν καὶ ἀσθένειαν καταφρονηθεῖσαν.
27.2. For Pyrrhus, thinking that no one would give him battle, bivouacked for the night, and the friends and Helot slaves of Cleonymus adorned and furnished his house in the expectation that Pyrrhus would take supper there with its owner. When night had come, the Lacedaemonians at first took counsel to send their women off to Crete, but the women were opposed to this; and Archidamia came with a sword in her hand to the senators and upbraided them in behalf of the women for thinking it meet that they should live after Sparta had perished.
27.2. ὁ μὲν γάρ Πύρρος οὐδένα μαχεῖσθαι νομίζων κατηυλίσατο, τοῦ δὲ Κλεωνύμου τὴν οἰκίαν οἵ τε φίλοι καὶ εἵλωτες οὕτως ἐκόσμησαν καὶ παρεσκεύασαν ὡς δειπνήσοντος τοῦ Πύρρου παρʼ αὐτῷ. γενομένης δὲ νυκτὸς οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι πρῶτον μὲν ἐβουλεύσαντο τὰς γυναῖκας εἰς Κρήτην ἀποστέλλειν, αἱ δὲ ἀντέστησαν. Ἀρχιδαμία δὲ καὶ ξίφος ἔχουσα πρὸς τὴν γερουσίαν ἦλθεν ἐγκαλοῦσα τοῖς ἀνδράσιν ὑπὲρ τῶν γυναικῶν, εἰ ζῆν αὑτὰς ἀξιοῦσι τῆς Σπάρτης ἀπολομένης.
27.3. Next, it was decided to run a trench parallel with the camp of the enemy, and at either end of it to set their waggons, sinking them to the wheel-hubs in the ground, in order that, thus firmly planted, they might impede the advance of the elephants. When they began to carry out this project, there came to them the women and maidens, some of them in their robes, with tunics girt close, and others in their tunics only, to help the elderly men in the work.
27.3. ἔπειτα τῷ στρατοπέδῳ τῶν πολεμίων παράλληλον ἔγνωσαν ἐμβαλόντες τάφρον ἔνθεν καὶ ἔνθεν αὐτῆς στῆσαι τὰς ἁμάξας, μέχρι τοῦ μέσου τῶν τροχῶν καταχώσαντες, ὅπως ἕδραν ἔχουσαι δυσεκβίαστον ἐμποδὼν ὦσι τοῖς θηρίοις. ἀρχομένοις δὲ ταῦτα πράττειν ἧκον αὐτοῖς τῶν παρθένων καὶ γυναικῶν αἱ μὲν ἐν ἱματίοις, καταζωσάμεναι τοὺς χιτωνίσκους, αἱ δὲ μονοχίτωνες, συνεργασόμεναι τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις.
27.4. The men who were going to do the fighting the women ordered to keep quiet, and assuming their share of the task they completed with their own hands a third of the trench. The width of the trench was six cubits, its depth four, and its length eight hundred feet, according to Phylarchus; according to Hieronymus, less than this.
27.4. τοὺς δὲ μάχεσθαι μέλλοντας ἐκέλευον ἡσυχάζειν, καὶ λαβοῦσαι μέτρον αὐταὶ καθʼ αὑτὰς ἐξειργάσαντο τῆς τάφρου τὸ τρίτον μέρος, ἦν δὲ τὸ μὲν πλάτος αὐτῆς πήχεων ἕξ, τὸ δὲ βάθος τεττάρων, τὸ δὲ μῆκος ὀκτάπλεθρον, ὡς ἱστορεῖ Φύλαρχος, ὡς δ’ Ἱερώνυμος, ἔλαττον.
27.5. When day came and the enemy were putting themselves in motion, these women handed the young men their armour, put the trench in their charge, and told them to guard and defend it, assured that it was sweet to conquer before the eyes of their fatherland, and glorious to die in the arms of their mothers and wives, after a fall that was worthy of Sparta. As for Chilonis, she withdrew from the rest, and kept a halter about her neck, that she might not come into the power of Cleonymus if the city were taken.
27.5. ἅμα δ’ ἡμέρᾳ κινουμένων τῶν πολεμίων τὰ ὅπλα τοῖς νέοις ὀρέγουσαι καὶ παραδιδοῦσαι τὴν τάφρον ἀμύνειν καὶ φυλάττειν ἐκέλευον, ὡς ἡδὺ μὲν νικᾶν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς τῆς πατρίδος, εὐκλεὲς δὲ θνῄσκειν ἐν χερσὶ μητέρων καὶ γυναικῶν ἀξίως τῆς Σπάρτης πεσόντας. ἡ δὲ Χιλωνίς, ἐκποδὼν οὖσα καθʼ ἑαυτὴν, βρόχον εἶχεν ἐνημμένον, ὅπως ἐπὶ τῷ Κλεωνύμῳ μὴ γένοιτο τῆς πόλεως ἁλούσης.
28.1. Pyrrhus himself, then, with his men-at-arms, tried to force his way directly against the many shields of the Spartans which confronted him, and over a trench which was impassable and afforded his soldiers no firm footing owing to the freshly turned earth. But his son Ptolemy, with two thousand Gauls and picked Chaonians, went round the trench and tried to force a passage where the waggons were. These, however, being so deeply planted in the earth and so close together, made not only his onset, but also the counter-efforts of the Lacedaemonians, a difficult matter.
28.1. αὐτὸς μὲν οὖν ὁ Πύρρος ἐβιάζετο κατὰ στόμα τοῖς ὁπλίταις πρὸς ἀσπίδας πολλὰς τῶν Σπαρτιατῶν ἀντιπαρατεταγμένας, καὶ τάφρον οὐ περατὴν οὐδὲ βάσιν ἀσφαλῆ τοῖς μαχομένοις παρέχουσαν ὑπὸ χαυνότητος. ὁ δὲ παῖς Πτολεμαῖος, ἔχων δισχιλίους Γαλάτας καὶ Χαόνων λογάδας, ἐξελίξας τὴν τάφρον ἐπειρᾶτο κατὰ τὰς ἁμάξας ὑπερβαίνειν. αἱ δὲ ὑπὸ βάθους καὶ πυκνότητος οὐ μόνον τούτοις τὴν ἔφοδον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς Λακεδαιμονίοις δύσεργον ἐποίουν τὴν βοήθειαν.
28.2. The Gauls pulled the wheels up and were dragging the waggons down into the river; but the young Acrotatus saw the danger, and running through the city with three hundred men got round behind Ptolemy without being seen by him, owing to some depressions in the ground, and at last fell upon his rear ranks and forced them to turn about and fight with him. And now the Barbarians crowded one another into the trench and fell among the waggons, and finally, after great slaughter, were successfully driven back.
28.2. ἀνασπώντων δὲ τῶν Γαλατῶν τοὺς τροχοὺς καὶ ὑποσυρόντων τὰς ἁμάξας εἰς τὸν ποταμόν, κατιδὼν τὸν κίνδυνον ὁ νεανίας Ἀκρότατος καὶ τὴν πόλιν διαδραμὼν μετὰ τριακοσίων περιῆλθε τὸν Πτολεμαῖον, οὐ συνορώμενος ὑπʼ· αὑτοῦ διά τινας συγκλινίας, ἕως προσέβαλε τοῖς ἐσχάτοις καὶ μεταβαλόντας ἠνάγκασε μάχεσθαι πρὸς ἑαυτόν, ὠθουμένους ὑπʼ ἀλλήλων εἴς τε τὴν τάφρον καὶ περὶ ταῖς ἁμάξαις πίπτοντας, ἄχρι οὗ φόνῳ πολλῷ μόλις ἀνεκόπησαν.
28.3. The elderly men and the host of women watched the brilliant exploit of Acrotatus. And when he went back again through the city to his allotted post, covered with blood and triumphant, elated with his victory, the Spartan women thought that he had become taller and more beautiful than ever, and envied Chilonis her lover. Moreover, some of the elderly men accompanied him on his way, crying: “Go, Acrotatus, and take to thyself Chilonis; only, see that thou begettest brave sons for Sparta.”
28.3. ἐθεῶντο δὲ οἵ τε πρεσβύτεροι καὶ τῶν γυναικῶν τὸ πλῆθος ἀριστεύοντα τὸν Ἀκρότατον. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἀπῄει πάλιν διὰ τῆς πόλεως ἐπὶ τὴν αὑτοῦ τάξιν αἵματος κατάπλεως καὶ γαῦρος, ὑπὸ τῆς νίκης ἐπηρμένος, καὶ μείζων ἔδοξε γεγονέναι καὶ καλλίων ταῖς Λακαίναις, καὶ τὴν Χιλωνίδα τοῦ ἔρωτος ἐζήλουν. τῶν δὲ πρεσβυτέρων τινὲς ἐπηκολούθουν βοῶντες· οἶχε, Ἀκρότατε, καὶ οἶφε τὰν Χιλωνίδα· μόνον παῖδας ἀγαθοὺς τᾷ Σπάρτᾳ ποίει.
28.4. A fierce battle was also waged where Pyrrhus himself led, and many Spartans made a splendid fight, but particularly Phyllius, who surpassed all in the tenacity of his resistance and the numbers of the on-rushing enemy whom he slew; and when he perceived that his powers were failing from the multitude of the wounds he had received, he made way for one of his comrades in the line, and fell inside the ranks, that his dead body might not come into the hands of the enemy.
28.4. κατὰ δὲ τὸν Πύρρον αὐτὸν ἰσχυρᾶς μάχης συνεστώσης ἄλλοι τε λαμπρῶς ἠγωνίζοντο, κὶα Φύλλιος ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ἀντισχὼν καὶ πλείστους ἀποκτείνας τῶν βιαζομένων, ὡς ᾔσθετο τραυμάτων πλήθει παραλυόμενον ἑαυτόν, ἐκστάς τινι τῶν ἐπιτεταγμένων τῆς χώρας ἔπεσεν ἐντὸς τῶν ὅπλων, ὥστε μὴ γενέσθαι τὸν νεκρὸν ὑπὸ τοῖς πολεμίοις.
29.1. Night put an end to the battle; and Pyrrhus, as he slept, had the following vision. He dreamed that Sparta was smitten with thunderbolts from his hand and was all ablaze, and that he was filled with joy. His joy waked him from sleep, and he commanded his officers to get the army ready for action, and narrated his dream to his friends, convinced that he was going to take the city by storm.
29.1. νυκτὸς δὲ ἡ μάχη διεκρίθη· καὶ κοιμώμενος ὁ Πύρρος ὄψιν εἶδε τοιαύτην. ἐδόκει βάλλεσθαι κεραυνοῖς ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ τὴν Λακεδαίμονα καὶ φλέγεσθαι πᾶσαν, αὐτὸν δὲ χαίρειν. ὑπὸ δὲ τῆς χαρᾶς ἐξεγρόμενος τούς τε ἡγεμόνας ἐκέλευεν ἐν παρασκευῇ τὸν στρατὸν ἔχειν, καὶ τοῖς φίλοις διηγεῖτο τὸν ὄνειρον ὡς ληψόμενος κατὰ κράτος τὴν πόλιν.
29.2. Most of them, then, were fully persuaded that he was right, but Lysimachus was not pleased with the vision; he said he was afraid lest, as places smitten by thunderbolts are kept free from the tread of men, the Deity might be indicating in advance to Pyrrhus also that the city was not to be entered by him. But Pyrrhus declared that this was nonsense intended for the crowd, and great folly, and calling upon his hearers to take their arms in their hands and act upon the belief thatOne is the best of all omens, to fight in defence ofPyrrhus,rose up, and at day-break led forth his army.
29.2. οἱ μὲν οὖν ἄλλοι θαυμασίως ἐπείθοντο, Λυσιμάχῳ δὲ οὐκ ἤρεσκεν ἡ ὄψις, ἀλλʼ ἔφη δεδιέναι μή, καθάπερ τὰ βαλλόμενα τοῖς κεραυνοῖς ἀνέμβατα μένει χωρία, καὶ τῷ Πύρρῳ προσημαίνῃ τὸ θεῖον ἀνείσοδον ἔσεσθαι τὴν πόλιν. ὁ δὲ Πύρρος εἰπὼν ὅτι ταῦτα μέν ἐστι πυλαϊκῆς ὀχλαγωγίας καὶ ἀσοφίαν ἔχοντα πολλήν, ἐκεῖνο δὲ δεῖ τὰ ὅπλα διὰ χειρῶν ἔχοντας ὑποβάλλειν ἑαυτοῖς, εἷς οἰωνὸς ἄριστος ἀμύνεσθαι περὶ Πύρρου, ἐξανέστη καὶ προσῆγεν ἅμʼ ἡμέρᾳ τὸν στρατόν.
29.3. But the Lacedaemonians defended themselves with an alacrity and bravery beyond their strength; the women, too, were at hand, proffering missiles, distributing food and drink to those who needed them, and taking up the wounded. The Macedonians tried to fill up the trench, collecting and throwing into it great quantities of materials, beneath which the arms and dead bodies were hidden away.
29.3. ἠμύνοντο δὲ προθυμίᾳ καὶ ἀρετῇ παρὰ δύναμιν οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι· καὶ παρῆσαν αἱ γυναῖκες ὀρέγουσαι βέλη, καὶ σιτία καὶ ποτὸν τοῖς δεομένοις προσφέρουσαι, καὶ ἀναλαμβάνουσαι τούς τιτρωσκομένους. τήν τε τάφρον οἱ Μακεδόνες χοῦν ἐπειρῶντο, πολλὴν συμφοροῦντες ὕλην, ὑφʼ ἧς ὅπλα καὶ σώματα νεκρῶν ἐπιχεομένης ἀπεκρύπτετο.
29.4. And when the Lacedaemonians tried to put a stop to this, Pyrrhus was seen forcing his way on horseback past the trench and the waggons into the city. But the men stationed at this point raised a shout, and there was a concourse and shrieking of the women, and just as Pyrrhus was riding through the waggons and attacking the men in front of him, his horse was wounded in the belly by a Cretan javelin and leaped to one side, and in his death agony threw Pyrrhus upon steep and slippery ground.
29.4. καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων βοηθούντων ὤφθη παρὰ τὴν τάφρον καὶ τὰς ἁμάξας ὁ Πύρρος ἵππῳ βιαζόμενος εἰς τὴν πόλιν. κραυγῆς δὲ τῶν κατὰ τοῦτο τεταγμένων γενομένης καὶ δρόμου καὶ ὀλολυγμοῦ τῶν γυναικῶν, ἤδη διεξελαύνοντι τῷ Πύρρῳ καὶ προσκειμένῳ τοῖς κατὰ πρόσωπον ἐξήλατο Κρητικῷ βέλει πληγεὶς ὁ ἵππος ὑπὸ τὴν γαστέρα, καὶ κατέβαλε δυσθανατῶν τὸν Πύρρον εἰς τόπους ὀλισθηροὺς καὶ κατάντεις.
29.5. His companions were thrown into confusion around him, and the Spartans, running upon them and making good use of their missiles, drove them all off. After this, Pyrrhus brought the fighting to a stop at other points also, thinking that the Spartans would make some concessions, now that almost all of them were wounded and many had fallen. But now the good fortune of the city, either because she was satisfied with the bravery of its men, or because she would show forth the great power which she herself has in desperate crises, brought to their aid from Corinth, when the hopes of the Spartans were already sorry, Ameinias the Phocian, one of the generals of Antigonus, with mercenary troops; and no sooner had he been received into the city than Areus the Spartan king came from Crete, bringing with him two thousand soldiers. So the women at once dispersed to their homes, since they no longer thought it meet to busy themselves with the work of war, and the men, after dismissing from their ranks those of unmilitary age whom necessity had brought there, arrayed themselves for battle.
29.5. θορυβουμένων δὲ περὶ τοῦτον τῶν ἑταίρων ἐπέδραμον οἱ Σπαρτιᾶται, καὶ χρώμενοι τοῖς βέλεσιν ἐξέωσαν ἅπαντας· ἐκ δὲ τούτου καὶ τὴν ἄλλην μάχην ἔπαυεν, οἰόμενος ἐνδώσειν τι τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους σχεδὸν ἁπάντων κατατετρωμένων αὐτοῖς, πεπτωκότων δὲ πολλῶν, ἡ δ̓· ἀγαθὴ τύχη τῆς πόλεως, εἴτε πεῖραν ἀρετῆς λαμβάνουσα τῶν ἀνδρῶν, εἴθʼ ἑαυτῆς, ὅσην ἐν ἀπόροις ἔχει δύναμιν, ἀπόδειξιν διδοῦσα, μοχθηρὰς ἤδη τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων ἐχόντων τὰς ἐλπίδας Ἀμεινίαν τε Φωκέα, τῶν Ἀντιγόνου στρατηγῶν, ἐκ Κορίνθου βοηθήσοντα παρεισήγαγε μετὰ ξένων, καὶ τοῦτον ἄρτι δεδεγμένων ὁ βασιλεὺς αὐτοῖς Ἄρευς ἧκεν ἐκ Κρήτης δισχιλίους στρατιώτας κομίζων, αἵ τε δὴ γυναῖκες εὐθὺς ἐπὶ τὰς οἰκίας ἐσκεδάσθησαν, οὐδὲν ἔτι πολυπραγμονεῖν ἀξιοῦσαι τῶν πολεμικῶν, καὶ τοὺς παρʼ ἡλικίαν ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις ὑπʼ ἀνάγκης γενομένους ἀφέντες αὑτοὺς ἐπὶ τὴν μάχην ἔταξαν.
30.1. Pyrrhus, too, was more than ever possessed by a fierce ambition to become master of the city, now that reinforcements had come to it; but since he could accomplish nothing, and met with fresh losses, he went away, and fell to ravaging the country, purposing to spend the winter there. But Fate was not to be escaped. For at Argos there was a feud between Aristeas and Aristippus; and since Aristippus was thought to enjoy the friendship of Antigonus, Aristeas hastened to invite Pyrrhus into Argos.
30.1. τὸν δὲ Πύρρον ἔσχε μέν τις ἀλκὴ καὶ φιλοτιμία μᾶλλον διὰ τοὺς προσγεγονότας κρατῆσαι τῆς πόλεως· ὡς δὲ οὐδὲν ἐπέραινε, πληγὰς λαβὼν ἀπέστη καὶ τὴν χώραν ἐπόρθει διανοούμενος αὐτόθι χειμάσαι. τὸ δὲ χρεὼν ἦν ἄφυκτον. ἐν γὰρ Ἄργει στάσις ἦν Ἀριστέου πρὸς Ἀρίστιππον. ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ Ἀρίστιππος ἐδόκει χρῆσθαι φίλῳ τῷ Ἀντιγόνῳ, φθάσας ὁ Ἀριστέας ἐκάλει τὸν Πύρρον εἰς τὸ Ἄργος.
30.2. Pyrrhus was always entertaining one hope after another, and since he made one success but the starting point for a new one, while he was determined to make good each disaster by a fresh undertaking, he suffered neither defeat nor victory to put a limit to his troubling himself and troubling others. At once, therefore, he broke camp and set out for Argos. But Areus, by setting frequent ambushes and occupying the most difficult points on the march, kept cutting off the Gauls and Molossians who brought up the rear for Pyrrhus.
30.2. ὁ δὲ ἐλπίδας ἐξ ἐλπίδων ἀεὶ κυλίνδων, καὶ ταῖς μὲν εὐτυχίαις ἐπʼ ἄλλας χρώμενος ἀφορμαῖς, ἃ δὲ ἔπταιεν ἑτέροις βουλόμενος ἀναπληροῦν πράγμασιν, οὔτε ἧτταν οὔτε νίκην ὅρον ἐποιεῖτο τοῦ ταράττεσθαι καὶ ταράττειν. εὐθὺς οὖν ἀνεζεύγνυεν ἐπὶ τὸ Ἄργος· ὁ δὲ Ἄρευς ἐνέδρας τε πολλὰς ὑφεὶς καὶ καταλαβὼν τὰ χαλεπώτατα τῆς ὁδοῦ περιέκοπτε τοὺς Γαλάτας καὶ τοὺς Μολοσσοὺς ὀπισθοφυλακοῦντας.
30.3. Now, it had been foretold to Pyrrhus by his seer, in consequence of sacrifices where no liver could be found, that he was to lose one of his kindred; but here, unhappily, owing to the agitation and tumult among his rear-guard, he forgot himself, and ordered his son Ptolemy with his comrades to go to the rescue, while he himself drew his army more quickly out of the narrow pass and led them forward.
30.3. τῷ δὲ Πύρρῳ προείρητο μὲν ἐκ τῶν ἱερῶν ἀλόβων γενομένων ὑπὸ τοῦ μάντεως ἀποβολή τινος τῶν ἀναγκαίων, παρὰ δὲ τὸν καιρὸν τότε τῷ θορύβῳ καὶ τῷ κινήματι τὸν λογισμὸν ἐκκρουσθεὶς ἐκέλευσε τὸν υἱὸν Πτολεμαῖον λαβόντα τοὺς ἑταίρους παραβοηθεῖν, αὐτὸς δὲ θᾶττον ἐκ τῶν στενῶν ἐφελκόμενος τὴν στρατιὰν ὑπῆγεν.
30.4. A fierce battle raged where Ptolemy was, and while a band of picked Spartans under the command of Evalcus engaged the soldiers who were fighting in front of him, a man of stout arm and swift foot, Oryssus by name, of Aptera in Crete, ran up on one side of the young prince as he was fighting spiritedly, smote him, and laid him low.
30.4. ὀξείας δὲ περὶ τὸν Πτολεμαῖον μάχης γενομένης, καὶ τῶν ἐπιλέκτων Λακεδαιμονίων, ὧν Εὔαλκος ἡγεῖτο, τοῖς μαχομένοις πρὸ αὐτοῦ συμπλεκομένων, ἀνὴρ πλήκτης καὶ δραμεῖν ὀξύς, Ὄρυσσος ὄνομα, Κρὴς Ἀπτεραῖος· ἐκ πλαγίου παραδραμὼν ἀγωνιζόμενον ἐκθύμως τὸν νεανίσκον ἐπάταξε καὶ κατέβαλε.
30.5. Upon Ptolemy’s fall and the rout of his company, the Spartans pursued, carrying all before them, and before they were aware of it had dashed out into the plain and were cut off by the infantry of Pyrrhus. Against this band of Spartans Pyrrhus, who had just heard of the death of his son and was in anguish, turned his Molossian horsemen. He himself charged at their head, and sated himself with Spartan blood. He had always shown himself invincible and terrible in arms, but now his daring and might surpassed all previous displays.
30.5. πεσόντος δὲ ἐκείνου καὶ τροπῆς γενομένης τῶν περὶ αὐτόν, οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι διώκοντες καὶ κρατοῦντες ἔλαθον εἰς τὸ πεδίον συνεμβαλόντες καὶ ἀποληφθέντες ὑπὸ τῶν ὁπλιτῶν, ἐφʼ οὓς ὁ Πύρρος ἄρτι τὸν θάνατον τοῦ παιδὸς ἀκηκοὼς καὶ περιπαθῶν ἐπέστρεψε τοὺς ἱππεῖς τῶν Μολοσσῶν, καὶ πρῶτος εἰσελάσας ἐνεπίμπλατο φόνου τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων, ἀεὶ μέν τις ἄμαχος καὶ δεινὸς ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις φαινόμενος, τότε δὲ ὑπερβάλλων τόλμῃ καὶ βίᾳ τοὺς προτέρους ἀγῶνας.
30.6. When he set his horse upon Evalcus, the Spartan stepped aside and had almost cut off with his sword the bridle-hand of Pyrrhus; as it was he hit the rein and severed it. Pyrrhus transfixed the Spartan with a thrust of his spear, and at the same instant fell off his horse, and fighting on foot, at once proceeded to slay all the picked band which was fighting over the body of Evalcus. This great additional loss to Sparta when the war was already at an end was due to the ambition of the commanders.
30.6. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐπέβαλε τῷ Εὐάλκῳ τὸν ἵππον, ὁ μὲν ἐκ πλαγίου παραστὰς μικρὸν ἐδέησε τῷ ξίφει τὴν ἐπὶ τῆς ἡνίας χεῖρα διακόψαι τοῦ Πύρρου, τὴν δὲ ἡνίαν πατάξας ἀπέκοψεν. ὁ δὲ Πύρρος ἅμα τῇ πληγῇ τοῦ δόρατος διελάσας ἐκεῖνον ἀπερρύη τοῦ ἵππου, καὶ πεζὸς ἤδη πάντας ἐπὶ τῷ Εὐάλκῳ μαχομένους ἀπέκτεινε τοὺς λογάδας. καὶ μέγα τοῦτο τῇ Σπάρτῃ παρανάλωμα τοῦ πολέμου πέρας ἔχοντος ἐποίησεν ἡ φιλοτιμία τῶν ἀρχόντων.
31.1. So Pyrrhus, after accomplishing as it were an expiation for his son and celebrating his obsequies with a brilliant contest, having also vented much of his grief in his fury against the enemy, led his army on towards Argos. And when he learned that Antigonus was already posted on the heights commanding the plain, he pitched his camp near Nauplia. On the following day he sent a herald to Antigonus, calling him a robber, and challenging him to come down into the plain and fight with him for the kingdom.
31.1. ὁ δὲ Πύρρος ὥσπερ ἐναγισμόν τινα τῷ παιδὶ τελέσας καὶ λαμπρὸν ἐπιτάφιον ἀγωνισάμενος, καὶ πολὺ τῆς λύπης ἐν τῷ πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους ἀφεὶς θυμῷ, προῆγεν ἐπὶ τὸ Ἄργος, καὶ τὸν Ἀντίγονον ἤδη πυνθανόμενος ἐπὶ τῶν ἄκρων ὑπὲρ τοῦ πεδίου καθῆσθαι, περὶ τὴν Ναυπλίαν ἐστρατοπέδευσε. τῇ δ’ ὑστεραίᾳ κήρυκα πρὸς τὸν Ἀντίγονον ἔπεμψε, λυμεῶνά τε καλῶν καὶ προκαλούμενος εἰς τὸ πεδίον καταβάντα διαγωνίσασθαι περὶ τῆς βασιλείας.
31.2. But Antigonus replied that in conducting a campaign he relied more upon opportunities than upon arms, and that many roads to death lay open to Pyrrhus if he was tired of life. And now to both kings came ambassadors from Argos, entreating them to go away and allow the city to be neutral, but well-disposed towards both. Antigonus, accordingly, consented, and gave his son to the Argives as a hostage; Pyrrhus also agreed to go away, but since he gave no pledge, he remained under suspicion.
31.2. ὁ δὲ ἀπεκρίνατο τὴν μὲν αὑτοῦ στρατηγίαν οὐχ ὅπλων μᾶλλον ἢ καιρῶν εἶναι, τῷ δὲ Πύρρῳ πολλὰς ὁδοὺς ἀνεῳγέναι πρὸς θάνατον, εἰ ζῆν μὴ σχολάζει, πρὸς δὲ ἀμφοτέρους πρέσβεις ἧκον ἐξ Ἄργους, ἀπαλλάττεσθαι δεόμενοι καὶ τὴν πόλιν ἐᾶν μηδετέρου γενομένην, εὔνουν δὲ οὖσαν ἀμφοτέροις. ὁ μὲν οὖν Ἀντίγονος ἐπείθετο καὶ τὸν υἱὸν ἐδίδου τοῖς Ἀργείοις ὅμηρον, ὁ δὲ Πύρρος ὡμολόγει μὲν ἀπαλλαγήσεσθαι, μὴ παρέχων δὲ πίστιν ὑποπτότερος ἦν.
31.3. Moreover, Pyrrhus himself had a significant portent; for the heads of his sacrificed cattle, though they already lay apart from the bodies, were seen to put out their tongues and lick up their own gore. And besides this, in the city of Argos the priestess of Apollo Lyceius ran forth from the temple crying that she saw the city full of corpses and slaughter, and that the eagle which visited the scene of combat presently vanished away.
31.3. γίνεται δὲ σημεῖον αὐτῷ τε τῷ Πύρρῳ μέγα, τῶν γὰρ βοῶν τεθυμένων αἱ κεφαλαὶ κείμεναι χωρὶς ἤδη τάς τε γλώττας ὤφθησαν προβάλλουσαι καὶ περιλιχμώμεναι τὸν ἑαυτῶν φόνον, ἔν τε τῇ πόλει τῶν Ἀργείων ἡ τοῦ Λυκείου προφῆτις Ἀπόλλωνος ἐξέδραμε βοῶσα νεκρῶν ὁρᾶν καὶ φόνου κατάπλεω τὴν πόλιν, τὸν δ’ ἀετὸν ἐπὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα χωροῦντα, εἶτα φροῦδον εἶναι.
32.1. At dead of night Pyrrhus came up to the walls of the city, and finding that the gate called Diamperes had been thrown open for them by Aristeas, was undiscovered long enough for his Gauls to enter the city and take possession of the marketplace. But the gate would not admit his elephants, and therefore the towers had to be taken off their backs and put on again when the animals were inside, in darkness and confusion. This caused delay, and the Argives, taking tile alarm, ran up to the Aspis and other strong places of the city, and sending to Antigonus called upon him for help.
32.1. σκότους δὲ πολλοῦ προσμίξας ὁ Πύρρος τοῖς τείχεσι, καὶ πύλην εὑρών ἣν Διαμπερὲς καλοῦσιν ἀνεῳγμένην ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἀριστέου αὐτοῖς, ἄχρι μὲν τοῦ παρεισπεσεῖν τοὺς Γαλάτας τοὺς παρʼ αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν ἀγορὰν καταλαβεῖν ἐλάνθανε· τῆς δὲ πύλης τοὺς ἐλέφαντας οὐ δεχομένης καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τοὺς πύργους αὐτῶν ἀφαιρούντων, εἶτα πάλιν ἐν σκότε καὶ θορύβῳ περιτιθέντων καὶ γενομένης διατριβῆς, οἱ Ἀργεῖοι συναισθόμενοι πρὸς τὴν Ἀσπίδα καὶ τοὺς ὀχυροὺς τόπους ἀνέθεον, καὶ τὸν Ἀντίγονον ἐκάλουν πέμποντες.
32.2. Antigonus marched up close to the city, and lying in wait there himself, sent his generals and his son inside with a considerable relief-force. Areus also came, with a thousand Cretans and Spartans (the most lightly armed). All these troops united in an assault upon the Gauls and threw them into great confusion. And Pyrrhus, who now entered the city with shouts and cries by way of Cylarabis, noticed that the Gauls did not answer his men with any vigour or courage, and therefore conjectured that their response was that of men confounded and in distress.
32.2. ὁ δὲ αὐτὸς μὲν ἐγγὺς προσελάσας ἐφήδρευε, τοὺς δὲ στρατηγοὺς καὶ τὸν υἱὸν εἰσέπεμψε συχνὴν βοήθειαν ἄγοντας. ἧκε δὲ καὶ Ἄρευς ἔχων χιλίους Κρῆτας καὶ Σπαρτιάτας τοὺς ἐλαφροτάτους, καὶ πάντες ἅμα τοῖς Γαλάταις προσβαλόντες εἰς πολὺν θόρυβον κατέστησαν αὐτούς, ὁ δὲ Πύρρος εἰσιὼν μετʼ ἀλαλαγμοῦ καὶ βοῆς παρὰ τὴν Κυλάραβιν, ὡς οἱ Γαλάται τοῖς περὶ αὐτὸν ἀντηλάλαξαν οὐκ ἰταμὸν οὐδὲ θαρραλέον, εἴκασε ταραττομένων εἶναι τὴν φωνὴν καὶ πονούντων.
32.3. Accordingly, he led on faster, pushing along the horsemen in front of him, who were making their way with difficulty among the water-conduits, of which the city is full, and were in peril of their lives from them. And now, in this night-battle, there was great uncertainty as to what commands were given and how the commands were carried out; men straggled and lost their way among the narrow streets, and generalship was of no avail owing to the darkness, confused shouting, and confined spaces; both parties therefore were unable to accomplish anything and waited for the day.
32.3. ἐπῆγεν οὖν θᾶττον, ὠθῶν τοὺς πρὸ αὐτοῦ τῶν ἱππέων δυσοδοῦντας ἐν τοῖς ὀχετοῖς, ὧν ἡ πόλις ἐστὶ μεστή, καὶ κινδυνεύοντας, ἦν δὲ καὶ ἀσάφεια πολλὴ τῶν δρωμένων καὶ παραγγελλομένων ἐν νυκτομαχίᾳ, καὶ πλάναι καὶ διασπασμοὶ περὶ τοὺς στενωπούς, καὶ στρατηγίας οὐδὲν ἔργον ὑπὸ σκότους καὶ βοῆς ἀκρίτου καὶ στενότητος, ἀλλὰ διέτριβον ἄλλως περιμένοντες ἀμφότεροι τὴν ἡμέραν.
32.4. But when at last it began to grow light, the sight of the Aspis filled with armed enemies greatly disturbed Pyrrhus; moreover, among the numerous votive-offerings in the market-place he caught sight of a wolf and bull in bronze, represented as closing with one another in battle, and he was dumbfounded, for he called to mind an ancient oracle regarding himself which declared that it was fated for him to die when he saw a wolf fighting with a bull.
32.4. ἤδη δὲ διαλάμποντος ἥ τε Ἀσπὶς ὅπλων περίπλεως πολεμίων ὀφθεῖσα τὸν Πύρρον διετάραξε, καὶ τῆς ἀγορᾶς ἐν πολλοῖς ἀναθήμασι κατιδὼν λύκον χαλκοῦν καὶ ταῦρον οἷον εἰς μάχην ἀλλήλοις συνιόντας ἐξεπλάγη, χρησμόν τινα πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ἀνενεγκὼν παλαιόν, ὡς ἀποθανεῖν αὐτῷ πεπρωμένον ὅταν λύκον ἴδῃ ταύρῳ μαχόμενον.
32.5. Now, the Argives say that these figures were set up in their market-place as memorials of an ancient event. Namely, when Danaüs first landed in the country, near Pyramia in the district of Thyreatis, and was on his way to Argos, he saw a wolf fighting with a bull; and conceiving that he himself was represented by the wolf (since both were strangers and were attacking the natives), he watched the battle to its end, and when the wolf had prevailed, paid his vows to Apollo Lyceius (the wolf-god), attacked the city, and was victorious, after Gelanor, who was at that time king of Argos, had been driven out by a faction. This, then, was the significance of the dedication.
32.5. ταῦτα δὲ Ἀργεῖοι πάθους ὑπομνήματα παλαιοῦ γενενῆσθαι παρʼ αὐτοῖς λέγουσι. Δαναῷ γάρ, ὅτε πρῶτον ἐπέβη τῆς χώρας κατὰ τὰ Πυράμια τῆς Θυρεάτιδος, εἰς Ἄργος πορευομένῳ λύκον φανῆναι ταύρῳ μαχόμενον· θέμενον δὲ τὸν Δαναὸν ὡς ὁ λύκος εἴη πρὸς αὐτοῦ ξένον γὰρ ὄντα τοῖς ἐγχωρίοις ἐπιτίθεσθαι καθάπερ αὐτόν, ἐφορᾶν τὴν μάχην, καὶ τοῦ λύκου κρατήσαντος Ἀπόλλωνι Λυκείῳ προσευξάμενον ἐπιχειρῆσαι καὶ περιγενέσθαι, στάσει Γελάνορος, ὃς τότε τῶν Ἀργείων ἐβασίλευεν, ἐκπεσόντος. τὸ μὲν οὖν ἀνάθημα τοῦτον εἶχε τὸν λόγον.
33.1. Dejected at this well as because none of his hopes were being realized, Pyrrhus purposed to retreat; but fearing the narrowness of the gates he sent to his son Helenus, who had been left outside the city with the greater part of the forces, ordering him to tear down part of the wall and succour those who rushed out through the breach, in case the enemy molested them.
33.1. πρὸς δὲ τὴν ὄψιν ὁ Πύρρος ἅμα καὶ τῷ μηδὲν ὧν ἤλπιζε προχωρεῖν ἀθυμῶν ἀναστρέφειν διενοεῖτο· τὰς δὲ πύλας στενὰς οὔσας φοβούμενος ἔπεμψε πρὸς τὸν υἱὸν Ἕλενον μετὰ τῆς πολλῆς δυνάμεως ἔξω καταλελειμμένον, κελεύων τοῦ τείχους διασκάπτειν καὶ δέχεσθαι τοὺς ἐκπίπτοντας, ἂν ἐνοχλῶσιν οἱ πολέμιοι.
33.2. Owing to the haste and tumult, however, the messenger brought no clear orders, but actually made a mistake, and the young prince, taking the rest of the elephants and the best of his soldiers, marched through the gate into the city to help his father. But Pyrrhus was already on the retreat. And as long as the marketplace afforded him room for withdrawing and fighting, he would turn and repel his assailants;
33.2. σπουδῇ δὲ καὶ θορύβῳ τοῦ πεμφθέντος οὐδὲν σαφὲς ἀπαγγέλλοντος, ἀλλὰ καὶ διαμαρτίας γενομένης, τῶν θηρίων τὰ λοιπὰ καὶ στρατιώτας ἀναλαβὼν τοὺς κρατίστους ὁ νεανίσκος εἴσω διὰ τῶν πυλῶν ἐχώρει τῷ πατρὶ βοηθήσων, ἔτυχε δὲ ὁ Πύρρος ἀναστρέφωνἤδη. καὶ μέχρι μὲν ἡ ἀγορὰ παρεῖχεν ὑπεξάγοντι χώραν καὶ μαχομένῳ, ἐκ μεταβολῆς ἠμύνετο τοὺς ἐπιφερομένους·
33.3. but after he had been driven out of the market-place into the narrow street which led up to the gate, and encountered those who were rushing to his aid from the opposite direction, some of these could not hear him when he called out to them to withdraw, and those who did, even though they were very ready to obey him, were kept from doing so by those who were pouring in behind them from the gate.
33.3. ἐπεὶ δὲ τῆς ἀγορᾶς εἰς τὸν στενωπὸν ἐξωσθεὶς τὸν ἐπὶ τὴν πύλην ἀνήκοντα συνέπιπτε τοῖς ἐπιβοηθοῦσιν ἐξ ἐναντίας προσφερομένοις, οἱ μὲν οὐχ ὑπήκουον ὑποχωρεῖν βοῶντος αὐτοῦ, τοὺς δὲ καὶ πάνυ προθύμους ὄντας εἶργον οἱ κατόπιν ἀπὸ τῆς πύλης ἐπιχεόμενοι.
33.4. For the largest of the elephants had fallen athwart the gateway and lay there roaring, in the way of those who would have turned back; and another elephant, one of those which had gone on into the city, Nicon by name, seeking to recover his rider, who had fallen from his back in consequence of wounds, and dashing in the face of those who were trying to get out, crowded friends and foes alike together in a promiscuous throng, until, having found the body of his master, he took it up with his proboscis, laid it across his two tusks, and turned back as if crazed, overthrowing and killing those who came in his way.
33.4. καὶ γὰρ ὁ μέγιστος ἐλέφας ἐν τῇ πύλῃ πλάγιος παραπεσὼν καὶ βρυχώμενος ἐμποδὼν ἔκειτο τοῖς ἀποτρεπομένοις, καὶ τῶν προεισεληλυθότων ἕτερος, ᾧ Νίκων ὄνομα ἦν, ἀπορρυέντα τὸν ἐπιστάτην ὑπὸ τραυμάτων ζητῶν ἀναλαβεῖν καὶ φερόμενος πρὸς τοὐναντίον τοῖς ὑπεξάγουσιν, ἀνέμιξε φίλους ὁμοῦ καὶ πολεμίους ὠθουμένους ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ·
33.5. Thus crushed and matted together not a man of them could act at all for himself, but the whole multitude, bolted together, as it were, into one body, kept rolling and swaying this way and that. Little fighting could be done against those of the enemy who were continually being caught up into their ranks or attacking them from the rear, and they wrought most harm to themselves. For when a man had drawn his sword or poised his spear, he could not recover or sheathe his weapon again, but it would pass through those who stood in its way, and so they died from one another’s blows.
33.5. καὶ περιέπιπτον ἀλλήλοις, ἕως εὑρὼν νεκρὸν ἀνείλετο τῇ προβοσκίδι, καὶ τοῖς ὀδοῦσιν ἀμφοτέροις ὑπολαβὼν ἀνέστρεφε πάλιν ὥσπερ ἐμμανὴς, ἀνατρέπων καὶ διαφθείρων τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας. οὕτω δὲ θλιβομένων καὶ συμπιλουμένων πρὸς ἀλλήλους οὐδεὶς οὐδὲν ἑαυτῷ καθʼ ἕνα χρῆσθαι δυνατὸς ἦν, ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ ἓν σῶμα συγγεγομφωμένον ἑαυτῷ τὸ πᾶν πλῆθος ἐλάμβανε πολλὰς ἀποκλίσεις καὶ μεταβολὰς ἐπʼ ἀμφότερα. καὶ μάχαι μὲν ἦσαν ὀλίγαι πρὸς τοὺς ἐναπολαμβανομένους ἀεὶ τῶν πολεμίων ἢ προσκειμένους ὄπισθεν, πλεῖστα δὲ ἑαυτοὺς εἰργάζοντο κακά. σπασάμενον γάρ τὸ ξίφος ἢ κλίναντα λόγχην οὐκ ἦν ἀναλαβεῖν οὐδὲ καταθέσθαι πάλιν, ἀλλʼ ἐχώρει διʼ ὧν ἔτυχε τὰ τοιαῦτα πάντα, καὶ περιπίπτοντες ἀλλήλοις ἔθνῃσκον.
34.1. But Pyrrhus, seeing the stormy sea that surged about him, took off the coronal, with which his helmet was distinguished, and gave it to one of his companions; then, relying on his horse, he plunged in among the enemy who were pursuing him. Here he was wounded by a spear which pierced his breastplate-not a mortal, nor even a severe wound-and turned upon the man who had struck him, who was an Argive, not of illustrious birth, but the son of a poor old woman.
34.1. ὁ δὲ Πύρρος ἐφορῶν τὸν περιέχοντα χειμῶνα καὶ κλύδωνα, τὴν μὲν στεφάνην, ᾗ διάσημον ἦν τὸ κράνος, ἀφελὼν ἔδωκέ τινι τῶν ἑταίρων, αὐτὸς δὲ τῷ ἵππῳ πεποιθὼς εἴς τοὺς ἑπομένους τῶν πολεμίων ἐνέβαλε, καὶ δόρατι πληγεὶς διὰ τοῦ θώρακος οὐ καιρίαν πληγὴν οὐδὲ μεγάλην ἐπέστρεψε κατὰ τοῦ πατὰξαντος, ὃς ἦν Ἀργεῖος, οὐ τῶν ἐπιφανῶν, ἀλλὰ πενιχρᾶς καὶ πρεσβυτέρας υἱὸς γυναικός αὕτη τότε θεωμένη τὴν μάχην ὥσπερ αἱ λοιπαὶ γυναῖκες ἀπὸ τοῦ τέγους, ὡς ἐπέγνω συνεστῶτα τῷ Πύρρῳ τὸν υἱόν, ἐκπαθὴς γενομένη πρὸς τὸν κίνδυνον, ἄρασα κεραμίδα ταῖς χερσὶν ἀμφοτέραις ἀφῆκεν ἐπὶ τὸν Πύρρον.
34.2. His mother, like the rest of the women, was at this moment watching the battle from the house-top, and when she saw that her son was engaged in conflict with Pyrrhus she was filled with distress in view of the danger to him, and lifting up a tile with both her hands threw it at Pyrrhus. It fell upon his head below his helmet and crushed the vertebrae at the base of his neck, so that his sight was blurred and his hands dropped the reins. Then he sank down from his horse and fell near the tomb of Licymnius, unrecognised by most who saw him.
34.2. ἐμπεσούσης δὲ τῇ κεφαλῇ κατὰ τοῦ κράνους, καὶ τῶν σφονδύλων πρὸς τὴν βάσιν τοῦ τραχήλου συντριβέντων, αἵ τε ὄψεις συνεχύθησαν αὐτοῦ καὶ προήκαντο τὰς ἡνίας αἱ χεῖρες, αὐτὸς δὲ κατενεχθεὶς παρὰ τὸν τοῦ Λικυμνίου σηκὸν ἔπεσεν ὑπὸ τῶν πολλῶν ἀγνοούμενος.
34.3. But a certain Zopyrus, who was serving under Antigonus, and two or three others, ran up to him, saw who he was, and dragged him into a door-way just as he was beginning to recover from the blow. And when Zopyrus drew an Illyrian short-sword with which to cut off his head, Pyrrhus gave him a terrible look, so that Zopyrus was frightened; his hands trembled, and yet he essayed the deed; but being full of alarm and confusion his blow did not fall true, but along the mouth and chin, so that it was only slowly and with difficulty that he severed the head.
34.3. Ζώπυρος δέ τις τῶν παρὰ Ἀντιγόνῳ στρατευομένων καὶ δύο ἢ τρεῖς ἕτεροι προσδραμόντες καὶ κατανοήσαντες εἴς τινα θυρῶνα παρείλκυσαν αὐτὸν ἀρχό μενον ἐκ τῆς πληγῆς ἀναφέρεσθαι, σπασαμένου δὲ τοῦ Ζωπύρου μάχαιραν Ἰλλυρικὴν ὡς τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀποτεμοῦντος ἐνέβλεψε δεινόν, ὥστε τὸν Ζώπυρον περίφοβον γενόμενον, καὶ τὰ μὲν τρέμοντα ταῖς χερσί, τὰ δὲ ἐπιχειροῦντα, θορύβου δὲ καὶ ταραχῆς μεστὸν ὄντα, μὴ κατʼ ὀρθόν, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὸ στόμα καὶ τὸ γένειον ἀποτέμνοντα βραδέως καὶ μόλις ἀποσπάσαι τὴν κεφαλήν.
34.4. Presently what had happened was known to many, and Alcyoneus, running to the spot, asked for the head as if he would see whose it was. But when he had got it he rode away to his father, and cast it down before him as he sat among his friends. Antigonus, however, when he saw and recognised the head, drove his son away, smiting him with his staff’ and calling him impious and barbarous; then, covering his face with his cloak he burst into tears, calling to mind Antigonus his grandfather and Demetrius his father, who were examples in his own family of a reversal of fortune.
34.4. ἤδη δὲ σύνδηλον ἦν τὸ γεγονὸς πλείοσι, καὶ προσδραμὼν ὁ Ἀλκυονεὺς ᾔτησε τὴν κεφαλὴν ὡς ἂν κατανοήσων λαβὼν δὲ ἀφίππευσε πρὸς τὸν πατέρα, καὶ καθεζομένῳ μετὰ τῶν φίλων προσέβαλε, θεασάμενος δὲ καὶ γνοὺς ὁ Ἀντίγονος τὸν μὲν υἱὸν ἀπήλασε τῇ βακτηρίᾳ παίων καὶ καλῶν ἐναγῆ καὶ βάρβαρον, αὐτὸς δὲ τὴν χλαμύδα προθέμενος τοῖς ὄμμασιν ἐδάκρυσεν, Ἀντιγόνου τοῦ πάππου μνησθεὶς καὶ Δημητρίου τοῦ πατρός, οἰκείων παραδειγμάτων εἴς τύχης μεταβολήν.
34.5. The head and body of Pyrrhus, then, Antigonus caused to be adorned for burial and burned; and when Alcyoneus found Helenus in an abject state and wearing a paltry cloak, and spoke to him kindly and brought him into the presence of his father, Antigonus was pleased with his conduct, and said: “This is better, my son, than what thou didst before; but not even now hast thou done well in allowing this clothing to remain, which is a disgrace the rather to us who are held to be the victors.”
34.5. τὴν μὲν οὖν κεφαλὴν καὶ τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Πύρρου κοσμήσας ἔκαυσεν· ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ Ἀλκυονεὺς τῷ Ἑλένῳ περιτυχὼν ταπεινῷ καὶ χλαμύδιον λιτὸν ἀμπεχομένῳ φιλανθρώπως ἐνέτυχε καὶ τῷ πατρὶ προσήγαγεν, ἰδὼν ὁ Ἀντίγονος βελτίονα μὲν, εἶπεν, ὦ παῖ, ταῦτα τῶν προτέρων, ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ νῦν ὀρθῶς τῷ μὴ περιελεῖν τὴν ἐσθῆτα ταύτην, ἣ μᾶλλον ἡμᾶς καταισχύνει τοὺς κρατεῖν δοκοῦντας.
34.6. Then, after showing kindness to Helenus and adorning his person, he sent him back to Epeirus, and he dealt mildly with the friends of Pyrrhus when he became master of their camp and of their whole force.
34.6. ἐκ τούτου φιλοφρονησάμενος καὶ κοσμήσας τὸν Ἕλενον ἀπέστειλεν εἴς Ἤπειρον, καὶ τοῖς φίλοις τοῦ Πύρρου πράως ἐνετύγχανε τοῦ στρατοπέδου καὶ τῆς δυνάμεως πάσης κύριος γενόμενος.