voice apply themselves to this profession and exclude others; but they continue to practise it after their fathers. These things, then, are so. 61. At that time, therefore, while Cleomenes was at Ægina, and co-operating for the common good of Greece, Demaratus accused him; not so much caring for the Æginetæ, as moved by envy and hatred. But Cleomenes, having returned from Ægina, formed a plan to deprive Demaratus of the sovereignty, getting a handle against him by means of the following circumstance. When Ariston reigned in Sparta, and had married two wives, he had no children; and as he did not acknowledge himself to be the cause of this, he married a third wife; and he married her in this manner. He had a friend, who was a Spartan, to whom he was more attached than to any other of the citizens. The wife of this man happened to be by far the most beautiful of all the women in Sparta, and this moreover, having become the most beautiful from being the most ugly. For her nurse perceiving that she was misshapen, and knowing her to be the daughter of opulent persons, and deformed, and seeing moreover that her parents considered her form a great misfortune, considering these several circumstances, devised the following plan. She carried her every day to the temple of Helen, which is in the place called Therapne, above the temple of Phoebus. . When the nurse brought the child there, she stood before the image, and entreated the goddess to free the child from its deformity. And it is related, that one day as the nurse was going out of the temple, a woman appeared to her, and having appeared, asked what she was carrying in her arms; and she answered, that she was carrying an infant; whereupon she bid her show it to her, but the nurse refused, for she had been forbidden by the parents to show the child to any one; the woman however urged her by all means to show it to her, and the nurse, seeing that the woman was so very anxious to see the child, at length showed it; upon which she, stroking the head of the child with her hands, said that she would surpass all the women of Sparta in beauty; and from that day her appearance began to change. When she reached the age for marriage, Agetus, son of Alcides, married her; this, then, was the friend of Ariston. 62. Now love for this woman excited Ariston; he therefore had recourse to the following stratagem. He promised he But would give his friend, whose wife this woman was, a present of any one thing he should choose out of all his possessions, and required his friend in return to do the like to him. He, having no apprehension on account of his wife, seeing that Ariston already had a wife, assented to the proposal; and they imposed oaths on each other on these terms. Accordingly Ariston himself gave the thing, whatever it was, which Agetus chose out of all his treasures; and himself claiming to obtain the same compliance from him, thereupon attempted to carry off his wife with him. Agetus said that he had assented to any thing but this only; nevertheless, being compelled by his oath, and circumvented by deceit, he suffered him to take her away with him. 63. Thus, then, Ariston took to himself a third wife, having put away the second. in too short a time, and before she had completed her ten months, this woman bore Demaratus; and as he was sitting on the bench with the Ephori, one of his servants announced to him that a son was born to him; but he, knowing the time at which he married the woman, and reckoning the months on his fingers, said with an oath, "It cannot be mine." This the Ephori heard. However, at the time, they took no notice. The child grew up, and Ariston repented of what he had said, for he was fully persuaded that Demaratus was his son. He gave him the name of Demaratus for this reason; before this the Spartans had made public supplications, that Ariston, whom they esteemed the most illustrious of all the kings that had ever reigned in Sparta, might have a son. For this reason the name of Demaratus was given to him. 64. In process of time Ariston died, and Demaratus obtained the sovereignty. But it was fated, as it appears, that these things, when made known, should occasion the deposition of Demaratus from the sovereignty, for Demaratus had incurred the hatred of Cleomenes, because he had before led away the army from Eleusis, and now more particularly when Cleomenes had crossed over against those gineta, who were inclined to Medism. 65. Cleomenes then, being eager to avenge himself, made a compact with Leutychides, son of Menares, son of Agis, who was of the same family with Demaratus, on condition, that if he should make him king instead of Demaratus, 1 Demaratus means "granted to the prayers of the people." 2 See B. V. chap. 75. he should accompany him against the Ægineta. Leutychides had become an enemy to Demaratus, chiefly for this reason. When Leutychides was affianced to Percalus, daughter of Chilon, son of Demarmenes, Demaratus, having plotted against him, disappointed Leutychides of his marriage; having himself anticipated him by seizing Percalus and retaining her as his wife. In this manner the enmity of Leutychides to Demaratus originated, and now, at the instigation of Cleomenes, Leutychides made oath against Demaratus, affirming “that he did not legitimately reign over the Spartans, not being the son of Ariston ;" and after making oath against him, he prosecuted him, recalling the words which Ariston spoke, when the servant announced that a son was born to him, whereupon, he, reckoning the months, denied with an oath, saying, "that it was not his." Leutychides, insisting on this declaration, maintained that Demaratus was neither the son of Ariston, nor rightful king of Sparta; and he adduced as witnesses those Ephori, who were then sitting by the king, and heard these words of Ariston. 66. At length, the matter coming to a trial, the Spartans determined to inquire of the oracle at Delphi, "whether Demaratus was the son of Ariston." But the matter being referred to the Pythian at the instance of Cleomenes, Cleomenes thereupon gained over one Cobon, son of Aristophantus, a man of very great influence at Delphi: and Cobon prevailed with Perialla the prophetess to say what Cleomenes wished to be said. The Pythian accordingly, when the persons sent to consult the oracle made the inquiry, deIcided that Demaratus was not the son of Ariston. In after time this came to be known, and Cobon fled from Delphi, and Perialla the prophetess was deposed from her office. 3 67. Thus, then, it happened with respect to the deposition of Demaratus from the sovereignty. But Demaratus fled from Sparta to the Medes on account of the following insult. After his deposition from the sovereignty, he was chosen to and held the office of magistrate. The Gymnopædia were being celebrated; and, when Demaratus was looking on, Leutychides, who had been appointed king in his room, sent a servant and * Baehr has pointed out the proper meaning of the word veikos in this passage. * An annual festival at Sparta, at which boys danced naked, and performed various athletic exercises. asked him, by way of ridicule and mockery, "what kind of thing it was to be a magistrate after having been a king ?" But he, being vexed with the question, answered, "that he indeed had tried both, but Leutychides had not; however, that this question would be the commencement either of infinite calamity or infinite prosperity to the Lacedæmonians." Having spoken thus and covered his face, he went out of the theatre to his own house; and having immediately made preparation, he sacrificed an ox to Jupiter, and having sacrificed, called for his mother. 68. When his mother came, he placed part of the entrails in her hands, and supplicated her, speaking as follows: "Mother, I beseech you, calling to witness both the rest of the gods, and this Hercæan Jupiter, to tell me the truth, who is in reality my father. For Leutychides affirmed on the trial, that you being pregnant by your former husband, so came to Ariston; others tell even a more idle story, and say, you kept company with one of the servants, a feeder of asses, and that I am his son. I adjure you therefore by the gods to speak the truth: for even if you have done any thing of what is said, you have not done it alone, but with many others; moreover, the report is common in Sparta, that Ariston was incapable of begetting children, for that otherwise his former wives would have had offspring." Thus he spoke. 69. She answered as follows: "Son, since you implore me with supplications to speak the truth, the whole truth shall be told you. When Ariston had taken me to his own house, on the third night from the first, a spectre resembling Ariston came to me; and having lain with me, put on me a crown that it had it departed, and afterwards Ariston came; but when he saw me with the crown, he asked who it was that gave it me. I said, he did; but he would not admit it; whereupon I took an oath, and said that he did not well to deny it, for that having come shortly before and lain with me, he had given me the crown. Ariston, seeing that I affirmed with an oath, discovered that the event was superhuman: and in the first place, the crown proved to have come from the shrine situate near the palace gates, which they call Astrabacus's; and in the next place, the seers pronounced that it was the hero himself. Thus, then, my son, you have all that you wish to know for you are sprung either from that hero, and the hero Astrabacus is your father, or Ariston; for I conceived you in that night. : As to that with which your enemies most violently attack you, affirming that Ariston himself, when your birth was announced to him, in the presence of many persons, denied you were his, for that the time, ten months, had not yet elapsed; he threw out those words through ignorance of such matters; for women bring forth at nine months and seven, and all do not complete ten months. But I bore you, my son, at seven months and Ariston himself knew, not long after, that he had uttered those words thoughtlessly. Do not listen to any other stories respecting your birth; for you have heard the whole truth. And from feeders of asses may their wives bring forth children to Leutychides, and such as spread such reports." Thus she spoke. 70. But he, having learnt what he wished, and having taken provisions for his journey, proceeded to Elis; pretending that he was going to Delphi, to consult the oracle. But the Lacedæmonians, suspecting that he was attempting to make his escape, pursued him: and by some means Demaratus got the start of them, crossing over from Elis to Zacynthus but the Lacedæmonians, having crossed over after him, laid hands on him, and took away his attendants. But afterwards, for the Zacynthians would not give him up, he crossed over from thence to Asia, to king Darius; and he received him honourably, and gave him land and cities. Thus Demaratus arrived in Asia, having met with such fortune; being renowned in many other respects among the Lacedæmonians, both by his deeds and counsels, and, moreover, having obtained an Olympic victory with a four-horse chariot, he procured this honour for his native city, being the only one of all the kings of Sparta who had done this. 71. Leutychides, son of Menares, when Demaratus was deposed, succeeded to the kingdom. A son was born to him named Zeuxidemus, whom some of the Spartans called Cyniscus. This Zeuxidemus was never king of Sparta; for he died before Leutychides, leaving a son, Archidamus. Leutychides being bereaved of Zeuxidemus, married a second wife, Eurydame, who was sister of Menius, and daughter of Diactorides; by her he had no male offspring, but a daughter, Lampito; her, Archidamus son of Zeuxidemus married, Leutychides having bestowed her upon him. 72. However, Leutychides did not grow old in Sparta, but made the following reparation as it were to Demaratus. He commanded the |