τῷ δὲ τῆς Πειθοῦς ἱερῷ τὸ ἐγγὺς τέμενος ἀνειμένον βασιλεῦσι Ῥωμαίων οἰκία ποτὲ ἦν Κλέωνος τυράννου· Κλεισθένης μὲν γὰρ ὁ Ἀριστωνύμου τοῦ Μύρωνος ἐχόντων ἔτι τὴν κάτω πόλιν Σικυωνίων ἐτυράννησε, Κλέων δὲ ἐν τῇ νῦν πόλει. πρὸ ταύτης τῆς οἰκίας ἡρῷόν ἐστιν Ἀράτου μέγιστα Ἑλλήνων ἐργασαμένου τῶν ἐφʼ αὑτοῦ· ἔχει δὲ ὧδε τὰ ἐς αὐτόν.
μετὰ Κλέωνα μοναρχήσαντα ἐνέπεσε τῶν ἐν τέλει πολλοῖς ἐπιθυμία τυραννίδος οὕτω δή τι ἀκάθεκτος ὡς καὶ ἄνδρας δύο Εὐθύδημον καὶ Τιμοκλείδαν ὁμοῦ τυραννῆσαι. τούτους μὲν οὖν ἐξέβαλεν ὁ δῆμος, Κλεινίαν τὸν πατέρα Ἀράτου προστησάμενος· ἔτεσι δὲ ὕστερον οὐ πολλοῖς ἐτυράννησεν Ἀβαντίδας. Κλεινίᾳ μὲν οὖν συνεβεβήκει πρότερον ἔτι ἡ τελευτή· Ἄρατον δὲ Ἀβαντίδας φυγάδα ἐποίησεν, ἢ καὶ αὐτὸς ἀπεχώρησεν Ἄρατος ἐθελοντής. Ἀβαντίδαν μὲν οὖν κτείνουσιν ἄνδρες τῶν ἐπιχωρίων, τύραννος δὲ αὐτίκα ἐγεγόνει ὁ Ἀβαντίδου πατὴρ Πασέας·
Νικοκλῆς δὲ ἐκεῖνον ἀνελὼν ἐτυράννησεν αὐτός. ἐπὶ τοῦτον τὸν Νικοκλέα Ἄρατος ἀφικόμενος Σικυωνίων φυγάσι καὶ Ἀργείοις μισθωτοῖς τοὺς μὲν ἔλαθεν ἅτε ἐν σκότῳ—νύκτωρ γὰρ δὴ τὴν ἐπιχείρησιν ἐποιεῖτο—, τοὺς δὲ καὶ βιασάμενος τῶν φυλασσόντων ἐγένετο ἐντὸς τείχους· καὶ —ὑπέφαινε γὰρ ἕως ἤδη—προσλαβὼν τὸν δῆμον ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκίαν σπουδῇ τὴν τυραννικὴν τρέπεται. καὶ ταύτην μὲν εἷλεν οὐ χαλεπῶς, ὁ δὲ Νικοκλῆς αὐτὸς ἔλαθεν ἀποδράς. Σικυωνίοις δὲ ἀπέδωκεν Ἄρατος ἐξ ἴσου πολιτεύεσθαι διαλλάξας τοῖς φεύγουσιν, οἰκίας μὲν φυγάσι καὶ ὅσα τῶν κτημάτων ἄλλα ἐπέπρατο ἀποδούς, τιμὴν δὲ τοῖς πριαμένοις διέλυσεν αὐτός.
καὶ—ἦν γὰρ δέος τοῖς πᾶσιν Ἕλλησι Μακεδόνων καὶ Ἀντιγόνου Φίλιππον ἐπιτροπεύοντος τὸν Δημητρίου—, τοῦδε ἕνεκα τοὺς Σικυωνίους ἐς τὸ Ἀχαιῶν συνέδριον ἐσήγαγε Δωριεῖς ὄντας. αὐτίκα δὲ στρατηγὸς ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν ᾕρητο, καὶ σφᾶς ἐπὶ Λοκροὺς τοὺς Ἀμφισσέας ἀγαγὼν καὶ ἐς τὴν Αἰτωλῶν πολεμίων ὄντων τὴν γῆν ἐπόρθησε· Κόρινθον δὲ ἔχοντος Ἀντιγόνου καὶ φρουρᾶς Μακεδόνων ἐνούσης τοὺς Μακεδόνας τῷ αἰφνιδίῳ τῆς ἐπιθέσεως κατέπληξε καὶ ἄλλους τε κρατήσας μάχῃ διέφθειρε καὶ Περσαῖον ἐπὶ τῇ φρουρᾷ τεταγμένον, ὃς παρὰ Ζήνωνα τὸν Μνασέου κατὰ μάθησιν σοφίας ἐφοίτησεν.
ἐλευθερώσαντος δὲ Ἀράτου Κόρινθον προσεχώρησαν μὲν ἐς τὸ συνέδριον Ἐπιδαύριοι καὶ Τροιζήνιοι οἱ τὴν Ἀργολίδα Ἀκτὴν οἰκοῦντες καὶ τῶν ἐκτὸς ἰσθμοῦ Μεγαρεῖς, συμμαχίαν δὲ πρὸς Ἀχαιοὺς Πτολεμαῖος ἐποιήσατο. Λακεδαιμόνιοι δὲ καὶ Ἆγις ὁ Εὐδαμίδου βασιλεὺς ἔφθησαν μὲν Πελλήνην ἑλόντες ἐξ ἐπιδρομῆς, ἥκοντι δὲ Ἀράτῳ καὶ τῇ στρατιᾷ συμβαλόντες ἐκρατήθησαν καὶ τὴν Πελλήνην ἐκλιπόντες ἀναχωροῦσιν οἴκαδε ὑπόσπονδοι.
Ἄρατος δέ, ὥς οἱ τὰ ἐν Πελοποννήσῳ προεκεχωρήκει, δεινὸν ἡγεῖτο Πειραιᾶ καὶ Μουνυχίαν, ἔτι δὲ Σαλαμῖνα καὶ Σούνιον ἐχόμενα ὑπὸ Μακεδόνων περιοφθῆναι, καὶ—οὐ γὰρ ἤλπιζε δύνασθαι πρὸς βίαν αὐτὰ ἐξελεῖν—Διογένην πείθει τὸν ἐν τοῖς φρουροῖς ἄρχοντα ἀφεῖναι τὰ χωρία ἐπὶ ταλάντοις πεντήκοντα καὶ ἑκατόν, καὶ τῶν χρημάτων συνετέλεσεν αὐτὸς Ἀθηναίοις ἕκτον μέρος. ἔπεισε δὲ καὶ Ἀριστόμαχον τυραννοῦντα ἐν Ἄργει δημοκρατίαν ἀποδόντα Ἀργείοις ἐς τὸ Ἀχαϊκὸν συντελεῖν, Μαντίνειάν τε Λακεδαιμονίων ἐχόντων εἷλεν. ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὐ πάντα ἀνθρώπῳ τελεῖται κατὰ γνώμην, εἰ δὴ καὶ Ἄρατον κατέλαβεν ἀνάγκη γενέσθαι Μακεδόνων καὶ Ἀντιγόνου σύμμαχον· ἐγένετο δὲ οὕτως.
The precinct near the sanctuary of Persuasion is consecrated to the Roman emperors: it was once the house of the tyrant Cleon. For the tyranny of Clisthenes, son of Aristonymus, son of Myron, fell in the time when the Sicyonians still inhabited the lower city, but Cleon was tyrant in the present city.
In front of this house is a shrine of the hero Aratus, a man who achieved greater things than any Greek of his time. His history is this. After the tyranny of Cleon, many of the leading men were smitten with such an unbridled rage for power that two men, Euthydemus and Timoclidas, were actually tyrants at the same time. The people, however, put Clinias, father of Aratus, at their head, and drove out these tyrants. But not many years afterwards Abantidas made himself tyrant. Before this happened, Clinias was dead, and Abantidas drove Aratus into exile, or perhaps Aratus withdrew voluntarily. Abantidas was assassinated by some men of Sicyon, but his father Paseas immediately stepped into his place. He too was assassinated, and his assassin, Nicocles, reigned in his stead. To attack this Nicocles Aratus came with Sicyonian exiles and Argive mercenaries. He made the attempt by night, and eluding some of the guards in the darkness and overpowering others, he made his way inside the walls. Dawn was now beginning to glimmer, the people rallied round him, and at their head he hastened to the tyrant’s house. This he captured without difficulty, but Nicocles himself stole away unobserved.
To the people of Sicyon Aratus restored a free and equal government, and he made peace between them and the exiles, restoring to the latter their houses and all their possessions which had been sold, and making good the price to the purchasers from his own purse. At this time all Greece stood in fear of the Macedonians under Antigonus the guardian of Philip, son of Demetrius ; so Aratus caused the Sicyonians, Dorians though they were, to join the Achaean League. He was immediately elected general by the Achaeans, and leading them against the Locrians of Amphissa, and into the country of their enemies the Aetolians, he laid waste the land.
Corinth was held by Antigonus, and there was a Macedonian garrison in the place; but by a sudden attack Aratus disconcerted and defeated them. Amongst the slain was Persaeus, commander of the garrison, who had studied philosophy under Zeno, son of Mnaseus. After the liberation of Corinth by Aratus, the Epidaurians and Troezenians, who inhabit the coast of Argolis, and the Megarians from beyond the Isthmus, joined the League, and Ptolemy formed an alliance with the Achaeans. But the Lacedaemonians under King Agis, son of Eudamidas, by a rapid movement captured Pellene before Aratus could prevent them. When he arrived with his army, the Lacedaemonians gave battle; and being worsted they made terms, evacuated Pellene, and returned home.
Thus successful in Peloponnese, Aratus thought shame to leave the Macedonians in undisturbed possession of Piraeus and Munychia, of Salamis and Sunium. Having no hope of capturing these places by force of arms, he bribed Diogenes, the commander of the garrisons, to abandon the places for the sum of one hundred and fifty talents, of which he himself contributed one-sixth to the Athenians. He also prevailed on Aristomachus, tyrant of Argos, to restore the democracy and join the Achaean confederacy; and he captured Mantinea, which was held by a Lacedaemonian garrison. But it is given to no man to see all his wishes fulfilled. Even Aratus was compelled by circumstances to become an ally of the Macedonians and of Antigonus. It happened thus.
Cite This Text