τὸ δὲ ἀπὸ τούτου τόν τε ἄλλον χρόνον ἐνέκειτό σφισι τὸ ἐς Λακεδαιμονίους μῖσος καὶ τὴν ἔχθραν ἐς αὐτοὺς μάλιστα ἐπεδείξαντο ἐπὶ τοῦ γενομένου Πελοποννησίοις πρὸς Ἀθηναίους πολέμου· τήν τε γὰρ Ναύπακτον ὁρμητήριον ἐπὶ τῇ Πελοποννήσῳ παρείχοντο καὶ τοὺς ἐν τῇ Σφακτηρίᾳ Σπαρτιατῶν ἀποληφθέντας Μεσσηνίων σφενδονῆται τῶν ἐκ Ναυπάκτου συνεξεῖλον.
ἐπεὶ δὲ τὸ πταῖσμα ἐγένετο τὸ Ἀθηναίων ἐν Αἰγὸς ποταμοῖς, οὕτω καὶ ἐκ Ναυπάκτου τοὺς Μεσσηνίους ἐκβάλλουσιν οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι ναυσὶν ἐπικρατοῦντες, οἳ ἐς Σικελίαν τε παρὰ τοὺς συγγενεῖς καὶ ἐς Ῥήγιον ἐστάλησαν, τὸ πλεῖστον δὲ αὐτῶν ἔς τε Λιβύην ἀφίκετο καὶ Λιβύης ἐς Εὐεσπερίτας· οἱ γὰρ Εὐεσπερῖται πολέμῳ κακωθέντες ὑπὸ βαρβάρων προσοίκων πάντα τινὰ Ἕλληνα ἐπεκαλοῦντο σύνοικον. ἐς τούτους τῶν Μεσσηνίων τὸ πολὺ ἀπεχώρησεν· ἡγεμὼν δέ σφισιν ἦν Κόμων, ὃς καὶ περὶ τὴν Σφακτηρίαν ἐστρατήγησεν αὐτοῖς.
ἐνιαυτῷ δὲ πρότερον ἢ κατορθῶσαι Θηβαίους τὰ ἐν Λεύκτροις, προεσήμαινεν ὁ δαίμων Μεσσηνίοις τὴν ἐς Πελοπόννησον κάθοδον. τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ ἐν Μεσσήνῃ τῇ πρὸς τῷ πορθμῷ τὸν ἱερέα τοῦ Ἡρακλέους λέγουσιν ὀνείρατος ἰδεῖν ὄψιν—τὸν Ἡρακλέα ἔδοξε κληθῆναι τὸν Μάντικλον ἐπὶ ξενίᾳ ἐς Ἰθώμην ὑπὸ τοῦ Διός—, τοῦτο δὲ ἐν Εὐεσπερίταις Κόμων συγγενέσθαι νεκρᾷ τῇ μητρὶ ἐδόκει, συγγενομένου δὲ αὖθίς οἱ τὴν μητέρα ἀναβιῶναι. καὶ ὁ μὲν ἐπήλπιζεν Ἀθηναίων δυνηθέντων ναυτικῷ κάθοδον ἔσεσθαί σφισιν ἐς Ναύπακτον· τὸ δὲ ἄρα ἐδήλου τὸ ὄνειρον ἀνασώσεσθαι Μεσσήνην.
ἐγένετό τε οὐ μετὰ πολὺ ἐν Λεύκτροις Λακεδαιμονίων τὸ ἀτύχημα ὀφειλόμενον ἐκ παλαιοῦ· Ἀριστοδήμῳ γὰρ τῷ βασιλεύσαντι Μεσσηνίων ἐπὶ τελευτῇ τοῦ χρησμοῦ τοῦ δοθέντος ἐστὶν ἕρδʼ ὅππῃ τὸ χρεών· ἄτη δʼ ἄλλοισι πρὸ ἄλλων· / ὡς ἐν μὲν τῷ παρόντι ἐκεῖνον δέον καὶ Μεσσηνίους κακῶς πρᾶξαι, χρόνῳ δὲ ὕστερον καὶ Λακεδαίμονα ἐπιληψομένης τῆς ἄτης.
τότε δὲ ἐν Λεύκτροις οἱ Θηβαῖοι νενικηκότες ἀγγέλους ἐς Ἰταλίαν τε καὶ Σικελίαν καὶ παρὰ τοὺς Εὐεσπερίτας ἀπέστελλον, ἔκ τε τῆς ἄλλης, εἴ πού τις Μεσσηνίων εἴη, πανταχόθεν ἀνεκάλουν ἐς Πελοπόννησον. οἱ δὲ θᾶσσον ἢ ὡς ἄν τις ἤλπισε συνελέχθησαν γῆς τε τῆς πατρίδος πόθῳ καὶ διὰ τὸ ἐς Λακεδαιμονίους μῖσος παραμεῖναν ἀεί σφισιν.
Ἐπαμινώνδᾳ δὲ οὔτε ἄλλως ἐφαίνετο ῥᾴδια ἀξιόμαχον πόλιν ἐποικίσαι Λακεδαιμονίοις οὔτε ὅπου χρὴ κτίσαι τῆς χώρας ἐξευρίσκει· τὴν γὰρ Ἀνδανίαν οἱ Μεσσήνιοι καὶ Οἰχαλίαν οὐκ ἔφασαν ἀνοικιεῖν, ὅτι αἱ συμφοραί σφισιν ἐγεγόνεσαν ἐνταῦθα οἰκοῦσιν. ἀποροῦντι οὖν αὐτῷ πρεσβύτην ἄνδρα, ἱεροφάντῃ μάλιστα εἰκασμένον, νύκτωρ φασὶν ἐπιστάντα εἰπεῖν· “σοὶ μὲν δῶρά ἐστι παρʼ ἐμοῦ κρατεῖν ὅτῳ ἂν μεθʼ ὅπλων ἐπέρχῃ· καὶ ἢν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων γένῃ, ἔγωγε ὦ Θηβαῖε ποιήσω μή ποτε ἀνώνυμον μηδὲ ἄδοξόν σε γενέσθαι. σὺ δὲ Μεσσηνίοις γῆν τε πατρίδα καὶ πόλεις ἀπόδος, ἐπειδὴ καὶ τὸ μήνιμα ἤδη σφίσι πέπαυται τὸ Διοσκούρων” .
Ἐπαμινώνδᾳ μὲν ταῦτα ἔλεγεν, Ἐπιτέλει δὲ τῷ Αἰσχίνου τάδε ἐμήνυε—στρατηγεῖν δὲ αὐτὸν οἱ Ἀργεῖοι τὸν Ἐπιτέλην καὶ Μεσσήνην ἀνοικίζειν ᾕρηντο— τοῦτον οὖν τὸν ἄνδρα ἐκέλευεν ὁ ὄνειρος, ἔνθα ἂν τῆς Ἰθώμης εὕρῃ πεφυκυῖαν σμίλακα καὶ μυρσίνην, τὸ μέσον ὀρύξαντα αὐτῶν ἀνασῶσαι τὴν γραῦν· κάμνειν γὰρ ἐν τῷ χαλκῷ καθειργμένην θαλάμῳ καὶ ἤδη λιποψυχεῖν αὐτήν. ὁ δὲ Ἐπιτέλης, ὡς ἐπελάμβανεν ἡμέρα, παραγενόμενος ἐς τὸ εἰρημένον χωρίον ἐπέτυχεν ὀρύσσων ὑδρίᾳ χαλκῇ, καὶ αὐτίκα παρὰ τὸν Ἐπαμινώνδαν
κομίσας τό τε ἐνύπνιον ἐξηγεῖτο καὶ αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνον τὸ πῶμα ἀφελόντα ἐκέλευεν ὅ τι ἐνείη σκοπεῖσθαι. ὁ δὲ θύσας καὶ εὐξάμενος τῷ πεφηνότι ὀνείρατι ἤνοιγε τὴν ὑδρίαν, ἀνοίξας δὲ εὗρε κασσίτερον ἐληλασμένον ἐς τὸ λεπτότατον· ἐπείλικτο δὲ ὥσπερ τὰ βιβλία. ἐνταῦθα τῶν Μεγάλων θεῶν ἐγέγραπτο ἡ τελετή, καὶ τοῦτο ἦν παρακαταθήκη τοῦ Ἀριστομένους. τοῦτον τὸν ἐπελθόντα τῷ Ἐπιτέλει καὶ Ἐπαμινώνδᾳ καθεύδουσι Καύκωνα εἶναι λέγουσιν, ὃς ἀφίκετο ἐξ Ἀθηνῶν ἐς Ἀνδανίαν παρὰ Μεσσήνην τὴν Τριόπα.
Of the hatred of Sparta, which always rankled in their breasts, the Messenians afterwards gave the most striking proof in the war of the Peloponnesians against the Athenians; for they allowed Naupactus to be used as a base of operations against Peloponnese, and Messenian slingers from Naupactus helped to capture the Spartans who were shut up in Sphacteria.
But after the defeat of the Athenians at Aegospotami, the Lacedaemonians, being now masters of the sea, expelled the Messenians from Naupactus also. Some of the exiles sailed to their kindred in Sicily and Rhegium, but most of them went to the Euesperitae in Libya, who, having suffered much in war with the neighbouring barbarians, invited any and all of the Greeks to settle amongst them. To them the bulk of the Messenians withdrew, under the leadership of Comon, who had also commanded them at Sphacteria.
A year before the victory of the Thebans at Leuctra, God foreshadowed to the Messenians their return to Peloponnese. In the first place, they say that at Messene, on the strait, the priest of Hercules dreamed that Hercules Manticlus was invited as a guest to Ithome by Zeus. In the second place, Comon, living among the Euesperitae, dreamed that he lay with his dead mother, and that thereafter she came to life again. He hoped that, if the Athenians got a powerful navy, the Messenians would be restored to Naupactus; but as it turned out, the dream signified that they should recover Messene. Not long afterwards the defeat of the Lacedaemonians took place at Leuctra. It had been due a very long time; for at the end of the oracle vouchsafed to Aristodemus, King of Messenia, it is said :— Do as fate directs ; but ruin falls on some before others, meaning that for the time being he and the Messenians must suffer, but that afterwards ruin would overtake Lacedaemon also. 4. So after their victory at Leuctra the Thebans sent messengers to Italy, Sicily, and the Euesperitae, inviting all Messenians in any part of the world whither they had strayed to return to Peloponnese. They assembled faster than could have been expected, for they yearned towards the land of their fathers, and hatred of Sparta still rankled in their breasts.
But to Epaminondas it did not seem easy to found a city that would be a match for Lacedaemon; and where to build it, he could not think; for the Messenians refused to settle again in Andania and Oechalia, the scenes of their calamities in days gone by. In his perplexity they say that an old man, much like a high priest of the mysteries, stood by him in the night and said, ‘On thee I bestow power to conquer whomsoever thou mayest turn thine arms against; and if thou art taken from the world, I will look to it, O Theban, that thou art neither nameless nor inglorious. But do thou give back to the Messenians their fatherland and their cities, for the wrath of the Dioscuri against them is at an end.’
So spake the vision to Epaminondas; and it made the following revelation to Epiteles, son of Aeschines, who had been elected general by the Argives and charged to found Messene anew. The dream commanded him, wherever he found a yew-tree and a myrtle growing on Mount Ithome, to dig up the ground between them and save the old woman, for she was worn out and fainting by reason of her long confinement in the bronze chamber. When day dawned Epiteles went to the spot indicated, dug, and found a bronze urn. Straightway he took it to Epaminondas, told the dream, and bade him take off the lid and see what was in it. After sacrificing and praying to the dream, Epaminondas opened the urn and found a very thin sheet of tin rolled up like a scroll. On it the mysteries of the Great Goddesses were engraved, and this it was that had been deposited by Aristomenes. They say that the man who appeared to Epiteles and Epaminondas in sleep was Caucon, who came from Athens to Messene, daughter of Triopas, at Andania.
Cite This Text