Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ αὖθις ἄνδρα ἐκ τῆς βουλῆς καταπέμπουσιν ἐς τὴν Ἑλλάδα· ὄνομα μὲν τῷ ἀνδρὶ ἦν Γάλλος, ἀπέσταλτο δὲ Λακεδαιμονίοις καὶ Ἀργείοις ὑπὲρ γῆς ἀμφισβητουμένης γενέσθαι δικαστής. οὗτος ὁ Γάλλος ἐς τὸ Ἑλληνικὸν πολλὰ μὲν εἶπε, πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἔπραξεν ὑπερήφανα, Λακεδαιμονίους δὲ καὶ Ἀργείους τὸ παράπαν ἔθετο ἐν χλευασίᾳ·
πόλεσι γὰρ ἐς τοσοῦτο ἡκούσαις ἀξιώματος καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν ὅρων τῆς χώρας τὰ μὲν παλαιότερα ἐς οὐκ ἀφανῆ πόλεμον καὶ ἔργα οὕτως ἀφειδῆ προαχθείσαις, κριθείσαις δὲ καὶ ὕστερον παρὰ δικαστῇ κοινῷ Φιλίππῳ τῷ Ἀμύντου, αὐτὸς μέν σφισιν ὁ Γάλλος ἀπηξίωσε δικαστὴς καταστῆναι, Καλλικράτει δὲ ἁπάσης τῆς Ἑλλάδος ἀνδρὶ ἀλάστορι ἐπιτρέπει τὴν κρίσιν.
ἀφίκοντο δὲ ὡς τὸν Γάλλον καὶ Αἰτωλῶν οἱ Πλευρῶνα οἰκοῦντες, συντελείας τῆς ἐς Ἀχαιοὺς ἐθέλοντες ἄφεσιν εὕρασθαι· καὶ αὐτοῖς ἐπετράπη μὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ Γάλλου πρεσβείαν ἐπὶ σφῶν αὐτῶν ἰδίᾳ παρὰ Ῥωμαίους ἀποστεῖλαι, ἐπετράπη δὲ ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων συνεδρίου τοῦ Ἀχαιῶν ἀποστῆναι. προσεπεστάλη δὲ ὑπὸ τῆς βουλῆς τῷ Γάλλῳ πόλεις ὁπόσας ἐστὶν οἷός τε πλείστας ἀφεῖναι συλλόγου τοῦ Ἀχαιῶν.
ὁ μὲν δὴ τὰ ἐντεταλμένα ἐποίει, Ἀθηναίων δὲ ὁ δῆμος ἀνάγκῃ πλέον ἢ ἑκουσίως διαρπάζουσιν Ὠρωπὸν ὑπήκοόν σφισιν οὖσαν· πενίας γὰρ ἐς τὸ ἔσχατον Ἀθηναῖοι τηνικαῦτα ἧκον ἅτε ὑπὸ Μακεδόνων πολέμῳ πιεσθέντες μάλιστα Ἑλλήνων. καταφεύγουσιν οὖν ἐπὶ τὴν Ῥωμαίων βουλὴν οἱ Ὠρώπιοι· καὶ δόξαντες παθεῖν οὐ δίκαια, ἐπεστάλη Σικυωνίοις ὑπὸ τῆς βουλῆς ἐπιβάλλειν σφᾶς Ἀθηναίοις ἐς Ὠρωπίους ζημίαν κατὰ τῆς βλάβης ἧς ἦρξαν τὴν ἀξίαν.
Σικυώνιοι μὲν οὖν οὐκ ἀφικομένοις ἐς καιρὸν τῆς κρίσεως Ἀθηναίοις ζημίαν πεντακόσια τάλαντα ἐπιβάλλουσι, Ῥωμαίων δὲ ἡ βουλὴ δεηθεῖσιν Ἀθηναίοις ἀφίησι πλὴν ταλάντων ἑκατὸν τὴν ἄλλην ζημίαν· ἐξέτισαν δὲ οὐδὲ ταῦτα οἱ Ἀθηναῖοι, ἀλλὰ ὑποσχέσεσι καὶ δώροις ὑπελθόντες Ὠρωπίους ὑπάγονται σφᾶς ἐς ὁμολογίαν φρουράν τε Ἀθηναίων ἐσελθεῖν ἐς Ὠρωπὸν καὶ ὁμήρους λαβεῖν παρὰ Ὠρωπίων Ἀθηναίους· ἢν δὲ αὖθις ἐς Ἀθηναίους γένηται ἔγκλημα Ὠρωπίοις, τὴν φρουρὰν τότε ἀπάγειν παρʼ αὐτῶν Ἀθηναίους, ἀποδοῦναι δὲ καὶ ὀπίσω τοὺς ὁμήρους.
χρόνος τε δὴ οὐ πολὺς ὁ μεταξὺ ἤνυστο, καὶ τῶν φρουρῶν ἀδικοῦσιν ἄνδρες Ὠρωπίους. οἱ μὲν δὴ ἐς τὰς Ἀθήνας ἀπέστελλον ὁμήρους τε ἀπαιτήσοντας καὶ φρουράν σφισιν ἐξάγειν κατὰ τὰ συγκείμενα ἐροῦντας· Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ οὐδέτερα ἔφασαν ποιήσειν, ἀνθρώπων γὰρ τῶν ἐπὶ τῇ φρουρᾷ καὶ οὐ τοῦ Ἀθηναίων δήμου τὸ ἁμάρτημα εἶναι· τοὺς μέντοι αὐτὰ εἰργασμένους ἐπηγγέλλοντο ὑφέξειν δίκην.
οἱ δὲ Ὠρώπιοι καταφεύγοντες ἐπὶ Ἀχαιοὺς ἐδέοντο τιμωρῆσαί σφισιν· Ἀχαιοῖς δὲ ἤρεσκε μὴ τιμωρεῖν φιλίᾳ τε καὶ αἰδοῖ τῇ Ἀθηναίων. ἐνταῦθα οἱ Ὠρώπιοι Μεναλκίδᾳ, Λακεδαιμονίῳ μὲν γένος, στρατηγοῦντι δὲ ἐν τῷ τότε Ἀχαιῶν, ὑπισχνοῦνται δέκα ταλάντων δόσιν, ἤν σφισιν ἐπικουρεῖν Ἀχαιοὺς ἄγῃ· ὁ δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν χρημάτων μεταδώσειν Καλλικράτει τὸ ἥμισυ ὑπισχνεῖτο, ἰσχύοντι διὰ φιλίαν τὴν Ρωμαίων ἐν Ἀχαιοῖς μέγιστον.
προσγενομένου δὲ τοῦ Καλλικράτους πρὸς τὴν Μεναλκίδου γνώμην ἐκεκύρωτο κατὰ Ἀθηναίων ἀμύνειν Ὠρωπίοις. καί τις ἐξαγγέλλει ταῦτα ἐς τοὺς Ἀθηναίους· οἱ δὲ ὡς ἕκαστος τάχους εἶχεν ἐς τὸν Ὠρωπὸν ἐλθόντες καὶ αὖθις κατασύραντες εἴ τι ἐν ταῖς προτέραις παρεῖτό σφισιν ἁρπαγαῖς, ἀπάγουσι τὴν φρουράν. Ἀχαιοὺς δὲ ὑστερήσαντας τῆς βοηθείας Μεναλκίδας μὲν καὶ Καλλικράτης ἐσβάλλειν ἐς τὴν Ἀττικὴν ἔπειθον· ἀνθισταμένων δὲ ἄλλων τε αὐτοῖς καὶ οὐχ ἥκιστα τῶν ἐκ Λακεδαίμονος, ἀνεχώρησεν ὀπίσω τὸ στράτευμα.
Again the Romans despatched a senator to Greece. His name was Gallus, and he was sent to arbitrate between the Lacedaemonians and Argives in a dispute about land. This Gallus treated the Greeks in general with much haughtiness, both in word and deed; but as for the Lacedaemonians and Argives, he absolutely mocked them. Between these renowned states which on a question of boundaries had freely shed their blood in a famous war of old, and in a later age had had their disputes settled by Philip, son of Amyntas, between these states, I say, Gallus disdained to arbitrate in person, and left the decision to Callicrates, the evil genius of Greece. Furthermore, the Aetolians of Pleuron applied to Gallus for leave to sever their connection with the Achaean confederacy. He suffered them to send an embassy on their own account to Rome, and the Roman Senate allowed them to secede from the Achaean League. The Senate, moreover, instructed Gallus to release as many cities as possible from their connection with the Achaean confederacy.
Whilst he was carrying out his orders, the Athenian democracy pillaged Oropus, a town that was subject to their sway. They did so from necessity, rather than choice, being reduced to the utmost poverty by the Macedonian war, which had told more heavily on them than on the rest of the Greeks. So the Oropians appealed to the Roman Senate, which decided that they had been unjustly treated, and accordingly instructed the Sicyonians to levy a fine on the Athenians proportionate to the injury which the latter had wantonly inflicted on Oropus. The Athenians failing to appear at the bar when the case came on, the Sicyonians sentenced them to pay a fine of five hundred talents; but at the petition of the Athenians the Roman Senate remitted the fine except one hundred talents. Even that sum was not paid by the Athenians, who by promises and gifts cajoled the Oropians into a compact that an Athenian garrison should march into Oropus, and that the Athenians should take hostages from them; but that if the Oropians should again have any ground of complaint against the Athenians, then the latter were to withdraw their garrison and restore the hostages. It was not long before some of the garrison ill-treated some of the Oropians. But when the Oropians sent to Athens, demanding the restoration of the hostages and the withdrawal of the garrison in accordance with the compact, the Athenians refused to do either, alleging that the blame rested on the garrison and not on the Athenian people, but promising that the guilty persons should be brought to justice.
The Oropians then appealed for help to the Achaeans ; but the latter, out of friendship and respect for the Athenians, refused it. Thereupon the Oropians promised ten talents to Menalcidas, a Lacedaemonian, who was then general of the Achaeans, if he would induce the Achaeans to come to their aid. Menalcidas promised half the money to Callicrates, whose friendship with Rome gave him a paramount influence in the League. So when Callicrates had been brought over to the views of Menalcidas, it was decided to assist the Oropians against the Athenians. Getting word of this, the Athenians hastened with all speed to Oropus, and after making a clean sweep of everything that had been overlooked in their former raids, they brought off the garrison. The Achaeans having arrived too late, Menalcidas and Callicrates would fain have persuaded them to make an inroad into Attica; but their advice was opposed, particularly by the Lacedaemonians, and the army beat a retreat.
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