οὐ πόρρω δὲ τῆς ἀγορᾶς θέατρόν τέ ἐστι καὶ πρὸς αὐτῷ βάθρα εἰκόνων χαλκῶν, αὐταὶ δὲ οὐκ εἰσὶν ἔτι αἱ εἰκόνες· ἐλεγεῖον δὲ ἐφʼ ἑνὶ τῶν βάθρων ἐστὶ Φιλοποίμενος τὸν ἀνδριάντα εἶναι. τούτου δὲ Ἕλληνες τοῦ Φιλοποίμενος οὐχ ἥκιστα ἀλλὰ καὶ μάλιστα ἔχουσι μνήμην, γνώμης τε ἕνεκα ἣν παρέσχετο καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἔργοις ὁπόσα ἐτόλμησε.
τὰ μὲν δὴ ἐς γένους δόξαν ὁ πατήρ οἱ Κραῦγις Ἀρκάδων ἐλείπετο οὐδενὸς τῶν ἐν Μεγάλῃ πόλει· τελευτήσαντος δὲ τοῦ Κραύγιδος ἐπὶ παιδὶ ἔτι νηπίῳ τῷ Φιλοποίμενι, ἐπετρόπευσεν αὐτὸν ἀνὴρ Μαντινεὺς Κλέανδρος, φεύγων μὲν ἐκ Μαντινείας καὶ ἐν Μεγάλῃ πόλει μετοικῶν κατὰ τὴν οἴκοθεν συμφοράν, ξενίας δὲ ὑπαρχούσης αὐτῷ πατρικῆς ἐς οἶκον τὸν Κραύγιδος. διδασκάλοις δὲ ὁμιλῆσαι τὸν Φιλοποίμενα καὶ ἄλλοις καὶ Μεγαλοφάνει τε καὶ Ἐκδήλῳ λέγουσι· τοὺς δὲ Ἀρκεσιλάου φασὶν εἶναι Πιταναίου μαθητάς.
μέγεθος μὲν δὴ καὶ σώματος ῥώμην ἀπέδει Πελοποννησίων οὐδενός, τὸ δὲ εἶδος ἦν τοῦ προσώπου κακός· καὶ ἐπὶ μὲν τοὺς στεφανίτας ἀγῶνας ὑπερεφρόνησεν ἀσκῆσαι, γῆν δὲ ἣν ἐκέκτητο ἐργαζόμενος οὐδὲ τὰ θηρία ἠμέλει τὰ ἄγρια ἐξαίρειν. ἐπιλέγεσθαι δὲ καὶ βιβλία φασὶν αὐτὸν σοφιστῶν τε τῶν εὐδοκιμούντων παρʼ Ἕλλησι καὶ ὅσα ἐς πολέμων μνήμην καὶ εἰ δή τι ἔχει διδασκαλίαν στρατηγημάτων· καταστήσασθαι δὲ τὸν βίον πάντα ἐθέλων γνώμης τῆς Ἐπαμινώνδου καὶ ἔργων εἶναι τῶν ἐκείνου μίμησιν, οὐ τὰ πάντα ἦν ἐξισωθῆναι δυνατός· Ἐπαμινώνδᾳ γὰρ τά τε ἄλλα ἡ ψυχὴ καὶ μάλιστα πρᾴως εἶχε τὰ ἐς ὀργήν, τῷ δὲ Ἀρκάδι μετῆν γε θυμοῦ.
καταλαβόντος δὲ Κλεομένους Μεγάλην πόλιν, Φιλοποίμην οὔτε τῆς συμφορᾶς ἐξεπλάγη τὸ ἀπροσδόκητον καὶ τῶν ἐν ἡλικίᾳ τὰ δύο μάλιστα μέρη καὶ γυναῖκας καὶ παῖδας ἀπέσωσεν ἐς Μεσσήνην, συμμάχων σφίσιν ἐν τῷ τότε καὶ εὔνων τῶν Μεσσηνίων ὄντων· καὶ—ἦσαν γὰρ τῶν διαπεφευγότων οἷς ὁ Κλεομένης ἐπεκηρυκεύετο μεταγινώσκειν τε ἐπὶ τῷ τολμήματι καὶ πρὸς Μεγαλοπολίτας ἐθέλειν σπένδεσθαι κατιόντας ἐπὶ τὴν ἑαυτῶν —ἔπεισεν ἐν κοινῷ τοὺς πολίτας ὁ Φιλοποίμην μεθʼ ὅπλων τὴν κάθοδον οἴκαδε εὑρίσκεσθαι μηδὲ ἐς ὁμολογίας τε καὶ σπονδὰς ἰέναι.
γενομένης δὲ ἐν Σελλασίᾳ πρὸς Κλεομένην τε καὶ Λακεδαιμονίους μάχης, ἣν Ἀχαιοὶ καὶ Ἀρκάδες ἀπὸ τῶν πόλεων πασῶν, σὺν δέ σφισι καὶ Ἀντίγονος ἐμαχέσατο ἄγων ἐκ Μακεδονίας στρατιάν, ἐτέτακτο μὲν τηνικαῦτα ὁ Φιλοποίμην ἐν τοῖς ἱππεῦσιν· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐν τῷ πεζῷ τοῦ ἔργου τὸ πλεῖστον ἑώρα ληψόμενον τὴν κρίσιν, ὁπλίτης ἑκὼν ἐγένετο, καὶ αὐτὸν λόγου κινδυνεύοντα ἀξίως τῶν τις ἐναντίων διʼ ἀμφοτέρων ἔπειρε τῶν μηρῶν.
ὁ δὲ καὶ ἐς τοσοῦτο ὅμως πεπεδημένος τά τε γόνατα ἐνέκλινε καὶ ἐς τὸ πρόσω χωρεῖν ἐβιάζετο, ὥστε καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ποδῶν τοῦ κινήματος τὸ δόρυ ἔκλασεν· ἐπεὶ δὲ οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι καὶ ὁ Κλεομένης ἐκρατήθησαν καὶ ἐς τὸ στρατόπεδον ἀνέστρεψε Φιλοποίμην, ἐνταῦθα ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων αὐτοῦ τῶν μηρῶν οἱ ἰατροὶ τῇ μὲν τὸν σαυρωτῆρα ἐξεῖλκον, τῇ δὲ τὴν αἰχμήν. Ἀντίγονος δὲ ὡς ἐπύθετο καὶ εἶδεν αὐτοῦ τὰ τολμήματα, ἐποιεῖτο σπουδὴν ἐπάγεσθαι Φιλοποίμενα ἐς Μακεδονίαν.
τῷ δὲ Ἀντιγόνου μὲν ὀλίγον μελήσειν ἔμελλε· περαιωσάμενος δὲ νηὶ ἐς Κρήτην—πόλεμος γὰρ κατεῖχεν αὐτὴν ἐμφύλιος— ἐπετέτακτο ἡγεμὼν μισθοφόροις· ἐπανήκων δὲ ἐς Μεγάλην πόλιν αὐτίκα ὑπὸ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν ᾕρητο ἄρχειν τοῦ ἱππικοῦ, καὶ σφᾶς ἀρίστους Ἑλλήνων ἀπέφαινεν ἱππεύειν. Ἀχαιῶν δὲ καὶ ὅσοι συντεταγμένοι τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς ἦσαν περὶ Λάρισον μαχομένων ποταμὸν πρὸς Ἠλείους καὶ τὸ Αἰτωλικὸν ἐπικουροῦντας κατὰ συγγένειαν Ἠλείοις, πρῶτα μὲν Δημόφαντον ἀπέκτεινεν αὐτοχειρίᾳ τοῖς ἐναντίοις ἡγεμόνα ὄντα τῆς ἵππου, δεύτερα δὲ καὶ τὸ ἄλλο ἱππικὸν τῶν Αἰτωλῶν καὶ τῶν Ἠλείων ἐτρέψατο.
Not far from the market-place is a theatre, and beside it are pedestals of bronze statues, but the statues are no longer there. On one of the pedestals is an elegiac inscription stating that the statue is that of Philopoemen. The memory of Philopoemen is fondly cherished by the Greeks for the wisdom he displayed, and for his many deeds of valour. His father, Craugis, belonged to one of the most distinguished Arcadian families in Megalopolis, but he died while Philopoemen was still an infant, and the guardianship of the child was undertaken by Cleander of Mantinea, who, having the misfortune to be exiled from his native city, had resided ever since in Megalopolis, where his family were united by ties of friendship with the house of Craugis. They say that amongst the teachers of Philopoemen were Megalophanes and Ecdelus, who are said to have been disciples of Arcesilaus the Pitanaean.
In size and strength Philopoemen was a match for any man in Peloponnese, but he was hard-favoured. He scorned to train for prize competitions, but tilled his own land and did not neglect the chase. They say he read books of renowned writers and tales of war, and whatever served to illustrate the art of strategy. He would fain have modelled his whole life on the pattern set by the character and deeds of Epaminondas, but could not equal him in all things; for while the temper of Epaminondas was very gentle, that of the Arcadian was passionate.
When Cleomenes seized Megalopolis, Philopoemen, undaunted by the suddenness of the blow, brought safe off to Messene about two-thirds of the fighting men and all the women and children ; for at that time the Messenians were their good friends and allies. To some of the escaped fugitives Cleomenes made overtures, professing repentance for his crime, and expressing his willingness to treat with the Megalopolitans if they returned to their homes ; but Philopoemen persuaded his countrymen to open the way home with their swords, and to have nothing to do with truces and treaties.
At the battle of Sellasia, where the Lacedaemonians, under Cleomenes, were confronted by troops from every city in Achaia and Arcadia, as well as by a Macedonian contingent under Antigonus, Philopoemen rode with the cavalry, but seeing that the decision of the day would rest with the infantry, he dismounted and joined them. In exposing himself with conspicuous gallantry he was run through both thighs by one of the enemy ; and though thus grievously hampered, he yet bent in his knees and made shift to go forward, till by the motion of his legs he snapped the spear in two. When he returned to the camp after the defeat of the Lacedaemonians and their king, the surgeons extracted the pieces of the spear from his thighs, from one thigh the spike, from the other the blade. Now when Antigonus heard of and saw his gallantry, he sought to take Philopoemen with him to Macedonia. But Philopoemen cared little for Antigonus. He sailed to Crete, where a civil war was raging, and here he was made a captain of free lances. On his return to Megalopolis he was immediately chosen by the Achaeans to command their cavalry, and he made them the finest cavalrymen in Greece. In the skirmish at the river Larisus between the Achaeans and their allies on the one side, and the Eleans and Aetolians, their kinsmen and allies, on the other side, Philopoemen first killed with his own hand Demophantus, the commander of the enemy’s horse, and then put the whole Aetolian and Elean cavalry to flight.
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