ἅτε δὲ ἤδη τῶν Ἀχαιῶν ἀφορώντων ἐς αὐτὸν καὶ τὰ πάντα ἐκεῖνον ποιουμένων, τοῖς τεταγμένοις αὐτῶν ἐν τῷ πεζῷ μετέβαλε τῶν ὅπλων τὴν σκευήν· φοροῦντας γὰρ μικρὰ δοράτια καὶ ἐπιμηκέστερα ὅπλα κατὰ τοὺς Κελτικοὺς θυρεοὺς ἢ τὰ γέρρα τὰ Περσῶν, ἔπεισε θώρακάς τε ἐνδύεσθαι καὶ ἐπιτίθεσθαι κνημῖδας, πρὸς δὲ ἀσπίσιν Ἀργολικαῖς χρῆσθαι καὶ τοῖς δόρασι μεγάλοις.
Μαχανίδου δὲ ἐν Λακεδαίμονι ἀναφύντος τυράννου καὶ αὖθις πολέμου τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς πρὸς Λακεδαιμονίους καὶ Μαχανίδαν συνεστηκότος, ἡγεῖτο μὲν τοῦ Ἀχαϊκοῦ Φιλοποίμην· γινομένης δὲ πρὸς Μαντινείᾳ μάχης Λακεδαιμονίων μὲν οἱ ψιλοὶ τοὺς ἀσκεύους τῶν Ἀχαιῶν νικῶσι καὶ φεύγουσιν αὐτοῖς ἐπέκειτο ὁ Μαχανίδας, τῇ δὲ φάλαγγι ὁ Φιλοποίμην τῶν πεζῶν τρέπεται τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων τοὺς ὁπλίτας καὶ ἀναχωροῦντι ἀπὸ τῆς διώξεως Μαχανίδᾳ συντυχὼν ἀποκτίννυσιν αὐτόν. Λακεδαιμονίοις δὲ ἠτυχηκόσι τῇ μάχῃ περιεγεγόνει μείζων ἢ κατὰ τὸ πταῖσμα εὐτυχία, γεγονόσιν ἐλευθέροις ἀπὸ τοῦ τυράννου.
μετὰ δὲ οὐ πολὺ ἀγόντων Νέμεια Ἀργείων ἔτυχε μὲν τῶν κιθαρῳδῶν τῷ ἀγῶνι ὁ Φιλοποίμην παρών· Πυλάδου δὲ Μεγαλοπολίτου μὲν ἀνδρὸς γένος, κιθαρῳδοῦ δὲ τῶν ἐφʼ αὑτοῦ δοκιμωτάτου καὶ ἀνῃρημένου Πυθικὴν νίκην, τότε ᾄδοντος Τιμοθέου νόμον τοῦ Μιλησίου Πέρσας καὶ καταρξαμένου τῆς ᾠδῆς Κλεινὸν ἐλευθερίας τεύχων μέγαν Ἑλλάδι κόσμον, / ἀπεῖδεν ἐς τὸν Φιλοποίμενα τὸ Ἑλληνικὸν καὶ ἐπεσημήναντο τῷ κρότῳ φέρειν ἐς ἐκεῖνον τὸ ᾆσμα. τοιοῦτο ἐς Θεμιστοκλέα ἄλλο ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ πυνθάνομαι συμβῆναι· καὶ γὰρ Θεμιστοκλέους ἐς τιμὴν ἐπανέστη τὸ ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ θέατρον.
Φίλιππος δὲ ὁ Δημητρίου Μακεδόνων βασιλεύς, ὃς καὶ Ἄρατον φαρμάκῳ τὸν Σικυώνιον ἀπέκτεινεν, ἀπέστειλεν ἄνδρας ἐς Μεγάλην πόλιν φονεῦσαί σφισι Φιλοποίμενα ἐντειλάμενος· ἁμαρτὼν δὲ ἀνὰ τὴν Ἑλλάδα ἐμισήθη πᾶσαν. Θηβαῖοι δὲ κεκρατηκότες μάχῃ Μεγαρέας καὶ ἤδη τοῦ Μεγαρικοῦ τείχους ἐπιβαίνοντες, ἀπάτῃ τῶν Μεγαρέων μετελθόντων αὐτοὺς ὡς ἥκοι Φιλοποίμην σφίσιν ἐς τὴν πόλιν, ἐς τοσοῦτο εὐλαβείας προῆλθον ὡς οἴκαδε ἀποχωρῆσαι καταλιπόντες ἄπρακτον τοῦ πολέμου τὸ ἔργον.
ἐν δὲ Λακεδαίμονι αὖθις ἐπανέστη τύραννος Νάβις, ὃς Πελοποννησίων πρώτοις ἐπέθετο Μεσσηνίοις· ἐπελθὼν δέ σφισιν ἐν νυκτὶ καὶ οὐδαμῶς τὴν ἔφοδον ἐλπίζουσιν εἷλε μὲν πλὴν τῆς ἀκροπόλεως τὸ ἄστυ, ἀφικομένου δὲ ἐς τὴν ὑστεραίαν στρατιᾷ Φιλοποίμενος ἐξέπεσεν ὑπόσπονδος ἐκ Μεσσήνης.
Φιλοποίμην δέ, ὡς ἐξῆκέν οἱ στρατηγοῦντι ὁ χρόνος καὶ ἄρχειν ἄλλοι τῶν Ἀχαιῶν ᾕρηντο, αὖθις ἐς Κρήτην διέβη καὶ ἐπεκούρησε Γορτυνίοις πολέμῳ πιεζομένοις. ποιουμένων δὲ ἐν ὀργῇ διὰ τὴν ἀποδημίαν τῶν Ἀρκάδων αὐτόν, ἐπάνεισί τε ἐκ Κρήτης καὶ Ῥωμαίους πόλεμον κατελάμβανεν ἐπανῃρημένους πρὸς Νάβιν.
παρεσκευασμένων δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν Νάβιν ναυτικὸν τῶν Ῥωμαίων, ὁ Φιλοποίμην ὑπὸ προθυμίας μεθέξειν ἔμελλε τοῦ ἀγῶνος· ἅτε δὲ ἐς ἅπαν ἀπείρως θαλάσσης ἔχων τριήρους ἔλαθεν ἐπιβὰς ῥεούσης, ὥστε καὶ ἐσῆλθε Ῥωμαίους καὶ τὸ ἄλλο συμμαχικὸν μνήμη τῶν ἐπῶν ὧν ἐν καταλόγῳ πεποίηκεν Ὅμηρος ἐπὶ τῇ Ἀρκάδων ἀμαθίᾳ τῇ ἐς θάλασσαν.
ἡμέραις δὲ ὕστερον τῆς ναυμαχίας οὐ πολλαῖς Φιλοποίμην καὶ ὁ σὺν αὐτῷ λόχος φυλάξαντες νύκτα ἀσέληνον τὸ στρατόπεδον τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων κατεμπιπρᾶσιν ἐν Γυθίῳ. ἐνταῦθα ἀπέλαβεν ἐν δυσχωρίαις Νάβις Φιλοποίμενά τε αὐτὸν καὶ ὅσοι περὶ αὐτὸν τῶν Ἀρκάδων ἦσαν· ἦσαν δὲ ἄλλως μὲν ἀγαθοὶ τὰ ἐς πόλεμον, ἀριθμὸν δὲ οὐ πολλοί.
Φιλοποίμην δὲ τὴν τάξιν, ἣν τεταγμένους ἀπῆγεν ὀπίσω, ταύτην ὑπαλλάξας τὰ μάλιστα ἰσχυρὰ τῶν χωρίων πρὸς αὑτοῦ καὶ οὐ πρὸς τῶν πολεμίων ἐποίησεν εἶναι· κρατήσας δὲ τῇ μάχῃ Νάβιν καὶ τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων ἐν τῇ νυκτὶ καταφονεύσας πολλούς, δόξης ἔτι ἐς πλέον παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησιν ἤρθη.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα Νάβις μὲν ἐς εἰρημένον χρόνον σπονδὰς παρὰ Ῥωμαίων εὑράμενος τελευτᾷ, πρὶν ἤ οἱ τοῦ πολέμου τὰς ἀνοχὰς ἐξήκειν, ὑπὸ ἀνδρὸς Καλυδωνίου κατὰ δὴ συμμαχίας πρόφασιν ἥκοντος, πολεμίου δὲ τῷ ἔργῳ καὶ ἐπʼ αὐτὸ ἐσταλμένου τοῦτο ὑπὸ τῶν Αἰτωλῶν.
It was now to Philopoemen that the Achaeans looked, and in him that they placed all their hope and pride. He was thus enabled to change the equipment of their infantry. Hitherto they had carried short javelins and oblong shields, like the Celtic targes or the Persian bucklers; but Philopoemen induced them to don breastplates and put on greaves, and, further, to use Argolic shields and long spears.
When the Achaeans were involved once more in war with the Lacedaemonians under their upstart tyrant Machanidas, Philopoemen was in command of the Achaean troops. A battle took place at Mantinea, in which the Lacedaemonian skirmishers worsted the Achaean light troops, and the tyrant pressed the pursuit of the fugitives. But Philopoemen, at the head of the column of infantry, routed the Lacedaemonian foot, and falling in with Machanidas, who was returning from the pursuit, killed him. To the Lacedaemonians the loss of the battle was more than compensated by the recovery of their freedom.
Not long afterwards, when the Argives were celebrating the Nemean games, it chanced that Philopoemen was present at the competition of the minstrels. Pylades, a native of Megalopolis, and the most famous minstrel of his time, who had gained a Pythian victory, was singing an air of Timotheus the Milesian, called ‘The Persians.’ Scarcely had he struck up the song— The glorious crown of freedom who giveth to Greece— when all the people turned and looked at Philopoemen, and with clapping of hands signified that the song referred to him. I have heard that much the same thing happened to Themistocles at Olympia: the people in the theatre stood up to do him honour. 4. But Philip, son of Demetrius, king of Macedonia, who poisoned Aratus of Sicyon, despatched men to Megalopolis with orders to assassinate Philopoemen. The attempt miscarried, but its author incurred the detestation of the whole of Greece. The Thebans had defeated the Megarians in battle, and were in the act of mounting the walls of Megara, when the Megarians deluded them into the belief that Philopoemen was come into the city. At this the Thebans were seized with a fit of caution so extreme that they left the campaign unfinished and departed homeward.
In Lacedaemon another tyrant arose. This was Nabis. The first of the Peloponnesians whom he fell upon were the Messenians. Attacking them by night when they looked for no enemy he took the city, all but the acropolis; but when Philopoemen came next day at the head of an army, Nabis capitulated and marched out of Messene. When the term of his generalship had expired, and other generals of the Achaeans were elected, Philopoemen crossed again to Crete and helped the Gortynians, who were hard pressed in war. But the Arcadians were angry with him for absenting himself from the country, so he returned from Crete to find that the Romans had declared war against Nabis. They had fitted out a fleet against Nabis, and the ardent temper of Philopoemen urged him to plunge into the fray. But being no sailor he unwittingly embarked in a leaky galley, which reminded the Romans and their allies of the verses in the Catalogue where Homer speaks of the Arcadians as ignorant of the sea. Not many days after the sea-fight Philopoemen, at the head of his regiment, took advantage of a moonless night to burn down the Lacedaemonian camp at Gythium. Hereupon Nabis intercepted Philopoemen and his Arcadians in difficult ground. The Arcadians were good soldiers, but they were few in number. However, Philopoemen, by changing the order in which he was conducting the retreat, turned the strongest positions to his own advantage; and having defeated Nabis and slaughtered many of the Lacedaemonians by night, he rose to a still higher pitch of glory in the estimation of the Greeks. Afterwards Nabis, who had been granted a truce by the Romans, was assassinated before its expiry by a Calydonian who came on a pretext of alliance, but who, in fact, was an enemy despatched by the Aetolians to do the deed.
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