τὸ μὲν δὴ παραυτίκα ὁ Ἐπαμινώνδας μετὰ τὴν μάχην Πελοποννησίων τοῖς λοιποῖς ἀπιέναι προειπὼν ἐπὶ τὰ οἰκεῖα Λακεδαιμονίους ἐν τοῖς Λεύκτροις εἶχεν ἀπειλημμένους· ὡς δὲ ἤκουε τοὺς ἐκ τῆς πόλεως Σπαρτιάτας βοηθήσοντας τοῖς σφετέροις ἐς Λεῦκτρα ἰέναι πανδημεί, δίδωσιν οὕτω τοῖς ἀνδράσιν ἀπελθεῖν ὑποσπόνδους ἔφη τε ἄμεινον ἔσεσθαι τὸν πόλεμόν σφισιν ἐκ Βοιωτῶν ἐς τὴν Λακεδαίμονα ἀπώσασθαι.
Θεσπιεῦσι δέ, ὑφορωμένοις τήν τε ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐκ τῶν Θηβαίων δυσμένειαν καὶ τὴν ἐν τῷ παρόντι αὐτῶν τύχην, τὴν μὲν πόλιν ἔδοξεν ἐκλιπεῖν, ἀναφεύγειν δὲ ἐς Κερησσόν. ἔστι δὲ ἐχυρὸν χωρίον ὁ Κερησσὸς ἐν τῇ Θεσπιέων, ἐς ὃ καὶ πάλαι ποτὲ ἀνεσκευάσαντο κατὰ τὴν ἐπιστρατείαν τὴν Θεσσαλῶν· οἱ Θεσσαλοὶ δὲ τότε, ὡς ἑλεῖν τὸν Κερησσόν σφισι πειρωμένοις ἐφαίνετο ἐλπίδος κρεῖσσον, ἀφίκοντο ἐς Δελφοὺς παρὰ τὸν θεόν, καὶ
αὐτοῖς γίνεται μάντευμα τοιόνδε· Λεῦκτρά τέ μοι σκιόεντα μέλει καὶ Ἀλήσιον οὖδας, / καί μοι τὼ Σκεδάσου μέλετον δυσπενθέε κούρα. / ἔνθα μάχη πολύδακρυς ἐπέρχεται· οὐδέ τις αὐτήν / φράσσεται ἀνθρώπων, πρὶν κούριον ἀγλαὸν ἥβην / Δωριέες ὀλέσωσʼ, ὅταν αἴσιμον ἦμαρ ἐπέλθῃ. / τουτάκι δʼ ἔστι Κερησσὸς ἁλώσιμος, ἄλλοτε δʼ οὐχί. /
τότε δὲ ὁ Ἐπαμινώνδας ὡς τοὺς Θεσπιεῖς καταφεύγοντας ἐς τὸν Κερησσὸν ἐξεῖλε, πρὸς τὰ ἐν Πελοποννήσῳ παραυτίκα ἔσπευδεν ἅτε καὶ τῶν Ἀρκάδων προθύμως μεταπεμπομένων. ἐλθὼν δὲ Ἀργείους μὲν προσελάβετο ἑκουσίους συμμάχους, Μαντινέας δὲ κατὰ κώμας ὑπὸ Ἀγησιπόλιδος διῳκισμένους ἐς τὴν ἀρχαίαν συνήγαγεν αὖθις πόλιν· τὰ δὲ πολίσματα τὰ Ἀρκάδων ὁπόσα εἶχεν ἀσθενῶς καταλῦσαι πείσας τοὺς Ἀρκάδας, πατρίδα ἐν κοινῷ σφισιν ᾤκισεν, ἣ Μεγάλη καὶ ἐς ἡμᾶς ἔτι καλεῖται πόλις.
ὁ μὲν δὴ χρόνος βοιωταρχοῦντι Ἐπαμινώνδᾳ διήνυστο, τεθνάναι δὲ ἐτέτακτο ἐπιλαβόντα ἄνδρα τῆς ἀρχῆς· ὁ οὖν Ἐπαμινώνδας ὑπεριδὼν ὡς οὐκ ὄντα ἐν καιρῷ τὸν νόμον ἐβοιωτάρχει καὶ ἀφικόμενος τῷ στρατῷ πρὸς τὴν Σπάρτην, ὡς οὐκ ἀντεπῆγεν Ἀγησίλαος μαχούμενος, οὕτω πρὸς τὸν οἰκισμὸν τρέπεται Μεσσήνης. καὶ οἰκιστὴς Μεσσηνίοις τοῖς νῦν ἐστιν Ἐπαμινώνδας· καί μοι τὰ ἐς τὸν οἰκισμὸν ἐδήλωσε τὰ ἐς αὐτοὺς ἔχοντα Μεσσηνίους.
ἐν τούτῳ δὲ οἱ τῶν Θηβαίων σύμμαχοι κατέτρεχον διασκεδασθέντες χώραν τὴν Λακωνικὴν καὶ ἥρπαζον τὰ ἐξ αὐτῆς· τοῦτο Ἐπαμινώνδᾳ παρέστησεν ὀπίσω Θηβαίους ἐς Βοιωτίαν ἀπαγαγεῖν. καὶ ὡς προϊὼν τῷ στρατῷ κατὰ Λέχαιον ἐγίνετο καὶ διεξιέναι τῆς ὁδοῦ τὰ στενὰ καὶ δύσβατα ἔμελλεν, Ἰφικράτης ὁ Τιμοθέου πελταστὰς καὶ ἄλλην Ἀθηναίων ἔχων δύναμιν ἐπιχειρεῖ τοῖς Θηβαίοις.
Ἐπαμινώνδας δὲ τοὺς ἐπιθεμένους τρέπεται καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸ ἀφικόμενος Ἀθηναίων τὸ ἄστυ, ὡς ἐπεξιέναι μαχουμένους τοὺς Ἀθηναίους ἐκώλυεν Ἰφικράτης, ὁ δὲ αὖθις ἐς τὰς Θήβας ἀπήλαυνε. καὶ δίκην μὲν ἔφυγεν ὑπὲρ θανάτου, διότι ἐβοιωτάρχησεν ἐξήκοντος ἤδη τοῦ χρόνου· λέγονται δὲ οἱ δικάζειν λαχόντες οὐδὲ ἀρχὴν περὶ αὐτοῦ θέσθαι τὴν ψῆφον.
After the battle Epaminondas ordered the rest of the Peloponnesians to depart to their homes, but the Lacedaemonians he at first kept shut up in Leuctra ; till hearing that the Spartans of the capital had turned out to a man, and were marching to Leuctra to the help of their comrades, he made terms with his beaten foes and allowed them to depart, saying that it would be better to transfer the seat of war from Boeotia to Lacedaemon. The Thespians, filled with misgivings at the ancient ill-will and present good fortune of the Thebans, resolved to abandon their city and take refuge in Ceressus. Ceressus is a stronghold belonging to the Thespians, in which they had once long before taken up their quarters on the occasion of the Thessalian invasion. At that time the Thessalians, after a fruitless attempt, resigned all hope of capturing Ceressus, and betook themselves to Delphi to inquire of the god. The following oracle was vouchsafed to them :— Dear to me are shady Leuctra and the Alesian soil, And dear the two sad girls of Scedasus, There a tearful battle draws on, which no man Shall forecast, till the Dorians shall lose The flower of their young men, when the fated day comes on. Then may Ceressus be taken, but at no other time. 2. But now Epaminondas, after capturing the Thespians who had taken refuge in Ceressus, bent his mind to the affairs of Peloponnese, whither he was also warmly invited by the Arcadians to proceed. Being come thither, he received the voluntary adhesion of the Argives, and gathered the Mantineans, who had been dispersed in villages by Agesipolis, once more into their ancient city. Further, he persuaded the Arcadians to pull down all their petty towns, and founded a capital of Arcadia which is still called Megalopolis (‘Great City’). Meanwhile Epaminondas’ term of office as Boeotarch had expired, and death was the penalty for extending it. But considering the rule ill-timed he disregarded it, and continued to act as Boeotarch. He led his army against Sparta, but as Agesilaus did not come out to give battle, he turned his attention to the foundation of Messene, and the present city of Messene acknowledges him as its founder. I have already described the foundation of the city in my account of Messenia. 3. Meantime the allies of the Thebans had dispersed and were overrunning and plundering Laconia. This induced Epaminondas to lead the Thebans back to Boeotia. When his army had reached Lechaeum, and was about to enter the difficult defile, it was assailed by an Athenian force of targeteers and other troops under Iphicrates, son of Timotheus. Epaminondas routed his assailants and advanced to the Athenian capital. But Iphicrates prevented the Athenians from sallying out to fight, so Epaminondas marched back to Thebes.
He was tried for his life because he had acted as Boeotarch after the expiry of his term of office; but it is said that the jury who were balloted to try him did not even proceed to a vote.
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