τοῦ δʼ Ἀντιγόνου πρὸς προσιόντος ἤδη μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως ἦγε δὲ πεζοὺς δισμυρίους Μακεδόνας, ἱππεῖς δὲ χιλίους καὶ τριακοσίους ἀπήντα μετὰ τῶν δημιουργῶν ὁ Ἄρατος αὐτῷ κατὰ θάλατταν εἰς Πηγάς, λαθὼν τοὺς πολεμίους, οὐ πάνυ τι θαρρῶν τὸν Ἀντίγονον οὐδὲ πιστεύων τοῖς Μακεδόσιν. ᾔδει γὰρ ηὐξημένον ἑαυτὸν ἐζ ὧν ἐκείνους κακῶς ἐποίησε καὶ πρώτην εἰληφότα μεγίστην ὑπόθεσιν τῆς πολιτείας τὴν πρὸς Ἀντίγονον τὸν παλαιὸν ἔχθραν.
And now, as Antigonus was approaching with his forces (he was followed by twenty thousand Macedonian footmen and thirteen hundred horse), Aratus, in company with his High Councillors, went by sea to meet him at Pegae, eluding the enemy. He had no very great confidence in Antigonus, and put no trust in the Macedonians. For he knew that his own rise to power had been a consequence of the harm he had done to them, and that he had found the first and the chief basis for his conduct of affairs in his hatred towards the former Antigonus.
ἀλλὰ ὁρῶν ἀπαραίτητον ἐπικειμένην ἀνάγκην καὶ τὸν καιρόν, ᾧ δουλεύουσιν οἱ δοκοῦντες ἄρχειν, ἐχώρει πρὸς τὸ δεινόν. ὁ δὲ Ἀντίγονος, ὥς τις αὐτῷ προσιόντα τὸν Ἄρατον ἔφρασε, τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους ἠσπάσατο μετρίως καὶ κοινῶς, ἐκεῖνον δὲ καὶ περὶ τὴν πρώτην ἀπάντησιν ἐδέξατο τῇ τιμῇ περιττῶς, καὶ τἆλλα πειρώμενος ἀνδρὸς ἀγαθοῦ καὶ νοῦν ἔχοντος ἐνδοτέρω τῆς χρείας προσηγάγετο.
But seeing how inexorable was the necessity laid upon him in the demands of the hour, to which those we call rulers are slaves, he went on towards the dread ordeal. But Antigonus, when he was told that Aratus was coming to him, gave the rest of the party an ordinary and moderate welcome; Aratus, however, he received at this first meeting with superlative honour, and afterwards, finding him to be a man of worth and wisdom, drew him in closer intimacy to himself.
καὶ γὰρ ἦν ὁ Ἄρατος οὐ μόνον ἐν πράγμασι μεγάλοις ὠφέλιμος, ἀλλὰ καὶ σχολάζοντι βασιλεῖ συγγενέσθαι παρʼ ὁντινοῦν ἐπίχαρις. διό, καίπερ ὢν νέος ὁ Ἀντίγονος, ὡς κατενόησε τὴν φύσιν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς μηδὲν ἀργὸν εἰς φιλίαν βασιλικὴν οὖσαν, οὐ μόνον Ἀχαιῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ Μακεδόνων τῶν σὺν αὐτῷ πάντων μάλιστα χρώμενος ἐκείνῳ διετέλει·
For Aratus was not only helpful in large undertakings, but also more acceptable than anyone else as a companion in the king’s leisure hours. Therefore, although Antigonus was young, as soon as he perceived that Aratus was naturally well fitted to be a king’s friend, he continually treated him with greater intimacy than anyone else, whether of the Achaeans, or of the Macedonians in his following;
καὶ τὸ σημεῖον ἀπέβαινεν ὡς ὁ θεὸς ἐπὶ τῶν ἱερῶν ἔδειξε. λέγεται γὰρ οὐ πρὸ πολλοῦ θύοντι τῷ Ἀράτῳ δύο χολὰς ἐν ἥπατι φανῆναι μιᾷ πιμελῇ περιεχομένας· καὶ τὸν μάντιν εἰπεῖν ὡς ταχὺ πρὸς τὰ ἔχθιστα καὶ πολεμιώτατα σύνεισιν εἰς ἄκραν φιλίαν. τότε μὲν οὖν παρήνεγκε τὸ ῥηθέν, οὐδὲ ἄλλως πολὺ νέμων πίστεως ἱεροῖς καὶ μαντεύμασιν, ἀλλὰ τῷ λογισμῷ χρώμενος.
and thus the omen proved true which the god had given to Aratus in his sacrificial victims. For it is related that as he was sacrificing a little while before this, a liver was found which had two gall-bladders enclosed in a single coil of fat; whereupon the seer had declared that Aratus would soon enter into close friendship with what he most hated and fought against. At the time, then, Aratus paid no heed to the utterance, since in general he put little faith in victims and divinations, and trusted rather to his reasoning powers.
ἐπεὶ δὲ ὕστερον εὖ χωροῦντι τῷ πολέμῳ συναγαγὼν ὁ Ἀντίγονος ἑστίασιν ἐν Κορίνθῳ καὶ πολλοὺς ὑποδεχόμενος τὸν Ἄρατον ἐπάνω κατέκλινεν ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ μετὰ μικρὸν αἰτήσας περιβόλαιον ἠρώτησεν εἰ δοκεῖ κἀκείνῳ ψῦχος εἶναι, τοῦ δὲ καὶ πάνυ ῥιγοῦν φήσαντος, ἐκέλευσε προσχωρεῖν ἐγγυτέρω καὶ δάπιδος κομισθείσης ἀμφοτέρους ὁμοῦ περιέβαλον οἱ παῖδες, τότε δὴ τὸν Ἄρατον ἀναμνησθέντα τῶν ἱερῶν ἐκείνων γέλως ἔλαβε, καὶ διηγεῖτο τῷ βασιλεῖ τὸ σημεῖον καὶ τὴν προαγόρευσιν. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἐπράχθη χρόνοις ὕστερον.
Later, however, when the war was going on well, Antigonus gave a feast in Corinth, at which he had many guests, and made Aratus recline just above himself. After a little while the king called for a coverlet, and asked Aratus if he too did not think it cold; and when Aratus replied that he was very chilly, the king ordered him to come nearer; so that the rug which the servants brought was thrown over both of them together. Then, indeed, Aratus called to mind his sacrificial victims and burst out laughing, and told the king about the omen and the seer’s prediction. But this took place at a later time.
ἐν δὲ ταῖς Πηγαῖς δόντες καὶ λαβόντες ὅρκους εὐθὺς ἐβάδιζον ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους, καὶ περὶ τὴν πόλιν ἀγῶνες ἦσαν, εὖ πεφραγμένου τοῦ Κλεομένους καὶ τῶν Κορινθίων ἀμυνομένων προθύμως. ἐν τούτῳ δὲ Ἀριστοτέλης ὁ Ἀργεῖος φίλος ὢν Ἀράτου διαπέμπεται κρύφα πρὸς αὐτόν, ὡς ἀποστήσων τὴν πόλιν, εἰ στρατιώτας ἐκεῖνος ἔχων ἔλθοι.
At Pegae Antigonus and Aratus exchanged oaths of fidelity, and straightway marched against the enemy at Corinth. And there were conflicts about the city, Cleomenes being well fortified, and the Corinthians defending themselves with ardour. Meanwhile, however, Aristotle the Argive, who was a friend of Aratus, sent secretly to him and promised to bring his city to revolt from Cleomenes if Aratus would come thither with soldiers.
τοῦ δὲ Ἀράτου φράσαντος τῷ Ἀντιγόνῳ καὶ μετὰ χιλίων καὶ πεντακοσίων εἰς Ἐπίδαυρον ἐξ Ἰσθμοῦ πλοίοις κομιζομένου κατὰ τάχος, οἱ μὲν Ἀργεῖοι προεξαναστάντες ἐπέθεντο τοῖς τοῦ Κλεομένους καὶ κατέκλεισαν εἰς τὴν ἀκρόπολιν, ὁ δὲ Κλεομένης πυθόμενος ταῦτα, καὶ δείσας μὴ κατασχόντες οἱ πολέμιοι τὸ Ἄργος ἀποκόψωσιν αὐτὸν τῆς οἴκαδε σωτηρίας, ἐκλιπὼν Τὸν Ἀκροκόρινθον ἔτι νυκτὸς ἐβοήθει.
So Aratus, after informing Antigonus, took fifteen hundred men and sailed from the Isthmus to Epidaurus with all speed. But the Argives, revolting prematurely, attacked the garrison of Cleomenes and shut them up in the citadel, and Cleomenes, learning of this, and fearing that if his enemies got possession of Argos they would cut him off from a safe return home, abandoned Acrocorinthus while it was still night and went to their aid.
καὶ παρελθὼν μὲν εἰς Ἄργος ἔφθη καὶ τροπήν τινα τῶν πολεμίων ἐποίησεν, ὀλίγῳ δὲ ὕστερον Ἀράτου προσφερομένου καὶ τοῦ βασιλέως ἐπιφαινομένου μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως ἀπεχώρησεν εἰς Μαντίνειαν. ἐκ τούτου τοῖς μὲν Ἀχαιοῖς πάλιν αἱ πόλεις ἅπασαι προσεχώρησαν, Ἀντίγονος δὲ Τὸν Ἀκροκόρινθον παρέλαβεν, Ἄρατος δὲ στρατηγὸς αἱρεθεὶς ὑπʼ Ἀργείων ἔπεισεν αὐτοὺς Ἀντιγόνῳ τά τε τῶν τυράννων καὶ τὰ τῶν προδοτῶν χρήματα δωρεὰν δοῦναι.
He succeeded in getting into Argos first, routing some of the enemy on the way; but shortly afterwards Aratus came up, and Antigonus showed himself with his forces, and Cleomenes therefore retreated to Mantineia. Upon this the cities all came over to the Achaeans again, Acrocorinthus was handed over to Antigonus, and Aratus, having been chosen general by the Argives, persuaded them to make a present to Antigonus of the property of the tyrants and of the traitors.
τὸν δὲ Ἀριστόμαχον ἐν Κεγχρεαῖς στρεβλώσαντες κατεπόντισαν, ἐφʼ ᾧ καὶ μάλιστα κακῶς ἤκουσεν ὁ Ἄρατος, ὡς ἄνθρωπον οὐ πονηρόν, ἀλλὰ καὶ κεχρημένον ἐκείνῳ καὶ πεπεισμένον ἀφεῖναι τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ προσαγαγεῖν τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς τὴν πόλιν, ὅμως περιιδὼν παρανόμως ἀπολλύμενον.
As for Aristomachus, he was tortured at Cenchreae and then thrown into the sea; for which deed, more than any other, Aratus was reproached, on the ground that he had allowed a man to be lawlessly put to death who was not wicked, but had cooperated with him, and at his persuasion had renounced his power and attached his city to the Achaean League.
ἤδη δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἐκείνῳ τὰς αἰτίας ἐπέφερον, οἷον ὅτι τὴν μὲν Κορινθίων πόλιν Ἀντιγόνῳ δωρεὰν ἔδωκαν, ὥσπερ κώμην τὴν τυχοῦσαν, τὸν Ὀρχομενὸν δὲ συνεχώρησαν αὐτῷ διαρπάσαντι φρουρὰν ἐμβαλεῖν Μακεδονικήν, ἐψηφίσαντο δὲ ἄλλῳ μὴ γράφειν βασιλεῖ μηδὲ πρεσβεύειν πρὸς ἄλλον ἄκοντος Ἀντιγόνου,
Presently, too, men began to blame Aratus for whatever else was done, as, for instance, that the Achaeans made a present to Antigonus of the city of Corinth, as if it had been an ordinary village; that they allowed the king to plunder Orchomenus and put a Macedonian garrison in it; that they decreed not to write or send an embassy to any other king against the wishes of Antigonus;
τρέφειν τε καὶ μισθοδοτεῖν ἠναγκάζοντο τοὺς Μακεδόνας, θυσίας δὲ καὶ πομπὰς καὶ ἀγῶνας Ἀντιγόνῳ συνετέλουν, ἀρξαμένων τῶν Ἀράτου πολιτῶν καὶ δεξαμένων τῇ πόλει τὸν Ἀντίγονον ὑπʼ Ἀράτου ξενιζόμενον, ᾐτιῶντο πάντων ἐκεῖνον, ἀγνοοῦντες ὅτι τὰς ἡνίας ἐκείνῳ παραδεδωκὼς καὶ τῇ ῥύμῃ τῆς βασιλικῆς ἐφελκόμενος ἐξουσίας οὐδενὸς ἦν ἢ μόνης φωνῆς ἔτι κύριος, ἐπισφαλῆ τὴν παρρησίαν ἐχούσης.
that they were forced to furnish supplies and pay for the Macedonian troops; and that they celebrated sacrifices, processions, and games in honour of Antigonus, the fellow-citizens of Aratus leading the way and receiving Antigonus into their city, where he was the guest of Aratus. For all these things men blamed Aratus, not knowing that, since he had entrusted the reins to the king and was dragged along in the wake of the king’s power, he was no longer master of anything except his tongue, which it was dangerous for him to use with freedom.
ἐπεὶ φανερῶς γε πολλὰ τῶν πραττομένων ἐλύπει τὸν Ἄρατον, ὥσπερ τὸ περὶ τῶν εἰκόνων ὁ γὰρ Ἀντίγονος τὰς μὲν τῶν ἐν Ἄργει τυράννων καταβεβλημένας ἀνέστησε, τὰς δὲ τῶν ἑλόντων τὸν Ἀκροκόρινθον ἑστώσας ἀνέτρεψε πλὴν μιᾶς τῆς ἐκείνου· καὶ πολλὰ περὶ τούτων δεηθεὶς ὁ Ἄρατος οὐκ ἔπεισεν.
At any rate Aratus was plainly annoyed at many acts of the king, and especially at his treatment of the statues in Argos; for those of the tyrants, which had been cast down, Antigonus set up again, while those of the captors of Acrocorinthus, which were standing, he threw down, that of Aratus only excepted; and though Aratus made many appeals to him in the matter, he could not persuade him.
ἐδόκει δὲ καὶ τὰ περὶ Μαντίνειαν οὐχ Ἑλληνικῶς διῳκῆσθαι τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς. κρατήσαντες γὰρ αὐτῶν διʼ Ἀντιγόνου τοὺς μὲν ἐνδοξοτάτους καὶ πρώτους ἀπέκτειναν, τῶν δʼ ἄλλων τοὺς μὲν ἀπέδοντο, τοὺς δʼ εἰς Μακεδονίαν ἀπέστειλαν ἐν πέδαις δεδεμένους, παῖδας δὲ καὶ γυναῖκας ἠνδραποδίσαντο, τοῦ δὲ συναχθέντος ἀργυρίου τὸ τρίτον αὐτοὶ διείλοντο, τὰς δὲ δύο μοίρας ἔνειμαν τοῖς Μακεδόσι.
It was thought also that the treatment of Mantineia by the Achaeans was not in accord with the Greek spirit. For after mastering that city with the aid of Antigonus, they put to death the leading and most noted citizens, and of the rest, some they sold into slavery, while others they sent off into Macedonia in chains, and made slaves of their wives and children, dividing a third of the money thus raised among themselves, and giving the remaining two-thirds to the Macedonians.
καὶ ταῦτα μὲν ἔσχε τὸν τῆς ἀμύνης νόμον καὶ γὰρ εἰ δεινὸν ἄνδρας ὁμοφύλους καὶ συγγενεῖς οὕτω μεταχειρίσασθαι διʼ ὀργήν, ἀλλʼ ἐν ἀνάγκαις γλυκὺ γίνεται καὶ σκληρόν, κατὰ Σιμωνίδην, ὥσπερ ἀλγοῦντι τῷ θυμῷ καὶ φλεγμαίνοντι θεραπείαν καὶ ἀναπλήρωσιν προσφερόντων. τὰ δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα πραχθέντα περὶ τὴν πόλιν οὔτʼ εἰς καλὴν οὔτʼ εἰς ἀναγκαίαν ἔστι θέσθαι τῷ Ἀράτῳ πρόφασιν.
It is true that this came under the law of reprisal; for though it is a terrible thing to treat men of the same race and blood in this way, out of anger, still in dire stress even cruelty is sweet, as Simonides says, when men, as it were, give satisfaction and healing care to a mind that is in anguish and inflamed. But the subsequent treatment of the city by Aratus was neither necessary nor honourable, and cannot be excused.
τῶν γὰρ Ἀχαιῶν τὴν πόλιν παρʼ Ἀντιγόνου δωρεὰν λαβόντων καὶ κατοικίζειν ἐγνωκότων αὐτὸς οἰκιστὴς αἱρεθεὶς καὶ στρατηγὸς ὢν ἐψηφίσατο μηκέτι καλεῖν Μαντίνειαν, ἀλλʼ Ἀντιγόνειαν, ὃ καὶ μέχρι νῦν καλεῖται, καὶ δοκεῖ διʼ ἐκεῖνον ἡ μὲν ἐρατεινὴ Μαντίνεια παντάπασιν ἐξαληλίφθαι, διαμένει δὲ ἡ πόλις ἐπώνυμος τῶν ἀπολεσάντων καὶ ἀνελόντων τοὺς πολίτας.
For after the Achaeans had received the city from Antigonus as a present and had decided to colonize it, Aratus himself was chosen to be the founder of the new settlement, and being then general, got a decree passed that the city should no longer be called Mantineia, but Antigoneia, and this is its name down to the present time. And so it was due to Aratus that the name of lovely Mantineia was altogether extinguished, and the city continues to bear the name of him who destroyed and slew its former citizens.
ἐκ τούτου Κλεομένης μὲν ἡττηθεὶς μάχῃ μεγάλῃ περὶ Σελλασίαν ἐξέλιπε τὴν Σπάρτην καὶ ἀπέπλευσεν εἰς Αἴγυπτον, Ἀντίγονος δὲ πάντα τὰ δίκαια καὶ φιλάνθρωπα τῷ Ἀράτῳ πεποιηκὼς ἀνέζευξεν εἰς Μακεδονίαν, κἀκεῖ νοσῶν ἤδη τὸν διάδοχον τῆς βασιλείας Φίλιππον, οὔπω πάνυ μειράκιον ὄντα, πέμπων εἰς Πελοπόννησον Ἀράτῳ μάλιστα προσέχειν ἐκέλευσε καὶ διʼ ἐκείνου ταῖς πόλεσιν ἐντυχεῖν καὶ γνωρισθῆναι τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς.
After this, Cleomenes, having been defeated in a great battle at Sellasia, forsook Sparta and sailed off to Egypt, and Antigonus, after having accorded to Aratus fair and kindly treatment in every way, led his army back to Macedonia. There, being now a sick man, he sent Philip, his successor in the kingdom, who was still a stripling, into the Peloponnesus, and urged him to attach himself to Aratus above all others, and through him to deal with the cities and make the acquaintance of the Achaeans.
καὶ μέντοι καὶ παραλαβὼν αὐτὸν ὁ Ἄρατος οὕτως διέθηκεν ὥστε πολλῆς μὲν εὐνοίας πρὸς αὐτόν, πολλῆς δὲ πρὸς τὰς Ἑλληνικὰς πράξεις φιλοτιμίας καὶ ὁρμῆς μεστὸν εἰς Μακεδονίαν ἀποστεῖλαι.
And indeed Aratus did take the prince in hand, and managed matters so as to send him back to Macedonia full of great goodwill towards his patron and of ardour and ambition for the conduct of Hellenic affairs.
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