πρώτοις δὲ κοινοῦται τὴν γνώμην Ἀριστομάχῳ καὶ Ἐκδήλῳ. τούτων ὁ μὲν ἐκ Σικυῶνος ἦν φυγάς, ὁ δὲ Ἔκδηλος Ἀρκὰς ἐκ Μεγάλης πόλεως, ἀνὴρ φιλόσοφος καὶ πρακτικός, Ἀρκεσιλάου τοῦ Ἀκαδημιακοῦ γεγονὼς ἐν ἄστει συνήθης.
The first to whom he imparted his design were Aristomachus and Ecdelus. Of these, the one was an exile from Sicyon, and Ecdelus was an Arcadian of Megalopolis, a student of philosophy and a man of action, who had been an intimate friend of Arcesilaüs the Academic at Athens.
δεξαμένων δὲ τούτων προθύμως διελέγετο τοῖς ἄλλοις φυγάσιν, ὧν ὀλίγοι μὲν αἰσχυνθέντες ἐγκαταλιπεῖν τὴν ἐλπίδα μετεῖχον τῶν πραττομένων, οἱ δὲ πολλοὶ καὶ τὸν Ἄρατον ἐπειρῶντο κατακωλύειν ὡς ἀπειρίᾳ πραγμάτων θρασυνόμενον.
These men eagerly adopted his proposals, and he then began conversations with the other exiles. A few of these took part in the enterprise because they were ashamed to disappoint the hope placed in them, but the majority actually tried to stop Aratus, on the ground that his inexperience made him over-bold.
βουλευομένου δʼ αὐτοῦ χωρίον τι τῆς Σικυωνίας καταλαβεῖν, ὅθεν ὡρμημένος διαπολεμήσει πρὸς τὸν τύραννον, ἧκεν εἰς Ἄργος ἀνὴρ Σικυώνιος ἐκ τῆς εἱρκτῆς ἀποδεδρακώς· ἦν δὲ τῶν φυγάδων ἑνὸς Ξενοκλέους ἀδελφός· καὶ τῷ Ἀράτῳ προσαχθεὶς ὑπὸ τοῦ Ξενοκλέους ἔλεγε τοῦ τείχους καθʼ ὃν ὑπερβὰς αὐτὸς ἐσώθη τόπον, ἐντὸς μὲν ὀλίγου δεῖν ἐπίπεδον εἶναι, προσπεφυκότα χωρίοις πετρώδεσι καὶ ὑψηλοῖς, τὸ δὲ ἔξωθεν ὕψος ὑπὸ κλιμάκων οὐ πάνυ ἀνέφικτον.
While he was planning to seize some post in the territory of Sicyon from which he might sally forth and make war upon the tyrant, there came to Argos a man of Sicyon who had run away from prison. He was a brother of Xenocles, one of the exiles; and when he had been brought to Aratus by Xenocles, he told him that the part of the city’s wall over which he had climbed to safety was almost level with the ground on the inside, where it had been attached to steep and rocky places, and that on the outside it was not at all too high for scaling-ladders.
ὡς δὲ ταῦτα ἤκουσεν ὁ Ἄρατος, ἐκπέμπει μετὰ τοῦ Ξενοκλέους οἰκέτας ἰδίους δύο, Σεύθαν τε καὶ Τέχνωνα, κατασκεψομένους τὸ τεῖχος, ἐγνωκὼς, εἰ δύναιτο, κρύφα καὶ πρὸς ἕνα κίνδυνον ὀξέως τὸ πᾶν ἀναρρῖψαι μᾶλλον ἢ μακρῷ πολέμῳ καὶ φανεροῖς ἀγῶσιν ἰδιώτης ἀντικαθίστασθαι πρὸς τύραννον.
When Aratus had heard this, he sent with Xenocles two servants of his own, Seuthas and Technon, to make an examination of the wall; for he was resolved, if he could, to hazard the whole enterprise on one secret and swift attempt, rather than in a long war and in open contests to match his private resources against those of a tyrant.
ὡς δʼ ἐπανῆλθον οἱ περὶ τὸν Ξενοκλέα τοῦ μὲν τείχους εἰληφότες μέτρα καὶ τοῦ τόπου τὴν φύσιν ἀπαγγέλλοντες οὐκ ἄπορον οὐδὲ χαλεπήν, τὸ δὲ λαθεῖν προσελθόντας ἐργῶδες εἶναι φάσκοντες ὑπὸ κηπουροῦ τινος κυναρίων, μικρῶν μέν, ἐκτόπως δὲ μαχίμων καὶ ἀπαρηγορήτων, εὐθὺς ἐνίστατο τὴν πρᾶξιν.
So when Xenocles and his party came back with measurements of the wall which they had taken, and with a report that the place was by nature not impassable nor even difficult (although they declared that it was hard to get to it undetected owing to a certain gardener’s dogs, which were little beasts, but extraordinarily fierce and savage), Aratus at once undertook the business.
ἡ μὲν οὖν τῶν ὅπλων παρασκευὴ συνήθης ἦν, πάντων, ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν, τότε κλωπείαις χρωμένων καὶ καταδρομαῖς ἐπʼ ἀλλήλους· τὰς δὲ κλίμακας Εὐφράνωρ ὁ μηχανοποιὸς ἀναφανδὸν ἐπήξατο, τῆς τέχνης αὐτῷ τὸ ἀνύποπτον διδούσης, ἐπεὶ καὶ αὐτὸς ἦν τῶν φυγάδων.
Now the laying in of arms was nothing unusual, since almost everybody at that time indulged in robberies and predatory forays; and as for scaling-ladders, Euphranor the engineer made them openly, since his trade screened him from suspicion; and he too was one of the exiles.
ἄνδρας δὲ αὐτῷ τῶν μὲν ἐν Ἄργει φίλων ἕκαστος ἐξ ὀλίγων δέκα παρέσχεν, αὐτὸς δὲ τῶν ἰδίων οἰκετῶν τριάκοντα καθώπλισεν. ἐμισθώσατο δὲ καὶ διὰ Πρώτου Ξενοφίλου τῶν ἀρχικλώπων οὐ πολλοὺς στρατιώτας, οἷς διεδόθη λόγος ὡς ἐπὶ τὰς ἵππους τὰς βασιλικὰς εἰς τὴν Σικυωνίαν ἔξοδος ἔσοιτο. καὶ προεπέμφθησαν οἱ πολλοὶ σποράδες ἐπὶ τὸν Πολυγνώτου πύργον, ἐκεῖ κελευσθέντες περιμεῖναι.
As for men, each of the friends of Aratus in Argos furnished him with ten out of the few they had, and he himself equipped thirty of his own servants with arms. Through Xenophilus, the foremost of the robber captains, he also hired a few soldiers, to whom it was given out that a foray was to be made into the territory of Sicyon to seize the horses of Antigonus. And most of them were sent on ahead in small bands to the tower of Polygnotus, with orders to wait there.
προεπέμφθη δὲ καὶ Καφισίας ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ μετὰ τεσσάρων ἄλλων εὔζωνος, οὓς ἔδει πρὸς τὸν κηπουρὸν ἀφικέσθαι σκοταίους, φάσκοντας ὁδοιπόρους εἶναι, καὶ καταυλισαμένους αὐτόν τε συγκλεῖσαι καὶ τοὺς κύνας· οὐ γὰρ ἦν ἄλλῃ παρελθεῖν. τὰς δὲ κλίμακας διαλυτὰς οὔσας ἐμβαλόντες εἰς ἀχάνας καὶ κατακαλύψαντες ἐφʼ ἁμαξῶν προαπέστειλαν.
Aratus also sent on in advance Caphisias, lightly armed, with four companions; their orders were to come to the gardener’s when it was dark, pretending to be travellers, and after taking up quarters there for the night, to shut up him and his dogs; for there was no other way to get past them. The scaling-ladders, which could be taken apart, were packed in boxes, and thus concealed were sent on ahead in waggons.
ἐν τούτῳ δὲ κατασκόπων τινῶν ἐν Ἄργει τοῦ Νικοκλέους φανέντων καὶ περιιέναι λεγομένων ἀδήλως καὶ παραφυλάττειν τὸν Ἄρατον, ἅμʼ ἡμέρᾳ προελθὼν καὶ φανερὸς ὢν ἐν ἀγορᾷ διέτριβε μετὰ τῶν φίλων εἶτʼ ἀλειψάμενος ἐν τῷ γυμνασίῳ καὶ παραλαβών τινας ἐκ τῆς παλαίστρας τῶν εἰωθότων πίνειν καὶ ῥᾳθυμεῖν μετʼ αὐτοῦ νεανίσκων ἀπῆγεν οἴκαδε· καὶ μετὰ μικρὸν ἑωρᾶτο τῶν οἰκετῶν αὐτοῦ διʼ ἀγορᾶς ὁ μὲν στεφάνους φέρων, ὁ δὲ λαμπάδας ὠνούμενος, ὁ δὲ τοῖς εἰθισμένοις παρὰ πότον ψάλλειν καὶ αὐλεῖν γυναίοις διαλεγόμενος.
In the meantime some spies of Nicocles appeared in Argos and were reported to be secretly going about and watching the movements of Aratus. As soon as it was day, therefore, Aratus left his house and showed himself openly in the market-place, conversing with his friends; then he anointed himself in the gymnasium, took with him from the palaestra some of the young men who were wont to drink and make holiday with him, and went back home; and after a little one of his servants was seen carrying garlands through the market-place, another buying lights, and another talking with the women that regularly furnished music of harp and flute at banquets.
ταῦτα δὲ οἱ κατάσκοποι πάντα ὁρῶντες ἐξηπάτηντο καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἀναγελῶντες ἔλεγον οὐδὲν ἦν ἄρα τυράννου δειλότερον, εἰ καὶ Νικοκλῆς τηλικαύτην πόλιν ἔχων καὶ τοσαύτην δύναμιν ὀρρωδεῖ μειράκιον εἰς ἡδονὰς καὶ πότους μεθημερινοὺς τὰ τῆς φυγῆς ἐφόδια καταχρώμενον.
When the spies saw all this, they were completely deceived, and with loud laughter said to one another: Nothing, you see, is more timorous than a tyrant, since even Nicocles, though master of so great a city and so large a force, is in fear of a stripling who squanders on pleasures and mid-day banquets his means of subsistence in exile.
οἱ μὲν οὖν οὕτω παραλογισθέντες ἀπηλλάγησαν· ὁ δὲ Ἄρατος εὐθὺς μετʼ ἄριστον ἐξελθὼν καὶ συνάψας πρὸς τὸν Πολυγνώτου πύργον τοῖς στρατιώταις εἰς Νεμέαν προῆγεν, ὅπου τὴν πρᾶξιν ἐξέφηνε τοῖς πολλοῖς τότε πρῶτον, ὑποσχέσεις τε καὶ παρακλήσεις ἐποιήσατο·
The spies, then, thus misled, left the city; but Aratus, immediately after the morning meal, sallied forth, joined his soldiers at the tower of Polygnotus, and led them on to Nemea. Here he disclosed his design, to most of them then for the first time, and made them exhortations and promises.
καὶ σύνθημα παραδοὺς Ἀπόλλωνα ὑπερδέξιον προῆγεν ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν, συμμέτρως τῇ περιφορᾷ τῆς σελήνης ἐπιταχύνων καὶ πάλιν ἀνιεὶς τὴν πορείαν, ὥστε τῷ μὲν φωτὶ χρῆσθαι καθʼ ὁδόν, ἤδη δὲ δυομένης περὶ τὸν κῆπον εἶναι πλησίον τοῦ τείχους.
Then, after giving out as watchword Apollo Victorious, he led them forward against Sicyon, quickening or retarding his progress according to the revolution of the moon, so as to enjoy her light while on the march, and as soon as she was setting to be at the garden near the wall.
ἐνταῦθα Καφισίας ἀπήντησεν αὐτῷ, τῶν μὲν κυναρίων οὐ κρατήσας ἔφθη γὰρ ἀποπηδήσαντα, τὸν δὲ κηπουρὸν ἐγκεκλεικώς. ἀθύμους δὲ τοὺς πλείστους γενομένους καὶ κελεύοντας ἀπαλλάττεσθαι παρεθάρρυνεν ὁ Ἄρατος, ὡς ἀπάξων, ἂν οἱ κύνες ἄγαν ἐνοχλῶσιν αὐτοῖς.
There Caphisias came to meet him; he had not secured the dogs (for they had bounded off before he could do this), but had locked up the gardener. Most of his men were disheartened at this and urged Aratus to retire; but he tried to encourage them, promising to lead them back if the dogs should prove too troublesome for them.
ἅμα δὲ τοὺς τὰς κλίμακας φέροντας προπέμψας, ὧν Ἔκδηλος ἡγεῖτο καὶ Μνασίθεος, αὐτὸς ἐπηκολούθει σχολαίως, ἤδη τῶν κυναρίων εὐτόνως ὑλακτούντων καὶ συμπαρατρεχόντων τοῖς περὶ τὸν Ἔκδηλον. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ προσέμιξάν τε τῷ τείχει καὶ προσήρεισαν τὰς κλίμακας ἀσφαλῶς. ἀναβαινόντων δὲ τῶν πρώτων,
At the same time he sent forward the men who carried the scaling-ladders, under the command of Ecdelus and Mnasitheus, while he himself followed after them slowly, the dogs already barking vigorously and running along by the side of Ecdelus and his party. However, they reached the wall and planted their ladders against it without mishap.
ὁ τὴν ἑωθινὴν φυλακὴν παραδιδοὺς ἐφώδευε κώδωνι, καὶ φῶτα πολλὰ καὶ θόρυβος ἦν τῶν ἐπιπορευομένων, οἱ δέ, ὥσπερ εἶχον, αὐτοῦ πτήξαντες ἐπὶ τῶν κλιμάκων τούτους μὲν οὐ χαλεπῶς ἔλαθον, ἄλλης δὲ φυλακῆς ἐναντίας ταύτῃ προσερχομένης εἰς τὸν ἔσχατον κίνδυνον ἦλθον.
But as the first men were mounting the ladders, the officer who was to set the morning-watch began making his rounds with a bell, and there were many lights and the noise of the sentries coming up. The invaders, however, crouched down just where they were on the ladders, and so escaped the notice of this party without any trouble; but since another watch was coming up to meet the first, they incurred the greatest danger.
ὡς δὲ κἀκείνην διέφυγον παρελθοῦσαν, εὐθὺς ἀνέβαινον οἱ πρῶτοι Μνασίθεος καὶ Ἔκδηλος, καὶ τὰς ἑκατέρωθεν ὁδοὺς τοῦ τείχους διαλαβόντες ἀπέστελλον Τέχνωνα πρὸς Ἄρατον ἐπείγεσθαι κελεύοντες.
However, they escaped the notice of this guard also as it passed by, and then the leaders, Mnasitheus and Ecdelus, at once mounted to the top, and after occupying the approaches to the wall on either side, sent Technon to Aratus, urging him to hasten up.
ἦν δὲ οὐ πολὺ διάστημα ἀπὸ τοῦ κήπου πρὸς τὸ τεῖχος καὶ τὸν πύργον, ἐν ᾧ κύων μέγας ἐφρούρει θηρατικός. αὐτὸς μὲν οὖν οὐκ ᾔσθετο τὴν ἔφοδον, εἴτε φύσει νωθὴς ὢν, εἴτε μεθʼ ἡμέραν κατάκοπος γεγονώς. τῶν δὲ τοῦ κηπουροῦ κυναρίων κάτωθεν ἐκκαλουμένων αὐτόν ὑπεφθέγγετο τυφλὸν καὶ ἄσημον τὸ πρῶτον, εἶτα μᾶλλον ἐπέτεινε παρερχομένων.
Now it was no great distance from the garden to the wall, and to the tower, in which a huge dog was on the watch, a hunter. The dog himself did not notice their approach, either because he was naturally sluggish, or because during the day he had become tired out. But when the gardener’s whelps challenged him from below, he began to growl in response, faintly and indistinctly at first, then bayed out more loudly as they passed by.
καὶ κατεῖχεν ἤδη πολὺς ὑλαγμὸς τὸ χωρίον, ὥστε τὸν πέραν φύλακα κραυγῇ μεγάλῃ πυνθάνεσθαι τοῦ κυνηγοῦ, πρός τίνα τραχέως οὕτως ὁ κύων ὑλακτεῖ, καὶ μή τι γίνεται καινότερον. ὁ δʼ ἀπὸ τοῦ πύργου αὐτῷ ἀντεφώνησε μηδὲν εἶναι δεινόν, ἀλλὰ τὸν κύνα πρὸς τὸ φῶς τῶν τειχοφυλάκων καὶ τὸν ψόφον τοῦ κώδωνος παρωξύνθαι.
Presently the whole place resounded with barking, so that the watchman opposite called with a loud cry to the huntsman asking why his dog was baying so savagely and whether some mischief was not afoot. The huntsman answered him from the tower that there was nothing to fear, but that his dog had been excited by the lights of the sentries and the din of the bell.
τοῦτο μάλιστα τοὺς Ἀράτου στρατιώτας ἐπέρρωσεν, οἰομένους τὸν κυνηγὸν ἐπικρύπτειν κοινωνοῦντα τῇ πράξει, εἶναι δὲ πολλοὺς καὶ ἄλλους ἐν τῇ πόλει τοὺς συνεργοῦντας. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ τῷ τείχει προσβαλόντων χαλεπὸς ἦν ὁ κίνδυνος καὶ μῆκος ἐλάμβανε, τῶν κλιμάκων κραδαινομένων εἰ μὴ καθʼ ἕνα καὶ σχολαίως ἀναβαίνοιεν ἡ δὲ ὥρα κατήπειγεν, ἤδη φθεγγομένων ἀλεκτρυόνων, καὶ ὅσον οὔπω τῶν ἐξ ἀγροῦ τι φέρειν εἰωθότων πρὸς ἀγορὰν ἐπερχομένων.
This more than anything else gave heart to the soldiers of Aratus. They thought that the huntsman was privy to their design and was trying to conceal it, and that there were many others also in the city who would assist them. However, when the rest of the company essayed the wall, their peril was grievous and protracted, since the ladders shook unless they mounted one by one and slowly; moreover, time was pressing, since cocks were already crowing, and directly the people who brought produce from the country to the market-place would be coming up.
διὸ καὶ σπεύδων ὁ Ἄρατος ἀνέβαινε, τεσσαράκοντα τῶν πάντων ἀναβεβηκότων πρὸ αὐτοῦ· καὶ προσδεξάμενος ἔτι τῶν κάτωθεν ὀλίγους ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκίαν τοῦ τυράννου καὶ τὸ στρατήγιον ἀνῆλθεν ἐνταῦθα γὰρ οἱ μισθοφόροι παρενυκτέρευον. ἄφνω δὲ ἐπιπεσὼν αὐτοῖς καὶ συλλαβὼν ἅπαντας, οὐδένα δὲ ἀποκτείνας, εὐθὺς διεπέμπετο πρὸς τοὺς φίλους ἀνακαλούμενος . ἕκαστον ἀπʼ οἰκίας.
Therefore Aratus also mounted the wall in haste, after forty in all had mounted before him; and when he had been joined by a few more of those below, he went up against the tyrant’s house and the praetorium, where the mercenary soldiers passed the night. And after falling upon these suddenly and capturing them all, but killing none, he straightway sent messages to his friends summoning them all from their homes, and they ran together from all quarters.
καὶ συνδραμόντων πανταχόθεν, ἡμέρα μὲν ὑπέλαμπεν ἤδη καὶ τὸ θέατρον ἦν ὄχλου μεστόν, ἔτι πρὸς τὴν ἄδηλον αἰωρουμένων φήμην καὶ σαφὲς οὐδὲν εἰδότων ὑπὲρ τῶν πραττομένων, πρίν γε δὴ προελθὼν ὁ κῆρυξ εἶπεν ὡς Ἄρατος ὁ Κλεινίου παρακαλεῖ τοὺς πολίτας ἐπὶ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν.
Day was now breaking, and the theatre was thronged with people who still were in suspense because of the uncertain rumour that prevailed and in utter ignorance of what was afoot, until the herald came forward and made proclamation that Aratus the son of Cleinias invited the citizens to secure their freedom.
τότε δὲ πιστεύσαντες ἥκειν ἃ πάλαι προσεδόκων, ὥρμησαν ἀθρόοι πρὸς τὰς θύρας τοῦ τυράννου πῦρ ἐπιφέροντες. ἤρθη δὲ φλὸξ μεγάλη καὶ καταφανὴς μέχρι Κ. ορίνθου τῆς οἰκίας ἀναφθείσης, ὥστε θαυμάσαντας τοὺς ἐν Κορίνθῳ παρὰ μικρὸν ὁρμῆσαι πρὸς τὴν βοήθειαν. ὁ μὲν οὖν Νικοκλῆς ἔλαθε διά τινων ὑπονόμων ὑπεκδὺς καὶ ἀποδρὰς ἐκ τῆς πόλεως,
Then, convinced that what they had long expected was come, they rushed in a body to the residence of the tyrant, carrying firebrands. A great flame arose as the house caught fire, and it was visible as far as Corinth, so that the people of Corinth were astonished and were on the point of sallying forth to help. Nicocles, then, slipped out unnoticed by way of certain underground passages, and ran away from the city,
οἱ δὲ στρατιῶται καταπαύσαντες μετὰ τῶν Σικυωνίων τὸ πῦρ διήρπαζον τὴν οἰκίαν. καὶ οὔτε ταῦτα ἐκώλυσεν ὁ Ἄρατος, τά τε λοιπὰ χρήματα τῶν τυράννων εἰς μέσον ἔθηκε τοῖς πολίταις. ἀπέθανε δὲ οὐδεὶς οὐδὲ ἐτρώθη τὸ παράπαν τῶν ἐπελθόντων οὐδὲ τῶν πολεμίων, ἀλλὰ καθαρὰν καὶ ἄθικτον αἵματος ἐμφυλίου τὴν πρᾶξιν ἡ τύχη διεφύλαξε.
and the soldiers, after extinguishing the fire with the aid of the Sicyonians, plundered his house. Nor did Aratus prevent this, but put the rest of the wealth of the tyrants at the disposition of the citizens. And not a man was killed or even wounded at all, either among the assailants or their enemies, but fortune preserved the enterprise free from the taint of civil bloodshed.
κατήγαγε δὲ φυγάδας τοὺς μὲν ὑπὸ Νικοκλέους ἐκπεπτωκότας ὀγδοήκοντα, τοὺς δὲ ἐπὶ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν τυράννων οὐκ ἐλάττους πεντακοσίων, οἷς μακρὰ μὲν ἡ πλάνη καὶ ὁμοῦ τι πεντηκονταετὴς ἐγεγόνει. κατελθόντες δὲ οἱ πλεῖστοι πένητες, ὧν κύριοι πρότερον ἦσαν ἐπελαμβάνοντο, καὶ βαδίζοντες ἐπὶ τὰ χωρία καὶ τὰς οἰκίας δεινὴν ἀπορίαν τῷ Ἀράτῳ παρεῖχον, ἐπιβουλευομένην μὲν ἔξωθεν καὶ φθονουμένην ὑπʼ Ἀντιγόνου τὴν πόλιν ὁρῶντι διά τὴν ἐλευθερίαν, ταραττομένην δὲ ὑφʼ αὑτῆς καὶ στασιάζουσαν.
Aratus restored eighty exiles who had been banished by Nicocles, and those also who had fled the city during the reign of former tyrants, to the number of five hundred. These had long been wanderers, yes, for close to fifty years. And now that they had come back, most of them in poverty, they laid claim to the property which they had formerly held, and by going to their farms and houses threw Aratus into great perplexity. For he saw that the city was plotted against by outsiders and eyed with jealousy by Antigonus because it had regained its freedom, while it was full of internal disturbances and faction.
ὅθεν ἐκ τῶν παρόντων ἄριστα κρίνας προσέμιξεν αὐτὴν φέρων τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς· καὶ Δωριεῖς ὄντες ὑπέδυσαν ἑκουσίως ὄνομα καὶ πολιτείαν τὴν Ἀχαιῶν οὔτε ἀξίωμα λαμπρὸν οὔτε μεγάλην ἰσχὺν ἐχόντων τότε. μικροπολῖται γὰρ ἦσαν οἱ πολλοί, καὶ γῆν οὔτε χρηστὴν οὔτε ἄφθονον ἐκέκτηντο, καὶ θαλάττῃ προσῴκουν ἀλιμένῳ, τὰ πολλὰ κατὰ ῥαχίας ἐκφερομένῃ πρὸς τὴν ἤπειρον.
Wherefore, as things stood, he thought it best to attach the city promptly to the Achaean League; and so, though the people of Sicyon were Dorians, they voluntarily assumed the name and civil polity of the Achaeans, who at that time had neither brilliant repute nor great strength. For most of them lived in small cities, owned land that was neither fertile nor extensive, and were neighbours to a sea that had no harbours and for the most part washed a precipitous and rocky shore.
ἀλλὰ μάλιστα δὴ διέδειξαν οὗτοι τὴν Ἑλληνικὴν ἀλκὴν ἀπρόσμαχον οὖσαν, ὁσάκις τύχοι κόσμου καὶ συντάξεως ὁμοφρονούσης καὶ νοῦν ἔχοντος ἡγεμόνος, οἳ τῆς μὲν πάλαι τῶν Ἑλλήνων ἀκμῆς οὐδὲν, ὡς εἰπεῖν, μέρος ὄντες, ἐν δὲ τῷ τότε μιᾶς ἀξιολόγου πόλεως σύμπαντες ὁμοῦ δύναμιν οὐκ ἔχοντες,
But this people more than any other showed the world that Greek prowess was invincible, whenever it enjoyed good order, harmonious discipline, and a sensible leader. For though they had taken almost no part in the ancient glories of Greece, and at this time, though counted all together, had not the power of a single considerable city,
εὐβουλίᾳ καὶ ὁμονοίᾳ, καὶ ὅτι τῷ πρώτῳ κατʼ ἀρετὴν ἐδύναντο μὴ φθονεῖν, ἀλλὰ πείθεσθαι καὶ ἀκολουθεῖν, οὐ μόνον αὑτοὺς ἐν μέσῳ πόλεων καὶ δυνάμεων τηλικούτων καὶ τυραννίδων διεφύλαξαν ἐλευθέρους, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων Ἑλλήνων ὡς πλείστους ἐλευθεροῦντες καὶ σῴζοντες διετέλουν.
still, owing to their good counsels and their concord, and because they were able, in place of envying, to obey and follow the one who was pre-eminent among them for virtue, they not only preserved their own freedom in the midst of so great cities and powers and tyrannies, but also were continually saving and setting free very many of the other Greeks.
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