τοῦ δὲ Ἀντιγόνου μετὰ πολλῆς δυνάμεως τὴν Γεράνειαν ὑπερβάλλοντος οὐκ ᾤετο δεῖν τὸν Ἰσθμόν, ἀλλὰ τὰ Ὄνεια χαρακώσας καί τειχίσας φυλάττειν, καί τοπομαχῶν ἀποτρίβεσθαι τοὺς Μακεδόνας μᾶλλον ἢ συμπλέκεσθαι πρὸς φάλαγγα συνησκημένην. καί τούτοις χρώμενος τοῖς λογισμοῖς εἰς ἀπορίαν καθίστη τὸν Ἀντίγονον.
When Antigonus with a large force was crossing the mountain-range of Geraneia, Cleomenes thought it more advisable to fortify thoroughly, not the Isthmus, but the Oneian range of hills, and to wear out the Macedonians by a war of posts and positions, rather than to engage in formal battle with their disciplined phalanx. He carried out this plan, and thereby threw Antigonus into straits.
οὔτε γὰρ σῖτον εἶχεν ἐκ παρασκευῆς ἱκανόν, οὔτε βιάσασθαι τὴν πάροδον, καθημένου τοῦ Κλεομένους, ἦν ῥᾴδιον ἐπιχειρήσας δὲ παραδύεσθαι διὰ τοῦ Λεχαίου νυκτός ἐξέπεσε καί τινας ἀπέβαλε τῶν στρατιωτῶν, ὥστε παντάπασι θαρρῆσαι τὸν Κλεομένη καί τοὺς περὶ αὐτὸν ἐπηρμένους τῇ νίκῃ τραπέσθαι πρὸς τὸ δεῖπνον, ἀθυμεῖν δὲ τὸν Ἀντίγονον εἰς οὐκ εὐπόρους κατακλειόμενον ὑπὸ τῆς ἀνάγκης λογισμούς.
For he had not a sufficient store of provisions, and it was no easy matter to force his passage while Cleomenes sat entrenched. Moreover, when he attempted to slip past his enemy in the night by way of Lechaeum, he was driven out and lost some of his soldiers. Therefore Cleomenes was altogether encouraged, and his men, elated by their victory, betook themselves to supper; but Antigonus was dejected, since he was shut up by necessity to difficult plans.
ἐβουλεύετο γὰρ ἐπὶ τὴν ἄκραν ἀναζευγνύναι τὸ Ἡραῖον κἀκεῖθεν εἰς Σικυῶνα πλοίοις περαιῶσαι τὴν δύναμιν ὃ καί χρόνου πολλοῦ καί παρασκευῆς ??ἦν οὐ τῆς τυχούσης, ἤδη δὲ πρὸς ἑσπέραν ἧκον ἐξ Ἄργους κατὰ θάλατταν ἄνδρες Ἀράτου φίλοι, καλοῦντες αὐτὸν ὡς ἀφισταμένων τῶν Ἀργείων τοῦ Κλεομένους, ὁ δὲ πράττων ἦν τὴν ἀπόστασιν Ἀριστοτέλης· καὶ τὸ πλῆθος οὐ χαλεπῶς ἔπεισεν, ἀγανακτοῦν ὅτι χρεῶν ἀποκοπὰς οὐκ ἐποίησεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Κλεομένης ἐλπίσασι.
For he was planning to march off to the promontory of the Heraeum, and from there to put his army across to Sicyon in transports—an undertaking requiring much time and extraordinary preparations. But when it was already towards evening, there came to him from Argos by sea some friends of Aratus, who summoned him to the city, on the ground that the Argives were ready to revolt from Cleomenes. The author of the revolt was Aristotle; and the multitude were easy to persuade, being incensed because Cleomenes had not brought about the abolition of debts which they expected.
λαβὼν οὖν ὁ Ἄρατος παρʼ Ἀντιγόνου στρατιώτας χιλίους καί πεντακοσίους παρέπλευσεν εἰς Ἐπίδαυρον. ὁ δὲ Ἀριστοτέλης ἐκεῖνον οὐ περιέμενεν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς πολίτας παραλαβὼν προσεμάχετο τοῖς φρουροῦσι τὴν ἀκρόπολιν καί παρῆν αὐτῷ Τιμόξενος μετὰ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν ἐκ Σικυῶνος βοηθῶν.
Accordingly, Aratus took fifteen hundred soldiers from Antigonus and sailed to Epidaurus. Aristotle, however, did not await his coming, but at the head of the citizens made an attack upon the garrison of the citadel; and Timoxenus came to his aid from Sicyon with the Achaean army.
ταῦτα περὶ δευτέραν φυλακὴν τῆς νυκτὸς ἀκούσας ὁ Κλεομένης μετεπέμψατο Μεγιστόνουν, καὶ πρὸς ὀργὴν ἐκέλευσεν εὐθὺς εἰσἌργος βοηθεῖν ὁ γὰρ ὑπὲρ τῶν Ἀργείων μάλιστα καταπιστωσάμενος πρὸς αὑτόν ἐκεῖνος ἦν, καὶ διεκώλυσεν ἐκβαλεῖν τοὺς ὑπόπτους, ἀπολύσας οὖν τὸν Μεγιστόνουν μετὰ δισχιλίων στρατιωτῶν αὐτὸς προσεῖχε τῷ Ἀντιγόνῳ, καὶ τοὺς Κορινθίους παρεθάρρυνεν ὡς οὐδενὸς μεγάλου περὶ τὸ Ἄργος, ἀλλὰ ταραχῆς τινος ἀπʼ ἀνθρώπων ὀλίγων γεγενημένης.
It was about midnight when Cleomenes heard of these things, and summoning Megistonoüs, he angrily ordered him to go at once to Argos with assistance; for it was Megistonoüs who had given him most assurances of the fidelity of the Argives, and had thereby prevented him from expelling the suspected citizens. After sending off Megistonoüs, then, with two thousand soldiers, he himself kept watch upon Antigonus and tried to encourage the Corinthians, telling them that there was no great trouble at Argos, but only a slight disturbance made by a few men.
ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ Μεγιστόνους τε παρεισπεσὼν εἰς τὸ Ἄργος ἀνῃρέθη μαχόμενος καὶ μόγις ἀντεῖχον οἱ φρουροὶ καὶ διεπέμποντο συχνοὺς πρὸς τὸν Κλεομένη, φοβηθεὶς μὴ τοῦ Ἄργους οἱ πολέμιοι κρατήσαντες καὶ τὰς παρόδους ἀποκλείσαντες αὐτοὶ πορθῶσιν ἀδεῶς τὴν Λακωνικὴν καὶ πολιορκῶσι τὴν Σπάρτην ἔρημον οὖσαν, ἀπῆγεν ἐκ Κορίνθου τὸ στράτευμα.
However, when Megistonoüs, who had made his way into Argos, was slain in battle, and the garrison held out with difficulty and kept sending frequent messengers to Cleomenes, he was afraid that if the enemy made themselves masters of Argos and shut up the passes, they might ravage at will the Laconian territory and lay siege to Sparta, which he had left without defenders. He therefore led his army away from Corinth.
καὶ ταύτης μὲν εὐθὺς ἐστέρητο τῆς πόλεως εἰσελθόντος Ἀντιγόνου καὶ φρουρὰν καταστήσαντος· ἐπιβαλὼν δὲ τῷ Ἄργει κατὰ τὸ τεῖχος ἐπεχείρησε μὲν εἰσαλέσθαι καὶ συνέστρεψεν ἐκ τῆς πορείας τὴν δύναμιν, ἐκκόψας δὲ τὰς ὑπὸ τὴν Ἀσπίδα ψαλίδας ἀνέβη καὶ συνέμιξε τοῖς ἔνδον ἔτι πρὸς τοὺς Ἀχαιοὺς ἀντέχουσι, καὶ τῶν ἐντὸς ἔνια κλίμακας προσθεὶς κατέλαβε, καὶ τοὺς στενωποὺς ἐρήμους πολεμίων ἐποίησε, τοῖς βέλεσι χρήσασθαι προστάξας τοὺς Κρῆτας.
This city was at once lost to him, for Antigonus entered it and set a garrison there; but Cleomenes, on reaching Argos, made an attempt to scale the walls, and with this in view drive his forces together from their march, and cutting his way through the tunnels running under the Aspis, or citadel, he made the ascent and effected a junction with his garrison inside, which was still holding out against the Achaeans. He actually got possession of some portions of the city by using scaling-ladders, and cleared the streets of the enemy by bringing his Cretan archers into action.
ὡς δὲ κατεῖδε τὸν Ἀντίγονον ἀπὸ τῶν ἄκρων εἰς τὸ πεδίον καταβαίνοντα μετὰ τῆς φάλαγγος, τοὺς δὲ ἱππεῖς ἤδη ῥύδην ἐλαύνοντας εἰς τὴν πόλιν, ἀπέγνω κρατήσειν καὶ συναγαγὼν ἅπαντας πρὸς αὑτόν ἀσφαλῶς κατέβη καὶ παρὰ τὸ τεῖχος ἀπηλλάττετο, μεγίστων μὲν ἐν ἐλαχίστῳ χρόνῳ πραγμάτων ἐπικρατήσας, καὶ μετὰ μικρὸν ὅλης ὁμοῦ τι μιᾷ περιόδῳ Πελοποννήσου κύριος γενέσθαι δεήσας, ταχὺ δʼ αὖθις ἐκπεσὼν ἁπάντων, οἱ μὲν γὰρ εὐθὺς ἀπεχώρησαν αὐτοῦ τῶν στρατευομένων, οἱ δὲ ὀλίγον ὕστερον τῷ Ἀντιγόνῳ τὰς πόλεις παρέδωκαν.
But when he saw Antigonus with his phalanx descending from the heights into the plain, and his horsemen already streaming into the city, he gave up trying to master it; and gathering all his troops about him he made his way safely down from the citadel and withdrew along past the city wall. He had made the greatest possible conquests in the briefest possible time, and had come within a little of making himself master of all Peloponnesus by a single march through it, but had quickly lost everything again. For some of his allies left him at once, and others after a little while handed their cities over to Antigonus.
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