ἤδη δὲ αὐτοῦ τριάκοντα ἔτη γεγονότος Κλεομένης ὁ βασιλεὺς Λακεδαιμονίων νυκτὸς ἐξαίφνης προσπεσὼν τῇ Μεγάλῃ πόλει καὶ τὰς φυλακὰς βιασάμενος ἐντὸς παρῆλθε καὶ τήν ἀγορὰν κατέλαβεν. ἐκβοηθήσας δὲ Φιλοποίμην τοὺς μὲν πολεμίους οὐ κατίσχυσεν ἐξελάσαι, καίπερ ἐρρωμένως καὶ παραβόλως διαγωνισάμενος, τοὺς δὲ πολίτας τρόπον τινὰ τῆς πόλεως ἐξέκλεψε, προσμαχόμενος τοῖς ἐπιδιώκουσι καὶ τὸν Κλεομένην περισπῶν ἐφʼ ἑαυτόν, ὡς χαλεπῶς καὶ μόλις ὕστατος ἀπελθεῖν, ἀποβαλὼν τὸν ἵππον καὶ τραυματίας γενόμενος.
He was now thirty years of age, when Cleomenes, King of the Lacedaemonians, suddenly attacked Megalopolis by night, forced the guard, made his way into the city, and occupied the market-place. Philopoemen came to the help of the citizens, but had not force enough to drive the enemy out, although he fought with vigour and daring. He did, however, steal the citizens out of the city, as it were, by attacking their pursuers and drawing Cleomenes against himself, so that with the greatest difficulty he got away last of all, after losing his horse and receiving a wound.
ἐπεὶ δὲ προσέπεμψεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Κλεομένης εἰς Μεσσήνην ἀπελθοῦσι τήν τε πόλιν μετὰ τῶν χρημάτων ἀποδιδοὺς καὶ τήν χώραν, ὁρῶν ὁ Φιλοποίμην τοὺς πολίτας ἀσμένως δεχομένους καὶ σπεύδοντας ἐπανελθεῖν ἐνέστη καὶ διεκώλυσε τῷ λόγῳ, διδάσκων ὡς οὐκ ἀποδίδωσι τήν πόλιν Κλεομένης, προσκτᾶται δὲ τοὺς πολίτας ἐπὶ τῷ καὶ τήν πόλιν ἔχειν βεβαιότερον οὐ γὰρ ἕξειν αὐτόν ὅπως οἰκίας καὶ τείχη κενὰ φυλάξει καθήμενος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τούτων ὑπʼ ἐρημίας ἐκπεσεῖσθαι. ταῦτα λέγων τοὺς μὲν πολίτας ἀπέτρεψε, τῷ δὲ Κλεομένει πρόφασιν παρέσχε λυμήνασθαι καὶ καταβαλεῖν τὰ πλεῖστα τῆς πόλεως καὶ χρημάτων εὐπορήσαντι μεγάλων ἀπελθεῖν.
Moreover, when Cleomenes sent to them at Messene, whither they had gone, and offered to give them back their city with its valuables and their territory, Philopoemen, seeing that the citizens would be glad to accept the offer and were eager to go back home, opposed and dissuaded them from it, showing them that Cleomenes was not so much offering to restore their city as he was trying to win over to himself its citizens, that so he might have the city also more securely in his possession; for he would not be able, Philopoemen said, to remain there and guard empty houses and walls, but the solitude would force him to abandon these also. By this speech Philopoemen diverted the citizens from their purpose, but furnished Cleomenes with an excuse for devastating and demolishing the greater part of the city and marching off loaded with booty.
ἐπεὶ δὲ Ἀντίγονος ὁ βασιλεὺς βοηθῶν ἐπὶ τὸν Κλεομένην μετὰ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν ἐστράτευσε, καὶ τὰς περὶ Σελλασίαν ἄκρας καὶ τὰς ἐμβολὰς κατέχοντος αὐτοῦ παρέταξε τὴν δύναμιν ἐγγύς ἐπιχειρεῖν καὶ βιάζεσθαι διανοούμενος, ἦν μὲν ἐν τοῖς ἱππεῦσι μετὰ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ πολιτῶν τεταγμένος ὁ Φιλοποίμην, καὶ παραστάτας εἶχεν Ἰλλυριούς, οἷς τὰ λήγοντα τῆς παρατάξεως συνεπέφρακτο πολλοῖς οὖσι καὶ μαχίμοις.
Soon, however, Antigonus the king marched with the Achaeans to give aid against Cleomenes, and finding that his enemy was occupying the heights and passes about Sellasia, he drew up his forces near by with the purpose of attacking him and forcing a passage. Philopoemen was stationed among the Macedonian cavalry with his own fellow-citizens, and had as a support the Illyrians, a large body of good fighters, who closed up the line of battle.
εἴρητο δὲ αὐτοῖς ἐφεδρεύουσιν ἡσυχίαν ἔχειν ἄχρι ἂν ἀπὸ θατέρου κέρως ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως ἀρθῇ φοινικὶς ὑπὲρ σαρίσης διατεταμένη. τῶν δὲ ἡγεμόνων τοῖς Ἰλλυριοῖς πειρωμένων ἐκβιάζεσθαι τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους, καὶ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν, ὥσπερ προσετέτακτο, τὴν ἐφεδρείαν ἐν τάξει διαφυλαττόντων, Εὐκλείδας ὁ τοῦ Κλεομένους ἀδελφὸς καταμαθὼν τὸ γινόμενον διάσπασμα περὶ τοὺς πολεμίους ταχὺ τοὺς ἐλαφροτάτους τῶν ψιλῶν περιέπεμψεν, ἐξόπισθεν τοῖς Ἰλλυριοῖς ἐπιπεσεῖν κελεύσας καὶ περισπᾶν ἐρήμους τῶν ἱππέων ἀπολελειμμένους.
They had been ordered to lie quietly in reserve until, from the other wing, a signal should be made by the king with a scarlet coat stretched upon a spear. But the Illyrians, at the command of their officers, tried to force back the Lacedaemonians, while the Achaeans, as they had been ordered to do, kept quietly waiting at their post. Therefore Eucleidas, the brother of Cleomenes, who noticed the gap thus made in the enemies’ line, quickly sent round the most agile of his light-armed troops, with orders to attack the Illyrians in the rear and rout them, now that they had lost touch with the cavalry.
γινομένων δὲ τούτων καὶ τῶν ψιλῶν τοὺς Ἰλλυριοὺς περισπώντων καὶ διαταραττόντων, συνιδὼν ὁ Φιλοποίμην οὐ μέγα ὂν ἔργον ἐπιθέσθαι τοῖς ψιλοῖς καὶ τὸν καιρὸν ὑφηγούμενον τοῦτο, πρῶτον μὲν ἔφραζε τοῖς βασιλικοῖς , ὡς δὲ οὐκ ἔπειθεν, ἀλλὰ μαίνεσθαι δοκῶν κατεφρονεῖτο, οὐδέπω μεγάλης οὐδὲ ἀξιοπίστου πρὸς τηλικοῦτο στρατήγημα δόξης περὶ αὐτὸν οὔσης, αὐτὸς ἐμβάλλει συνεπισπασάμενος τοὺς πολίτας.
These orders were carried out, and the light-armed troops were driving the Illyrians before them in confusion, when Philopoemen perceived that it would be no great task to attack the light-armed troops, and that the occasion prompted this step. At first he pointed this out to the king’s officers. Then, when they were not to be persuaded by him, but looked down upon him as a madman (since his reputation was not yet great enough to justify his being entrusted with so important a manoeuvre), he took matters into his own hands, formed his fellow-citizens into a wedge, and charged upon the enemy.
γενομένης δὲ ταραχῆς τὸ πρῶτον, εἶτα φυγῆς καὶ φόνου πολλοῦ τῶν ψιλῶν, βουλόμενος ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐπιρρῶσαι τοὺς βασιλικοὺς καὶ προσμῖξαι κατὰ τάχος θορυβουμένοις τοῖς πολεμίοις τὸν μὲν ἵππον ἀφῆκεν, αὐτὸς δὲ πρὸς χωρία σκολιὰ καὶ μεστὰ ῥείθρων καὶ φαράγγων πεζὸς ἐν ἱππικῷ θώρακι καὶ σκευῇ βαρυτέρᾳ χαλεπῶς καὶ ταλαιπώρως ἁμιλλώμενος διελαύνεται διαμπερὲς ὁμοῦ τοὺς μηροὺς ἑκατέρους ἑνὶ μεσαγκύλῳ, καιρίας μὲν οὐ γενομένης, ἰσχυρᾶς δὲ τῆς πληγῆς, ὥστε τὴν αἰχμὴν ἐπὶ θάτερα διῶσαι.
At first the light-armed troops were thrown into confusion, then put to rout with great slaughter. And now Philopoemen, wishing to encourage still further the king’s troops and bring them swiftly upon the enemy thus thrown into disorder, quitted his horse, and with grievous difficulty forced his way along on foot, in his horseman’s breastplate and heavy equipment, towards ground that was irregular and full of water-courses and ravines. Here he had both his thighs pierced through by a thonged javelin. The wound was not fatal, though severe, and the head of the weapon came out on the other side.
τὸ μὲν οὖν πρῶτον ἐνσχεθεὶς ὥσπερ δεσμῷ παντάπασιν ἀπόρως εἶχε· τὸ γὰρ ἔναμμα τῆς ἀγκύλης χαλεπὴν ἐποίει τοῦ ἀκοντίσματος ἀνελκομένου διὰ τῶν τραυμάτων τὴν πάροδον· ὡς δὲ ὤκνουν οἱ παρόντες ἅψασθαι καὶ τῆς μάχης ἀκμὴν ὀξεῖαν ἐχούσης ἐσφάδαζεν ὑπὸ θυμοῦ καὶ φιλοτιμίας πρὸς τὸν ἀγῶνα, τῇ παραβάσει καὶ τῇ παραλλάξει τῶν σκελῶν διὰ μέσου κλάσας τὸ ἀκόντισμα χωρὶς ἐκέλευσεν ἑλκύσαι τῶν ἀγμάτων ἑκάτερον.
At first, then, he was held fast as by a fetter, and was altogether helpless; for the fastening of the thong made it difficult to draw the weapon back through the wound. But since those about him hesitated to attempt this, and since, now that the battle was at its hottest, the ardour of his ambition made him impatient to join in the struggle, by moving his legs backward and forward he broke the shaft of the weapon in two in the middle, and then ordered each fragment to be drawn out separately.
οὕτω δὲ ἀπαλλαγεὶς καὶ σπασάμενος τὸ ξίφος ἐχώρει διὰ τῶν προμάχων ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους, ὥστε πολλὴν προθυμίαν καὶ ζῆλον ἀρετῆς παρασχεῖν τοῖς ἀγωνιζομένοις. νικήσας οὖν ὁ Ἀντίγονος ἀπεπειρᾶτο τῶν Μακεδόνων, ἐρωτῶν διὰ τί, μὴ κελεύσαντος αὐτοῦ, τὸ ἱππικὸν ἐκίνησαν.
Thus set free, he drew his sword and made his way through the front ranks against the enemy, thereby greatly animating the combatants and inspiring them with a desire to emulate his valour. After his victory, therefore, Antigonus put his Macedonians to the question, and asked them why, without his orders, they had brought the cavalry into action.
τῶν δὲ ἀπολογουμένων ὡς παρὰ γνώμην βιασθεῖεν εἰς χεῖρας ἐλθεῖν τοῖς πολεμίοις μειρακίου Μεγαλοπολιτικοῦ προεμβαλόντος, γελάσας ὁ Ἀντίγονος ἐκεῖνο τοίνυν τὸ μειράκιον, εἶπεν, ἔργον ἡγεμόνος μεγάλου πεποίηκεν.
They defended themselves by saying that they had been forced against their will to attack the enemy, because a young man of Megalopolis had first led a charge against them. At this, Antigonus gave a laugh and said: Well, then, that young man behaved like a great commander.
ἐκ τούτου δόξαν ἔσχεν, ὥσπερ εἰκὸς, ὁ Φιλοποίμην, καὶ τοῦ μὲν Ἀντιγόνου σπουδάσαντος ὅπως στρατεύοιτο μετʼ αὐτοῦ, καὶ διδόντος ἡγεμονίαν καὶ χρήματα, παρῃτήσατο, μάλιστα τὴν ἑαυτοῦ φύσιν καταμαθὼν πρὸς τὸ ἄρχεσθαι δυσκόλως καὶ χαλεπῶς ἔχουσαν, ἀργεῖν δὲ καὶ σχολάζειν οὐ βουλόμενος ἀσκήσεως ἕνεκα καὶ μελέτης τῶν πολεμικῶν εἰς Κρήτην ἔπλευσεν ἐπὶ στρατείαν.
This naturally brought Philopoemen into high repute. Antigonus was eager that he should take service under him, and offered him command and pay. These Philopoemen declined, chiefly because he well knew that it was naturally unpleasant and hard for him to be under another man’s orders. Not wishing, however, to be inactive and idle, for the sake of training and practice in war he sailed to Crete in search of military service.
κἀκεῖ συχνὸν χρόνον ἐγγυμνασάμενος ἀνδράσι μαχίμοις καὶ ποικίλοις μεταχειρίσασθαι πόλεμον, ἔτι δὲ σώφροσι καὶ κεκολασμένοις περὶ δίαιταν, ἐπανῆλθεν οὕτω λαμπρὸς εἰς τοὺς Ἀχαιούς ὥστε εὐθὺς ἵππαρχος ἀποδειχθῆναι.
In Crete he practised himself for a long time among men who were not only warlike and versed in many kinds of warfare, but also still moderate and restrained in their ways of living, and he came back to the Achaeans with such distinction that they at once made him commander of their cavalry.
παραλαβὼν δὲ τοὺς ἱππεῖς φαύλοις μὲν ἱππαρίοις ἐκ τοῦ προστυχόντος, ὅτε συμβαίνοι στρατεία, προσχρωμένους, αὐτοὺς δὲ τὰς πολλὰς τῶν στρατειῶν ἀποδιδράσκοντας, ἑτέρους δὲ πέμποντας ἀνθʼ ἑαυτῶν, δεινὴν δὲ ἀπειρίαν μετὰ ἀτολμίας πάντων οὖσαν, περιορῶντας δὲ ταῦτα τοὺς ἄρχοντας ἀεὶ διά τε τὸ πλεῖστον ἐν τοῖς Ἀχαιοῖς τοὺς ἱππεῖς δύνασθαι καὶ μάλιστα κυρίους εἶναι τιμῆς καὶ κολάσεως,
But he found that the horsemen whom he was to command used worthless animals acquired at random, whenever a campaign was to be undertaken; that they shirked most campaigns themselves, and sent others out in their places; that they were all characterized by a shocking lack of experience, together with its resultant cowardice; and that their commanders always overlooked these things because the knights had the greatest power and influence among the Achaeans and the chief voice in the assignment of rewards and punishments.
οὐχ ὑπεῖξεν οὐδὲ ἀνῆκεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς πόλεις ἐπιών καὶ κατʼ ἄνδρα τῶν νέων ἕκαστον ἐπὶ τὴν φιλοτιμίαν συνεξορμῶν, καὶ κολάζων τοὺς ἀνάγκης δεομένους, μελέταις τε καὶ πομπαῖς καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἁμίλλαις χρώμενος, ὅπου πλεῖστοι θεᾶσθαι μέλλοιεν, ἐν ὀλίγῳ χρόνῳ πᾶσι ῥώμην τε θαυμαστὴν καὶ προθυμίαν παρέστησε καὶ,
Philopoemen, however, did not yield or give way to them. He went round to the different cities and roused the spirit of ambition in each young man individually, punished those who needed compulsion, introduced drills, parades, and competitive contests in places where there would be large bodies of spectators and thus in a short time inspired them all with an astonishing vigour and zeal,
ὃ μέγιστον ἦν ἐν τοῖς τακτικοῖς, ἐλαφροὺς καὶ ὀξεῖς πρός τε τὰς κατʼ οὐλαμὸν ἐπιστροφὰς καὶ περισπασμοὺς καὶ τὰς καθʼ ἵππον ἐπιστροφὰς καὶ κλίσεις ἀπειργάσατο, καὶ συνείθισεν ὡς ἑνὶ σώματι κινουμένῳ καθʼ ὁρμὴν ἑκούσιον ἐοικέναι τὴν ὅλου τοῦ συστήματος ἐν ταῖς μεταβολαῖς εὐχέρειαν.
and, what is of the greatest importance in tactics, rendered them agile and swift in wheeling and deploying by squadrons, and in wheeling and turning by single trooper, making the dexterity shown by the whole mass in its evolutions to be like that of a single person moved by an impulse from within.
συστάσης δὲ τῆς περὶ τὸν Λάρισσον αὐτοῖς ποταμὸν ἰσχυρᾶς μάχης πρός Αἰτωλοὺς καὶ Ἠλείους, ὁ τῶν Ἠλείων ἵππαρχος Δαμόφαντος ὥρμησεν ἐπὶ τὸν Φιλοποίμενα προεξελάσας. δεξάμενος δὲ τὴν ὁρμὴν ἐκεῖνος αὐτοῦ καὶ φθάσας τῷ δόρατι παίει καὶ καταβάλλει τὸν Δαμόφαντον.
Moreover, in the fierce battle which they fought at the river Larissus against Aetolians and Eleians, the commander of the Eleian cavalry, Damophantus, rode out from the ranks and charged upon Philopoemen. But Philopoemen received his onset, was first to drive home a spear-thrust, and threw Damophantus to the ground.
εὐθὺς δὲ τούτου πεσόντος ἔφυγον οἱ πολέμιοι, καὶ λαμπρὸς ἦν ὁ Φιλοποίμην, ὡς οὔτε κατὰ χεῖρα τῶν νέων τινὸς οὔτε συνέσει τῶν πρεσβυτέρων ἀπολειπόμενος, ἀλλὰ καὶ μάχεσθαι καὶ στρατηγεῖν ἱκανώτατος.
Their leader fallen, the enemy at once took to flight, and Philopoemen was in high renown, as one who yielded to none of the young men in personal prowess, and to none of the elder men in sagacity, but both in fighting and in commanding was most capable.
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