Page:History of Greece Vol IX.djvu/249

 1'EACE GRANTED TO EL1S. 227 Agis presently evacuated the Eleian territory, yet not without planting a Lacedaemonian harmost and a garrison, together with Xenias and the oligarchical exiles, at Epitalium, a little way south of the river Alpheius. Occupying this fort (analogous to Dekeleia in Attica), they spread ravage and ruin all around throughout the autumn and winter, to such a degree, that in the early spring, Thrasydaeus and the Eleian government were compelled to send to Sparta and solicit peace. They consented to raze the imperfect fortifications of their city, so as to leave it quite open. They far- ther surrendered their harbor of Kyllene with their ships of war, and relinquished all authority over the Triphylian townships, as well as over Lasion, which was claimed as an Arcadian town. 1 Though they pressed strenuously their claim to preserve the town of Epeium (between the Arcadian town of Hersea and the Tri- phylian town of Makistus), on the plea that they had bought it from its previous inhabitants at the price of thirty talents paid down, the Lacedaemonians, pronouncing this to be a compulsory bar- gain imposed upon weaker parties by force, refused to recognize it. The town was taken away from them, seemingly without any reimbursement of the purchase money either in part or in whole. On these terms the Eleians were admitted to peace, and enrolled again among the members of the Lacedemonian confederacy. 2 1 Xen. Hellen. iii, 2, 30. There is something perplexing in Xenophon's description of the Triphylian townships which the Eleians surrendered. First, he does not name Lepreum or Makistus, both of which nevertheless had joined Agis on his invasion, and were the most important places in Triphylia (iii, 2, 25). Next, he names Letrini, Amphidoli, and Marganeis, as Triphylian ; which yet were on the north of the Alpheius, and are elsewhere distinguished from Triphylian. I incline to believe that the words in his text, nal ruf Tpiv?i.ida<; ro/lejf uipelvai, must be taken to mean Lepreum and Makistus, perhaps with some other places which we do not know ; but that a nai after aeivai, has fallen out of the text, and that the cities, whose names follow, are to be taken as not Triphylian. Phrixa and Epitalium were both south, but only just south, of the Alphjius ; they were not on the borders of Triphylia, and it seems doubtful whether they were properly Triphylian. This war between Sparta and Elis reaches over three different years ; it Dcgan in the first, occupied the whole of the second, ar.d was finished in the third. Which years these three were (out of the se"en whic^i separate B c. 403-396), critics have not been unanimous.
 * Xen. Hellen. iii, 2, 30 ; Diodor. xiv, 34 ; Pausan. iii, 8 2.