Page:History of Greece Vol IX.djvu/328

 306 HISTORY OF GREECE. After an interval seemingly of a few days, the Boeotians, on the day when their turn came to occupy the right wing and to take the !ead, gave the signal for battle. 1 The Lacedaemonians, prevented by the wooded ground from seeing clearly, Avere only made aware of the coming attack by hearing the hostile paean. Taking order of battle immediately, they advanced forward to meet the assailants when within a furlong of their line. In each army, the right division took the lead, slanting to the right, or keeping the left shoulder forward, according to the tendency habitual with Grecian hoplites, through anxiety to keep the right or unshielded side from the word, unless instances were produced to support it ; and even if instan- ces were produced, we do not see why the way from Sparta to Sikyon should be called by that name ; which would more properly belong to the road from Sparta down the Eurotas to Helos. Again, we do not know distinctly the situation of the point or district called TIJV 'EiueiKiav (mentioned again, iy, 4, 13). But it is certain from the map, that when the confederates were at Nemea, and the Lacedaemoni- ans at Sikyon, the former must have been exactly placed so as to inter- cept the junction of the contingents from Epidaurus, Troezen, and Hermione, with the Lacedaemonian army. To secure this junction, the Lacedaemo- nians were obliged to force their way across that mountainous region which lies near Kleonae and Nemea, and to march in a line pointing from Sikyon down to the Saronic Gulf. Having reached the other side of these moun- tains near the sea, they would be in communication with Epidaurns and the other towns of the Argolic peninsula. The line of march which the Lacedaemonians would naturally take from Sparta to Sikyon and Lechaeum, by Tegea, Mantineia, Orchomenus, etc., is described two years afterwards in the case of Agesilans (iv, 5, 19). 1 Xen. Hellen. iv, 2, 18. The coloring which Xenophon puts upon this step is hardly fair to the Thebans, as is so constantly the case throughout his history. He says that " they were in no hurry to fight " (oiidev n tcary- Trciyov TTJV IIO.XT]V Zwdirreiv) so long as they were on the left, opposed to the Lacedaemonians on the opposite right ; but that as soon as they were on the right (opposed to the Achaeans on the opposite left), they forthwith gave the word. Now it does not appear that the Thebans had any greater privi- lege on the day when they were on the right, than the Argeians or Athe- nians had when each were on the right respectively. The command had been determined to reside in the right division, which post alternated from one to the other ; why the Athenians or Argeians did not make use of this post to order the attack, we cannot explain. So again, Xenophon says, that in spite cf the resolution taken by the Council of War to have files sixteen deep, and no more, the Thebana made their files much deeper. Yet it is plain, from his own account, that oo mischievous consequences turned upon this greater depth.