Page:History of Greece Vol X.djvu/245

 MARCH TO GYTHIUM. 22S Un leaving Sparta, Epaminondas carried his inarch as far as Helos and Gythium on the sea-coast ; burning and plundering the country, and trying for three days to capture Gythium, which con- tained the Lacedaemonian arsenal and ships. Many of the Laco- nian Perireki joined and took service in his army ; nevertheless his attempt on Gythium did not succeed ; upon which he turned back and retraced his steps to the Arcadian frontier. It was the more necessary for him to think of quitting Laconia, since his Pelo- ponnesian allies, the Arcadians and others, were daily stealing home with the rich plunder which they had acquired, while his supplies were also becoming deficient. 1 Epaminondas had thus accomplished far more than he had pro- jected when quitting Thebes ; for the effect of the expedition on Grecian opinion was immense. The reputation of his army, as well as his own, was prodigiously exalted ; and even the narra- tive of Xenophon, unfriendly as well as obscure, bears involuntary testimony both to the excellence of his generalship and to the good discipline of his troops. He made his Thebans keep in rank and hold front against the enemy, even while their Arcadian allies were dispersing around for plunder. Moreover, the insult and humiliation to Sparta were still greater than that inflicted by the battle of Leuktra ; which had indeed shown that she was no longer invincible in the field, but had still left her with the admitted sup- position of an inviolable territory and an unapproachable city. The resistance of the Spartans indeed (except in so far as regards their city) had been far less than either friends or enemies expected ; not see what else he can mean ; yet at the same time, if such be his mean- ing, the remark is surely difficult to admit. Epaminondas came close up to Sparta, but did not dare to attempt to carry it by assault. If the city had had walls like those of Babylon, they could not have procured for her any greater protection. To me the fact appears rather to show (contrary to the assertion of Aristotle) that Sparta was so strong by position, com- bined with the military character of her citizens, that she could dispense with walls. Polysenus (ii, 2, 5) has an anecdote, I know not from whom borrowed, to the effect that Epaminondas might have taken Sparta, but designedly re- frained from doing so, on the ground that the Arcadians and others would then no longer stand in need of Thebes. Neither the alleged master of fact, nor the reason, appear to me worthy of any credit. JElian ( "V . H w 8) has the same story, but with a different reason assigned. 1 Xen. Hellen. vi, 5, 50 ; I) '.odor, xv, 67.