Page:History of Greece Vol X.djvu/213

TREATMENT OF THE DEFEATED CITIZENS. 191 it at all probable that they intended any fraud, considering that Jason vis here the guarantee, and that he had at least no motive to break his word. It was at ^Egosthena that the retreating Lacedaemonians met Archidamus, who had advanced to that point with the Laconian forces, and was awaiting the junction of his Peloponnesian allies. The purpose of his march being now completed, he advanced no farther. The armament was disbanded, and Lacedemonians as well as allies returned home. 1 1 This is the most convenient place for noticing the discrepancy, as to the battle of Leuktra, between Diodorus and Xenophon. I have followed Xcnophon. Diodorus (xv, 54) states both the arrival of Jason in Boeotia, and the out-march of Archidamus from Sparta, to have taken place, not after the battle of Leuktra, but before it. Jason flie says) came with a considerable force to the aid of the Thebans. He prevailed upon Kleombrotus, who doubted the sufficiency of his own numbers, to agree to a truce and to evac uate Boeotia. But as Kleombrotus was marching homeward, he met Ar chidamus with a second Lacedaemonian army, on his way to Bceotia, by order of the ephors, for the purpose of reinforcing him. Accordingly Kle- ombrotus, finding himself thus unexpectedly strengthened, openly broke the truce just concluded, and marched back with Archidamus to Leuktra. Here they fought the battle, Kleombrotus commanding the right wing, and Archidamus the left. They sustained a complete defeat, in which Kleoro brotus was slain ; the result being the same on both statements. We must here make our election between the narrative of Xenophon and that of Diodorus. That the authority of the former is greater, speaking gene- rally, I need hardly remark ; nevertheless his philo-Laconian partialities become so glaring and preponderant, during these latter books of the Hel- lenica (where he is discharging the mournful duty of recounting the humil- iation of Sparta), as to afford some color for the suspicions of Palmerius, Moras, and Schneider, who think that Xenophon has concealed the direct violation of truce on the part of the Spartans, and that the facts really oc- curred as Diodorus has described them. See Schneider ad Xen. Ilellen. vi, 4, 5, 6. It will be found, however, on examining the facts, that such suspicion ought not to be admitted, and that there arc grounds for preferring the narrative of Xenophon. 1. He explains to us how it happened that the remains of the Spartan army, after the defeat of Leuktra, escaped out of Boeotia. Jason arrives after the battle, and prevails upon the Thebans to allow them to retreat under a truce ; Archidamus also arrives after the battle to take them up. If the defeat had taken place under the circumstances mentioned by Dio- dorus, Archidamus and the survivors would have found it scarcely possi bk to escape out cf Boeotia.