Page:The geography of Strabo (1854) Volume 2.djvu/52

44 STRABO. CASAUB. 365. They did not however entirely submit even to these, but, preserving their independence, were continually disputing the sovereignty both with the other Greeks and with the Mace- donian kings. After the overthrow of the latter by the Romans, the Lacones living under a bad government at that time, and under the pbwer of tyrants, had given some slight offence to the generals whom the Romans sent into the pro- vince. They however recovered themselves, and were held in very great honour. They remained free, and performed no other services but those expected from allies. Lately how- ever Eurycles 1 excited some disturbances amongst them, having abused excessively, in the exercise of his authority, the friend- ship of Cassar. The government soon came to an end by the death of Eurycles, and the son rejected all such friendships. The Eleuthero-Lacones 2 however did obtain some regular form of government, when the surrounding people, and espe- cially the Heilotae, at the time that Sparta was governed by tyrants, were the first to attach themselves to the Romans. Hellanicus says that Eurysthenes and Procles regulated the form of government, but Ephorus reproaches him with not mentioning Lycurgus at all, and with ascribing the acts of the latter to persons who had no concern in them ; to Lycurgus only is a temple erected, and sacrifices are annually performed in his honour, but to Eurysthenes and Procles, although they were the founders of Sparta, yet not even these honours were paid to them, that their descendants should bear the respective appellations of Eurysthenidae and Procleidre. 3 [The descend- ants of Agis, however, the son of Eurysthenes, were called Agides, and- the descendants of Eurypon, the son of Procles, were called Eurypontiadae. The former were legitimate princes ; the others, having admitted strangers as settlers, reigned by their means ; whence they were not regarded as original authors of the settlement, an honour usually conferred upon all founders of cities.] 1 His character is discreditably spoken of by Josephus, Antiq. b. xvi. c. 10, and Bell. Jud. b. i. c. 20. 2 The cities of the Eleuthero-Lacones were at first 24 in number ; in the time of Pausanias 18 only. They were kindly treated by Augustus, but subsequently they were excluded from the coast to prevent communi- cation with strangers. Pausanias, b. iii. c. 21. 3 From hence to the end of the section the text is corrupt. See Groskurd for an attempt to amend the text of the last sentence, which is here not translated.