Today's Passage
This passage describes the diplomatic realignment following the Peace of Nicias (421 BCE), when various Greek states reconsidered their alliances.
Crawley Translation (1910)
Immediately afterwards an Elean embassy arrived, and first making an alliance with Corinth went on from thence to Argos, according to their instructions, and became allies of the Argives, their country being just then at enmity with Lacedaemon and Lepreum. Some time back there had been a war between the Lepreans and some of the Arcadians; and the Eleans being called in by the former with the offer of half their lands, had put an end to the war, and leaving the land in the hands of its Leprean occupiers had imposed upon them the tribute of a talent to the Olympian Zeus. Till the Attic war this tribute was paid by the Lepreans, who then took the war as an excuse for no longer doing so, and upon the Eleans using force appealed to Lacedaemon. The case was thus submitted to her arbitrament; but the Eleans, suspecting the fairness of the tribunal, renounced the reference and laid waste the Leprean territory. The Lacedaemonians nevertheless decided that the Lepreans were independent and the Eleans aggressors, and as the latter did not abide by the arbitration, sent a garrison of heavy infantry into Lepreum. Upon this the Eleans, holding that Lacedaemon had received one of their rebel subjects, put forward the convention providing that each confederate should come out of the Attic war in possession of what he had when he went into it, and considering that justice had not been done them went over to the Argives, and now made the alliance through their ambassadors, who had been instructed for that purpose. Immediately after them the Corinthians and the Thracian Chalcidians became allies of Argos. Meanwhile the Boeotians and Megarians, who acted together, remained quiet, being left to do as they pleased by Lacedaemon, and thinking that the Argive democracy would not suit so well with their aristocratic government as the Lacedaemonian constitution.
Modern Translation
Soon after this, ambassadors from Elis arrived. They first formed an alliance with Corinth, then proceeded to Argos as instructed, where they became allies of the Argives. At this time, Elis was hostile to Sparta because of a dispute over Lepreum. Previously, there had been a war between the Lepreans and certain Arcadian communities. The Lepreans called in the Eleans for help, offering half their territory as payment. The Eleans ended the war but allowed the Lepreans to keep their land, imposing instead an annual tribute of one talent to Olympian Zeus. The Lepreans paid this tribute until the Athenian War began, when they used the conflict as a pretext to stop payment. When the Eleans tried to enforce collection, the Lepreans appealed to Sparta. The dispute was submitted to Spartan arbitration, but the Eleans, doubting they would receive fair treatment, withdrew from the proceedings and began ravaging Leprean territory. Despite this withdrawal, the Spartans ruled that Lepreum was independent and that the Eleans were the aggressors. Since the Eleans refused to accept this judgment, Sparta sent a garrison of hoplites to protect Lepreum. The Eleans viewed this as Sparta harboring their rebellious subjects. They invoked the treaty provision stating that each ally should emerge from the Athenian War holding whatever possessions they had when entering it. Believing they had been treated unjustly, they defected to the Argive alliance, which their ambassadors promptly negotiated according to their instructions. The Corinthians and Thracian Chalcidians immediately followed suit, joining the Argive alliance. Meanwhile, the Boeotians and Megarians, who coordinated their policies, remained neutral. Sparta allowed them this freedom of action, and they calculated that the democratic government of Argos would be less compatible with their oligarchic systems than Sparta's constitution.
Historical Context
This passage describes the diplomatic realignment following the Peace of Nicias (421 BCE), when various Greek states reconsidered their alliances. The dispute centers on Lepreum, a small territory between Elis and Arcadia. Elis, which controlled the Olympic Games and thus held significant religious authority, found itself at odds with Sparta over this territory. The Spartans' decision to garrison Lepreum against Elean wishes prompted Elis to join the emerging Argive coalition. This shift represents the breakdown of Spartan hegemony in the Peloponnese, as former allies sought new arrangements. The passage illustrates how local disputes could trigger major diplomatic realignments and how the peace treaty's provisions could be interpreted to justify switching sides.
Key Themes
Annotations & References
Olympian Zeus and Elis
Elis controlled the sanctuary of Olympia, home to the Olympic Games and the temple of Zeus. This gave them significant religious authority in the Greek world. The tribute to Olympian Zeus mentioned here reflects Elis's role as guardian of this Panhellenic sanctuary.
Learn more →The Peace of Nicias
The 'Attic war' refers to the first phase of the Peloponnesian War (431-421 BCE), ended by the Peace of Nicias. The treaty's provision about maintaining pre-war possessions became a point of contention, as seen in this dispute.
Learn more →Greek Arbitration
Interstate arbitration was a common Greek practice for resolving disputes without warfare. However, as this case shows, parties often suspected bias and rejected unfavorable decisions, undermining the system's effectiveness.
Learn more →Democratic vs. Oligarchic Constitutions
The passage highlights how constitutional compatibility influenced alliance choices. Oligarchic states like Boeotia and Megara preferred alignment with Sparta's mixed constitution over Argos's democracy, showing how internal politics shaped foreign policy.
Learn more →Parallel Ancient Sources
Xenophon: Hellenica (3.2.21-31)
Xenophon describes a later conflict between Elis and Sparta (c. 400 BCE), showing the continuation of tensions over territorial control and Sparta's interference in Elean affairs.
Read passage →Pausanias: Description of Greece (5.4.5-6)
Pausanias provides background on Elean territorial expansion and their conflicts with neighboring communities, offering context for understanding the Lepreum dispute.
Read passage →Diodorus Siculus: Library of History (12.78-79)
Diodorus covers the same period and mentions the formation of the Argive alliance, though with less detail about the Elean motivations than Thucydides provides.
Read passage →Discussion Questions
- How does the dispute over Lepreum illustrate the tension between local autonomy and great power intervention in ancient Greece?
- What does this passage reveal about the role of religious obligations (tribute to Olympian Zeus) in interstate relations?
- How do constitutional considerations (democracy vs. oligarchy) influence the alliance choices of Boeotia and Megara? What modern parallels might exist?
- Why might the Eleans have suspected bias in Spartan arbitration? What does this suggest about the effectiveness of international arbitration systems?