Today's Passage
This passage occurs during the uneasy Peace of Nicias (421-413 BCE), when the formal cessation of hostilities between Athens and Sparta led to complex diplomatic realignments.
Crawley Translation (1910)
In the first days of the summer following, the Argives, seeing that the promised ambassadors from Boeotia did not arrive, and that Panactum was being demolished, and that a separate alliance had been concluded between the Boeotians and Lacedaemonians, began to be afraid that Argos might be left alone, and all the confederacy go over to Lacedaemon. They fancied that the Boeotians had been persuaded by the Lacedaemonians to raze Panactum and to enter into the treaty with the Athenians, and that Athens was privy to this arrangement, and even her alliance, therefore, no longer open to them—a resource which they had always counted upon, by reason of the dissensions existing, in the event of the noncontinuance of their treaty with Lacedaemon. In this strait the Argives, afraid that, as the result of refusing to renew the treaty with Lacedaemon and of aspiring to the supremacy in Peloponnese, they would have the Lacedaemonians, Tegeans, Boeotians, and Athenians on their hands all at once, now hastily sent off Eustrophus and Aeson, who seemed the persons most likely to be acceptable, as envoys to Lacedaemon, with the view of making as good a treaty as they could with the Lacedaemonians, upon such terms as could be got, and being left in peace.
Having reached Lacedaemon, their ambassadors proceeded to negotiate the terms of the proposed treaty. What the Argives first demanded was that they might be allowed to refer to the arbitration of some state or private person the question of the Cynurian land, a piece of frontier territory about which they have always been disputing, and which contains the towns of Thyrea and Anthene, and is occupied by the Lacedaemonians. The Lacedaemonians at first said that they could not allow this point to be discussed, but were ready to conclude upon the old terms. Eventually, however, the Argive ambassadors succeeded in obtaining from them this concession: For the present there was to be a truce for fifty years, but it should be competent for either party, there being neither plague nor war in Lacedaemon or Argos, to give a formal challenge and decide the question of this territory by battle, as on a former occasion, when both sides claimed the victory; pursuit not being allowed beyond the frontier of Argos or Lacedaemon. The Lacedaemonians at first thought this mere folly; but at last, anxious at any cost to have the friendship of Argos they agreed to the terms demanded, and reduced them to writing. However, before any of this should become binding, the ambassadors were to return to Argos and communicate with their people and, in the event of their approval, to come at the feast of the Hyacinthia and take the oaths.
Modern Translation
At the beginning of the following summer, the Argives observed that the promised Boeotian ambassadors had failed to appear, that Panactum was being torn down, and that the Boeotians and Spartans had formed a separate alliance. These developments filled them with alarm that Argos might find itself isolated, with their entire confederation defecting to Sparta. They suspected that the Spartans had convinced the Boeotians to demolish Panactum and to make peace with Athens, and that the Athenians were complicit in these arrangements. This would mean that even an Athenian alliance was now beyond their reach—a fallback option they had always relied upon given the existing tensions, should their treaty with Sparta fail to be renewed. Caught in this predicament, the Argives feared that their refusal to renew the Spartan treaty and their ambitions for Peloponnesian hegemony would leave them facing the Spartans, Tegeans, Boeotians, and Athenians simultaneously. They therefore urgently dispatched Eustrophus and Aeson—chosen as the most suitable candidates—as ambassadors to Sparta, hoping to negotiate the best possible treaty with the Spartans on whatever terms were available, and thereby secure peace.
Upon arriving in Sparta, their ambassadors began negotiating the treaty's terms. The Argives initially insisted on submitting the dispute over Cynuria—a contested border region containing the cities of Thyrea and Anthene, currently under Spartan control—to arbitration by a neutral state or individual. The Spartans initially refused to even discuss this matter, preferring to renew the treaty on its original terms. Eventually, however, the Argive ambassadors extracted this concession: a fifty-year truce would be established immediately, but either side could, provided neither plague nor war afflicted Sparta or Argos, issue a formal challenge to settle the territorial dispute through combat, as had happened previously when both sides claimed victory. Pursuit would be forbidden beyond either state's borders. Though the Spartans initially considered this proposal absurd, their desperate desire for Argive friendship ultimately led them to accept these terms and commit them to writing. Nevertheless, before anything became legally binding, the ambassadors were required to return to Argos for consultation with their people and, if approved, to return during the Hyacinthia festival to swear the oaths.
Historical Context
This passage occurs during the uneasy Peace of Nicias (421-413 BCE), when the formal cessation of hostilities between Athens and Sparta led to complex diplomatic realignments. Argos, having remained neutral during the first phase of the Peloponnesian War, emerged as a potential regional power seeking to challenge Spartan hegemony in the Peloponnese. The demolition of Panactum (a fort promised to Athens) and the separate Boeotian-Spartan alliance threatened to isolate Argos diplomatically. The Argive ambassadors Eustrophus and Aeson negotiate with Sparta for a fifty-year truce that includes an unusual provision for settling the ancient territorial dispute over Cynuria through ritualized combat. This diplomatic maneuvering reflects the fluid alliance system of the period, where states constantly recalculated their positions based on shifting power dynamics. The passage illustrates how fear of isolation could drive even ambitious states like Argos back toward accommodation with traditional enemies.
Key Themes
Annotations & References
The Peace of Nicias
The Peace of Nicias (421 BCE) was meant to end the Archidamian War, but its terms were never fully implemented. The separate dealings between Sparta and Boeotia, mentioned here, violated the spirit of the peace and contributed to its eventual breakdown, leading to renewed conflict.
Learn more →Cynuria
Cynuria was a mountainous border region between Argos and Sparta, contested for centuries. The dispute over this territory, including the towns of Thyrea and Anthene, represented one of the oldest territorial conflicts in the Peloponnese and served as a recurring source of tension between the two powers.
Learn more →Argive Neutrality and Ambitions
Argos had maintained neutrality during the Archidamian War due to a thirty-year peace with Sparta. As this treaty expired, Argos sought to exploit the power vacuum created by Athenian and Spartan exhaustion to assert leadership over the Peloponnese, ultimately forming an alliance with Athens, Mantinea, and Elis.
Learn more →The Hyacinthia Festival
The Hyacinthia was one of Sparta's most important religious festivals, held in honor of Apollo and Hyacinthus. The timing of oath-taking during this festival underscores the religious sanctification of interstate agreements in Greek diplomacy, binding treaties with divine authority.
Learn more →Parallel Ancient Sources
Plutarch: Life of Nicias (10.1-4)
Plutarch describes the diplomatic complications following the Peace of Nicias, including the Spartan-Boeotian alliance and the demolition of Panactum, which undermined Athenian-Spartan relations and created opportunities for Argive diplomacy.
Read passage →Pausanias: Description of Greece (2.20.1)
Pausanias mentions the ancient dispute between Argos and Sparta over Cynuria and Thyrea, providing geographical context for the territorial conflict that the ambassadors attempt to resolve through the provision for ritual combat.
Read passage →Herodotus: Histories (1.82)
Herodotus recounts the famous 'Battle of Champions' between Argos and Sparta over Thyrea (c. 545 BCE), where 300 champions from each side fought. This precedent explains the provision for settling the dispute through formal combat mentioned in Thucydides.
Read passage →Discussion Questions
- How does the Argive fear of diplomatic isolation reflect broader patterns in Greek interstate relations during the Classical period?
- What does the provision for settling the Cynurian dispute through ritual combat reveal about Greek concepts of justice and conflict resolution?
- How does Thucydides use this episode to illustrate the instability of the Peace of Nicias and the inevitability of renewed conflict?
- In what ways does Argive diplomacy demonstrate the tension between idealistic ambitions and pragmatic necessity in foreign policy?