Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans
stroke, with a violent blow of his spear threw him dead to the
ground: upon whose fall the enemy fled immediately. And now
Philopoemen was in everybody's mouth, as a man who in actual fighting
with his own hand yielded not to the youngest, nor in good conduct to
the oldest, and than whom there came not into the field any better
soldier or commander.
Aratus, indeed, was the first who raised the Achaeans, inconsiderable
till then, into reputation and power, by uniting their divided cities
into one commonwealth, and establishing amongst them a humane and
truly Grecian form of government; and hence it happened, as in
running waters, where when a few little particles of matter once
stop, others stick to them, and one part strengthening another, the
whole becomes firm and solid; so in a general weakness, when every
city relying only on itself, all Greece was giving way to an easy
dissolution, the Achaeans, first forming themselves into a body, then
drawing in their neighbors round about, some by protection,
delivering them from their tyrants, others by peaceful consent and by
naturalization, designed at last to bring all Peloponnesus into one
community. Yet while Aratus lived, they depended much on the
Macedonians, courting first Ptolemy, then Antigonus and Philip, who
all took part continually in whatever concerned the affairs of
Greece. But when Philopoemen came to command, the Achaeans, feeling
themselves a match for the most powerful of their enemies, declined
foreign support. The truth is, Aratus, as we have written in his
life, was not of so warlike a temper, but did most by policy and
gentleness, and friendships with foreign princes; but Philopoemen
being a man both of execution and command, a great soldier, and
fortunate in his first attempts, wonderfully heightened both the
power and courage of the Achaeans, accustomed to victory under his
conduct.
But first he altered what he found amiss in their arms, and form of
battle. Hitherto they had used light, thin bucklers, too narrow to
cover the body, and javelins much shorter than pikes. By which means
they were skillful in skirmishing at a distance, but in a close fight
had much the disadvantage. Then in drawing their forces up for
battle, they were never accustomed to form in regular divisions; and
their line being unprotected either by the thick array of projecting
spears or by their shields, as in the Macedonian phalanx, where the
soldiers shoulder close and their shields touch, they were easily
opened, and broken. Philopoemen reformed all this, persuading them
to change the narrow target and short javelin, into a large shield
and long pike; to arm their heads, bodies, thighs, and legs; and
instead of loose skirmishing, fight firmly and foot to foot. After
he had brought them all to wear full armor, and by that means into
the confidence of thinking themselves now invincible, he turned what
before had been idle profusion and luxury into an honorable expense.
For being long used to vie with each other in their dress, the
furniture of their houses, and service of their tables, and to glory
in outdoing one another, the disease by custom was grown incurable,
and there was no possibility of removing it altogether. But he
diverted the passion, and brought them, instead of these
superfluities, to love useful and more manly display, and, reducing
their other expenses, to take delight in appearing magnificent in
their equipage of war. Nothing then was to be seen in the shops but
plate breaking up, or melting down, gilding of breastplates, and
studding bucklers and bits with silver; nothing in the places of
exercise, but horses managing, and young men exercising their arms;
nothing in the hands of the women, but helmets and crests of feathers
to be dyed, and military cloaks and riding-frocks to be embroidered;
the very sight of all which quickening and raising their spirits,
made them contemn dangers, and feel ready to venture on any honorable
dangers. Other kinds of sumptuosity give us pleasure, but make us
effeminate; the tickling of the sense slackening the vigor of the
mind; but magnificence of this kind strengthens and heightens the
courage; as Homer makes Achilles at the sight of his new arms
exulting with joy, and on fire to use them. When Philopoemen had
obtained of them to arm, and set themselves out in this manner, he
proceeded to train them, mustering and exercising them perpetually;
in which they obeyed him with great zeal and eagerness. For they
were wonderfully pleased with their new form of battle, which, being
so knit and cemented together, seemed almost incapable of being
broken. And then their arms, which for their riches and beauty they
wore with pleasure, becoming light and easy to them with constant
use, they longed for nothing more than to try them with an enemy, and
fight in earnest.
The Achaeans at that time were at war with Machanidas, the tyrant of
Lacedaemon, who, having a strong army watched all opportunities of
becoming entire master of Peloponnesus. When intelligence came that
he was fallen upon the Mantineans, Philopoemen forthwith took the
field, and marched towards him. They met near Mantinea, and drew up
in sight of the city. Both, besides the whole strength of their
several cities, had a good number of mercenaries in pay. When they
came to fall on, Machanidas, with his hired soldiers, beat the
spearmen and the Tarentines whom Philopoemen had placed in the front.
But when he should have charged immediately into the main battle,
which stood close and firm, he hotly followed the chase; and instead
of attacking the Achaeans, passed on beyond them, while they remained
drawn up in their place. With so untoward a beginning the rest of
the confederates gave themselves up for lost; but Philopoemen,
professing to make it a matter of small consequence, and observing
the enemy's oversight, who had thus left an opening in their main
body, and exposed their own phalanx, made no sort of motion to oppose
them, but let them pursue the chase freely, till they had placed
themselves at a great distance from him. Then seeing the
Lacedaemonians before him deserted by their horse, with their flanks
quite bare, he charged suddenly, and surprised them without a
commander, and not so much as expecting an encounter, as, when they
saw Machanidas driving the beaten enemy before him, they thought the
victory already gained. He overthrew them with great slaughter,
(they report above four thousand killed in the place,) and then faced
about against Machanidas, who was returning with his mercenaries from
the pursuit. There happened to be a broad deep ditch between them,
along side of which both rode their horses for awhile, the one trying
to get over and fly, the other to hinder him. It looked less like
the contest between two generals than like the last defense of some
wild beast, brought to bay by the keen huntsman Philopoemen, and
forced to fight for his life. The tyrant's horse was mettled and
strong; and feeling the bloody spurs in his sides, ventured to take
the ditch. He had already so far reached the other side, as to have
planted his fore-feet upon it, and was struggling to raise himself
with these, when Simmias and Polyaenus, who used to fight by the side
of Philopoemen, came up on horseback to his assistance. But
Philopoemen, before either of them, himself met Machanidas; and
perceiving that the horse with his head high reared, covered his
master's body, he turned his own a little, and holding his javelin by
the middle, drove it against the tyrant with all his force, and
tumbled him dead into the ditch. Such is the precise posture in
which he stands at Delphi in the brazen statue which the Achaeans set
up of him, in admiration of his valor in this single combat, and
conduct during the whole day.
We are told that at the Nemean games, a little after this victory,
Philopoemen being then General the second time, and at leisure on the
occasion of the solemnity, first showed the Greeks his army drawn up
in full array as if they were to fight, and executed with it all the
maneuvers of a battle with wonderful order, strength, and celerity.
After which he went into the theater, while the musicians were
singing for the prize, followed by the young soldiers in their
military cloaks and their scarlet frocks under their armor, all in
the very height of bodily vigor, and much alike in age, showing a
high respect to their general; yet breathing at the same time a noble
confidence in themselves, raised by success in many glorious
encounters. Just at their coming in, it so happened, that the
musician Pylades, with a voice well suited to the lofty style of the
poet, was in the act of commencing the Persians of Timotheus,
Under his conduct Greece was glorious and was free.
The whole theater at once turned to look at Philopoemen, and clapped
with delight; their hopes venturing once more to return to their
country's former reputation; and their feelings almost rising to the
height of their ancient spirit.
It was with the Achaeans as with young horses, which go quietly with
their usual riders, but grow unruly and restive under strangers. The
soldiers, when any service was in hand, and Philopoemen not at their
head, grew dejected and looked about for him; but if he once
appeared, came presently to themselves, and recovered their
confidence and courage, being sensible that this was the only one of
their commanders whom the enemy could not endure to face; but, as
appeared in several occasions, were frighted with his very name.
Thus we find that Philip, king of Macedon, thinking to terrify the
Achaeans into subjection again, if he could rid his hands of
Philopoemen, employed some persons privately to assassinate him. But
the treachery coming to light, he became infamous, and lost his
character through Greece. The Boeotians besieging Megara, and ready
to carry the town by storm, upon a groundless rumor that Philopoemen
was at hand with succor, ran away, and left their scaling ladders at
the wall behind them. Nabis, (who was tyrant of Lacedaemon after
Machanidas,) had surprised Messene at a time when Philopoemen was out
of command. He tried to persuade Lysippus, then General of the
Achaeans, to succor Messene: but not prevailing with him, because,
he said, the enemy being now within it, the place was irrecoverably
lost, he resolved to go himself, without order or commission,
followed merely by his own immediate fellow-citizens who went with
him as their general by commission from nature, which had made him
fittest to command. Nabis, hearing of his coming, though his army
quartered within the town, thought it not convenient to stay; but
stealing out of the furthest gate with his men, marched away with all
the speed he could, thinking himself a happy man if he could get off
with safety. And he did escape; but Messene was rescued.
All hitherto makes for the praise and honor of Philopoemen. But when
at the request of the Gortynians he went away into Crete to command
for them, at a time when his own country was distressed by Nabis, he
exposed himself to the charge of either cowardice, or unseasonable
ambition of honor amongst foreigners. For the Megalopolitans were
then so pressed, that, the enemy being master of the field and
encamping almost at their gates, they were forced to keep themselves
within their walls, and sow their very streets. And he in the mean
time, across the seas, waging war and commanding in chief in a
foreign nation, furnished his ill-wishers with matter enough for
their reproaches. Some said he took the offer of the Gortynians,
because the Achaeans chose other generals, and left him but a private
man. For he could not endure to sit still, but looking upon war and