Pausanias Analysis

From Mantineia into the rest of Arcadia there are roads; I shall also describe whatever along each of them is especially worthy of attention. Taking the road to Tegea, on the left side of the highway near the walls of Mantineia, there is land prepared for horse-races, and not far from it a stadium where contests are held in honor of Antinous. Above this stadium rises Mount Alesion, so named, as they say, from the wandering (alē) of Rhea. On the mountain is also a sacred grove of Demeter.

Beyond the mountain lies the sanctuary of Poseidon Hippios, situated at the furthest edge of Mantineia, less than a stade distant. Regarding this sanctuary, I record both what I personally have heard and what others before me have preserved in memory. In our time, the Emperor Hadrian rebuilt the temple, appointing overseers among the workmen to ensure that no one could look into the old sanctuary nor even displace any of its ruins; rather, he ordered the construction of the new temple to take place around it. Originally, it is said, this sanctuary of Poseidon was built by Agamedes and Trophonius, who worked oak timbers and fitted them together.

At the entrance to this place, they set no barrier whatsoever to block people's entry, but instead stretch across it a woollen thread. Perhaps those who originally conducted the sacred rites thought even this would inspire reverential fear, or perhaps the thread itself possessed some power. Indeed, it is reported that Aepytus, son of Hippothous, neither leaped over nor crept beneath this thread; rather, he broke it, entered the sanctuary, and, having committed this sacrilegious act, was blinded immediately as a wave surged into his eyes, and without delay the destined punishment came upon him.

There is an ancient tradition that says a wave from the sea appeared in the sanctuary. Similar stories are told by the Athenians concerning the wave on their Acropolis, and by the Carians from Mylasa about the sanctuary of the god whom they call, in their local tongue, Osogoa. Now, the Athenians are situated about twenty stades from the sea at Phalerum, and likewise the port serving the people of Mylasa is eighty stades distant from their city. But for the Mantineans, the sea is the farthest removed and thus its appearance here is most clearly a manifestation of divine intent.

Beyond the sanctuary of Poseidon stands a trophy made of stone, commemorating victory over the Lacedaemonians and Agis. The manner of the battle is also recounted as follows: the Mantineans themselves took the right flank, furnishing an army from all ages and led by Podares, who was a third-generation descendant of that Podares who had fought against the Thebans. Accompanying them was the Eleian seer Thrasyboulos, son of Aineas, of the lineage of the Iamidai; this man had foretold the victory of the Mantineans and himself took part in the fighting alongside them.

On the left wing was positioned all the rest of the Arcadian force, with commanders appointed from their respective cities, among whom were Lydiades and Leocydes from Megalopolis. The center had been entrusted to Aratus, who commanded both the Sicyonians and the Achaeans. The Lacedaemonians and Agis extended their battle line to match the opposing army, and the center was held by Agis himself along with those who accompanied the king.

But Aratus, according to the plan agreed upon with the Arcadians, himself and his army began a controlled withdrawal, since the Lacedaemonians were pressing hard against them. And in their withdrawal, the formation of their forces gradually assumed the shape of a crescent. The Lacedaemonians and Agis, believing victory was within their grasp, pressed upon the troops around Aratus even more vigorously; those from the flanks also pursued with them, regarding it as a great accomplishment to rout Aratus and the army under his command.

The Arcadians got behind the Lacedaemonians without their noticing, encircled them, and the Spartans consequently lost the greater part of the rest of their army, while King Agis, son of Eudamidas, fell. The Mantineans claimed that Poseidon himself had appeared, aiding them in battle, and for this reason they set up a trophy as an offering to Poseidon.

As for the presence of gods in warfare and the slaughter of men, those concerned with the sufferings of heroes at Ilium have affirmed this; and the Athenians sing of how the gods took part in their deeds at Marathon and Salamis. But most clearly of all, the host of the Gauls was destroyed at Delphi by divine agency, manifestly through supernatural powers. Thus the Mantineans also attribute their victory explicitly to the assistance of Poseidon.

The Arcadians say that Arcesilaus—a ninth ancestor before Leocydes the Megalopolitan, who shared command with Lydiades—dwelling at Lycosoura, saw a sacred deer of the goddess known as Despoina, exhausted by old age. Around this deer’s neck was a collar, and upon the collar were inscribed characters: "I was captured as a fawn, when Agapenor went to Ilium." This account clearly shows that the deer is an animal far longer-lived even than the elephant.