Pausanias Analysis

Not long after the campaign against Elis, the Macedonians and Demetrius, son of Philip, son of Demetrius, seized Messene. Much of what Perseus dared against Philip himself and against his son Demetrius I have already recorded in my account concerning Sicyon. Regarding the capture of Messene, events were as follows.

Philip found himself short of funds, and—because it was absolutely necessary for him to obtain money—he sent Demetrius by sea into the Peloponnese. Demetrius made his landing at some deserted harbor in the Argolid, and then immediately took his army by the shortest possible route through the country towards Messene. Sending ahead lightly equipped troops and those who were thoroughly familiar with the road leading up to Ithome, he passed unnoticed over the wall around dawn, at precisely the point between the city itself and the citadel of Ithome.

When daylight arrived and those within became fully aware of the danger that had seized them, their first suspicion was that the Lacedaemonians had entered their city under arms, which prompted them to attack the enemy all the more recklessly, motivated by their longstanding hatred. But when they recognized from their weapons and their speech that it was the Macedonians and Demetrius, son of Philip, who were present, they felt great fear, reflecting upon the Macedonians' military experience and the fortune which they perceived accompanied them in all their undertakings.

Nevertheless, the extent of their present misfortune taught them that courage could sometimes surpass even what was thought possible, and at the same time encouraged them to hope for better things; for indeed, not without divine help had they accomplished the long journey into the Peloponnese. Therefore, the Messenians from the city advanced with all their spirit against the Macedonians, while those guarding the citadel attacked from higher ground on their right flank.

In like manner the Macedonians, through valor and skill, at first made a vigorous resistance. Soon, however, exhausted by the march and at once attacked by the men pressing upon them and pelted by women hurling tiles and stones, they fled in utter disorder. Most of them perished, thrust over the cliffs, for at this place particularly Ithome is precipitous. Only a few escaped, and those by throwing aside their weapons.

It is my opinion that the Messenians did not at first join the council of the Achaeans for the following reason. They voluntarily aided the Lacedaemonians when the latter were at war with Pyrrhus, the son of Aeacides; and as a result of this service, relations with Sparta thereafter became somewhat more peaceful. Thus the Messenians, openly the bitterest enemies of Sparta, did not wish to revive their hostility by joining the Achaean council.

But this fact has not escaped my notice, nor could it, I suppose, have escaped the Messenians themselves, that by not contributing to the council, the direction of Achaean policy toward Sparta would lie outside their influence; for among the Achaeans, the Argives and the Arcadians formed no small portion. However, in due time they did join the Achaean League. Not long afterward, Cleomenes, son of Leonidas, grandson of Cleonymus, captured Megalopolis, a city of the Arcadians, during a period of truce.

Of those who had been caught, some perished during the capture itself, but Philopoemen, son of Kraugis, and those who withdrew with Philopoemen—(it is said that the number of Megalopolitans who escaped exceeded two-thirds)—these men the Messenians received out of remembrance for the deeds done formerly in the days of Aristomenes, when the Arcadians came to their assistance, and later, during the founding of Messene itself, thereby rendering them repayment in kind.

Indeed, it seems that human affairs are in general subject to sudden reversals, since fate allowed the Messenians not only to find an equal footing alongside the Arcadians, but, even more unexpectedly, to take Sparta. For at Sellasia they fought against Cleomenes, and joining with Aratus and the Achaeans, they brought about the downfall of Sparta itself.

After the Spartans had been freed from Cleomenes, Machanidas rose up as their tyrant, and upon his death Nabis appeared once again as their tyrant. As he did not merely seize the possessions of men, but also plundered sanctuaries, within a short time he gathered enormous wealth and from this very wealth assembled an army. When this Nabis took possession of Messene, Philopoemen and the Megalopolitans arrived during the same night.

The Spartan tyrant departed under terms of agreement, but afterward the Achaeans, finding fault with the Messenians on some count, marched against them with all available forces and devastated most of their land. Then, around the time of the grain harvest, they gathered again with intentions of invading Messenia. But Deinocrates, who was then the leader of the democratic party and had been appointed ruler of the Messenians, compelled Lycortas and his forces to withdraw without achieving anything, by occupying beforehand the routes from Arcadia into Messenia with the citizens from the city itself and all among the surrounding population who had come to their defense.

Philopoemen came much later with a few horsemen, after the army led by Lycortas had already arrived; before he had learned anything of what had befallen them, the Messenians were victorious on their side of the battlefield, which was on their right wing, and they captured Philopoemen alive. By what manner Philopoemen was captured and how he died, I shall relate further, when I later discuss Arcadian traditions. However, the Messenians who were responsible for the death of Philopoemen subsequently paid the penalty, and Messene itself afterward rejoined the Achaean League.

Thus far my account has concerned the many sufferings of the Messenians, and how fortune, after scattering them to the furthest parts of the earth and to the most distant lands beyond the Peloponnese, later restored them in time to their own homeland. Now let me turn from this matter and proceed to the description of the country and cities.