Pausanias Analysis

For those who dwell in Kreusis, the harbor of the Thespians, there is nothing held in common; however, in the home of a private individual there was a statue of Dionysus made of plaster and decorated with paintings. Sailing to Kreusis from the Peloponnesus is both indirect and generally troubled by bad weather; for headlands project into the sea, preventing a straight crossing, and at the same time fierce winds blow down from the mountains.

Sailing from Kreusis, not upward but alongside Boeotia itself, you have the town of Thisbe on the right. First there is a mountain by the sea, and having crossed this, a plain receives you, followed afterward by another mountain. The city lies at the foot of this mountain's slope. Here there is a sanctuary of Heracles and an upright stone image, and they celebrate a festival, the Herakleia, in his honor.

The plain lying between the mountains would undoubtedly become a lake due to the abundance of water, were it not that a strong embankment has been built through its midst. Thus, each year, they divert the water beyond the embankment to one side, while they cultivate the land on the other side. They say that Thisbe was a local nymph, from whom the city took its name.

Sailing from there, there is a small town on the coast called Tipha. The inhabitants have a sanctuary of Heracles and celebrate an annual festival in his honor. Among the Boeotians, these people have, from ancient times, been especially eager to claim expertise in maritime matters, recalling Tiphys, a local man remembered as having been chosen to serve as the helmsman of the Argo. They also point out a spot in front of their town where they say the Argo anchored upon its return journey from Colchis.

From Thespiae, as you move inland toward the interior, lies Haliartus. Concerning whoever founded Haliartus and Coroneia, I ought not to have separated their history from that of Orchomenus. When the Persian invasion occurred, because the Haliartians had sided with the Greek cause, a portion of Xerxes’ army advanced against their land and city and destroyed them by fire. At Haliartus there is the tomb of Lysander the Spartan. When Lysander had led an attack upon Haliartus, at whose wall was stationed a force from Thebes, and Athenians as well, the enemy made a sortie, and Lysander fell in the battle.

Regarding Lysander, there are aspects thoroughly deserving praise, but also others worthy of sharp criticism. He demonstrated the following sort of cleverness: while commander of the Peloponnesian fleet, he kept watch until Alcibiades was absent from the naval forces, leaving in command his steersman Antiochus. At that moment, he led Antiochus into believing that he was competent enough to fight at sea against the Lacedaemonians, and when Antiochus set sail, driven by rashness and arrogance, Lysander defeated him near the city of the Colophonians.

And when Lysander returned a second time from Sparta to assume command of the fleet, he so won the favor of Cyrus that, whenever he requested funds for the navy, they were generously provided to him without delay and in abundance. Now while the Athenians were mooring their fleet of one hundred ships at Aegospotami, Lysander captured their vessels, having closely watched until the sailors had dispersed ashore to gather water and provisions. Furthermore, he showed the following action regarding justice.

Autolykos, who prevailed in the pankration—whose statue I myself have seen in the Prytaneion of the Athenians—was disputed by the Spartan Eteonikos over a certain piece of property. When Eteonikos, in the course of pleading his cause, was evidently losing because he argued unjustly—for at that time in Athens the Thirty were in power, and Lysander was still present—he was moved to begin striking Autolykos. After Autolykos defended himself, Eteonikos seized him and brought him before Lysander, fully expecting Lysander to render a judgment favorable to him. But Lysander ruled that Eteonikos had acted unjustly and dismissed him, disgraced by the decision.

Such were the deeds that brought glory to Lysander, but there were also deeds equally numerous which brought him reproach. At Aegospotami Lysander put to death Philocles the Athenian general, along with approximately four thousand other Athenians whom he had taken prisoner; and not even earth for burial was given to them after death, a concession that the Athenians had granted even to the Persians who landed at Marathon, and one likewise granted by the Persian king Xerxes to the Spartans who had fallen at Thermopylae. Lysander caused even greater disgrace to the Lacedaemonians by establishing the rule of ten men ("decadarchies") in the cities and by stationing Spartan governors ("harmosts") to control them.

Since the Lacedaemonians were not accustomed to acquiring money, adhering indeed to a certain oracle that greed for wealth alone would cause the ruin of Sparta, he nevertheless implanted in them a great desire for money. For my part, following the Persians in this matter and judging by their principle, I conclude that Lysander brought to the Lacedaemonians rather harm than benefit.