(4) Pellene (or Pellana), a town of Laconia on the Eurotas, and on the road from Sparta to Arcadia; in fact the frontier fortress on the Eurotas, as Sellasia on the Oenus; "Dict. of Anct. Geog." s.v.; see Paus. iii. 20, S. 2; Strab. viii. 386; Polyb. iv. 81, xvi. 37; Plut. "Agis," 8; Leake, "Morea," iii. 14 foll. (5) Cf. "Hipparch." iv. 9. (6) Lit. "lochi." See above, VII. iv. 20; "Pol. Lac." xi. 4. Arrived within the city of Sparta, (7) Epaminondas abstained from gaining an entry at a point where his troops would have to fight on level ground and under attack from the houses above; where also their large numbers would give them no superiority over the small numbers of the foemen. But, singling out a position which he conceived would give him the advantage, he occupied it and began his advance against the city upon a downward instead of an upward incline. (7) Grote ("H. G." x. 455) says: "Though he crossed the Eurotas and actually entered into the city of Sparta," as the words {epei de egeneto en te polei ton Spartiaton} certainly seem to me to imply. Others interpret "in the close neighbourhood of." With regard to what subsequently took place, two possible explanations suggest themselves: either it was miraculous, or it may be maintained that there is no resisting the fury of desperation. Archidamus, advancing at the head of but a hundred men, and crossing the one thing which might have been expected to form an obstacle to the enemy, (8) began marching uphill against his antagonists. At this crisis these fire-breathing warriors, these victorious heroes of Leuctra, (9) with their superiority at every point, aided, moreover, by the advantage of their position, did not withstand the attack of Archidamus and those with him, but swerved in flight. (8) Or, "to serve as his defence"; or, "the one obstacle to his progress," i.e. Archidamus's. It was a miraculous thing that the Thebans did not stop him. (9) See Mahaffy, "Hist. Gk. Lit." vol. ii. p. 268, 1st ed. See above, "Hell." VI. iv. 24; Diod. xv. 39, 56.