This was TEGEA, situated on the frontier of Laconia. In contemporary history its territory is small, and the town decayed; but from what is related about Tegea, we can see, that it was once a great city, which afterwards lost its power. The Arcadian districts united with Laconia, had probably been taken for the most part from Tegea, whence the Laconian frontier passed so near by Tegea. In the Persian wars it was still great and populous, if we may trust the numbers in Herodotus, which, however, we are hardly justified in doing, especially in his account of the campaign of Plataeae. I do not mean to say that he intended to deceive, but I consider his numbers to be very uncritical; he was probably not correctly informed. We must make a distinction between his ethnographical and geographical inquiries, and his historical criticism, for in the latter he took matters too lightly. His statements about the numbers of Spartans must be received with particular caution, for in regard to Sparta he was ill informed. MANTINEA is much more celebrated; it was a large and respectable city, which both during and after the Peloponnesian war, acted with energy and independence, and without any regard to the rest of the Arcadians. After the peace of Nicias, the Mantineans, together with the Argives and Eleans, joined the coalition which was brought about with such skill by Alcibiades among the Peloponnesians with the view of drawing them away from Sparta. Thirty years later, they were punished for this by the Spartans: Agis appeared before them demanding that they should destroy their city and disperse in villages. They refused, and Mantinea experienced the same fate which Milan, in the middle ages, suffered at the hands of Frederic Barbarossa, for it was demolished, and its inhabitants distributed among five villages. After the battle of Leuctra it was restored; and owing to the fertility of its territory, it remained a flourishing city for a period of 150 years, that is, down to Olymp. 139, 2, when, during the war of Cleomenes, it was taken by the Achaeans and Antigonus Doson, because it had thrown itself into the arms of Cleomenes. I will not excuse its conduct on that occasion any more than the general morality of the Greeks during that period; but its fate was fearful. The town was completely destroyed, and afterwards a new one was built on its site, by Antigonus, under the name Antigonea. Officially the name Mantinea then ceased, but in common life it still continued, and Polybius calls it by its ancient name; but on coins struck at the time of the destruction of Corinth, the inhabitants are called Ἀντιγονεῖς. Hadrian, who was fond of playing in Greek matters, restored the ancient name. Mantinea is celebrated on account of three great battles, which had more or less influence in deciding the destiny of Greece: 1. the one during the peace of Nicias, in which the Spartans gained a victory over the coalition of the Peloponnesians; 2.