therefore that the woman was speaking the truth, they chose for the goddess a priestess in her place, and said that Lyciscus had acted in a pardonable way. And after that they resolved, for it was the 20th year of the war, to send again to Delphi to enquire about their chance of victory. And to their enquiry the Pythian Priestess returned this answer. “To those who shall first set up 100 tripods at the altar of Zeus of Ithome the god will give the Messenian land with fame in war. This is the will of Zeus. But guile moves you on, and behind is vengeance, and you cannot deceive the god. Act as fate shall determine. Ruin takes people by turns.” When they heard this they thought the oracle was in their favour, and promised them victory in the war; for as they were in possession of the temple of Zeus within the walls of Ithome, they thought the Lacedæmonians could not be beforehand with them in erecting tripods. And so they intended making wooden tripods, for they had not means enough to make tripods of brass. But somebody from Delphi reported the oracle at Sparta. And the Spartans had a public consultation about it, but could hit upon no plan, but Œbalus, a man of no great repute but evidently possessed of good judgment, made 100 tripods of clay roughly, and took them with him and nets as if he were a hunter. And being unknown even to most of the Lacedæmonians he easily escaped the detection of the Messenians. For joining himself with some countrymen he went with them into Ithome, and directly night came on he offered these clay tripods to the god, and returned to Sparta and told the Lacedæmonians what he had done. And the Messenians when they saw what had happened were terribly upset, and guessed (as indeed was the case) that it was a trick of the Lacedæmonians: however Aristodemus consoled them with arguments suited to the present conjuncture, and placed their wooden tripods which were already made at the altar at Ithome. It happened also that Ophioneus, the seer who was blind from birth, greatly to the surprise of all men recovered his sight: for he had a sharp headache and recovered his sight after it. CHAPTER XIII.