731 Although they were the guests of Sparta, τὰ γὰρ τοῦ θεοῦ πρεσβύτερα ἐποιοῦντο ἢ τὰ τῶν ανδρῶν, Herod. V. 63. 90. Thuc. VI. 53. Aristoph. Lysist. 1150, &c. 732 See Aristot. Pol. V. 5. 1. and his πολίτεια Ναξίων in Athenæus VIII. p. 348. According to Herod. I. 61. 64. Lygdamis was established in his government by Pisistratus, about the 60th Olympiad (540 B.C.). Comp. Heyne Nov. Comment. Gott. II. Class. Phil. p. 65. 733 See above, § 2. Sicyon gave ships to Cleomenes about the 65th Olympiad, or 520 B.C. 734 Before the time of Histiæus. 735 Lycurg. 30. 736 Herod. III. 54. Plutarch. de Herod. Malign. 21. 737 This follows from Plutarch ubi sup. and Cimon c. 16. Herod. VI. 12. Pausan. III. 7, 8. 738 Herod. VII. 159. 739 According to Pausan. III. 4. 1. Therefore _before_ Olymp. 65. 1. or 520 B.C. for Cleomenes was then king, as is evident from a comparison of Herod. VI. 108. with Thucyd. III. 68. He was in that year in the neighbourhood of Platæa. According to Plutarch. Lacon. Apophth. p. 212. Cleomenes was regent in the 63rd Olympiad (525 B. C), when the Samians came to Sparta: this however would give too great a length to his reign, (which Herodotus states to have been of _short_ duration,) viz., from about 525 to 491 B.C. 740 It appears that this wood was near Sepea in the territory of Tiryns. Apostolius IV. 27. states that the battle took place on the Ἄργους λόφος. The stratagem of Cleomenes is narrated after Herodotus by Polyænus I. 14. 741 The marvellous narrative of Herodotus VI. 77 sqq. is also unconnected, from there being no explanation of the two first verses of the oracle, ἀλλ᾽ ὅταν ἡ θήλεια, which however must have referred to some real event. Or does Herodotus refer θήλεια to Juno? Pausanias II. 20. doubts whether Herodotus understands it. But the story of Telesilla in Pausanias, Plutarch. de Mul. Virt. 5. p. 269. and Polyænus VIII. 33. is very fabulous. The festival Ὕβριστικὰ could not have had this historical origin, but must have belonged to the mystical rites of some elementary deities. The number of the Argives who were slain is stated by Plutarch and Polyænus to have been 7777; by others 6000 (also a tradition of a seven days’ armistice in Plut. Lac. Apoph. p. 211.). This is the battle ἐν τῇ ἑβδόμῃ ἱσταμένου, but of _what_ month we are ignorant, Pol. V. 2. 8. Plut. Mul. Virt. ubi sup. Others placed it at the νουμηνία of the fourth month, anciently Hermæus, but only because the Ὕβριστικὰ were then celebrated. See Clem. Alex. Strom. IV. p. 522. ed. Sylb. Suidas in v. Τελέσιλλα. 742 Concerning these slaves, see book III. ch. 3. § 2. 743 Polit. V. 2. 8. Plutarch confounds bond-slaves and Periœci. 744 See Schol. Ven. ad Il. B. 108. concerning the nine hamlets (islands) near Argos.