History of The Peloponnesian War - Book V   

Epidaurians, their allies, in distress, and the rest of Peloponnese
either in revolt or disaffected, concluded that it was high time for
them to interfere if they wished to stop the progress of the evil, and
accordingly with their full force, the Helots included, took the field
against Argos, under the command of Agis, son of Archidamus, king of
the Lacedaemonians. The Tegeans and the other Arcadian allies of
Lacedaemon joined in the expedition. The allies from the rest of
Peloponnese and from outside mustered at Phlius; the Boeotians with
five thousand heavy infantry and as many light troops, and five
hundred horse and the same number of dismounted troopers; the
Corinthians with two thousand heavy infantry; the rest more or less as
might happen; and the Phliasians with all their forces, the army being
in their country.
The preparations of the Lacedaemonians from the first had been known
to the Argives, who did not, however, take the field until the enemy
was on his road to join the rest at Phlius. Reinforced by the
Mantineans with their allies, and by three thousand Elean heavy
infantry, they advanced and fell in with the Lacedaemonians at
Methydrium in Arcadia. Each party took up its position upon a hill,
and the Argives prepared to engage the Lacedaemonians while they
were alone; but Agis eluded them by breaking up his camp in the night,
and proceeded to join the rest of the allies at Phlius. The Argives
discovering this at daybreak, marched first to Argos and then to the
Nemean road, by which they expected the Lacedaemonians and their
allies would come down. However, Agis, instead of taking this road
as they expected, gave the Lacedaemonians, Arcadians, and
Epidaurians their orders, and went along another difficult road, and
descended into the plain of Argos. The Corinthians, Pellenians, and
Phliasians marched by another steep road; while the Boeotians,
Megarians, and Sicyonians had instructions to come down by the
Nemean road where the Argives were posted, in order that, if the enemy
advanced into the plain against the troops of Agis, they might fall
upon his rear with their cavalry. These dispositions concluded, Agis
invaded the plain and began to ravage Saminthus and other places.
Discovering this, the Argives came up from Nemea, day having now
dawned. On their way they fell in with the troops of the Phliasians
and Corinthians, and killed a few of the Phliasians and had perhaps
a few more of their own men killed by the Corinthians. Meanwhile the
Boeotians, Megarians, and Sicyonians, advancing upon Nemea according
to their instructions, found the Argives no longer there, as they
had gone down on seeing their property ravaged, and were now forming
for battle, the Lacedaemonians imitating their example. The Argives
were now completely surrounded; from the plain the Lacedaemonians
and their allies shut them off from their city; above them were the
Corinthians, Phliasians, and Pellenians; and on the side of Nemea
the Boeotians, Sicyonians, and Megarians. Meanwhile their army was
without cavalry, the Athenians alone among the allies not having yet
arrived. Now the bulk of the Argives and their allies did not see
the danger of their position, but thought that they could not have a
fairer field, having intercepted the Lacedaemonians in their own
country and close to the city. Two men, however, in the Argive army,
Thrasylus, one of the five generals, and Alciphron, the
Lacedaemonian proxenus, just as the armies were upon the point of
engaging, went and held a parley with Agis and urged him not to
bring on a battle, as the Argives were ready to refer to fair and
equal arbitration whatever complaints the Lacedaemonians might have
against them, and to make a treaty and live in peace in future.
The Argives who made these statements did so upon their own
authority, not by order of the people, and Agis on his accepted
their proposals, and without himself either consulting the majority,
simply communicated the matter to a single individual, one of the high
officers accompanying the expedition, and granted the Argives a
truce for four months, in which to fulfil their promises; after
which he immediately led off the army without giving any explanation