[7,4] Ὡς δὲ κατέμαθον αὐτοὺς οἱ βάρβαροι μάχεσθαι
παρεσκευασμένους, ἀλαλάξαντες ἐχώρουν ὁμόσε τὸν
βάρβαρον τρόπον ἄνευ κόσμου πεζοί τε καὶ ἱππεῖς
ἀναμὶξ ὡς ἅπαντας ἀναρπασόμενοι. ἦν δὲ τὸ πρὸ τῆς
πόλεως χωρίον, ἐν ᾧ συνέμισγον ἀλλήλοις, αὐλὼν στενὸς ὄρεσι
καὶ λίμναις περικλειόμενος, τῇ μὲν ἀρετῇ
τῶν Κυμαίων σύμμαχος, τῷ δὲ πλήθει τῶν βαρβάρων
πολέμιος. ἀνατρεπόμενοι γὰρ ὑπ´ ἀλλήλων καὶ συμπατούμενοι
πολλαχῇ μὲν καὶ ἄλλῃ, μάλιστα δὲ περὶ τὰ
τέλματα τῆς λίμνης, οὐδ´ εἰς χεῖρας ἐλθόντες τῇ φάλαγγι τῶν
Ἑλλήνων αὐτοὶ δι´ αὑτῶν οἱ πλείους διεφθάρησαν· καὶ ὁ μὲν
πεζὸς αὐτῶν στρατὸς ὁ πολὺς περὶ
ἑαυτῷ σφαλείς, ἔργον δὲ γενναῖον οὐδὲν ἀποδειξάμενος,
ἄλλος ἄλλῃ διασκεδασθεὶς ἔφυγεν· οἱ δ´ ἱππεῖς συνῆλθον μὲν
ὁμόσε καὶ πολὺν τοῖς Ἕλλησιν οὗτοι παρέσχον
πόνον. ἀδύνατοι δ´ ὄντες κυκλώσασθαι τοὺς πολεμίους διὰ
στενοχωρίαν, καί τι καὶ τοῦ δαιμονίου κεραυνοῖς καὶ ὕδασι καὶ
βρονταῖς συναγωνισαμένου τοῖς
Ἕλλησι, δείσαντες εἰς φυγὴν τρέπονται. ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ
μάχῃ πάντες μὲν οἱ τῶν Κυμαίων ἱππεῖς λαμπρῶς ἠγωνίσαντο,
καὶ τῆς νίκης οὗτοι μάλιστα ὡμολογοῦντο
αἴτιοι γενέσθαι, ὑπὲρ ἅπαντας δὲ τοὺς ἄλλους Ἀριστόδημος ὁ
Μαλακὸς ἐπικαλούμενος· καὶ γὰρ τὸν ἡγεμόνα
τῶν πολεμίων οὗτος ἀπέκτεινε μόνος ὑποστὰς καὶ ἄλλους
πολλοὺς καὶ ἀγαθούς. λυθέντος δὲ τοῦ πολέμου
τὰς χαριστηρίους θυσίας ἀποδόντες οἱ Κυμαῖοι τοῖς
θεοῖς καὶ ταφὰς τῶν ἀποθανόντων τῶν ἐν τῇ μάχῃ
λαμπρὰς ποιησάμενοι περὶ τῶν ἀριστείων, ὅτῳ χρὴ τὸν
πρῶτον ἀποδοῦναι στέφανον, εἰς πολλὴν κατέστησαν
ἔριν. οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἀκέραιοι κριταὶ τὸν Ἀριστόδημον
ἐβούλοντο τιμῆσαι, καὶ ἦν ὁ δῆμος ἅπας μετ´ ἐκείνου·
οἱ δὲ δυνατοὶ τὸν ἱππάρχην Ἱππομέδοντα, καὶ ἡ βουλὴ
πᾶσα τούτῳ συνελάμβανεν· ἦν δ´ ἀριστοκρατικὴ τότε
παρὰ τοῖς Κυμαίοις ἡ πολιτεία, καὶ ὁ δῆμος οὐ πολλῶν
τινων κύριος. στάσεως δὲ διὰ ταύτην τὴν ἔριν ἀνισταμένης
δείσαντες οἱ πρεσβύτεροι, μὴ πρὸς ὅπλα καὶ
φόνους χωρήσῃ τὸ φιλότιμον, ἔπεισαν ἀμφοτέρας τὰς
τάξεις συγχωρῆσαι τὰς ἴσας λαβεῖν τιμὰς ἑκάτερον τῶν
ἀνδρῶν. ἀπὸ ταύτης γίνεται τῆς ἀρχῆς δήμου προστάτης ὁ
{Μαλακὸς} Ἀριστόδημος καὶ λόγου πολιτικοῦ
δύναμιν ἀσκήσας ἐξεδημαγώγει τὸ πλῆθος, πολιτεύμασί
τε κεχαρισμένοις ἀναλαμβάνων καὶ τοὺς σφετεριζομένους τὰ
κοινὰ τῶν δυνατῶν ἐξελέγχων καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν
ἑαυτοῦ χρημάτων πολλοὺς τῶν πενήτων εὖ ποιῶν· καὶ
ἦν τοῖς προεστηκόσι τῆς ἀριστοκρατίας διὰ ταῦτ´ ἐπαχθὴς καὶ
φοβερός.
| [7,4] When the barbarians learned that they were ready to fight, they uttered their war-
cry and came to close quarters, in the barbarian fashion, without any order, the horse
and the foot intermingled, in the expectation of utterly annihilating them. The place
before the city where they engaged was a narrow defile surrounded by mountains and
lakes, a terrain favourable to the valour of the Cumaeans and unfavourable to the
multitude of the barbarians. For they were knocked down and trampled upon by
one another in many parts of the field, but particularly around that the marshy edges
of the lake, so that the greater part of them were destroyed by their own forces
without even engaging the battle-line of the Greeks. Thus their huge army of foot
defeated itself, and without performing any brave action dispersed and fled in every
direction. The horse, however, engaged and gave the Greeks great trouble; yet being
unable to surround their enemies by reason of the narrow space, and Heaven also
rendering the Greeks some assistance with lightning, rain and thunder, they were
seized with fear and turned to flight. In this action all the Cumaean horse fought
brilliantly, and they were allowed to have (p157) been the chief cause of the victory; but
Aristodemus, nicknamed Malacus, distinguished himself above all the rest, for he
alone sustained the attack of the enemy and slew their general as well as many other
brave men. When the war was at an end and the Cumaeans had offered sacrifices to
the gods in thanksgiving for their victory and had given a splendid burial to those
who had been slain in the battle, they fell into great strife concerning the prize for
valour, disputing to whom they ought to award the first crown. For the impartial
judges wished to bestow this honour upon Aristodemus, and the people were all on
his side; but the men in power desired to confer it upon Hippomedon, the
commander of the horse, and the whole senate championed his cause. The Cumaeans
were at that time governed by an aristocracy, and the people were not in control of
many matters. And when a sedition arose because of this strife, the older men, fearing
that the rivalry might proceed to arms and bloodshed, prevailed on both parties to
consent that each of the men should receive equal honours. From this beginning
Aristodemus became a champion of the people, and having cultivated proficiency in
political oratory, he seduced the mob by his harangues, improved their condition by
popular measures, exposed the powerful men who were appropriating the public
property, and relieved many of the poor with his own money. By this means he
became both odious and formidable to the leading men of the aristocracy.
|