464 HISTORY OF GREECE. their own two kings. 1 The conquest of Thyreatis by the Spar- tans deprived the Argeians of a valuable portion of their Perioe- kis, or dependent territory ; but Orneae, and the remaining portion of Kynuria, 2 still continued to belong to them ; the plain round their city was very productive ; and except Sparta, there was no other power in Peloponnesus superior to them. Mykenae and Tiryns, nevertheless, seem both to have been independent Btates at the time of the Persian war, since both sent contingents to the battle of Plataea, at a time when Argos held aloof and rather favored the Persians. At what time Kleonoe became the ally, or dependent, of Argos, we cannot distinctly make out. During the Peloponnesian war, it is numbered in that character along with Orneae ; 3 but it seems not to have lost its autonomy about the year 470 B. c., at which period Pindar represents the Kleonaeans as presiding and distributing prizes at the Ne- mean games. 4 The grove of Nemea was less than two miles from their town, and they were the original presidents of this great festival, a function of which they were subsequently robbed by the Argeians. in the same manner as the Pisatans had been treated by the Eleians with reference to the Olympic Agon. The extinction of the autonomy of Kleonag and the acquisition of the presidency of the Nemean festival by Argos, were doubt- less simultaneous, but we are unable to mark the exact time ; for the statement of Eusebius, that the Argeians celebrated the Nemean festival as early as the 53d Olympiad, or 5G8 u. c., is contradicted by the more valuable evidence of Pindar. 5 1 Herodot. vii. 149. 2 Herodbt. viii. 73. Strabo distinguishes two places called Orneae ; one a village in the Argeian territory, the other a town between Corinth and Sikyon : but I doubt whether there ever were two places so called : the town or village dependent on Argos sceras the only place (Strabo. viii. p. 376). 3 Thucyd. v. 67-vi. 95. The Kleonjcans are also said to have aided the Argeians in the destruction of Mykense, conjointly with the Tcgeatans : from hence, however, we cannot infer anything as to their dependence at that time (Strabo, viii. p. 377). 4 Pindar, Nem. x. 42. Kfauva'uv Trpdc uvSptiv TerpuKtf (compare Nem. iv. 17). KAewvaiou r' UTT' ayiJvof, etc.
- Sec Corsini Dissertation. Agonisticae, iii. 2.
Che tenth Nemean Ode of Pindar is on this point peculiarly good eo-
