260 HISTORY OF GREECE. komedes, they chose as officers every man whom he recommended calling upon him to lead them into active service, so as to justify their new pretensions. He conducted them into the territory of Epidaurus, now under invasion by the Argeians ; who were how- ever in the greatest danger of being cut off, having their retreat intercepted by a body of trocf s from Corinth under Chabrias, Athenians and Corinthians. Lykomedes with his Arcadians, fighting his way through enemies as well as through a difficult country, repelled the division of Chabrias, and extricated the em- barrassed Argeians. He next invaded the territory south of the new city of Messene and west of the Messenian Gulf, part of which was still held by Spartan garrisons. He penetrated as far as Asine, where the Spartan commander, Geranor, drew out his garrison to resist them, but was defeated with loss, and slain, while the suburbs of Asine were destroyed. 1 Probably the Spartan mastery of the eouth-western corner of the Peloponnesus was terminated by this expedition. The indefatigable activity which these Arcadians now displayed under their new commander, overpowering all enemies, and defying all hardships and difficulties of marching over the most rugged mountains, by night as well as by day, throughout the win- ter season, excited everywhere astonishment and alarm ; not without considerable jealousy even on the part of their allies the Thebans.2 While such jealousy tended to loosen the union between the Ar- cadians and Thebes, other causes tended at the same time to disu- nite them from Elis. The Eleians claimed rights of supremacy over Lepreon and the other towns of Triphylia, which rights they had been compelled by the Spartan arms to forego thirty years before. 3 Ever since that period, these towns had ranked as sepa- rate communities, each for itself as a dependent ally of Sparta. Now that the power of the latter was broken, the Eleians aimed at 1 Xen. Hellen. vii, 1, 25. Ii-paTevadfievoi 6e nal elf 'AaivTjv rfc AaKuviKr/e, tvinrjauv re TTJV TUV Aa-
- e6ai/j.oviuv Qpovpuv, nal rbv Tepdvopa, rbv no'XefMpxov ZKapTtdTjjv ysyKvr)-
fievov, uTTEKTeivav, Kal rb Trooaoretov ~uv 'Aaivaiuv tir6p-&r]<jav. Diodorus states that Lykomedes and the Arcadians took PellenS, which is in a different situation, and can hardly refer to the same expedition (xv, 67). 2 Xen. Hellen. vii, 1, 26. * Xen. Hellen. iii, 2, 30, 31.
