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The Wealth of Elis

But when the Elean garrison of Lasion heard of the
Lasion and Stratus.
coming of the Macedonians, and were informed of what had taken place at Psophis, they at once abandoned the town; so that upon his arrival the king took it immediately, and by way of enhancing his favours to the Achaeans handed Lasion also over to them; and in a similar spirit restored Stratus to the Telphusians, which was also evacuated by the Eleans. On the fifth day after settling these matters he arrived at Olympia.
Philip at Olympia.
There he offered a sacrifice to Zeus and entertained his officers at a banquet; and, having given his army three days' rest, commenced his return march. After advancing some way into Elis, he allowed foraging parties to scour the country while he himself lay encamped near Artemisium, as it is called; and after receiving the booty there, he removed to the Dioscurium.1 In the course of this devastation of the country the number of the captives was indeed great, but a still greater number made their escape to the neighbouring villages and strongholds.
Prosperity of Elis.
For Elis is more populous, as well as more richly furnished with slaves and other property, than the rest of the Peloponnese: and some of the Eleans are so enamoured of a country life, that there are cases of families who, being in enjoyment of considerable wealth, have for two or three generations never entered a public law-court at all.2 And this result is brought about by the great care and attention bestowed upon the agricultural class by the government, to see that their law-suits should be settled on the spot, and every necessary of life abundantly supplied them. To me it seems that they owed these laws and customs originally to the wide extent of their arable land, and still more to the fact that their lives were under the protection of religion; for, owing to the Olympic assembly, their territory was especially exempted by the Greeks from pillage; and they had accordingly been free from all injury and hostile invasion.

1 See ch. 68.

2 Reading ἁλίαν. See Müller's Dorians, Vol. ii. p. 88.

Histories. Polybius. Evelyn S. Shuckburgh. translator. London, New York. Macmillan. 1889. Reprint Bloomington 1962.

Robert B. Strassler provided support for entering this text.

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hide References (4 total)
  • Cross-references to this page (4):
    • Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), ELIS
    • Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), LA´SION
    • Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), PHLIUS or PHLIASIA
    • Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), THELPU´SA
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