After the time of the lawgiver Lycurgus the Spartan state was set in good order, with good land and many fighting men they flourished in prosperity under the new laws set out by Lycurgus. Not content to live in peace, before long the Spartans believed themselves to be superior to their Arcadian neighbors and set about devising a plan to annex the lands of Arcadia and make helots of their fellow Arcadian Greeks.As was customary of the time before making war upon Arcadia they consulted the Oracle of Delphi.
The Oracle replied

—“π‘Œπ‘œπ‘’ π‘Žπ‘ π‘˜ π‘šπ‘’ π‘“π‘œπ‘Ÿ π΄π‘Ÿπ‘π‘Žπ‘‘π‘–π‘Ž? π‘Œπ‘œπ‘’ π‘Žπ‘ π‘˜ π‘‘π‘œπ‘œ π‘šπ‘’π‘π’‰; 𝐼 π‘”π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ 𝑖𝑑 π‘›π‘œπ‘‘.
π‘‡π’‰π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘šπ‘Žπ‘›π‘¦ π‘šπ‘’π‘› 𝑖𝑛 π΄π‘Ÿπ‘π‘Žπ‘‘π‘–π‘Ž, π‘’π‘Žπ‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘  π‘œπ‘“ π‘Žπ‘π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘›π‘ ,
π‘Šπ’‰π‘œ 𝑀𝑖𝑙𝑙 π’‰π‘–π‘›π‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’. 𝐡𝑒𝑑 𝐼 π‘”π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘‘π‘”π‘’ π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘›π‘œπ‘‘.
𝐼 𝑀𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒 π‘¦π‘œπ‘’ π‘‡π‘’π‘”π‘’π‘Ž π‘‘π‘œ π‘π‘’π‘Žπ‘‘ 𝑀𝑖𝑑𝒉 π‘¦π‘œπ‘’π‘Ÿ 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 π‘‘π‘Žπ‘›π‘π‘–π‘›π‘”,
𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑑𝑠 π‘“π‘Žπ‘–π‘Ÿ π‘π‘™π‘Žπ‘–π‘› π‘‘π‘œ π‘šπ‘’π‘Žπ‘ π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’ 𝑀𝑖𝑑𝒉 π‘Ž π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘π‘’.” —

Elated at the oracle’s reply the Spartans were confident that they would take the city of Tegea, they endeavoured to leave the rest of the Arcadians be and set about enslaving the men of Tegea.

—THE BATTLE OF THE FETTERS—

The Spartans marched out carrying the chains with which to enslave the Tegeans. Confident that the Oracle was in their favour. But they were deceived by it.
The Tegeans were not known as great warriors like the Spartans but they utterly defeated the Spartans in battle. Those taken alive were bound in the very chains they had brought with them, and they measured the Tegean plain with a rope by working the fields. Thus the Oracle’s words were fulfilled but not in the way the Spartans had hoped! In later times the chains the Spartans had brought were displayed hanging up at the temple of Athena Alea.

—OVER MY DEAD BODY—

The Spartans continually fought unsuccessfully against the Tegeans for some time in an attempt to win back their lost valour but they were unsuccessful.
In time they sent ambassadors to Delphi to ask which god they should propitiate to prevail against the Tegeans in war. The Pythia responded that they should

—“π’ƒπ’“π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’ƒπ’‚π’„π’Œ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝑢𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒔, 𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 π‘¨π’ˆπ’‚π’Žπ’†π’Žπ’π’π’”—

Unsure of where Orestes bones lay buried they again made enquiry to Delphi to find out where to look. The Oracle replied

—“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 π’Šπ’” 𝒂 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 π‘»π’†π’ˆπ’†π’‚ π’Šπ’ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’”π’Žπ’π’π’•π’‰ π’‘π’π’‚π’Šπ’ 𝒐𝒇 π‘¨π’“π’„π’‚π’…π’Šπ’‚,
𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 π’•π’˜π’ π’˜π’Šπ’π’…π’” π’ƒπ’π’π’˜ 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 π’”π’•π’“π’π’π’ˆ π’„π’π’Žπ’‘π’–π’π’”π’Šπ’π’.
π‘©π’π’π’˜ π’π’Šπ’†π’” 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 π’ƒπ’π’π’˜, π’˜π’π’† 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 π’˜π’π’†.
𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’π’Šπ’‡π’†-π’ˆπ’Šπ’—π’Šπ’π’ˆ 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 π‘¨π’ˆπ’‚π’Žπ’†π’Žπ’π’π’.
π‘©π’“π’Šπ’π’ˆ π’‰π’Šπ’Ž π’ƒπ’‚π’„π’Œ, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’šπ’π’– 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒐𝒇 π‘»π’†π’ˆπ’†π’‚.”—

Perplexed and confused at this reply they were no closer to finding the spot where Orestes bones lay. After some time an old Spartan named lichas happened upon circumstance to be in Tegea when he visited the blacksmiths shop, whereupon the meaning of the Oracle came upon him when gazing at the blacksmith working iron. In the smith’s two bellows he found the winds, hammer and anvil were blow upon blow, and the forging of iron was woe upon woe just as the Oracle had prophecised. After reasoning this out, he went back to Sparta and told the Spartans what he had witnessed, though the Spartans were unwilling to listen and sent him away in shame. Whereupon lichas returned to the blacksmiths workshop in Tegea and pleaded with him to set up residence in his shop. As soon as he had established himself there he dug up the earth beneath the blacksmiths forge and discovered a coffin 12 feet long. Sure that these were the bones of Orestes he gathered them up and returned to Sparta to present them to the ephors.

Ever since then the Spartans were far superior to the Tegeans whenever they met each other in battle. It wasn’t long after that the Spartans had subdued most of the Peloponnese and became renowned as great warriors.

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Published by Iain Maclean

Iain MacLean is the founder of the Caithness Broch Project. An archaeological charity with the aim of rebuilding an iron age broch as an experimental archaeological project. He is an avid reader of the classics, feeling that far too many words are given over to the stories of Alexander, Athens and Sparta and not enough light is shed on the lesser known stories of antiquity. With a special interest in obscure Ancient cultures and traditional skills.

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