| #### CHAPTER 77 |

| #### #### The Argives, when they heard of this, marched down to the sea to defend their country; and arriving in the neighbourhood of Tiryns, at the place which bears the name of Sepeia, they pitched their camp opposite to the Lacedaemonians, leaving no great space between the hosts. And now their fear was not so much lest they should be worsted in open fight as lest some trick should be practised on them; for such was the danger which the oracle given to them in common with the Milesians seemed to intimate. The oracle ran as follows: ####
| #### Time shall be when the female shall conquer the male, and shall chase him Far away - gaining so great praise and honour in Argos; Then full many an Argive woman her cheeks shall mangle Hence, in the times to come 'twill be said by the men who are unborn, "Tamed by the spear expired the coiled terrible serpent." |
#### #### At the coincidence of all these things the Argives were greatly cast down; and so they resolved that they would follow the signals of the enemy's herald. Having made this resolve, they proceeded to act as follows: whenever the herald of the Lacedaemonians gave an order to the soldiers of his own army, the Argives did the like on their side. ####  |