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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:
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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."
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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.
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