im, and, thanks to the
teachings of his wife, was both great and virtuous. He drove away the
ephors, who were rich and corrupt, and then distributed all the property
equally among the people, as Agis had planned.

When Aratus heard of the reforms made by Cleomenes, he began to fear
that Sparta would win back her former power, and again try to lord it
over the rest of Greece. To prevent such a misfortune, he decided to
attack the Spartan king while he was too young to excel in the art of
war.

He therefore advanced with a good army; but, to his surprise and dismay,
he was completely defeated by the young king. Several of the smaller
towns now showed a desire to leave the Achaean League and join Sparta, so
Aratus became more eager than ever to suppress her rising power.

In his eagerness he forgot all caution, and even asked help of Antigonus
Do'son, King of Macedon, the successor of Antigonus Gonatas. This ruler
owed his surname of Doson ("who will give") to a bad habit of promising
all kinds of gifts to his followers,--promises which were never kept.

Antigonus Doson was only too glad to send a Macedonian army into Greece,
and not only garrisoned the fortress on the Isthmus of Corinth, but also
sent troops on into the Peloponnesus.

CXIII. THE WAR OF THE TWO LEAGUES.

The Achaean and Macedonian armies now met the Spartans at Sel-la'sia, in
Laconia, where the latter were badly defeated, and Sparta fell into the
enemy's hands. Antigonus was so proud of his victory that he burst a
blood vessel upon hearing the news, and died shortly after.

Before he closed his eyes, however, he had the satisfaction of driving
Cleomenes away from Greece into Egypt. There the young king fell upon
his sword, after killing his children, rather than become a slave.
Tyrants were now allowed again in many of the Greek cities, in spite of
the remonstrances of Aratus, who learned only too late that the
Macedonians had come into the Peloponnesus merely for the purpose of
making themselves masters of the country.

Aratus' eyes were opened. He saw that all his efforts were vain, and
that, owing to his own imprudence, Greece would never again be free. In
his grief, his presence of mind quite forsook him. He did not know what
steps to take in order to undo all the harm he had done.

The AEtolians now became the champions of freedom, and marched against
the Achaeans, whom they defeated. In their distress, the Achaeans once
more begged