tombs and invoking curses on the Spartans,
and Skedasus, who bade him sacrifice a red virgin to the maidens, if
he wished to conquer his enemies. And as this command seemed to him
shocking and impious, he started up and consulted the prophets and the
generals. Some of them forbade him to neglect or disobey the warning,
quoting the famous old instances of Menaekeus the son of Kreon and
Makaria the daughter of Herakles, and, in later times, Pherekydes the
philosopher, who was killed by the Lacedaemonians, and whose skin,
according to some oracle, is still kept by their kings, and Leonidas,
who following the oracle did in some sort offer himself as a victim on
behalf of Greece; and futhermore they spoke of those persons whom
Themistokles sacrificed to Dionysus before the sea-fight at Salamis.
All these are verified by the success which followed them. And again,
Agesilaus when starting from the same place that Agamemnon did to
fight the same enemies, was asked by the god, during a vision at
Aulis, to give him his daughter as a sacrifice; but he did not give
her, but by his softheartedness ruined the expedition, which
ingloriously failed. Others spoke on the other side, urging that so
barbarous and impious a sacrifice could not be pleasing to any of the
powers above, for, they said, it is not the Typhons and giants of
legend that rule in heaven, but the father of all gods and men. To
believe that there are deities that delight in the blood and slaughter
of mankind is probably a foolish fancy; but if there be such, it is
our duty to disregard them and treat them as powerless, for these
strange and shocking desires can only take their origin and exist in
feeble and depraved minds.

XXII. While the chiefs of the army were engaged in this discussion,
and Pelopidas especially was at a loss what to do, a filly escaped
from some horses at pasture, and running through the ranks stopped
opposite them. They admired her coat shining with the brightest red,
and the mettled courage of her neigh, but Theokritus the prophet,
comprehending what was meant, called to Pelopidas: "Happy man! Here is
your victim; let us not expect any other virgin, but take the gift the
gods provide you." Hereupon they caught the filly and led it to the
tombs of the maidens. Here, after prayer, they hung garlands on the
tombs, and made the sacrifice with joy, explaining to the whole army
the vision of Pelopidas and their reasons for the sacrifice.

XXIII. In t