by a battle, but thought it best to prolong the war till
the Romans should be exhausted by want of supplies. However, Archelaus
was somewhat encouraged by the position of their encampment near
Orchomenus, which was very favourable for battle to an army which had
the superiority in cavalry; for of all the plains in Boeotia noted for
their beauty and extent, this, which commences at the city of
Orchomenus, is the only one which spreads without interruption and
without any trees, and it reaches to the marshes in which the river
Melas[249] is lost. The Melas rises close to Orchomenus, and is the
only river of Greece that is a copious and navigable stream at its
source; it also increases like the Nile about the summer solstice, and
the same plants grow on its banks; but they produce no fruit and do
not attain any large size. Its course however is short, for the larger
part of the water is soon lost in obscure marshes overgrown with
shrubs: a small part joins the Kephisus somewhere about the point
where the lake is said to produce the reed that is adapted for making
musical pipes.

XXI. The two armies being encamped near one another, Archelaus kept
quiet, but Sulla began to dig trenches on both sides with the view,
if possible, of cutting off the enemy from the hard ground and those
parts which were favourable to cavalry and driving them into the
marshes. However, the barbarians would not endure this, and as soon as
their generals allowed them to attack the Romans, they rushed forward
with so much vigour and force, that not only were the men dispersed
who were working at the trenches, but the greater part of the Roman
troops that were drawn up for their protection were involved in the
fight. Upon this Sulla leapt down from his horse, and snatching up a
standard, made his way through the fugitives towards the enemy, crying
out, "For my part, Romans, it is fit I should die here; as for you,
when you are asked where you deserted your Imperator, remember to say
it was in Orchomenus." These words made the soldiers rally, and two
cohorts came to their support from the right wing, which Sulla led
against the enemy and put them to flight. He then led his soldiers
back a short distance, and after allowing them to take some food, he
began again to work at the trenches which were designed to enclose the
enemy's camp. The barbarians made another attack in better order than
before; in which Diogenes, the son of the wife of Archelaus, fel