The word {masso} is "poetical" (old Attic?). See "Cyrop." II. iv.
27, and L. Dindorf ad loc.

(12) A single mora, or an army corps.

(13) Or, "vedettes," {proskopon}. See "Cyrop." V. ii. 6.

(14)? Or, "on your arms." See Sturz, "Lex. Xen." s.v.

If the story is a little long the reader must not be surprised, since it
would be difficult to find any point in military matters omitted by the
Lacedaemonians which seems to demand attention.

XIII

I will now give a detailed account of the power and privilege assigned
by Lycurgus to the king during a campaign. To begin with, so long as he
is on active service, the state maintains the king and those with him.
(1) The polemarchs mess with him and share his quarters, so that by dint
of constant intercourse they may be all the better able to consult in
common in case of need. Besides the polemarch three other members of the
peers (2) share the royal quarters, mess, etc. The duty of these is to
attend to all matters of commisariat, (3) in order that the king and the
rest may have unbroken leisure to attend to affairs of actual warfare.

(1) I.e. "the Thirty." See "Ages." i. 7; "Hell." III. iv. 2; Plut.
"Ages." 6 (Clough, iv. 6); Aristot. "Pol." ii. 9, 29.

(2) For these {oi omoioi}, see "Cyrop." I. v. 5; "Hell." III. iii. 5.

(3) Lit. "supplies and necessaries."

But I will resume at a somewhat higher point and describe the manner in
which the king sets out on an expedition. As a preliminary step, before
leaving home he offers sacrifice (in company with (4) his staff) to Zeus
Agetor (the Leader), and if the victims prove favourable then and there
the priest, (5) who bears the sacred fire, takes thereof from off the
altar and leads the way to the boundaries of the land. Here for the
second time the king does sacrifice (6) to Zeus and Athena; and as soon
as the offerings are accepted by those two divinities he steps across
the boundaries of the land. And all the while the fire from those
sacrifices leads the way, and is never suffered to go out. Behind follow
beasts for sacrifice of every sort.

(4) Lit. reading {kai oi sun auto}, after L. Dindorf, "he and those
with him."

(5) Lit. "the Purphuros." See Nic. Damasc. ap. Stob. "Fl." 44, 41;
Hesych. ap. Schneider, n. ad loc.

(6) These are the {diabateria}, so often mentioned in the "Hellenica."

Invariably when he offers sacrifice the king begins the work in the
gloaming ere the day has bro