e, and had a son who had grown
up to maturity.

Cleonymus was very unwilling to acquiesce in the accession of Areus to
the throne. He was himself the son of the king who had died, while
Areus was only the grandson. He maintained, therefore, that he had the
highest claim to the succession. He was, however, overruled, and Areus
assumed the crown.

Soon after his accession, Areus left Sparta and went to Crete,
intrusting the government of his kingdom, in the mean time, to his
son. The name of this son was Acrotatus. Cleonymus, of course, looked
with a particularly evil eye upon this young man, and soon began to
form designs against him. At length, after the lapse of a considerable
period, during which various events occurred which can not be here
described, a circumstance took place which excited the hostility which
Cleonymus felt for Acrotatus to the highest degree. The circumstances
were these:

Cleonymus, though far advanced in life, married, about the time that
the events occurred which we are here describing, a very young lady
named Chelidonis. Chelidonis was a princess of the royal line, and was
a lady of great personal beauty. She, however, had very little
affection for her husband, and at length Acrotatus, who was young and
attractive in person, succeeded in winning her love, and enticing her
away from her husband. This affair excited the mind of Cleonymus to a
perfect phrensy of jealousy and rage. He immediately left Sparta, and,
knowing well the character and disposition of Pyrrhus, he proceeded
northward to Macedon, laid his case before Pyrrhus, and urged him to
fit out an expedition and march to the Peloponnesus, with a view of
aiding him to put down the usurpers, as he called them, and to
establish him on the throne of Sparta instead. Pyrrhus immediately saw
that the conjuncture opened before him a prospect of a very brilliant
campaign, in a field entirely new, and he at once determined to embark
forthwith in the enterprise. He resolved, accordingly, to abandon his
interests in Macedon and march into Greece.

CHAPTER XII.

THE LAST CAMPAIGN OF PYRRHUS.

B.C. 272

Pyrrhus makes preparations for his campaign.--Pyrrhus's
designs.--Excitement in Greece.--Pyrrhus's army advances toward
Sparta.--Embassadors.--Pyrrhus arrives at Sparta.--He postpones
the attack.--Plans of the Spartans.--They propose to remove
the women.--The women send a delegation into the
senate-chamber.--Preparations for receiving