History of the Peloponnesian War

Remembering which, we ought, the older part of us, to come up to our former deeds, and the younger, as sons of fathers who then behaved so bravely, to strive not to disgrace the noble qualities that by birth belong to them; but to trust that the gods will be on our side, whose sanctuary they have lawlessly fortified, and are using, and to rely on the omens, which, after sacrificing, appear favourable to us; and so to meet these men in battle, and show them that what they want they must go and get by attacking such as will not resist them; but that from those who deem it noble ever to secure by their arms the liberty of their own country, and not to enslave unjustly that of other people, they shall not go away without a struggle.

By thus exhorting the Boeotians, Pagondas persuaded them to go against the Athenians, and quickly breaking up his camp, led the army forward (for it was now late in the day). On approaching near to their forces, he placed his troops in a position where, in consequence of a hill intervening, the armies did not see each other;

and there he drew them up, and made his arrangements for battle. When Hippocrates, who was still at Delium, received tidings of the advance of the Boeotians, he sent to his troops, with orders to throw themselves into line, and himself joined them soon after, leaving three hundred horse at Delium, both to defend it if any one came against it, and to watch their opportunity and fall upon the Boeotians during the engagement.

Against these the Boeotians posted a division to resist their charge; and when all was well arranged by them, they appeared over the hill, and halted in the order they intended to fight in, to the number of about seven thousand heavy-armed, more than ten thousand light-armed, one thousand horse, and five hundred targeteers.