After this the Greeks sent messengers to divers cities, asking help. First they sent them to Argos. Now the Argives had been warned by an oracle that they should sit quiet, being indeed greatly weakened by that which they had suffered at the hands of the Spartans, for these, under King Cleomenes, had slain six thousand citizens. Nevertheless they bade the messengers come into their council chamber and declare their message. And when they had heard it they answered, “We will help you if the Spartans will give us a truce for thirty years, and will also divide with us the command of the army. This indeed we should by rights have altogether, but we will divide it with Sparta.” The truce they asked that, their children having grown to man’s estate, they might be able to make head against Sparta, if need should be. The Spartans answered, “As for the truce, we will bring the matter before the people, but the leadership we can not divide as ye would have it. For we have two kings and ye only one. But your King shall have one vote.” This the Argives could not endure. Whereupon they said to the messengers, “Depart out of our borders before the sun be set, or we will deal with you as with enemies.”
This is the story of the Argives, but the other Greeks affirm that Xerxes sent a messenger to them, saying, “We Persians are your kinsmen, for Perses, who is our father, was son to Perseus that was the son of Danae, that was the daughter of Acrisius your King. Wherefore neither should we fight against you, nor ye against us. Do ye, therefore, keep quiet, and there shall be none whom we will honor more than you.” With this message the Argives were greatly pleased; and they asked for a share in the leadership for a pretense only, as knowing that the Spartans would not yield it.
Many years after it chanced that while certain ambassadors from Athens were at Susa, there came up also an embassy from Argos, who inquired of King Artaxerxes, that was son to Xerxes, “Does the friendship that Xerxes thy father made with us still remain, or dost thou count us as enemies?” To this Artaxerxes answered that the friendship remained, and that he held no city dearer to him than Argos.