Archidamus, the son of Zeuxidamus, king of Lacedæmon, after a glorious
reign, left one son, Agis, by a noble lady named Lampito, and a much
younger one, named Agesilaus, by Eupolia, the daughter of
Melesippides. As by the Spartan law Agis was the next heir, and
succeeded to the throne, Agesilaus was prepared for the life of a
private man, in that severe Spartan school by which obedience is
instilled into the youth of that country. For that reason it is said
that the epithet of 'man-subduing' is applied to Sparta by the poet
Simonides, because the Spartan customs render the citizens well
behaved, and amenable to discipline, like horses who are broken to
harness early in life. The direct heirs to the throne are not
subjected to this training; but in the case of Agesilaus it happened
that when he began to rule he had previously been taught to obey. This
rendered him by far the most popular of the kings of Sparta, because,
in addition to the haughty spirit that became a king, he had learned
to sympathize with the people over whom he ruled.
II. Agesilaus was an early and intimate friend of Lysander, as they
were both placed as boys in the same herd or troop for the purposes of
discipline. It was then that Lysander learned to admire the moderation
and self-restraint of Agesilaus, who, although he was ambitious and
high-spirited, with a most vehement and passionate desire to be first
in every kind of competition, was yet of a manageable and easily ruled
disposition, very sensitive to reproach, and far more afraid of blame
than of toils or dangers. The misfortune of his lame leg was almost
unnoticed, partly from the robust vigour of his frame, and also from
his own cheerful acknowledgment of this defect, being always the first
to joke about it. He sought by these means to remedy his lameness,
while his daring spirit never allowed it to prevent his undertaking
the most dangerous and laborious adventures. We have no record of his
appearance, for he himself never would consent to have his portrait
taken, and even when dying begged that no statue or painting of him
should be taken. We are, however, told that he was of small and mean
stature, but that his lively and cheerful temper, even in the most
trying situations, and the absence of anything harsh and overbearing
in his manners, made him more popular than many younger and handsomer
men even in extreme old age. The historian Theophrastus informs us
that the mother of Agesilaus was a very small woman, and that the
Ephors had fined Archidamus, on that special ground, for marrying her.
"She will not bring forth kings to rule us," said they, "but
kinglets."
III. During the reign of Agis, Alkibiades arrived in Lacedæmon as an
exile, having made his escape from the army in Sicily, and, after a
short sojourn, was universally believed to be carrying on an intrigue
with the king's wife, Timaea, insomuch that Agis refused to recognize
her child as his own, but declared that Alkibiades was its father. The
historian Douris tells us that Timaea was not altogether displeased at
this imputation, and that when nursing the child among her attendants
she was wont to call it Alkibiades instead of Leotychides. The same
authority states that Alkibiades himself declared that he seduced
Timaea, not out of wantonness, but with the ambitious design of
placing his own family upon the throne of Sparta. In consequence of
this, Alkibiades, fearing the wrath of Agis, left Sparta, and the
child was always viewed with suspicion by Agis, and never treated as
his own son, until in his last illness the boy by tears and entreaties
prevailed upon him to bear public witness to his legitimacy. But after
the death of Agis, Lysander, the conqueror of Athens, who was the most
important man in Sparta, began to urge the claims of Agesilaus to the
throne, on the ground that Leotychides was a bastard, and therefore
excluded from the succession. Many of the other citizens eagerly
espoused the cause of Agesilaus, because they had been brought up in
his company, and had become his intimate friends. There was, however,
one Diopeithes, a soothsayer, who was learned in prophetic lore, and
enjoyed a great reputation for wisdom and sanctity. This man declared
that it was wrong for a lame man to become king of Lacedæmon, and
quoted the following oracle:--
"Proud Sparta, resting on two equal feet,
Beware lest lameness on thy kings alight;
Lest wars unnumbered toss thee to and fro,
And thou thyself be ruined in the fight."
In answer to this, Lysander argued that the oracle really warned the
Spartans against making Leotychides king; for the god was not likely
to allude to actual lameness, which might not even be congenital, but
might arise from some accidental hurt, as disqualifying any one for
the office of king, but rather meant by a "lame reign," the reign of
one who was not legitimate, and not truly descended from Herakles.
Agesilaus also said that Poseidon bore witness to the illegitimacy of
Leotychides; for Agis was said to have been cast out of his
bed-chamber by an earthquake, after which he abstained from
approaching his wife, on religious grounds, for a period of more than
ten months, at the end of which Leotychides was born.
IV. Having been raised to the throne on those grounds, Agesilaus at
the same time acquired the large property left by the late king Agis,
as Leotychides was declared illegitimate and driven into exile. As his
own mother's family were respectable, but very poor, he distributed
half this property among them, thus making sure of their good will and
favour, and removing any jealousy which they might feel at his
elevation. Moreover, as Xenophon tells us, he gained the greatest
influence by always deferring to the wishes of his country, and thus
was really enabled to act exactly as he pleased. The whole power of
the state was at that time vested in the Ephors and the Senate of
Elders, of whom the Ephors are elected every year, while the Elders
sit for life. These two bodies were intended as a check upon the power
of the kings, who would otherwise have been absolute, as has been
explained in the Life of Lykurgus. Between these magistrates and the
kings there was generally a bad understanding; but Agesilaus adopted
an opposite line of conduct. He never attempted to oppose or thwart
the Ephors or the Senate, and even showed a marked deference to them,
referring the initiative of all state affairs to them, hurrying into
their presence when summoned, and rising from his royal throne
whenever they appeared, while he presented each senator, on his
election, with a cloak and an ox, to congratulate him on joining the
Senate. Thus he appeared to exalt the power of the Ephors and to court
their favour, but he himself was by far the greatest gainer, as his
own personal influence was greatly increased, and the power of the
crown much strengthened by the general good will which he inspired.
V. In his dealings with his fellow-citizens he is more to be praised
as an enemy than as a friend; for he would not act unjustly to injure
his enemies, but he sometimes disregarded justice in the interests of
his friends. He was of too generous a nature to refrain from
applauding even his enemies when they deserved it, but could not bear
to reproach his friends for their faults, which he delighted to share
with them, and to extricate them from the consequences, for he thought
nothing disgraceful if done to serve a friend.[174] He was also ever
ready to forgive and assist those with whom he had been at variance,
and thus won all hearts, and attained to a true popularity. The Ephors
indeed, perceiving this, imposed a fine upon him, alleging as a reason
for it that he was attaching the Spartans to his own person instead of
to the State. For just as physical philosophers tell us that if the
principle of strife and opposition were removed, the heavenly bodies
would stand still, and all the productive power of nature would be at
an end, so did the Laconian lawgiver endeavour to quicken the virtue
of his citizens by constructing a constitution out of opposing
elements, deeming that success is barren when there is none to resist,
and that the harmonious working of a political system is valueless if
purchased by the suppression of any important element. Some have
thought that the germ of this idea can be traced in Homer,[175] for he
would not have represented Agamemnon as rejoicing when Achilles and
Odysseus quarrel 'with savage words,' had he not thought that some
great public benefit would arise from this opposition and rivalry of
the bravest. But to this one cannot altogether agree; for party
strife, if carried to excess, proves most dangerous and ruinous to all
communities.
VI. Shortly after Agesilaus had been raised to the throne he received
news from Asia that the Persian king was preparing a large army with
which he intended to drive the Lacedæmonians into the sea. Upon
hearing this, Lysander was very eager to be sent out again to conduct
affairs in Asia, in order that he might be able to assist his own
friends and partizans, whom he had appointed as governors to many of
the cities in that country, but who had mostly been forcibly expelled
by the citizens for their insolent and tyrannical conduct. He
therefore urged Agesilaus to undertake a campaign in Asia as the
champion of Greece, and advised him to land upon some distant part of
the coast, so as to establish himself securely before the arrival of
the Persian army. At the same time he despatched instructions to his
friends in Asia, to send to Lacedæmon, and demand Agesilaus as their
general. In a public debate upon the subject, Agesilaus agreed to
conduct the war if he were furnished with thirty Spartans to act as
generals, and to form a council of war. He also demanded a force of
ten thousand picked men of the Neodamodes, or enfranchised Helots, and
six thousand hoplites, or heavy armed troops, from the allied cities
in Greece. By the active co-operation of Lysander all this was quickly
agreed upon, and Agesilaus was sent out with a council of thirty
Spartans, in which Lysander at once took the lead, not merely by his
own great name and influence, but by reason of his intimacy with
Agesilaus, through which it was supposed that this campaign would
raise him to more than kingly power. While the army was being
assembled at Geræstus, Agesilaus himself proceeded to Aulis with his
friends, and while sleeping there, he appeared in a dream to hear a
voice saying: "O king of the Lacedæmonians, since no one has ever been
commander-in-chief of all the Greeks, save you and Agamemnon alone, it
is fitting that you, since you command the same troops, start from the
same place, and are about to attack the same enemy, should offer
sacrifice to the same goddess to whom he sacrificed here before
setting out." Upon this there, at once, occurred to the mind of
Agesilaus the legend of the maiden who was put to death on that
occasion by her own father, in obedience to the soothsayers; but he
did not allow himself to be disturbed by this omen, but arose and told
the whole dream to his friends, observing that it was his intention to
pay all due honour to the goddess Artemis, but not to imitate the
barbarous conduct of Agamemnon. He now proceeded to hang garlands upon
a hind, and ordered his own soothsayer to offer it as a sacrifice,
disregarding the claims of the local Bœotian priest to do so. The
Bœotarchs, however, heard of this, and were greatly incensed at what
they considered an insult. They at once despatched a body of armed men
to the spot, who forbade Agesilaus to offer sacrifice there, contrary
to the ancestral customs of the Bœotians, and cast off the victim from
the altar where it lay. After this Agesilaus sailed away in great
trouble of mind, both from the anger he felt towards the Thebans, and
from the evil omen which had befallen him, as he feared that it
portended the failure of his Asiatic campaign.
VII. On his arrival at Ephesus, he was much offended by the great
power and influence possessed by Lysander, whose ante-chamber was
always crowded, and who was always surrounded by persons desirous of
paying their court to him. They evidently thought that although
Agesilaus might be nominally in command of the expedition, yet that
all real power and direction of affairs was enjoyed by Lysander, who
had made himself feared and respected throughout Asia, beyond any
other Greek commander, and had been able to benefit his friends and
crush his enemies more effectually than any one had previously done.
As all this was still fresh in the memory of all men, and especially
as they perceived the extreme simplicity and courteousness of
Agesilaus's manners and conversation, and observed, too, that Lysander
was still as harsh, rude, and imperious as before, they all looked up
to him alone as the virtual commander.
The other Spartan members of the council were deeply dissatisfied at
finding that Lysander treated them rather as though he were king and
they were merely there to ratify his decrees, than as their colleague
with powers no more extensive than their own; while Agesilaus himself,
who though he was above feeling any jealousy of the honours paid to
Lysander, yet was ambitious and covetous of honour, began to fear that
if any brilliant success should be achieved, the credit of it would be
given to Lysander alone. He therefore proceeded to oppose all
Lysander's plans, and if he knew that Lysander was interested in any
enterprise, he took care to put it off and neglect it, while he
successively rejected the petitions of every person in whom he knew
Lysander to take an interest. In judicial decisions also he invariably
acquitted those whom Lysander wished to punish, and condemned to pay
heavy fines those whom he endeavoured to serve. As this took place so
frequently that it could not be attributed to chance, but to a
systematic purpose, Lysander was forced to warn his partizans that his
intervention was an injury and not a benefit to them, and that they
must desist from their obsequious attentions to him, and address
themselves directly to the king.
VIII. As these remarks seemed intended to place the king's policy in
an invidious light, Agesilaus determined to humble him still further,
and appointed him his carver. He then said aloud in the hearing of
many persons, "Let them now go and pay their court to my carver."
Vexed at this insult, Lysander remonstrated with him, saying, "Truly,
Agesilaus, you know how to degrade your friends." "Ay, to be sure,"
answered he, "those among them who want to appear greater than I
am."[176] "Perhaps," replied Lysander, "you have spoken the truth, and
I have not acted rightly. Bestow on me, however, some post in which I
may be usefully employed without wounding your feelings."
Upon this, Lysander was despatched on a mission to the Hellespont,
where he found means to gain over a Persian noble named Spithridates,
who had received some offence from Pharnabazus, the satrap of that
province. Lysander induced this man to join Agesilaus with all his
property, and with a regiment of two hundred horse; yet he himself did
not forget his quarrel, and for the rest of his life assiduously
plotted to remove the succession to the throne of Sparta from the two
royal families, and to throw it open to all Spartans alike. It is
indeed probable that he would have raised an important commotion in
Sparta, had he not been slain in an expedition in Bœotia. Thus do
ambitious men do more harm than good in a state, unless they have an
unusual power of self-restraint. Lysander no doubt acted very
offensively, and made a very unreasonable display of his pride; yet
Agesilaus might have discovered some better method of correcting the
faults of so great a man. Indeed, in my opinion they were both equally
blinded by the same passion for personal aggrandizement, so that the
one forgot the power of his prince, and the other could not bear with
the shortcomings of his friend.
IX. Tissaphernes was at first afraid of Agesilaus, and began to treat
with him about setting free the Greek cities on the Ionian coast from
the power of the king of Persia. Afterwards, however, he imagined that
the force at his disposal justified him in breaking off these
negotiations, and he declared war, to the great delight of Agesilaus.
Great expectations had indeed been formed in Greece of the army of
Agesilaus, and it was thought a strange thing that ten thousand Greeks
under Xenophon should march through Persia to the sea, and defeat the
king of Persia's troops as often as they pleased, while Agesilaus, the
commander of the Lacedæmonians, the leading people in Greece, who were
all-powerful both by sea and land, should accomplish nothing. He now
revenged himself on the faithless Tissaphernes for his perjury by an
equal piece of deceit, and gave out that he was about to march into
Karia. When, however, the Persian army was assembled there, he
proceeded north-wards to Phrygia, where he took many cities, and
gained much plunder, pointing out to his friends that although to
solemnly plight one's word and then to break it is wrong, yet that to
out-manœuvre one's enemies is not only lawful, but profitable and
glorious. Being, however, deficient in cavalry, and warned by the omen
of a victim being found with an imperfect liver, he retired to
Ephesus, and there collected a cavalry force, giving rich men the
alternative of either serving themselves in his army, or of furnishing
a horse soldier instead. Many preferred to do so, and Agesilaus soon
possessed a force of warlike cavalry in the place of worthless foot
soldiers; for those who did not wish to serve personally hired men who
were willing to fight, and those who could not ride hired those who
could. Just so did Agamemnon act very wisely in receiving a valuable
mare, and thereby allowing a rich man to purchase his discharge from
military service. Agesilaus now gave orders that the heralds who
conducted the sale of captives by auction, should strip them of their
clothes, and put them up for sale in a state of perfect nudity. Their
clothes were sold separately, and the Greek soldiers laughed heartily
at the white and soft skins, which never had felt the sun or wind,
displayed by these Asiatics, and began to feel contempt for such
effeminate adversaries. Agesilaus himself, pointing first to the
captives themselves, and then to their clothes and other property,
observed, "These are the men with whom you have to fight, and these
are the things you fight for."
X. When the season for active operations returned he announced his
intention of marching into Lydia, not meaning thereby to deceive
Tissaphernes; but Tissaphernes deceived himself, for he distrusted
Agesilaus on account of his former stratagem. He therefore concluded
that it was Agesilaus's real intention to invade Karia, especially as
he was weak in cavalry, which could not act in that province. When,
however, Agesilaus, as he had announced, marched into the level
country near Sardis, Tissaphernes was obliged to hurry thither with
all speed; and by means of his cavalry he cut off many stragglers from
the Greek army. Agesilaus now perceived that the enemy's infantry had
not come up, while he had all his troops in hand. He at once
determined to fight, and having formed his cavalry and light-armed
troops into one mixed body he ordered them to advance at once and
attack the enemy, while he led on the heavy infantry in person. The
Persians were routed, and the Greeks, following up their victory, took
the enemy's camp with great slaughter. This victory not only enabled
them to plunder the king's territories undisturbed, but also gave them
the satisfaction of hearing that Tissaphernes, a bad man, and one for
whom all the Greeks felt an especial hatred, had at length met with
his deserts. Immediately after the battle the king of Persia sent
Tithraustes to him, who caused him to be beheaded. Tithraustes now
begged Agesilaus to make peace and leave the country, and offered him
money if he would do so. Agesilaus answered that he had no power to
make peace or war, but that such propositions must be referred to the
authorities at home; while as to money he said that he preferred
enriching his soldiers to enriching himself, and that among the Greeks
it was not considered honourable to receive bribes, but rather to take
plunder from their enemies. Nevertheless, wishing to oblige
Tithraustes, because he had avenged Greece upon that common enemy of
all, Tissaphernes, he removed his army into Phrygia, receiving a sum
of thirty talents from Tithraustes for the maintenance of his
soldiery.
During his march he received a despatch from the government of Sparta,
appointing him to the command of the naval as well as of the military
forces in Asia. He was now at the zenith of his fame and the greatest
man of his age, as Theopompus truly observes; yet he had more reason
to be proud of his virtue than of his power. He was thought, however,
to have committed an error in placing Peisander in command of the
fleet, disregarding the claims of older and more experienced men, and
preferring the advancement of his wife's brother to the interests of
his country.
XI. Having established his army in the province ruled by Pharnabazus,
he not only found abundance of provisions, but also was able to amass
much booty. He marched as far as the borders of Paphlagonia, and
gained the alliance of Kotys,[177] the king of that country.
Spithridatos, ever since he had revolted from Pharnabazus, had
constantly accompanied Agesilaus, together with his very handsome son,
named Megabates, of whom Agesilaus was greatly enamoured, and a fair
daughter. Agesilaus persuaded King Kotys to marry this girl, and
received from him a force of one thousand horsemen, and two thousand
light troops, called peltasts. With these he returned into Phrygia,
and laid waste the country of Pharnabazus, who dared not meet him in
the field, and feared to trust himself in any of his fortresses, but
hovered about the country, taking his valuable property with him, and
keeping his place of encampment as secret as he could. The watchful
Spithridates, however, at last found an opportunity to attack him,
and, with Herippidas the Spartan, took his camp and all his property.
On this occasion Herippidas acted with great harshness in ordering all
the plunder to be given up to be sold by auction, according to Greek
usage. He forced the barbarian allies to disgorge their booty, and
searched for all that had been captured in so offensive a manner that
Spithridates, in disgust at his conduct, at once went off to Sardis,
taking with him the entire Paphlagonian force.
We are told that Agesilaus was terribly chagrined at this. He felt
vexed at losing a good friend in Spithridates, and losing, too, a
large force with him, while he was ashamed of the character for
meanness and avarice which this miserable squabble would gain for
Sparta, especially as he had always prided himself on showing a
contempt for money both in politics and in private life.
XII. After this, Pharnabazus was desirous of conferring with him, and
a meeting was arranged between them by a friend of both, Apollophanes
of Kyzikus. Agesilaus arrived first, and sitting down upon some thick
grass under the shade of a tree, awaited the coming of Pharnabazus.
Presently Pharnabazus arrived, with soft rugs and curiously-wrought
carpets, but on seeing Agesilaus simply seated on the ground, he felt
ashamed to use them, and sat down on the ground beside him, although
he was dressed in a magnificent robe of many colours. They now greeted
one another, and Pharnabazus stated his case very fairly, pointing out
that he had done much good service to the Lacedæmonians during their
war with Athens, and yet that his province was now being laid waste by
them. Seeing all the Spartans round him hanging down their heads with
shame, and not knowing what to answer because they knew that what
Pharnabazus said was true, Agesilaus said: "We Spartans, Pharnabazus,
were formerly at peace with your king, and then we respected his
territory as that of a friend. Now we are at war with him, and regard
all his property as that of an enemy. Now as we see that you still
wish to belong to the king, we very naturally endeavour by injuring
you to injure him. But from the day on which you shall declare that
you will be a friend and ally of the Greeks rather than a slave of the
king of Persia, you may regard this fleet and army and all of us, as
the guardians of your property, of your liberty, and of all that makes
life honourable and enjoyable." In answer to this, Pharnabazus said:
"If the king shall send any other general, and put me under him, I
will join you. But if he places me in command, I will cheerfully obey
him, and will fight you and do you all the mischief in my power."
Agesilaus was struck by the high-minded tone of this reply, and at
once rose and took him by the hand, saying, "Would to God,
Pharnabazus, that such a man as you might become our friend rather
than our enemy."
XIII. As Pharnabazus was retiring with his friends, his son stayed
behind, and running up to Agesilaus said with a smile, "Agesilaus, I
make you my guest,"[178] and gave him a fine javelin which he carried
in his hand.
Agesilaus gladly accepted this offer, and, delighted with the engaging
manners and evident friendship of the young man, looked round for some
suitable present, and seeing that the horse of his secretary Idæus was
adorned with fine trappings, took them off and gave them to the boy.
Agesilaus never forgot the connection thus formed between them, but in
after days, when the son of Pharnabazus was impoverished and driven
into exile by his brother, he welcomed him to the Peloponnese, and
provided him with protection and a home. He even went so far as to
employ his influence in favour of an Athenian youth to whom the son of
Pharnabazus was attached. This boy had outgrown the age and size of
the boy-runners in the Olympic stadium, and was consequently refused
leave to compete in that race. Upon this the Persian made a special
application to Agesilaus on his behalf; and Agesilaus, willing to do
anything to please his protégé, with great difficulty and management
induced the judges to admit the boy as a competitor. This, indeed, was
the character of Agesilaus, disinterested and just in all matters
except in furthering the interests of his friends, in which case he
seems to have hesitated at nothing. A letter of his to Idrilus, the
Karian, runs as follows: "If Nikias be innocent, acquit him; if he be
guilty, acquit him for my sake; but in any case acquit him." Such was
Agesilaus in most cases where his friends were concerned; although in
some few instances he allowed expediency to prevail over affection,
and sacrificed his personal friend to the general advantage, as, for
example, once, when owing to a sudden alarm the camp was being
hurriedly broken up, he left a sick friend behind in spite of his
passionate entreaties, observing as he did so, that it is hard to be
wise and compassionate at the same time. This anecdote has been
preserved by the philosopher Hieronymus.
XIV. Agesilaus was now in the second year of his command in Asia, and
had become one of the foremost men of his time, being greatly admired
and esteemed for his remarkable sobriety and frugality of life. When
away from his headquarters he used to pitch his tent within the
precincts of the most sacred temples, thus making the gods witnesses
of the most private details of his life. Among thousands of soldiers,
moreover, there was scarcely one that used a worse mattress than
Agesilaus. With regard to extremes of heat and cold, he seemed so
constituted as to be able to enjoy whatever weather the gods might
send. It was a pleasant and enjoyable spectacle for the Greek
inhabitants of Asia to see their former tyrants, the deputy governors
of cities and generals of provinces, who used to be so offensively
proud, insolent, and profusely luxurious, now trembling before a man
who walked about in a plain cloak, and altering their whole conduct in
obedience to his curt Laconian sayings. Many used to quote the proverb
of Timotheus, that "Ares alone is king, and Hellas fears not the power
of gold."
XV. The whole of Asia Minor was now excited, and ripe for revolt.
Agesilaus established order[179] in the cities on the coast by mild
measures, without either banishing or putting to death any of the
citizens, and next determined to advance farther, and transfer the
theatre of war from the Ionic coast to the interior. He hoped thus to
force the Persian king to fight for his very existence, and for his
pleasant palaces at Susa and Ecbatana, and at any rate to keep him
fully employed, so that from henceforth he might have no leisure or
means to act as arbitrator between the Greek states in their disputes,
and to corrupt their statesmen by bribes. At this crisis, however,
there arrived the Spartan Epikydides. He announced that Sparta was
involved in an important war with Thebes and other Greek states, and
brought an imperative summons from the ephors to Agesilaus to return
at once and assist his countrymen at home.
"O Greeks, that will upon yourselves impose
Such miserable, more than Persian woes."
It is pitiable to think of the malevolence and ill-will which produced
this war, and arrayed the states of Greece against one another,
putting a stop to such a glorious career of conquest at its very
outset, exchanging a foreign for a civil war, and recalling the arms
which were being used against the Persians to point them at Grecian
breasts. I cannot agree with the Corinthian, Demaratus, when he says
that those Greeks who did not see Alexander seated upon the throne of
Darius lost one of the most delightful spectacles in the world. I
think they would have been more likely to weep when they reflected
that this conquest was left for Alexander and the Macedonians to
effect, by those Greek generals who wasted the resources of their
country in the battles of Leuktra and Koronea, Corinth and Mantinea.
Still, nothing is more honourable to Agesilaus than the promptitude
with which he withdrew from Asia, nor can we easily find another
example of straightforward obedience and self-sacrifice in a general.
Hannibal was in great difficulties and straits in Italy, and yet
yielded a very unwilling obedience when summoned home to protect
Carthage, while Alexander merely sneered at the news of the battle
between Agis and Antipater, observing, "It appears, my friends, that
while we have been conquering Darius here, there has been a battle of
mice in Arcadia."
Well then does Sparta deserve to be congratulated on the love for her
and the respect for her laws which Agesilaus showed on this occasion,
when, as soon as the despatch reached him, he at once stopped his
prosperous and victorious career, gave up his soaring hopes of
conquest, and marched home, leaving his work unfinished, regretted
greatly by all his allies, and having signally confuted the saying of
Phæax the son of Erasistratus, that the Lacedæmonians act best as a
state, and the Athenians as individuals. He proved himself indeed to
be a good king and a good general, but those who know him most
intimately prized him more as a friend and companion than as either a
king or a soldier.
The Persian gold coins bore the device of an archer: and Agesilaus as
he broke up his camp observed that he was being driven out of Asia by
ten thousand archers, meaning that so many of these coins had been
distributed among the statesmen of Athens and Thebes, to bribe them
into forcing those countries to go to war with Sparta.
XVI. He now crossed the Hellespont and proceeded through Thrace. Here
he did not ask leave of any of the barbarian tribes to traverse their
country, but merely inquired whether they would prefer him to treat
them as friends or as enemies during his passage. All the tribes
received him in a friendly manner and escorted him through their land,
except the Trallians,[180] to whom it is said that Xerxes himself gave
presents, who demanded from Agesilaus a hundred talents of silver and
a hundred female slaves for his passage. He answered, "Why did they
not come at once and take them;" and immediately marched into their
country, where he found them strongly posted, and routed them with
great slaughter.
He made the same enquiry, about peace or war, of the King of
Macedonia, and on receiving the answer that he would consider the
question, "Let him consider," said he, "but let us march in the
meanwhile." Struck with admiration and fear at his daring, the king
bade him pass through as a friend. On reaching the country of
Thessaly, he found the Thessalians in alliance with the enemies of
Sparta, and laid waste their lands. He sent however Xenokles and
Skythes to Larissa, the chief town in Thessaly, to arrange terms of
peace. These men were seized upon by the Thessalians and cast into
prison, at which the army was greatly excited, thinking that Agesilaus
could do no less than besiege and take Larissa. He, on the other hand,
said that he valued the lives of either of these two men more than all
Thessaly, and obtained their release by negotiation. This ought not to
surprise us in Agesilaus, for when he heard of the great battle at
Corinth where so many distinguished men fell, and where though many of
the enemy perished the Spartan loss was very small, he showed no signs
of exultation, but sighed heavily, and said, "Alas for Greece, that
she should by her own fault have lost so many men, who if they were
alive could conquer all the barbarians in the world."
The Thessalian tribe of the Pharsalians[181] now attacked his army,
upon which he charged them with five hundred horse, and having routed
them erected a trophy near Mount Narthakius. Agesilaus took great
pride in this victory, because in it he had defeated the Thessalian
horsemen, supposed to be the best in Greece, with cavalry disciplined
by himself in Asia.
XVII. He was here met by Diphridas the Ephor, who brought him orders
to invade Bœotia immediately. Although he had intended to make more
extensive preparations, he thought it right at once to obey, and
informed his friends that the day for which they had marched all the
way from Asia would soon be at hand. He also sent for a reinforcement
of two moras[182] from the army at Corinth. The Lacedæmonium
government at home, also, wishing to do him honour, made proclamation
that whosoever would might enrol himself to serve the King. All
eagerly gave in their names, and from them the ephors selected fifty
of the strongest, whom they sent to Agesilaus as a body-guard. He now
marched through Thermopylæ, crossed the friendly country of Phokis,
and entered Bœotia near Chæronea. While encamped there, he observed
that the sun was eclipsed and became crescent-shaped, and at the same
time came the news of the defeat and death of Peisander in a great
sea-fight off Knidus, against Pharnabazus and Konon the Athenian.
Agesilaus was naturally grieved both at his brother-in-law's death and
at the disaster which had befallen Sparta, but as he feared to damp
the courage of his soldiers on the eve of battle, he ordered the
messengers to spread the contrary intelligence, that the Spartans had
been victorious in the sea-fight, and he himself appeared with a
garland on his head, offered sacrifice as though he had heard good
news, and distributed portions of the meat to his friends, as presents
of congratulation.
XVIII. Proceeding on his march through Bœotia he reached Koroneia,
where he came into the presence of the enemy, and arrayed his forces
for battle, placing the men of Orchomenos[183] on the left wing, while
he led the right in person. In the army of the allies the Thebans
formed the right, and the Argives the left wing. Xenophon informs us
that this battle was the most furiously contested one that ever was
known. He himself was an eye-witness of it, as he had served with
Agesilaus during his Asiatic campaign, and had accompanied him on his
return to Europe. The first shock was not very severe, as the Thebans
easily overthrew the Orchomenians, while Agesilaus with equal ease
routed the Argives. When, however, each of these victorious bodies
heard that their left was hard pressed and retiring, they at once
ceased from following up their success and halted where they stood.
Agesilaus might now easily have won a partial victory, by allowing the
Thebans to pass back again through his own lines and attacking them as
they did so. Instead of this, his fierce spirit led him to form his
troops in close order and attack them front to front. The Thebans
fought with no less courage, and a terrible battle raged all along the
line, but most fiercely at the point where the chosen body-guard of
fifty men fought round the Spartan king. The courage of these men
saved the life of Agesilaus, for they recklessly exposed themselves in
his defence, and by their exertions, although they could not prevent
his being severely wounded, yet by receiving on their bodies through
their shields and armour many blows which were intended for him, they
succeeded in dragging him from where he had fallen among the enemy,
and formed a bulwark around him, slaying many of the enemy, but with
great loss to themselves.
The Lacedæmonians, unable to force back the Thebans, were at length
compelled to open their ranks, and let them pass through, which at
first they had scorned to do. They then assailed them on the flanks
and rear as they passed. Yet they could not boast of having conquered
the Thebans, who drew off and rejoined their comrades on Mount
Helikon, with the proud conviction that in the battle they at any rate
had not been defeated.
XIX. Agesilaus, although suffering from many wounds, refused to go to
his tent before he had been carried on men's shoulders round the army,
and had seen all the dead brought off the field of battle. He gave
orders that some Thebans who had taken refuge in a neighbouring temple
should be dismissed unharmed. This was the temple of Athena Itonia,
and before it stands a trophy, erected by the Bœotians under Sparton,
many years before, in memory of a victory which they had won over the
Athenians under Tolmides, who fell in that battle.
Next morning Agesilaus, wishing to discover whether the Thebans would
renew the contest, ordered his soldiers to crown themselves with
garlands, and the flute-players to play martial music while a trophy
was erected in honour of the victory. When the enemy sent to ask for a
truce for the burial of their dead, he granted it, and having thus
confirmed his victory, caused himself to be carried to Delphi. Here
the Pythian games were being celebrated, and Agesilaus not only took
part in the procession in honour of the god, but also dedicated to him
the tithe of the spoils of his Asiatic campaign, which amounted to one
hundred talents.
On his return home, he was loved and admired by all his
fellow-countrymen for his simple habits of life; for he did not, like
so many generals, return quite a different man, corrupted by foreign
manners, and dissatisfied with those of his own country, but, just
like those who had never crossed the Eurotas, he loved and respected
the old Spartan fashions, and would not alter his dining at the public
table, his bath, his domestic life with his wife, his care of his
arms, or the furniture of his house, the doors of which we are told by
Xenophon, were so old that it was thought that they must be the
original ones put up by Aristodemus. Xenophon also tells us that the
_kanathrum_ of his daughter was not at all finer than that of other
children.
A _kanathrum_ is a fantastic wooden car, shaped like a griffin or an
antelope, in which children are carried in sacred processions.
Xenophon does not mention the name of Agesilaus's daughter, and
Dikæarchus is much grieved at this, observing that we do not know the
name either of the daughter of Agesilaus or of the mother of
Epameinondas; I, however, have discovered, by consulting Lacedæmonium
records, that the wife of Agesilaus was named Kleora, and that she had
two daughters, named Eupolia and Prolyta. His spear also may be seen
at the present day in Sparta, and differs in no respect from that of
any other Lacedæmonium.
XX. Perceiving that many of his countrymen bred horses, and gave
themselves great airs in consequence, he induced his sister Kyniske to
enter a four-horse chariot for the race at Olympia, to prove to them
that the winning of this prize depends not upon a man's courage, but
upon his wealth, and the amount of money which he spends upon it. As
Xenophon the philosopher was still with him, he advised him to send
for his sons and educate them in Lacedæmon, that they might learn the
most important of all lessons, to command and to obey.
Lysander was now dead, but Agesilaus found still existing an important
conspiracy against himself, which Lysander had set on foot when he
returned from Asia. Agesilaus now eagerly undertook to prove what
Lysander's true character had been; and having read amongst the papers
of the deceased that speech which Kleon of Halikarnassus wrote for
him, treating of reforms and alterations of the constitution, which
Lysander meant some day to address to the people of Sparta, he wished
to make it public. However, one of the senators, after reading the
speech, was alarmed at the plausible nature of the argument which it
contained, and advised Agesilaus not to dig Lysander out of his grave,
but rather to bury the speech with him. This advice caused Agesilaus
to desist from his project. He never openly attacked his political
enemies, but contrived to get them appointed generals and governors of
cities. When they displayed their bad qualities in these posts and
were recalled to take their trial he used to come forward as their
friend and by his exertions on their behalf make them his active
partisans instead of his enemies, so that before long he succeeded in
breaking up the party which was opposed to him, and reigned alone
without any rival; for the other king, Agesipolis, whose father had
been an exile, and who was himself very young, and of a mild and
unassuming temper, counted for nothing in the state. Agesilaus won
over this man also, and made a friend of him; for the two kings dine
at the same _phiditium_, or public table, when they are at Sparta.
Knowing Agesipolis, like himself, to be prone to form attachments to
young men, he always led the conversation to this subject, and
encouraged the young king in doing so; for these love affairs among
Lacedæmonians have in them nothing disgraceful, but produce much
modest emulation and desire for glory, as has been explained in the
Life of Lykurgus.
XXI. Being now the most powerful man in Sparta, Agesilaus obtained the
appointment of admiral of the fleet for Teleutias, his half-brother;
and thereupon making an expedition against Corinth, he made himself
master of the long walls by land, through the assistance of his
brother at sea. Coming thus upon the Argives, who then held Corinth,
in the midst of their Isthmian festival, he made them fly just as they
had finished the customary sacrifice, and leave all their festive
provision behind them. Upon this the Corinthian exiles[184] who were
with him begged him to preside over the games, but this he refused to
do, ordering them to celebrate the festival, while he took care that
they did so without interruption. After he was gone the Argives
returned, and celebrated the Isthmian games over again. Some of the
winners on the former occasion now won the prize again, while others
were defeated. Agesilaus observed that the Argives by this act
confessed themselves to be cowards, if they set so high a value on
presiding at the games, and yet did not dare to fight for it. With
regard to such matters he used to think that a middle course was best,
and he always was present at the choruses and games at Sparta, taking
great interest in their management, and not even neglecting the races
for boys and for girls; but of some other matters in which most men
were interested he seemed to be entirely ignorant. For instance
Kallipides, who was esteemed the finest tragic actor in Greece, once
met him and spoke to him, after which he swaggered along amongst his
train, but finding that no notice was taken of him, he at length
asked, "Do you not know me, O king?" Agesilaus at this looked
carefully at him, and enquired, "Are you not Kallipides the player?"
for so the Lacedæmonians name actors. Again, when he was invited to
hear some one imitate the nightingale he answered, "I have heard the
original."
Menekrates the physician, after having succeeded in curing some cases
of sickness which were thought to be desperate, was given the title of
Zeus, and used to use this appellation on all occasions in a foolish
manner. He even went so far as to write to Agesilaus in the following
terms, "Menekrates Zeus wishes King Agesilaus health." To this he
answered, "King Agesilaus wishes Menekrates more sense."
XXII. While he was encamped in the temple of Hera, near Corinth,
watching the soldiers disposing of the captives which they had taken,
ambassadors came from Thebes to treat for peace with him. He always
had borne a grudge against that city, and thinking that this would be
a good opportunity to indulge his hatred, he pretended neither to see
nor to hear them when they addressed him. But he soon paid the
penalty of his insolence; for before the Thebans left him news was
brought that an entire mora had been cut to pieces by Iphikrates. This
was the greatest disaster which had befallen the Spartans for many
years; for they lost a large number of brave and well-equipped
citizens, all heavy-armed hoplites, and that too at the hands of mere
mercenary light troops and peltasts. On hearing this Agesilaus at
first leaped up to go to their assistance; but when he heard that they
were completely destroyed, he returned to the temple of Hera, and
recalling the Bœotian ambassadors, bade them deliver their message.
But they now in their turn assumed a haughty demeanour, and made no
mention of peace, but merely demanded leave to proceed to Corinth. At
this, Agesilaus in a rage answered, "If you wish to go there to see
your friends rejoicing over their success, you will be able to do so
in safety to-morrow." On the next day he took the ambassadors with
him, and marched, laying waste the country as he went, up to the gates
of Corinth, where, having thus proved that the Corinthians dared not
come out and resent his conduct, he sent the ambassadors into the
city. As for himself, he collected the survivors of the mora, and
marched back to Lacedæmon, always starting before daybreak, and
encamping after sunset, that he might not be insulted by the
Arcadians, who bitterly hated the Lacedæmonians and enjoyed their
discomfiture. After this at the instance of the Achæans he crossed
over into Akarnania with them, where he obtained much plunder, and
defeated the Akarnanians in battle. The Achæans now begged him to
remain, and so prevent the enemy from sowing their fields in the
winter; but he answered that he should do exactly the reverse,
because, if the enemy next year had a good prospect of a harvest, they
would be much more inclined to keep the peace than if their fields lay
fallow. And this opinion of his was justified by the result; for as
soon as the Akarnanians heard that another campaign was threatened,
they made peace with the Achæans.
XXIII. Konon and Pharnabazus, after their victory in the sea-fight at
Knidus, had obtained command of the seas and began to plunder the
coast of Laconia, while the Athenian walls likewise were restored,
with money supplied by Pharnabazus for that purpose.
These circumstances disposed the Lacedæmonians to make peace with the
king of Persia. They consequently sent Antalkidas to Tiribazus to
arrange terms, and most basely and wickedly gave up to the king those
Greek cities in Asia on behalf of which Agesilaus had fought.
Antalkidas, indeed, was his enemy, and his great reason for concluding
a peace on any terms was, that war was certain to increase the
reputation and glory of Agesilaus. Yet when some one reproached
Agesilaus, saying that the Lacedæmonians were Medising,[185] he
answered, "Nay, say, rather, the Medes (Persians) are Laconising."
By threats of war he compelled those Greek states who were unwilling
to do so to accept the terms of the peace, especially the Thebans; for
one of the articles of the peace was, that the Thebans should leave
the rest of Bœotia independent, by which of course they were greatly
weakened. This was proved by subsequent events. When Phœbidas, in
defiance of law and decency, seized the Kadmeia, or citadel of Thebes,
in time of peace, all Greeks cried shame on him, and the Spartans felt
especial annoyance at it. The enemies of Agesilaus now angrily
enquired of Phœbidas who ordered him to do so, and as his answers
hinted at Agesilaus as having suggested the deed, Agesilaus openly
declared himself to be on Phœbidas's side, and said that the only
thing to be considered was, whether it was advantageous to Sparta or
not; for it was always lawful to render good service to the state,
even impromptu and without previous orders. Yet in his talk Agesilaus
always set a high value upon justice, calling it the first of all
virtues; for he argued that courage would be useless without justice;
while if all men were just, there would be no need of courage. When he
was informed, "The pleasure of the great king is so-and-so," he was
wont to answer, "How can he be greater than I, unless he be
juster?"--thus truly pointing out that justice is the real measure of
the greatness of kings. When the king of Persia sent him a letter
during the peace, offering to become his guest[186] and friend, he
refused to open it, saying that he was satisfied with the friendship
existing between the two states, and that while that lasted he
required no private bond of union with the king of Persia. However, in
his actions he was far from carrying out these professions, but was
frequently led into unjust acts by his ambition. In this instance he
not only shielded Phœbidas from punishment for what he had done at
Thebes, but persuaded Sparta to adopt his crime as its own, and
continue to hold the Kadmeia, appointing as the chiefs of the garrison
Archias and Leontidas,[187] by whose means Phœbidas made his way into
the citadel.
XXIV. This at once gave rise to a suspicion that Phœbidas was merely
an agent, and that the whole plot originated with Agesilaus himself,
and subsequent events confirmed this view; for as soon as the Thebans
drove out the garrison and set free their city, Agesilaus made war
upon them to avenge the murder of Archias and Leontidas, who had been
nominally polemarchs, but in reality despots of Thebes. At this period
Agesipolis was dead, and his successor Kleombrotus was despatched into
Bœotia with an army; for Agesilaus excused himself from serving in
that campaign on the ground of age, as it was forty years since he had
first borne arms, and he was consequently exempt by law. The real
reason was that he was ashamed, having so lately been engaged in a war
to restore the exiled popular party at Phlius, to be seen now
attacking the Thebans in the cause of despotism.
There was a Lacedæmonium named Sphodrias, one of the faction opposed
to Agesilaus, who was established as Spartan governor of the town of
Thespiæ, a daring and ambitious man, but hot-headed, and prone to act
without due calculation. This man, who longed to achieve distinction,
and who perceived that Phœbidas had made a name throughout Greece by
his exploit at Thebes, persuaded himself that it would be a much more
glorious deed if he were to make himself master of the Peiræus, and so
by a sudden attack cut off the Athenians from the sea. It is said that
this attempt originated with the Bœotarchs, Pelopidas and Mellon, who
sent emissaries to Sphodrias to praise and flatter him, and point out
that he alone was capable of conducting so bold an adventure. By this
language, and an affectation of sympathy with Lacedæmon, these men at
length prevailed on him to attempt a most unrighteous deed, and one
which required considerable boldness and good fortune to ensure its
success. Daylight, however, overtook Sphodrias before he had crossed
the Thriasian plain, near Eleusis. All hope of surprising Peiræus by a
night attack was now gone, and it is said, also, that the soldiers
were alarmed and terror-stricken by certain lights which gleamed from
the temples at Eleusis. Sphodrias himself, now that his enterprise had
so manifestly failed, lost heart, and after hurriedly seizing some
unimportant plunder, led his men back to Thespiæ. Upon this an embassy
was sent from Athens to Sparta to complain of the acts of Sphodrias;
but on the arrival of the ambassadors at Sparta they found that the
government there were in no need of encouragement from without to
proceed against Sphodrias, for they had already summoned him home to
be tried for his life. Sphodrias durst not venture to return to
Sparta, for he saw that his fellow-countrymen were angry with him and
ashamed of his conduct towards the Athenians, and that they wished
rather to be thought fellow-sufferers by his crime than accomplices in
it.
XXV. Sphodrias had a son, named Kleonymus, who was still quite a
youth, and who was beloved by Archidamus, the son of Agesilaus. He now
assisted this youth, who was pleading his father's cause as best he
might, but he could not do so openly, because Sphodrias belonged to
the party which was opposed to Agesilaus. When, however, Kleonymus
came to him, and besought him with tears and piteous entreaties to
appease Agesilaus, because the party of Sphodrias dreaded him more
than any one else, the young man, after two or three days' hesitation,
at length, as the day fixed for the trial approached, mustered up
courage to speak to his father on the subject, telling him that
Kleonymus had begged him to intercede for his father.
Agesilaus was well aware of his son's intimacy with Kleonymus, which
he had never discouraged; for Kleonymus promised to become as
distinguished a man as any in Sparta. He did not on this occasion,
however, hold out to his son any hopes of a satisfactory termination
of the affair, but said that he would consider what would be the most
fitting and honourable course to pursue. After this reply, Archidamus
had not the heart to meet Kleonymus, although he had before been
accustomed to see him several times daily. This conduct of his plunged
the friends of Sphodrias into yet deeper despair of his cause, until
Etymokles, one of the friends of Agesilaus, in a conference with them,
explained that what Agesilaus really thought about the matter was,
that the action itself deserved the greatest censure; but yet that
Sphodrias was a brave energetic man, whom Sparta could not afford to
lose.
Agesilaus used this language out of a desire to gratify his son, and
from it Kleonymus soon perceived that Archidamus had been true to him
in using his interest with his father; while the friends of Sphodrias
became much more forward in his defence. Indeed Agesilaus was
remarkably fond of children, and an anecdote is related of him, that
when his children were very little he was fond of playing with them,
and would bestride a reed as if it were a horse for their amusement.
When one of his friends found him at this sport, he bade him mention
it to no one before he himself became the father of a family.
XXVI. Sphodrias was acquitted by the court; and the Athenians, as soon
as they learned this, prepared for war. Agesilaus was now greatly
blamed, and was charged with having obstructed the course of justice,
and having made Sparta responsible for an outrage upon a friendly
Greek state, merely in order to gratify the childish caprice of his
son. As he perceived that Kleombrotus was unwilling to attack the
Thebans, he himself invaded Bœotia, disregarding the law under which
on a former occasion he had pleaded exemption from military service on
account of his age. Here he fought the Thebans with varying success;
for once, when he was being borne out of action wounded, Antalkidas
observed to him, "A fine return you are getting from the Thebans for
having taught them how to fight against their will." Indeed, the
military power of the Thebans at that time was at its height, having
as it were been exercised and practised by the many campaigns
undertaken against them by the Lacedæmonians. This was why Lykurgus of
old, in his three celebrated _rhetras_, forbade the Lacedæmonians to
fight often with the same people, lest by constant practice they
should teach them how to fight. Agesilaus was also disliked by the
allies of the Lacedæmonians, because of his hatred of Thebes and his
desire to destroy that state, not on any public grounds, but merely on
account of his own bitter personal dislike to the Thebans. The allies
complained grievously that they, who composed the greater part of the
Lacedæmonium force, should every year be led hither and thither, and
exposed to great risks and dangers, merely to satisfy one man's
personal pique. Hereupon we are told that Agesilaus, desiring to prove
that this argument about their composing so large a part of the army
was not founded on fact, made use of the following device:--He ordered
all the allies to sit down in one body, and made the Lacedæmonians sit
down separately. Next he gave orders, first that all the potters
should stand up; and when they had risen, he ordered the smiths,
carpenters, masons, and all the other tradesmen successively to do so.
When then nearly all the allies had risen to their feet, the Spartans
all remained seated, for they were forbidden to learn or to practise
any mechanical art. At this Agesilaus smiled, and said, "You see, my
men, how many more soldiers we send out than you do."
XXVII. On his return from his campaign against the Thebans, Agesilaus,
while passing through Megara, was seized with violent pain in his
sound leg, just as he was entering the town-hall in the Acropolis of
that city. After this it became greatly swelled and full of blood, and
seemed to be dangerously inflamed. A Syracusan physician opened a vein
near the ankle, which relieved the pain, but the flow of blood was
excessive, and could not be checked, so that he fainted away from
weakness, and was in a very dangerous condition. At length the
bleeding stopped, and he was conveyed home to Lacedæmon, but he
remained ill, and unable to serve in the wars for a long time.
During his illness many disasters befel the Spartans both by land and
by sea. Of these, the most important was the defeat at Tegyra, where
for the first time they were beaten in a fair fight by the Thebans.
The Lacedæmonians were now eager to make peace with all the Greek
cities, and ambassadors from all parts of Greece met at Sparta to
arrange terms. Among them was Epameinondas, a man who was renowned for
his culture and learning, but who had not hitherto given any proof of
his great military genius. This man, perceiving that all the other
ambassadors were sedulously paying their court to Agesilaus, assumed
an independent attitude, and in a speech delivered before the congress
declared that nothing kept the war alive except the unjust pretensions
of Sparta, who gained strength from the sufferings of the other
states, and that no peace could be durable unless such pretensions
were laid aside, and Sparta reduced to the equality with the rest of
the cities of Greece.
XXVIII. Agesilaus, observing that all the representatives of the Greek
states were filled with admiration at this language, and manifested
strong sympathy with the speaker, enquired whether he thought it right
and just that the cities of Bœotia[188] should be left independent.
Epameinondas quickly and boldly enquired in answer, whether he
thought it right to leave each of the towns in Laconia independent. At
this Agesilaus leaped to his feet in a rage, and asked him to state
clearly whether he meant to leave Bœotia independent. As Epameinondas
in reply merely repeated his question, as to whether Agesilaus meant
to leave Laconia independent, Agesilaus became furious, eagerly seized
the opportunity to strike the name of Thebes out of the roll of cities
with whom peace was being made, and declared war against it. He
ratified a treaty of peace with the other Greek cities, and bade their
representatives begone, with the remark, that such of their disputes
as admitted of settlement must be arranged by peaceful negotiation,
and such as could not must be decided by war; but that it was too much
trouble for him to act as arbitrator between them in their manifold
quarrels and disagreements.
Kleombrotus, the other Spartan king, was at this time in the Phokian
territory at the head of an army. The Ephors now at once sent orders
to him to cross the Theban frontier, while they assembled a force from
all the allied cities, who were most reluctant to serve, and objected
strongly to the war, yet dared not express their discontent or disobey
the Lacedæmonians. Many sinister omens were observed, which we have
spoken of in the life of Epameinondas, and Prothous the Laconian
openly opposed the whole campaign; yet Agesilaus would not desist, but
urged on the war against Thebes, imagining that now, when all the
other states were standing aloof, and Thebes was entirely isolated, he
had a more favourable opportunity than might ever occur again for
destroying that city. The dates of this war seem to prove that it was
begun more out of ill-temper than as a consequent of any definite
plan; for the peace was ratified in Lacedæmon with the other cities on
the fourteenth of the month Skirophorion; and on the fifth of the next
month, Hekatombæon, only twenty days afterwards, the Spartans were
defeated at Leuktra. A thousand Lacedæmonians perished, among them
Kleombrotus the king, and with him the flower of the best families in
Sparta. There fell also the handsome son of Sphodrias, Kleonymus, who
fought before the king, and was thrice struck to the ground and rose
again before he was slain by the Thebans.
XXIX. In spite of the unparalleled disaster which had befallen the
Lacedæmonians, for the Theban victory was the most complete ever won
by one Greek state over another, the courage of the vanquished is
nevertheless as much to be admired as that of the victors. Xenophon
remarks that the conversation of good and brave men, even when jesting
or sitting at table, is always worth remembering, and it is much more
valuable to observe how nobly all really brave and worthy men bear
themselves when in sorrow and misfortune. When the news of the defeat
at Leuktra arrived at Sparta, the city was celebrating the festival of
the Gymnopædia, and the chorus of grown men was going through its
usual solemnity in the theatre. The Ephors, although the news clearly
proved that all was lost and the state utterly ruined, yet would not
permit the chorus to abridge its performance, and forbade the city to
throw off its festal appearance. They privately communicated the names
of the slain to their relatives, but they themselves calmly continued
to preside over the contest of the choruses in the theatre, and
brought the festival to a close as though nothing unusual had
occurred. Next morning, when all men knew who had fallen and who had
survived, one might see those whose relations had been slain, walking
about in public with bright and cheerful countenances: but of those
whose relatives survived, scarce one showed himself in public, but
they sat at home with the women, as if mourning for the dead; or if
any one of them was forced to come forth, he looked mournful and
humbled, and walked with cast-down eyes. Yet more admirable was the
conduct of the women, for one might see mothers receiving their sons
who had survived the battle with silence and sorrow, while those whose
children had fallen proceeded to the temples to return thanks to the
gods, and walked about the city with a proud and cheerful demeanour.
XXX. Yet, when their allies deserted them, and when the victorious
Epameinondas, excited by his success, was expected to invade
Peloponnesus, many Spartans remembered the oracle about the lameness
of Agesilaus, and were greatly disheartened and cast down, fearing
that they had incurred the anger of Heaven, and that the misfortunes
of the city were due to their own conduct in having excluded the sound
man from the throne, and chosen the lame one; the very thing which the
oracle had bidden them beware of doing. Nevertheless, Agesilaus was so
powerful in the state, and so renowned for wisdom and courage, that
they gladly made use of him as their leader in the war, and also
employed him to settle a certain constitutional difficulty which arose
about the political rights of the survivors of the battle. They were
unwilling to disfranchise all these men, who were so numerous and
powerful, because they feared that if so they would raise a revolution
in the city. For the usual rule at Sparta about those who survive a
defeat is, that they are incapable of holding any office in the state;
nor will any one give them his daughter in marriage; but all who meet
them strike them, and treat them with contempt. They hang about the
city in a squalid and degraded condition, wearing a cloak patched with
pieces of a different colour, and they shave one half of their beards,
and let the other half grow. Now, at the present crisis it was thought
that to reduce so many citizens to this condition, especially when the
state sorely required soldiers, would be an absurd proceeding; and
consequently, Agesilaus was appointed lawgiver, to decide upon what
was to be done. He neither altered the laws, nor proposed any new
ones, but laid down his office of lawgiver at once, with the remark,
that the laws must be allowed to sleep for that one day, and
afterwards resume their force. By this means he both preserved the
laws, retained the services of the citizens for the state, and saved
them from infamy. With the intention of cheering up the young men, and
enabling them to shake off their excessive despondency, he led an army
into Arcadia. He was careful to avoid a battle, but captured a small
fort belonging to the people of Mantinea, and overran their territory;
thus greatly raising the spirits of the Spartans, who began to pluck
up courage, and regard their city as not altogether ruined.
XXXI. After this, Epameinondas invaded Laconia with the army of the
Thebans and their allies, amounting in all to no less than forty
thousand heavy-armed soldiers. Many light troops and marauders
accompanied this body, so that the whole force which entered Laconia
amounted in all to seventy thousand men. This took place not less than
six hundred years after the Dorians had settled in Lacedæmon; and
through all that time these were the first enemies which the country
had seen; for no one before this had dared to invade it. Now, however,
the Thebans ravaged the whole district with fire and sword, and no one
came out to resist them, for Agesilaus would not allow the
Lacedæmonians to fight against what Theopompus calls 'such a heady
torrent of war,' but contented himself with guarding the most
important parts of the city itself, disregarding the boastful threats
of the Thebans, who called upon him by name to come out and fight for
his country, since he was the cause of all its misfortunes, because he
had begun the war.
Agesilaus was also distracted by the disorderly and excited state of
the city itself, for the old men were in an agony of grief,
resentment, and wounded honour, while the women could not be kept
quiet, but were wrought to frenzy, by hearing the cries of the enemy,
and seeing the fires which they lighted. He also suffered much at the
thought of his own dishonour; for when he had ascended the throne,
Sparta was the greatest and most powerful city in Greece, and now he
beheld her shorn of all her glories, and his favourite boast, that no
Laconian woman had ever seen the smoke of an enemy's fire rendered
signally untrue. We are told that when some Athenian was disputing
with Antalkidas about the bravery of their respective nations, and
saying, "We have often chased you away from the Kephissus," Antalkidas
answered, "Yes, but we have never had to chase you away from the
Eurotas." This is like the answer made by some Spartan of less
distinction to an Argive, who said, "Many of you Spartans lie buried
in Argive soil," to which he replied, "But none of you are buried in
Laconia."
XXXII. We are told at this time Antalkidas was one of the Ephors, and
became so much alarmed that he sent his family away to the island of
Kythera. Agesilaus, when the enemy attempted to cross the river and
force their way into the city, abandoned most part of it, and drew up
his forces on the high hills in the centre. At that time the river
Eurotas was in high flood, as much snow had fallen, and the excessive
cold of the water, as well as the strength of the stream, rendered it
hard for the Thebans to cross. Epameinondas marched first, in the
front rank of the phalanx; and some of those who were present pointed
him out to Agesilaus, who is said to have gazed long at him, saying
merely, "O thou man of great deeds."
Epameinondas was eager to assault the city itself, and to place a
trophy of victory in its streets; but as he could not draw Agesilaus
into a battle, he drew off his forces, and again laid waste the
country. Meanwhile, in Lacedæmon itself, a body of two hundred men, of
doubtful fidelity, seized the Issorium, where the temple of Artemis
stands, which is a strong and easily defensible post. The
Lacedæmonians at once wished to attack them, but Agesilaus, fearing
that some deep-laid conspiracy might break out, ordered them to remain
quiet. He himself, dressed simply in his cloak, unarmed, and attended
only by one slave, went up to the two hundred, and, in a loud voice,
told them that they had mistaken their orders; that they had not been
ordered to go thither, nor yet to go all together in a body, but that
some were to be posted _there_, pointing to some other place, and the
rest elsewhere in the city. They, hearing his commands, were
delighted, imagining that their treason was undiscovered, and
immediately marched to the places which he indicated. Agesilaus at
once occupied the Issorium with troops which he could trust, and in
the ensuing night seized and put to death fifteen of the leaders of
the two hundred. Another more important conspiracy was betrayed to
him, whose members, full Spartan citizens, were met together in one
house to arrange revolutionary schemes. At such a crisis it was
equally impossible to bring these men to a regular trial, and to allow
them to carry on their intrigues. Agesilaus therefore, after taking
the Ephors into his confidence, put them all to death untried, though
before that time no Spartan had ever been executed without a trial.
As many of the Periœki and helots who had been entrusted with arms
escaped out of the city and deserted to the enemy, which greatly
disheartened the Spartans, he ordered his servants to visit the
quarters of these soldiers at daybreak every morning, and wherever any
one was gone, to hide his arms, so that the number of deserters might
not be known.
We are told by some historians that the Thebans left Laconia because
the weather became stormy, and their Arcadian allies began to melt
away from them. Others say that they spent three entire months in the
country, and laid nearly all of it waste. Theopompus relates that when
the Bœotarchs had decided to leave the country, Phrixus, a Spartan,
came from Agesilaus and offered them ten talents to be gone, thus
paying them for doing what they had long before determined to do of
their own accord.
XXXIII. I cannot tell, however, how it was that Theopompus discovered
this fact, and that no other historian mentions it. All writers agree,
nevertheless, in declaring that at this crisis Sparta was saved by
Agesilaus, who proved himself superior to party-spirit and desire of
personal distinction, and steadily refused to risk an engagement. Yet
he never was able to restore the city to the glorious and powerful
condition which it had previously held, for Sparta, like an athlete
who has been carefully trained throughout his life, suddenly broke
down, and never recovered her former strength and prosperity. It is
very natural that this should have happened, for the Spartan
constitution was an excellent one for promoting courage, good order,
and peace within the city itself; but when Sparta became the head of a
great empire to be maintained by the sword, which Lykurgus would have
thought a totally useless appendage to a well-governed and prosperous
city, it utterly failed.
Agesilaus was now too old for active service in the field, but his
son, Archidamus, with some Sicilian mercenary troops which had been
sent to the aid of the Spartans by the despot Dionysius, defeated the
Arcadians in what was known as the 'Tearless Battle,' where he did not
lose one of his own men, but slew many of the enemy. This battle
strikingly proved the weakness of the city, for in former times the
Spartans used to regard it as such a natural and commonplace event for
them to conquer their enemies, that they only sacrificed a cock to the
gods, while those who had won a victory never boasted of it, and those
who heard of it expressed no extravagant delight at the news. When the
Ephors heard of the battle at Mantinea, which is mentioned by
Thucydides in his history, they gave the messenger who brought the
tidings a piece of meat from the public dining-table, as a present for
his good news, and nothing more. But now, when the news of this battle
reached Sparta, and Archidamus marched triumphantly into the town, all
their accustomed reserve broke down. His father was the first to meet
him, weeping for joy. After him came the senate, and the elders and
women flocked down to the river side, holding up their hands to heaven
and giving thanks to the gods for having put away the undeserved
reproach of Sparta, and having once more allowed her to raise her
head. It is said, indeed, that the Spartans before this battle were so
much ashamed of themselves, that they dared not even look their wives
in the face.
XXXIV. The independence of Messenia had been restored by Epameinondas,
and its former citizens collected together from all quarters of
Greece. The Lacedæmonians dared not openly attack these men, but they
felt angry with Agesilaus, because during his reign they had lost so
fine a country, as large as Laconia itself, and as fertile as any part
of Greece, after having enjoyed the possession of it for so many
years. For this reason Agesilaus refused to accept the terms of peace
offered by the Thebans. He was so unwilling to give up his nominal
claim to Messenia, although he had practically lost that country, that
instead of recovering it he very nearly lost Sparta as well, as he was
out-manœuvred by Epameinondas. This happened in the following manner.
The people of Mantinea revolted from the Thebans, and solicited aid
from the Lacedæmonians. When Epameinondas heard that Agesilaus was
marching thither at the head of an army, he eluded the Mantineans by a
night march from Tegea, invaded the Lacedæmonium territory, and very
nearly succeeded in avoiding the army of Agesilaus and catching Sparta
defenceless. However, Euthynus of Thespiæ, according to Kallisthenes,
or, according to Xenophon, a certain Cretan warned Agesilaus of his
danger, upon which he at once sent a mounted messenger to the city
with the news, and shortly afterwards marched thither himself. Soon
the Thebans appeared, crossed the Eurotas, and assaulted the city with
great fury, while Agesilaus, old as he was, defended it with all the
spirit and energy of youth. He did not, as on the former occasion,
consider that caution would be of any service, but perceived that
reckless daring alone could save Sparta. And by incredible daring he
did then snatch the city from the grasp of Epameinondas, and set up a
trophy of victory, having afforded to the women and children the
glorious spectacle of the men of Lacedæmon doing their duty on behalf
of the country which reared them. There, too, might Archidamus be seen
in the thick of the fight, displaying the courage of a man, and the
swiftness of a youth, as he ran to each point where the Spartans
seemed likely to give way, and everywhere with a few followers
resisted a multitude of the enemy. I think, however, that Isidas, the
son of Phœbidas, must have been most admired both by his own
countrymen and even by the enemy. He was remarkably tall and handsome,
and was just of the age when boyhood merges into manhood. Naked,
without either clothes or armour, having just been anointing himself
at home, he rushed out of his house, with a sword in one hand and a
spear in the other, ran through the front ranks, and plunged among the
enemy, striking down all who opposed him. He received not a single
wound, either because the gods admired his bravery and protected him,
or else because he appeared to his foes to be something more than man.
After this exploit we are told that the Ephors crowned him for his
bravery, and fined him a thousand drachmas for having fought without
his shield.
XXXV. A few days afterwards was fought the battle of Mantinea, where,
just as Epameinondas was carrying all before him and urging his troops
to pursue, Antikrates the Lacedæmonium met him and wounded him,
according to Dioskorides with a spear, while the Lacedæmonians to this
day call the descendants of Antikrates Machairones, that is, children
of the sword, as though he struck him with a sword. Indeed, they
regarded Antikrates with such a love and admiration, because of the
terror which Epameinondas had struck into their hearts while he was
alive, that they decreed especial honours and presents to be bestowed
upon him, and granted to his descendants an immunity from taxes and
public burdens which is enjoyed at the present day by Kallikrates, one
of the descendants of Antikrates.
After this battle and the death of Epameinondas the Greek states made
peace between one another. When, however, all the other states were
swearing to observe the peace, Agesilaus objected to the Messenians,
men, he said, without a city, swearing any such oath. The rest,
however, raised no objections to the oath of the Messenians, and the
Lacedæmonians upon this refused to take any part in the proceedings,
so that they alone remained at war, because they hoped to recover the
territory of Messenia. Agesilaus was thought an obstinate and headlong
man, and insatiable of war, because he took such pains to undermine
the general peace, and to keep Sparta at war at a time when he was in
such distress for money to carry it on, that he was obliged to borrow
from his personal friends and to get up subscriptions among the
citizens, and when he had much better have allowed the state some
repose and watched for a suitable opportunity to regain the country;
instead of which, although he had lost so great an empire by sea and
land, he yet insisted on continuing his frantic and fruitless efforts
to reconquer the paltry territory of Messenia.
XXXVI. He still further tarnished his glory by taking service under
the Egyptian Tachos. It was thought unworthy of a man who had proved
himself the bravest and best soldier in Greece, and who had filled all
the inhabited world with his fame, to hire himself out to a barbarian
rebel, and make a profit of his great name and military reputation,
just like any vulgar captain of mercenaries. If, when more than eighty
years old, and almost crippled by honourable wounds, he had again
placed himself at the head of a glorious crusade against the Persian
on behalf of the liberties of Greece, all men would have admired his
spirit, but even then would not entirely have approved of the
undertaking; for to make an action noble, time and place must be
fitting, since it is this alone that decides whether an action be good
or bad. Agesilaus, however, cared nothing for his reputation, and
considered that no service undertaken for the good of his country
would be dishonourable or unworthy of him, but thought it much more
unworthy and dishonourable to sit uselessly waiting for death at home.
He raised a body of mercenary troops with the money furnished by
Tachos, and set sail, accompanied, as in his former expedition, by
thirty Spartan counsellors.
When he landed in Egypt, the chief generals and ministers of King
Tachos at once came to pay their court to him. The other Egyptians
also eagerly crowded to see Agesilaus, of whom they had heard so much.
When, however, they saw only a little deformed old man, in mean
attire, sitting on the grass, they began to ridicule him, and
contemptuously to allude to the proverb of the mountain in labour,
which brought forth a mouse. They were even more astonished when, of
the presents offered to him, he accepted flour, calves, and geese, but
refused to receive dried fruits, pastry, and perfumes. When greatly
pressed to accept of these things, he ordered them to be given to the
helots. Yet we are told by Theophrastes that he was much pleased with
the flowering papyrus, of which garlands are made, because of its neat
and clean appearance, and he begged for and received some of this
plant from the king when he left Egypt.
XXXVII. When he joined Tachos, who was engaged in preparing his forces
for a campaign, he was disappointed in not receiving the chief
command, but being merely appointed to lead the mercenary troops,
while Chabrias the Athenian was in command of the fleet, Tachos
himself acting as commander-in-chief. This was the first vexatious
circumstance which occurred to Agesilaus; and soon he began to feel
great annoyance at the vainglorious swaggering tone of the Egyptian
king, which nevertheless he was obliged to endure throughout the whole
of a naval expedition which they undertook against the Phœnicians,
during which he suppressed his feelings of disgust as well as he could
until at last he had an opportunity of showing them. Nektanebis, the
cousin of Tachos, and the commander of a large portion of his force,
revolted, and caused himself to be proclaimed King of Egypt. He at
once sent to Agesilaus begging for his assistance, and he also made
the same proposals to Chabrias, offering them great rewards if they
would join him.
Tachos, hearing of this, also began to supplicate them to stand by
him, and Chabrias besought Agesilaus to remain in the service of
Tachos, and to act as his friend. To this, however, Agesilaus
answered, "You, Chabrias, have come here on your own responsibility,
and are able to act as you please. I was given by Sparta to the
Egyptians as their general. It would not become me, therefore, to make
war against those whom I was sent to aid, unless my country orders me
to do so." After expressing himself thus, he sent messengers to
Sparta, with instructions to depreciate Tachos, and to praise
Nektanebis. Both these princes also sent embassies to the
Lacedæmonians, the one begging for aid as their old friend and ally,
the other making large promises of future good-will towards them.
After hearing both sides, the Spartans publicly answered the
Egyptians, that Agesilaus would decide between them, and they sent
him a private despatch, bidding him to do what was best for Sparta.
Hereupon Agesilaus and the mercenaries left Tachos, and joined
Nektanebis, making the interests of his country the pretext for his
extraordinary conduct, which we can hardly call anything better than
treachery. However, the Lacedæmonians regard that course as the most
honourable which is the most advantageous to their country, and know
nothing of right or wrong, but only how to make Sparta great.
XXXVIII. Tachos, deserted by the mercenaries, now fled for his life;
but another claimant of the throne arose in the district of Mendes,
and made war against Nektanebis with an army of one hundred thousand
men. Nektanebis, in his talk with Agesilaus, spoke very confidently
about this force, saying that they were indeed very numerous, but a
mere mixed multitude of rustic recruits, whom he could afford to
despise. To these remarks Agesilaus answered, "It is not their
numbers, but their ignorance which I fear, lest we should be unable to
deceive them. Stratagems in war consist in unexpectedly falling upon
men who are expecting an attack from some other quarter, but a man who
expects nothing gives his enemy no opportunity to take him unawares,
just as in wrestling one cannot throw one's adversary if he stands
still."
The Mendesian soon began to intrigue with Agesilaus, and Nektanebis
feared much that he might succeed in detaching him from himself.
Consequently, when Agesilaus advised him to fight as soon as possible,
and not prolong the war against men who were indeed inexperienced in
battle, but who were able, from their enormous numbers, to raise vast
entrenchments and surround him on every side, he took the exactly
opposite course, and retired to a strongly fortified city, of great
extent, viewing Agesilaus with suspicion and fear. Agesilaus was
grieved at this, but, feeling ashamed to change sides a second time
and so completely fail in his mission, he followed Nektanebis into his
fortress.
XXXIX. When the enemy advanced and began to build a wall round the
city, Nektanebis, fearing the consequences of a siege, was eager to
fight, as were also the Greeks, for they were very short of
provisions. Agesilaus, however, opposed this design, for which he was
heartily abused by the Egyptians, who called him a traitor and the
betrayer of their king. He paid but little attention to their
slanders, but watched for an opportunity to effect the project which
he had conceived. This was as follows:--The enemy were digging a
trench round the city, with the intention of completely isolating the
garrison and starving it out. When then the two ends of this trench,
which was to surround the city, had nearly met, Agesilaus towards
evening ordered the Greeks to get under arms, and, proceeding to
Nektanebis, said, "Young man, this is our opportunity. I would not say
anything about it before, lest the secret should be divulged. But now
the enemy themselves have secured our position by digging this
enormous trench; for the part of it which is completed will keep off
their superior numbers from us, while upon the ground which still
remains unbroken we can fight them on equal terms. Come now, prove
yourself a man of courage, charge bravely with us, and save both
yourself and your army. Those of the enemy whom we first attack will
not be able to resist our onset, and the rest will not be able to
reach us because of the trench."
Nektanebis was surprised at the ingenuity of Agesilaus, placed himself
in the midst of the Greeks, and charging with them gained an easy
victory. Having once established an ascendancy over the mind of
Nektanebis, Agesilaus now proceeded to use the same trick again with
the enemy. By alternately retreating and advancing he led them on
until he had enticed them into a place between two deep canals. Here
he at once formed his troops on a front equal to the space between the
canals, and charged the enemy, who were unable to use their numbers to
outflank and surround him. After a short resistance they fled. Many
were slain, and the rest completely dispersed.
XL. This victory secured the throne of Egypt for Nektanebis. He now
showed great esteem for Agesilaus, and begged him to remain in Egypt
during the winter. Agesilaus, however, was anxious to return home and
assist in the war which was going on there, as he knew that Sparta was
in great want of money, and was paying a force of mercenary troops.
Nektanebis escorted him out of the country with great honour, giving
him many presents, and the sum of two hundred and thirty talents of
silver to be used in meeting the expenses of the war. As it was
winter, and stormy weather, Agesilaus did not venture to cross the
open sea, but coasted along the shores of Libya, as far as a desert
spot known as the Harbour of Menelaus, where he died, in the
eighty-fourth year of his age, and having been king of Sparta for
forty-one years, during thirty of which he was the greatest and most
powerful man in Greece, having been looked upon as all but the king of
the whole country, up to the time of the battle of Leuktra.
It was the Spartan custom, in the case of citizens who died in foreign
countries, to pay them the last rites wherever they might be, but to
take home the remains of their kings. Consequently the Spartan
counsellors enveloped the body in melted wax, as they could not obtain
honey, and took it home to Lacedæmon.
Archidamus, the son of Agesilaus, succeeded him on the throne, and his
posterity continued to reign until Agis, the fifth in descent from
Agesilaus, was murdered by Leonidas, because he endeavoured to restore
the ancient discipline of Sparta.