AGIS

The fable of Ixion, who, embracing a cloud instead of Juno,

begot the Centaurs, has been ingeniously enough supposed to have

been invented to represent to us ambitious men, whose minds,

doting on glory, which is a mere image of virtue, produce

nothing that is genuine or uniform, but only, as might be

expected of such a conjunction, misshapen and unnatural actions.

Running after their emulations and passions, and carried away by

the impulses of the moment, they may say with the herdsmen, in

the tragedy of Sophocles,

We follow these, though born their rightful lords,

And they command us, though they speak no words.

For this is indeed the true condition of men in public life,

who, to gain the vain title of being the people's leaders and

governors, are content to make themselves the slaves and

followers of all the people's humors and caprices. For as the

look-out men at the ship's prow, though they see what is ahead

before the men at the helm, yet constantly look back to the

pilots there, and obey the orders they give; so these men

steered, as I may say, by popular applause, though they bear the

name of governors, are in reality the mere underlings of the

multitude. The man who is completely wise and virtuous, has no

need at all of glory, except so far as it disposes and eases his

way to action by the greater trust that it procures him. A

young man, I grant, may be permitted, while yet eager for

distinction, to pride himself a little in his good deeds; for

(as Theophrastus says) his virtues, which are yet tender and, as

it were, in the blade, cherished and supported by praises, grow

stronger, and take the deeper root. But when this passion is

exorbitant, it is dangerous in all men, and in those who govern

a commonwealth, utterly destructive. For in the possession of

large power and authority, it transports men to a degree of

madness; so that now they no more think what is good, glorious,

but will have those actions only esteemed good that are

glorious. As Phocion, therefore, answered king Antipater, who

sought his approbation of some unworthy action, "I cannot be

your flatterer, and your friend," so these men should answer the

people, "I cannot govern, and obey you." For it may happen to

the commonwealth, as to the serpent in the fable, whose tail,

rising in rebellion against the head, complained, as of a great

grievance, that it was always forced to follow, and required

that it should be permitted by turns to lead the way. And

taking the command accordingly, it soon indicted by its

senseless courses mischiefs in abundance upon itself, while the

head was torn and lacerated with following, contrary to nature,

a guide that was deaf and blind. And such we see to have been

the lot of many, who, submitting to be guided by the

inclinations of an uninformed and unreasoning multitude, could

neither stop, nor recover themselves out of the confusion.

This is what has occurred to us to say, of that glory which

depends on the voice of large numbers, considering the sad

effects of it in the misfortunes of Caius and Tiberius Gracchus,

men of noble nature, and whose generous natural dispositions

were improved by the best of educations, and who came to the

administration of affairs with the most laudable intentions; yet

they were ruined, I cannot say by an immoderate desire of glory,

but by a more excusable fear of disgrace. For being excessively

beloved and favored by the people, they thought it a discredit

to them not to make full repayment, endeavoring by new public

acts to outdo the honors they had received, and again, because

of these new kindnesses, incurring yet further distinctions;

till the people and they, mutually inflamed, and vieing thus

with each other in honors and benefits, brought things at last

to such a pass, that they might say that to engage so far was

indeed a folly, but to retreat would now be a shame.

This the reader will easily gather from the story. I will now

compare with them two Lacedaemonian popular leaders, the kings

Agis and Cleomenes. For they, being desirous also to raise the

people, and to restore the noble and just form of government,

now long fallen into disuse, incurred the hatred of the rich and

powerful, who could not endure to be deprived of the selfish

enjoyments to which they were accustomed. These were not indeed

brothers by nature, as the two Romans, but they had a kind of

brotherly resemblance in their actions and designs, which took a

rise from such beginnings and occasions as I am now about to

relate.

When the love of gold and silver had once gained admittance into

the Lacedaemonian commonwealth, it was quickly followed by

avarice and baseness of spirit in the pursuit of it, and by

luxury, effeminacy, and prodigality in the use. Then Sparta

fell from almost all her former virtue and repute, and so

continued till the days of Agis and Leonidas, who both together

were kings of the Lacedaemonians.

Agis was of the royal family of Eurypon, son of Eudamidas, and

the sixth in descent from Agesilaus, who made the expedition

into Asia, and was the greatest man of his time in Greece.

Agesilaus left behind him a son called Archidamus, the same who

was slain at Mandonium, in Italy, by the Messapians, and who

was then succeeded by his eldest son Agis. He being killed by

Antipater near Megalopolis, and leaving no issue, was succeeded

by his brother Eudamidas; he, by a son called Archidamus; and

Archidamus, by another Eudamidas, the father of this Agis of

whom we now treat.

Leonidas, son of Cleonymus, was of the other royal house of the

Agiadae, and the eighth in descent from Pausanias, who defeated

Mardonius in the battle of Plataea. Pausanias was succeeded by

a son called Plistoanax; and he, by another Pausanias, who was

banished, and lived as a private man at Tegea; while his eldest

son Agesipolis reigned in his place. He, dying without issue,

was succeeded by a younger brother, called Cleombrotus, who left

two sons; the elder was Agesipolis, who reigned but a short

time, and died without issue; the younger, who then became king,

was called Cleomenes, and had also two sons, Acrotatus and

Cleonymus. The first died before his father, but left a son

called Areus, who succeeded, and being slain at Corinth, left

the kingdom to his son Acrotatus. This Acrotatus was defeated,

and slain near Megalopolis, in a battle against the tyrant

Aristodemus; he left his wife big with child, and on her being

delivered of a son, Leonidas, son of the above-named Cleonymus,

was made his guardian, and as the young king died before

becoming a man, he succeeded in the kingdom.

Leonidas was a king not particularly suitable to his people.

For though there were at that time at Sparta a general decline

in manners, yet a greater revolt from the old habits appeared in

him than in others. For having lived a long time among the

great lords of Persia, and been a follower of king Seleucus, he

unadvisedly thought to imitate, among Greek institutions and in

a lawful government, the pride and assumption usual in those

courts. Agis, on the contrary, in fineness of nature and

elevation of mind, not only far excelled Leonidas, but in a

manner all the kings that had reigned since the great Agesilaus.

For though he had been bred very tenderly, in abundance and even

in luxury, by his mother Agesistrata and his grandmother

Archidamia, who were the wealthiest of the Lacedaemonians, yet

before the age of twenty, he renounced all indulgence in

pleasures. Withdrawing himself as far as possible from the

gaiety and ornament which seemed becoming to the grace of his

person, he made it his pride to appear in the coarse Spartan

coat. In his meals, his bathings, and in all his exercises, he

followed the old Laconian usage, and was often heard to say, he

had no desire for the place of king, if he did not hope by means

of that authority to restore their ancient laws and discipline.

The Lacedaemonians might date the beginning of their corruption

from their conquest of Athens, and the influx of gold and silver

among them that thence ensued. Yet, nevertheless, the number of

houses which Lycurgus appointed being still maintained, and the

law remaining in force by which everyone was obliged to leave

his lot or portion of land entirely to his son, a kind of order

and equality was thereby preserved, which still in some degree

sustained the state amidst its errors in other respects. But

one Epitadeus happening to be ephor, a man of great influence,

and of a willful, violent spirit, on some occasion of a quarrel

with his son, proposed a decree, that all men should have

liberty to dispose of their land by gift in their lifetime, or

by their last will and testament. This being promoted by him to

satisfy a passion of revenge, and through covetousness consented

to by others, and thus enacted for a law, was the ruin of the

best state of the commonwealth. For the rich men without

scruple drew the estates into their own hands, excluding the

rightful heirs from their succession; and all the wealth being

centered upon a few, the generality were poor and miserable.

Honorable pursuits, for which there was no longer leisure, were

neglected; and the state was filled with sordid business, and

with hatred and envy of the rich. There did not remain above

seven hundred of the old Spartan families, of which perhaps one

hundred might have estates in land, the rest were destitute

alike of wealth and of honor, were tardy and unperforming in the

defense of their country against its enemies abroad, and eagerly

watched the opportunity for change and revolution at home.

Agis, therefore, believing it a glorious action, as in truth it

was, to equalize and repeople the state, began to sound the

inclinations of the citizens. He found the young men disposed

beyond his expectation; they were eager to enter with him upon

the contest in the cause of virtue, and to fling aside, for

freedom's sake, their old manner of life, as readily as the

wrestler does his garment. But the old men, habituated and more

confirmed in their vices, were most of them as alarmed at the

very name of Lycurgus, as a fugitive slave to be brought back

before his offended master. These men could not endure to hear

Agis continually deploring the present state of Sparta, and

wishing she might be restored to her ancient glory. But on the

other side, Lysander, the son of Libys, Mandroclidas, the son of

Ecphanes, together with Agesilaus, not only approved his design,

but assisted and confirmed him in it. Lysander had a great

authority and credit with the people; Mandroclidas was esteemed

the ablest Greek of his time to manage an affair and put it in

train, and, joined with skill and cunning, had a great degree of

boldness. Agesilaus was the king's uncle, by the mother's side;

an eloquent man, but covetous and voluptuous, who was not moved

by considerations of public good, but rather seemed to be

persuaded to it by his son Hippomedon, whose courage and signal

actions in war had gained him a high esteem and great influence

among the young men of Sparta, though indeed the true motive

was, that he had many debts, and hoped by this means to be freed

from them.

As soon as Agis had prevailed with his uncle, he endeavored by

his mediation to gain his mother also, who had many friends and

followers, and a number of persons in her debt in the city, and

took a considerable part in public affairs. At the first

proposal, she was very averse, and strongly advised her son not

to engage in so difficult and so unprofitable an enterprise.

But Agesilaus endeavored to possess her, that the thing was not

so difficult as she imagined, and that it might, in all

likelihood, redound to the advantage of her family; while the

king, her son, besought her not for money's sake to decline

assisting his hopes of glory. He told her, he could not pretend

to equal other kings in riches, the very followers and menials

of the satraps and stewards of Seleucus or Ptolemy abounding

more in wealth than all the Spartan kings put together; but if

by contempt of wealth and pleasure, by simplicity and

magnanimity, he could surpass their luxury and abundance, if he

could restore their former equality to the Spartans, then he

should be a great king indeed. In conclusion, the mother and

the grandmother also were so taken, so carried away with the

inspiration, as it were, of the young man's noble and generous

ambition, that they not only consented, but were ready on an

occasions to spur him on to a perseverance, and not only sent to

speak on his behalf with the men with whom they had an interest,

but addressed the other women also, knowing well that the

Lacedaemonian wives had always a great power with their

husbands, who used to impart to them their state affairs with

greater freedom than the women would communicate with the men in

the private business of their families. Which was indeed one

of the greatest obstacles to this design; for the money of

Sparta being most of it in the women's hands, it was their

interest to oppose it, not only as depriving them of those

superfluous trifles, in which through want of better knowledge

and experience, they placed their chief felicity, but also

because they knew their riches were the main support of their

power and credit.

Those, therefore, who were of this faction, had recourse to

Leonidas, representing to him, how it was his part, as the elder

and more experienced, to put a stop to the ill-advised projects

of a rash young man. Leonidas, though of himself sufficiently

inclined to oppose Agis, durst not openly, for fear of the

people, who were manifestly desirous of this change; but

underhand he did all he could to discredit and thwart the

project, and to prejudice the chief magistrates against him, and

on all occasions craftily insinuated, that it was as the price

of letting him usurp arbitrary power, that Agis thus proposed to

divide the property of the rich among the poor, and that the

object of these measures for canceling debts, and dividing the

lands, was, not to furnish Sparta with citizens, but purchase

him a tyrant's body-guard.

Agis, nevertheless, little regarding these rumors, procured

Lysander's election as ephor; and then took the first occasion

of proposing through him his Rhetra to the council, the chief

articles of which were these: That every one should be free from

their debts; all the lands to be divided into equal portions,

those that lay betwixt the watercourse near Pellene and Mount

Taygetus, and as far as the cities of Malea and Sellasia, into

four thousand five hundred lots, the remainder into fifteen

thousand; these last to be shared out among those of the country

people who were fit for service as heavy-armed soldiers, the

first among the natural born Spartans; and their number also

should be supplied from any among the country people or

strangers who had received the proper breeding of freemen, and

were of vigorous, body and of age for military service. All

these were to be divided into fifteen companies, some of four

hundred, and some of two, with a diet and discipline agreeable

to the laws of Lycurgus.

This decree being proposed in the council of Elders, met there

with opposition; so that Lysander immediately convoked the great

assembly of the people, to whom he, Mandroclidas, and Agesilaus

made orations, exhorting them that they would not suffer the

majesty of Sparta to remain abandoned to contempt, to gratify a

few rich men, who lorded it over them; but that they should call

to mind the oracles in old time which had forewarned them to

beware of the love of money, as the great danger and probable

ruin of Sparta, and, moreover, those recently brought from the

temple of Pasiphae. This was a famous temple and oracle at

Thalamae; and this Pasiphae, some say, was one of the daughters

of Atlas, who had by Jupiter a son called Ammon; others are of

opinion it was Cassandra, the daughter of king Priam, who, dying

in this place, was called Pasiphae, as the revealer of oracles

to all men. Phylarchus says, that this was Daphne, the daughter

of Amyclas, who, flying from Apollo, was transformed into a

laurel, and honored by that god with the gift of prophecy. But

be it as it will, it is certain the people were made to

apprehend, that this oracle had commanded them to return to

their former state of equality settled by Lycurgus. As soon as

these had done speaking, Agis stood up, and after a few words,

told them he would make the best contribution in his power to

the new legislation, which was proposed for their advantage. In

the first place, he would divide among them all his patrimony,

which was of large extent in tillage and pasture; he would also

give six hundred talents in ready money, and his mother,

grandmother, and his other friends and relations, who were the

richest of the Lacedaemonians, were ready to follow his example.

The people were transported with admiration of the young man's

generosity, and with joy, that after three hundred years'

interval, at last there had appeared a king worthy of Sparta.

But, on the other side, Leonidas was now more than ever averse,

being sensible that he and his friends would be obliged to

contribute with their riches, and yet all the honor and

obligation would redound to Agis. He asked him then before them

all, whether Lycurgus were not in his opinion a wise man, and a

lover of his country. Agis answering he was, "And when did

Lycurgus," replied Leonidas, "cancel debts, or admit strangers

to citizenship, -- he who thought the commonwealth not secure

unless from time to time the city was cleared of all

strangers?" To this Agis replied, "It is no wonder that

Leonidas, who was brought up and married abroad, and has

children by a wife taken out of a Persian court, should know

little of Lycurgus or his laws. Lycurgus took away both debts

and loans, by taking away money; and objected indeed to the

presence of men who were foreign to the manners and customs of

the country, not in any case from an ill-will to their persons,

but lest the example of their lives and conduct should infect

the city with the love of riches, and of delicate and luxurious

habits. For it is well known that he himself gladly kept

Terpander, Thales, and Pherecycles, though they were strangers,

because he perceived they were in their poems and in their

philosophy of the same mind with him. And you that are wont to

praise Ecprepes, who, being ephor, cut with his hatchet two of

the nine strings from the instrument of Phrynis, the musician,

and to commend those who afterwards imitated him, in cutting the

strings of Timotheus's harp, with what face can you blame us,

for designing to cut off superfluity and luxury and display from

the commonwealth? Do you think those men were so concerned only

about a lute-string, or intended anything else than to check in

music that same excess and extravagance which rule in our

present lives and manners, and have disturbed and destroyed all

the harmony and order of our city?"

From this time forward, as the common people followed Agis, so

the rich men adhered to Leonidas. They be sought him not to

forsake their cause; and with persuasions and entreaties so far

prevailed with the council of Elders, whose power consisted in

preparing all laws before they were proposed to the people, that

the designed Rhetra was rejected, though but by only one vote.

Whereupon Lysander, who was still ephor, resolving to be

revenged on Leonidas, drew up an information against him,

grounded on two old laws: the one forbids any of the blood of

Hercules to raise up children by a foreign woman, and the other

makes it capital for a Lacedaemonian to leave his country to

settle among foreigners. Whilst he set others on to manage this

accusation, he with his colleagues went to observe the sign,

which was a custom they had, and performed in this manner.

Every ninth year, the ephors, choosing a starlight night, when

there is neither cloud nor moon, sit down together in quiet and

silence, and watch the sky. And if they chance to see the

shooting of a star, they presently pronounce their king guilty

of some offense against the gods, and thereupon he is

immediately suspended from all exercise of regal power, till he

is relieved by an oracle from Delphi or Olympia.

Lysander, therefore, assured the people, he had seen a star

shoot, and at the same time Leonidas was cited to answer for

himself. Witnesses were produced to testify he had married an

Asian woman, bestowed on him by one of king Seleucus's

lieutenants; that he had two children by her, but she so

disliked and hated him, that, against his wishes, flying from

her, he was in a manner forced to return to Sparta, where, his

predecessor dying without issue, he took upon him the

government. Lysander, not content with this, persuaded also

Cleombrotus to lay claim to the kingdom. He was of the royal

family, and son-in-law to Leonidas; who, fearing now the event

of this process, fled as a suppliant to the temple of Minerva of

the Brazen House, together with his daughter, the wife of

Cleombrotus; for she in this occasion resolved to leave her

husband, and to follow her father. Leonidas being again cited,

and not appearing, they pronounced a sentence of deposition

against him, and made Cleombrotus king in his place.

Soon after this revolution, Lysander, his year expiring, went

out of his office, and new ephors were chosen, who gave Leonidas

assurance of safety, and cited Lysander and Mandroclidas to

answer for having, contrary to law, canceled debts, and designed

a new division of lands. They, seeing themselves in danger, had

recourse to the two kings, and represented to them, how

necessary it was for their interest and safety to act with

united authority and bid defiance to the ephors. For, indeed,

the power of the ephors, they said, was only grounded on the

dissensions of the kings, it being their privilege, when the

kings differed in opinion, to add their suffrage to whichever

they judged to have given the best advice; but when the two

kings were unanimous, none ought or durst resist their

authority, the magistrate, whose office it was to stand as

umpire when they were at variance, had no call to interfere when

they were of one mind. Agis and Cleombrotus, thus persuaded,

went together with their friends into the market-place, where,

removing the ephors from their seats, they placed others in

their room of whom Agesilaus was one; proceeding then to arm a

company of young men, and releasing many out of prison; so that

those of the contrary faction began to be in great fear of their

lives; but there was no blood spilt. On the contrary, Agis,

having notice that Agesilaus had ordered a company of soldiers

to lie in wait for Leonidas, to kill him as he fled to Tegea,

immediately sent some of his followers to defend him, and to

convey him safely into that city.

Thus far all things proceeded prosperously, none daring to

oppose; but through the sordid weakness of one man these

promising beginnings were blasted, and a most noble and truly

Spartan purpose overthrown and ruined, by the love of money.

Agesilaus, as we said, was much in debt, though in possession of

one of the largest and best estates in land; and while he gladly

joined in this design to be quit of his debts, he was not at all

willing to part with his land. Therefore he persuaded Agis,

that if both these things should be put in execution at the same

time, so great and so sudden an alteration might cause some

dangerous commotion; but if debts were in the first place

canceled, the rich men would afterwards more easily be

prevailed with to part with their land. Lysander, also, was of

the same opinion, being deceived in like manner by the craft of

Agesilaus; so that all men were presently commanded to bring in

their bonds, or deeds of obligation, by the Lacedaemonians

called Claria, into the market-place, where being laid together

in a heap, they set fire to them. The wealthy, money-lending

people, one may easily imagine, beheld it with a heavy heart;

but Agesilaus told them scoffingly, his eyes had never seen so

bright and so pure a flame.

And now the people pressed earnestly for an immediate division

of lands; the kings also had ordered it should be done; but

Agesilaus, sometimes pretending one difficulty, and sometimes

another, delayed the execution, till an occasion happened to

call Agis to the wars. The Achaeans, in virtue of a defensive

treaty of alliance, sent to demand succors, as they expected

every day that the Aetolians would attempt to enter

Peloponnesus, from the territory of Megara. They had sent

Aratus, their general, to collect forces to hinder this

incursion. Aratus wrote to the ephors, who immediately gave

order that Agis should hasten to their assistance with the

Lacedaemonian auxiliaries. Agis was extremely pleased to see

the zeal and bravery of those who went with him upon this

expedition. They were for the most part young men, and poor;

and being just released from their debts and set at liberty, and

hoping on their return to receive each man his lot of land, they

followed their king with wonderful alacrity. The cities through

which they passed, were in admiration to see how they marched

from one end of Peloponnesus to the other, without the least

disorder, and, in a manner, without being heard. It gave the

Greeks occasion to discourse with one another, how great might

be the temperance and modesty of a Laconian army in old time,

under their famous captains Agesilaus, Lysander, or Leonidas,

since they saw such discipline and exact obedience under a

leader who perhaps was the youngest man all the army. They saw

also how he was himself content to fare hardly, ready to undergo

any labors, and not to be distinguished by pomp or richness of

habit or arms from the meanest of his soldiers; and to people in

general it was an object of regard and admiration. But rich men

viewed the innovation with dislike and alarm, lest haply the

example might spread, and work changes to their prejudice in

their own countries as well.

Agis joined Aratus near the city of Corinth, where it was still

a matter of debate whether or no it were expedient to give the

enemy battle. Agis, on this occasion, showed great forwardness

and resolution, yet without temerity or presumption. He

declared it was his opinion they ought to fight, thereby to

hinder the enemy from passing the gates of Peloponnesus, but,

nevertheless, he would submit to the judgment of Aratus, not

only as the elder and more experienced captain, but as he was

general of the Achaeans, whose forces he would not pretend to

command, but was only come thither to assist them. I am not

ignorant that Baton of Sinope, relates it in another manner; he

says, Aratus would have fought, and that Agis was against it;

but it is certain he was mistaken, not having read what Aratus

himself wrote in his own justification, that knowing the people

had wellnigh got in their harvest, he thought it much better to

let the enemy pass, than put all to the hazard of a battle. And

therefore, giving thanks to the confederates for their

readiness, he dismissed them. And Agis, not without having

gained a great deal of honor, returned to Sparta, where he found

the people in disorder, and a new revolution imminent, owing to

the ill government of Agesilaus.

For he, being now one of the ephors, and freed from the fear

which formerly kept him in some restraint, forbore no kind of

oppression which might bring in gain. Among other things, he

exacted a thirteenth month's tax, whereas the usual cycle

required at this time no such addition to the year. For these

and other reasons fearing those whom he injured, and knowing how

he was hated by the people, he thought it necessary to maintain

a guard, which always accompanied him to the magistrate's

office. And presuming now on his power, he was grown so

insolent, that of the two kings, the one he openly contemned,

and if he showed any respect towards Agis, would have it thought

rather an effect of his near relationship, than any duty or

submission to the royal authority. He gave it out also, that he

was to continue ephor the ensuing year.

His enemies, therefore, alarmed by this report, lost no time in

risking an attempt against him; and openly bringing hack

Leonidas from Tegea, reestablished him in the kingdom, to which

even the people, highly incensed for having been defrauded in

the promised division of lands, willingly consented. Agesilaus

himself would hardly have escaped their fury, if his son,

Hippomedon, whose manly virtues made him dear to all, had not

saved him out of their hands, and then privately conveyed him

from the city.

During this commotion, the two kings fled, Agis to the temple of

the Brazen House, and Cleombrotus to that of Neptune. For

Leonidas was more incensed against his son-in-law; and leaving

Agis alone, went with his soldiers to Cleombrotus's sanctuary,

and there with great passion reproached him for having, though

he was his son-in-law, conspired with his enemies, usurped his

throne, and forced him from his country. Cleombrotus, having

little to say for himself, sat silent. His wife, Chilonis, the

daughter of Leonidas, had chosen to follow her father in his

sufferings; for when Cleombrotus usurped the kingdom, she

forsook him, and wholly devoted herself to comfort her father in

his affliction; whilst he still remained in Sparta, she remained

also, as a suppliant, with him, and when he fled, she fled with

him, bewailing his misfortune, and extremely displeased with

Cleombrotus. But now, upon this turn of fortune, she changed in

like manner, and was seen sitting now, as a suppliant, with her

husband, embracing him with her arms, and having her two little

children beside her. All men were full of wonder at the piety

and tender affection of the young woman, who, pointing to her

robes and her hair, both alike neglected and unattended to, said

to Leonidas, "I am not brought, my father, to this condition you

see me in, on account of the present misfortunes of Cleombrotus;

my mourning habit is long since familiar to me. It was put on

to condole with you in your banishment; and now you are restored

to your country, and to your kingdom, must I still remain in

grief and misery? Or would you have me attired in my royal

ornaments, that I may rejoice with you, when you have killed,

within my arms, the man to whom you gave me for a wife? Either

Cleombrotus must appease you by mine and my children's tears, or

he must suffer a punishment greater than you propose for his

faults, and shall see me, whom he loves so well, die before him.

To what end should I live, or how shall I appear among the

Spartan women, when it shall so manifestly be seen, that I have

not been able to move to compassion either a husband or a

father? I was born, it seems, to participate in the ill fortune

and in the disgrace, both as a wife and a daughter, of those

nearest and dearest to me. As for Cleombrotus, I sufficiently

surrendered any honorable plea on his behalf, when I forsook him

to follow you; but you yourself offer the fairest excuse for his

proceedings, by showing to the world that for the sake of a

kingdom, it is just to kill a son-in-law, and be regardless of a

daughter." Chilonis, having ended this lamentation, rested her

face on her husband's head, and looked round with her weeping

and woebegone eyes upon those who stood be fore her.

Leonidas, touched with compassion, withdrew a while to advise

with his friends; then returning, bade Cleombrotus leave the

sanctuary and go into banishment; Chilonis, he said, ought to

stay with him, it not being just she should forsake a father

whose affection had granted to her intercession the life of her

husband. But all he could say would not prevail. She rose up

immediately, and taking one of her children in her arms, gave

the other to her husband; and making her reverence to the altar

of the goddess, went out and followed him. So that, in a word,

if Cleombrotus were not utterly blinded by ambition, he must

surely choose to be banished with so excellent a woman rather

than without her to possess a kingdom.

Cleombrotus thus removed, Leonidas proceeded also to displace

the ephors, and to choose others in their room; then he began to

consider how he might entrap Agis. At first, he endeavored by

fair means to persuade him to leave the sanctuary, and partake

with him in the kingdom. The people, he said, would easily

pardon the errors of a young man, ambitious of glory, and

deceived by the craft of Agesilaus. But finding Agis was

suspicious, and not to be prevailed with to quit his sanctuary,

he gave up that design; yet what could not then be effected by

the dissimulation of an enemy, was soon after brought to pass by

the treachery of friends.

Amphares, Damochares, and Arcesilaus often visited Agis, and he

was so confident of their fidelity that after a while he was

prevailed with to accompany them to the baths, which were not

far distant, they constantly returning to see him safe again in

the temple. They were all three his familiars; and Amphares had

borrowed a great deal of plate and rich household stuff from

Agesistrata, and hoped if he could destroy her and the whole

family, he might peaceably enjoy those goods. And he, it is

said, was the readiest of all to serve the purposes of Leonidas,

and being one of the ephors, did all he could to incense the

rest of his colleagues against Agis. These men, therefore,

finding that Agis would not quit his sanctuary, but on occasion

would venture from it to go to the bath, resolved to seize him

on the opportunity thus given them. And one day as he was

returning, they met and saluted him as formerly, conversing

pleasantly by the way, and jesting, as youthful friends might,

till coming to the turning of a street which led to the prison,

Amphares, by virtue of his office, laid his hand on Agis, and

told him, "You must go with me, Agis, before the other ephors,

to answer for your misdemeanors." At the same time, Damochares,

who was a tall, strong man, drew his cloak tight round his neck,

and dragged him after by it, whilst the others went behind to

thrust him on. So that none of Agis's friends being near to

assist him, nor anyone by, they easily got him into the prison,

where Leonidas was already arrived, with a company of soldiers,

who strongly guarded all the avenues; the ephors also came in,

with as many of the Elders as they knew to be true to their

party, being desirous to proceed with some resemblance of

justice. And thus they bade him give an account of his actions.

To which Agis, smiling at their dissimulation, answered not a

word. Amphares told him, it was more seasonable to weep, for

now the time was come in which he should be punished for his

presumption. Another of the ephors, as though he would be more

favorable, and offering as it were an excuse, asked him whether

he was not forced to what he did by Agesilaus and Lysander. But

Agis answered, he had not been constrained by any man, nor had

any other intent in what he did, but only to follow the example

of Lycurgus, and to govern conformably to his laws. The same

ephor asked him, whether now at least he did not repent his

rashness. To which the young man answered, that though he were

to suffer the extremest penalty for it, yet he could never

repent of so just and so glorious a design. Upon this they

passed sentence of death on him, and bade the officers carry him

to the Dechas, as it is called, a place in the prison where they

strangle malefactors. And when the officers would not venture

to lay hands on him, and the very mercenary soldiers declined

it, believing it an illegal and a wicked act to lay violent

hands on a king, Damochares, threatening and reviling them for

it, himself thrust him into the room.

For by this time the news of his being seized had reached many

parts of the city, and there was a concourse of people with

lights and torches about the prison gates, and in the midst of

them the mother and the grandmother of Agis, crying out with a

loud voice, that their king ought to appear, and to be heard and

judged by the people. But this clamor, instead of preventing,

hastened his death; his enemies fearing, if the tumult should

increase, he might be rescued during the night out of their

hands.

Agis, being now at the point to die, perceived one of the

officers bitterly bewailing his misfortune; "Weep not, friend,"

said he, "for me, who die innocent, by the lawless act of wicked

men. My condition is much better than theirs." As soon as he

had spoken these words, not showing the least sign of fear, he

offered his neck to the noose.

Immediately after he was dead, Amphares went out of the prison

gate, where he found Agesistrata, who, believing him still the

same friend as before, threw herself at his feet. He gently

raised her up, and assured her, she need not fear any further

violence or danger of death for her son, and that if she

pleased, she might go in and see him. She begged her mother

might also have the favor to be admitted, and he replied, nobody

should hinder it. When they were entered, he commanded the

gate should again be locked, and Archidamia, the grandmother, to

be first introduced; she was now grown very old, and had lived

all her days in the highest repute among her fellows. As soon

as Amphares thought she was dispatched, he told Agesistrata she

might now go in if she pleased. She entered, and beholding her

son's body stretched on the ground, and her mother hanging by

the neck, the first thing she did was, with her own hands, to

assist the officers in taking down the body; then covering it

decently, she laid it out by her son's, whom then embracing, and

kissing his cheeks, "O my son," said she, "it was thy too great

mercy and goodness which brought thee and us to ruin."

Amphares, who stood watching behind the door, on hearing this,

broke in, and said angrily to her, " Since you approve so well

of your son's actions, it is fit you should partake in his

reward." She, rising up to offer herself to the noose, said

only, "I pray that it may redound to the good of Sparta."

And now the three bodies being exposed to view, and the fact

divulged, no fear was strong enough to hinder the people from

expressing their abhorrence of what was done, and their

detestation of Leonidas and Amphares, the contrivers of it. So

wicked and barbarous an act had never been committed in Sparta,

since first the Dorians inhabited Peloponnesus; the very enemies

in war, they said, were always cautious of spilling the blood of

a Lacedaemonian king, insomuch that in any combat they would

decline, and endeavor to avoid them, from feelings of respect

and reverence for their station. And certainly we see that in

the many battles fought betwixt the Lacedaemonians and the other

Greeks, up to the time of Philip of Macedon, not one of their

kings was ever killed, except Cleombrotus, by a javelin-wound,

at the battle of Leuctra. I am not ignorant that the Messenians

affirm, Theopompus was also slain by their Aristomenes; but the

Lacedaemonians deny it, and say he was only wounded.

Be it as it will, it is certain at least that Agis was the first

king put to death in Lacedaemon by the ephors, for having

undertaken a design noble in itself and worthy of his country,

at a time of life when men's errors usually meet with an easy

pardon. And if errors he did commit, his enemies certainly had

less reason to blame him, than had his friends for that gentle

and compassionate temper which made him save the life of

Leonidas, and believe in other men's professions.