Agesilaus II
Encyclopedia
Agesilaus II, or Agesilaos II (Greek
) (444 BC – 360 BC) was a king of Sparta
, of the Eurypontid dynasty, ruling from approximately 400 BC to 360 BC, during most of which time he was, in Plutarch
's words, "as good as thought commander and king of all Greece," and was for the whole of it greatly identified with his country's deeds and fortunes.
and his second wife, Eupoleia, brother to Cynisca
(the first woman in ancient history to achieve an Olympic victory), and younger half-brother of Agis II
.
Of the youth of Agesilaus we have little detail. We do know that he was not expected to succeed to the throne after his brother king Agis II
, largely due to the fact that he was crippled from birth, and since the latter had a son, named Leotychidas. Therefore, Agesilaus was trained in the traditional curriculum of Sparta, the agoge
. But Leotychidas was ultimately set aside as illegitimate, contemporary rumors representing him as the son of Alcibiades
, and Agesilaus became king around 401 BC, at the age of about forty. In addition to questions of his nephew's paternity, Agesilaus' succession was largely due to the intervention of his Spartan general, Lysander
, who hoped to find in him a willing tool for the furtherance of his political designs.
We first hear of him as king in the suppression of the conspiracy of Cinadon
. Then, in 396 BC, Agesilaus crossed into Asia with a force of 2,000 neodamodes
(freed helots
) and 6,000 allies to liberate Greek
cities from Persian
dominion. On the eve of sailing from Aulis
he attempted to offer a sacrifice, as Agamemnon
had done before the Trojan
expedition, but the Thebans
intervened to prevent it, an insult for which he never forgave them. On his arrival at Ephesus
a three months' truce was concluded with Tissaphernes
, the satrap
of Lydia
and Caria
, but negotiations conducted during that time proved fruitless, and on its termination Agesilaus raided Phrygia
, where he easily won immense booty from the satrap Pharnabazus; Tissaphernes
could offer no assistance, as he had concentrated his troops in Caria. After spending the winter in organizing a cavalry
force (hippeis
), he made a successful incursion into Lydia
in the spring of 395 BC. Tithraustes
was thereupon sent to replace Tissaphernes, who paid with his life for his continued failure. An armistice was concluded between Tithraustes and Agesilaus, who left the southern satrap
y and again invaded Phrygia
, which he ravaged until the following spring. He then came to an agreement with Pharnabazus and once more turned southward.
It was said that in 394 BC, while encamped on the plain of Thebe, he was planning a campaign in the interior, or even an attack on Artaxerxes II
himself, when he was recalled to Greece
owing to the war between Sparta and the combined forces of Athens
, Thebes
, Corinth, Argos
and several minor states. A rapid march through Thrace
and Macedon
ia brought him to Thessaly
, where he repulsed the Thessalian cavalry who tried to impede him. Reinforced by Phocian
and Orchomenian
troops and a Spartan army, he met the confederate forces at Coronea in Boeotia
, and in a hotly contested battle was technically victorious, but the success was a barren one and he had to retire by way of Delphi
to the Peloponnese
. Shortly before this battle the Spartan navy
, of which he had received the supreme command, was totally defeated off Cnidus
by a powerful Persian fleet under Conon
and Pharnabazus.
In 393 BC, Agesilaus engaged in a ravaging invasion of Argolis
. In 392 BC he took a prominent part in the Corinthian War
, making several successful expeditions into Corinthian territory and capturing Lechaeum and Piraeus
. The loss, however, of a division (mora), destroyed by Iphicrates
, neutralized these successes, and Agesilaus returned to Sparta. In 389 BC he conducted a campaign in Acarnania
, but two years later the Peace of Antalcidas
, warmly supported by Agesilaus, put an end to hostilities. In this interval, we find him declining the command in Sparta's aggression on Mantineia
, but heading, from motives of private friendship, that on Phlius
, and openly justifying Phoebidas
' seizure of Cadmea
.
(in 378 BC and 377 BC), although he spent the next five years largely out of action due to an unspecified but apparently grave illness. In the congress of 371 BC an altercation is recorded between him and the Theban general Epaminondas
, and due to his influence Thebes was peremptorily excluded from the peace, and orders given for Cleombrotus to march against Thebes
in 371 BC. Cleombrotus was defeated at Leuctra
and the Spartan supremacy overthrown.
In 370 BC we find Agesilaus engaged in an embassy to Mantineia
, and reassuring the Spartans by an invasion of Arcadia
. His prudence and heroism preserved an un-walled Sparta against the revolts and conspiracies of helots, perioeci and even Spartans, and against her enemies, four different armies led by Epaminondas
, that penetrated Laconia
that same year, and again in 362 BC when they all but succeeded in seizing the city by a rapid and unexpected march. The Battle of Mantinea
, in which Agesilaus took no part, was followed by a general peace: Sparta, however, stood aloof, hoping even yet to recover her supremacy. According to Xenophon
, Agesilaus, in order to gain money for prosecuting the war, supported the satrap
Ariobarzanes II
in his revolt against Artaxerxes II
in 364 BC, and in 361 BC he went to Egypt
at the head of a mercenary
force to aid the king Nectanebo I
and his regent Teos
against Persia. He soon transferred his services to Teos's cousin and rival Nectanebo II
, who, in return for his help, gave him a sum of over 200 talents. On his way home Agesilaus died in Cyrenaica
, around the age of 84, after a reign of some 41 years. His body was embalmed in wax, and buried at Sparta.
having warned Sparta against a "lame reign." Most ancient writers considered him a highly successful leader in guerrilla warfare
, alert and quick, yet cautious—a man, moreover, whose personal bravery was rarely questioned in his own time. Of his courage, temperance, and hardiness, many instances are cited: and to these were added the less Spartan qualities of kindliness and tenderness as a father and a friend. Thus we have the story of his riding across a stick (horse made of stick) with his children and upon being discovered by a friend desiring that he not mention till he himself were the father of children; and because of the affection of his son Archidamus
' for Cleonymus, he saved Sphodrias
, Cleonymus' father, from execution for his incursion into the Piraeus
, and dishonorable retreat, in 378 BC. Modern writers tend to be slightly more critical of Agesilaus' reputation and achievements, reckoning him an excellent soldier, but one who had a poor understanding of sea power and siegecraft.
As a statesman he won himself both enthusiastic adherents and bitter enemies. Referring to the above sketch of Spartan history, we find Agesilaus shining most in its first and last period, as commencing and surrendering a glorious career in Asia, and as, in extreme age, maintaining his prostrate country. Other writers acknowledge his extremely high popularity at home, but suppose his occasionally rigid and even irrational political loyalties and convictions contributed greatly to Spartan decline, notably his unremitting hatred of Thebes, which led to Sparta's humiliation at the Battle of Leuctra
and thus the end of Spartan hegemony.
Plutarch
gives among numerous apophthegmata his letter to the ephor
s on his recall:
And when asked whether he wanted a memorial erected in his honor:
He lived in the most frugal style alike at home and in the field, and though his campaigns were undertaken largely to secure booty, he was content to enrich the state and his friends and to return as poor as he had set forth.
He was succeeded by his son Archidamus III
.
Another time he watched a mouse being pulled from its hole by a small boy. When the mouse turned around, bit the hand of its captor and escaped, he pointed this out to those present and said, "When the tiniest creature defends itself like this against aggressors, what ought men to do, do you reckon?"
Certainly when somebody asked what gain the laws of Lycurgus had brought Sparta, he answered, "Contempt for pleasures."
Asked once how far Sparta's boundaries stretched, he brandished his spear and said, "As far as this can reach."
On noticing a house in Asia roofed with square beams, he asked the owner whether timber grew square in that area. When told no, it grew round, he said, "What then? If it were square, would you make it round?"
As he was dying on the voyage back from Egypt, he gave instructions to those close to him that they should not be responsible for making any image of his person, be it modeled or painted or copied, "For if I have accomplished any glorious feat, that will be my memorial. But if I have not, not even all the statues in the world—the products of vulgar, worthless men—would make any difference."
Invited to hear an actor who could perfectly imitate the nightingale, Agesilaus declined, saying he had heard the nightingale itself.
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
) (444 BC – 360 BC) was a king of Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
, of the Eurypontid dynasty, ruling from approximately 400 BC to 360 BC, during most of which time he was, in Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
's words, "as good as thought commander and king of all Greece," and was for the whole of it greatly identified with his country's deeds and fortunes.
Early life
Agesilaus was the son of Archidamus IIArchidamus II
Archidamus II was a king of Sparta who reigned from approximately 476 BC to 427 BC. He was of the Eurypontid dynasty. His father was Zeuxidamus , who died before his father, Leotychidas, after having his son, Archidamus....
and his second wife, Eupoleia, brother to Cynisca
Cynisca
Cynisca or Kyneska was a Greek princess of Sparta. She became the first woman in history to win at the ancient Olympic Games.-Early life:...
(the first woman in ancient history to achieve an Olympic victory), and younger half-brother of Agis II
Agis II
Agis II was the 17th Eurypontid king of Sparta, the eldest son of Archidamus II by his first wife, and half-brother of Agesilaus II. He ruled with his Agiad co-monarch Pausanias....
.
Of the youth of Agesilaus we have little detail. We do know that he was not expected to succeed to the throne after his brother king Agis II
Agis II
Agis II was the 17th Eurypontid king of Sparta, the eldest son of Archidamus II by his first wife, and half-brother of Agesilaus II. He ruled with his Agiad co-monarch Pausanias....
, largely due to the fact that he was crippled from birth, and since the latter had a son, named Leotychidas. Therefore, Agesilaus was trained in the traditional curriculum of Sparta, the agoge
Agoge
The agōgē was the rigorous education and training regimen mandated for all male Spartan citizens, except for the firstborn son in the ruling houses, Eurypontid and Agiad. The training involved learning stealth, cultivating loyalty to one's group, military training The agōgē (Greek: ἀγωγή in Attic...
. But Leotychidas was ultimately set aside as illegitimate, contemporary rumors representing him as the son of Alcibiades
Alcibiades
Alcibiades, son of Clinias, from the deme of Scambonidae , was a prominent Athenian statesman, orator, and general. He was the last famous member of his mother's aristocratic family, the Alcmaeonidae, which fell from prominence after the Peloponnesian War...
, and Agesilaus became king around 401 BC, at the age of about forty. In addition to questions of his nephew's paternity, Agesilaus' succession was largely due to the intervention of his Spartan general, Lysander
Lysander
Lysander was a Spartan general who commanded the Spartan fleet in the Hellespont which defeated the Athenians at Aegospotami in 405 BC...
, who hoped to find in him a willing tool for the furtherance of his political designs.
Early reign
Conspiracy of Cinadon
The Conspiracy of Cinadon was an attempted coup d'état which took place in Sparta in the 4th century BCE during the first years of the reign of Agesilaus II . The leader was Cinadon, who was a distinguished military officer, but came from a poor family...
. Then, in 396 BC, Agesilaus crossed into Asia with a force of 2,000 neodamodes
Neodamodes
The Neodamodes were Helots freed after passing a time of service as hoplites in the Spartan Army.The date of their first apparition is uncertain. Thucydides does not explain the origin of this special category. Jean Ducat, in his book Les Hoplites , concludes that their statute "was largely...
(freed helots
Helots
The helots: / Heílôtes) were an unfree population group that formed the main population of Laconia and the whole of Messenia . Their exact status was already disputed in antiquity: according to Critias, they were "especially slaves" whereas to Pollux, they occupied a status "between free men and...
) and 6,000 allies to liberate Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
cities from Persian
Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid Empire , sometimes known as First Persian Empire and/or Persian Empire, was founded in the 6th century BCE by Cyrus the Great who overthrew the Median confederation...
dominion. On the eve of sailing from Aulis
Aulis
Aulis may refer to:* Aulis, , an ancient Greek town in Boeotia, and traditionally the port from which the Greek army set sail for the Trojan War.* Aulis, a daughter of King Ogyges and Thebe*Aulis, a genus of ladybird beetle...
he attempted to offer a sacrifice, as Agamemnon
Agamemnon
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon was the son of King Atreus and Queen Aerope of Mycenae, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra, and the father of Electra and Orestes. Mythical legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area...
had done before the Trojan
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
expedition, but the Thebans
Thebes, Greece
Thebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. It played an important role in Greek myth, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and others...
intervened to prevent it, an insult for which he never forgave them. On his arrival at Ephesus
Ephesus
Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era...
a three months' truce was concluded with Tissaphernes
Tissaphernes
Tissaphernes was a Persian soldier and statesman, grandson of Hydarnes.In 413 BC he was satrap of Lydia and Caria, and commander in chief of the Persian army in Asia Minor...
, the satrap
Satrap
Satrap was the name given to the governors of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as the Sassanid Empire and the Hellenistic empires....
of Lydia
Lydia
Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian....
and Caria
Caria
Caria was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined the Carian population in forming Greek-dominated states there...
, but negotiations conducted during that time proved fruitless, and on its termination Agesilaus raided Phrygia
Phrygia
In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
, where he easily won immense booty from the satrap Pharnabazus; Tissaphernes
Tissaphernes
Tissaphernes was a Persian soldier and statesman, grandson of Hydarnes.In 413 BC he was satrap of Lydia and Caria, and commander in chief of the Persian army in Asia Minor...
could offer no assistance, as he had concentrated his troops in Caria. After spending the winter in organizing a cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
force (hippeis
Hippeis
Hippeis was the Greek term for cavalry. The Hippeus was the second highest of the four Athenian social classes, made of men who could afford to maintain a war horse in the service of the state. The rank may be compared to Roman Equestrians and medieval knights. Among the Athenians, it referred to...
), he made a successful incursion into Lydia
Lydia
Lydia was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern Turkish provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir. Its population spoke an Anatolian language known as Lydian....
in the spring of 395 BC. Tithraustes
Tithraustes
Tithraustes was the Persian satrap of Sardis for several years in the early 4th century BC. Due to scanty historical records, little is known of the man or his activities...
was thereupon sent to replace Tissaphernes, who paid with his life for his continued failure. An armistice was concluded between Tithraustes and Agesilaus, who left the southern satrap
Satrap
Satrap was the name given to the governors of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as the Sassanid Empire and the Hellenistic empires....
y and again invaded Phrygia
Phrygia
In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
, which he ravaged until the following spring. He then came to an agreement with Pharnabazus and once more turned southward.
It was said that in 394 BC, while encamped on the plain of Thebe, he was planning a campaign in the interior, or even an attack on Artaxerxes II
Artaxerxes II of Persia
Artaxerxes II Mnemon was king of Persia from 404 BC until his death. He was a son of Darius II of Persia and Parysatis.-Reign:...
himself, when he was recalled to Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
owing to the war between Sparta and the combined forces of Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, Thebes
Thebes, Greece
Thebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. It played an important role in Greek myth, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and others...
, Corinth, Argos
Argos
Argos is a city and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. It is 11 kilometres from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour...
and several minor states. A rapid march through Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
and Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
ia brought him to Thessaly
Thessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
, where he repulsed the Thessalian cavalry who tried to impede him. Reinforced by Phocian
Phocis
Phocis is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece. It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Vardousia on the west, upon the Gulf of Corinth...
and Orchomenian
Orchomenus
-Greek mythology:*Orchomenus, a king, the father of Elara*Orchomenus, one of the twenty sons of Lycaon*Orchomenus, son of Zeus and Isonoe, father of Minyas and Kyparissos*Orchomenus, a son of Athamas and Themisto-Ancient Greek geography:...
troops and a Spartan army, he met the confederate forces at Coronea in Boeotia
Boeotia
Boeotia, also spelled Beotia and Bœotia , is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. It was also a region of ancient Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, the second largest city being Thebes.-Geography:...
, and in a hotly contested battle was technically victorious, but the success was a barren one and he had to retire by way of Delphi
Delphi
Delphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...
to the Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
. Shortly before this battle the Spartan navy
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
, of which he had received the supreme command, was totally defeated off Cnidus
Knidos
Knidos or Cnidus is an ancient settlement located in Turkey. It was an ancient Greek city of Caria, part of the Dorian Hexapolis. It was situated on the Datça peninsula, which forms the southern side of the Sinus Ceramicus, now known as Gulf of Gökova. By the fourth century BC, Knidos was located...
by a powerful Persian fleet under Conon
Conon
Conon was an Athenian general at the end of the Peloponnesian War, who presided over the crucial Athenian naval defeat at Battle of Aegospotami; later he contributed significantly to the restoration of the political and military power.-Defeat at Aegospotami:Conon had been sent out following the...
and Pharnabazus.
In 393 BC, Agesilaus engaged in a ravaging invasion of Argolis
Argolis
Argolis is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula.-Geography:...
. In 392 BC he took a prominent part in the Corinthian War
Corinthian War
The Corinthian War was an ancient Greek conflict lasting from 395 BC until 387 BC, pitting Sparta against a coalition of four allied states; Thebes, Athens, Corinth, and Argos; which were initially backed by Persia. The immediate cause of the war was a local conflict in northwest Greece in which...
, making several successful expeditions into Corinthian territory and capturing Lechaeum and Piraeus
Piraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
. The loss, however, of a division (mora), destroyed by Iphicrates
Iphicrates
Iphicrates was an Athenian general, the son of a shoemaker, who flourished in the earlier half of the 4th century BC....
, neutralized these successes, and Agesilaus returned to Sparta. In 389 BC he conducted a campaign in Acarnania
Acarnania
Acarnania is a region of west-central Greece that lies along the Ionian Sea, west of Aetolia, with the Achelous River for a boundary, and north of the gulf of Calydon, which is the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth. Today it forms the western part of the prefecture of Aetolia-Acarnania. The capital...
, but two years later the Peace of Antalcidas
Peace of Antalcidas
The Peace of Antalcidas , also known as the King's Peace, was a peace treaty guaranteed by the Persian King Artaxerxes II that ended the Corinthian War in ancient Greece. The treaty's alternate name comes from Antalcidas, the Spartan diplomat who traveled to Susa to negotiate the terms of the...
, warmly supported by Agesilaus, put an end to hostilities. In this interval, we find him declining the command in Sparta's aggression on Mantineia
Mantineia
Mantineia was a city in ancient Greece that was the site of two significant battles in Classical Greek history. It is also a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Tripoli, of which it is a municipal unit. Its seat...
, but heading, from motives of private friendship, that on Phlius
Phlius
Phlius was a Greek city in the northwestern Argolid, in the Peloponnese, said to be named after the Greek hero, Phlias. Although geographically close to Argos, the city became a Spartan ally and a member of the Peloponnesian League....
, and openly justifying Phoebidas
Phoebidas
Phoebidas was a Spartan general who, in 382 BC, seized the Theban acropolis, thus giving Sparta control over Thebes. To punish his unauthorized action, Phoebidas was relieved of command. Nevertheless, the Spartans continued to hold Thebes...
' seizure of Cadmea
Cadmea
The Cadmea, or Cadmeia , was the citadel of ancient Thebes, Greece, named after the legendary founder of Thebes, Cadmus. The area is thought to have been settled since at least the early Bronze Age, although the history of settlement can only be reliably dated from the late Mycenaean period The...
.
Decline
When war broke out afresh with Thebes the king twice invaded BoeotiaBoeotia
Boeotia, also spelled Beotia and Bœotia , is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. It was also a region of ancient Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, the second largest city being Thebes.-Geography:...
(in 378 BC and 377 BC), although he spent the next five years largely out of action due to an unspecified but apparently grave illness. In the congress of 371 BC an altercation is recorded between him and the Theban general Epaminondas
Epaminondas
Epaminondas , or Epameinondas, was a Theban general and statesman of the 4th century BC who transformed the Ancient Greek city-state of Thebes, leading it out of Spartan subjugation into a preeminent position in Greek politics...
, and due to his influence Thebes was peremptorily excluded from the peace, and orders given for Cleombrotus to march against Thebes
Thebes, Greece
Thebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. It played an important role in Greek myth, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and others...
in 371 BC. Cleombrotus was defeated at Leuctra
Leuctra
Leuctra was a village in ancient Greece, in Boeotia, seven miles southwest of Thebes. It is primarily known today as the site of the important 371 BC Battle of Leuctra in which the Thebans, under Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans...
and the Spartan supremacy overthrown.
In 370 BC we find Agesilaus engaged in an embassy to Mantineia
Mantineia
Mantineia was a city in ancient Greece that was the site of two significant battles in Classical Greek history. It is also a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Tripoli, of which it is a municipal unit. Its seat...
, and reassuring the Spartans by an invasion of Arcadia
Arcadia
Arcadia is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the administrative region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the central and eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. It takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. In Greek mythology, it was the home of the god Pan...
. His prudence and heroism preserved an un-walled Sparta against the revolts and conspiracies of helots, perioeci and even Spartans, and against her enemies, four different armies led by Epaminondas
Epaminondas
Epaminondas , or Epameinondas, was a Theban general and statesman of the 4th century BC who transformed the Ancient Greek city-state of Thebes, leading it out of Spartan subjugation into a preeminent position in Greek politics...
, that penetrated Laconia
Laconia
Laconia , also known as Lacedaemonia, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti...
that same year, and again in 362 BC when they all but succeeded in seizing the city by a rapid and unexpected march. The Battle of Mantinea
Battle of Mantinea (362 BC)
The Battle of Mantinea was fought on July 4 362 BC between the Thebans, led by Epaminondas and supported by the Arcadians and the Boeotian league against the Spartans, led by King Agesilaus II and supported by the Eleans, Athenians, and Mantineans...
, in which Agesilaus took no part, was followed by a general peace: Sparta, however, stood aloof, hoping even yet to recover her supremacy. According to Xenophon
Xenophon
Xenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens, was a Greek historian, soldier, mercenary, philosopher and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates...
, Agesilaus, in order to gain money for prosecuting the war, supported the satrap
Satrap
Satrap was the name given to the governors of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as the Sassanid Empire and the Hellenistic empires....
Ariobarzanes II
Ariobarzanes II of Cius
Ariobarzanes succeeded his kinsman or father, Mithridates or alternatively succeeded another Ariobarzanes I of Cius, as ruler of the Greek town of Cius in Mysia, governing 26 years between 363 and 337 BC for the Persians. It was seemingly his family which in mid-360s BCE revolted from Artaxerxes...
in his revolt against Artaxerxes II
Artaxerxes II of Persia
Artaxerxes II Mnemon was king of Persia from 404 BC until his death. He was a son of Darius II of Persia and Parysatis.-Reign:...
in 364 BC, and in 361 BC he went to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
at the head of a mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
force to aid the king Nectanebo I
Nectanebo I
Nectanabo was a pharaoh of the Thirtieth dynasty of Egypt.In 380 BC, Nectanebo deposed and killed Nefaarud II, starting the last dynasty of Egyptian kings. He seems to have spent much of his reign defending his kingdom from Persian reconquest with the occasional help of troops from Athens or Sparta...
and his regent Teos
Teos of Egypt
Teos or Tachos , Egyptian Djedhor, was Pharaoh of Egypt between the years of 362 to 360 BC; he had been co-regent with his father Nectanebo I from about 365. He was overthrown by Nectanebo II with the aid of Agesilaus II of Sparta and was forced to flee to Persia by way of Arabia...
against Persia. He soon transferred his services to Teos's cousin and rival Nectanebo II
Nectanebo II
Nectanebo II was the third and last pharaoh of the Thirtieth dynasty, as well as the last native ruler of Ancient Egypt. Under Nectanebo II Egypt prospered...
, who, in return for his help, gave him a sum of over 200 talents. On his way home Agesilaus died in Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...
, around the age of 84, after a reign of some 41 years. His body was embalmed in wax, and buried at Sparta.
Legacy
Agesilaus was of small stature and unimpressive appearance, and was lame from birth. These facts were used as an argument against his succession, an oracleOracle
In Classical Antiquity, an oracle was a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophetic predictions or precognition of the future, inspired by the gods. As such it is a form of divination....
having warned Sparta against a "lame reign." Most ancient writers considered him a highly successful leader in guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
, alert and quick, yet cautious—a man, moreover, whose personal bravery was rarely questioned in his own time. Of his courage, temperance, and hardiness, many instances are cited: and to these were added the less Spartan qualities of kindliness and tenderness as a father and a friend. Thus we have the story of his riding across a stick (horse made of stick) with his children and upon being discovered by a friend desiring that he not mention till he himself were the father of children; and because of the affection of his son Archidamus
Archidamus III
Archidamus III , the son of Agesilaus II, was king of Sparta from 360 BC to 338 BC.While still a prince, he was the eispnelas of Cleonymus, son of Sphodrias. He interceded with his own father to spare his aites' father's life in a legal matter, an action which further intensified friction between...
' for Cleonymus, he saved Sphodrias
Sphodrias
Sphodrias was a Spartan general during the period of Greek history known as the Spartan hegemony. In 379 BC, he was in command of a garrison in the Spartan-occupied city of Thespiae in Boeotia. Aiming to increase Spartan power in the region, he attempted to march by night to seize the Piraeus,...
, Cleonymus' father, from execution for his incursion into the Piraeus
Piraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
, and dishonorable retreat, in 378 BC. Modern writers tend to be slightly more critical of Agesilaus' reputation and achievements, reckoning him an excellent soldier, but one who had a poor understanding of sea power and siegecraft.
As a statesman he won himself both enthusiastic adherents and bitter enemies. Referring to the above sketch of Spartan history, we find Agesilaus shining most in its first and last period, as commencing and surrendering a glorious career in Asia, and as, in extreme age, maintaining his prostrate country. Other writers acknowledge his extremely high popularity at home, but suppose his occasionally rigid and even irrational political loyalties and convictions contributed greatly to Spartan decline, notably his unremitting hatred of Thebes, which led to Sparta's humiliation at the Battle of Leuctra
Battle of Leuctra
The Battle of Leuctra was a battle fought on July 6, 371 BC, between the Boeotians led by Thebans and the Spartans along with their allies amidst the post-Corinthian War conflict. The battle took place in the neighbourhood of Leuctra, a village in Boeotia in the territory of Thespiae...
and thus the end of Spartan hegemony.
Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
gives among numerous apophthegmata his letter to the ephor
Ephor
An ephor was the leader of ancient Sparta and shared power with the Spartan king...
s on his recall:
And when asked whether he wanted a memorial erected in his honor:
He lived in the most frugal style alike at home and in the field, and though his campaigns were undertaken largely to secure booty, he was content to enrich the state and his friends and to return as poor as he had set forth.
He was succeeded by his son Archidamus III
Archidamus III
Archidamus III , the son of Agesilaus II, was king of Sparta from 360 BC to 338 BC.While still a prince, he was the eispnelas of Cleonymus, son of Sphodrias. He interceded with his own father to spare his aites' father's life in a legal matter, an action which further intensified friction between...
.
Selected quotes
When someone was praising an orator for his ability to magnify small points, he said, "In my opinion it's not a good cobbler who fits large shoes on small feet."Another time he watched a mouse being pulled from its hole by a small boy. When the mouse turned around, bit the hand of its captor and escaped, he pointed this out to those present and said, "When the tiniest creature defends itself like this against aggressors, what ought men to do, do you reckon?"
Certainly when somebody asked what gain the laws of Lycurgus had brought Sparta, he answered, "Contempt for pleasures."
Asked once how far Sparta's boundaries stretched, he brandished his spear and said, "As far as this can reach."
On noticing a house in Asia roofed with square beams, he asked the owner whether timber grew square in that area. When told no, it grew round, he said, "What then? If it were square, would you make it round?"
As he was dying on the voyage back from Egypt, he gave instructions to those close to him that they should not be responsible for making any image of his person, be it modeled or painted or copied, "For if I have accomplished any glorious feat, that will be my memorial. But if I have not, not even all the statues in the world—the products of vulgar, worthless men—would make any difference."
Invited to hear an actor who could perfectly imitate the nightingale, Agesilaus declined, saying he had heard the nightingale itself.
Further reading
- Cartledge, Paul. Agesilaos and the Crisis of Sparta. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987.
- Cawkwell, G.L. "Agesilaus and Sparta." The Classical Quarterly 26 (1976): 62-84.
- David, Ephraim. Sparta Between Empire and Revolution (404-243 BC): Internal Problems and Their Impact on Contemporary Greek Consciousness. New York: Arno Press, 1981.
- Forrest, W.G. A History of Sparta, 950-192 B.C. 2d ed. London: Duckworth, 1980.
- Hamilton, Charles D. Agesilaus and the Failure of Spartan Hegemony. Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press, 1991.
- Hamilton, Charles D. Sparta's Bitter Victories: Politics and Diplomacy in the Corinthian War. Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press, 1979.
- Plutarch. Agesilaus. In Plutarch's Lives, Translated by Bernadotte Perrin, 11 vols. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1959-1967.
- Wylie, Graham, "Agesilaus and the Battle of Sardis" Klio 74 (1992): 118-130.
- Xenophon. A History of My Times (Hellenica), Translated by George Cawkwell. Boston: Penguin Books, 1966.