Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans
for leave to bury their dead, he gave it them; and having so
assured himself of the victory, after this he went to Delphi, to
the Pythian games, which were then celebrating, at which feast he
assisted, and there solemnly offered the tenth part of the spoils
he had brought from Asia, which amounted to a hundred talents.
Thence he returned to his own country, where his way and habits of
life quickly excited the affection and admiration of the Spartans;
for, unlike other generals, he came home from foreign lands the
same man that he went out, having not so learned the fashions of
other countries, as to forget his own, much less to dislike or
despise them. He followed and respected all the Spartan customs,
without any change either in the manner of his supping, or bathing,
or his wife's apparel, as if he had never traveled over the river
Eurotas. So also with his household furniture and his own armor;
nay, the very gates of his house were so old, that they might well
be thought of Aristodemus's setting up. His daughter's Canathrum,
says Xenophon, was no richer than that of any one else. The
Canathrum, as they call it, is a chair or chariot made of wood, in
the shape of a griffin, or tragelaphus, on which the children and
young virgins are carried in processions. Xenophon has not left us
the name of this daughter of Agesilaus; and Dicaearchus expresses
some indignation, because we do not know, he says, the name of
Agesilaus's daughter, nor of Epaminondas's mother. But in the
records of Laconia, we ourselves found his wife's name to have been
Cleora, and his two daughters to have been called Eupolia and
Prolyta. And you may also to this day see Agesilaus's spear kept
in Sparta, nothing differing from that of other men.
There was a vanity he observed among the Spartans, about keeping
running horses for the Olympic games, upon which he found they much
valued themselves. Agesilaus regarded it as a display not of any
real virtue, but of wealth and expense; and to make this evident to
the Greeks, induced his sister, Cynisca, to send a chariot into the
course. He kept with him Xenophon, the philosopher, and made much
of him, and proposed to him to send for his children, and educate
them at Sparta, where they would be taught the best of all
learning; how to obey, and how to command. Finding on Lysander's
death a large faction formed, which he on his return from Asia had
established against Agesilaus, he thought it advisable to expose
both him and it, by showing what manner of a citizen he had been
whilst he lived. To that end, finding among his writings all
oration, composed by Cleon the Halicarnassean, but to have been
spoken by Lysander in a public assembly, to excite the people to
innovations and changes in the government, he resolved to publish
it, as an evidence of Lysander's practices. But one of the Elders
having the perusal of it, and finding it powerfully written,
advised him to have a care of digging up Lysander again, and rather
bury that oration in the grave with him; and this advice he wisely
hearkened to, and hushed the whole thing up; and ever after forbore
publicly to affront any of his adversaries, but took occasions of
picking out the ringleaders, and sending them away upon foreign
services. He thus had means for exposing the avarice and the
injustice of many of them in their employments; and again when they
were by others brought into question, he made it his business to
bring them off, obliging them, by that means, of enemies to become
his friends, and so by degrees left none remaining.
Agesipolis, his fellow king, was under the disadvantage of being
born of an exiled father, and himself young, modest, and inactive,
meddled not much in affairs. Agesilaus took a course of gaining
him over, and making him entirely tractable. According to the
custom of Sparta, the kings, if they were in town, always dined
together. This was Agesilaus's opportunity of dealing with
Agesipolis, whom he found quick, as he himself was, in forming
attachments for young men, and accordingly talked with him always
on such subjects, joining and aiding him, and acting as his
confidant, such attachments in Sparta being entirely honorable, and
attended always with lively feeling of modesty, love of virtue, and
a noble emulation; of which more is said in Lycurgus's life.
Having thus established his power in the city, he easily obtained
that his half-brother Teleutias might be chosen admiral, and
thereupon making all expedition against the Corinthians, 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
from the sacrifice they had just commenced, and leave all their
festive provision behind them. The exiled Corinthians that were in
the Spartan army, desired him to keep the feast, and to preside in
the celebration of it. This he refused, but gave them leave to
carry on the solemnity if they pleased, and he in the meantime
stayed and guarded them. When Agesilaus marched off, the Argives
returned and celebrated the games over again, when some who were
victors before, became victors a second time, others lost the
prizes which before they had gained. Agesilaus thus made it clear
to everybody, that the Argives must in their own eyes have been
guilty of great cowardice, since they set such a value on presiding
at the games, and yet had not dared to fight for it. He himself
was of opinion, that to keep a mean in such things was best; he
assisted at the sports and dances usual in his own country, and was
always ready and eager to be present at the exercises either of the
young men, or of the girls, but things that many men used to be
highly taken with, he seemed not at all concerned about.
Callippides, the tragic actor, who had a great name in all Greece
and was made much of, once met and saluted him; of which when he
found no notice taken, he confidently thrust himself into his
train, expecting that Agesilaus would pay him some attention. When
all that failed, he boldly accosted him, and asked him, whether he
did not remember him? Agesilaus turned, and looking him in the
face, "Are you not," said he, "Callippides the showman?" Being
invited once to hear a man who admirably imitated the nightingale,
he declined, saying, he had heard the nightingale itself.
Menecrates, the physician, having had great success in some
desperate diseases, was by way of flattery called Jupiter; he was
so vain as to take the name, and having occasion to write a letter
to Agesilaus, thus addressed it: "Jupiter Menecrates to King
Agesilaus, greeting." The king returned answer: "Agesilaus to
Menecrates, health and a sound mind."
Whilst Agesilaus was in the Corinthian territories, having just
taken the Heraeum, he was looking on while his soldiers were
carrying away the prisoners and the plunder, when ambassadors from
Thebes came to him to treat of peace. Having a great aversion for
that city, and thinking it then advantageous to his affairs
publicly to slight them, he took the opportunity, and would not
seem either to see them, or hear them speak. But as if on purpose
to punish him in his pride, before they parted from him, messengers
came with news of the complete slaughter of one of the Spartan
divisions by Iphicrates, a greater disaster than had befallen them
for many years; and that the more grievous, because it was a choice
regiment of full-armed Lacedaemonians overthrown by a parcel of
mere mercenary targeteers. Agesilaus leapt from his seat, to go at
once to their rescue, but found it too late, the business being
over. He therefore returned to the Heraeum, and sent for the
Theban ambassadors to give them audience. They now resolved to be
even with him for the affront he gave them, and without speaking
one word of the peace, only desired leave to go into Corinth.
Agesilaus, irritated with this proposal, told them in scorn, that
if they were anxious to go and see how proud their friends were of
their success, they should do it tomorrow with safety. Next
morning, taking the ambassadors with him, he ravaged the Corinthian
territories, up to the very gates of the city, where having made a
stand, and let the ambassadors see that the Corinthians durst not
come out to defend themselves, he dismissed them. Then gathering
up the small remainders of the shattered regiment, he marched
homewards, always removing his camp before day, and always pitching
his tents after night, that he might prevent their enemies among
the Arcadians from taking any opportunity of insulting over their
loss.
After this, at the request of the Achaeans, he marched with them
into Acarnania, and there collected great spoils, and defeated the
Acarnanians in battle. The Achaeans would have persuaded him to
keep his winter quarters there, to hinder the Acarnanians from
sowing their corn; but he was of the contrary opinion, alleging,
that they would be more afraid of a war next summer, when their
fields were sown, than they would be if they lay fallow. The event
justified his opinion; for next summer, when the Achaeans began
their expedition again, the Acarnanians immediately made peace with
them.
When Conon and Pharnabazus with the Persian navy were grown masters
of the sea, and had not only infested the coast of Laconia, but
also rebuilt the walls of Athens at the cost of Pharnabazus, the
Lacedaemonians thought fit to treat of peace with the king of
Persia. To that end, they sent Antalcidas to Tiribazus, basely and
wickedly betraying the Asiatic Greeks, on whose behalf Agesilaus
had made the war. But no part of this dishonor fell upon
Agesilaus, the whole being transacted by Antalcidas, who was his
bitter enemy, and was urgent for peace upon any terms, because war
was sure to increase his power and reputation. Nevertheless once
being told by way of reproach, that the Lacedaemonians had gone
over to the Medes, he replied, "No, the Medes have come over to the
Lacedaemonians." And when the Greeks were backward to submit to
the agreement, he threatened them with war, unless they fulfilled
the king of Persia's conditions, his particular end in this being
to weaken the Thebans; for it was made one of the articles of
peace, that the country of Boeotia should be left independent.
This feeling of his to Thebes appeared further afterwards, when
Phoebidas, in full peace, most unjustifiably seized upon the
Cadmea. The thing was much resented by all Greece, and not well
liked by the Lacedaemonians themselves; those especially who were
enemies to Agesilaus, required an account of the action, and by
whose authority it was done, laying the suspicion of it at his
door. Agesilaus resolutely answered, on the behalf of Phoebidas,
that the profitableness of the act was chiefly to be considered; if
it were for the advantage of the commonwealth, it was no matter
whether it were done with or without authority. This was the more
remarkable in him, because in his ordinary language, he was always
observed to be a great maintainer of justice, and would commend it
as the chief of virtues, saying, that valor without justice was
useless, and if all the world were just, there would be no need of
valor. When any would say to him, the Great King will have it so;
he would reply, "How is he greater than I, unless he be juster?"
nobly and rightly taking, as a sort of royal measure of greatness,
justice, and not force. And thus when, on the conclusion of the
peace, the king of Persia wrote to Agesilaus, desiring a private
friendship and relations of hospitality, he refused it, saying,
that the public friendship was enough; whilst that lasted there was