81 



AGIS I. 



AGIS IV. 



bring Ismenias to trial. But a counter-revolution was soon effected ; 

 aatl the Spartans were compelled to evacuate the citadel. 



That the Lacedaemonians, when now at the height of power, were 

 all at once involved in a train of misfortunes which effectually broke 

 their supremacy, is ascribed by Xenophon to the divine anger against 

 their perfidious seizure of Thebes. Agesilaus probably had come 

 round to the same opinion ; for he excused himself from the com- 

 mand of the army sent to reduce the Theban revolutionists, oti the 

 plea of being weighed down by age. His colleague, Cleombrotus, was 

 appointed in his stead. The events which occurred during the absence 

 of Agesilaus, form no part of the present subject. On returning 

 home, Cleombrotus left Sphodrias at Theapiae, in command of part of 

 his army. Sphodrias, whether from his own folly, or, as many 

 believed, induced by Pelopidas, made a most unwarrantable and faith- 

 iroad upon Attica. The Athenians complained to Sparta, and 

 Sphodrias was recalled, and brought to trial. Unfortunately, Agesilaus 

 was persuaded to exert his influence in the delinquent's favour, und 

 he was acquitted ; at which the Athenians were so much offended, 

 that they immediately concluded an alliance with Thebes against 

 Sparta. Agesilaus then resumed the command and held it through 

 two successive campaigns, till obliged to resign through failing 

 health. 



The battle of Leuctra (B.C. 371), in which the Lacedaemonians under 

 Cleombrotus were overcome by inferior numbers, produced a striking 

 instance of Spartan character. The news arrived at Sparta during a 

 relk'ious festival, but the ephori did not allow the celebration of it to 

 be interrupted. The list of the elain was sent to the houses of their 

 kindred, and the women were told to bear their sorrows in silence. 

 Those parents whose children had met with a glorious death went 

 abroad the next day to receive congratulations ; the friends of the 

 survivors kept their houses, as if in shame and sorrow. On this 

 occasion, a number of the combatants having fled, Agesilaus was 

 allowed to suspend the law which visited cowardice with disgraceful 

 punishment. He prudently announced that it might sleep for one 

 day only, and then resume its power. 



There was a proverb, frequently repeated by Agesilaus, that "a 

 Spartan woman had never seen the smoke of an enemy's camp ; " 

 but he had the mortification to fee his proverb belied. The Theban 

 army increased daily by the defection of the allies of Sparta ; it pene- 

 trated into Laconia, and laid waste the whole country; the city how- 

 ever was saved by the prudence of Agesilaus, who shut himself up in 

 Sparta, and avoided au engagement. Epaminondas did not venture 

 to assault the city ; and at last, his allies growing weary of the service, 

 the winter approaching, and relief coming to Sparta from Athens, the 

 Theban general found it necessary to retreat. 



After the death of Epamiuondas, at the battle of Mantinea (B.C. 362), 

 the weariness of all parties produced a partial cessation of hostilities. 

 : m was now above eighty years old, but he had still vigour enough 

 left to lead an army into Egypt, to assist the Egyptians who had 

 rebelled agaiunt the Persian king. According to Plutarch, Agesilaus 

 went expressly to help Tachos against his master King Artaxerxes II.; 

 luit a rival to Tachos starting up in the person of .Nectanebos, another 

 Egyptian, Agesilaus found it convenient to change sides. After esta- 

 blishing Xectanebos in the government of Egypt, the old king set out 

 on his voyage homewards, loaded with money and presents, the reward 

 of bis services and his treachery. Being driven by contrary winds on 

 the coast of Africa, he died there at the advanced age of eighty-four. 

 His attendants preserved the body in melted wax, and took it to Sparta 

 to be buried, consistently with the usages of their country, which did 

 not allow the body of a king to rest in a foreign land. 



The character of Agesilaus is exalted by Xenophon far above its 

 merit*. The historian was on terms of personal intimacy with the 

 Spartan king, and was besides no great admirer of the constitutional 

 forms of Athens, his native city, which he loved to contrast disadvan- 

 tageously with those of Sparta. We may admire the energy and 

 vigour of Agesilaua, and grant him a full share of those peculiar 

 virtues which characterised his country. He may have been temperate 

 in hia habits, kind to his friends, and not cruel to his enemies ; but 

 more than one public act of his life throw suspicion on his integrity 

 as an individual and a statesman. 



(Plutarch, Life of AgeiUaut ; Xenophon, Hdltnica, and Panegyric 

 on Ayftilaut; Pausanias, iii. 9.) 



AGIS I., king of Sparta, wag the son of Eurysthenes, and grandson 

 of Aristodemuft, to whom Laconia was allotted after the Heracleid 

 invasion. Aristodemus had two sons, Eurysthenes and Procles : and 

 this Agi was, therefore, the second in one of the series of that double 

 race of kings, which reigned conjointly. His reign is said to have 

 commenced about B.C. 1032, but no certain dates can be assigned to 

 these early times. Agis deprived the conquered people of the equal 

 political rights to which his father had admitted them. The inhabit- 

 ant* of the town of Helos having attempted to regain their freedom 

 were reduced by him to the abject bondage so long endured by the 

 clan of the Helots. (Pausanias, iii. 2.) 



A' MS II., the son of Archidamus II., reigned from B.c. 427 or 420 

 to 397. In the fourteenth year of the Peloponnesian war the Lace- 

 demonians endeavoured to recover their influence in Peloponnesus, 

 and marched out with nil their force under Agis. The Argeian army, 

 against which his operations were directed, was completely hemmed 



in. Two Argeians went privately to Agis, and pledged themselves to 

 effect a reconciliation if he would grant a truce of four months. To 

 this he consented. The order to retreat was heard with astonish- 

 ment by the army of Agis, and the Argeians, on their part, were 

 highly incensed against their countrymen for having defrauded them 

 of an opportunity, as they thought, of destroying the enemy. Agia 

 was called to account, and it was proposed to fine him, and demolish 

 his house ; but his humble demeanour and earnest entreaty prevailed, 

 and he was allowed to resume the command, under the mortifying 

 restriction of a superintending council. He made amends, a short 

 time after, by defeating the Argeians, and their allies the Athenians, 

 in the great battle of Mantineia. (Thucydides, v. ; Pausanias, iii. 8.) 

 At the siege and surrender of Athens, B.C. 401, accompanied with the 

 mortifying demolition of the long walls, and the fortifications of 

 Peirams, Pausanias and Agis, the two kings of Sparta, conducted tho 

 operations by land, while Lysander blockaded the city with his fleet. 

 In B.C. 401 Agis conducted an army into Elis, which yielded him 

 abundant spoil, since, as the scene of the Olympic games, it had 

 usually been held sacred, and exempted from the ravages of war. 

 Having gone to Delphi to dedicate a tenth of the spoil, he fell sick 

 on his return, and died a few days after he reached Sparta. Agis 

 was succeeded by his brother Agesilaus. 



AGIS III., the son of Archidamus III., reigned from B.C. 338 to 

 331 or 330. At the time of the battle of Issus (333) he communi- 

 cated with the Persian commanders in the ^Egeaa, to obtain supplies 

 for carrying on the war against Alexander iu Greece. While Alex- 

 ander was engaged in hia fourth campaign iu Asia, Agis laid siege to 

 Megalopolis, a town in Peloponnesus, which held out till the arrival 

 of Antipater, the governor of Macedonia. A bloody battle was fought, 

 in which the Lacedaemonians behaved with their accustomed gallantry, 

 but were overpowered by superior numbers. Agis fell after his 

 phalanx was broken, and with him above 5300 of the Lacedecmouians 

 and their allies. The Lacedaemonians sued for peace, and obtained 

 it ; giving hostages that they would submit to Alexander's decision on 

 their fate. (Pausan., iii. 10 ; Arrian, ii. 13.) 



AGIS IV., son of Eudamidas II., reigned from B.C. 244 to 240. 

 The year after his accession he was defeated in an engagement with 

 Aratus, the general of the Achaean league. But the chief interest of 

 his reign lies in the attempt he made to restore the institutions of 

 Lycurgus. Public manners had degenerated from their ancient 

 severity ; the privileged class, to whom the name of Spartans was 

 confined no longer, enjoyed the equal portion of land prescribed by 

 the ancient discipline. Of 700 families, to which their number was 

 now reduced, not more than 100 possessed estates. These were rich, 

 haughty, and licentious ; the poor were oppressed and burdened with 

 debt. The two great features of the proposed reformation were, a 

 new partition of the lands, and the abolition of all debts. Agis also 

 proposed to abolish the distinction between Spartans and Laced&uio- 

 uians, retaining that between the Lacedaemonians and the Perioeci, or 

 people of the smaller towns. These latter, however, were to be 

 trained in the strict discipline of Lycurgus, and to succeed to the 

 privilege of citizenship as vacancies occurred. In laying his propo- 

 sals before the senate Agis recommended them by the offer of the 

 first personal sacrifice, iu the contribution of his own lands and money 

 to the common stock. His mother and his kindred followed his 

 example. The multitude applauded : but his colleague Leouidas and 

 the rich men opposed the plan, and persuaded the senate to reject it ; 

 the question was lost by a majority of only a single vote. To rid 

 himself of Leonidas, Agis contrived to get Lysander appointed one 

 of the ephori ; who forthwith accused Leonidas of having violated thj 

 laws, by marrying a stranger, and residing for a time iu a foreign 

 land ; two acts forbidden to the race of Hercules. Leonidas could 

 not venture to make his appearance : he was therefore deposed, and 

 his crown devolved to his son-in-law, Cleombrotus, who co-operated 

 with Agis in his measures of reform. On tho expiration of Lysander's 

 office, a reaction took place. As the reformers despaired of succeeding 

 by mild means, Agis and Cleombrotus went to the place of assembly, 

 plucked the ephori, now of the anti-reforming party, from their seats, 

 and placed others in their room. The life of Leonidas, who had 

 returned into the city during the short triumph of his faction, was 

 threatened ; but Agis himself protected him from assassination, 

 meditated against him by Agesilaus, who was the uncle of Agis. 

 The want of sincerity in this unworthy relation of the reforming 

 king occasioned the failure of the scheme, when all its difficulties 

 seemed to have been nearly overcome. Agesilaus was deeply in- 

 volved hi debt : he therefore persuaded the two kings to burn all 

 deeds, registers, and securities in the first instance. When the divi- 

 sion was proposed he devised repeated pretexts for deluy. Before tho 

 lirst measure, owing to these underhand practices, could bo completed, 

 the Achsoans, who were allies of Sparta, applied for assistance against 

 the ^Etoliaus, who threatened to lay waste the country of Pelopon- 

 nesus. Agis was sent to command the army, and exhibited the same 

 republican virtues tn his military office as in his civil administration. 

 He joined his forces to those of Aratus, whose over-caution gave no 

 opportunity for enhancing the glory of the Lacedaemonian soldiery : 

 but the conduct of the troops, and the rigid performance of every 

 duty oa the part of their commander, impressed both the allies and 

 the enemy with respect for the commonwealth. 



