§ 1  Agesilaus the Lacedaemonian has been praised not only by other writers, but, above all, by Xenophon, the disciple of Socrates, for he treated Xenophon as an intimate friend. In his early days he had a dispute with Leotychides, his brother's son, about the throne; for it was a custom handed down among the Lacedaemonians from their ancestors, that they should always have two kings, in name rather than power, of the two families of Procles and Eurysthenes, who were the first kings of Sparta, of the progeny of Hercules. It was not lawful for a king to be made out of one of these families instead of the other; each of the two, therefore, maintained its order of succession. Regard was had, in the first place, to the eldest of the sons of him who died while on the throne; but if he had left no male issue, the choice then fell on him who was next of kin. King Agis, the brother of Agesilaus, had recently died, and had left a son named Leotychides, whom, during his life, he had not acknowledged, but, at his death, had declared to be his. Leotychides contended for the royal dignity with his uncle Agesilaus, but did not obtain what he sought, for Agesilaus was preferred through the interest of Lysander, a man, as we have already stated, of a factious character, and at that time of great influence.

§ 2  Agesilaus, as soon as he got possession of the throne, solicited the Lacedaemonians to send an army into Asia, and make war upon the king of Persia, assuring them that it was better to fight in Asia than in Europe; for a rumour had gone abroad that Artaxerxes was equipping a fleet, and raising land forces, to send into Greece. Permission being granted him, he exerted so much expedition, that he arrived in Asia with his troops before the king's satraps knew that he had set out; hence it happened that he surprised them all unprepared, and expecting nothing of the kind. But as soon as Tissaphernes, who had the chief authority among the royal satraps, heard of his arrival, he begged a truce of the Spartan, on pretence that he would try to effect an agreement between the Lacedaemonians and the king, but in reality to gain time for collecting troops; and he obtained a truce for three months. Each of them, however, took an oath to observe the truce without fraud; to which engagement Agesilaus adhered with the greatest honour; but Tissaphernes, on the other hand, did nothing but make preparations for war. Though Agesilaus became aware of his proceedings, he still kept his oath, and said that "he was a great gainer by doing so, for Tissaphernes, by his perjury, both alienated men from his interest, and made the gods angry with him; while he, by being faithful to his obligation, produced confidence among his troops, as they felt that the power of the gods was on their side, and that men were rendered greater friends to them, because they were accustomed to favour those whom they saw keeping faith."

§ 3  When the period of the truce was expired, the barbarian, not doubting that as he had many residences in Caria, and as that province was then thought by far the richest in Asia, the enemy would direct their attacks on that quarter especially, assembled his whole force on that side. But Agesilaus turned into Phrygia, and laid waste the country before Tissaphernes could make a movement in any direction. After enriching his men with abundance of plunder, he led back his army to Ephesus to winter, and erecting forges for arms there, made preparations for war with great industry. That his soldiers might be armed with greater care, too, and equipped with more display, he proposed rewards, with which those were to be presented whose efforts to that end should be remarkably distinguished. He pursued the same course with regard to different kinds of exercises, so as to honour with valuable gifts those who excelled others in them. By this means he succeeded in getting an army most admirably accoutred and trained.
When he thought it time to draw his troops out of winter quarters, he saw that if he openly declared in what direction he was going to march, the enemy would not give credit to his statement, but would occupy other parts with their forces, not doubting that he would do something quite different from what he said. Agesilaus, accordingly, giving out that ho would march for Sardis, Tissaphernes felt convinced that Caria must again be defended. When his expectation deceived him in the matter, and he found himself outwitted by his adversary's shrewdness, he hastened to protect his dependants, but too late, for, when he arrived, Agesilaus had taken many places, and secured abundance of spoil.
The Lacedaemonian king, seeing that the enemy were superior to him in cavalry, never gave them an opportunity of attacking him in the plains, but engaged them in those parts in which infantry would be of greater service. As often as he came to a battle, therefore, he routed forces of the enemy far more numerous than his own; and he so conducted himself in Asia that he was in the judgment of every one accounted superior to his opponent.

§ 4  While he was thinking of marching into Persia, and attacking the king himself, a messenger came to him from home, by order of the Ephori, to acquaint him that the Athenians and Boeotians had declared war against the Lacedaemonians, and that he should therefore not delay to return. In this juncture is dutifulness to his country is not less to be admired than his merit in war, for though he was at the head of a victorious army, and felt assured, to the utmost, of becoming master of the kingdom of Persia, he obeyed the orders of the absent magistrates with as much respect as if he had been a private person in the comitium at Sparta. Would that our generals had followed his example! But let us proceed with our subject. Agesilaus preferred an honourable name to the most powerful empire, and thought it much more glorious to obey the laws of his country than to subdue Asia in war. With these feelings, therefore, he led his forces over the Hellespont, and employed such expedition, that he accomplished in thirty days a journey which Xerxes had taken a year to perform. When he was not very far from the Peloponnesus, the Athenians and Boeotians, and others in alliance with them, endeavoured to make a stand against him at Coronea, all of whom he defeated in a great battle. It was an eminent merit in his victory, that when a numerous body of the enemy had taken refuge in a temple of Minerva after the defeat, and the question was put to him, "what he would wish to be done with them," he, though he had received some wounds in the battle, and seemed angry with all who had borne arms against him, preferred, nevertheless, respect for religion to the gratification of his resentment, and gave orders that they should suffer no injury. Nor did he act thus in Greece only, — — so as to save the temples of the gods from profanation, — — but even among the barbarians also, he preserved every image and altar with the utmost scrupulosity. He used publicly to observe, therefore, that "he wondered those were not counted in the number of the sacrilegious who injured the suppliants of the gods, or that those who lessened respect for religion were not visited with severer punishments than those who robbed temples."

§ 5  After this battle all the war was concentrated about Corinth, and was accordingly called the Corinthian war. During this contest, when, in one battle, in which Agesilaus was general, there had fallen ten thousand of the enemy, and the strength of his opponents seemed broken by that catastrophe, he was so far from presumptuous boasting, that he expressed commiseration for the fortune of Greece, since it was through the fault of his enemies that so many had been defeated and killed by him, for with that number, if the mind of his adversaries had been but right, the Persians might have been forced to make atonement to Greece. When he had driven the enemy, too, within their walls, and many exhorted him to attack Corinth, he said, "that it would not be consistent with his character in war to do so; since he was one," he said, "who would oblige offenders to return to their duty, not one who would destroy the noblest cities of Greece; for if we should proceed," he added, "to extirpate those who have supported us against the barbarians, we should weaken ourselves while the barbarians remain at their ease; and, when this has taken place, they will easily bring us under their power whenever they please."

§ 6  In the mean time the disaster at Leuctra befel the the Lacedaemonians; and that he might not march thither, though he was urged by many to go to the field, he refused to go, as if he had a presentiment concerning the event. But when Epaminondas attacked Sparta, and the city was without walls, he proved himself such a commander, that it was apparent to all on that occasion, that if it had not been for him, Sparta would have ceased to exist. In this time or danger, indeed, the celerity of his proceedings was the preservation of the whole people; for when a number of the young men, alarmed at the approach of the enemy, had determined on going over to the Thebans, and had taken a position on an eminence without the city, Agesilaus, who saw that it would have a most pernicious effect, if it were noticed that any were trying to desert to the enemy, went thither with some of his men, and, as if they had been acting with a good intention, commended their procedure in having taken possession of that spot, and said that he himself had also observed that this ought to be done. Thus, by his pretended commendation, he prevented the young men from deserting, and, after joining some of his followers with them, left the place quite safe; for when the number of those was increased who were unacquainted with the project, the conspirators were afraid to move, and retained their ground the more willingly as they thought that what they had meditated was still unknown.

§ 7  After the battle of Leuctra, it is certain, the Lacedaemonians never recovered themselves, or regained their former power, though, at that period, Agesilaus did not cease to assist his country by whatever means he could use. When the Lacedaemonians were greatly in want of money, he gave his support to all those who had revolted from the king, and being presented by them with a large sum, he relieved his country with it. In his character, indeed, this point was particularly worthy of admiration, that, though great presents were given him by kings, princes, and states, he never took any portion of them into his own house, and never departed in the least from the usual diet and dress of the Spartans; he remained content with the same house which Eurysthenes, the progenitor of his family, had inhabited; and whoever entered it could see no indication of luxury or extravagance, but, on the contrary, many proofs of temperance and frugality, for it was furnished in such a manner that it differed in no respect from that of any poor or private person.

§ 8  As this great man had found nature favourable in giving him excellent qualities of mind, so he found her unpropitious with regard to the formation of his body; for he was of low stature, small in person, and lame of one foot. These circumstances rendered his appearance the reverse of attractive, and strangers, when they looked at his person, felt only contempt for him, while those who knew his merits could not sufficiently admire him. Such fortune attended him, when, at the age of eighty, he went into Egypt to the aid of Tachos, and lay down with his men on the shore without any shelter, having merely such a couch that the ground was but covered with straw, and nothing more than a skin thrown upon it, while all his attendants lay in the same manner, in plain and well-worn attire, so that their equipments not only did not indicate that there was a king among them, but even raised a suspicion that he must be a man not very rich. The news of his arrival having reached the king's officers, presents of every kind were soon brought him; but when the officers inquired for Agesilaus, they could scarcely be made to believe that he was one of those who were sitting before them. When they presented him what they had brought, with a message from the king, he accepted nothing but some veal, and such sorts of meat as his present circumstances required; the ointments, chaplets, and sweetmeats he distributed among the slaves, and the other things he directed to be carried back. Upon this, the barbarians looked upon him still more contemptuously, thinking that he had made choice of what he had taken from ignorance of what was valuable.
As he was returning from Egypt, after having been presented by King Nectanabis with two hundred and twenty talents, in order that he might bestow them upon his countrymen, and had arrived at what is called the harbour of Menelaus, lying between Cyrenae and Egypt, he fell ill and died. His friends, in order the more conveniently to convey him to Sparta, enveloped his body, as they had no honey, in wax, and so carried it home.