by Pausanias
[2] δοκοῦσι δὲ οἱ Σπαρτιᾶταί μοι ποίησιν καὶ ἔπαινον τὸν ἀπ᾽ αὐτῆς ἥκιστα ἀνθρώπων θαυμάσαι: ὅτι γὰρ μὴ τῇ Κυνίσκᾳ τὸ ἐπίγραμμα ἐποίησεν ὅστις δή, καὶ ἔτι πρότερον Παυσανίᾳ τὸ ἐπὶ τῷ τρίποδι Σιμωνίδης τῷ ἀνατεθέντι ἐς Δελφούς, ἄλλο δέ γε παρὰ ἀνδρὸς ποιητοῦ Λακεδαιμονίων τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν οὐδέν ἐστιν ἐς μνήμην.
[8.2] The Spartans seem to me to be of all men the least moved by poetry and the praise of poets. For with the exception of the epigram upon Cynisca, of uncertain authorship, and the still earlier one upon Pausanias that Simonides wrote on the tripod dedicated at Delphi, there is no poetic composition to commemorate the doings of the royal houses of the Lacedaemonians.
[3] ἐπὶ δὲ Ἄγιδος τοῦ Ἀρχιδάμου βασιλεύοντος Λακεδαιμονίοις ἄλλα τε ἐγένετο ἐς Ἠλείους ἐγκλήματα καὶ τοῦ ἀγῶνος τοῦ Ὀλυμπικοῦ καὶ ἱεροῦ τοῦ Ὀλυμπίασιν ὑπ᾽ αὐτῶν εἰργόμενοι μάλιστα ἤχθοντο. ἀποστέλλουσιν οὖν κήρυκα ἐπίταγμα φέροντα Ἠλείοις Λεπρεάτας τε αὐτονόμους ἀφιέναι καὶ ὅσοι τῶν περιοίκων ἄλλοι σφίσιν ἦσαν ὑπήκοοι. ἀποκριναμένων δὲ Ἠλείων ὡς ἐπειδὰν τὰς περιοικίδας τῆς Σπάρτης πόλεις ἴδωσιν ἐλευθέρας, οὐδὲ αὐτοὶ μελλήσουσιν ἔτι ἀφιέναι τὰς ἑαυτῶν, οὕτω Λακεδαιμόνιοι καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς Ἆγις ἐσβάλλουσιν ἐς τὴν Ἠλείαν.
[8.3] In the reign of Agis the son of Archidamus the Lacedaemonians had several grievances against the people of Elis, being especially exasperated because they were debarred from the Olympic games and the sanctuary at Olympia. So they dispatched a herald commanding the people of Elis to grant home-rule to Lepreum and to any other of their neighbors that were subject to them. The people of Elis replied that, when they saw the cities free that were neighbors of Sparta, they would without delay set free their own subjects; whereupon the Lacedaemonians under king Agis invaded the territory of Elis.
[4] τότε μὲν δὴ τοῦ θεοῦ σείσαντος ὀπίσω τὸ στράτευμα ἀπεχώρησεν ἄχρι Ὀλυμπίας καὶ τοῦ Ἀλφειοῦ προελθόντες: τῷ δὲ ἐφεξῆς ἔτει τήν τε χώραν ἐδῄωσεν ὁ Ἆγις καὶ ἤλασε τῆς λείας τὴν πολλήν. Ξενίας δὲ ἀνὴρ Ἠλεῖος Ἄγιδί τε ἰδίᾳ ξένος καὶ Λακεδαιμονίων τοῦ κοινοῦ πρόξενος ἐπανέστη τῷ δήμῳ σὺν τοῖς τὰ χρήματα ἔχουσι: πρὶν δὲ Ἆγιν καὶ τὸν στρατὸν ἀφῖχθαί σφισιν ἀμύνοντας, Θρασυδαῖος προεστηκὼς τότε τοῦ Ἠλείων δήμου μάχῃ Ξενίαν καὶ τοὺς σὺν αὐτῷ κρατήσας ἐξέβαλεν ἐκ τῆς πόλεως.
[8.4] On this occasion there occurred an earthquake, and the army retired home after advancing as far as Olympia and the Alpheus but in the next year Agis devastated the country and carried off most of the booty. Xenias, a man of Elis who was a personal friend of Agis and the state-friend of the Lacedaemonians, rose up with the rich citizens against the people but before Agis and his army could come to their aid, Thrasydaeus, who at this time championed the interests of the popular party at Elis, overthrew in battle Xenias and his followers and cast them out of the city.
[5] Ἆγις δὲ ὡς ἀπήγαγεν ὀπίσω τὴν στρατιάν, Λυσίστρατον Σπαρτιάτην καὶ μοῖράν τε τῆς δυνάμεως καὶ Ἠλείων καταλείπει τοὺς φυγάδας, κακουργεῖν σφᾶς ὁμοῦ Λεπρεάταις τὴν χώραν. τρίτῳ δὲ ἔτει τοῦ πολέμου Λακεδαιμόνιοι μὲν καὶ Ἆγις παρεσκευάζοντο ὡς ἐς τὴν Ἠλείαν καὶ τότε ἐσβαλοῦντες: οἱ δὲ Ἠλεῖοι καὶ Θρασυδαῖος — κεκακωμένοι γὰρ ἐς τὸ ἔσχατον ἦσαν — συγχωροῦσι μήτε τῶν περιοίκων ἔτι ἄρχειν καὶ τοῦ ἄστεως κατερεῖψαι τὸ τεῖχος, Λακεδαιμονίους τε ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ καὶ θύειν τῷ θεῷ καὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα ἐξεῖναί σφισιν ἀγωνίζεσθαι.
[8.5] When Agis led back his army, he left behind Lysistratus, a Spartan, with a portion of his forces, along with the Elean refugees, that they might help the Lepreans to ravage the land. In the third year of the war the Lacedaemonians under Agis again prepared to invade the territory of Elis. So Thrasydaeus and the Eleans, reduced to dire extremities, agreed to forgo their supremacy over their neighbors, to dismantle the fortifications of their city, and to allow the Lacedaemonians to sacrifice to the god and to compete in the games at Olympia.
[6] ἐνέβαλλε δὲ καὶ ἐς τὴν Ἀττικὴν συνεχῶς ὁ Ἆγις στρατιᾷ καὶ ἐπετείχισε φρούριον Ἀθηναίοις τὸ ἐν Δεκελείᾳ: καταλυθέντος δὲ ἐν Αἰγὸς ποταμοῖς τοῦ Ἀθηναίων ναυτικοῦ Λύσανδρος ὁ
Ἀριστοκρίτου καὶ Ἆγις ὅρκους μὲν θεῶν ὑπερέβησαν, οὓς ὤμοσαν Ἀθηναίοις ἐν κοινῷ Λακεδαιμόνιοι, κατὰ σφᾶς δὲ αὐτοὶ καὶ οὐ μετὰ Σπαρτιατῶν τοῦ κοινοῦ τὸ βούλευμα ἐς τοὺς συμμάχους ἐξήνεγκαν ἐκκόψαι προρρίζους τὰς Ἀθήνας.
[8.6] Agis used also to make continual incursions into Attica, and established the fortified post at Decelea to annoy the Athenians. When the Athenian navy was destroyed at Aegospotami, Lysander, the son of Aristocritus, and Agis violated the oaths which the Lacedaemonians as a state had sworn by the gods to the Athenians, and it was on their own initiative, and without the approval of the Spartan state, that they put before their allies the proposal to destroy Athens root and branch.
[7] τὰ μὲν οὖν ἐς πόλεμον μάλιστα ἐπίσημα τοιαῦτα ὑπῆρχε τῷ Ἄγιδι: προπέτειαν δὲ τὴν Ἀρίστωνος ἐς Δημάρατον καὶ Ἆγις ἐς τὸν παῖδα ἔσχε Λεωτυχίδην, καί οἱ κατά τινα οὐκ ἀγαθὸν δαίμονα ἐσῆλθεν ἐς ἐπήκοον τῶν ἐφόρων εἰπεῖν ὡς οὐχ αὑτοῦ νομίζοι Λεωτυχίδην. ἐπέλαβε μέντοι καὶ Ἆγιν μετάνοια ὕστερον, καὶ — ἔφερον γὰρ τηνικαῦτα οἴκαδε ἐξ Ἀρκαδίας αὐτὸν νοσοῦντα — ὡς ἐγίνετο ἐν Ἡραίᾳ, καὶ τὸ πλῆθος μάρτυρας ἐποιεῖτο ἦ μὴν Λεωτυχίδην ἑαυτοῦ παῖδα ἡγεῖσθαι καί σφισι σὺν ἱκεσίᾳ τε καὶ δακρύοις ἐπέσκηπτε πρὸς Λακεδαιμονίους ταῦτα ἀπαγγέλλειν.
[8.7] Such were the most remarkable military achievements of Agis. The rash remark that Ariston made about Demaratus was also made by Agis about his son Leotychides; at the suggestion of some evil spirit he said in the hearing of the ephors that he did not believe Leotychides to be his son. Yet Agis, too, repented afterwards; he was at the time being carried home sick from Arcadia, and when he reached Heraea, he not only called the people to witness that he sincerely believed Leotychides to be his very own son, but also with prayers and tears charged them to take the tidings to the Lacedaemonians.
AGESILAEUS OF SPARTA, HISTORY
[8] μετὰ δὲ Ἆγιν ἀποθανόντα ἀπήλαυνεν Ἀγησίλαο�
� τῆς βασιλείας Λεωτυχίδην, ἐς μνήμην ἄγων Λακεδαιμονίοις τὰ ὑπὸ Ἄγιδός ποτε λεχθέντα ἐς τὸν Λεωτυχίδην. ἀφίκοντο δὲ καὶ οἱ ἐξ Ἡραίας Ἀρκάδες καὶ ἦσαν τῷ Λεωτυχίδῃ μάρτυρες ὁπόσα Ἄγιδος τελευτῶντος ἤκουσαν.
[8.8] After the death of Agis, Agesilaus tried to keep Leotychides from the throne, recalling to the minds of the Lacedaemonians what Agis once said about Leotychides. But the Arcadians from Heraea arrived and bore witness for Leotychides, stating what they had heard the dying Agis say.
[9] τῷ δὲ Ἀγησιλάῳ καὶ Λεωτυχίδῃ παρέσχεν ἐς πλέον τὸ μάντευμα ἀντιλογίαν τὸ ἐκ Δελφῶν, γεγονὸς μὲν ἐκεῖ, ἔχον δὲ οὕτω: “φράζεο δή, Σπάρτη, καίπερ μεγάλαυχος ἐοῦσα,
μὴ σέθεν ἀρτίποδος βλάστῃ χωλὴ βασιλεία.
δηρὸν γὰρ μόχθοι σε κατασχήσουσιν ἄελπτοι
φθερσιβρότου τ᾽ ἐπὶ κῦμα κυκωόμενον πολέμοιο.
“
[8.9] Yet further fuel for the controversy between Agesilaus and Leotychides was supplied by the oracle that was delivered at Delphi to this effect:–
Sparta beware! though haughty, pay heed to the warning I give thee.
Never let thy sound limbs give birth to a kingdom that lame is.
Too long then shalt thou lie in the clutches of desperate hardships;
Turmoil of war shall arise, o’erwhelming men in its billows.
[10] τότε οὖν Λεωτυχίδης μὲν ἐς Ἀγησίλαον ταῦτα ἔφασκεν εἰρῆσθαι, τὸν γὰρ δὴ ἕτερον τῶν ποδῶν ἐπεπήρωτο ὁ Ἀγησίλαος: Ἀγησίλαος δὲ ἐς Λεωτυχίδην αὐτὰ ἔτρεπεν οὐ γνήσιον ὄντα Ἄγιδος. Λακεδαιμόνιοι δέ, καίπερ ἐπὶ σφίσιν ὄν, οὐκ ἐπανήγαγον τὸ ἀμφισβήτημα ἐς Δελφούς: αἴτιος δ᾽ ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν Λύσανδρος ἐγένετο ὁ Ἀριστοκρίτου Ἀγησιλάῳ συσπεύδων ἐξ ἅπαντος τὴν βασιλείαν γενέσθαι.
[8.10] Leotychides on this occasion said that these words pointed to Agesilaus, who was lame in one of his feet, while Agesilaus interpreted them as alluding to the illegitimacy of Leotychides. Although they might have done so, the Lacedaemonians did not refer the disputed point to Delphi; the reason was in my opinion that Lysander, the son of Aristocritus, an active supporter of Agesilaus, would have him king at all costs.
9. βασιλεύει τε δὴ Ἀγησίλαος ὁ Ἀρχιδάμου καὶ Λακεδαιμονίοις ἤρεσε διαβῆναι ναυσὶν ἐς τὴν Ἀσίαν, Ἀρταξέρξην τὸν Δαρείου αἱρήσοντας: ἐδιδάσκοντο γὰρ ὑπό τε ἄλλων τῶν ἐν τέλει καὶ μάλιστα ὑπὸ Λυσάνδρου μὴ τὸν Ἀρταξέρξην σφίσιν ἐν τῷ πρὸς Ἀθηναίους πολέμῳ, Κῦρον δὲ εἶναι τὸν τὰ χρήματα διδόντα ἐς τὰς ναῦς. Ἀγησίλαος δὲ — ἀπεδείχθη γὰρ διαβιβάσαι τε ἐς τὴν Ἀσίαν τὸν στρατὸν καὶ δυνάμεως ἡγεμὼν τῆς πεζῆς — περιέπεμπεν ἔς τε Πελοπόννησον πλὴν Ἄργους καὶ ἐς τοὺς Ἕλληνας τοὺς ἐκτὸς Ἰσθμοῦ, συμμαχεῖν σφισιν ἐπαγγέλλων.
[9.1] IX. So Agesilaus, son of Archidamus, became king, and the Lacedaemonians resolved to cross with a fleet to Asia in order to put down Artaxerxes, son of Dareius. For they were informed by several of their magistrates, especially by Lysander, that it was not Artaxerxes but Cyrus who had been supplying the pay for the fleet during the war with Athens. Agesilaus, who was appointed to lead the expedition across to Asia and to be in command of the land forces, sent round to all parts of the Peloponnesus, except Argos, and to the Greeks north of the Isthmus, asking for allies.
[2] Κορίνθιοι μὲν οὖν, καίπερ ἐς τὰ μάλιστα ἔχοντες προθύμως μετασχεῖν τοῦ ἐς τὴν Ἀσίαν στόλου, κατακαυθέντος σφίσιν ἐξαίφνης ναοῦ Διὸς ἐπίκλησιν Ὀλυμπίου, ποιησάμενοι πονηρὸν οἰωνὸν καταμένουσιν ἄκοντες. Ἀθηναίοις δὲ ἦν μὲν ἡ πρόφασις ἐκ τοῦ Πελοποννησίων πολέμου καὶ ἐκ νόσου τῆς λοιμώδους ἐπανήκειν τὴν πόλιν ἐς τὴν πρότερόν ποτε οὖσαν εὐδαιμονίαν: πυνθανόμενοι δὲ δι᾽ ἀγγέλων ὡς Κόνων ὁ Τιμοθέου παρὰ βασιλέα ἀναβεβηκὼς εἴη, κατὰ τοῦτο ἡσύχαζον μάλιστα.
[9.2] Now the Corinthians were most eager to take part in the expedition to Asia, but considering it a bad omen that their temple of Zeus surnamed Olympian had been suddenly burnt down, they reluctantly remained behind. The Athenians excused themselves on the ground that their city was returning to its former state of prosperity after the Peloponnesian war and the epidemic of plague, and the news brought by messengers, that Conon, son of Timotheus, had gone up to the Persian king, strongly confirmed them in their policy of inactivity.
[3] ἀπεστάλη δὲ καὶ ἐς Θήβας πρεσβεύειν Ἀριστομηλίδας, μητρὸς μὲν τῆς Ἀγησιλάου πατήρ, Θηβαίοις δὲ εἶχεν ἐπιτηδείως καὶ ἐγεγόνει τῶν δικαστῶν, οἳ Πλαταιεῦσιν ἁλόντος τοῦ τείχους ἀποθανεῖν τοὺς ἐγκαταληφθέντας ἔγνωσαν. Θηβαῖοι μὲν οὖν κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ Ἀθηναίοις ἀπείπαντο, οὐ φάμενοι βοηθήσειν: Ἀγησίλαος δέ, ὡς αὐτῷ τά τε οἴκοθεν καὶ παρὰ τῶν συμμάχων τὸ στράτευμα ἤθροιστο καὶ ἅμα αἱ νῆες εὐτρεπεῖς ἦσαν, ἀφίκετο ἐς Αὐλίδα τῇ Ἀρτέμιδι θύσων, ὅτι καὶ Ἀγαμέμνων ἐνταῦθα ἱλασάμενος τὴν θεὸν τὸν ἐς Τροίαν στόλον ἤγαγεν.
[9.3] The envoy dispatched to Thebes was Aristomelidas, the father of the mother of Agesilaus, a close friend of the Thebans who, when the wall of Plataea had been taken, had been one of the judges voting that the remnant of the garrison should be put to death. Now the Thebans like the Athenians refused, saying that they would give no help. When Agesilaus had assembled his Lacedaemonian forces and those of the allies, and at the same time the fleet was ready, he went to Aulis to sacrifice to Artemis, because Agamemnon too had propitiated the goddess here before leading the expedition to Troy.
[4] ἠξίου δὲ ἄρα ὁ Ἀγησίλαος πόλεώς τε εὐδαιμονεστέρας ἢ Ἀγαμέμνων βασιλεὺς εἶναι καὶ ἄρχειν τῆς Ἑλλάδος πάσης ὁμοίως ἐκείνῳ, τό τε κατόρθωμα ἐπιφανέστερον ἔσεσθαι βασιλέα κρατήσαντα Ἀρταξέρξην εὐδαιμονίαν κτήσασθαι τὴν Περσῶν ἢ ἀρχὴν καθελεῖν τὴν Πριάμου. θύοντος δὲ αὐτοῦ Θηβαῖοι σὺν ὅπλοις ἐπελθόντες τῶν τε ἱερείων καιόμενα ἤδη τὰ μηρία ἀπορρίπτουσιν ἀπὸ τοῦ βωμοῦ καὶ αὐτὸν ἐξελαύνουσιν ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ.
[9.4] Agesilaus, then, claimed to be king of a more prosperous city than was Agamemnon, and to be like him overlord of all Greece, and that it would be a more glorious success to conquer Artaxerxes and acquire the riches of Persia than to destroy the empire of Priam. but even as he was sacrificing armed Thebans came upon him, threw dawn from the altar the
still burning thighbones of the victims, and drove him from the sanctuary.
[5] Ἀγησίλαον δὲ ἐλύπει μὲν ἡ θυσία μὴ τελεσθεῖσα, διέβαινε δὲ ὅμως ἐς τὴν Ἀσίαν καὶ ἤλαυνεν ἐπὶ τὰς Σάρδεις: ἦν γὰρ δὴ τῆς Ἀσίας τῆς κάτω μέγιστον μέρος τηνικαῦτα ἡ Λυδία, καὶ αἱ Σάρδεις πλούτῳ καὶ παρασκευῇ προεῖχον, τῷ τε σατραπεύοντι ἐπὶ θαλάσσῃ τοῦτο οἰκητήριον ἀπεδέδεικτο καθάπερ γε αὐτῷ βασιλεῖ τὰ Σοῦσα.
[9.5] Though vexed that the sacrifice was not completed, Agesilaus nevertheless crossed into Asia and launched an attack against Sardes for Lydia at this period was the most important district of lower Asia, and Sardes, pre-eminent for its wealth and resources, had been assigned as a residence to the satrap of the coast region, just as Susa had been to the king himself.
[6] γενομένης δὲ πρὸς Τισσαφέρνην σατράπην τῶν περὶ Ἰωνίαν μάχης ἐν Ἕρμου πεδίῳ τήν τε ἵππον τῶν Περσῶν ἐνίκησεν ὁ Ἀγησίλαος καὶ τὸ πεζὸν τότε πλεῖστον ἀθροισθὲν μετά γε τὸν Ξέρξου καὶ πρότερον ἔτι ἐπὶ Σκύθας Δαρείου καὶ ἐπὶ Ἀθήνας στρατόν. Λακεδαιμόνιοι δὲ ἀγασθέντες τὸ ἐς τὰ πράγματα τοῦ Ἀγησιλάου πρόθυμον διδόασιν ἄρχοντα εἶναι καὶ τῶν νεῶν αὐτῷ. ὁ δὲ ταῖς μὲν τριήρεσιν ἐπέστησεν ἡγεμόνα Πείσανδρον — τοῦ Πεισάνδρου δὲ ἐτύγχανε συνοικῶν ἀδελφῇ — , τῷ πολέμῳ δὲ αὐτὸς κατὰ γῆν προσεῖχεν ἐρρωμένως.