Plutarch's Lives, Volume 3 · Plutarch
LIFE OF AGESILAUS.
Archidamus, the son of Zeuxidamus, king of Lacedæmon, after a glorious reign, left one son, Agis, by a noble lady named Lampito, and a much younger one, named Agesilaus, by Eupolia, the daughter of Melesippides. As by the Spartan law Agis was the next heir, and succeeded to the throne, Agesilaus was prepared for the life of a private man, in that severe Spartan school by which obedience is instilled into the youth of that country. For that reason it is said that the epithet of 'man-subduing' is applied to Sparta by the poet Simonides, because the Spartan customs render the citizens well behaved, and amenable to discipline, like horses who are broken to harness early in life. The direct heirs to the throne are not subjected to this training; but in the case of Agesilaus it happened that when he began to rule he had previously been taught to obey. This rendered him by far the most popular of the kings of Sparta, because, in addition to the haughty spirit that became a king, he had learned to sympathize with the people over whom he ruled.
II. Agesilaus was an early and intimate friend of Lysander, as they were both placed as boys in the same herd or troop for the purposes of discipline. It was then that Lysander learned to admire the moderation and self-restraint of Agesilaus, who, although he was ambitious and high-spirited, with a most vehement and passionate desire to be first in every kind of competition, was yet of a manageable and easily ruled disposition, very sensitive to reproach, and far more afraid of blame than of toils or dangers. The misfortune of his lame leg was almost unnoticed, partly from the robust vigour of his frame, and also from his own cheerful acknowledgment of this defect, being always the first to joke about it. He sought by these means to remedy his lameness, while his daring spirit never allowed it to prevent his undertaking the most dangerous and laborious adventures. We have no record of his appearance, for he himself never would consent to have his portrait taken, and even when dying begged that no statue or painting of him should be taken. We are, however, told that he was of small and mean stature, but that his lively and cheerful temper, even in the most trying situations, and the absence of anything harsh and overbearing in his manners, made him more popular than many younger and handsomer men even in extreme old age. The historian Theophrastus informs us that the mother of Agesilaus was a very small woman, and that the Ephors had fined Archidamus, on that special ground, for marrying her. "She will not bring forth kings to rule us," said they, "but kinglets."
"Proud Sparta, resting on two equal feet, Beware lest lameness on thy kings alight; Lest wars unnumbered toss thee to and fro, And thou thyself be ruined in the fight." In answer to this, Lysander argued that the oracle really warned the Spartans against making Leotychides king; for the god was not likely to allude to actual lameness, which might not even be congenital, but might arise from some accidental hurt, as disqualifying any one for the office of king, but rather meant by a "lame reign," the reign of one who was not legitimate, and not truly descended from Herakles. Agesilaus also said that Poseidon bore witness to the illegitimacy of Leotychides; for Agis was said to have been cast out of his bed-chamber by an earthquake, after which he abstained from approaching his wife, on religious grounds, for a period of more than ten months, at the end of which Leotychides was born.
IV. Having been raised to the throne on those grounds, Agesilaus at the same time acquired the large property left by the late king Agis, as Leotychides was declared illegitimate and driven into exile. As his own mother's family were respectable, but very poor, he distributed half this property among them, thus making sure of their good will and favour, and removing any jealousy which they might feel at his elevation. Moreover, as Xenophon tells us, he gained the greatest influence by always deferring to the wishes of his country, and thus was really enabled to act exactly as he pleased. The whole power of the state was at that time vested in the Ephors and the Senate of Elders, of whom the Ephors are elected every year, while the Elders sit for life. These two bodies were intended as a check upon the power of the kings, who would otherwise have been absolute, as has been explained in the Life of Lykurgus. Between these magistrates and the kings there was generally a bad understanding; but Agesilaus adopted an opposite line of conduct. He never attempted to oppose or thwart the Ephors or the Senate, and even showed a marked deference to them, referring the initiative of all state affairs to them, hurrying into their presence when summoned, and rising from his royal throne whenever they appeared, while he presented each senator, on his election, with a cloak and an ox, to congratulate him on joining the Senate. Thus he appeared to exalt the power of the Ephors and to court their favour, but he himself was by far the greatest gainer, as his own personal influence was greatly increased, and the power of the crown much strengthened by the general good will which he inspired.
V. In his dealings with his fellow-citizens he is more to be praised as an enemy than as a friend; for he would not act unjustly to injure his enemies, but he sometimes disregarded justice in the interests of his friends. He was of too generous a nature to refrain from applauding even his enemies when they deserved it, but could not bear to reproach his friends for their faults, which he delighted to share with them, and to extricate them from the consequences, for he thought nothing disgraceful if done to serve a friend.[174] He was also ever ready to forgive and assist those with whom he had been at variance, and thus won all hearts, and attained to a true popularity. The Ephors indeed, perceiving this, imposed a fine upon him, alleging as a reason for it that he was attaching the Spartans to his own person instead of to the State. For just as physical philosophers tell us that if the principle of strife and opposition were removed, the heavenly bodies would stand still, and all the productive power of nature would be at an end, so did the Laconian lawgiver endeavour to quicken the virtue of his citizens by constructing a constitution out of opposing elements, deeming that success is barren when there is none to resist, and that the harmonious working of a political system is valueless if purchased by the suppression of any important element. Some have thought that the germ of this idea can be traced in Homer,[175] for he would not have represented Agamemnon as rejoicing when Achilles and Odysseus quarrel 'with savage words,' had he not thought that some great public benefit would arise from this opposition and rivalry of the bravest. But to this one cannot altogether agree; for party strife, if carried to excess, proves most dangerous and ruinous to all communities.
VI. Shortly after Agesilaus had been raised to the throne he received news from Asia that the Persian king was preparing a large army with which he intended to drive the Lacedæmonians into the sea. Upon hearing this, Lysander was very eager to be sent out again to conduct affairs in Asia, in order that he might be able to assist his own friends and partizans, whom he had appointed as governors to many of the cities in that country, but who had mostly been forcibly expelled by the citizens for their insolent and tyrannical conduct. He therefore urged Agesilaus to undertake a campaign in Asia as the champion of Greece, and advised him to land upon some distant part of the coast, so as to establish himself securely before the arrival of the Persian army. At the same time he despatched instructions to his friends in Asia, to send to Lacedæmon, and demand Agesilaus as their general. In a public debate upon the subject, Agesilaus agreed to conduct the war if he were furnished with thirty Spartans to act as generals, and to form a council of war. He also demanded a force of ten thousand picked men of the Neodamodes, or enfranchised Helots, and six thousand hoplites, or heavy armed troops, from the allied cities in Greece.
By the active co-operation of Lysander all this was quickly agreed upon, and Agesilaus was sent out with a council of thirty Spartans, in which Lysander at once took the lead, not merely by his own great name and influence, but by reason of his intimacy with Agesilaus, through which it was supposed that this campaign would raise him to more than kingly power. While the army was being assembled at Geræstus, Agesilaus himself proceeded to Aulis with his friends, and while sleeping there, he appeared in a dream to hear a voice saying: "O king of the Lacedæmonians, since no one has ever been commander-in-chief of all the Greeks, save you and Agamemnon alone, it is fitting that you, since you command the same troops, start from the same place, and are about to attack the same enemy, should offer sacrifice to the same goddess to whom he sacrificed here before setting out."
Upon this there, at once, occurred to the mind of Agesilaus the legend of the maiden who was put to death on that occasion by her own father, in obedience to the soothsayers; but he did not allow himself to be disturbed by this omen, but arose and told the whole dream to his friends, observing that it was his intention to pay all due honour to the goddess Artemis, but not to imitate the barbarous conduct of Agamemnon. He now proceeded to hang garlands upon a hind, and ordered his own soothsayer to offer it as a sacrifice, disregarding the claims of the local Bœotian priest to do so. The Bœotarchs, however, heard of this, and were greatly incensed at what they considered an insult. They at once despatched a body of armed men to the spot, who forbade Agesilaus to offer sacrifice there, contrary to the ancestral customs of the Bœotians, and cast off the victim from the altar where it lay. After this Agesilaus sailed away in great trouble of mind, both from the anger he felt towards the Thebans, and from the evil omen which had befallen him, as he feared that it portended the failure of his Asiatic campaign.
VII. On his arrival at Ephesus, he was much offended by the great power and influence possessed by Lysander, whose ante-chamber was always crowded, and who was always surrounded by persons desirous of paying their court to him. They evidently thought that although Agesilaus might be nominally in command of the expedition, yet that all real power and direction of affairs was enjoyed by Lysander, who had made himself feared and respected throughout Asia, beyond any other Greek commander, and had been able to benefit his friends and crush his enemies more effectually than any one had previously done. As all this was still fresh in the memory of all men, and especially as they perceived the extreme simplicity and courteousness of Agesilaus's manners and conversation, and observed, too, that Lysander was still as harsh, rude, and imperious as before, they all looked up to him alone as the virtual commander.
The other Spartan members of the council were deeply dissatisfied at finding that Lysander treated them rather as though he were king and they were merely there to ratify his decrees, than as their colleague with powers no more extensive than their own; while Agesilaus himself, who though he was above feeling any jealousy of the honours paid to Lysander, yet was ambitious and covetous of honour, began to fear that if any brilliant success should be achieved, the credit of it would be given to Lysander alone. He therefore proceeded to oppose all Lysander's plans, and if he knew that Lysander was interested in any enterprise, he took care to put it off and neglect it, while he successively rejected the petitions of every person in whom he knew Lysander to take an interest. In judicial decisions also he invariably acquitted those whom Lysander wished to punish, and condemned to pay heavy fines those whom he endeavoured to serve. As this took place so frequently that it could not be attributed to chance, but to a systematic purpose, Lysander was forced to warn his partizans that his intervention was an injury and not a benefit to them, and that they must desist from their obsequious attentions to him, and address themselves directly to the king.
VIII. As these remarks seemed intended to place the king's policy in an invidious light, Agesilaus determined to humble him still further, and appointed him his carver. He then said aloud in the hearing of many persons, "Let them now go and pay their court to my carver." Vexed at this insult, Lysander remonstrated with him, saying, "Truly, Agesilaus, you know how to degrade your friends." "Ay, to be sure," answered he, "those among them who want to appear greater than I am."[176] "Perhaps," replied Lysander, "you have spoken the truth, and I have not acted rightly. Bestow on me, however, some post in which I may be usefully employed without wounding your feelings." Upon this, Lysander was despatched on a mission to the Hellespont, where he found means to gain over a Persian noble named Spithridates, who had received some offence from Pharnabazus, the satrap of that province. Lysander induced this man to join Agesilaus with all his property, and with a regiment of two hundred horse; yet he himself did not forget his quarrel, and for the rest of his life assiduously plotted to remove the succession to the throne of Sparta from the two royal families, and to throw it open to all Spartans alike. It is indeed probable that he would have raised an important commotion in Sparta, had he not been slain in an expedition in Bœotia. Thus do ambitious men do more harm than good in a state, unless they have an unusual power of self-restraint. Lysander no doubt acted very offensively, and made a very unreasonable display of his pride; yet Agesilaus might have discovered some better method of correcting the faults of so great a man. Indeed, in my opinion they were both equally blinded by the same passion for personal aggrandizement, so that the one forgot the power of his prince, and the other could not bear with the shortcomings of his friend.
IX. Tissaphernes was at first afraid of Agesilaus, and began to treat with him about setting free the Greek cities on the Ionian coast from the power of the king of Persia. Afterwards, however, he imagined that the force at his disposal justified him in breaking off these negotiations, and he declared war, to the great delight of Agesilaus. Great expectations had indeed been formed in Greece of the army of Agesilaus, and it was thought a strange thing that ten thousand Greeks under Xenophon should march through Persia to the sea, and defeat the king of Persia's troops as often as they pleased, while Agesilaus, the commander of the Lacedæmonians, the leading people in Greece, who were all-powerful both by sea and land, should accomplish nothing. He now revenged himself on the faithless Tissaphernes for his perjury by an equal piece of deceit, and gave out that he was about to march into Karia. When, however, the Persian army was assembled there, he proceeded north-wards to Phrygia, where he took many cities, and gained much plunder, pointing out to his friends that although to solemnly plight one's word and then to break it is wrong, yet that to out-manœuvre one's enemies is not only lawful, but profitable and glorious.
Being, however, deficient in cavalry, and warned by the omen of a victim being found with an imperfect liver, he retired to Ephesus, and there collected a cavalry force, giving rich men the alternative of either serving themselves in his army, or of furnishing a horse soldier instead. Many preferred to do so, and Agesilaus soon possessed a force of warlike cavalry in the place of worthless foot soldiers; for those who did not wish to serve personally hired men who were willing to fight, and those who could not ride hired those who could. Just so did Agamemnon act very wisely in receiving a valuable mare, and thereby allowing a rich man to purchase his discharge from military service. Agesilaus now gave orders that the heralds who conducted the sale of captives by auction, should strip them of their clothes, and put them up for sale in a state of perfect nudity. Their clothes were sold separately, and the Greek soldiers laughed heartily at the white and soft skins, which never had felt the sun or wind, displayed by these Asiatics, and began to feel contempt for such effeminate adversaries. Agesilaus himself, pointing first to the captives themselves, and then to their clothes and other property, observed, "These are the men with whom you have to fight, and these are the things you fight for."
X. When the season for active operations returned he announced his intention of marching into Lydia, not meaning thereby to deceive Tissaphernes; but Tissaphernes deceived himself, for he distrusted Agesilaus on account of his former stratagem. He therefore concluded that it was Agesilaus's real intention to invade Karia, especially as he was weak in cavalry, which could not act in that province. When, however, Agesilaus, as he had announced, marched into the level country near Sardis, Tissaphernes was obliged to hurry thither with all speed; and by means of his cavalry he cut off many stragglers from the Greek army. Agesilaus now perceived that the enemy's infantry had not come up, while he had all his troops in hand. He at once determined to fight, and having formed his cavalry and light-armed troops into one mixed body he ordered them to advance at once and attack the enemy, while he led on the heavy infantry in person. The Persians were routed, and the Greeks, following up their victory, took the enemy's camp with great slaughter. This victory not only enabled them to plunder the king's territories undisturbed, but also gave them the satisfaction of hearing that Tissaphernes, a bad man, and one for whom all the Greeks felt an especial hatred, had at length met with his deserts. Immediately after the battle the king of Persia sent Tithraustes to him, who caused him to be beheaded. Tithraustes now begged Agesilaus to make peace and leave the country, and offered him money if he would do so. Agesilaus answered that he had no power to make peace or war, but that such propositions must be referred to the authorities at home; while as to money he said that he preferred enriching his soldiers to enriching himself, and that among the Greeks it was not considered honourable to receive bribes, but rather to take plunder from their enemies. Nevertheless, wishing to oblige Tithraustes, because he had avenged Greece upon that common enemy of all, Tissaphernes, he removed his army into Phrygia, receiving a sum of thirty talents from Tithraustes for the maintenance of his soldiery.
During his march he received a despatch from the government of Sparta, appointing him to the command of the naval as well as of the military forces in Asia. He was now at the zenith of his fame and the greatest man of his age, as Theopompus truly observes; yet he had more reason to be proud of his virtue than of his power. He was thought, however, to have committed an error in placing Peisander in command of the fleet, disregarding the claims of older and more experienced men, and preferring the advancement of his wife's brother to the interests of his country. XI. Having established his army in the province ruled by Pharnabazus, he not only found abundance of provisions, but also was able to amass much booty. He marched as far as the borders of Paphlagonia, and gained the alliance of Kotys,[177] the king of that country.
Spithridatos, ever since he had revolted from Pharnabazus, had constantly accompanied Agesilaus, together with his very handsome son, named Megabates, of whom Agesilaus was greatly enamoured, and a fair daughter. Agesilaus persuaded King Kotys to marry this girl, and received from him a force of one thousand horsemen, and two thousand light troops, called peltasts. With these he returned into Phrygia, and laid waste the country of Pharnabazus, who dared not meet him in the field, and feared to trust himself in any of his fortresses, but hovered about the country, taking his valuable property with him, and keeping his place of encampment as secret as he could. The watchful Spithridates, however, at last found an opportunity to attack him, and, with Herippidas the Spartan, took his camp and all his property. On this occasion Herippidas acted with great harshness in ordering all the plunder to be given up to be sold by auction, according to Greek usage. He forced the barbarian allies to disgorge their booty, and searched for all that had been captured in so offensive a manner that Spithridates, in disgust at his conduct, at once went off to Sardis, taking with him the entire Paphlagonian force. We are told that Agesilaus was terribly chagrined at this. He felt vexed at losing a good friend in Spithridates, and losing, too, a large force with him, while he was ashamed of the character for meanness and avarice which this miserable squabble would gain for Sparta, especially as he had always prided himself on showing a contempt for money both in politics and in private life.
XII. After this, Pharnabazus was desirous of conferring with him, and a meeting was arranged between them by a friend of both, Apollophanes of Kyzikus. Agesilaus arrived first, and sitting down upon some thick grass under the shade of a tree, awaited the coming of Pharnabazus. Presently Pharnabazus arrived, with soft rugs and curiously-wrought carpets, but on seeing Agesilaus simply seated on the ground, he felt ashamed to use them, and sat down on the ground beside him, although he was dressed in a magnificent robe of many colours. They now greeted one another, and Pharnabazus stated his case very fairly, pointing out that he had done much good service to the Lacedæmonians during their war with Athens, and yet that his province was now being laid waste by them. Seeing all the Spartans round him hanging down their heads with shame, and not knowing what to answer because they knew that what Pharnabazus said was true, Agesilaus said: "We Spartans, Pharnabazus, were formerly at peace with your king, and then we respected his territory as that of a friend. Now we are at war with him, and regard all his property as that of an enemy. Now as we see that you still wish to belong to the king, we very naturally endeavour by injuring you to injure him. But from the day on which you shall declare that you will be a friend and ally of the Greeks rather than a slave of the king of Persia, you may regard this fleet and army and all of us, as the guardians of your property, of your liberty, and of all that makes life honourable and enjoyable." In answer to this, Pharnabazus said: "If the king shall send any other general, and put me under him, I will join you. But if he places me in command, I will cheerfully obey him, and will fight you and do you all the mischief in my power."
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.