CHAPTER VIII.
And on the death of Archidamus, Agis the elder of his sons being of age succeeded, and not Agesilaus. And Archidamus had also a daughter called Cynisca, who was most ambitious in regard to the races at Olympia, and was the first woman who trained horses, and the first woman who won the prize at Olympia, though after her several women, especially Lacedæmonian ones, won the prize at Olympia, though none came up to her fame in these contests. But the Spartans seem to me to admire least of all men the glory that proceeds from poetry, for except an epigram on Cynisca composed by some one or other, and still earlier one on Pausanias, composed by Simonides, inscribed on the tripod erected at Delphi, there is no record made by any poet on any of the Lacedæmonian kings. And in the reign of Agis, the son of Archidamus, the Lacedæmonians brought other charges against the people of Elis, but were especially annoyed at their being shut out of the contest at Olympia, and the privileges of the temple there. They therefore sent an envoy with an ultimatum to the people of Elis, bidding them allow the people of Lepreum, and all other resident aliens who were subject to them, to live according to their own laws. And the people of Elis making reply that, when they saw the subject cities of Sparta free, they would immediately set their own free, the Lacedæmonians under King Agis at once invaded Elis. On that occasion the army retired in consequence of an earthquake, when they had advanced as far as Olympia and the River Alpheus, but next year Agis wasted the country and carried off much booty. And Xenias a man of Elis, who was privately friendly to Agis and publicly a champion of the Lacedæmonians, conspired against the populace with the men who were wealthy, but before Agis and the army could come up and cooperate with them Thrasydæus, who was at this time the leader of the populace at Elis, conquered Xenias and his faction in battle and drove them from the city. And when Agis led his army home again, he left Lysistratus the Spartan with a portion of his force, and the refugees from Elis, to cooperate with the men of Lepreum in ravaging the district. And in the third year of the war the Lacedæmonians and Agis made preparations to invade Elis: but the people of Elis and Thrasydæus, who had been reduced by the war to the greatest extremity, made a convention to give liberty to their subject cities, and to raze the fortifications of their town, and to allow the Lacedæmonians to sacrifice to the god at Olympia and to contend in the games. After this Agis kept continually attacking Attica, and fortified Decelea as a constant menace to the Athenians: and after the Athenian fleet was destroyed at Ægos-potamoi, Lysander the son of Aristocritus and Agis violated the solemn oaths which the Lacedæmonians and Athenians had mutually sworn to observe, and at their own responsibility, and not at the bidding of the Spartan community, made an agreement with their allies to cut off Athens root and branch. These were the most notable exploits of Agis in war. And the hastiness of speech of Aristo about the legitimacy of his son Demaratus Agis also imitated in regard to his son Leotychides, for some evil genius put it into his head in the hearing of the Ephors to say that he did not think he was his son. He repented however of his speech afterwards, for when he was carried home sick from Arcadia and had got to Heræa, he solemnly declared before a multitude of witnesses that he did verily believe that Leotychides was his son, and conjured them with entreaties and tears to report what he had said to the Lacedæmonians. But after his death Agesilaus drove Leotychides from the kingdom, reminding the Lacedæmonians of Agis’ former speech, though the Arcadians came from Heræa, and bare witness what they had heard about Leotychides from Agis on his death-bed. And the variance between Agesilaus and Leotychides was heightened by the oracle at Delphi, which ran as follows:—
“Sparta, beware, although thou art so great,
Of having king o’er thee lame of one leg.
For unexpected woes shall then prevail,
And mortal-slaying wave of troublous war.”
Leotychides said that this oracle referred to Agesilaus, for he limped on one leg, but Agesilaus said it referred to Leotychides’ not being the legitimate son of Agis. And the Lacedæmonians did not avail themselves of their privilege to refer the question to Delphi: but Lysander, the son of Aristocritus, seems to have prevailed upon the people to unanimously choose Agesilaus.