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.
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 διʼ ἀγγέλων ὡς Κόνων ὁ Τιμοθέου παρὰ βασιλέα ἀναβεβηκὼς εἴη, κατὰ τοῦτο ἡσύχαζον μάλιστα.
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.
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.
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.
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.
καί οἱ θεῶν τις ἐβάσκηνε μὴ ἀγαγεῖν τὰ βουλεύματα ἐς τέλος. ὡς γὰρ δὴ ἐπύθετο Ἀρταξέρξης μάχας τε ἃς ἐνίκησεν Ἀγησίλαος καὶ ὡς ἐς τὸ πρόσω χειρούμενος τὰ ἐν ποσὶ πρόεισιν ἀεὶ σὺν τῷ στρατῷ, Τισσαφέρνην μὲν καίπερ τὰ πρότερα εὐεργέτην ὄντα ζημιοῖ θανάτῳ, Τιθραύστην δὲ κατέπεμψεν ἐπὶ θάλασσαν, φρονῆσαί τε δεινὸν καί τι καὶ ἐς τοὺς Λακεδαιμονίους ἔχοντα δυσνοίας.
οὗτος ὡς ἀφίκετο ἐς Σάρδεις, αὐτίκα ἐπενόει τρόπον ᾧ τινι ἀναγκάσει Λακεδαιμονίους τὴν ἐκ τῆς Ἀσίας ἀνακαλέσασθαι στρατιάν. ἄνδρα οὖν Ῥόδιον Τιμοκράτην ἐς τὴν Ἑλλάδα πέμπει χρήματα ἄγοντα, ἐντειλάμενος πόλεμον ἐν τῇ Ἑλλάδι ἐργάσασθαι Λακεδαιμονίοις. οἱ δὲ τῶν χρημάτων μεταλαβόντες Ἀργείων μὲν Κύλων τε εἶναι λέγονται καὶ Σωδάμας, ἐν Θήβαις δὲ Ἀνδροκλείδης καὶ Ἰσμηνίας καὶ Ἀμφίθεμις· μετέσχε δὲ καὶ Ἀθηναῖος Κέφαλος καὶ Ἐπικράτης καὶ ὅσοι Κορινθίων ἐφρόνουν τὰ Ἀργείων Πολυάνθης τε καὶ Τιμόλαος.
οἱ δὲ ἐς τὸ φανερὸν τοῦ πολέμου παρασχόντες τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐγένοντο οἱ ἐξ Ἀμφίσσης Λοκροί. τοῖς γὰρ δὴ Λοκροῖς γῆ πρὸς τοὺς Φωκέας ἐτύγχανεν οὖσα ἀμφισβητήσιμος · ἐκ ταύτης ὑπὸ Θηβαίων ἐπαρθέντες τῶν περὶ Ἰσμηνίαν τόν τε σῖτον ἀκμάζοντα ἔτεμον καὶ ἤλασαν λείαν ἄγοντες· ἐνέβαλον δὲ πανδημεὶ καὶ οἱ Φωκεῖς ἐς τὴν Λοκρίδα καὶ ἐδῄωσαν τὴν χώραν.
ἐπηγάγοντο οὖν οἱ Λοκροὶ συμμάχους Θηβαίους καὶ τὴν Φωκίδα ἐπόρθησαν· ἐς δὲ τὴν Λακεδαίμονα ἐλθόντες οἱ Φωκεῖς τοῖς Θηβαίοις ἐπέκειντο καὶ ἐδίδασκον οἷα ἐπεπόνθεσαν ὑπʼ αὐτῶν. Λακεδαιμονίοις δὲ πόλεμον πρὸς Θηβαίους ἔδοξεν ἄρασθαι· ἐποιοῦντο δὲ ἐς αὐτοὺς καὶ ἄλλα ἐγκλήματα καὶ τὴν ἐν Αὐλίδι αὐτῶν ὕβριν ἐς τὴν Ἀγησιλάου θυσίαν.
Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ τὴν διάνοιαν τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων προπεπυσμένοι πέμπουσιν ἐς Σπάρτην, ὅπλα μὲν ἐπὶ Θήβας δεόμενοι μὴ κινῆσαι, δίκῃ δὲ ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐγκαλοῦσι διακρίνεσθαι· Λακεδαιμόνιοι δὲ πρὸς ὀργὴν ἀποπέμπουσι τὴν πρεσβείαν. τὰ δὲ ἐπὶ τούτοις ἔς τε τὴν Λακεδαιμονίων ἔξοδον καὶ τὰ ἐς τὴν Λυσάνδρου τελευτὴν ἐδήλωσέ μοι τοῦ λόγου τὰ ἐς Παυσανίαν·
καὶ ὁ κληθεὶς Κορινθιακὸς πόλεμος ἐς πλέον ἀεὶ προῆλθεν ἀπὸ τῆς Λακεδαιμονίων ἀρξάμενος ἐς Βοιωτίαν ἐξόδου. κατὰ ταύτην μὲν δὴ τὴν ἀνάγκην ὀπίσω τὸ στράτευμα ἐκ τῆς Ἀσίας ἀπῆγεν Ἀγησίλαος· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐξ Ἀβύδου περαιωθεὶς ναυσὶν ἐς Σηστὸν καὶ διεξελθὼν τὴν Θρᾴκην ἀφίκετο ἐς Θεσσαλίαν, ἐνταῦθα οἱ Θεσσαλοὶ χάριτι τῇ ἐς Θηβαίους τοῦ πρόσω τὸν Ἀγησίλαον ἐπειρῶντο εἴργειν· ἦν δέ τι εὐνοίας ἐκ παλαιοῦ καὶ ἐς τὴν πόλιν αὐτοῖς τὴν Ἀθηναίων.
Ἀγησίλαος δὲ Θεσσαλίαν τε διεξῆλθε τρεψάμενος αὐτῶν τὸ ἱππικὸν καὶ αὖθις διὰ Βοιωτῶν διώδευσε Θηβαίους ἐν Κορωνείᾳ καὶ τὸ ἄλλο νικήσας συμμαχικόν. ὡς δὲ ἐτράποντο οἱ Βοιωτοί, καταφεύγουσιν ἄνδρες ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐς ἱερὸν Ἀθηνᾶς ἐπίκλησιν Ἰτωνίας· Ἀγησίλαος δὲ εἶχε μὲν τραῦμα ἐκ τῆς μάχης, ἐς δὲ τοὺς ἱκέτας παρενόμησεν οὐδʼ οὕτως.
So Agesilaus, son of Archidamus, was king; and the Lacedaemonians resolved to cross the sea to Asia and conquer Artaxerxes, son of Darius; for they were informed by their leading men, and especially by Lysander, that in the war with Athens it was not Artaxerxes, but Cyrus, who had furnished them with the subsidy for their fleet. Being appointed to transport the army to Asia, and to command the land force, Agesilaus sent envoys all over Peloponnese and the rest of Greece, except Argos, calling for contingents. The Corinthians were most eager to join in the Asiatic expedition ; but their temple of Olympian Zeus was suddenly destroyed by fire, and taking this as an evil omen they reluctantly stayed at home. The pretext assigned by the Athenians was that, exhausted by the Peloponnesian war and the plague, their city was only in process of recovering its former prosperity ; but their chief reason for keeping quiet was the information they had received through messengers that Conon, son of Timotheus, had repaired to the Persian court. To Thebes also an envoy was sent in the person of Aristomenidas, the maternal grandfather of Agesilaus: he was on excellent terms with the Thebans, and had been one of the judges who voted death to the prisoners when Plataea fell. The Thebans gave the same reply as the Athenians: they refused to assist.
When the whole allied army was mustered, and the fleet was ready to put to sea, Agesilaus repaired to Aulis to sacrifice to Artemis, because Agamemnon had there propitiated the goddess before he led the armada against Troy. But Agesilaus, it seems, set up for being king of a greater city than Agamemnon ruled: like Agamemnon, he claimed the headship of Greece; and he flattered himself that to vanquish King Artaxerxes and gain the wealth of Persia would be a more signal triumph than to have conquered the realm of Priam. While he was sacrificing, some armed Thebans came up, flung the burning thigh-bones from the altar, and hustled his majesty out of the sanctuary. Agesilaus was vexed that the sacrifice was not completed ; nevertheless he crossed over to Asia and marched on Sardes.
In that age Lydia was the most important region of Lower Asia. The wealth and pomp of its capital, Sardes, had no rival, and the city was the official seat of the satrap of the Sea-board, just as Susa was the residence of the king. A battle was fought in the plain of the Hermus with Tissaphernes, satrap of Ionia, who had massed a larger body of infantry than had ever been brought together since the time when the hosts of Darius and Xerxes had marched against the Scythians and Athens. But Agesilaus defeated this Persian host, horse and foot. Delighted with his energy, his countrymen promoted him to the command of the fleet also. He appointed Pisander, whose sister he had married, admiral of the fleet, while he applied himself vigorously to the conduct of the operations by land. But some envious god suffered not Agesilaus to carry his plans to a successful issue.
For when Artaxerxes heard of the victories of Agesilaus, and how continually he marched forward carrying everything before him, he caused Tissaphernes, in spite of his former services, to be put to death, and sent down to the sea Tithraustes, a shrewd man, who bore the Lacedaemonians a grudge. No sooner had Tithraustes reached Sardes than he began scheming how he might compel the Lacedaemonians to recall their army from Asia. Accordingly he placed a sum of money in the hands of Timocrates, a Rhodian, and sent him to Greece with instructions to stir up a war in Greece against the Lacedaemonians. Those who fingered his money are said to have been Cylon and Sodamas at Argos, and Androclides, Ismenias, and Amphithemis at Thebes. Cephalus, the Athenian, also got a share, and so did Epicrates, and such of the Corinthians as favoured the Argive interest, to wit, Polyanthes and Timolaus. But it was the Locrians of Amphissa who brought about an open rupture. There was a piece of land in possession of the Phocians to which the Locrians asserted a rival claim. Instigated by the Theban faction of which Ismenias was the head, the Locrians now cut down the ripe corn of the district and drove off the cattle. The Phocians retaliated by invading Locris with all their forces and laying the country waste. So the Locrians got the Thebans to help them, and ravaged Phocis.
Then the Phocians repaired to Lacedaemon and denounced the Thebans, setting forth the wrongs they had suffered at their hands. The Lacedaemonians decided on war with Thebes, and amongst the grounds of complaint which they put forward was the insult which the Thebans had offered to Agesilaus when he was sacrificing at Aulis. The Athenians, being early apprised of the intention of the Lacedaemonians, sent to Sparta, praying them not to take up arms against Thebes, but to submit the quarrel to arbitration. However, the Lacedaemonians angrily dismissed the Athenian embassy. The events which followed, comprising the expedition of the Lacedaemonians and the death of Lysander, have already been included in the account I gave of Pausanias.
Beginning with the march of the Lacedaemonians into Boeotia, the war known as the Corinthian war continued steadily to assume larger proportions. This, therefore, was the cause which compelled Agesilaus to lead back his army from Asia. He crossed the straits from Abydus to Sestos, marched through Thrace, and reached Thessaly. Here the Thessalians, moved by a regard for Thebes and a friendship of long standing with Athens, attempted to stop him.
But he drove their cavalry before him, and marched through their country from end to end. A victory over the Thebans and their allies at Coronea opened for him a passage through Boeotia. When the day was lost, some of the Boeotians sought refuge in the sanctuary of Itonian Athena. Agesilaus had been wounded in the action, but hurt though he was, he respected the right of sanctuary.
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