ἐν δὲ Μεγάροις, ὅτε τὴν στρατιὰν ἀπῆγεν ἐκ Θηβῶν, ἀναβαίνοντος αὐτοῦ πρὸς τὸ ἀρχεῖον εἰς τὴν ἀκρόπολιν, σπάσμα καὶ πόνον ἰσχυρὸν ἔλαβε τὸ ὑγιὲς σκέλος· ἐκ δὲ τούτου διογκωθὲν μεστὸν αἵματος ἔδοξε γεγονέναι, καὶ φλεγμονὴν ὑπερβάλλουσαν παρεῖχεν.
But in Megara, when he was leading his army back from Thebes, as he was going up to the senate-house in the acropolis, he was seized with a cramp and violent pain in his sound leg, which then swelled up, appeared to be congested, and showed signs of excessive inflammation.
ἰατροῦ δέ τινος Συρακουσίου τὴν ὑπὸ τῷ σφυρῷ φλέβα σχάσαντος, αἱ μὲν ἀλγηδόνες ἔληξαν, αἵματος δὲ πολλοῦ φερομένου καὶ ῥέοντος ἀνεπισχέτως λιποψυχία πολλὴ καὶ κίνδυνος ὀξὺς ἀπʼ αὐτῆς περιέστη τὸν Ἀγησίλαον. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ τότε γε τὴν φορὰν τοῦ αἵματος ἔπαυσε· καὶ κομισθεὶς εἰς Λακεδαίμονα πολὺν χρόνον ἔσχεν ἀρρώστως καὶ πρὸς τὰς στρατείας ἀδυνάτως.
As soon as a certain Syracusan physician had opened a vein below the ankle, the pains relaxed, but much blood flowed and could not be checked, so that Agesilaüs was very faint from its loss, and in dire peril of his life. At last, however, the flow of blood was stopped, and Agesilaüs was carried to Sparta, where he remained for a long time in a weak condition and unable to take the field.
ἐν δὲ τῷ χρόνῳ τούτῳ πολλὰ συνέβη πταίσματα τοῖς Σπαρτιάταις καὶ κατὰ γῆν καὶ κατὰ θάλατταν ὧν ἦν τὸ περὶ Τεγύρας μέγιστον, ὅπου πρῶτον ἐκ παρατάξεως κρατηθέντες ὑπὸ Θηβαίων ἡττήθησαν. ἔδοξεν οὖν πᾶσι θέσθαι πρὸς πάντας εἰρήνην· καὶ συνῆλθον ἀπὸ τῆς Ἑλλάδος πρέσβεις εἰς Λακεδαίμονα ποιησόμενοι τὰς διαλύσεις.
During this time the Spartans met with many reverses both by land and sea, the greatest of which was at Tegyra, where for the first time they were overpowered by the Thebans in a pitched battle. There was, accordingly, a general sentiment in favour of a general peace, and ambassadors from all Hellas came together at Sparta to settle its terms.
ὧν εἷς ἦν Ἐπαμεινώνδας, ἀνὴρ ἔνδοξος ἐπὶ παιδείᾳ καὶ φιλοσοφίᾳ, στρατηγίας δὲ πεῖραν οὔπω δεδωκώς. οὗτος ὁρῶν τοὺς ἄλλους ἅπαντας ὑποκατακλινομένους τῷ Ἀγησιλάῳ, μόνος ἐχρήσατο φρονήματι παρρησίαν ἔχοντι, καὶ διεξῆλθε λόγον, οὐχ ὑπὲρ Θηβαίων, ἀλλὰ ὑπὲρ τῆς Ἑλλάδος ὁμοῦ κοινόν, τὸν μὲν πόλεμον ἀποδεικνύων αὔξοντα τὴν Σπάρτην ἐξ ὧν ἅπαντες οἱ λοιποὶ κακῶς πάσχουσι, τὴν δὲ εἰρήνην ἰσότητι καὶ τῷ δικαίῳ κτᾶσθαι κελεύων οὕτω γὰρ αὐτὴν διαμενεῖν, ἴσων ἁπάντων γενομένων.
One of these ambassadors was Epaminondas, a man of repute for culture and philosophy, although he had not yet given proof of capacity as a general. This man, seeing the rest all cringing before Agesilaüs, alone had the courage of his convictions, and made a speech, not in behalf of Thebes, his native city, but of all Greece in common, declaring that war made Sparta great at the expense of the sufferings of all the other states, and urging that peace be made on terms of equality and justice, for it would endure only when all parties to it were made equal.
ὁρῶν οὖν ὁ Ἀγησίλαος ὑπερφυῶς ἀγαμένους καὶ προσέχοντας αὐτῷ τοὺς Ἕλληνας, ἠρώτησεν εἰ νομίζει δίκαιον εἶναι καὶ ἴσον αὐτονομεῖσθαι τὴν Βοιωτίαν. ἀντερωτήσαντος δὲ τοῦ Ἐπαμεινώνδου ταχὺ καὶ τεθαρρηκότως εἰ κἀκεῖνος οἴεται δίκαιον αὐτονομεῖσθαι τὴν Λακωνικήν, ἀναπηδήσας ὁ Ἀγησίλαος μετʼ ὀργῆς ἐκέλευσε λέγειν σαφῶς αὐτὸν εἰ τὴν Βοιωτίαν ἀφίησιν αὐτόνομον.
Agesilaüs, accordingly, seeing that the Greeks all listened to Epaminondas with the greatest attention and admiration, asked him whether he considered it justice and equality that the cities of Boeotia should be independent of Thebes. Then when Epaminondas promptly and boldly asked him in reply whether he too thought it justice for the cities of Laconia to be independent of Sparta, Agesilaüs sprang from his seat and wrathfully bade him say plainly whether he intended to make the cities of Boeotia independent.
τὸ δὲ αὐτὸ τοῦτο πάλιν τοῦ Ἐπαμεινώνδου φήσαντος, εἰ τὴν Λακωνικὴν ἀφίησιν αὐτόνομον, οὕτω τραχέως ἔσχεν ὁ Ἀγησίλαος καὶ τὴν πρόφασιν ἠγάπησεν ὡς εὐθὺς ἐξαλεῖψαι τὸ τῶν Θηβαίων ὄνομα τῆς εἰρήνης καὶ προειπεῖν πόλεμον αὐτοῖς τοὺς δὲ ἄλλους Ἕλληνας διαλλαγέντας ἐκέλευσεν ἀπιέναι, τὰ μὲν ἀκεστὰ τῆς εἰρήνης, τὰ δὲ ἀνήκεστα τοῦ πολέμου ποιοῦντας. ἔργον γὰρ ἦν πάσας ἐκκαθᾶραι καὶ διαλῦσαι τὰς ἀμφιλογίας.
And when Epaminondas answered again in the same way by asking whether he intended to make the cities of Laconia independent, Agesilaüs became violent and was glad of the pretext for at once erasing the name of the Thebans from the treaty of peace and declaring war upon them. The rest of the Greeks, however, he ordered to depart, now that they were reconciled with each other, leaving differences which could be healed to the terms of peace, and those which could not, to war, since it was a hard task to settle and remove all their disputes.
ἔτυχε δὲ κατʼ ἐκεῖνον τὸν χρόνον ἐν Φωκεῦσιν ὢν ὁ Κλεόμβροτος μετὰ δυνάμεως, εὐθὺς οὖν ἔπεμπον οἱ ἔφοροι κελεύοντες αὐτὸν ἐπὶ Θηβαίους ἄγειν τὸ στράτευμα· καὶ τοὺς συμμάχους περιπέμποντες ἤθροιζον, ἀπροθύμους μὲν ὄντας καὶ βαρυνομένους τὸν πόλεμον, οὔπω δὲ θαρροῦντας ἀντιλέγειν οὐδὲ ἀπειθεῖν τοῖς Λακεδαιμονίοις.
At this time Cleombrotus was in Phocis with an army. The ephors therefore immediately sent him orders to lead his forces against Thebes. They also sent round a summons for an assembly of their allies, who were without zeal for the war and thought it a great burden, but were not yet bold enough to oppose or disobey the Lacedaemonians.
πολλῶν δὲ σημείων μοχθηρῶν γενομένων, ὡς ἐν τῷ περὶ Ἐπαμεινώνδου γέγραπται, καὶ Προθόου τοῦ Λάκωνος ἐναντιουμένου πρὸς τὴν στρατείαν, οὐκ ἀνῆκεν ὁ Ἀγησίλαος, ἀλλʼ ἐξέπραξε τὸν πόλεμον, ἐλπίζων αὐτοῖς μὲν τῆς Ἑλλάδος ὅλης ὑπαρχούσης, ἐκσπόνδων δὲ τῶν Θηβαίων γενομένων, καιρὸν εἶναι δίκην λαβεῖν παρʼ αὐτῶν.
And although many baleful signs appeared, as I have written in my Life of Epaminondas, and though Prothouüs the Laconian made opposition to the expedition, Agesilaüs would not give in, but brought the war to pass. He thought that since all Hellas was on their side, and the Thebans had been excluded from the treaty, it was a favourable time for the Spartans to take vengeance on them.
δηλοῖ δὲ τὸ σὺν ὀργῇ μᾶλλον ἢ λογισμῷ γενέσθαι τὴν στρατείαν ἐκείνην ὁ καιρός, τῇ γὰρ τετράδι ἐπὶ δέκα τοῦ Σκιροφοριῶνος μηνὸς ἐποιήσαντο τὰς σπονδὰς ἐν Λακεδαίμονι, τῇ δὲ πέμπτῃ τοῦ Ἑκατομβαιῶνος ἡττήθησαν ἐν Λεύκτροις ἡμερῶν εἴκοσι διαγενομένων. ἀπέθανον δὲ χίλιοι Λακεδαιμονίων καὶ Κλεόμβροτος ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ περὶ αὐτὸν οἱ κράτιστοι τῶν Σπαρτιατῶν.
But the time chosen for it proves that this expedition was made from anger more than from careful calculation. For the treaty of peace was made at Lacedaemon on the fourteenth of the month Scirophorion, and on the fifth of Hecatombaeon the Lacedaemonians were defeated at Leuctra,—an interval of twenty days. In that battle a thousand Lacedaemonians fell, besides Cleombrotus the king, and around him the mightiest of the Spartans.
ἐν οἷς καὶ Κλεώνυμόν φασι τὸν Σφοδρίου τὸν καλὸν τρὶς πεσόντα πρὸ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ τοσαυτάκις ἐξαναστάντα καὶ μαχόμενον τοῖς Θηβαίοις ἀποθανεῖν.
Among these, they say, was Cleonymus, the beautiful son of Sphodrias, who was thrice struck down in front of his king, as many times rose again to his feet, and died there, fighting the Thebans.
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