ἐκ τούτου τῷ μὲν Ἄγιδι τὸ πλῆθος ἐπηκολούθησεν, οἱ δὲ πλούσιοι τόν τε Λεωνίδαν παρεκάλουν μὴ σφᾶς προέσθαι, καὶ τοὺς γέροντας, οἷς τὸ κράτος ἦν ἐν τῷ προβουλεύειν, δεόμενοι καὶ πείθοντες ἴσχυσαν, ὅσον ἑνὶ πλείονας γενέσθαι τοὺς ἀποψηφισαμένους τὴν ῥήτραν.
After this, the common people took sides with Agis, but the men of wealth entreated Leonidas not to abandon them. And by prayers and arguments with the senators, whose power lay in their privilege of presenting all measures to the people, they so far prevailed that by a single vote the proposed rhetra was rejected.
ὁ δὲ Λύσανδρος ἔτι τὴν ἀρχὴν ἔχων ὥρμησε τὸν Λεωνίδαν διώκειν κατὰ δή τινα νόμον παλαιόν, ὃς οὐκ ἐᾷ τὸν Ἡρακλείδην ἐκ γυναικὸς ἀλλοδαπῆς τεκνοῦσθαι, τὸν δὲ ἀπελθόντα τῆς Σπάρτης ἐπὶ μετοικισμῷ πρὸς ἑτέρους ἀποθνῄσκειν κελεύει, ταῦτα κατὰ τοῦ Λεωνίδᾳ λέγειν ἑτέρους διδάξας, αὐτὸς παρεφύλαττε μετὰ τῶν συναρχόντων τὸ σημεῖον.
Lysander, however, who was still ephor, set on foot an indictment of Leonidas by virtue of an ancient law which forbade any descendant of Heracles to beget children by a foreign woman, and ordained that anyone who left Sparta to settle among foreigners should be put to death. After instructing others to spread these charges against Leonidas, he himself, with his colleagues, proceeded to observe the traditional sign from heaven.
ἔστι δὲ τοιόνδε· διʼ ἐτῶν ἐννέα λαβόντες οἱ ἔφοροι νύκτα καθαρὰν καὶ ἀσέληνον, σιωπῇ καθέζονται πρὸς οὐρανὸν ἀποβλέποντες. ἐὰν οὖν ἐκ μέρους τινὸς εἰς ἕτερον μέρος ἀστὴρ διᾴξῃ, κρίνουσι τοὺς βασιλεῖς ὡς περὶ τὸ θεῖον ἐξαμαρτάνοντας, καὶ καταπαύουσι τῆς ἀρχῆς, μέχρι ἂν ἐκ Δελφῶν ἢ Ὀλυμπίας χρησμὸς ἔλθῃ τοῖς ἡλωκόσι τῶν βασιλέων βοηθῶν.
This is observed as follows. Every ninth year the ephors select a clear and moonless night, and in silent session watch the face of the heavens. If, then, a star shoots across the sky, they decide that their kings have transgressed in their dealings with the gods, and suspend them from their office, until an oracle from Delphi or Olympia comes to the succour of the kings thus found guilty.
τοῦτο δὴ τὸ σημεῖον αὐτῷ γεγονέναι λέγων ὁ Λύσανδρος κρίσιν τῷ Λεωνίδᾳ προὔθηκε, καὶ μάρτυρας παρεῖχεν ὡς ἐκ γυναικὸς Ἀσιανῆς, ἣν τῶν Σελεύκου τινὸς ὑπάρχων αὐτῷ συνοικίσαντος ἔσχε, τεκνώσαιτο δύο παιδία, δυσχεραινόμενος δὲ καὶ μισούμενος ὑπὸ τῆς γυναικὸς ἐπανέλθοι παρὰ γνώμην οἴκαδε, καὶ διαδοχῆς ἔρημον ἀνέλοιτο τὸ βασίλειον.
This sign Lysander now declared had been given him, and indicted Leonidas, and produced witnesses showing that he was the father of two children by a woman of Asia who had been given him to wife by one of the lieutenants of Seleucus; and that owing to the woman’s dislike and hatred of him he had come back home against his own wishes, where he had assumed the royal dignity, to which there was then no direct successor. Besides bringing this indictment, Lysander tried to persuade Cleombrotus to lay claim to the royal dignity.
ἅμα δὲ τῇ δίκῃ Κλεόμβροτον ἔπειθε τῆς βασιλείας ἀντιποιεῖσθαι, γαμβρὸν ὄντα τοῦ Λεωνίδᾳ, γένους δὲ τοῦ βασιλικοῦ, φοβηθεὶς οὖν ὁ Λεωνίδας ἱκέτης γίνεται τῆς Χαλκιοίκου, καὶ συνικέτευεν ἡ θυγάτηρ τῷ πατρί, τὸν Κλεόμβροτον ἀπολιποῦσα. καλουμένου δὲ πρὸς τὴν δίκην αὐτοῦ καὶ μὴ καταβαίνοντος, ἐκεῖνον ἀποψηφισάμενοι τὴν βασιλείαν τῷ Κλεομβρότῳ παρέδωκαν.
Cleombrotus was a son-in-law of Leonidas, and one of the royal line. Leonidas, accordingly, took fright, and fled as a suppliant to the temple of Athena of the Brazen House. His daughter also forsook Cleombrotus and became a suppliant with her father. When Leonidas was summoned to his trial and did not appear, he was deposed, and Cleombrotus was made king in his place.
ἐν τούτῳ δὲ τῆς ἀρχῆς ὁ Λύσανδρος ἀπηλλάγη τὸν χρόνου διελθόντος. οἱ δὲ κατασταθέντες ἔφοροι τὸν μὲν Λεωνίδαν ἀνέστησαν ἱκετεύοντα, τῷ δὲ Λυσάνδρῳ καὶ τῷ Μανδροκλείδᾳ δίκην ἐπῆγον ὡς παρὰ τὸν νόμον χρεῶν ἀποκοπὰς καὶ γῆν ἀναδάσασθαι ψηφισαμένοις.
At this point, Lysander’s term expired and he went out of office. The new board of ephors encouraged Leonidas to leave his suppliant’s asylum, and brought an indictment against Lysander and Mandrocleidas for violating the law in proposing an abolition of debts and a distribution of land.
κινδυνεύοντες οὖν ἐκεῖνοι πείθουσι τοὺς βασιλεῖς ὁμοῦ γενομένους χαίρειν ἐᾶν τὰ τῶν ἐφόρων βουλεύματα· τοῦτο γὰρ τὸ ἀρχεῖον ἰσχύειν ἐκ διαφορᾶς τῶν βασιλέων, τῷ τὰ βελτίονα λέγοντι προστιθέμενον τὴν ψῆφον, ὅταν ἅτερος ἐρίζῃ πρὸς τὸ συμφέρον· ἀμφοῖν δὲ ταὐτὰ βουλευομένων ἄλυτον εἶναι τὴν ἐξουσίαν, καὶ παρανόμως μαχεῖσθαι πρὸς τοὺς βασιλεῖς, ὧν μαχομένων διαιτᾶν καὶ βραβεύειν αὐτοῖς εἶναι προσῆκον, οὐχὶ πολυπραγμονεῖν ὁμοφρονούντων.
Thus put in legal peril, Lysander and Mandrocleidas persuaded the two kings to act together and disregard the edicts of the ephors; for that board of magistrates, they said, derived its power from dissension between the two kings, by giving their vote to the king who offered the better advice, whenever the other was at variance with the public good; but when the two kings were in accord, their power was indissoluble, and it would be unlawful for the ephors to contend against them, although when the kings were in contention with one another it was the privilege of the ephors to act as arbiters between them, but not to interfere when they were of one mind.
οὕτω δὴ πεισθέντες ἀμφότεροι καὶ μετὰ τῶν φίλων εἷς ἀγορὰν καταβάντες ἀνέστησαν μὲν ἐκ τῶν δίφρων τοὺς ἐφόρους, ἄλλους δʼ ἀντʼ αὐτῶν ἀπέδειξαν, ὧν εἷς ἦν Ἀγησίλαος, ὁπλίσαντες δὲ τῶν νέων πολλοὺς καὶ λύσαντες τοὺς δεδεμένους ἐγένοντο φοβεροὶ τοῖς ὑπεναντίοις ὡς πολλοὺς ἀποκτενοῦντες.
Persuaded by these arguments, both the kings went with their friends into the market place, removed the ephors from their seats, and appointed others in their stead, one of whom was Agesilaüs. Then they armed a large body of young men and set free all who were in prison, thus striking fear into their opponents, who thought they would put many of them to death. No one, however, lost his life at their hands;
ἀπέθανε δὲ οὐδεὶς ὑπʼ αὐτῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ Λεωνίδαν εἷς Τεγέαν ὑπεξιόντα βουληθέντος διαφθεῖραι τοῦ Ἀγησιλάου, καὶ πέμψαντος ἐπʼ αὐτὸν εἷς τὴν ὁδὸν ἄνδρας, πυθόμενος ὁ Ἆγις ἑτέρους ἀπέστειλε πιστούς, οἳ τὸν Λεωνίδαν περισχόντες ἀσφαλῶς εἷς Τεγέαν κατέστησαν.
on the contrary, when Agis learned that Agesilaüs had plotted to make away with Leonidas as he was trying to withdraw to Tegea, and had sent men to assault him on the road, he sent out another company of trusted followers who took Leonidas under their protection and brought him safely to Tegea.
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