Agesilaus

Agesilaüs was incensed at this lack of confidence, and full of indignation, but since he was ashamed to change sides again and finally go back home without accomplishing any thing, he accompanied Nectanabis and entered the city with him.

But when the enemy came up and began to surround the city with a trench, then the Egyptian changed his mind, grew fearful of the siege, and wished to give battle, for which the Greeks also were very eager, since there were no provisions in the place. Agesilaüs, however, would not permit it, but opposed it, and was therefore maligned by the Egyptians even more bitterly than before, and called a betrayer of the king. But he bore their calumnies more patiently now, and sought to find the fitting moment for his stratagem.

This was as follows. The enemy were digging a deep trench outside around the city, in order to shut its occupants up completely. Accordingly, when the trench had been carried almost around the city, and its ends were near one another, after waiting for evening to come and ordering the Greeks to arm themselves, Agesilaüs went to the Egyptian and said: Now is the time, young man, for us to save ourselves, and I would not speak of it until it came, for fear of vitiating it.