Hellenica

After this cavalry battle had[*](396 B.C.) taken place and Agesilaus on the next day was offering sacrifices with a view to an advance, the livers of the victims were found to be lacking a lobe. This sign having presented itself, he turned and marched to the sea. And perceiving that, unless he obtained an adequate cavalry force, he would not be able to campaign in the plains, he resolved that this must be provided, so that he might not have to carry on a skulking warfare. Accordingly he assigned the richest men of all the cities in that region to the duty of raising horses; and by proclaiming that whoever supplied a horse and arms and a competent man would not have to serve himself, he caused these arrangements to be carried out with all the expedition that was to be expected when men were eagerly looking for substitutes to die in their stead.

After this, when spring was just coming on, he[*](395 B.C.) gathered his whole army at Ephesus; and desiring to train the army, he offered prizes both to the heavy-armed divisions, for the division which should be in the best physical condition, and to the cavalry divisions, for the one which should show the best horsemanship; and he also offered prizes to peltasts and bowmen, for all who should prove themselves best in their respective duties. Thereupon one might have seen all the gymnasia full of men exercising, the hippodrome full of riders, and the javelin-men and bowmen practising.

In fact, he made the entire city, where he was staying, a sight worth seeing; for the market was full of all sorts of horses and weapons, offered for sale, and the copper-workers, carpenters, smiths, leather-cutters, and painters were all engaged in making martial weapons, so that one[*](395 B.C.) might have thought that the city was really a workshop of war.

And one would have been encouraged at another sight also—Agesilaus in the van, and after him the rest of the soldiers, returning garlanded from the gymnasia and dedicating their garlands to Artemis. For where men reverence the gods, train themselves in deeds of war, and practise obedience to authority, may we not reasonably suppose that such a place abounds in high hopes?

And again, believing that to feel contempt for one’s enemies infuses a certain courage for the fight, Agesilaus gave orders to his heralds that the barbarians who were captured by the Greek raiding parties should be exposed for sale naked. Thus the soldiers, seeing that these men were white-skinned because they never were without their clothing, and soft and unused to toil because they always rode in carriages, came to the conclusion that the war would be in no way different from having to fight with women.

Meanwhile the year had now ended since the time when Agesilaus had set sail from Greece, so that Lysander and the thirty Spartiatae sailed back home, and Herippidas with his thirty came as their successors. Of these, Agesilaus assigned Xenocles and one other to the command of the cavalry, Scythes to the command of the Helot hoplites, Herippidas to the Cyreans,[*](I.e. the Greek troops which had served under Cyrus, and now made part of Agesilaus’ army. Cp. III. i. 6, ii. 7.) and Mygdon to the troops from the allied cities, and he announced to them that he would immediately lead them by the shortest route to the best parts of the country, his object being to have them begin at once to prepare their bodies and spirits for the fray.

Tissaphernes, however,[*](395 B.C.) thought that he was saying this from a desire to deceive him again, and that this time he would really invade Caria, and accordingly he sent his infantry across into Caria, just as before, and stationed his cavalry in the plain of the Maeander. Agesilaus, however, did not belie his words, but, even as he had announced, marched straight to the neighbourhood of Sardis. For three days he proceeded through a country bare of enemies, and had provisions for the army in abundance, but on the fourth day the cavalry of the enemy came up.

And their commander told the leader of the baggage-train to cross the Pactolus river and encamp, while the horsemen themselves, getting sight of the camp-followers on the side of the Greeks, scattered for plunder, killed a large number of them. On perceiving this Agesilaus ordered his horsemen to go to their aid. And the Persians, in their turn, when they saw this movement, gathered together and formed an opposing line, with very many companies of their horsemen.

Then Agesilaus, aware that the infantry of the enemy was not yet at hand, while on his side none of the arms which had been made ready was missing, deemed it a fit time to join battle if he could. Therefore, after offering sacrifice, he at once led his phalanx against the opposing line of horsemen, ordering the first ten year-classes[*](Cp. II. iv. 32 and the note thereon.) of the hoplites to run to close quarters with the enemy, and bidding the peltasts lead the way at a double-quick. He also sent word to his cavalry to attack, in the assurance that he and the whole army were following them.

Now the Persians met the attack of the cavalry; but when the whole formidable array together was upon them, they gave way, and[*](395 B.C.) some of them were struck down at once in crossing the river, while the rest fled on. And the Greeks, pursuing them, captured their camp as well. Then the peltasts, as was natural, betook themselves to plundering; but Agesilaus enclosed all alike, friends[*](So that the peltasts might not appropriate to themselves booty which belonged to all in common.) as well as foes, within the circle of his camp. And not only was much other property captured, which fetched more than seventy talents, but it was at this time that the camels also were captured which Agesilaus brought back with him to Greece.

When this battle took place Tissaphernes chanced to be at Sardis, so that the Persians charged him with having betrayed them. Furthermore, the Persian King himself concluded that Tissaphernes was responsible for the bad turn his affairs were taking, and accordingly sent down Tithraustes and cut off his head. After he had done this, Tithraustes sent ambassadors to Agesilaus with this message: Agesilaus, the man who was responsible for the trouble in your eyes and ours has received his punishment; and the King deems it fitting that you should sail back home, and that the cities in Asia, retaining their independence, should render him the ancient tribute.

When Agesilaus replied that he could not do this without the sanction of the authorities at home, Tithraustes said, But at least, until you receive word from the city, go over into the territory of Pharnabazus, since it is I who have taken vengeance upon your enemy. Then, until I go there, said Agesilaus, give me provisions for the army. Tithraustes accordingly gave him thirty talents; and he took it and set out for Pharnabazus’ province of[*](395 B.C.) Phrygia.

And when he was in the plain which is above Cyme, orders came to him from the authorities at home to exercise command as he thought best over the fleet also, and to appoint as admiral whomsoever he wished. Now the Lacedaemonians did this because they reasoned that if the same man were in command of both army and fleet, the army would be much stronger because the strength of both would be united, and the fleet likewise because the army would appear wherever it was needed.

But when Agesilaus heard this, in the first place he sent orders to the cities in the islands and on the coast to build triremes in such numbers as the several cities desired. And the result was new triremes to the number of one hundred and twenty, consisting of those which the cities offered and those which private individuals built out of desire to please Agesilaus.

Then he appointed as admiral Peisander, his wife’s brother, a man who was ambitious and of a stout spirit, but rather inexperienced in making such provisions as were needful. So Peisander departed and busied himself with naval matters; and Agesilaus continued the march to Phrygia on which he had set out.

But now Tithraustes, who thought he had found out that Agesilaus despised the power of the King and did not in the least intend to depart from Asia, but rather had great hopes that he would overcome the King, being perplexed to know how to deal with the situation, sent Timocrates the Rhodian to Greece, giving him gold to the value of fifty talents of silver, and bade him undertake, on receipt of the surest pledges, to give this money to the leaders in the various states on condition that they[*](395 B.C.) should make war upon the Lacedaemonians. So Timocrates went and gave his money, at Thebes to Androcleidas, Ismenias, and Galaxidorus; at Corinth to Timolaus and Polyanthes; and at Argos to Cylon and his followers.

And the Athenians, even though they did not receive a share of this gold, were nevertheless eager for the war, thinking that theirs was the right to rule. Then those who had taken the money set to work in their own states to defame the Lacedaemonians; and when they had brought their people to a feeling of hatred toward them, they undertook, further, to unite the largest states with one another.

But the leading men in Thebes, being aware that unless someone began war the Lacedaemonians would not break the peace with their allies, persuaded the Opuntian Locrians to levy money from the territory which was in dispute between the Phocians and themselves, for they thought that if this was done the Phocians would invade Locris. And they were not disappointed, for the Phocians did at once invade Locris and seize property many times as valuable.

Then Androcleidas and his followers speedily persuaded the Thebans to aid the Locrians, on the ground that the Phocians had invaded, not the disputed territory, but Locris, which was admitted to be a friendly and allied country. And when the Thebans made a counter-invasion into Phocis and laid waste the land, the Phocians straightway sent ambassadors to Lacedaemon and asked the Lacedaemonians to aid them, setting forth that they had not begun war, but had gone against the Locrians in self-defence.

Now the Lacedaemonians were[*](395 B.C.) glad to seize a pretext for undertaking a campaign against the Thebans, for they had long been angry with them both on account of their claiming Apollo’s tenth[*](i.e., of the spoils of the Peloponnesian War.) at Decelea and their refusing to follow them against Piraeus.[*](Cp. II. iv. 30.) Furthermore, they charged them with persuading the Corinthians likewise not to join in that campaign. Again, they recalled that they had refused to permit Agesilaus to sacrifice at Aulis and had cast from the altar the victims already offered, and that they also would not join Agesilaus for the campaign in Asia. They also reasoned that it was a favourable time to lead forth an army against the Thebans and put a stop to their insolent behaviour toward them; for matters in Asia were in an excellent condition for them, Agesilaus being victorious, and in Greece there was no other war to hinder them.