Hellenica

And first they gave each other greeting, then Pharnabazus held out his right hand and Agesilaus held out his to meet it. After this Pharnabazus began speaking,—for he was the elder:

Agesilaus and all you Lacedaemonians who are present, I became your friend and ally at the time when you were at war with the Athenians, and not only did I make your fleet strong by providing money, but on the land I myself fought on horseback with you and drove your enemies into the sea.[*](Cp. I. i. 6, 24, 25, etc.) And you cannot accuse me, as you accused Tissaphernes,[*](395 B.C.) of any double-dealing toward you at any time, either in deed or word.

Such a friend I proved myself, and now I am brought to such a pass by you that I have not so much as a meal in my own land unless, like the beasts, I pick up a bit of what you may leave. And the beautiful dwellings and parks, full of trees and wild animals, which my father left me, in which I took delight,—all these parks I see cut down, all these dwellings burned to the ground. If it is I that do not understand either what is righteous or what is just, do you teach me how these are the deeds of men who know how to repay favours.

Thus he spoke. And all the thirty Spartiatae were filled with shame before him and fell silent; but Agesilaus at length said: I think you know, Pharnabazus, that in the Greek states, also, men become guest-friends of one another. But these men, when their states come to war, fight with their fatherlands even against their former friends, and, if it so chance, sometimes even kill one another. And so we to-day, being at war with your king, are constrained to regard all that is his as hostile; as for yourself, however, we should prize it above everything to become friends of yours.

And if it were an exchange that you had to make, from the King as master to us as masters, I for my part should not advise you to make the exchange; but in fact it is within your power by joining with us to live in the enjoyment of your possessions without doing homage to anyone or having any master. And being free is worth, in my opinion, as much as all manner of possessions.

Yet it is not this that we urge upon you, to be free and poor, but rather by employing us as allies to increase, not[*](395 B.C.) the King’s empire, but your own, subduing those who are now your fellow-slaves so that they shall be your subjects. And if, being free, you should at the same time become rich, what would you lack of being altogether happy?

Shall I, then, said Pharnabazus, tell you frankly just what I shall do? It surely becomes you to do so. Well, then, said he, if the King sends another as general and makes me his subordinate, I shall choose to be your friend and ally; but if he assigns the command to me,—so strong, it seems, is the power of ambition—you may be well assured that I shall war upon you to the best of my ability.

Upon hearing these words Agesilaus grasped his hand and said: O that you, noble sir, a man of such a spirit, may come to be our friend. But at least, he said, be assured of one thing, that now I am going away from your land as speedily as I can, and in the future, even if war continues, we shall withhold our hands from you and yours so long as we can turn our attack against another.

With these words he broke up the meeting. And Pharnabazus mounted his horse and rode away, but his son by Parapita, who was still in the bloom of youth, remaining behind, ran up to Agesilaus and said to him: Agesilaus, I make you my guest-friend.And I accept your friendship.Remember, then, he said. And immediately he gave his javelin—it was a beautiful one—to Agesilaus. And he, accepting it, took off and gave to the boy in return a splendid trapping which Idaeus, his secretary, had round his horse’s neck. Then the boy leaped upon his horse and followed after his father.

And afterwards, when his brother had deprived the[*](395 B.C.) son of Parapita of his domain during the absence of Pharnabazus, and had made him an exile, Agesilaus not only cared for him in every way, but in particular, since he had become enamoured of the son of Eualces an Athenian, made every effort for his sake to have Eualces’ son, inasmuch as he was taller than any of the other boys, admitted to the stadium race at Olympia.[*](The stadium, or two hundred yards’ dash, was a race for men and Eualces’ son was too young to be eligible, but his unusual height told in his favour.)

So at that time Agesilaus immediately marched off out of the territory of Pharnabazus, just as he had told him he would; besides, spring was now[*](394 B.C.) almost at hand. And upon arriving in the plain of Thebe he encamped near the shrine of Artemis of Astyra, and there gathered together from all quarters a very great army in addition to that which he had. For he was preparing to march as far as he could into the interior, thinking that he would detach from the King all the nations which he could put in his rear.

Agesilaus, then, was occupied with these things. But the Lacedaemonians at home, when they found out definitely that the money[*](Cp. III. v. l.) had come to Greece, and that the largest states had united for war against them, believed that their state was in danger, and thought that it was necessary to undertake a campaign.

And while themselves making preparations for this, they also immediately sent Epicydidas to fetch Agesilaus. And when Epicydidas arrived in Asia, he told Agesilaus the general condition of affairs, and that the state bade him come as speedily as possible to the aid of his fatherland.

Now when Agesilaus heard this, although he was disturbed, considering what honours and what hopes he was deprived of, nevertheless, calling[*](394 B.C.) together the allies, he made known to them what the state commanded, and said that it was necessary to go to the aid of the fatherland. But if those matters turn out successfully, be well assured, my allies, he said, that I shall not forget you, but shall return again to accomplish the things which you desire.

Upon hearing this many burst into tears, but they all voted to go with Agesilaus to the aid of Lacedaemon, resolved, if matters there should turn out successfully, to bring him back again with them to Asia.

Accordingly they made preparations to follow with him. As for Agesilaus, he left behind him in Asia Euxenus as governor, and with him a garrison of not less than four thousand men, so that he could keep the cities safe; and seeing that most of his own soldiers were more desirous of remaining than of undertaking a campaign against Greeks, in the desire to lead with him the best men and as many as possible he offered prizes to the cities, for the one which should send the best force, and to the captains of the mercenaries, for the one who should join the expedition with the best equipped company of hoplites, of bowmen, and of peltasts. He likewise announced to the commanders of cavalry that he would also give a prize of victory to the one who should furnish the best mounted and best equipped battalion.

And he said that he would make the decision in the Chersonese, when they had crossed from Asia to Europe, his purpose being to let them understand thoroughly that they must select their troops with care.

As for the prizes, most of them were beautifully wrought arms, both for hoplites and for horsemen; there were also wreaths of gold, and the prizes all told cost not less than four talents. As a[*](394 B.C.) result, however, of the expending of this sum, arms worth a vast sum of money were provided for the army.

And when he had crossed the Hellespont, Menascus, Herippidas, and Orsippus were appointed as judges from the side of the Lacedaemonians, and from that of the allies one from each city. Then Agesilaus, after he had made the decision, marched on with his army by the same route which the Persian king[*](Xerxes.) followed when he made his expedition against Greece.