Hellenica

So that when Tiribazus ordered those to be present who desired to give ear to the peace which the King had sent down, all speedily presented themselves. And when they had come together, Tiribazus showed them the King’s seal and then read the writing. It ran as follows:

King Artaxerxes thinks it just that the cities in Asia should belong to him, as well as Clazomenae and Cyprus among the islands, and that the other Greek cities, both small and great, should be left independent, except Lemnos, Imbros, and Scyros; and these should belong, as of old, to the Athenians. But whichever of the two parties does not accept this peace, upon them I will make war, in company with those who desire this arrangement, both by land and by sea, with ships and with money.

Upon hearing these words the ambassadors from the various states reported them to their own several states. And all the others swore that they would[*](387 B.C.) steadfastly observe these provisions, but the Thebans claimed the right to take the oath in the name of all the Boeotians. Agesilaus, however, refused to accept their oaths unless they swore, just as the King’s writing directed, that every city, whether small or great, should be independent. But the ambassadors of the Thebans said that these were not the instructions which had been given them. Go then, said Agesilaus, and ask your people; and report to them this also, that if they do not so act, they will be shut out from the treaty. The Thebans ambassadors accordingly departed.

Agesilaus, however, on account of his hatred for the Thebans, did not delay, but after winning over the ephors proceeded at once to perform his sacrifices. And when the offering at the frontier proved favourable, upon his arrival at Tegea he sent horsemen hither and thither among the Perioeci to hasten their coming, and likewise sent mustering officers[*]( Lacedaemonian officers who assembled and commanded the contingents of the allies.) to the various cities of the allies. But before he had set out from Tegea, the Thebans arrived with word that they would leave the cities independent. And so the Lacedaemonians returned home and the Thebans were forced to accede to the treaty, allowing the Boeotian cities to be independent.

But the Corinthians, on the other hand, would not dismiss the garrison maintained in their city by the Argives. Agesilaus, however, made proclamation to these peoples also, saying to the Corinthians that if they did not dismiss the Argives, and to the Argives that if they did not depart from Corinth, he would make war upon them. And when, as a result of the fear which seized both peoples, the Argives departed and the state of the Corinthians regained its self-government,[*](387 B.C.) the authors of the massacre[*](cp. IV. iv. 2.) and those who shared the responsibility for the deed withdrew of their own accord from Corinth, while the rest of the citizens willingly received back the former exiles.

When these things had been accomplished and the states had sworn that they would abide by the treaty which the King had proposed, thereupon the armies were disbanded and the naval armaments were likewise disbanded. Thus it was that this peace was established between the Lacedaemonians and Athenians and their allies, the first since the outbreak of the war which followed the destruction of the walls of Athens.

Now while in the war the Lacedaemonians were no more than holding their own with their antagonists, yet as a result of the so-called Peace of Antalcidas they gained a far more distinguished position. For by having become champions of the treaty proposed by the King and by establishing the independence of the cities they gained an additional ally in Corinth, made the Boeotian cities independent of the Thebans, a thing which they had long desired, and also put a stop to the doings of the Argives in appropriating Corinth as their own, by threatening to call out the ban against them if they did not depart from Corinth.