Hellenica

And when, after the sacrifices at the frontier had proved favourable, he made no delay but proceeded on the march, many embassies met him and offered him money not to invade the country of Phlius. He replied, however, that he was not taking the field to do wrong, but to aid those who were suffering wrong.

Finally they said that they would do anything whatsoever, and begged him not to invade. He answered again that he could not trust to words, for they had proved false to their word in the previous case, but he said there was need of some deed that one could trust. And when he was asked what manner of deed this would be, he replied again: The same thing, said he, that you did before,[*](cp. IV. iv. 15.) and in doing which you suffered no wrong whatever at our hands. By this he meant giving over their Acropolis.

As they refused to do this, he invaded their land and quickly built a wall of circumvallation around the city and besieged them. And when many Lacedaemonians said that merely for the sake of a few individuals they were making themselves hated by a state of more than five thousand men — for the Phliasians held their assemblies in plain sight of the people outside the city just for the purpose of making the fact of their numbers evident — Agesilaus devised a scheme to meet this[*](381 B.C.) situation.

Whenever any Phliasians came out of the city either from friendship or kinship with the exiles, he instructed the latter to form common messes of their own with such of the new-comers as were ready to undertake the army training, and to supply money enough for provisions; he also urged them to provide arms for all these people and not to hesitate to borrow money for this purpose. The exiles accordingly carried out his injunctions, and showed as a result more than a thousand men in splendid condition of body, well disciplined, and extremely well armed; so that the Lacedaemonians finally said that they had need of such fellow-soldiers.

Agesilaus, then, was occupied with these things.[*](380 B.C.) As for Agesipolis, he advanced straight from Macedonia and halted near the city of the Olynthians. And when no one ventured to come out against him, he then laid waste whatever part of the Olynthian country was left unravaged, and proceeding into the territory of their allied cities, destroyed the corn; but Torone he attacked and captured by storm.

While he was engaged in these operations, at midsummer a burning fever seized him. And since he had previously seen the sanctuary of Dionysus at Aphytis, a longing took possession of him at this time for its shady resting-places and its clear, cool waters. He was therefore carried thither, still living, but, nevertheless, on the seventh day from the time when he fell sick, he came to his end outside the sanctuary. And he was placed in honey and carried home, and received the royal burial.

When Agesilaus heard of this, he did not, as one might have expected, rejoice over it, as over the death of an adversary, but he wept, and mourned[*](380 B.C.) the loss of his companionship; for the kings of course lodge together when they are at home. And Agesipolis was a man well fitted to converse with Agesilaus about youthful days, hunting exploits, horses, and love affairs; besides this he also treated Agesilaus with deference in their association together in their common quarters, as one would naturally treat an elder. In the place, then, of Agesipolis the Lacedaemonians sent out Polybiades to Olynthus as governor.