Agesilaus

Indeed he made the whole city in which he was quartered a sight to see. For the market was full of arms and horses of all sorts on sale, and the coppersmiths, carpenters, workers in iron, cobblers, and painters were all busy making weapons of war, so that you might have thought that the city was really a war factory.

And an inspiring sight it would have been to watch Agesilaus and all his soldiers behind him returning garlanded from the gymnasium and dedicating their garlands to Artemis. For where men reverence the gods, train themselves in warfare and practise obedience, there you surely find high hopes abounding.

Moreover, believing that contempt for the enemy would kindle the fighting spirit, he gave instructions to his heralds that the barbarians captured in the raids should be exposed for sale naked. So when his soldiers saw them white because they never stripped, and fat and lazy through constant riding in carriages, they believed that the war would be exactly like fighting with women. He also gave notice to the troops that he would immediately lead them by the shortest route to the most fertile parts of the country, so that he might at once find them preparing themselves in body and mind for the coming struggle.

Tissaphernes, however, believed that in saying this he meant to deceive him again, and that now he would really invade Caria. Accordingly he sent his infantry across into Caria as before, and stationed his cavalry in the plain of the Maeander. But Agesilaus did not play false: in accordance with his notice he marched straight to the neighbourhood of Sardis; and for three days his route lay through a country bare of enemies, so that he supplied his army with abundance of provisions.

On the fourth day the enemy’s cavalry came up. Their leader told the officer in command of the baggage-train to cross the river Pactolus and encamp. The cavalry, meantime, catching sight of the Greek camp-followers plundering in scattered bands, killed a large number of them. On noticing this, Agesilaus ordered his cavalry to go to their help. The Persians in turn, seeing the supports coming, gathered in a mass and confronted them with the full strength of their horse.

Then Agesilaus, realising that the enemy’s infantry was not yet up, while he had all his resources on the spot, thought the moment was come to join battle if he could. Therefore, after offering sacrifice, he led forward the battle line immediately against the opposing cavalry, the heavy infantrymen of ten years service having orders to run to close quarters with the enemy, while the targeteers were to lead the advance at the double. He also sent word to the cavalry to attack in the knowledge that he himself was following with the whole army.

The charge of the cavalry was met by the flower of the Persians: but as soon as the full weight of the attack fell on them, they swayed, and some were cut down immediately in the river, while the rest fled. The Greeks followed up their success and captured their camp. The targeteers naturally fell to pillaging; but Agesilaus drew the lines of his camp round so as to enclose the property of all, friends and foes alike.[*](i.e. he intrenched.)

On hearing that there was confusion among the enemy, because everyone put the blame for what had happened on his neighbour, he advanced forthwith on Sardis. There he began burning and pillaging the suburbs, and meantime issued a proclamation calling on those who wanted freedom to join his standard, and challenging any who claimed a right to Asia to seek a decision between themselves and the liberators by an appeal to arms.

As no one came out to oppose him, he prosecuted the campaign henceforward in complete confidence: he beheld the Greeks, compelled erstwhile to cringe, now honoured by their oppressors; caused those who arrogantly claimed for themselves the honours paid to the gods to shrink even from looking the Greeks in the face; rendered the country of his friends inviolate, and stripped the enemy’s country so thoroughly that in two years he consecrated to the god at Delphi more than two hundred talents as tithe.

But the Persian king, believing that Tissaphernes was responsible for the bad turn in his affairs, sent down Tithraustes and beheaded Tissaphernes. After this the outlook became still more hopeless for the barbarians, while Agesilaus received large accessions of strength. For all the nations of the empire sent embassies seeking his friendship, and the desire for freedom caused many to revolt to him, so that not Greeks alone, but many barbarians also now acknowledged the leadership of Agesilaus.

His conduct at this juncture also merits unstinted admiration. Though ruler of countless cities on the mainland, and master of islands — for the state had now added the fleet to his command — becoming daily more famous and more powerful; placed in a position to make what use he would of his many opportunities; and designing and expecting to crown his achievements by dissolving the empire that had attacked Greece in the past: he suppressed all thought of these things, and as soon as he received a request from the home government to come to the aid of his fatherland, he obeyed the call of the state, just as though he were standing in the Ephor’s palace[*](In the market at Sparta. The Five Ephors sat there daily, and it was in their power to censure the kings.) alone before the Five, thus showing clearly that he would not take the whole earth in exchange for his fatherland, nor new-found friends for old, and that he scorned to choose base and secure gains rather than that which was right and honourable, even though it was dangerous.