Agesilaus

Throughout the time that he remained in his command, another achievement of his showed beyond question how admirable was his skill in kingcraft. Having found all the cities that he had gone out to govern rent by faction in consequence of the political disturbances that followed on the collapse of the Athenian empire, he brought it about by the influence of his presence that the communities lived in unbroken harmony and prosperity without recourse to banishment or executions.

Therefore the Greeks in Asia mourned his departure as though they were bidding farewell not merely to a ruler, but to a father or a comrade. And at the end they showed that their affection was unfeigned. At any rate they went with him voluntarily to aid Sparta, knowing as they did that they must meet an enemy not inferior to themselves. This then was the end of his activities in Asia.

After crossing the Hellespont, he passed through the very same tribes as the Persian king with his mighty host; and the distance that had been traversed by the barbarian in a year was covered by Agesilaus in less than a month. For he had no intention of arriving too late to aid his fatherland.

When he had passed through Macedonia and reached Thessaly, the people of Larisa, Crannon, Scotussa and Pharsalus, who were allies of the Boeotians, all the Thessalians, in fact, except those who happened to be in exile at the time, followed at his heels and kept molesting him. For a time he led the army in a hollow square, with one half of the cavalry in front and the other half in the rear; but finding his progress hampered by Thessalian attacks on his rearguard, he sent round all the cavalry from the vanguard to the rear, except his own escort.

When the two forces faced one another in line of battle, the Thessalians, believing it inexpedient to engage heavy infantry with cavalry, wheeled round and slowly retired, their enemy following very cautiously. Agesilaus, noticing the errors into which both sides were falling, now sent round his own escort of stalwart horsemen, with orders to bid the others to charge at full speed, and to do the same themselves, and not to give the enemy a chance of rallying. As for the Thessalians, on seeing the unexpected charge they either did not rally at all, or were captured in the attempt to do so with their horses broadside to the enemy.

Polycharmus the Pharsalian, commander of the cavalry, did indeed turn, and fell fighting along with those about him. Hereupon ensued a wild flight, so that some of the enemy were killed and some were taken prisoners: at any rate they never halted until they reached Mt. Narthacium.

On that day Agesilaus set up a trophy between Pras and Narthacium, and here for the moment he paused, mightily pleased with his exploit, since he had defeated an enemy inordinately proud of his horsemanship with the cavalry that he had himself created. On the morrow he crossed the Achaean mountains in Phthia, and now his route led him through friendly country till he reached the borders of Boeotia.

Here he found arrayed against him the Thebans, Athenians, Argives, Corinthians, Aenianians, Euboeans, and both the Locrian tribes. Without a moment’s delay, in full view of the enemy, he drew up his army for battle. In addition to the army that he had brought with him he had a regiment and a half of Lacedaemonians, and of the local allies only the Phocians and Orchomenians.

Now I am not going to say that his forces were far inferior in numbers and in quality, and that nevertheless he accepted battle. That statement, I think, would but show a want of common sense in Agesilaus and my own folly in praising a leader who wantonly jeopardised interests of vital moment. On the contrary — and this is what I do admire him for — he brought into the field an army not a whit inferior to the enemy’s; he so armed it that it looked one solid mass of bronze and scarlet; he took care to render his men

capable of meeting all calls on their endurance; he filled their hearts with confidence that they were able to withstand any and every enemy; he inspired them all with an eager determination to out-do one another in valour; and lastly he filled all with anticipation that many good things would befall them, if only they proved good men. For he believed that men so prepared fight with all their might; nor in point of fact did he deceive himself.

I will describe the battle, for there has been none like it in our time. The two armies met in the plain of Coronea, Agesilaus advancing from the Cephisus, the Thebans and their allies from Helicon. Their eyes told them that the opposing lines of battle were exactly matched in strength, and the number of cavalry on both sides was about the same. Agesilaus was on the right wing of his army and had the Orchomenians on his extreme left. On the other side the Thebans themselves were on the right wing and the Argives held the left.