Agesilaus II

Agesilaus II
/euh jes'euh lay"euhs/
444?-c360 B.C., king of Sparta c400-c360.

* * *

born с 444 BC
died 360, Cyrene, Cyrenaica

King of Sparta (399–360) and commander of its army during most of the era of Spartan supremacy (404–371).

A member of the Eurypontid family, he took the throne with Lysander's help while Sparta was fighting Persia. He defeated the allied Thebes, Athens, Argos, and Corinth in the Corinthian War (395–387), despite losing some ground in central Greece and a battle with the Persian fleet in 394. He dissolved the Boeotian League, but battles against the Boeotian Confederacy (371) and Thebes (370, 361) ended Sparta's ascendancy. He died en route to Sparta from a mercenary engagement in Egypt.

* * *

▪ king of Sparta

born c. 444 BC
died 360, Cyrene, Cyrenaica [now in Libya]

      king of Sparta from 399 to 360 who commanded the Spartan army throughout most of the period of Spartan supremacy (404–371) in Greece. An excellent military tactician, he is usually cited as the embodiment of the aggressive Spartan spirit that sought to further Spartan interests at the expense of Hellenic unity.

      Agesilaus was born into the Eurypontid house (one of the two royal families of Sparta) and was the son of King Archidamus II. He succeeded Agis II with aid from Lysander. At the time that he assumed power, Sparta, which had defeated Athens in 404, was at war with Persia in Asia Minor. Sailing to Ephesus in 396, Agesilaus made a three months' truce with the Persians; during this interim he managed to shake off Lysander's control over him. Agesilaus then raided Phrygia in 396 and 394 and Lydia in 395. Meanwhile, a coalition of Thebes, Athens, Argos, and Corinth engaged Sparta in the Corinthian War (395–387). Agesilaus was recalled to fight in Greece (394), but he had been unable to prevent the formation of the huge Persian fleet that, after his departure, overwhelmingly defeated the Spartan navy at Cnidus. The Spartan king scored a minor victory over the coalition in 394 and fought near Corinth in 391–390 and in Acarnania in 389.

      The Peace of Antalcidas (387), which ended the war, included a clause guaranteeing the Greek cities their independence. Agesilaus used this clause as an excuse to force the dissolution of Thebes's (Thebes) Boeotian League. In two sieges (378 and 377) he reduced Thebes to near starvation. By refusing to allow the Thebans, at the peace conference of 371, to sign the treaty on behalf of all Boeotia, he precipitated the war with Thebes that began with the severe defeat of the other Spartan king, Cleombrotus, at the Battle of Leuctra (Leuctra, Battle of) in 371. This disaster signified the end of Spartan ascendancy and the beginning of a decade of Theban supremacy in Greece. Sparta was put on the defensive. Agesilaus twice rescued the city from attacks by the Theban commander Epaminondas but took no part in the subsequent Battle of Mantineia.

      In 361 Agesilaus was abroad serving Tachos (also known as Zedhor), king of Egypt, but he quarreled with the king and joined a revolt against him. Agesilaus died at age 84 on his way home to Greece.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Agesilaus II — Agesilaus II, or Agesilaos II (Greek polytonic|Ἀγησίλαος) (444 BC ndash; 360 BC) was a king of Sparta, of the Eurypontid dynasty, ruling from approximately 400 BC to 360 BC, during most of which time he was, in Plutarch s words, as good as… …   Wikipedia

  • Agesilaus — Agesilaus, Sohn des Doryssus, soll um 900 über Sparta geherrscht haben, Zeitgenosse des Lykurgus. 2. Sohn des Archidamus, König von Sparta, 397, vermochte die Spartaner, ihn mit eine Heere nach Asien gegen den Perserkönig zu schicken. Er focht… …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Agesilaus — (Greek polytonic|Ἀγησίλαος) was a Greek historian who wrote a work on the early history of Italy,Citation | last = Mason | first = Charles Peter | author link = | contribution = Agesilaus (3) | editor last = Smith | editor first = William | title …   Wikipedia

  • Agesilaus I — (Gr. polytonic|Ἀγησίλαος), son of Doryssus, was the sixth king of the Agiad line at Sparta, excluding Aristodemus.Citation | last = Clough | first = Arthur Hugh | author link = Arthur Hugh Clough | contribution = Agesilaus I | editor last = Smith …   Wikipedia

  • Agesilaus II. — Agesilāus II., König von Sparta, geb. um 442 v. Chr., 398 König, kämpfte seit 396 glücklich gegen die Perser in Kleinasien, siegte 394 bei Koronea über die verbündeten Athener, Korinther, Thebaner und Argiver, stellte nach dem Frieden des… …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Agesilaus (II) — [ə jes΄i lā′əs] 442? 360? B.C.; king of Sparta during the decline of its supremacy in ancient Greece * * * …   Universalium

  • AGESILAUS I — AGESILAUS I. Lacedaemon. Heraclides, fil. Doryagi, seu Doryssis, pater Archelai, Herodot. Sub eo leges a Lycurgo latae, Pausan. l. 3. Euseb. Chron. Fuit ab Eurysthene VI. tutelam Charilli Polydecte geniti ex altera stirpe eodem Lycurgô gerente.… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • AGESILAUS II — AGESILAUS II. Lacedaemoniorum Rex, Archidami III. fil. post mortem Agidis fratris sui Rex constitutus, cum Artaxerxe Mnemone bellum gessit, Phrygiam diripuit, quasdam civitates cepit, Tislaphernis exercitum, qui ei belluum indixerat, ad Pactolum… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Agesilaus (II) — [ə jes΄i lā′əs] 442? 360? B.C.; king of Sparta during the decline of its supremacy in ancient Greece …   English World dictionary

  • Agesilaus (II) — [ə jes΄i lā′əs] 442? 360? B.C.; king of Sparta during the decline of its supremacy in ancient Greece …   English World dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”