Agis II and III of SpartaDANIEL R. STEWART

Agis II (r. ca. 427–400 BCE) and Agis III

(r. 338–ca. 330) were kings of Sparta from the

Eurypontid line (see SPARTAN KINGS). Agis II was

the son of Archidamos II (see ARCHIDAMOS)

by his first wife and served as the junior king

until Pleistoanax’s death in 409. He gained

distinction as the victor of the battle of

MANTINEA in 418 (Thuc. 5.64–75), restoring

Spartan prestige throughout Greece. This was

followed with success against ARGOS at HYSIAI in

417/16. In 413, after hosting the Athenian

ALKIBIADES and amid growing scandal, he took

command of Peloponnesian forces and occu-

pied a permanent base within Attica at Decelea

(Thuc. 7.19–20, 27). However, he played less

of a direct role in the culmination of the

war, providing support for Pausanias II

(see PAUSANIAS II, SPARTAN KING) and LYSANDER in

the siege of Athens in 404. After the victory he

tried unsuccessfully to condemn the Agiad

king Pausanias II (Paus. 3.5.2), due to the

latter’s role in restoring democracy after the

debacle of the thirty tyrants (see THIRTY TYRANTS,

ATATHENS) (Xen. Hell. 2.4.43). From 402 to 400

he was entrusted with campaigning against

ELIS, which had seceded from the PELOPONNE-

SIAN LEAGUE in 420. He died from illness in 400

(Xen. Hell. 3.3.1; cf. Plut. Lys. 22.6), sparking

a crisis of succession that brought AGESILAOS to

the throne.

Agis III came to the throne after Sparta’s

humiliation at the hands of PHILIP II OF MACEDON

(see CHAERONEA, BATTLE OF). He continued the

Spartan preoccupation of rebuilding the city’s

Peloponnesian hegemony, especially after

Philip’s death (Arr. 1.1.2). Negotiations with

Persia led to intervention in CRETE in 333,

where he gathered a force of 8,000 Greek

mercenary fugitives from ISSOS (Curt. 4.1.39;

Diod. Sic. 17.48.2). With their assistance he

launched a campaign for Greek liberty (Diod.

Sic. 17.62.6), gaining the support of the ACHA-

IAN LEAGUE, Elis, and TEGEA and launching a

siege of MEGALOPOLIS in 331. The Macedonian

ANTIPATER amassed a massive force and relieved

the siege (Curt. 6.1.6–20), killing Agis and

crushing and debilitating Sparta.

SEE ALSO: Alexander III, the Great;

Mercenaries; Peloponnesian War; Sparta.

REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS

Badian, E. (1994) “Agis III: revisions and

reflections.” In I. Worthington, ed., Ventures into

Greek history: essays in honour of N. G. L.

Hammond: 258–93. Oxford.

Bosworth, A. B. (1988) Conquest and empire: the

reign of Alexander the Great: 198–204.

Cambridge.

Cartledge, P. (1987) Agesilaos and the crisis of

Sparta. London.

Cartledge, P. (2002) Sparta and Lakonia: a regional

history 1300–362 BC, 2nd ed.: 217, 230–3. London.

Cartledge, P. and Spawforth, A. (1989) Hellenistic

and Roman Sparta: a tale of two cities: 11–12,

21–4. London.

Cooper, G. L., III (1978) “Thuc. 5.65.3 and the

tactical obsession of Agis II on the day before

the battle of Mantinea.” Transactions of the

American Philological Association 108: 35–40.

The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, First Edition. Edited by Roger S. Bagnall, Kai Brodersen, Craige B. Champion, Andrew Erskine,

and Sabine R. Huebner, print page 186.

© 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2013 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

DOI: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah04011

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