Agesipolis I.

Agesipolis I (Greek Ἀγησίπολις, * around 410 BC; † 380 BC ) was the son of Pausanias and a king of Sparta from the house of the Agiads .

When his father went into exile, he became king. Since he and his younger brother Cleombrotos were still children, Aristodemus , their closest relative, took over the guardianship. At this time a coalition of Thebes , Athens , Corinth and Argos against Sparta was formed. For this reason, Agesilaos II , the king of the house of the Eurypontids , had to return from his expedition from Asia . Aristodemus led the Spartans to war against the coalition even before Agesilaus returned home, and defeated them at the Battle of Nemea .

390 BC Agesipolis was already of age and led his army against Argos. Unfavorable prophecies and an earthquake could not deter him from his decision to conquer the city. So he ravaged the country and advanced towards the city. Perieget Pausanias reports that he only turned back when some of his soldiers were struck by lightning . 385 BC Agesipolis led a campaign against Mantineia . He besieged the city and was finally able to conquer it with the ruse already used by Kimon in the conquest of Eion on the Strymon . He diverted the Ophis River so that the water softened the brick wall and caused it to collapse. He destroyed the city and resettled the inhabitants in surrounding villages. At the request of his father, he spared the Argos friendly inhabitants.

When the Spartan Teleutias fell in the First Olympian War , Agesipolis became the military leader. He conquered the city of Torone , and when he encamped outside Olynthus , he fell ill. He was brought to the sanctuary of Dionysus Aphytis. But every attempt to cure him of the fever was in vain, and he died after seven days. The corpse was preserved with honey and brought to Sparta, where it found its final resting place. Since Agesipolis left no children, his brother Cleombrotos ascended the throne.

swell

• Diodor , Bibliothéke historiké , 15, 5 (Engl.) ; 15, 22.
• Isocrates , Panegyrikos , 67.
• Isocrates, De Pace , 179.
• Pausanias , traveling in Greece , 3, 5, 1 - 6, 1; 8, 8, 7.
• Plutarch , Pelopidas , 4. (Eng.)
• Plutarch, Apophthegmata Laconica (Eng.)
• Xenophon , Hellenika , 4, 2, 9; 5, 2, 1-7; 5, 3, 8-9; 5, 3, 18-19; 5, 7, 2 - 6. (Eng.)

literature

• Benedikt Niese : Agesipolis 1 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume I, 1, Stuttgart 1893, Col. 805 f.

predecessor	Office	successor
Pausanias	King of Sparta 395-380 BC Chr.	Cleombrotos I.