Agesilaus II

Agesilaus II , c.444-360 BC, king of Sparta. After the death of Agis I (398? BC), he was brought to power by Lysander, whom he promptly ignored. After the Peloponnesian War the Greek cities in Asia Minor had not been ceded to Persia despite Sparta's promises, and in 396 BC Agesilaus went there to oppose the Persian satraps Tissaphernes and Pharnabazus by attacking them. He managed to rout Tissaphernes, but Persian naval power drove him back to Greece, where he won (394 BC) a hollow victory over the Thebans and their allies at Coronea, but he could not reestablish Spartan hegemony. By the King's Peace (or Peace of Antalcidas) in 386 BC, the cities of Asia Minor were ceded to Persia. Thebes and Athens entered an alliance against Sparta, and war followed. When Agesilaus deliberately excluded Thebes from the peace talks, Thebes renewed the war and the Theban general Epaminondas won (371 BC) a resounding victory at Leuctra . Sparta did not recover. Agesilaus took Spartan mercenaries to Asia Minor and Egypt and died on the way back. His rule had seen the ruin of Sparta, although he was lauded by his contemporaries, notably Xenophon.

Lysander (d.395 bc) Spartan general. He was responsible for the victory over Athens during the Peloponnesian War (429–404 bc), defeating the Athenian fleet in 406 and 405 and obtaining Persian support for Sparta. He forfeited his popularity by establishing oligarchies under a Spartan governor in cities he liberated from Athens, and lost influence in Sparta after the accession of King Agesilaus II in 399 bc.