In praise of a Spartan King; Agesilaus, Xenophon

 Why you might read Agesilaus?

Agesilaus is often seen as the first biography. It details the achievements of Agesilaus II. It is said to be one of Xenophon's lesser works. That should not overshadow its importance to the genre of biography. Nor should it diminish how it helps to round out the understanding of Xenophon's work. An easy read that strikes the balance between recording the truth and readability.

Synopsis of Agesilaus

Xenophon starts his tribute to Agesilaus by detailing his victories as the king. These start in the subduing of Asia against the Persians. He then finds himself recalled due to problems at home. Xenophon then details his victories around the greek sphere. He includes the victories not won by might but by cunning or diplomacy. Xenophon then moves on to the character of Agesilaus. He details how religious he was, even respecting the temples of foreign gods. He adds how trustworthy his word and oaths were. He describes his humility and simple lifestyle and contrasts it with the king of the Persians. He gives stories from Agesilaus' life to underline his point in all these things. Xenophobe finishes with a summary of his points. In this, he admits that this reads like a eulogy of only the high points. He then tries to assure the reader that this is really how Agesilaus was.

Reflections on Agesilaus

It is hard at first to see past Xenophon's praise. Everything seems to be perfect, all the battles won. Xenophon does directly address this at the end of the work. It is also worth noting that the victories are because of good management. That and not going to a battle that he could not win. That being said he was still willing to take a chance.

It is interesting how many categories Xenophon broke Agesilaus' character down into. He separates his humility from his religiosity from his trustworthiness. While he doesn't use the same examples they can be at times very similar. This can make it hard to remember the specifics of the text.

I thought that Xenophon's inclusion of what he calls his urbanity. The idea that this was a powerful man that still did the simple things. Things like small talk or talking over a friend's problems. It adds an interesting highlight to the painting of his character. I would think most biographical authors would find it superfluous. That being said its inclusion does round out the view of this great king of Sparta.

What others have to say about Agesilaus

"The Agesilaus (Greek: Ἀγησίλαος) is an account of the life of King Agesilaus II of Sparta by Xenophon, one of the earliest examples of biographical writing." From Tom Griffin

"The Agesilausis an odd work. It praises the Spartan king Agesilaus as the champion and defender of Greeks: the text is imbued with the highly politicised language of Greek-barbarian opposition." From a paper by Rosie Harman

Comparisons to other texts

Thucydides' History focuses on a war between the Greeks and Persia. It covers whichever kings and citizens were in power. By contrast, Agesilaus follows one king of Sparta. Agesilaus details the myriad of wars he fought over the course of his kingship. But it does start with his war against Persia. It also does so in a lot less detail and strikes a better balance between accuracy and readability. Agesilaus is set after Thucidides' History and is affected by its outcome. Finally, Thucudides' History covers the war in Greece. At the same time, Agesilaus takes the war to the Persians in Asia.

The Peloponnesian war covers Greeks at war with each other. Agesilaus covers many things, but it also covers some battles on the greek peninsula. The Peloponnesian war gives the hegemony we see here. This allows for collecting forces for the war in Persia to be led by Sparta. Agesilaus is written later and it is from that hegemony that we get the war in Asia.

Conclusion

Agesilaus reads like a eulogy and Xenophon even admits this late in the book. There is no doubting that Agesilaus was a great king of Sparta but the book is very one-sided on his greatness. Xenophon was a great friend of Agesilaus II and shows him in a very positive light. It covers both battles and Agesilaus' character to give a fairly complete view of his achievements. 

Have you read Agesilaus? If so what did you think of it? 

 

Want to read Agesilaus but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

Get a copy of Agesilaus.