Agis III(Greek:Ἄγις,died 331 BC) was the eldest son ofArchidamus III,and the 21stEurypontidking ofSpartabetween 338 and 331 BC. He tried to lead a revolt againstMacedonianhegemony over Greece, but was defeated byAntipater—Alexander the Great's regent in Greece—at theBattle of Megalopolisin 331 BC, where he died.
| Agis III Ἄγις | |
|---|---|
| King of Sparta | |
| Reign | 2 August 338 – 331 BC |
| Predecessor | Archidamus III |
| Successor | Eudamidas I |
| Died | 331 BC (agedc.29) Megalopolis |
| Father | Archidamus III |
Life
editAgis was the son of King Archidamus III (r. 360–338BC) and the grandson ofAgesilaus II(r. 400–360BC), who belonged to theEurypontid dynasty,one of the two royal families ofSparta(the other being the Agiads).
Following its defeat atLeuctraagainstThebesin 371 BC, Sparta lost its great power status within the Greek world, as well as a number of territories. In 351 BC, Archidamus and Agis waged a war in thePeloponneseto recover these territories, notably againstMegalopolis,a city established by the Thebans on its northwestern border in order to pose a permanent threat to Sparta.[1]There were operations against Argos as well, which had received support from Theban troops. Despite the support of 3,000 mercenaries fromPhocis,the campaign was fruitless.[1]
At the beginning of 338 BC, Archidamus III left Greece to serve as a mercenary commander forTaras,a city founded by Sparta inMagna Graecia.Several states were at the time struggling for hegemony over Greece: thekingdom of Macedoniaand the city-states led byAthensand Thebes. The fact that Archidamus left while the decisive battle was about to take place shows that he did not think that the Greeks had a chance to win.[2]Archidamus III died fighting the Lucanians the same day as theSecond Battle of Chaeronea,on 2 August 338 BC, when kingPhilip IIdecisively defeated the Greeks. Agis, who had hitherto been regent in the absence of his father, became king once his death was known, probably at the end of August.[3]
After his victory at Chaeronea, Philip II founded theLeague of Corinth,a coalition of Macedonia and all the Greek city-states. Agis is likely behind the Spartan decision to reject joining the Corinthian League, which prompted Philip to campaign inLaconiain autumn 338 BC.[4]Polybiustells that Philip was brought into the Peloponnese by theMesseniansand theArcadians,but the exact concatenation of events is not known. Philip therefore gave several territories that belonged to Sparta to its neighbours and enemies: Denthaliates toMessene,Aygitis andBelminatisto Megalopolis,SkiritistoTegea,andThyreatistoArgos.[5][6][7]It seems that he used a Panhellenic tribunal, perhaps the League of Corinth itself, to ratify his land transfers.[8]
Because of the failure of Archidamus' campaign and the punitive operation of Philip, Agis III preferred to take the time for Sparta to recover its losses and wait for a good opportunity, rather than opposing Macedonia directly. Thus Sparta remained completely quiet for five years after Chaeronea. It did not join therevolt of Thebesagainst the new Macedonian kingAlexander IIIin 335 BC.[9]Agis' first move came in 333 BC, when the Persian kingDarius IIIlaunched a counter-offensive after Alexander went into Asia in a bid to conquer Persia. He sent a Spartan named Euthycles to Darius' court inSusa.This man had connections in this city; he was a relative to—or perhaps the same man as—another envoy to the Persian king at Susa in 367 BC, also named Euthycles.[10][11]
In 333 BC, Agis went with a singletriremeto thePersiancommanders in theAegean Sea,Pharnabazus IIIandAutophradates,to request money and armaments for carrying on hostile operations againstAlexander the Greatin Greece.[12]Thesatrapsagreed to support Agis; however, they could only spare for him 30 talents and 10 ships. The news of theBattle of Issusin 333 BC, however, put a check upon their plans. He sent his brother Agesilaus with instructions to sail with them toCrete,that he might secure that island for the Spartan interest. In this he seems in a great measure to have succeeded.[13]
War against Macedon
editTwo years after this Spartan success (331 BC), the Greek states which were in league against Alexander seized the opportunity that had risen from the military disaster of the Macedonian generalZopyrion's campaign against theScythians,combined with theThracianrevolt, to declare war againstMacedonia.Agis was invested with the command and with his Spartan troops, and a body of 8,000 Greekmercenarieswho had been present at the Battle of Issus, gained a decisive victory in the Peloponnese over a Macedonian army under Coragus.
Having been joined by the other forces of the league (Elis,AchaeaandArcadia), Agis laid siege to Megalopolis. The city held out untilAntipatercame to its relief. In the subsequentBattle of Megalopolis,Agis' army fought a larger Macedonian force, but was finally defeated, Agis himself died trying to gain his surviving men time to withdraw to safety.[14][15][16][17][18]
On the manner of his death, Diodorus comments:
He had fought gloriously and fell with many frontal wounds. As he was being carried by his soldiers back to Sparta, he found himself surrounded by the enemy. Despairing of his own life, he ordered the rest to make their escape with all speed and to save themselves for the service of their country, but he himself armed and rising to his knees defended himself, killed some of the enemy and was himself slain by a javelin cast. He had reigned nine years.[19]
Agis was succeeded by his brotherEudamidas I.
References
edit- ^abCartledge,Hellenistic and Roman Sparta,p. 10.
- ^Badian, "Agis III", p. 171.
- ^Badian, "Agis III", pp. 170, 171.
- ^Françoise Ruzé & Jacqueline Christien,Sparte,pp. 307, 308.
- ^Shipley, "The Extent of Spartan Territory", pp. 367–390.
- ^Françoise Ruzé & Jacqueline Christien,Sparte,pp. 309–311, note that Tegea did not receive much.
- ^Kralli,The Hellenistic Peloponnese,pp. 59–68.
- ^Kralli,The Hellenistic Peloponnese,pp. 60–62.
- ^Badian, "Agis III", pp. 173, 174.
- ^Badian, "Agis III", p. 174, is convinced there were two Euthycles.
- ^Mosley, "Euthycles: One or Two Spartan Envoys?", pp. 167–169, thinks there was only one Euthycles.
- ^Mason, Charles Peter (1867),"Agis (3)",in Smith, William (ed.),Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology,vol. 1, Boston:Little, Brown and Company,pp. 72–73, archived fromthe originalon 2013-10-29,retrieved2008-05-23
- ^Agis IIIArchived2013-05-08 at theWayback MachinefromLivius.OrgArchived2001-03-31 at theWayback Machine
- ^Arrian,ii. 13
- ^Diodorus Siculus,xvi. 63, 68, xvii. 62
- ^Aesch.c. Ctesiph.p. 77
- ^Curt. vi. 1
- ^Justin, xii. 1
- ^Diodorus, World History, 17.62.1-63.4; tr. C.B. Welles
Bibliography
edit- Ernst Badian,"Agis III",Hermes,Vol. 95 (1967), pp. 170–192.
- Paul Cartledge& Antony Spawforth,Hellenistic and Roman Sparta, A tale of two cities,London and New York, Routledge, 2002 (originally published in 1989).ISBN0-415-26277-1
- Ioanna Kralli,The Hellenistic Peloponnese: Interstate Relations, A Narrative and Analytic History, from the Fourth Century to 146 BC,Swansea, The Classical Press of Wales, 2017.ISBN978-1-910589-60-1
- D. J. Mosley, "Euthycles: One or Two Spartan Envoys?",The Classical Review,Vol. 22, No. 2 (Jun., 1972), pp. 167–169.
- Graham Shipley, "The Extent of Spartan Territory in the Late Classical and Hellenistic Periods",The Annual of the British School at Athens,Vol. 95 (2000), pp. 367–390.
- Françoise Ruzé & Jacqueline Christien,Sparte, Histoire, mythe, géographie,Malakoff, Armand Colin, 2017.ISBN220061814X
- Stephen Ruzicka, "War in the Aegean, 333-331 B. C.: A Reconsideration",Vol. 42, No. 2 (Summer, 1988), pp. 131–151.