Agesilaus II (c. 445 – 359 BCE) was a Spartan king who won victories in Anatolia and the Corinthian Wars but who would ultimately bring total defeat to his city through his policies against Thebes. When Sparta lost the crucial battle of Leuctra in 371 BCE, it brought an end to the city's long-held dominance of the Peloponnese. Agesilaus was one of the longest-serving and most powerful kings in Spartan history and, thanks to his friendship with the historian Xenophon, his reign is one of the best documented. He is also the subject of one of Plutarch's Lives biographies.

? ? ? ? ? 阿格西萊二世（約公元前445年-公元前359年）是一位斯巴達國王，他在安納托利亞和科林斯戰(zhàn)爭中取得了勝利，但他對底比斯的決策最終使斯巴達的軍隊被底比斯人擊敗。公元前371年，斯巴達在關(guān)鍵的留克特拉戰(zhàn)役中失利，結(jié)束了斯巴達在伯羅奔尼撒半島長期保持的統(tǒng)治地位。阿格西萊二世是斯巴達歷史上任期最長、最強大的國王之一，由于他與歷史學(xué)家色諾芬的友誼，他是被保留記錄最完善的國王之一。他也是普魯塔克的《生活》傳記之一的主角。

早期生活

Agesilaus was the son of Archidamus II and so a member of the Eurypontid line of Spartan kings. Agis II, the half-brother of Agesilaus, was the heir to the throne and so the latter was given the custom military education (agoge) of an ordinary male citizen. Plutarch informs us that Agesilaus was born with a lame leg but did not let this hinder his training. In 400 BCE, when Agis' son Leotychidas was looked over following rumours that his father was actually the Athenian general Alcibiades, Agesilaus was unexpectedly made king; an event facilitated by the powerful general Lysander, his lover (erastes) when a young man.

? ? ? ? ? 阿格西萊是阿希達穆斯二世的兒子，是斯巴達王族的歐里龐提德世系成員。亞基斯二世是阿格西萊同父異母的兄弟，是王位的繼承人，因此后者接受了男性公民的軍事教育（agoge）。普魯塔克告訴我們，阿格西萊生來就有一條瘸腿，但并沒有因此而妨礙他的訓(xùn)練。公元前400年，當(dāng)亞基斯的兒子列奧提齊德斯二世被傳聞他的父親實際上是雅典將軍阿爾西比亞德斯時，阿格西萊意外地被立為國王；勢力強大的將軍萊山德促成了這一事件，他年輕時是阿格西萊的“啟蒙者”（erastes，伙伴）。

Famously using patronage as a means to ensure loyalty from the Spartan elite, Agesilaus also managed to diminish the influence of the second Spartan kings from the Agiad line with whom he co-ruled. Despite his growing power, the king would gain a lasting reputation for his simple lifestyle and self-discipline, for as Plutarch said, 'it would have been hard to find a soldier who slept on a harder bed than the king' (38). Agesilaus was also known for his piety and the fact that he was one of the very few Greek rulers who campaigned abroad and remained uninfluenced by foreign customs and true to Spartan traditions.

? ? ? ? ? 阿格西萊以利用贊助作為確保斯巴達精英階層忠誠的手段而聞名，他還設(shè)法削弱了與他共同統(tǒng)治的亞基亞德系的第二代斯巴達國王的影響力。盡管他的權(quán)力越來越大，但阿格西萊以其簡單的生活方式和自律而獲得長遠的聲譽，正如普魯塔克所說，“很難找到一個睡在比國王更硬的床上的士兵”（38）。阿格西萊還因其虔誠而聞名，他是為數(shù)不多經(jīng)常在國外征戰(zhàn)的希臘城邦統(tǒng)治者之一，而且他不受外國習(xí)俗的影響，忠于斯巴達的傳統(tǒng)。

對波斯的戰(zhàn)役

Agesilaus' first prominent military role was an expedition to Anatolia where he was given the task of liberating the Greek cities from Persian rule. This was the first time that a Spartan king had led an army in Asia and the first occasion when a king had commanded both the land and sea forces. Before setting off Agesilaus wanted to make a religious sacrifice at Aulis just like Agamemnon had done before the Trojan War but he was refused by the Thebans, archenemies of Sparta. This incident would add further fuel to Agesilaus' life-long hatred of Thebes.

? ? ? ? ? 阿格西萊的第一個突出的軍事任務(wù)是遠征安納托利亞，在那里他被賦予從波斯統(tǒng)治下解放希臘城市的任務(wù)。這是斯巴達國王第一次在亞洲率領(lǐng)軍隊作戰(zhàn)，也是第一次由國王同時指揮陸軍和海軍作戰(zhàn)。出發(fā)前，阿格西萊想在奧里斯舉行宗教祭祀，就像阿伽門農(nóng)在特洛伊戰(zhàn)爭前所做的那樣，但他被斯巴達的宿敵底比斯人拒絕了。這一事件將為阿格西萊對底比斯的終生仇恨埋下伏筆。 ?

Victories against the Persian satraps Pharnabazus and Tissaphernes, notably at the battle of Sardis in 395 BCE, were interrupted when Agesilaus was recalled to mainland Greece to defend Spartan interests. This was perhaps just as well because Sparta had suffered a serious naval defeat at the battle of Knidos in 394 BCE. The Persian fleet had been commanded by Conon while the Spartans were led by the incompetent Peisander who was probably only given the command because he was a relative of Agesilaus.

? ? ? ? ? 公元前395年，阿格西萊被召回希臘以捍衛(wèi)斯巴達的利益，從而中斷了對波斯人的勝利，特別是在薩迪斯戰(zhàn)役中。這也許正是因為斯巴達海軍在公元前394年的克尼杜斯戰(zhàn)役中遭受了嚴(yán)重打擊。波斯艦隊由科農(nóng)指揮，而斯巴達人則由不稱職的佩桑德領(lǐng)導(dǎo)，佩桑德可能只是因為他是阿格西萊的親戚而被授予軍隊的指揮權(quán)。

對科林斯和底比斯的戰(zhàn)役

During the ensuing Corinthian Wars, Agesilaus won, albeit at great cost, the battle of Coronea in 394 BCE against a coalition force led by Thebes which included troops from Athens and Corinth. The two armies, in a contest that Xenophon, an eye-witness, described as 'quite unlike any other in our time' (4.3.15), clashed and both sides' right flank defeated their opposition's left flank. Then the Spartan and Theban hoplites turned on each other in a bloody battle in which Agesilaus was himself wounded several times. With the battle won, the Spartan king then spared the lives of a group of enemy soldiers who had sought refuge in a temple, he set up a victory monument and dedicated a tenth of the spoils at Delphi.

? ? ? ? ? 在隨后的科林斯戰(zhàn)爭中，盡管付出了巨大的代價，阿格西萊還是在公元前394年贏得了科羅尼亞戰(zhàn)役，對手是由底比斯領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的包括雅典和科林斯軍隊在內(nèi)的聯(lián)軍。兩支軍隊在一場被目擊者色諾芬描述為 “與我們這個時代的任何其他軍隊都不同”（4.3.15）的戰(zhàn)役中發(fā)生沖突，雙方的右翼都擊敗了對手的左翼。然后，斯巴達人和底比斯人的重裝步兵在一場血戰(zhàn)中相遇，阿格西萊本人也多次受傷。戰(zhàn)斗勝利后，斯巴達國王放過了一群在神廟里避難的敵軍士兵的生命，他在德爾斐建立了一座勝利紀(jì)念碑，并將戰(zhàn)利品的十分之一獻給了德爾斐。

More victories came between 391 and 388 BCE in the area around Corinth and Acarnania where Agesilaus demolished the fortifications of Corinth and devastated the countryside, uprooting every tree his army came across. However, the Thebans and their allies were ultimately defeated not by a land force but by a Persian-funded fleet led by the Spartan admiral Antalcidas. It was he who established the King's Peace (aka Peace of Antalcidas) which guaranteed a certain level of political autonomy to the defeated city-states.

? ? ? ? ? 公元前 391 年至 388 年間，阿格西萊在科林斯和阿卡納尼亞周圍地區(qū)取得了進一步的勝利，他下令拆除了科林斯的防御工事，破壞了當(dāng)?shù)氐霓r(nóng)村，將他的軍隊遇到的每棵樹都連根拔起。然而，底比斯人和他們的盟友最終不是被陸軍打敗，而是被斯巴達海軍將領(lǐng)安塔爾西達斯領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的波斯人資助的艦隊打敗的。正是他建立了國王和平（又稱安塔爾西達斯和平），保證了戰(zhàn)敗城邦有一定程度的政治自治。

Agesilaus controversially ignored the terms of the peace treaty and established pro-Spartan oligarchies at Mantinea, Olynthus, and Phlius. The Spartan king then supported the occupation of Thebes in 382 BCE and the establishment of a garrison there by Phoibidas, which rankled the Thebans enormously. This action and the controversial acquittal of Sphodrias, who had been accused of trying to take over Athens' port the Piraeus and who just happened to be the father of the lover of Agesilaus' son, outraged many Greek city-states, and another anti-Spartan coalition was formed only this time with the financial backing of Persia. More battles followed and Agesilaus gained some victories in Boeotia in 378 and 377 BCE, but mighty Sparta was losing its grip on its own coalition the Peloponnesian League, and Thebes was about to enter its most dominant period in history.

? ? ? ? ? 有爭議地的是，阿格西萊無視了和平條約的條款，在Mantinea、Olynthus和Phlius建立了親斯巴達的寡頭政權(quán)。然后，斯巴達國王在公元前382年支持菲比達斯占領(lǐng)底比斯，并在那里組建駐軍，這讓底比斯人非常生氣。這一行動和斯波德里亞斯被指控試圖占領(lǐng)雅典的比雷埃夫斯港，而他恰好是阿格西萊兒子的情人的父親，這一有爭議的無罪判決激怒了許多希臘城邦，另一個反斯巴達聯(lián)盟也在波斯的財政支持下成立。更多的戰(zhàn)斗接踵而至，公元前378年和公元前377年，阿格西萊在維奧蒂亞取得了一些勝利，但強大的斯巴達正在失去對伯羅奔尼撒聯(lián)盟的控制，而底比斯也即將進入其歷史上最具統(tǒng)治力的時期。

At a peace conference in 371 BCE, Agesilaus famously upset the Theban leader Epaminondas when he refused to accept that the latter was representing all of Boeotia and not just Thebes. War followed and Sparta was defeated at the battle of Leuctra in 371 when Epaminondas and his able general Pelopidas shocked the Greek world. According to Xenophon, Agesilaus was not at the battle as he suffered a relapse of his leg problem which had originally kept him from the battle of Tegyra in 375 BCE (which Sparta also lost) when a blood vessel had burst in his one good leg. Instead, at Leuctra the Spartan forces were led by the other Spartan king Cleombrotus. As a consequence of defeat, Sparta lost the region of Messenia in the Peloponnese and began a steady decline from which the city would never recover.

? ? ? ? ? 在公元前371年的一次和平會議上，阿格西萊拒絕接受后者代表整個維奧蒂亞而不僅僅是底比斯的說法，這讓底比斯的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人很不高興。戰(zhàn)爭接踵而至，斯巴達在371年的留克特拉戰(zhàn)役中被擊敗，當(dāng)時伊巴密濃達和他能干的將軍派洛皮德震驚了整個希臘世界。根據(jù)色諾芬的說法，阿格西萊沒有參加這次戰(zhàn)役，因為他的腿部問題復(fù)發(fā)了，這使他無法參加公元前375年的泰吉拉戰(zhàn)役（斯巴達也輸了），當(dāng)時他正常的腿的血管破裂了。相反，在留克特拉，斯巴達軍隊由另一位斯巴達國王克里昂布魯圖斯領(lǐng)導(dǎo)。由于戰(zhàn)敗，斯巴達失去了伯羅奔尼撒半島的麥西尼亞地區(qū)，并開始了持續(xù)的衰落，斯巴達再也無法恢復(fù)。

晚年的職業(yè)生涯

While historians have blamed Agesilaus' aggressive policies and irrational hatred of Thebes for Sparta's decline, the king was not unpopular at home and continued to hold high office well into his eighties, defending the city from Theban attacks in 370 and 362 BCE. In between he had fought for Ariobarzanes, the Persian satrap in Anatolia in 364 BCE, and he performed a similar service for Nectanebis III in Egypt between 361 and 359 BCE. Both positions brought victories and helped increase the impoverished Spartan treasury. During the return home from Egypt, Agesilaus died at Cyrenaica in Libya in 359 BCE; his body was embalmed in wax and taken back to Sparta for burial.

? ? ? ? ? 雖然歷史學(xué)家將斯巴達的衰落歸咎于阿格西萊的侵略政策和對底比斯的非理性仇恨，但這位國王在國內(nèi)并非不受歡迎，他在80多歲時仍繼續(xù)擔(dān)任高級職務(wù)，在公元前370年和362年保衛(wèi)城市免遭底比斯的攻擊。與此同時，他曾在公元前364年為安納托利亞的波斯總督阿里奧巴爾扎內(nèi)斯作戰(zhàn)；在公元前361年至359年期間，他在埃及為內(nèi)克塔尼博三世做了類似的工作。這兩次都帶來了勝利，并補充了貧困的斯巴達國庫。公元前359年，在從埃及回國的過程中，阿格西萊在利比亞的普蘭尼加去世；他的尸體被用蠟進行防腐處理，并被帶回斯巴達安葬。

Agesilaus was a gifted politician and the most powerful man in Greece for much of his rule but perhaps his ambiguous character and portrayal in history is best summed up by Plutarch, 'he was too generous not to give credit to his enemies if they were in the right, but he could not bring himself to condemn his friends if they were in the wrong' (28). The Spartan had been a charismatic leader, had gained more political power than most of his predecessors, and been an effective field commander but perhaps was unlucky to have been king just at a time when Sparta suffered from a declining population and increasing unrest from its helot servile agricultural class. These two factors combined with the rise of an aggressive Thebes intent on creating its own empire meant that Agesilaus oversaw the end of mighty Sparta as one of Greece's superpower states.

? ? ? ? ? ?阿格西萊是一位才華橫溢的政治家，在他統(tǒng)治的大部分時間里都是希臘最有權(quán)勢的人，但也許普魯塔克對他模棱兩可的性格和歷史形象做了最好的總結(jié)，“他太慷慨了，如果他的敵人是對的，他就不給他們以榮譽，但如果他的朋友是錯的，他就不能讓自己譴責(zé)他們”（28）。斯巴達人是一個有魅力的領(lǐng)袖，比他的大多數(shù)前任獲得了更多的政治權(quán)力，并且是一個有效的戰(zhàn)場指揮官，但也許他很不走運，在斯巴達遭受人口下降和來自其奴隸農(nóng)業(yè)階層的日益動蕩之時成為國王。這兩個因素加上咄咄逼人的底比斯的崛起，意味著阿格西萊目睹了強大的斯巴達作為希臘超級大國之一的結(jié)束。

參考書目：

Bagnall, R. et al. The Encyclopedia of Ancient History. Wiley-Blackwell, 2012

Campbell, B. et al. The Oxford Handbook of Warfare in the Classical World. Oxford University Press, 2013.

Hornblower, S. The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 2012.

Kinzl, H. A Companion to the Classical Greek World. Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.

Plutarch. The Age of Alexander. Penguin Classics, 1973.

Xenophon. The Landmark Xenophon's Hellenika. Anchor, 2010.

原文作者：Mark Cartwright

????????? 駐意大利的歷史作家。他的主要興趣包括陶瓷、建筑、世界神話和發(fā)現(xiàn)所有文明的共同思想。他擁有政治哲學(xué)碩士學(xué)位，是《世界歷史百科全書》的出版總監(jiān)。