arta. In consequence of
this, Alkibiades, fearing the wrath of Agis, left Sparta, and the
child was always viewed with suspicion by Agis, and never treated as
his own son, until in his last illness the boy by tears and entreaties
prevailed upon him to bear public witness to his legitimacy. But after
the death of Agis, Lysander, the conqueror of Athens, who was the most
important man in Sparta, began to urge the claims of Agesilaus to the
throne, on the ground that Leotychides was a bastard, and therefore
excluded from the succession. Many of the other citizens eagerly
espoused the cause of Agesilaus, because they had been brought up in
his company, and had become his intimate friends. There was, however,
one Diopeithes, a soothsayer, who was learned in prophetic lore, and
enjoyed a great reputation for wisdom and sanctity. This man declared
that it was wrong for a lame man to become king of Lacedaemon, and
quoted the following oracle:--

"Proud Sparta, resting on two equal feet,
Beware lest lameness on thy kings alight;
Lest wars unnumbered toss thee to and fro,
And thou thyself be ruined in the fight."

In answer to this, Lysander argued that the oracle really warned the
Spartans against making Leotychides king; for the god was not likely
to allude to actual lameness, which might not even be congenital, but
might arise from some accidental hurt, as disqualifying any one for
the office of king, but rather meant by a "lame reign," the reign of
one who was not legitimate, and not truly descended from Herakles.
Agesilaus also said that Poseidon bore witness to the illegitimacy of
Leotychides; for Agis was said to have been cast out of his
bed-chamber by an earthquake, after which he abstained from
approaching his wife, on religious grounds, for a period of more than
ten months, at the end of which Leotychides was born.

IV. Having been raised to the throne on those grounds, Agesilaus at
the same time acquired the large property left by the late king Agis,
as Leotychides was declared illegitimate and driven into exile. As his
own mother's family were respectable, but very poor, he distributed
half this property among them, thus making sure of their good will and
favour, and removing any jealousy which they might feel at his
elevation. Moreover, as Xenophon tells us, he gained the greatest
influence by always deferring to the wishes of his country, and thus
was really enabled to act exactly as he pleased.