AGESILAUS II
No enemy had ever gotten close to Sparta. . See {632265} for a related quotation.
Pointing to the armed Spartan men He had been asked why there were no city walls around Sparta. See {632266} for a related quotation.
See {632269} for a later Scottish quotation on this principle.
Agesilaus II (/əˌdʒɛsəˈleɪəs/; Greek: Ἀγησίλαος Agesilaos; c. 444/443 – c. 360 BC), was a king (basileus) of the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta and a member of the Eurypontid dynasty ruling from 398 to about 360 BC usually, in Plutarch's words, "as good as though commander and king of all Greece" and was for the whole of it greatly identified with his country's deeds and fortunes. Small in stature and lame from birth, Agesilaus became ruler somewhat unexpectedly in his mid-forties. His reign saw successful military incursions into various states in Asia Minor, as well as successes in the Corinthian War, but several diplomatic decisions resulted in Sparta becoming increasingly isolated prior to his death at the age of 84 in Cyrenaica.
