Agesilaus
2 of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Agesilaus. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
1000 Classical Characters (1900)
Of the family of the Proclidae, son of Archidamus, king of Sparta , whom he succeeded. He made war against Artaxerxes, king of Persia, with success, but in the midst of his conquests he was called home to oppose the Athenians and Boeotians. He passed over in thirty days that tract of country which had taken Xerxes a whole year to traverse. He defeated his enemies at Coronea, but sickness interfered with his conquests, and the Spartans were beaten in every engagement till he again appeared at their head. He died B. c. 362. Agricola, Cn. Julius. Born June 13, A. D. 37, at Forum Julii (Fréjus, in Provence), was the son of Julius Graecinus. He received a careful education. In 78 he received the government of Britain, which he held for seven years, during which time he subdued the whole of the country with the exception of the highlands of Caledonia, and by his wise administration introduced among the inhabitants the language and civilization of Rome. His character is drawn in the brightest colors by his son-in-law Tacitus, whose Life of Agricola has come down to us. Agrippa , Herodes . Called Agrippa the Great, son of Aristobulus and Berenice , and grandson of Herod the Great. He was educated at Rome, and lived on intimate terms with the future emperors Caligula and Claudius. Caligula gave him the tetrarchies of Abilene, Batanaea, Trachonitis, and Auranitis; and Claudius annexed Judaea and Samaria to his dominions. His government was exceeding popular among the Jews. It was probably to increase his popularity with the Jews that he caused the apostle James to be beheaded, and Peter to be cast into prison, A. D. 44. Agrippa, M. Vipsanius. A celebrated Roman who obtained a victory over S. Pompey, and favored the cause of Augustus at the battles of Actium and Philippi, where he behaved with great valor. In his expeditions in Gaul and Germany he obtained several victories, but refused the honor of a triumph, al turned his attention to the embellishment of Rome and the raising of magnificent buildings, among them the Pantheon. Augustus gave him his daughter Julia in marriage. He died universally lamented, at Rome, aged fifty-one, в. c. 12.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
King of Sparta, was elevated to the throne chiefly by the exertions of Lysander. He was born about 444 b. c. and was one of the most brilliant soldiers of antiquity. Being called upon by the Ionians to assist them against Artaxerxes, he commenced a splendid campaign in Asia; but was compelled by the Corinthian War, in which several of the Grecian states were allied against Sparta, to leave his conquest over the Persians incomplete, and return to Greece. At Coronea (394 b. c.), he gained a victory over the allied forces. He died about 360 B. C.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
The bare narrative in both accounts still holds: Agesilaus II campaigned in Asia Minor against Artaxerxes II, was recalled by the Corinthian War, and won at Coronea in 394 BC. What has shifted is the verdict on him. Both entries stop at the victories, but modern historians — Paul Cartledge's 1987 study 'Agesilaos and the Crisis of Sparta' is the standard treatment — place at the centre of his long reign the catastrophe the old accounts pass over: the defeat by Epaminondas and the Thebans at Leuctra in 371 BC, and the loss of Messenia soon after, which broke Sparta as a great power for good. Scholars now also read Xenophon, the main source for both entries, as a friend and admirer writing to defend the king's reputation rather than as a neutral witness, and they favour 360 or 359 BC for his death, in Cyrenaica on the way home from Egypt, over the 362 BC given by 1000 Classical Characters.
Written for this edition, 2026.