Agesilaus II (; ; c. 442 – 358 BC) was king of Sparta from c. 399 to 358 BC. Generally considered the most important king in the history of Sparta, Agesilaus was the main actor during the period of Spartan hegemony that followed the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC). Although brave in combat, Agesilaus lacked the diplomatic skills to preserve Sparta's position, especially against the rising power of Thebes, which reduced Sparta to a secondary power after its victory at Leuctra in 371 BC. Despite the traditional secrecy fostered by the Spartiates, the reign of Agesilaus is particularly well-known thanks to the works of his friend Xenophon, who wrote a large history of Greece (the Hellenica) covering the years 411 to 362 BC, therefore extensively dealing with Agesilaus' rule. Xenophon furthermore composed a panegyric biography of his friend, perhaps to clean his memory from the criticisms voiced against him. Another historical tradition—much more hostile to Agesilaus than Xenophon's writings—has been preserved in the Hellenica Oxyrhynchia, and later continued by Diodorus of Sicily. Moreover, Plutarch wrote a biography of Agesilaus in his Parallel Lives, which contains many elements deliberately omitted by Xenophon. Early life Youth Agesilaus' father was King Archidamos II (r. 469–427), who belonged to the Eurypontid dynasty, one of the two royal families of Sparta. Archidamos already had a son from a first marriage with Lampito (his own step-aunt) named Agis. After the death of Lampito, Archidamos remarried in the early 440s with Eupolia, daughter of Melesippidas, whose name indicates an aristocratic status. Agesilaus was probably born around 442, as he was said to have been aged 84 at his death in 358. Agesilaus also had a sister named Kyniska (the first woman in ancient history to achieve an Olympic victory). The name Agesilaus was rare and harks back to Agesilaus I, one of the earliest kings of Sparta. Agesilaus was born lame, which some scholars have argued should have cost him his life because, according to Plutarch who was writing several hundred years later, deformed Spartan babies were thrown into a chasm. However, modern archaeological evidence and scholarship has disproved this myth of killing disabled babies; infanticide did occur but it was rare and many disabled individuals were cared for after birth, not killed. Archaeological excavations of the chasm at Keadas, which is where the children were supposedly thrown, found no child remains. At the age of 7, Agesilaus