the decisive support came from Agesilaus, who had already been king for more than 20 years and was probably the most senior member of the Gerousia (as the gerontes had to be older than 60 to be elected), and by far the most influential. The two kings being in agreement, they and their supporters could outweigh any third group in the Gerousia. Two ancient sources discuss Agesilaus' motivations. Plutarch tells that Sphodrias' son Kleonymos was the beloved of Agesilaus' son Archidamus (later king between 360–338), who convinced his father to spare Sphodrias, but this was probably a slur against Agesilaus and not the main reason. A contemporary and friend of Agesilaus, Xenophon has the same story but further writes that the king thought that it was not in Sparta's best interest to condemn a good soldier. G. E. M. de Ste. Croix writes that the oliganthropia—the dwindling number of Spartan citizens—already took alarming proportions, and Agesilaus refused to contribute to the problem. Paul Cartledge suggests that Agesilaus intervened in favour of Sphodrias to make the other king Cleombrotus "under a deep personal obligation to himself". Thus, Agesilaus favoured reinforcing his own position within Sparta over a diplomatic conciliation with Athens, which joined Thebes against Sparta as a result of the spectacularly unjust verdict. It was also a direct cause of the creation of the Second Athenian League in 378. The case of Sphodrias presents several similarities with that of Phoebidas, another Spartan officer that acted on his own initiative to take the acropolis of Thebes, and was likewise acquitted during his trial by Agesilaus. Sphodrias, as well as his son Kleonymos and king Cleombrotus, died at the battle of Leuctra against Thebes in 371. References Bibliography Ancient sources Plutarch, Parallel Lives (Agesilaus). Xenophon, Hellenica. Modern sources Paul Cartledge, Agesilaos and the Crisis of Sparta, Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987. G. E. M. de Ste. Croix, The Origins of the Peloponnesian War, London, Duckworth, 1972. 371 BC deaths Ancient Spartan generals 4th-century BC Spartans Ancient Greek garrison commanders Spartan hegemony Year of birth unknown