A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Agesistrata
AGESISTRATA,
Wife of Eudamidas the Second, and mother of Agis the Fourth, king of Sparta, was a woman of great wealth and influence among her people. She had brought up her son very voluptuously; but when he became king, he resolved to restore the ancient severe discipline and mode of living of the Spartans, and began by setting the example himself. Agesistrata at first opposed the reformation, by which she would lose much of her wealth; afterwards she not only approved of her son's design, but endeavoured to gain the other women to join her, as they had great influence in the community, and the greatest difficulty was expected to arise from their opposition; but instead of uniting with her, they applied to Leonidas the Third, the other king of Lacedæmon, to frustrate the designs of his colleague. In consequence of the disturbances that ensued, Agis was obliged to take refuge in one of the temples; but one day, on his returning to his sanctuary from a bath, he was seized and thrown into prison. Agesistrata, and Archidamia, grandmother of Agis, used all their influence, but in vain, to induce the ephori to allow Agis to plead his cause before his own people. They were, however, allowed to share his prison, when one of the ephori, who was in debt to Agesistrata, by his intrigues succeeded in having them all strangled at once. Agesistrata met her unexpected death with calmness and composure, about B. C. 300.