Agesilaus II in the context of "Conspiracy of Cinadon"

The Corinthian War (395–387 BC) was a conflict in ancient Greece which pitted Sparta against a coalition of city-states comprising Thebes, Athens, Corinth and Argos, backed by the Achaemenid Empire. The war was caused by dissatisfaction with Spartan imperialism in the aftermath of the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), both from Athens, the defeated side in that conflict, and from Sparta's former allies, Corinth and Thebes, who had not been properly rewarded. Taking advantage of the fact that the Spartan king Agesilaus II was away campaigning in Asia against the Achaemenid Empire, Thebes, Athens, Corinth and Argos forged an alliance in 395 BC with the goal of ending Spartan hegemony over Greece; the allies' war council was located in Corinth, which gave its name to the war. By the end of the conflict, the allies had failed to end Spartan hegemony over Greece, although Sparta was weakened by the war.

At first, the Spartans achieved several successes in pitched battles (at Nemea and Coroneia), but lost their advantage after their fleet was destroyed at the naval Battle of Cnidus against the Persian fleet, which effectively ended Sparta's attempts to become a naval power. As a result, Athens launched several naval campaigns in the later years of the war, recapturing a number of islands that had been part of the original Delian League during the 5th century BC. Alarmed by these Athenian successes, the Persians stopped backing the allies and began supporting Sparta. This defection forced the allies to seek peace.

Agis II (Ancient Greek: Ἆγις; died c. 399 BC) was the 18th Eurypontid king of Sparta, the eldest son of Archidamus II by his first wife, and half-brother of Agesilaus II. He ruled with his Agiad co-monarch Pausanias.

The Battle of Coronea in 394 BC, also Battle of Coroneia, took place during the Corinthian War, in which the Spartans and their allies under King Agesilaus II defeated a force of Thebans and Argives that was attempting to block their march back into the Peloponnese. It ranks among the deadliest of the Hoplite battles, despite its comparative obscurity, when matched up against more famous battles like the Battle of Delium in 424, and the Battle of Mantinea in 362.

Archidamus III (died 338 BC) /ˌɑːrkɪˈdeɪməs/ (Ancient Greek: Ἀρχίδαμος Archídamos) was the son of Agesilaus II and king of Sparta from 360 to 338 BC.

The Agesilaus (/əˌdʒɛsəˈleɪəs/; Ancient Greek: Ἀγησίλαος) is a minor work by the Ancient Greek writer Xenophon.

The Agesilaus is a posthumous biography of the eponymous Agesilaus II (c. 440 BC – c. 360 BC), the King of Sparta, general, and important patron of Xenophon. Xenophon’s stated goal is to produce an encomium or eulogy. Xenophon portrays Agesilaus as a highly skilled military tactician and ruler, endowed with exemplary moral virtue and character. The Agesilaus provides an outline of Xenophon’s views on virtue, with the Spartan king used as a role model throughout.

Peisander (/paɪˈsændər, ˈpaɪˌsændər/; Greek: Πείσανδρος) was a Spartan admiral during the Corinthian War. In 395 BC, he was placed in command of the Spartan fleet in the Aegean by his brother-in-law, the king Agesilaus II. Peisander was a relatively inexperienced general, and in its very first action his Spartan fleet was decisively defeated at the Battle of Cnidus. Peisander died fighting aboard his ship.

Scotussa or Skotoussa (Ancient Greek: Σκοτοῦσσα or Σκοτοῦσα or Σκοτοτοῦσαι) was a town and polis (city-state) in the region of Pelasgiotis in ancient Thessaly. It was between Pherae and Pharsalus, near the border of Phthiotis, about 20 km (12 mi) to the west of Pherae.

Scotussa shows evidence of human activity from the Neolithic period onwards, including a Mycenaean settlement in the Late Helladic period which persisted into the Early Iron Age. It is not mentioned in Homer, though the geographer Strabo records an early tradition that the oracle of Dodona in Epirus originally came from this place. It was the home city of Polydamas, who won the pankration at the Olympic Games of 408 BCE. Xenophon records that the people of Scotussa, alongside the other peoples of Thessaly, fought against Agesilaus II of Sparta when he marched his forces through the region in 394 BCE. The city was taken by Alexander, tyrant of the nearby city of Pherae, in 367 BCE: it had previously been wealthy, and Alexander massacred its people, putting an end to its prosperity.