hild, in case it proved a son: and from that moment he took upon
himself the administration of the government, as guardian to his unborn
nephew, under the title of Prodicos, which was the name given by the
Lacedaemonians to the guardians of their kings. When the child was born,
Lycurgus took him in his arms, and cried out to the company that was
present, _Behold, my lords of Sparta, your new-born king!_ and, at the
same time, he put the infant into the king's seat, and named him
Charilaus, because of the joy the people expressed upon occasion of his
birth. The reader will find, in the second volume of this history, all
that relates to the history of Lycurgus, the reformation he made, and the
excellent laws he established in Sparta. Agesilaus was at this time king
in the elder branch of the family.

War between the Argives and the Lacedaemonians.

Some time after this, in the reign of Theopompus, a war broke out between
the Argives and Lacedaemonians, on account of a little country, called
Thyrea, that lay upon the confines of the two states, and to which each of
them pretended a right.(230) When the two armies were ready to engage, it
was agreed on both sides, in order to spare the effusion of blood, that
the quarrel should be decided by three hundred of the bravest men chosen
from their respective armies; and that the land in question should become
the property of the victorious party. To leave the combatants more room to
engage, the two armies retired to some distance. Those generous champions
then, who had all the courage of two mighty armies, boldly advanced
towards each other, and fought with so much resolution and fury, that the
whole number, except three men, two on the side of the Argives, and one on
that of the Lacedaemonians, lay dead upon the spot; and only the night
parted them. The two Argives, looking upon themselves as the conquerors,
made what haste they could to Argos to carry the news; the single
Lacedaemonian, Othryades by name, instead of retiring, stripped the dead
bodies of the Argives, and carrying their arms into the Lacedaemonian camp,
continued in his post. The next day the two armies returned to the field
of battle. Both sides laid equal claim to the victory: the Argives,
because they had more of their champions left alive than the enemy had;
the Lacedaemonians, because the two Argives that remained alive had fled;
whereas their single soldier had remained master of the field of battle,