erness to secure the latter, however, was injurious to his cause.
Having already engaged Chabrias and obtained the good will of Athens, he
desired also to gain the help of Agesilaus and the favourable opinion
of the Lacedaemonians. Though now eighty years old, Agesilaus was still
under the influence of cupidity and vanity; the promise of being placed
in supreme command enticed him, and he set sail with one thousand
hoplites. A disappointment awaited him at the moment of his
disembarkation: Tachos gave him command of the mercenary troops only,
reserving for himself the general direction of operations, and placing
the whole fleet under the orders of Chabrias. The aged hero, having
vented his indignation by indulging a more than ordinary display of
Spartan rudeness, allowed himself to be appeased by abundant presents,
and assumed the post assigned to him. But soon after a more serious
subject of disagreement arose between him and his ally; Agesilaus was
disposed to think that Tachos should remain quietly on the banks of the
Nile, and leave to his generals the task of conducting the campaign.
The ease with which mercenary leaders passed from one camp to the other,
according to the fancy of the moment, was not calculated to inspire the
Egyptian Pharaoh with confidence: he refused to comply with the wishes
of Agesilaus, and, entrusting the regency to one of his relatives,
proceeded to invade Syria. He found the Persians unprepared: they shut
themselves up in their strongholds, and the Pharaoh confided to his
cousin Nectanebo, son of the regent, the task of dislodging them. The
war dragged on for some time; discontent crept in among the native
levies, and brought treachery in its train. The fiscal measures which
had been adopted had exasperated the priests and the common people;
complaints, at first only muttered in fear, found bold expression as
soon as the expeditionary force had crossed the frontier.

[Illustration: 299.jpb NECTANEBO I]

Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from Lepsius.

The regent secretly encouraged the malcontents, and wrote to his son
warning him of what was going on, and advised him to seize the crown.
Nectanebo could easily have won over the Egyptian troops to his cause,
but their support would have proved useless as long as the Greeks did
not pronounce in his favour, and Chabrias refused to break his oaths.
Agesilaus, however, was not troubled by the same scruples. His vanity
had been sorely wounded by th