Agis III was King of Sparta from 2 August 338 BC to 331 BC, succeeding Archidamus III and preceding Eudamidas I.
Biography[]
Agis III was the eldest son of King Archidamus III, and he succeeded his father on the very day of the Battle of Chaeronea, 2 August 338 BC. He inherited a Sparta in decline, the city-state having lost most of its northern borderlands to King Philip II of Macedon. In 333 BC, Agis secretly met with the Persians to request money and arms for a war with Alexander the Great in Greece, but the Battle of Issus prevented the defeated Persians from aiding the Spartans. However, Agis succeeded in conquering Crete, and, in 331 BC, he led an alliance of Greek city-states in a revolt against Macedon. In the 331 BC Battle of Megalopolis, Agis was killed while attempting to lead the safe withdrawal of his defeated men, slain by a javelin.