On going forward from Thornax, you come to the city which was originally called Sparta, but afterwards Lacedæmon, which was once the name of the whole district. And according to my rule which I laid down in my account about Attica, not to give everything in detail but to select what was most worthy of account, so I shall deal in my account of Sparta: for I determined from the outset to pick out the most remarkable of the particulars which tradition hands down. From this determination I shall on no occasion deviate. At Sparta there is a handsome market-place, and a council chamber for the Senate, and public buildings in the market-place for the Ephors and guardians of the laws, and for those who are called the Bidiæi. The Senate is the most powerful governing body in Sparta, but all these others take part in the government: and the ephors and the Bidiæi are each five in number, and are appointed to preside over the games of the young men in the Platanistas and elsewhere, and the Ephors manage all other important matters, and furnish one of their number as the Eponymus, who like the magistrates of the same name at Athens presides over the rest. But the most notable thing in the market-place is what they call the Persian Portico, built of the spoils taken from the Medes: and in time they have brought it to its present size and magnificence. And there are on the pillars statues in white stone of Mardonius, the son of Gobryas, and other Persians. There is also a statue of Artemisia, the daughter of Lygdamis, who was Queen of Halicarnassus: and who they say of her own accord joined Xerxes in the expedition against Greece, and displayed great valour in the sea fight at Salamis. And there are two temples in the market-place, one to Cæsar, who was the first of the Romans that aimed at Autocracy, and established the present régime, and the other to Augustus his _adopted_ son, who confirmed the Autocratic rule, and advanced further in consideration and power even than Cæsar had done. His name Augustus has the same signification as the Greek Sebastus. At the altar of Augustus they exhibit a brazen statue of Agias, who they say foretold Lysander that he would capture all the Athenian fleet at Ægos-potamoi but ten triremes: they got off safe to Cyprus, but the Lacedæmonians took all the rest and their crews. This Agias was the son of Agelochus, the son of Tisamenus. This last was a native of Elis of the family of the Iamidæ, who was told by the oracle that he should win the prize in 5 most notable contests. So he trained for the pentathlum at Olympia, and came off the ground unvictorious in that, though he won the prize in two out of the five, for he beat Hieronymus of Andros in running and leaping. But having been beaten by him in wrestling, and losing the victory, he interpreted the oracle to mean that he would win five victories in war. And the Lacedæmonians, who were not ignorant of what the Pythian priestess had foretold