Lysander retained throughout life the emulous desire for fame which had been instilled into him by his early training; but, though never wanting in ambition, yet he fell short of the Spartan ideal, in his habit of paying court to the great, and easily enduring the insolence of the powerful, whenever his own interests were concerned. Aristotle, when he observes that the temperaments of great men are prone to melancholy, instances Sokrates, Plato, and Herakles, and observes also that Lysander, when advanced in life, became inclined to melancholy. What is especially to be noted in his character is, that while he himself lived in honourable poverty, and never received a bribe from any one, that he nevertheless brought wealth and the desire for wealth into his native country, and took away from it its old boast of being superior to money; for after the war with Athens he filled the city with gold and silver, although he did not keep a drachma of it for himself. When the despot Dionysius sent him some rich Sicilian dresses for his daughters, he refused them, saying that he feared they would make the girls look uglier than before. However, being shortly afterwards sent as ambassador to this same despot, when he again offered him two dresses, bidding him take whichever he chose for his daughter, he took them both away with him, saying that she would be better able to choose for herself. III. Towards the end of the Peloponnesian war, the Athenians, after their great disaster in Sicily, seemed likely to lose the command of the sea, and even to be compelled to sue for peace from sheer exhaustion. But Alkibiades, after his return from exile, effected a great change in the position of Athens, and raised the Athenian navy to such a pitch that it was able to meet that of the Lacedæmonians on equal terms. At this the Lacedæmonians again began to fear for the result of the war. They determined to prosecute it with greater earnestness than before, and as they required a skilful general, as well as a large force, they gave Lysander the command of their fleet. When he came to Ephesus, he found the city friendly to him, and willing enough to support the Lacedæmonian cause; but it was in a weak and ill-managed condition, and in danger of falling into the Persian manners and losing its Greek nationality, because it was close to Lydia, and the Persian generals generally made it their headquarters. But Lysander formed a camp there, ordered all transports to be directed to sail thither, and established a dockyard for the construction of ships of war. By this means he filled the harbour with trading vessels, and the market with merchandise, and brought money and business into every house and workshop; so that, thanks to him, the city then first began to entertain hopes of arriving at that pitch of greatness and splendour which it has since attained.