could do this, but all drank, last of all he himself came down to the spring, and in the presence of the enemy merely sprinkled his face with the water, and marched off, refusing to restore the disputed territory, on the ground that all did not drink.  But though he gained great fame by this, yet it was not he but his son Eurypon who gave the name of Eurypontidae to the family, because Eurypon was the first to relax the despotic traditions of his family and render his government more popular with the people.  But as a consequence of this the people were encouraged to demand more freedom, and great confusion and lawlessness prevailed in Sparta for a long time, because some of the kings opposed the people and so became odious, while others were found to yield to them, either to preserve their popularity, or from sheer weakness of character.  It was during this period of disorder that the father of Lykurgus lost his life.  He was endeavouring to part two men who were quarrelling, and was killed by a blow from a cook’s chopper, leaving the kingdom to his elder son Polydektes.

III.  He also died after a short time, and, as all thought, Lykurgus ought to have been the next king.  And he did indeed reign until his brother’s wife was found to be pregnant; but as soon as he heard this, he surrendered the crown to the child, if it should be a boy, and merely administered the kingdom as guardian for the child.  The Lacedaemonian name for the guardian of a royal orphan is prodikus.  Now the queen made a secret proposal to him, that she should destroy her infant and that they should live together as king and queen.  Though disgusted at her wickedness, he did not reject the proposal, but pretended to approve of it.  He said that she must not risk her life and injure her health by procuring abortion, but that he would undertake to do away with the child.  Thus he deluded her until her confinement, at which time he sent officials and guards into her chamber with orders to hand the child over to the women if it was a girl, and to bring it to him, whatever he might be doing, if it was a boy.  He happened to be dining with the archons when a male child was born, and the servants brought it to him.  He is said to have taken the child and said to those present, “A king is born to you, O Spartans,” and to have laid him down in the royal seat and named him Charilaus, because all men were full of joy admiring his spirit and justice.  He was king for eight months in all; and was much looked up to by the citizens, who rendered a willing obedience to him, rather because of his eminent virtues than because he was regent with royal powers.  There was, nevertheless, a faction which grudged him his elevation, and tried to oppose him, as he was a young man.

They consisted chiefly of the relatives and friends of the queen-mother, who considered that she had been insultingly treated, and her brother Leonidas once went so far in his abusive language as to hint to Lykurgus that he knew that he meant to be king, throwing the suspicion upon Lykurgus, if anything should happen to the child, that he would be supposed to have managed it.  This sort of language was used by the queen-mother also, and he, grieved and alarmed, decided to avoid all suspicion by leaving the country and travelling until his nephew should be grown up and have an heir born to succeed him.