Inspired by Phoebidas' example, another Spartan called Sphodrias, one of Agesilaus' political opponents, attempted a surprise night-time attack on the Piraeus in an attempt to cut off Athenian access to the sea, but dawn found him still en route for the Piraeus, and so, after raiding the countryside, he retreated back to Thespiae on the Boeotian-Athenian border. The Athenians sent a delegation to Sparta to protest, but when the delegation got there, they found that Sphodrias had already been indicted. However, Sphodrias' son was Agesilaus' son's lover, and family feeling overruled political disagreement and international outrage, and Sphodrias was acquitted.
Agesilaus decided that Cleombrotus, now the other Spartan king, was not pursuing the war against Thebes vigorously enough and took to the field himself (378). The Thebans were learning from their frequent wars against Sparta, and so the war did not go as well as Agesilaus hoped. While on campaign, Agesilaus seems to have suffered from a blood clot in his leg, and lost a lot of blood when the doctors tried to relieve his symptoms by bleeding him (377). He was taken back to Sparta and was unable to undertake military expeditions for a long time.
While Agesilaus was out of action, Sparta suffered serious defeats from the Thebans. A peace conference was held at Sparta, with delegates from all over Greece (371). There was a major row between Agesilaus and the leader of the Theban delegation, Epaminondas, which resulted in Agesilaus dismissing the rest of the delegates and declaring war on Thebes again. Cleombrotus, who was in Phocis at the time, led his forces to attack Thebes. The Spartans suffered a crushing defeat at the battle of Leuctra, with the loss of a thousand men. Sparta's time as a major military power was over, and Theban ascendancy began.
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