"Agis, the name of several kings of Sparta, of whom the most noted was Agis IV. He came to the throne in 244 B.C., when the State of Sparta had fallen into a ruinous condition through long-continued war. The riches of the State were in the hands of a few persons, while a great majority of the people were in extreme indigence. Agis, therefore, in accordance with the old laws of the State, proposed the increase of the number of citizens by the admission of a certain number of Helots and aliens, to be followed by the redistribution of landed estates by lottery. But insuperable difficulties were thrown in the way; the people were persuaded that his schemes were inimical to the welfare of the State; and Agis was put to death by strangulation (241 B.C.). The Standard American Encyclopedia 1937