It was at this point that Agesilaus was recalled by Sparta to take command in the war Pharnabazus had successfully stirred up. On his overland march through Greece from the Hellespont, he received orders to invade Boeotia. At Coronea he met the combined Boeotian-Argive army. Agesilaus was wounded in the battle that ensued, but the Spartans won. The historian Xenophon, who was there fighting under Agesilaus, says that there was no other battle of his day like it (Agesilaus II.9). After the battle some of the Theban forces sought sanctuary in a nearby temple of Athena. Although urged to do so, Agesilaus refused to violate sanctuary by attacking them and granted them safe conduct to leave.

When Agesilaus arrived back in Sparta after the battle of Coronea (394), he gained in popularity by quickly settling back into the Spartan way of life rather than adopting any foreign mannerisms. He did persuade his sister Cynisca to enter a team for the chariot race in the Olympics, the first time a woman had done so ' and she won. Agesilaus said that this proved that anyone could win in the Olympics if they had enough money.

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