History of Sparta

Of the early history of Sparta we rely on very few legends. It is said to have
been founded by Lacedaemon, the son of Zeus and Taygete, who married
Sparta, the daughter of urotas.
!rom Homer we also "now that the #"oili Lacedaemon# $hollow Lacedaemon%,
the territory between the mount Taygetos and &enelaos and Helen, '() *+,
attic red ,gure amphora-arnon, had as "ing &enelaos, the younger brother of
.gamemnon and husband of Helen, which was abducted by -aris to Troy and
thus starting the long and painful famous war.
.round /()) *+, by the marriage of the daughter of &enelaos rmione with
the son of .gamemnon Orestes, the "ingdoms of .rgos and Sparta were
united. The ,ndings from e0cavations testify that at this time, unli"e the later
Sparta, a rich culture had developed here.
.round //)) *+, the 1orians came and con2uered the territory $.rchaeology
favors a date for 1orian settling around 3') *+%.
Tradition has it, that the Heraclidae brothers, descendants of the hero
Hercules, 4resphontes, Temenos and .ristodemos tried to con2uer
-eloponnese. .ristodemos was hit by lighting and died at 5aupactos, leaving
behind his twin sons yresthenes and -ro"les. His brothers crossed the gulf
and landed at .chaia. There was a battle with the forces of the monarch of
-eloponnese, Tisamenes, and they were victorious. 6hen the 1orian phalan0
came in the territory of La"onia and &essene, it was guided by 4resphontes,
who inhabited the rich plain of -amesos. There was a constant 2uarrel
between the 1orian chiefs, 4resphontes and Theras, to share the territory.
Theras, the brother of .ristodemos wife, who was guardian to her twin
children after the death of her husband, wanted to ta"e the rich &essene, but
4resphontes and his brother Temenos, who was ruling .rgos, played a tric" on
him. They arranged to throw in the water two small tiles, with the names of
4resphontes and Theras written on them and the one which would surface in
the water, would win &essene, the other the less rich Laconia.
4resphontes tile was ba"ed in the ,re, while Theras was left in the sun and
when both were thrown into the water, Theras tile went to the bottom and
4resphontes tile 7oated and thus he too" &essene.
1uring Sparta8s history, the habitation center in the urotas valley had
changed many times, but the 1orian city which was comprised from ,ve
villages, occupied the territory of today8s city of Sparta. 6e "now only the
names of the four, -itane, Limnai, &esoa, 4inosoura. The ,fth was probably
the conglomeration of the villages, which Spartans con2uered later, -ilane,
Selacia, .igitida, -hari, .mi"les.
Sparta in the 9th and :th century *+ was open to foreigners. She had good
relations with Samos, which helped her in the war with &essenia, and also
with +yprus, ;hodes, +yrene, etc. She was a highly cultured city, with her
own architects, who build the famous temple, the bra<en house of .thena.
The arts were highly developed with celebrated sculptors in wood, potters,
metal wor"ers, weavers, leather wor"ers, many of them foreigners. Spartan
musicians, dancers and singers were renowned. Sparta was also famous for
the purple dyed clothes. !rom :() *+ to ':= *+, she had >= Olympic winners
out of 9/ total victors. *ut during the =th century the arts progressively
started to decline. Ly"urgos laws eventually strained Sparta.
Ly"urgos
::= *+
Ly"urgos, "ing of SpartaLy"urgos was the son of the "ing umenos. .fter the
death of his father, his older brother -olyde"tes too" the throne. 5ot much
later, he also died and Ly"urgos became "ing. The widow of his brother, an
ambitious and unhesitating woman, o?ered him to marry her and "ill her
unborn child. Ly"urgos, "nowing her character and being afraid for the life of
the child, pretended to accept her o?er. He said to her to bear the child and
he would disappear it, as soon as the child was born. *ut when the time
came, he too" the infant boy at the .gora, proclaimed him "ing of the
Spartans and gave him the name +harilaos $@oy of the people%. 6hen the
widow learned what happened, she started plotting against Ly"urgos, who left
Sparta in order to avoid bloodshed.
He ,rst went to +rete and then to .sia and gypt and later to Libya, Spain
and India. In every country that he visited, he studied their civili<ation,
history and constitutions.
.fter many years Ly"urgos returned to Areece and visited 1elphi to 2uestion
the oracle, if the constitution he had prepared to apply in Sparta was good
and received approval with the answer that #he was more Aod than man#.
He then returned home and found his nephew +harilaos, a grown man and
"ing of Sparta.
In order to persuade the Spartans to accept his laws, which demanded a lot
of sacri,ces, he bred two small puppies, the one indoors with a variety of
foods and the other he trained it for hunting. He then gathered the people
and showed them that the untrained dog was completely useless.
*ut if Ly"urgos succeeded to persuade the poor people, he did little for the
rich, who tried everything to oppose him. One of them, a youth named
.l"ander, in the .gora tried to hit him with his stu? and when Ly"urgos
turned his head, he was hit in the eye and lost it. Ly"urgos did not prosecute
him, but too" him as his servant, giving him the opportunity to discover his
character. Indeed .l"ander became later a devoted disciple.
6hen his laws were accepted, he made Spartans swear that they would not
be changed until he returns and left again.
He never came bac", ma"ing sure that his laws would not change. He died at
1elphi and according to some in +rete and it is said that before his death, he
as"ed his body to be burned and the remains to be scattered in the wind.
Ly"urgos thus did not permit even his dead body to return.
The +onstitution
The hard fought &essenian wars would not have been won, without the
legislation of Ly"urgos, which most of all targeted the discipline and inuring to
hardships of the citi<ens.
.ccording to the rettra or combact, which Ly"urgos brought from 1elphi, the
Spartan Senate $Aerousia% was consisted from twenty eight men, at least =)
years old, elected for life and the two "ings. . hundred years later, when the
Aerousia became tyrannical, was dismantled and they were replaced by ,ve
phors $overseers%.
He also arranged for periodical assemblies of the Spartan people $.pella%, for
people over B) years old, in the area between the river 4na"ion and the
bridge *aby"a, though they did not vote, nor were permitted to discuss the
issues, but only accept or reCect them loudly.
Ly"urgos, in order to avoid strife in the city, he managed to persuade the
people to give their land property and then he divided it in e2ual shares. He
also assigned e2ual lots of land to the -erioi"oi.
In other laws, he forbade the use of money in gold and silver and in their
place issued iron money, too heavy and of very little value. .lso Spartans
were not permitted to build their houses with other tools, e0cept the a0e and
the saw.
The unwritten laws of Ly"urgos most of all targeted eunomia $good
application of the laws%, but at the same time they had the seeds of
aggressiveness. In a period of few years after they came in use, Sparta
con2uered almost all of Laconia. The important city of .my"lai, after a long
desperate siege was captured around :') *+, but its people were treated
well.
!irst &essenian 6ar
:>B D :(> *+
The causes of the &essenian wars were two incidents, as -ausanias tells us,
although there is no doubt that the real reason was the rich and fertile plains
of &essenia, that Spartans wanted to con2uer.
The ,rst incident occurred in the borders of Laconia and &essene, where
there was a temple of .rtemis Limnatis, in which both Spartans and
&essenians were celebrating. In the midst of the dance of Spartan virgins,
&essenians rushed and too" the women. 4ing Tele"los of Sparta, who tried to
hinder them, was "illed. It was said later that all the Spartan women
committed suicide.
*ut according to the &essenian version, "ing Tele"los had dressed up young
men as virgins, with concealed daggers. 6hen their plot was discovered,
&essenians after a ,ght "illed Tele"los. .nyway the war did not start
immediately after this event.
The second incident happened with the Spartan uphaenos and the
&essenian -olychares, a distinguished citi<en and an Olympic victor in
Stadium, :=> *+. uphaenos, who had been trusted with the care of
-olychares cows, sold them and later "illed his son who came to in2uire.
-olychares, who was unable to ,nd Custice in Sparta, started to "ill every
Lacedaemonian who passed the borders.
.fter these incidents, Spartans demanded from &essenians to deliver
-olychares, but in vain and so the war started.
.l"amenes, the son of the "ing Tele"los of Sparta, in a dar" night surprised
the &essenians and entered the city of .mpheia, "illing everybody. !rom
.mpheia, the Spartans were ma"ing constants raids, but they did not
succeed to con2uer any other cities.
The "ing of &essenia, uphaes, fought them with vigor, but for four years no
progress had been made, by either side. 1uring the ,fth year, a big battle
too" place, which ended indecisive, but after this the &essenians retired to
the forti,ed mountain of Ithome. In the meantime an epidemic fell in
&essene, "illing many people and &essenians in their distress sent a citi<en
named Tese at 1elphi, to as" about the outcome of the war. The oracle told
them to sacri,ce a maiden chosen by lot, from the house of .petidae. The lot
fell to the daughter of Lycis"os, who refused to obey and went to Sparta. .
leading citi<en then named .ristodemos, o?ered his own daughter, but the
youth who was in love with her, declared that she was carrying his child.
.ristodemos "illed his daughter, opened her body and showed to everyone
that this was a lie. .fter the sacri,ce &essenians too" courage and attac"ed
the disheartened by the event Spartans, who for si0 years postponed any
invasion.
1uring the thirteen year of the war, the Spartan "ing Theopompos marched
against Ithome and another battle too" place, but again without a victor.
6hen "ing uphaes was "illed in action, .ristodemos too" his place.
!ive years later another battle too" place, in which +orinth too" the side of
Spartans and .rcadians and Si"yonians the side of &essenians. 4ing
.ristodemos won a decisive victory over the Lacedaemonians, who were
driven bac" in their territories. Later things turned against &essenians.
.ristodemos after a dream, in which his daughter appeared showing to him
her wounds, slew himself at her tomb. Shortly afterwards and during the
twentieth year of the war, &essenians abandoned Ithome, which was raised
to the ground by the Spartans. The defeated &essenians were punished
severely and too" an oath, that they would never revolt and they would
deliver to Sparta every year half of their agricultural products. &any families
7ed to .rcadia and the priestly to leusis. Those who stayed in the country
became helots. This was the end of the ,rst &essenian war.
5ot long after the anne0ation of &essenia $:)9 *+%, Sparta founded a colony
at Tarentum in South Italy and it seems that the motive was political. . group
called themselves -artheniai $children of unmarried mothers%, who were not
recogni<ed as citi<ens, attempted revolution and Sparta deemed necessary
that the best solution was to send them away.
Second &essenian 6ar
=9' D ==9 *+
Some years later &essenians revolted and their leader .ristomenes in a
daring move entered Sparta at night and o?ered a shield in the temple of
.thena. Spartans after this event went to the oracle of 1elphi, which gave
them the answer #to ta"e an .thenian adviser#.
Spartans as"ed from the .thenians a general and they sent them Tyrtaeos,
who was poet and lame from the one leg. Tyrtaeos with his poems
encouraged Spartans and helped them to win the war.
1uring the war the leader of &essenians, .ristomenes, was made a great
hero and many stories tal" about him.
.ccording to the legend three times .ristomenes sacri,ced to Zeus Ithomatis,
the soDcalled Hecatophonia, reserved only to the warrior who had "illed with
his own hands one hundred enemies. Three times he was captured by the
Spartans but he managed to escape. His last capture occurred in a battle
between him and many Spartans, in which he was wounded all over his body,
but he was still ,ghting, until a stone found him on the head and fell. He was
captured along with ,fty others and for punishment were thrown into the
deep pit 4aeadas, of the mount Taygetos. .ll the others were "illed, but
.ristomenes fell upon the wings of an eagle and survived. 6hen he reali<ed,
that there was no way to get out from this abyss, he laid down and covered
himself with his cloa", waiting to die. Three days later, during the night he
heard a soft sound and in the dar"ness show a fo0 eating the corpses. He
managed to catch the fo0 from the tail and he was guided by her to a small
hole, which he opened further and passed through.
Immediately he went to the city of ira, which was besieged by Spartans.
-assing from their camp, he "illed many of them in their sleep and plundered
the tents of the generals.
Some time later, in a stormy night and with the help of an informer, the
Spartans entered ira. There was a hard battle, &essenians fought
desperately, the women too, throwing tiles to Spartan soldiers, but at the end
they were defeated.
.ristomenes with many others managed to bra"e the Spartan lines and too"
the women and children in .rcadia. Immediately he chose ,ve hundred men
from &essenian volunteers and with the help of three hundred .rcadians
decided to ta"e Sparta by surprise, now that most of its army was away. They
were ready to move, when they discovered that the "ing of .rcadia,
.ristocrates, had sent a messenger to the phors, informing them about their
plan. The treacherous "ing was "illed in the s2uare of the city by the .rcadian
people with stones and his corpse was thrown out of .rcadia.
The &essenians moved then to 4yllene and from there to lower Italy, where
they founded the new city of &essene. .ristomenes did not follow them and
went to his brother in ;hodes, where he died from bitterness. The &essenians
who did not leave, became Helots and thus ended the second &essenian war.
.rgos
The war of si0 hundred
.round :() *+ the Spartan army under the "ing 5i"adros with the help of
township .sine, ravaged .rgolis. .rgives did not forget this and not much
later too" revenge destroying totally .sine.
In their turn the Spartans anne0ed 4ynouria, which formed part of the
dominion of .rgos.
In '>: *+, the .rgives attempted to recover the territory, but instead of a full
combat they agreed with the Lacedaemonians, to decide the outcome of the
war and the anne0ation of 4ynouria, with three hundred men each. The
con7ict of the si0 hundred chosen soldiers was so ,erce, that only two
.rgives survived and one wounded Spartan. The two .rgive hoplites,
.lcenor and +hromios, left to give the news of their victory, but the Spartan
Othryades managed to spoil the dead bodies of the enemy and then "illed
himself, being ashamed to return to Sparta. *oth sides claimed the victory
and a full battle too" place not much later, in which the .rgives were
defeated.
6ars with Tegea
Spartans attempted various e0peditions against .rcadia and after a long
struggle managed to occupy the southern part of her. *ut they were totally
unsuccessful in the wars, with the city of Tegea. They were losing battle after
battle and in the reign of the Spartan "ings Leon and .gesi"les $'9) *+%, they
carried pompously chains in order to enslave the Tegeans. They met though
with disaster, losing totally the battle and their soldiers were putted in the
very chains, they had brought.
Spartans in their distress as"ed the help of the 1elphi oracle, which advised
them to obtain the bones of Orestes $son of .gamemnon%. The oracle even
directed them to ,nd the remains of the hero at Tegea and Spartans with a
s"illful stratagem succeeded to carry the holy remains home. 6hen that
happened the tide of the war turned. The proud Tegeans lost every battle and
,nally ac"nowledged the supremacy of Sparta, but they were never reduced
to subCection and continued to be masters of their city, becoming only
dependant allies.
4leomenes I
4leomenes came to the throne of Sparta around '() *+. In a rivalry between
4leisthenes of .thens and Isagoras, he was called by Isagoras to help. Indeed
4leomenes forced 4leisthenes and his family to leave the country, but when
he e0pelled ,ve hundred more families and tried to revive the constitution,
the .thenians revolted and besieged 4leomenes in the .cropolis, who
immediately surrendered and left from .ttica. He then assembled an army
from Sparta and with allies marched toward .thens, without telling them that
he wanted to install Isagoras as tyrant in .thens. *ut when the army came to
.ttica, the +orinthians learned the purpose of the e0pedition and abandoned
the enterprise. The second "ing of Sparta, "ing 1emaratos, who had Coined
the e0pedition refused also to go further and returned home and thus the
e0pedition collapsed.
This gave the opportunity to .thens to attac" the Thebans and +hal"idaeans,
who were ravaging .ttica and defeated them both.
In Sparta, after the "ings 2uarrel, a new law was passed that in the future
only one "ing would command an e0pedition. They also summoned the
League and proposed to restore Hippias in .thens, who had been a friend of
Sparta and had come from .sia for the meeting. .gain +orinthians and other
allies reCected the plan.
.round ')' *+, a war between Sparta and .rgos too" place, but the reasons
are un"nown.
In >33 *+, the Ionian leader .ristagoras came to Sparta to as" help in their
revolt against -ersia. 4leomenes refused and ordered him out of the city.
4leomenes advanced into .rgolis, but he failed to ta"e .rgos. He then as"ed
ships from Si"yon and .igina which unwillingly gave them and landed near
Tyrinth. There he found, at a place called Sepea, which was between .rgos
and the sea, the .rgive army. *y gross carelessness of the .rgives, he
surprised them and defeated them. The .rgives then tried to ,nd refuge in
the sacred grove of the Hero .rgos. 4leomenes surrounded them and in a
unthin"able for the Aree" customs action, he set ,re to the grove. Si0
thousand .rgives lost their lives at that day, almost two thirds of the whole
army $>3> *+%.
4leomenes instigated Leotychides, the ne0t heir in the -ro"leid line of "ings,
to 2uestion the legitimacy of "ing 1emaratos. To resolve the problem the
Spartans went to the 1elphi oracle, which declared 1emaratos as an
illegitimate "ing.
6hen later was "nown, that 4leomenes had bribed the oracle, they ordered
him home, but he 7ed ,rst to Thessaly and later to .rcadia, where he wor"ed
for a -anD.rcadian alliance.
The Spartans called him again with promises, but when he arrived, he was
attac"ed by the people, who following their old habit, they were hitting him in
his head. The phors pronounced him insane. He committed suicide, having
mutilated himself with a "nife $>99 *+%.

The -ersian 6ars
.fter the suppression of the Ionic revolt, "ing 1arius started preparing an
army to attac" Areece.
The -ersian e0pedition that followed under &ardonios ended in disaster,
losing his 7eet in a terrible storm in the promontory of mount .thos. 1arius
was not disheartened and having in his court the tyrant Hippias, "eeping alive
his resentment against .thens, he started preparing a second e0pedition and
on a larger scale. He ,rst sent heralds to as" earth and water from the
various Aree" cities. The .thenians threw them in the barathron pit and the
Spartans in a well, to ,nd there their #earth and water#.
!or the ,rst time the Aree" cities, in the face of the imminent danger were all
united, recogni<ing Sparta as the leader of Areece. Sparta refused to send an
army to help .thens in &arathon and only arrived after the battle to ,nd in
their ama<ement that the .thenians had won a complete victory $>3) *+%.
Areece was fortunate that the ne0t invasion was led by the son of 1arius,
Eer0es, a much inferior man than his father.
*attle of Thermopylae
>9) *+
Leonidas, "ing of SpartaOn the arrival of Eer0es at Thermopylae, he found
that the place was defended by a body of three hundred Spartans and about
seven thousand hoplites from other states, commanded by the Spartan "ing
Leonidas.
Eer0es learning about the small number of Aree" forces and that several
Spartans outside the walls were e0ercising and combing their hairs, in his
perple0ity, immediately called 1emaratos to e0plain him the meaning of all
these. 1emaratos told him that the Spartans will defend the place to the
death and it was custom to wash and dress their hairs with special care when
they intended to put their lives in great danger. Eer0es who did not believe
1emaratos, delayed his attac" for four days, thin"ing that the Aree"s as soon
as they would reali<e his great forces will disperse.
He sent also heralds as"ing to deliver up their arms. The answer from
Leonidas was #come and ta"e them# $FGHIJ HKLM%.
. Spartan, who was told about the great number of -ersian soldiers, who with
their arrows will conceal the sun, he answeredN #so much the better, we will
,ght in the shade#.
.t the ,fth day Eer0es attac"ed but without any results and with heavy
losses, though the &edes fought bravely. He then ordered his personal guard
the #Immortals# under Hyrdanes, a body of ten thousand consisting from the
best -ersian soldiers, to advance. They also failed and Eer0es was observed
to Cump from his throne three times in anger and agony. The following day
they attac"ed, but again made no progress. Eer0es was desperate but his
luc" changed when a &alian named phialtes told him about a secret path
across the mountain. Immediately a strong -ersian force was sent with
Hyrdanes, guided by the traitor. .t day8s brea" they reached the summit,
where the -ho"ian army was stationed and who upon seeing the -ersians
7ed.
6hen Leonidas learned all these incidents, he ordered the council of war to
be summoned. &any were of the opinion that they should retire and ,nd a
better defendable place, but Leonidas, who was bound by the laws of Sparta
and from an oracle, which had declared that either Sparta or a Spartan "ing
must perish, refused. Three hundred Spartans and seven hundred Thespians
too" the decision to stay and ,ght. The rest were permitted to leave, with the
e0ception of four hundred *oeotians, which were retained as hostages.
The battle at Thermopylae, >3) *+.
Leonidas did not wait the -ersian attac", which had being delayed by Eer0es
and advanced in the path, he fell upon the -ersians. Thousands of them were
slain, the rest were driven near the sea, but when the Spartan spears bro"e,
they started having losses and one of the ,rst that fell was "ing Leonidas.
.round his body one of the ,ercest battles too" place. !our times the -ersians
attac"ed to obtain it and four times they were repulsed. .t the end, the
Spartans e0hausted and wounded, carrying the body of Leonidas, retired
behind the wall, but they were surrounded by the enemy, who "illed them
with arrows.
On the spot, a marble lion was set by the Aree"s in honor of Leonidas and his
men, together with two other monuments near by. On one of them, the
memorable words were writtenN
#O PQRJ KSSMHHQTJ UKVQWKTXGJRGTY, Z[T [\WQ VQRXQ]K,
[GTY VQRJ^J _\XK`T aQT]ZXQJGT#.
#Oh stranger tell the Lacedaemonians, that we lie here,
obedient to their laws#.
*attle of -lataea
>:3 *+
The reluctance, which Sparta showed after the battle of Thermopylae until a
little before the battle of -lataea, did not help the Aree" cause. *ut when
,nally she too" the decision to engage seriously herself in the war, it did it in
a great manner.
!ive thousand citi<ens, each one attended by seven Helots, together with ,ve
thousand Lacedaemonian -erioi"oi $each one attended by one light armed
Helot% marched toward the Isthmos. This was a very large army and never in
the past Sparta had sent such a big force in the ,eld. .t Isthmos, she was
Coined with the -eloponnesian allies and marched towards &egara. The army
was Coined there by three thousand &egarians and ,nally at -lataea with
eight thousand .thenian hoplites. The city of -lataea also contributed si0
hundred hoplites, who came from Salamis, under the command of .risteides.
The number of Aree" army were now thirty eight thousand hoplites, who with
light armed troops and the Helots reached one hundred and ten thousand
men. This number includes the eighteen hundred badly armed Thespians.
There was no cavalry and the bow men were very few.
6hen &ardonios learned the approach of Lacedaemonians, he left .ttica and
by way of 1e"eleia crossed the mount -arnes and entered *oeotia. &arching
two days along the .sopos river, he encamped near the town of -lataea.
Aree" 6arrior The Aree"s after consulting the Aods with sacri,ces at leusis
marched over the ridge of 4ithairon mountain and descending from the
northern side they saw the encamped -ersian army in the valley of .sopos.
4ing -ausanias who was waiting good omens from sacri,ces held his troops
from the attac"s of the -ersian cavalry, near rythrae, where the ground is
ragged and uneven, but even this did not prevent the commander &asistios
to attac" the Aree"s. 6hen the &egarians were in great danger su?ering
many losses, three hundred .thenian hoplites succeeded in repulsing the
-ersians, "illing the tall and brave &asistios. His body was paraded in
triumph, in a cart. This event encouraged -ausanias, who positioned the army
on the plain, in a line at the right ban" of .sopos.
6hen &ardonios learned the change in the position of the Aree"s he ordered
his army to be placed opposite to them on the other side of .sopos. Himself
too" the post in the left wing, facing the Lacedaemonians. The rest of his
army consisting from &edi<ed Aree"s, ,fty thousand strong, were opposite to
.thenians. The center of &ardonios composed from *actrians Sacae and
Indians. The whole army was numbering three hundred thousand men.
!or eight days the attac" was delayed from both sides by unfavorable
sacri,ces. On the eight day &ardonios by the advice of the Theban leader
Timagenidas cut o? the supplies of the Aree"s and captured a big supply in
one of the passes of 4ithaeron. .rtaba<os too, advised him to continue this
line of harassing and wearing but &ardonios was impatient and ordered his
cavalry to attac", which obtained possession of the fountain of Aargapheia.
-ausanias summoned the council of war and too" the decision to retreat, to a
place called the Island, which was two "ilometers further and halfway
between it and the town of -lataea. 6hen -ausanias at night gave the order
of retreat, some Spartans refused to move. Threats did nothing to persuade
the Spartan captain .momferatus, who too" a huge roc" and threw it at the
feet of -ausanias, with the wordsN #with this pebble I give my vote not to 7y#.
-ausanias who had no time to lose since daybrea" was near, he left
.mompheratus and his lochos behind and hurried to the island. &ardonios
ordered attac" when he learned that the Aree"s had retreated. His army
passing the waters of .sopos started to throw arrows to the Aree"s, who did
not engage, even in this moment, in battle until they received a good omen
from the sacri,ces. &ardonios at the head of his one thousand bodyguards
was in the front line ,ghting bravely, until he was struc" down by the Spartan
.imnestos. 6hen &ardonios fell the -ersian army 7ed to their forti,ed camp.
*ut this did not save them, the Aree"s managed to enter and a great
massacre too" place. Only three thousand -ersians who escaped, from the
three hundred thousand, survived. The Aree"s lost only one thousand and
three hundred men.
In >=> *+, during the night, a powerful earth2ua"e shoo" Sparta and the rest
of Lacedaemon. The earth opened and the summits of mount Taygetos were
torn. .ll the houses of Sparta fell down e0cept ,ve. This catastrophe
continued for ,ve days. .t least twenty thousand Lacedaemonians lost their
lives.

The -eloponnesian war I
>B/ D >(/ *+
The unavoidable clash between Sparta and .thens came with an incident at
the friendly to .thens city of -lataea. .rchidamos invaded .ttica in the spring
of >B/ *+ without opposition, since .thens had ta"en the decision not to
engage to a land battle with Sparta and thus started the -eloponnesian war,
that lasted for (9 years. The ,rst ten years of the war $>B/ D >(/ *+% were
named #.rchidamios war# from the name of the able "ing of Sparta
.rchidamos.
On the side of Lacedaemonians were all the -eloponnesian states with the
e0ception of .rgos and .chaea which entered the war Coining Sparta later.
They were also the *oeotians, &egarians, Lo"rians, -ho"aeans, Leu"adians,
.mbra"iotes and .na"torians. The coast states supplied ships, the *oeotians,
Locrians and -ho"ians with cavarly.
On the side of .thens were the -lataeans, +hians, Lesbians, &essenians,
+or"yraeans, Za"ynthians, ."arnanians as well as the towns of the coast of
.sia and Thrace and all the isles of .egean, e0cept &elos and Thera. The
.thenian troops were (3,))) hoplites, /()) horsemen and /=)) archers and
her navy was B)) triremes without counting those of her allies. The +hians,
+or"yraeans and Lesbians supplied shipping.
.rchidamos forces which entered .ttica consisted from about =),))) to
/)),))) men and at the beginning he tried unsuccessful attac"s upon the
fortress of Oenoe, on mount 4ithairon, failing to ta"e it. He then marched
towards leusis, where he arrived at the middle of @une >B/ *+. .fter
ravaging the Thracian plain he encamped at .charnae, seven miles from
.thens. In the meantime the .thenians had collected the population within
the walls and had sent all the animals to uboea. .rchidamos evacuated
.ttica at the end of @uly and his army was dismantled immediately. bpon his
departure the .thenians at the end of September, attac"ed &egara which
they ravaged totally.
.t the spring of >B) *+, .rchidamos again invaded .ttica, but in the
meantime the plague had bro"en out in .thens. The Lacedaemonians with
greater force ravaged all the neighborhood of .thens marching as far as the
mines of Laurium. In their turn .thenians, with /)) triremes under the
command of 4nemos devastated the island of Za"ynthos.
.t the third year of the war $>(3 *+% .rchidamos marched towards the city of
-lataea and demanded to hand him over the city and their land properties,
promising that after the war everything would be restored to them. The
maCority of -lataeans were in favor of the proposal, but .thenians e0horted
them to hold out promising them assistance. .fter their refusal, .rchidamos
surrounded the small city of -lataea and the famous siege started. !or three
months Spartans tried everything to con2uer the city but without success.
They then decided to bloc"ade and starve the population. The double walls of
-lataea build by the Spartans!or this they surrounded -lataea with a double
wall, but even this measure had no success. .fter two years, when the
provisions of -lataea started to run short, (/( men escaped in a stormy
1ecember night. The rest of the population surrendered in >(: *+. They were
put in trial before ,ve Spartan Cudges and e0ecuted. The town of -lataea was
transferred to Thebes, who after a few months destroyed all the private
houses to the ground.
In the fourth and ,fth year of the war Spartans again invaded .ttica. In the
si0th year of the war $>(= *+% the Spartans did not invade .ttica. . series of
severe earth2ua"es and 7oods occurred in various parts of Areece. .t .thens
the pla2ue reappeared.
1uring the seventh year of the war the Lacedaemonian army under the
command of .gis invaded .ttica, but only for the sort time of ,fteen days.
.gis was recalled and marched towards -ylos, because the .thenians had
established a military post at -ylos in &essenia. The -eloponnesian 7eet that
was in +or"yra under the command of Thrasymelidas, was also ordered to
sail to -ylos. Thrasymelidas on arriving at -ylos with his 7eet, he occupied the
small but densely wooded island of Sfacteria with four hundred and twenty
hoplites and their helots. -art of these men, two hundred and ninetyDtwo,
among them many belonging to chief families, were later captured by the
.thenian 4leon and brought to .thens in chains, the rest had been "illed after
a severe con7ict on the islet. The event surprised the Hellenic world who
"new that Spartans never surrendered. Sparta was now in a bad position. The
&essenians from -ylos together with the runaway helots were able to plunder
the country, also Sparta could not invade .ttica, "nowing that the captured
men would put immediately to death.
The eighth year of the war $>(> *+% was disastrous for .thens. They defeated
at the battle of 1elium, by the Thebans. They also lost Thrace. .fter all these
.thenians seriously considered the proposals for peace by Sparta.
.t the same year one of the biggest crimes, committed in ancient Areece,
occurred. Sparta pretending to give liberty to the most worthy Helots, who
had fought bravely, selected two thousand of the best men and after
honoring them and crowning them with garlands at a ceremony, slain them
by secret orders from the phors. The reason being, that Sparta felt
threatened from their increased power.
In the ninth year of the war $>(B *+% a truce was signed for a year, on which
a permanent peace would be prepared. *ut the negotiations were interrupted
two days after the signing of the truce, when .thenians learned that Scione
had revolted and was under the command of *rasidas. In .ugust, an .thenian
force by the command of 4leon was sent to Scione. .t the battle that
followed, both 4leon and *rasidas were "illed and thus the obstacles for
permanent peace sei<ed to e0ist.
The Spartan "ing -leistoana0 and general 5i"ias of .thens, in the spring of
>(/ *+, signed a peace treaty for ,fty years, the soDcalled peace of 5i"ias.
The Spartan prisoners were returned and .thens was allowed to "eep the
cities of .nactorium, Sollium and 5isae. 5ot everybody was satis,ed by the
peace and the allies of Sparta, +orinth, Thebes, &egara and leans refused to
ratify it.
1uring the peace between Sparta and .thens matters were far from being
satisfactory. Her allies, *oeotians and +orinthians never accepted the peace
and .thens refused to evacuate -ylos. .l"ibiades of .thens persuaded both
.chaea and -atrae to ally with .thens and helped .rgos in the attac" upon
pidauros, which they ravaged. Spartans could not accept all these and
assembling a large army in which her allies were participating, invaded .rgos
and surrounded the .rgive army. . battle was ready to start when two .rgive
oligarch leaders came to "ing .gis of Sparta and persuaded him to sign a
truce for four months. . little later .l"ibiades leading a force of one thousand
hoplites and four hundred cavalry came to assist .rgives and persuaded
them to attac" the city of Orchomenos in .rcadia. .fter they con2uered
Orchomenos they marched against Tegea. In the meantime "ing .gis, who
had being blamed for the truce with the .rgives, marched with a large force
in the territory of &antinea and positioned himself near the temple of
Hercules. The .rgives and their allies left the city of &antinea and in a well
chosen ground o?ered battle. 4ing .gis was ready to attac" them at this
advantageous for the .rgives ground, but when the Spartans came close, an
old Spartan warrior told him, that with his act was trying #to heal one
mischief by another#. These words made him to withdraw his men. .fter this,
the .rgives too" position in the plain and tried to attac" them by surprise.
The right section of the .rgive army, which was consisted from the 7ower of
aristocracy, a permanent body of one thousand chosen soldiers drilled and
maintained by the city of .rgos, were successful to route the
Lacedaemonians, but .gis with the rest of his army which was more
successful, he managed to win the battle $@une >/9 *+%. .thenians lost two
hundred hoplites included the generals Laches and 5i"ostratos, the .rgives
and their allies lost another nine hundred men. !rom the Lacedaemonian
army only three hundred men lost. ven after all these, the peace of 5i"ias
typically was still in e0istence.
-reparations before the battle
The -eloponnesian war II
>/' D >)> *+
In >/' *+, in the e0pedition of .thenians in Syracuse, the Spartan general
Aylippos with four ships came to the assistance of Syracuse. Though his force
was small, he helped greatly Syracuse to win the war. He ,rstly captured the
.thenian fort at Labdalum, that made him master of pipolae and build
forti,cations. He then constructed a counter wall to intersect the .thenian
lines at the north side. . little later he was reinforced by the arrival of thirty
triremes. This small participation of Sparta in the war was of the outmost
importance.
.fter the .thenian disaster in Syracuse, the war between .thens and Sparta
became maritime. Lacedaemonians gave a better attention on their naval
power. . new occe, that of 5avarchia, was risen. The 5avarchos $.dmiral%
was even superior to the phors. In the beginning though Sparta had not
much success.
In .ugust of >// *+, the -eloponnesian 7eet commanded by &indaros lost
the naval battle at 4ynossema. The .thenian 7eet though smaller in force, in
the straits of Sestos and .bydos, gained a complete victory.
In >/) *+, .l"ibiades managed to capture the whole -eloponnesian 7eet at
4y<icos. &indaros was "illed and the second in command Spartan sent a
letter to the phors in Laconic formN #Ships goned &indaros deadd men
starvingd no idea what to do.#
Spartans were so discouraged, that they sent the phor ndius to .thens for
a peace agreement but the .thenians, who were in7uenced by the
demagogue 4leophon, reCected the o?er.
Spartans now appointed a new navarchos, the able man Lysander. 6hen his
turn of command e0pired, he was succeeded by 4allicratidas, who increased
the number of ships of the Spartan 7eet. There was a naval battle at the
harbor of &ytelene with the .thenian 7eet under 4onon. The .thenians, who
were outnumbered, lost the battle and thirty ships. .nother forty ships were
saved by bringing them ashore, near the walls of the town.
4allicratidas then bloc"ade the island. 6hen the news arrived at .thens they
sent a 7eet of one hundred and ten triremes and they were reinforced with
another forty later. The number of ships of 4allicratidas were one hundred
and twenty. .t the small island of .rginusae, the .thenian 7eet met the
Spartan and after a hard struggle defeated them $>)= *+%. The
Lacedaemonians lost seventy seven ships and the rest were retreated at
+hios and -hocaea. 4allicratidas was thrown overboard, when his ship was hit
by another and perished. The .thenians lost only twenty ,ve ships.
Though it was illegal for an admiral to have a second term, Lysander, with the
title of pistoleus $bearer of letters%, too" the command of the Spartan 7eet.
He immediately obtained large sums of money from 4yros, "ing of -ersia, to
rebuild the 7eet and made siege on Lampsacus.
The .thenians, who came to help, arrived too late to save the city and too"
post at .egospotamoi $Aoat8s river% close to the city of Lampsacus. Lysander
who systematically avoided a naval battle, since his ships were outnumbered,
he managed to capture the enemy 7eet after treachery or negligence of the
.thenians. .ll >))) .thenian prisoners were put to death. This event
substantially mar"ed the end of .thens.
0pedition in .sia
.fter the fall of .thens, Sparta became the undisputed leader of Areece for
B> years. Her ,rst move was to punish the leans, who along with .rgos and
&antinea had ta"en the arms against them, during the war with .thens and
also for the insults they had received when they e0cluded them from the
games of Olympia. They demanded from leans to pay for the e0penses of
the war and resign their authority over the dependent townships in Trifylia.
leans of course did not accept these demands and in >)( *+ "ing .gis
entered in their territory but unfavorable omens and an earth2ua"e forced
the Spartans to return home.
In the following year they invaded lean again. .fter ravaging and plundering
the territory, they forced them to a humiliating peace.
.t >)) *+, "ing .gis died and he was succeeded by .gesilaos, who led an
army into .sia.
It was the ,rst time, that a Aree" army had entered .sia, from the times of
.gamemnon.
In B3= *+, he arrived and too" command of the city of phesos. 6hen the
satrap Tissaphernes ordered him to 2uit .sia, .gesilaos fooled him and
instead of attac"ing +aria, as was e0pected, he moved towards -hrygia, the
satrapy of .rnava<os and reached 1as"ylium, where he was repulsed by the
-ersian cavalry. He then returned to phesos, where he prepared a cavalry.
Shortly later he again fooled Tissaphernes, ma"ing "nown that he would
march toward Sardis. Tissaphernes who thought that this was another tric",
dispersed his cavalry elsewhere and .gesilaos unopposed, he arrived at the
river -actolos, where a battle too" place and the -ersians were defeated.
In the meantime, Tissaphernes was assassinated and Tithrastes too" his
place, who persuaded .gesilaos to 2uit his satrapy for the sum of thirty
talents. .gesilaos then moved to the satrapy of .rtava<os now, whose
magnanimity he appreciated and left his territory also and entered the plains
of Thebes, close to the gulf of leus.
In B3> *+, during his preparations for a big e0pedition in the interior of .sia
&inor, he was recalled home, because Sparta felt threatened.
.gesilaos during his e0pedition in .sia had been appointed 5avarchos
$admiral%. He was the ,rst man in Sparta to ac2uire so much power. He
immediately started to prepare a new 7eet of /() triremes and put to the
command his brother in law -isander. In the beginning of .ugust of the same
year, half of Sparta8s 7eet was captured or destroyed by the .thenian 7eet
under 4onon, in the peninsula of 4nidos in +aria. -isander who fought
gallantry perished in the battle.
.bout the same time with the naval battle at 4nidos there was another battle
of Sparta against the Coining forces of Thebes, .thens, +orinth and .rgos
fought in the territory of +orinth which Sparta won $battle of +orinth B3> *+%.
*attle of 4oronea
In .ugust of B3> *+, "ing .gesilaos returned from the e0pedition in .sia and
brought his army in the valley 4oronea of *oeotia. !rom the other side
Thebans, .thenians and their allies were ready for battle.
The two armies came silently close to each other. 6hen they reached a
distance of two hundred meters, the Thebans raised their usual paeans and
started to run towards the Spartan army, who moved only when the Thebans
came about one hundred meters close. Thebans 2uic"ly overpowered the
opposite of them soldiers of Orchomenos, in the left wing, but .gesilaos, who
had also success on the other side cut the Thebans from the rest of the army.
5ow Thebans were forced to attac" the Spartans, in order to Coin with their
allies. It was such the force of the impact of the two armies, that the spears
bro"e. -ushing with shields each other, they only could use their daggers.
*oth armies fought desperately but Thebans made their way through bra"ing
the Spartan lines. 4ing .gesilaos, though many times wounded was at the
front ran"s and fought with valor. The outcome of the battle though indecisive
ended with victory of Sparta.
. few years later, the disgraceful peace of .ntal"idas $B9: *+% too" place, in
which Sparta was permitting the -ersians to interfere in the a?airs of Hellas.
In the remar" of someone, who said that Spartans were &edi<ing, .gesilaos
replied #say rather that the &edes are Laconi<ing#.
Occupation of Thebes
The city of Thebes, which had not ta"en any serious part in the -eloponnesian
war, was prospering but as was usual with all the Aree" cities, was torn inside
from the ,ghts of oligarchs and democrats.
That was the case, when Leontiades a prominent oligarch, as"ed for help
from the near Thebes encamped Spartan army, under general -hoebidas
$B9( *+%. Leontiades, in order to e0pel the democrats from Thebes, proposed
to the general to ta"e over 4admeia, something which was accepted eagerly.
.ll these were happening during the celebration of Thesmophoria, when
women alone were performing ceremonies to honor the founder of the city,
4admos, and they were no males on the citadel. -hoebidas and his army
entered 4admeia, without any dicculties.
Ismenias, the leader of the democratic party was tried and e0ecuted. The
oligarchs, with the help of the Spartan garrison, started con,scating and
e0ecuting the democrats. &any of them found refuge at .thens. !rom there
they started thin"ing how to free their city.
.t ,rst, they tried to get help especially from .thens, but soon they despaired
and started designing various plots to liberate Thebes by themselves. .mong
the e0iles they were many belonging to wealthy and noble families, such as
-elopidas, 1amo"leidas, &elon and others. They were in constant
communication with other members which were still in Thebes, the most
prominent of them being -hyllidas the secretary of the polemarch .rchias and
+haron.
bpon arrival of -hyllidas in .thens for occial business it was arranged to
provide the opportunity for the e0iles to struc". +haron would provide shelter
in his home. -hyllidas arranged a ban2uet for .rchias and -hilippus and
promised them beautiful women for company.
In 1ecember of B:3 *+, -elopidas, &elon and ,ve companions left .thens
and disguised as rustics and hunters, entered the city of Thebes at night fall
and hid in +haron8s house. Together with other conspirators from Thebes,
they totaled >9 persons. . spy of .rchias, reported to him that they were
rumors that some of the e0iles were in town. .rchias called +haron to give
some answers. +haron though worried, went 2uic"ly to him and from his
2uestions understood that he had no facts but only suspicions. He promised
to loo" upon the matter and left.
Soon after a messenger from .thens came with a letter in which the full
conspiracy was revealed. .rchias, who by now was drun", threw it aside,
saying the famous words #brgent business for tomorrow#. Immediately after,
the conspirators disguised as women entered the room and "illed .rchias and
-hilippus and everyone else who was there.
-hyllidas then sent -elopidas, 4ephisodorus and 1amo"leidas to Leontiades
house. There was a hard ,ght in which Leontiades, a strong man, mortally
wounded in the throat 4ephisodorus. -elopidas, after a long struggle in the
narrow hall of his house, "illed Leontiades. 6ith the death of the two tyrants,
the e0iles from .thens returned.
pameinondas with some of the young men bro"e open the armorer8s shops
and called the citi<ens to ,ght for their freedom. .fter all these, the Spartan
garrison of /')) men, left Thebes for Sparta $B:9 *+%.
In B:' *+, near Tegyra, -elopidas with the Theban Sacred *and defeated the
Spartan army, though his troops were half in number. *eing informed that the
Spartan garrison in Orchomenos were visiting Lo"ris, he marched with the
Sacred *and in order to give battle. He met them at Tegyra and than"s to his
encouragement in a narrow pass he defeated them, "illing both of the
Lacedaemonian commanders. The rest of the Spartan army dispersed and
7ed. This was a heroic achievement by -elopidas, ta"ing in consideration the
smaller number of his troops and the Spartan valor. It was this battle that
gave con,dence to Thebans to meet Spartans four years later in Leuctra.
In B:( *+, .ntal"idas dispatched again in -ersia as"ing them to intervene,
when Thebes violated the peace by reDestablishing the *oeotian
confederation. .thens too was dissatis,ed with Thebes, who recently had
destroyed the city of -lataea. 5egotiations for peace between .thens and
Sparta started and in the congress which too" place in B:/ *+, in the city of
Sparta, Thebes was invited too.
The Thebans, who wanted to ta"e the oath for the treaty as head of the
confederacy, refused to ta"e it for their city alone and only the threat of war
persuade them to consent. .fter that incident Sparta8s ,rst priority was to
wea"en Thebes, by brea"ing the Theban confederacy.
In the dissatis,ed from the confederacy cities of Orchomenos and Thespiae,
they installed a garrison.
To the city of &antinea, who had helped .rgos in the war with Sparta, they
sent a messenger demanding to ra<e their walls. In their hesitation,
.gesipolis did not wait and bringing an army he too" &antinea. Spartans
demolished their forti,cation and reduced the city in the ,ve villages, as it
was in the past.
The battle of Leuctra
B:/ *+
In B:/ *+, on the plain of Leuctra, Spartans were defeated again from the
Theban Sacred *and, this time under the leadership of Aeneral
pameinondas, though the Theban forces were outnumbered by the
Lacedaemonians, pameinondas with a series of ingenious tactics and with
the help of his supreme trained men of the Sacred *and defeated the
invincible Spartan army. He arrayed the best men of his troops, ,fty shields
deep, opposite to the opponent right wing occupied by the Spartans, which
were twelve shields deep, leaving his center and left wing wea" and ordering
them to stay momentarily out of action. The battle started with the
engagement of Spartan and Theban cavalries, which ended 2uic"ly with the
defeat of Spartans. -elopidas leading the Sacred *and fell upon the Spartans
with irresistible force but the Spartans fought bravely and at ,rst were
victorious. It was only when leading Spartans fell that the Spartan lines
pushed and bro"e carrying away the rest of the army and driving them to the
camp. 4ing 4leombrotos of Sparta and many of his occers were "illed. The
rest of the army hardly had any serious ,ghting. !rom the :)) Spartans who
too" part in the battle, only B)) survived. The whole Hellas was in soc" from
the event, understanding that a new power had risen. .t .rgos, there was a
revolution and the people put to death many of the upper class proDspartan.
.fter the battle they sent heralds to .thens proclaiming their victory over the
Spartans, but .thenians were not satis,ed with the turn of events. 5ow they
had a new superpower a few miles from .thens. They also sent a herald to
@ason of -herae in Thessaly. @ason upon hearing the news said he would come
2uic"ly in Thebes with triremes, but instead with great speed and passing
through enemy territory he arrived in *oeotia. There the Theban leaders
proposed him to attac" the encamped Spartans and her allies. @ason and
pameinondas refused and managed to persuade them to let them go and
thus saving Spartans from a bigger catastrophe. Spartans indeed soon left
and at .igosthena they met with .rchidamos who was marching to help
them. !rom there they returned home.
6ith the battle of Leuctra, the Hegemony of Areece passed from Sparta to
Thebes, but for the short time of ten years. It did no good and as that of
Sparta it hurt Areece greatly. Thebes had no e0perienced and "nowledgeable
men, nor her economy could withstand this. It failed as Sparta did, to unite
the Aree" cities and stop the blood bath of Areece. There was turmoil all over
-eloponnese. The inhabitants of &antinea in .rcadia, which had been bro"en
in several villages, too" bac" their capital and build new walls. In Tegea of
.rcadia, the people formed an .rcadian federation. In two years time a
powerful confederation was born that was including e0cept the old alliances,
-ho"is, Locris, .itolia and uboea. .fter the battle of Leuctra, Thebes made
again peace with .thens and wanted to destroy Orchomenos for being in
alliance with the Spartans. The city was saved than"s to the great e?orts of
pameinondas, but not for long. . few years later when pameinondas was at
an e0pedition in *y<antium, the city was ra<ed, its male citi<ens were "illed
and the rest were sold in slavery. That, it was another big blunder by the
Thebans.
Thebes invades Laconia
In .rcadia, an ally of Thebes, "ing .gesilaos of Sparta was ravaging its
territories. In reply to this, Thebes sent an army under pameinondas. 6hen
.gesilaos heard the news, he evacuated .rcadia and returned to Sparta, to
protect her.
bpon pameinondas arrival in .rcadia, he Coined forces with members of the
confederation from .rcadia, .rgos and lis. The total number of the army
force was amounted to about ,fty thousand men. The confederation pressed
strongly pameinondas, to invade Laconia, e0plaining to him that there was a
general discontent and by this time many -erioi"oi had revolted.
He was ,nally persuaded and in the autumn of B:) *+, invaded Laconia from
four di?erent routes, marching towards Sparta.
Only the .rcadians encountered serious resistance, by the Spartan Ischolaos
at Ium, in the district S"iritis. Ischolaos and his divisions fell to the last man.
!inally, they all met at Sellasia, which they destroyed and burned and from
there, they marched towards Sparta, which was saved from "ing .gesilaos,
who had ta"en a series of defenses to protect the unwalled city.
pameinondas who understood the danger of an attac" towards the city in
human loss, abandoned any further attempts to con2uer the city. !rom there,
burning and plundering villages, he marched towards the port and arsenal of
Sparta, Aythium, which he attempted to con2uer for three days, without
success.
pameinondas then returned to .rcadia and under his supervision a new city
was built at the ban"s of the river Helisson, as the capital of the .rcadian
confederation and it was named &egalopolis $the big city%. In &egalopolis, a
synod of deputies from all the towns of the confederation, was to meet
periodically, to manage their a?airs.
.fter this pameinondas entered &essenia, in order to liberate her from the
Spartans. In the mean time defection among the -erioi"oi and Helots had
already started. pameinondas re founded &essene and in the hills of mount
Ithome built e0cellent forti,cations stretched for four miles, which are still
preserved today. .ll of these had a devastating e?ect in the economy of
Sparta, which lost half of its territory for ever and had no more the people to
provide for its military.
In the meantime, Sparta had as"ed help from .thens. Iphicrates with an
.thenian army of twenty thousand men, marched to .rcadia. pameinondas
hearing the news evacuated Laconia 2uic"ly and headed to .rcadia. The two
armies, though close, did not engage in full battle. Iphicrates, who decided
that his mission had been accomplished, returned to .thens.
pameinondas too, returned to Thebes and he was put to a trial, because he
e0tended the time of his e0pedition and also for being paci,c and inactive.
He defended himself successfully, increasing even more his popularity.
The accomplishments of his e0pedition were great. He wea"ened and
humiliated Sparta and at the same time he increased the reputation of his
army.
*ecause it was essential to communicate with her allies, in the spring of B=3
*+, pameinondas again tried to invade -eloponnese, but this time
.thenians, Spartans and their allies were occupying the line of mount Onean
and 4enchreae, in order to prevent him to enter -eloponnese. pameinondas
arrived and tried without success to ma"e them ,ght in battle, even though
his army was smaller. He encamped and a few hours before day brea"
surprised them, by attac"ing and defeating the Spartan and -ellenian line. He
was thus enabled to enter -eloponnese and Coin with his allies .rcadians,
lians and .rgians. Si"yon deserted Sparta, after a vote ta"en by its people
and admitted an harmost and a Theban garrison into its .cropolis. The same
did -ellene. .fter the army ravaged the territories of pidauros and -hleious,
he tried by surprise to ta"e the town of +orinth, but they defeated by the
.thenian general Aavrias, who resisted with great s"ill. .fter this
unsuccessful attempt, the Theban army returned home.
1uring the year of B=9 *+, pameinondas did not underta"e any e0pedition
into -eloponnese, instead -elopidas with an army Theban force entered
Thessaly, to protect Larissa from "ing .le0ander of &acedonia. -elopidas
forced him to solicit peace, ta"ing among the ,fty hostages the future "ing of
&acedonia, the son of .myntas, -hilip, who stayed for some years at the city
of Thebes.
In B== *+, Thebes enlarged the confederation by including cities of the
+orinthian gulf and .chaia, but lost them again, when demanded that their
oligarchic government ought to be deposed. That was a great mista"e,
showing the luc" of e0perienced men.
In B=> *+, after insistence of pameinondas, a large number of war ships
were constructed and sailing them towards Hellispond. pameinondas
succeeded to win over *y<antium. !inancial dicculties as well as luc" of
e0perience in maritime, put an end in the ambitions of Thebes.
The battle of &antinea
B=( *+
In B=B *+, in a surprising move .rcadians sei<ed Olympia and stole their
treasury. 6ar bro"e with lis but with the intervention of Thebes, Olympia was
returned and peace followed. 1uring the negotiations the Theban
representative tried to arrest certain antiDThebans. That had as result
&antinea and the rest of northern .rcadians, e0cept Tegea, to turn over to
Sparta. .thens which was monitoring the situation Coined together with lis.
Thebes had no option but to send 2uic"ly pameinondas with a big army
against &antinea. .t Tegea about ten miles distance from &antinea, he Coined
army with them but in une0pected move instead of &antinea he marched
towards Sparta. bnli"e the ,rst time this move would have ta"en by surprise
.gesilaos who by this time was marching in a circular root to support
&antinea. *ut a 4retan spy in the Theban camp, trained in long distance
running, informed .gesilaos who turned bac". 6hen pameinondas reached
Sparta and found out what had happened he moved 2uic"ly towards
&antinea before her allies arrival. It was probably really this his obCect and
not of course to attac" Sparta ,but not everything went according to his plan.
*y this time the .thenian army had Cust arrived. 5ow pameinondas had no
option but to engage himself in a pitched battle.
The two armies met before &antinea in B=( *+. The Theban army, comprising
from Thebans and *oeotians moved forward. The rest of the army was left
behind in echelon formation with the e0ception of troops that "ept a high
ground in order to prevent out 7agging from the right. .s the army moved,
pameinondas turned 2uic"ly leftwards and near the slopes of the mountain
and then he gave order to the soldiers to leave the arms down and rest. The
Spartans and &antineans thin"ing that pameinondas had no intention to
,ght a battle, they bro"e lines.
pameinondas, who was awaiting for this, ordered a 2uic" attac". The
massive Theban body fell upon Spartans and &antineans with irresistible
force brea"ing their lines and bringing confusion and chaos to the rest of the
army.
The battle had been almost won when pameinondas fell pierced by a spear
in the breast. They lied him on a hill, waiting for the ,nal outcome of the
battle. Though the battle was won by Thebans, on pameinondas order they
made peace, when he learned that all his favorite generals had been
perished in the battle.
The end of Sparta
.fter the battle of +haeronea $BB9 *+% -hillip of &acedon marched through
the -eloponnese, welcomed by all the cities but when he reached Sparta they
refused him to enter. -hillip did not try to ta"e by force the city and left.
Sparta was the only Aree" city that did not ta"e part in the League of +orinth,
which was formed in BB: *+, under &acedonian control.
In BB/ *+, "ing .gis, the grandson of .gesilaos, raised a revolt against
&acedonia, but he was defeated and "illed.
In the end of the >th century *+, Sparta build a wall for the ,rst time in her
history, which was enclosing its four central villages and .cropolis.
6hen in (9) *+, the +elts invaded from the north overrunning &acedon, "ing
.reus of Sparta, who had tried to unite the cities of -eloponnese, led an army
into central Areece. 1uring his reign the ,rst coins of Sparta was issued,
three hundred years later from the rest of Areece.
In (:( *+, "ing -yrros of peiros could easily have ta"en the city after
defeating the Spartans. Sparta became a dependency of &acedon, regained
independence under the tyrants &achanidas $(): *+% and 5abis $/3' D /3(
*+%.
In (=' *+ again, having formed an alliance with .thens, .chaea and lis and
some .rcadian cities, gave battle against &acedon but lost it and in his
retreat was "illed $+hremonidean war%.
The son of .reus, ."rotatos, in (=) *+ leading the Spartan army against
&egalopolitans, he was defeated and himself "illed.
In (>> *+, .gis Ie came to the throne and starting a series of changes. He
proposed all debts to be cancelled, and to redistribute all land, in parts of
>')) citi<ens and /'))) -erioi"oi. He also insisted on strict Ly"urgian training
in the citi<ens for the remained :)) e2uals $omioi% and ())) hypomeiones
and selected perioi"oi. He found in his proposals strong resistance and .gis
was put in trial and e0ecuted in (>/ *+.
The ne0t "ing of Sparta 4leomenes III, began to reign in (B= *+. He married
the widow of "ing .gis and also tried to impose his ideas. In ((: *+, in a
revolt he "illed four ephors and e0iled eighty of his opponents. That it was the
,rst time the ephorate was abolished in Sparta. He then redistributed the
land into >))) lots and perioi"oi as well as hypomeiones occupied them. He
also started to enforce the Ly"urgos training and habits, under the guidance
of his friend philosopher Sphairos. .ll these changes brought results and
4leomenes had many military successes. .rgos and most of .rgolid and
eastern .rcadia was con2uered.
The .chaean league under .ratos of Si"yon, with the promise of giving him
bac" +orinth, allied with "ing .ntigonos of &acedon and recovered .rgos and
several .rcadian cities. In his turn 4leomenes captured and destroyed
&egalopolis $((B *+%.
In ((( *+, at Sellacia, between Sparta and Tegea, a battle too" place. The
Spartan army was numbering /),))) and that of .ntigonos and his allies
B),))). .t this long and horrid battle, Spartans fought bravely. The whole
Spartan army fell, e0cept ()) men. 4ing 4leomenes 7ed to gypt.
The following years, a series of revolts started at Sparta, "ing8s ephors were
"illed or e0iled.
In ()= *+, the tyrant 5abis, a descendant of 1emaratos, who had 7ed in
-ersia in >3) *+, too" the throne. .n able but ruthless man, he con,scated
the properties of the wealthy and gave them to the poor. *y setting free
slaves, he managed to ac2uire an army of /),))) men and he also e0tended
his social reforms to .rgos. It was 5abis who foreseeing the incoming
dangers forti,ed Sparta for the ,rst time in her history.
6hen the ;oman commander !lamininus invaded Laconia and laid siege to
Sparta, after a few days of ,ghting a non honorable truce was accepted by
Sparta, in which was losing all the -erioi"ic cities on the coasts and her 7eet.
Later with the pretence of helping Sparta, the .itolians sent a thousand
soldiers to "ill 5abis and secure Sparta. They managed to "ill him but they
all were massacred from the Spartans. .fter 5abis assassination, Sparta was
forced by -hilopoemen to become a member of the .chaean league. Her
walls were ra<ed and the laws of Ly"urgos repealed.
bnder the ;omans in the (nd century .1, Laconia as a province of .chaea
was allowed to revert to a Ly"urgian regime.
In B3= .1, the city was destroyed by .laric.
In the 3th century .1, the Slavs invaded and the population was forced to
migrate to &ani.
The *y<antines refound a town and named her Lacedaemonia but her
importance had been lost by /(>9 .1 and disappeared from history totally,
by /9B> .1.
Today the city of modern Sparta occupies the very same territory of the
ancient city.