This article covers the history of Sparta from its founding to the present, concentrating primarily on the Spartan state during the height of its power from the 6th to the 4th century BCE. The city of Sparta ( Doric Σπάρτα Attic Σπάρτη The 6th century BC started the first day of 600 BC and ended the last day of 501 BC. The 4th century BC started the first day of 400 BC and ended the last day of 301 BC.

Contents 1 The Legend 2 Prehistoric period 2.1 The Reforms of Lycurgus 3 The expansion of Sparta 4 The 6th century BCE 5 The 5th century BCE 6 The 4th century BCE 7 The 3rd century BCE 8 Intervention of Rome 9 Medieval Sparta 10 Modern Sparta 11 Notable Spartans 12 See also 13 Notes

The Legend

Tradition relates that Sparta was founded by its first king Lacedaemon, son of Zeus and Taygete, who named the city after his wife, the daughter of Eurotas. Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology In Greek mythology, Taygete /teɪˈɪdʒɪtiː/ ( Greek Ταϋγέτη /taːygétɛː/ Mod However, the nearby archaeological sites of Amyclae and Therapne (Therapnae) before circa 1000 BCE appear to be more important than Sparta; the former is a Minoan ruin a few miles to the south of Sparta, the latter likely the Achaean capital of Laconia and the seat of Menelaus, called the king of Sparta in the annals of the Trojan War, who was Agamemnon's younger brother according to Greek mythology and literature. Ancient Amyklai In the second century AD the traveller Pausanias was informed that the archaic site of Amyklai had its ancient origin as an Achaian stronghold The city of Sparta ( Doric Σπάρτα Attic Σπάρτη The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization which arose on the island of Crete. This article is about ruins in Architecture; for other meanings see Ruins (disambiguation. For the Laconian dialect see Doric Greek For the Ancient Kingdom see Sparta For the laconic expression see Laconic In Greek mythology, Menelaus ( Ancient Greek:) was a king of Ancient Sparta, the husband of Helen, and a central figure in the In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (very resolute / ( ancient Greek:) is a hero, the son of King Atreus of Mycenae Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance

Some eighty years after the Trojan War, according to the traditional chronology, the Dorian migration from the north took place and eventually led to the rise of classical Sparta - famous as a martial power, foe of the Persian Empire, and eventual conqueror of Athens. The Dorians or Dorian Greeks ( Greek:, Dōrieis singular, Dōrieus were In International relations, a regional power is a State that has power within a geographic Region. The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenid Persian Empire ( haχɒmaneʃijɒn (558–330 BC was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over significant portions of Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's A band of Dorians united with a body of Aetolians to cross the Corinthian Gulf and invade the Peloponnese from the northwest. Aetolia is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth forming the eastern part of the modern prefecture of Aetolia-Acarnania The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece.

The Aetolians settled in Elis, and the Dorians pushed up to the headwaters of the Alpheus where they divided into two forces, one of which under Cresphontes invaded and later subdued Messenia, while the other, led by Aristodemus or, according to another version, by his twin sons Eurysthenes and Procles, made its way down the Eurotas valley and gained Sparta, which became the Dorian capital of Laconia. Elis, or Eleia ( Greek, Modern Ήλιδα Ilida, Ancient Ēlis, Doric: Alis, Elean: Walis) is an ancient Alfeiós ( Greek: Αλφειός also romanized as Alpheus, Alpheios, Alfiós) is a river in Peloponnese, Greece. In Greek mythology, Cresphontes was a son of Aristomachus and brother of Temenus and Aristodemus. Messenia or Messinia (Μεσσηνία is a prefecture in the Peloponnese, a region of Greece. In Greek mythology, Aristodemus was a son of Aristomachus and brother of Cresphontes and Temenus. In Greek mythology, Eurysthenes (Εὐρυσθένης was one of the Heracleidae, a great-great-great-grandson of Heracles, and a son of Aristodemus In Greek mythology, Procles (Προκλῆς was one of the Heracleidae, a great-great-great-grandson of Heracles, and a son of Aristodemus. ^[1]

Prehistoric period

Archeology is however difficult to reconcile with the legend. Sparta itself only begins to show signs of settlement around 1000 BCE, some 200 years after the collapse of Mycenaean civilization ^[2]. Mycenaean Greece is a cultural period of ancient Greece taking its name from the archaeological site of Mycenae in northeastern Argolis, in the Peloponnese Of the four villages that made up the Spartan Polis, Forrest suggests that the two closest to the Acropolis were the originals and the two more far flung of later foundation. The dual kingship may originate in the fusion of the first two villages. ^[3] One of the effects of the of Mycenaean collapse had been a sharp drop in population. Following that however there was a significant recovery and this growth in population is likely to have been more marked in Sparta, situated as it was in the most fertile part of the plain. ^[4]

The Reforms of Lycurgus

It is it at this point in the history of Sparta, to be precise the reign of King Charillos^[5], that most ancient sources place the life of Lycurgus. Indeed, the Spartans ascribed their subsequent success to Lycurgus who instituted his reforms at a time when Sparta was weakened by internal dissent and lacked the stability of a united and well-organized community^[6]. Lycurgus ( Greek:, Lukoûrgos; 700 BC?&ndash630 BC was the legendary lawgiver of Sparta, who established the military-oriented reformation of His legislation established the Gerousia, the Spartan Senate, and he is also credited with establishing the Spartan system of training, the agoge. The Gerousia was the Spartan Senate (council of elders It was created by the Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus in the seventh century BC in his Great The agoge (Άγωγή was a rigorous education and training regime for all Spartan citizens except the sons in the ruling houses There are reasons to doubt whether he ever really existed as his name derives from the word for wolf which was associated with Apollo - hence Lycurgus could be simply the personification of the god ^[7]

The expansion of Sparta

Sparta shared the plain with Amyklai which lay to South and was one of the few places to survived from Mycean times and hence was likely to be her most formidable neighbor. Ancient Amyklai In the second century AD the traveller Pausanias was informed that the archaic site of Amyklai had its ancient origin as an Achaian stronghold Hence the tradition that Sparta, under her kings Archelaos and Charillos moved instead north to secure the upper Eurotas valley is plausible. ^[8] Pharis and Geronthrae were then taken and, though the traditions are a little contradictory, also Amyclae which probably fell around 750 BCE. Ancient Amyklai In the second century AD the traveller Pausanias was informed that the archaic site of Amyklai had its ancient origin as an Achaian stronghold It is probable that inhabitants of Geronthrae were driven out while the inhabitants of Amyclae were simply subjugated to Sparta. ^[9] This gave Sparta control of the central Laconian plain and the eastern plateau which lies between the Eurotas and Mount Parnon. Parnon (Greek Modern Πάρνωνας or Malevo is a mountain ridge on the east of the Laconian plain and the Evrotas valley Alcamenes, by the subjugation of Helos, brought the lower Eurotas plain under Spartan rule. Alcamenes was an Ancient Greek sculptor of Lemnos and Athens. Elos (Greek Έλος is a village and a municipality in Greece near Skala and Vlachioti. About this time, probably the Argives, whose territory included the whole east coast of the Peloponnese and the island of Cythera (Herodotus 1. Argos ( Greek: Ἄργος, Árgos ˈaɾɣos is a city in Greece in the Peloponnese near Nafplio, which was its historic harbor Cytherean is an Adjective meaning pertaining to Cythera, a small island now part of Greece Herodotus of Halicarnassus ( Greek: Hēródotos Halikarnāsseús) was a Greek Historian who lived in the 5th century BC ( 484 BC&ndash 82), were driven back, and the whole of Laconia was thus incorporated in the Spartan state.

It was not long before a further extension took place. Under Alcamenes and Theopompus a war broke out between the Spartans and the Messenians, their neighbors on the west, which, after a struggle lasting for twenty years, ended in the subjection of the Messenians, who were forced to pay half the produce of the soil as tribute to their Spartan overlords. Theopompus, a Greek Historian and Rhetorician was born on Chios about 380 BC. The Second Messenian War resulted from the attempt to throw off the Spartan yoke by the Messenian hero Aristomenes; but Spartan tenacity broke down the resistance of the insurgents, and Messenia was made Spartan territory, just as Laconia had been, its inhabitants being reduced to the status of helots, apart from those who, as perioeci, inhabited the towns on the sea-coast and a few settlements inland. Aristomenes was a king of Messenia, celebrated for his struggle with the Spartans and his resistance to them on Mount Ira for 11 years The helots (in Classical Greek / Heílôtes) were an unfree population group that formed the The perioeci, or perioikoi, were the members of an autonomous group of free but non-citizen inhabitants of Sparta.

This extension of Sparta's territory was viewed with apprehension by her neighbors in the Peloponnese. Arcadia and Argos had vigorously aided the Messenians in their two struggles, and help was also sent by the Sicyonians, Pisatans and Triphyhans: only the Corinthians appear to have supported the Spartans, doubtless on account of their jealousy of their powerful neighbors, the Argives. Arcadia or Arkadía ( Greek Αρκαδία is a region of Greece in the Peloponnesus. For the modern municipality see Sikyona. Sicyon (Σικυών was an ancient Greek city situated in the northern Peloponnesus Pisa is a city in Tuscany, central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the Arno River on the Ligurian Sea. Corinth, or Korinth ( Greek Κόρινθος ( is a city in Greece. At the close of the second Messenian War (no later than 631 BCE), no power could hope to cope with that of Sparta save Arcadia and Argos. Events and trends 636 BC — Duke Wen of Jin ascends to power in the State of Jin during the Zhou Dynasty of China.

The 6th century BCE

Early in the 6th century the Spartan kings Leon and Agasicles made a vigorous attack on Tegea, the most powerful of the Arcadian cities, but it was not until the reign of Anaxandridas and Ariston, about the middle of the century, that the attack was successful and Tegea was forced to acknowledge Spartan overlordship, though retaining its independence. For the Flea beetle Genus, see Agasicles (beetle. Agasicles, Tegea was a settlement in ancient Greece and it is also a municipality in modern Arcadia, Greece, with its seat in the village Stadio. Ariston (Ἀρίστων was a King of Sparta, 14th of the Eurypontids son of Agesicles, contemporary of Anaxandrides. The final struggle for Peloponnesian supremacy was with Argos, which had at an early period been the most powerful state of the peninsula and, even though its territory had been curtailed, was a serious rival of Sparta.

But Argos was now no longer at the height of its power: its league had begun to break up early in the century, and it could not in the impending struggle count on the assistance of its old allies, Arcadia and Messenia, since the latter had been robbed of its independence and the former had acknowledged Spartan supremacy. A victory won about 546 BCE, when the Lydian Empire fell before Cyrus of Persia, made the Spartans masters of the Cynuria, the borderland between Laconia and Argolis, for which there had been an age-long struggle. Events and trends 546 BC — Croesus, Lydian king, is defeated by Cyrus of Persia near the River Halys Defining Lydia Aside from a legend related by Herodotus, who states that the name Lydia came from king Lydus at the time of the fall of Troy

The final blow was struck by King Kleomenes I, who reduced, for many years to come the power of the city of Argos and left Sparta without a rival in the Peloponnese. In fact, by the middle of the 6th century, and increasingly down to the period of the Persian Wars, Sparta had come to be acknowledged as the leading state of Hellas and the champion of Hellenism. Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Croesus of Lydia had formed an alliance with her. This article refers to the historical King of Lydia For the opera by Reinhard Keiser, see Croesus (opera. Defining Lydia Aside from a legend related by Herodotus, who states that the name Lydia came from king Lydus at the time of the fall of Troy Scythian envoys sought her aid to stem the invasion of Darius; to her the Greeks of Asia Minor appealed to withstand the Persian advance and to aid the Ionian Revolt; Plataea asked for her protection; Megara acknowledged her supremacy; and at the time of the Persian invasion under Xerxes no state questioned her right to lead the Greek forces on land and sea. Darius I the Great (c 549 BC&ndash486 BC 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 Dārayavahuš: "Possessing goodness" Having ascended to power amidst controversy and bloodshed Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black The Ionian Revolts were triggered by the actions of Aristagoras, the Tyrant of the Ionian city of Miletus at the end of the 6th century For the Geometer moth Genus, see Plataea (moth. Plataea or Plataeae was an ancient city located in Greece Megara ( Greek:, "Big Houses" is an ancient city (pop Xerxes I of Persia was a King of Persia (reigned 485–465 BC of the Achaemenid dynasty.

However, in the opinion of the 1911 Britannica, Sparta soon showed herself "wholly unworthy" of such a role. As an ally she was ineffective, nor could she ever rid herself of her narrowly Peloponnesian outlook sufficiently to throw herself heartily into the affairs of the greater Hellas that lay beyond the isthmus and across the sea. She was not a colonizing state, though the inhabitants of Tarentum (Greek Taras; modern Taranto in southern Italy), and of Lyttus, in Crete, claimed her as their mother-city. Not to be confused with Toronto. Taranto ( Ancient Greek: Tarās; Modern Greek: Tarantas) is a coastal city in Not to be confused with Toronto. Taranto ( Ancient Greek: Tarās; Modern Greek: Tarantas) is a coastal city in Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Lyctus or Lyttos ( Greek: or) was one of the most considerable cities in ancient Crete, which appears in the Homeric catalogue. Crete ( Greek: Κρήτη transliteration: Krētē, modern transliteration Kriti) is the largest of the Greek islands and the Moreover, she had no share in the expansion of Greek commerce and Greek culture; and, though she bore the reputation of hating tyrants and putting them down where possible, there can be little doubt that this was done in the interests of oligarchy rather than of liberty. Her military greatness and that of the states under her hegemony formed her sole claim to lead the Greek race: that she should truly represent it was impossible.

At the end of the century Sparta made her first intervention north of the Isthmus when it got involved in Athenian politics by overthrowing Hippias in 510 BCE. The History of Athens is one of the longest of any city in Europe and in the world Hippias of Athens (Ἱππίας ὁ Ἀθηναῖος was one of the sons of Peisistratus, and was Tyrant of Athens in the 6th century BC Events and trends 519 BC — Zhou Jing Wang becomes King of the Zhou Dynasty of China. Dissension in Athens followed with conflict between Kleisthenes and Isagoras. Cleisthenes (Κλεισθένης also Clisthenes or Kleisthenes) was a noble Athenian of the Alcmaeonid family Isagoras (Ἰσαγόρας son of Tisander was an Athenian Aristocrat in the late 6th century BC. King Kleomenes turned up in Attica with a small body of troops to back the more conservative Isagoras. Initially he succeeded but then the Athenians got fed up with this treatment and Kleomenes found himself holed up on the Acropolis. But that was not the end for an expedition of the whole Peloponesian League. The expedition was to be led Kleomenes along with his co-King Demaratos. The specific aims of the expedition were kept secret. The secrecy proved disastrous and dissension broke out the more the real aims became clearer. First the Korinthians departed. Then a row broke out between Kleomenes and Demaratos with Demaratos too deciding to go home. As a result of this fiasco the Spartans decided that in future not to send out an army with both Kings at its head. It also seems to have changed the nature of the Peloponesian League. From that time major decisions were discussed. Sparta was still clearly in charge but she now had to carry her allies with her when she wanted something to happen. ^[10]

The 5th century BCE

Spartas's role in the Persian Wars was mixed. Leonidas ( Greek:; "Lion's son" "Lion-like" was a king of Sparta, the 17th of the Agiad line one of the sons After hearing Pheidippides' plea to help Athens face the Persians at Marathon in 490 BCE, Sparta decided to honor its laws and wait until the moon was full to send an army. Pheidippides (el Φειδιππίδης sometimes given as Phidippides or Philippides) hero of Ancient Greece, is the central figure in a story which The History of Athens is one of the longest of any city in Europe and in the world The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia Events By place Greece Darius I sends an expedition under Artaphernes and Datis the Mede across As a result, Sparta's army arrived at Marathon after the battle had been won by the Athenians.

In the second campaign, conducted ten years later by Xerxes in person, Sparta took a more active share and assumed the command of the combined Greek forces by sea and land. Xerxes I of Persia was a King of Persia (reigned 485–465 BC of the Achaemenid dynasty. Yet, in spite of the heroic defence of Thermopylae by the Spartan king Leonidas, the glory of the decisive victory at Salamis fell in great measure to the Athenians, and their patriotism, self-sacrifice and energy contrasted strongly with the hesitation of the Spartans and the selfish policy which they advocated of defending the Peloponnese only. In the Battle of Thermopylae, which occurred in August 480 BC (and was detailed almost entirely by Herodotus) an alliance of Greek City-states fought Leonidas ( Greek:; "Lion's son" "Lion-like" was a king of Sparta, the 17th of the Agiad line one of the sons The Battle of Salamis ( Ancient Greek:) was a decisive naval battle between the Greek City-states and Persia in September 480 BC in the With the Battle of Plataea (479 BCE), won by Spartan general Pausanias, and decided chiefly by the steadfastness of Spartan troops, the state partially recovered its prestige, but only so far as land operations were concerned: the victory of Mycale, won in the same year, was achieved by the united Greek fleet, and the capture of Sestos, which followed, was due to the Athenians, the Peloponnesians having returned home before the siege was begun. The Battle of Plataea was the final major Battle of the Greco-Persian Wars in southern Greece. Events By place Greece The Persian commander Mardonius, now based in Thessaly, wins support Pausanias (Greek = Παυσανίας (d c 470 BC was a Spartan general of the 5th century BC The Battle of Mycale, Ancient Greek, grc-Latn Mache tes Mycales, was one of the two major battles that ended the Persian invasion of Greece during the Sestos was an ancient town of the Thracian Chersonese, the modern Gallipoli peninsula in European Turkey. Sparta felt that an effort was necessary to recover her position, and Pausanias, the victor of Plataea, was sent out as admiral of the Greek fleet. But though he achieved considerable success, his overbearing and despotic behaviour and the suspicion that he was intriguing with the Persian king alienated those under his command: he was recalled by the ephors, and his successor, Dorcis, was a weak man who allowed the transfer of the hegemony from Sparta to Athens to take place without striking a blow (see Delian League). The Delian League was an association of approximately 150 5th-century BC Greek City-states under the leadership of Athens, whose purpose was to continue By the withdrawal of Sparta and her Peloponnesian allies from the fleet the perils and the glories of the Persian War were left to Athens, which, though at the outset merely the leading state in a confederacy of free allies, soon began to make herself the mistress of an empire.

Sparta took no steps at first to prevent this. Her interests and those of Athens did not directly clash, for Athens included in her empire only the islands of the Aegean and the towns on its north and east coasts, which lay outside the Spartan political horizon: with the Peloponnese Athens did not meddle. Moreover, Sparta's attention was at this time fully occupied by troubles nearer home — such as the plots of Pausanias not only with the Persian king but with the Laconian helots and the revolt of Tegea (circa 473-471 BCE), rendered all the more formidable by the participation of Argos. Tegea was a settlement in ancient Greece and it is also a municipality in modern Arcadia, Greece, with its seat in the village Stadio. The most serious, however was the crisis caused by the earthquake which in 464 BCE devastated Sparta in which many lost their lives. Events By place Greece Sparta suffers the effects of a severe earthquake leading to a large loss of life In immediate aftermath the helots saw an opportunity to rebel. There then followed the siege of Ithome which the rebels had fortified and it was this siege that began a growing estrangement from Athens, which was to end at length in an open breach. Mount Ithome ( Greek: Ἰθώμη is a mountain in Messenia, Greece. Cimion had persuaded Athens to send a contingent to aid Sparta. The Athenian hoplites that made up the bulk of the force were from the well to do section of Athenian society. Nonetheless, they were shocked to discover that the rebels were Greeks like themselves and Sparta began to fear that Athens might make common cause with the rebels. ^[11] Giving the official reason that as the initial assault on Ithone had failed and what was now requited was a blockade they told the Athenians that for this task they were no longer needed. But as other allies were not so dismissed the Athenians took this as an insult. Further friction was caused by the consummation of the Attic democracy under Ephialtes and Pericles, the conclusion of an alliance between Athens and Argos, which also about this time became democratic, and these united with other causes to bring about a rupture between the Athenians and the Peloponnesian League. Ephialtes ( Greek:, Ephialtēs) was an ancient Athenian politician and an early leader of the democratic movement there Pericles (also spelled Perikles) (c 495 – 429 BC Greek:, meaning "surrounded by glory" was a prominent and influential Statesman, orator The Peloponnesian League was an alliance of states in the Peloponnese in the 6th and 5th centuries BC.

Paul Cartledge hazards that the revolt of hellots and perioeci led the Spartans to reorganize their army and integrate the perioeci into the citizen hoplite regiments. The word hoplite ( Greek: hoplitēs; pl hoplitai) derives from hoplon ( plural hopla) meaning an item of armour or equipment thus 'hoplite' Certainly a system where citizens and non citizens fought together in the same regiments was unusual for Greece. ^[12] Hans van Wees is however unconvinced by the "manpower shortage" explanation of the Spartans' use of non citizen hoplites. He agrees that the integration of perioeci and citizens occurred sometime between the Persian and the Peloponesian Wars but doesn't regard that as a significant stage. The Spartans had been using non-citizens as hoplites well before that and the proportion didn't change. He doubts that the Spartans ever subscribed to the citizen only hoplite force ideal so beloved by writers such as Aristotle. ^[13]

In the First Peloponnesian War Sparta's involvement was somewhat desultory. The First Peloponnesian War ( 460 BC - circa 445 BC) was fought between Sparta as the leaders of the Peloponnesian League and Sparta's other allies ^[14] It amounted to little more than isolated expeditions the most notable of which involved helping to inflict a defeat on the Athenians at the Battle of Tanagra in 457 BCE in Boeotia. There was a later battle at Tanagra during the Peloponnesian War; see Battle of Tanagra (426 BC. Events By place Persian empire Artaxerxes I decrees that the city government of Jerusalem shall be re-established (see Ezra 7 However they then went home gaving the Athenians an opportunity to defeat the Boeotians at the battle of Oenophyta and so overuning Boeotia^[15]. The Battle of Oenophyta took place between Athens and the Boeotian City-states in 457 BC during the First Peloponnesian War. Boeotia, Beotia, or Bœotia ( Greek: Βοιωτία - English biːˈoʊʃiə formerly Cadmeis was a region of Ancient Greece, north of the She also failed to prevent Athens subjugating Aegina. Aegina ( Greek: Αίγινα ( Egina) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, 17 miles (30 km from In 449 BCE the war was ended by a five years' truce, but after Athens had lost her mainland empire by the Battle of Coronea and the revolt of Megara a thirty years' peace was concluded, probably in the winter 446-445 BCE. Events By place Greece The Greek city-states make peace with the Persian Empire through the Peace of Callias, named The Battle of Coronea took place between the Athenian -led Delian League and the Boeotian League in 447 BC during the First Peloponnesian Events By place Greece Pericles, concerned over the draining effect of years of war on Athenian manpower looks for peace with By this Athens was obliged to surrender Troezen, Achaea and the two Megarian ports, Nisaea and Pegae, but otherwise the status quo was maintained. Troezen (ˈtriːzən Τροιζήν modern Troizina or Trizina, Turkish: Damala is a small town (pop Achaea (Αχαΐα Achaïa, axaˈia in Polytonic orthography) is an ancient province and a present prefecture of Greece, on the northern

A fresh struggle, the great Peloponnesian War, broke out in 431 BCE. Events By place Greece Athens enters into an alliance with King Sitalkes of Thrace, after Nymphodorus an influential Athenian This may be to a certain extent regarded as a contest between Ionians and Dorians; some also claim it can be called a struggle between the democratic and oligarchic principles of government; but truly its cause was neither racial nor constitutional(indeed both Sparta and Athens were Democratic societies), but economic. Geography Physical Ionia was of small extent not exceeding 90 geographical miles in length from north to south with a breadth varying from 40 to 55 miles but to this

The maritime supremacy of Athens was used for commercial purposes, and important members of the Peloponnesian confederacy, whose wealth depended largely on their commerce, notably Corinth, Megara, Sicyon and Epidaurus, were being slowly but relentlessly crushed. The Peloponnesian League was an alliance of states in the Peloponnese in the 6th and 5th centuries BC. Corinth, or Korinth ( Greek Κόρινθος ( is a city in Greece. Megara ( Greek:, "Big Houses" is an ancient city (pop For the modern municipality see Sikyona. Sicyon (Σικυών was an ancient Greek city situated in the northern Peloponnesus Epidaurus (Ἐπίδαυρος Epidavros) was a small city ( Polis) in ancient Greece, at the Saronic Gulf. Materially Sparta must have remained almost unaffected, but she was forced to take action by the pressure of her allies and by the necessities imposed by her position as head of the league. She did not, however, prosecute the war with any marked vigour: her operations were almost confined to an annual inroad into Attica, and when in 425 BCE a body of Spartans was captured by the Athenians at Pylos she was ready, and even anxious, to terminate the war on any reasonable conditions. Attica (Αττική Attikí;) is a periphery (subdivision in Greece, containing Athens, the capital of Greece Events By place Persian Empire Artaxerxes I, Achaemenid king of Persia, is succeeded by his son Xerxes II This article is about the Greek geographical feature and town That the terms of the Peace of Nicias, which in 421 BCE concluded the first phase of the war, were rather in favour of Sparta than of Athens was due almost entirely to the energy and insight of an individual Spartan, Brasidas, and the disastrous attempt of Athens to regain its lost land empire. The Peace of Nicias was a peace Treaty signed between the Greek City-states of Athens and Sparta in the March of 421 BC, Events By place Greece Nicias, the leader of the aristocratic and peace party in Athens and Pleistoanax, King of Brasidas ( Greek: Βρασίδας) (d 422 BC was a Spartan officer during the first decade of the Peloponnesian War. The final success of Sparta and the capture of Athens in 405 BCE were brought about partly by the treachery of Alcibiades, who induced the state to send Gylippus to conduct the defence of Syracuse, to fortify Decelea in northern Attica, and to adopt a vigorous policy of aiding Athenian allies to revolt. Events By place Greece After their victory in the Battle of Arginusae over the Spartans the Athenian fleet follows Alcibiades Cleiniou Scambonides (ˌælsɨˈbaɪədiːz (pronunciation Greek:, transliterated Alkibiádēs Kleiníou Skambōnidēs) meaning Alcibiades Gylippus was a Spartan general of the 5th century BC; he was the son of Cleandridas, who had been expelled from Sparta for accepting Athenian Syracuse (Siracusa Sicilian: Sarausa, Classical Greek: / transliterated Syrakousai) is a historic City in Decelea (Greek Δεκέλεια modern Dekeleia or Dekelia, Deceleia or Decelia, previous name Tatoi, was an ancient village in The lack of funds which would have proved fatal to Spartan naval warfare was remedied by the intervention of Persia, which supplied large subsidies. However Spartan generals showed themselves to be inexperienced at naval warfare (to be expected) but also incompetent and/or brutal^[16] . The one commander who stood out was Lysander. Lysander (died 395 BC Λύσανδρος, Lýsandros) was a Spartan General and the commander of the Spartan fleet in the Hellespont which was victorious Though as a general he was merely average he was an exceptional diplomat and organiser. ^[17] Crucially he had the confidence of Prince Cyrus. Cyrus (Kuruš the Younger, son of Darius II of Persia (Dārayavahuš and Parysatis, was a Persian prince and General. When Cyrus requested Lysander be sent out for a second term both Spartan politics and the Spartan constitution should have ruled this out but in the wake of their defeat at the Battle of Arginusae a way round this was found. The naval Battle of Arginusae took place in 406 BC during the Peloponnesian War just east of the island of Lesbos. ^[18] Cyrus had such complete confidence in Lysander that Lysander was provided with all the resources he needed to rebuild the Spartan fleet. ^[19] Then in 404 BCE Lysander virtually destroyed the Athenian fleet at the Battle of Aegospotami. Events By place Greece The Athenian leader Cleophon continues to urge resistance against the Peloponnesians but the situation The naval Battle of Aegospotami took place in 404 BC and was the last major battle of the Peloponnesian War. Lysander now proceeded from city to city imposing 10 men oligarchies and a massacre of democrats ensued^[20].

With Athens starved into surrender she might have expected the same fate as Plataea and indeed Corinth and Thebes did indeed call for the destruction of Athens. Sparta refused alluding to Athens' contribution to the defeat of the Persians. Some modern historians have, however seen a less disinterested reason - the need for a counterweight to Thebes^[21] - but Anton Powell sees here an excess of hindsight. The Spartans could not of known, as we do, that it would be Thebes that would break her at the Battle of Leuctra. Powell suspects that Sparta was more disunited than she appeared in public. He argues that it is highly likely that Lysander would also have desired Athens destruction. Lysander's opponents would on the other hand have feared the power of a Lysander enriched by the plundering of Athens and defended Athens from destruction not for love of the city but out of fear of Lysander. ^[22]

The 4th century BCE

The fall of Athens left Sparta once again supreme in the Greek world and demonstrated clearly its poor ability to rule. Everywhere democracy was replaced by a philo-Laconian oligarchy, usually consisting of ten men under a harmost or governor pledged to Spartan interests, and even in Laconia itself the narrow and selfish character of the Spartan rule led to a serious conspiracy. For a short time, indeed, under the energetic rule of Agesilaus, it seemed as if Sparta would pursue a Hellenic policy and carry on the war against Persia. The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia But troubles soon broke out in Greece, Agesilaus II was recalled from Asia Minor, and his schemes and successes were rendered fruitless. Agesilaus II, or Agesilaos II ( Greek) (444 BC &ndash 360 BC was a king of Sparta, of the Eurypontid dynasty ruling from approximately Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black

Further, the naval activity displayed by Sparta during the closing years of the Peloponnesian War abated when Persian subsidies were withdrawn, and the ambitious projects of Lysander led to his disgrace, which was followed by his death at Haliartus in 395 BCE. In the following year the Spartan navy under Peisander, Agesilaus' brother-in-law, was defeated off Cnidus by the Persian fleet under Conon and Pharnabazus, and for the future Sparta ceased to be a maritime power. Peisander of Camirus in Rhodes, Ancient Greek Epic poet, supposed to have flourished about 640 B Cnidus or Knidos ( Greek: Κνίδος /Knidos at the modern-day locality called Tekir in Turkey) was an ancient Greek

In Greece itself, meanwhile, the opposition to Sparta was growing increasingly powerful. Though at Coronea Agesilaus had slightly the better of the Boeotians and at Corinth the Spartans maintained their position, yet they felt it necessary to rid themselves of Persian hostility and if possible use the Persian power to strengthen their own position at home: they therefore concluded with Artaxerxes II the humiliating Peace of Antalcidas (387 BCE), by which they surrendered to the Great King the Greek cities of the Asia Minor coast and of Cyprus, and stipulated for the independence of all other Greek cities. Artaxerxes II Mnemon ( Old Persian: 𐎠𐎼𐎫𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎠 Artaxšaçrā, Ἀρταξέρξης (ca The Peace of Antalcidas ( 387 BC) also known as the King's Peace, was a Peace treaty that ended the Corinthian War in Ancient Greece Events By place Greece Antalcidas, commander of the Spartan navy actively assists Persia against Athens Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía This last clause led to a long and desultory war with Thebes, which refused to acknowledge the independence of the Boeotian towns under its hegemony: the Cadmeia, the citadel of Thebes, was treacherously seized by Phoebidas in 382 BCE and held by the Spartans until 379 BCE. Thebes ( Classic Greek Θῆβαι, Mod Θήβα) is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range which divides

Still more momentous was the Spartan action in crushing the Olynthiac Confederation (see Olynthus), which might have been able to stay the growth of Macedonian power. For the Butterfly Genus, see Olynthus (butterfly. Olynthus ( Greek: Όλυνθος olunthos, a fig Macedon or Macedonia ( Greek grc Μακεδονία grc-Latn Makedonía) was the name of a kingdom centered in the northern-most In 371 BCE a fresh peace congress was summoned at Sparta to ratify the Peace of Callias. Events By place Greece A fresh peace congress is summoned at Sparta. The Peace of Callias is a purported treaty established around 449 BC between the Delian League (led by Athens) and Persia, ending the Persian Again the Thebans refused to renounce their Boeotian hegemony, and the Spartan attempt at coercion ended in the defeat of the Spartan army at the Battle of Leuctra and the death of its leader, King Cleombrotus. The Battle of Leuctra (or Leuktra was a battle fought between the Thebans and the Spartans and their respective allies amidst the post- Corinthian War conflict The result of the battle was to transfer supremacy from Sparta to Thebes.

In the course of three expeditions to the Peloponnese conducted by Epaminondas, the greatest soldier and statesman Thebes ever produced, Sparta was weakened by the loss of Messenia, which was restored to an independent position with the newly built Messeneas its capital, and by the foundation of Megalopolis as the capital of Arcadia. Epaminondas ( Greek:) (ca 418 BC&ndash362 BC was a Theban General and statesman of the 4th century BC who transformed the Ancient Greek Ancient Megalopolis, or now Megalópoli (Μεγαλόπολη is a town in the western part of the prefecture of Arcadia. The invading army even made its way into Laconia and devastated the whole of its southern portion; but the courage and coolness of Agesilaus saved Sparta itself from attack. On Epaminondas' fourth expedition Sparta was again within an ace of capture, but once more the danger was averted just in time; and though at Mantinea (362 BCE) the Thebans, together with the Arcadians, Messenians and Argives, gained a victory over the combined Mantinean, Athenian and Spartan forces, the death of Epaminondas in the battle more than counterbalanced the Theban victory and led to the speedy break-up of their supremacy. The Battle of Mantinea was fought in 362 BC between the Thebans, led by Epaminondas and supported by the Arcadians and the Boeotian Events By place Persian Empire Mausolus of Caria joins the revolt of the Satraps of Anatolia against the Persian

But Sparta had neither the men nor the money to recover her lost position, and the continued existence on her borders of an independent Messenia and Arcadia kept her in constant fear for her own safety. Messenia or Messinia (Μεσσηνία is a prefecture in the Peloponnese, a region of Greece. Arcadia or Arkadía ( Greek Αρκαδία is a region of Greece in the Peloponnesus. She did, indeed, join with Athens and Achaea in 353 BCE to prevent Philip II of Macedon passing Thermopylae and entering Phocis, but beyond this she took no part in the struggle of Greece with the new power which had sprung up on her northern borders. Achaea (Αχαΐα Achaïa, axaˈia in Polytonic orthography) is an ancient province and a present prefecture of Greece, on the northern Events By place Persian Empire Mausolus, King and Persian Satrap of Caria, dies and is succeeded in Philip II of Macedon, ( Greek: Φίλιππος Β' ο Μακεδών &mdash φίλος = friend + ίππος = Horse Thermopylae (θɚˈmɒpəli (Ancient and Katharevousa Greek, Demotic Θερμοπύλες: "hot gateway" is a location in Greece Phocis ( Greek, Modern: Φωκίδα foˈkiða Ancient / Katharevousa: Φωκίς foˈkis is an ancient district and a modern prefecture No Spartans fought on the field of Chaeronea. The Battle of Chaeronea 338 BC, fought near Chaeronea, in Boeotia, was the greatest victory of Philip II of Macedon.

After the battle, however, Sparta refused to submit voluntarily to Philip, and was forced to do so by the devastation of Laconia and the transfer of certain border districts to the neighboring states of Argos, Arcadia and Messenia. During the absence of Alexander the Great in the East Agis III revolted, but the rising was crushed by Antipater. Alexander the Great ( or, Mégas Aléxandros; July 20 356 BC June 10 or June 11 323 BC also known as Alexander III of Macedon (el Ἀλέξανδρος Γ' Agis III ( Gr) son of Archidamus III, was the 20th Eurypontid king of Sparta. Antipater ( Greek: Ἀντίπατρος Antipatros; ca 397 BC — 319 BC was a Macedonian general and a supporter of kings Philip II of Macedon

The 3rd century BCE

During Demetrius Poliorcetes campaign to conquer the Peloponese in 294 BCE, the Spartans led by Archidamus IV attempted to resist but were defeated in two battles. Demetrius I (337-283 BC Greek: Δημήτριος) called Poliorcetes (Greek Πολιορκητής) ("The Besieger" son of Events By place Greece Archidamus IV, king of Sparta, son of Eudamidas I and grandson of Archidamus III Archidamus IV was a king of Sparta from 305 BC to c 275 BC He was the 23rd of the Eurypontids, the son of Eudamidas I and the grandson of Archidamus III Had not Demetrius decided to turn his attention to Macedonia the city would have fallen. ^[23]

In 272 BCE the city was attacked by an immense force under Pyrrhus, but Spartan bravery had not died out and the formidable enemy was repulsed, even the women taking part in the defence of the city. Events By place Seleucid Empire The Seleucid king Antiochus I Soter is defeated by Egypt's Ptolemy II during Pyrrhus (318-272 BC ( Greek: Πύρρος Aιακιδης Pyrros Aiakides was one of the most successful ancient Greek generals of the Hellenistic In 267 BCE Sparta joined Athens in attempt to break free of Macedon but the resulting Chremonidean War eventually led to defeat. Events By place Greece Macedonia s King Antigonus II Gonatas has to deal with a rebellion by an Athenian-led coalition The Chremonidean War (Χρεμωνίδειος πόλεμος ( 267 BCE - 261 BCE) was fought by a coalition of Greek city-states against Macedonian About 244 BCE an Aetolian army overran Laconia, working irreparable harm and carrying off, it is said, 50,000 captives. Events By place Greece Agis IV succeeds his father Eudamidas II as King of Sparta. The Aetolian League was a confederation of states in Ancient Greece centered on the cities of Aetolia in central Greece

But the social evils within the state were even harder to combat than foes without. Avarice, luxury, and the glaring inequality in the distribution of wealth threatened to bring about the speedy fall of the state if no cure could be found. Agis IV was the first to attempt reform. For other uses of this name see Agis. Agis IV ( Gr, c 265 - 241 BC the elder son of Eudamidas II, was the 24th His program combined debt cancellation and land reform. Opposition from king Leonidas was removed when he was deposed on somewhat dubious grounds. However his opponents exploited a period when he was absent from Sparta and on his return he was subjected to a travesty of a trial. ^[24] Cleomenes III also made a heroic and entirely disinterested attempt in the latter part of the 3rd century to improve the conditions by a redistribution of land, a widening of the citizen body, and a restoration of the old severe training and simple life. Cleomenes III (Κλεομένης was the King of Sparta from 235 BC&mdash222 BC But the evil was too deep-seated to be remedied by these artificial means; Agis was assassinated, and the reforms of Cleomenes seem to have had no permanent effect.

Cleomenes reforms had as their aim the restoration of Spartan power. Initially Cleomenes was successful, taking cities that had till then been part of the Achaean League^[25] and wining the financial backing of Egypt^[26]. The Achaean League (Ἀχαϊκὴ Συμμαχία or (Ἀχαϊκὴ Συμπολιτεία was a Confederation of Greek city states in Achaea However Aratus the leader of the Achaean League decided to ally with Achea's till then enymy Macedonia. With Egypt decicing to cut financial aid Cleomenes decided to hazard all on one battle. ^[27] In the resulting Battle of Sellasia (222 BCE), Cleomenes was defeated by the Achaeans and Macedonia. The Battle of Sellasia took place in 222 BC between the armies of Antigonus III Doson, King of Macedonia, and Cleomenes III, King of Sparta Events By place Roman Republic Mediolanum (modern Milan) stronghold of the Gallic tribe of the Insubres Antigonus III Doson, the king of Macedon ceremonially entered Sparta with his army - something Sparta had never endured before. Antigonus III Doson ( Greek: ο Αντίγονος Δώσων 263 BC-221 BC was king of Macedon from 229 BC-221 BC Antigonus. The ephors were restored while the kingship was suspended^[28]

It was not long afterwards that the dual kingship ceased and Sparta fell under the sway of a series of cruel and rapacious tyrants—Lycurgus, Machanidas, who was killed by Philopoemen.

The sources for Nabis, who took power in 207 BCE, are so uniformly hostile that it is impossible today to judge the truth of the accusation against him - that his reforms were undertake only to serve Nabis's interests. This article is about the Spartan king For the Parisian artistic group see Les Nabis. Events By place Roman Republic The Roman general Gaius Claudius Nero fights an indecisive battle with the Carthaginian ^[29] Certainly his reforms went far deeper than those of Cleomenes who had liberated 6000 helots merely as an emergency measure. ^[30] Were we to trust the accounts given by Polybius and Livy, we would dismiss him little better than a bandit chieftain, holding Sparta by means of extreme cruelty and oppression and using mercenary troops to a large extent in his wars. Polybius (ca 203 &ndash 120 BC, Greek) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his book called The Histories Titus Livius (traditionally 59 BC &ndash AD 17 known as Livy in English, was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome Forest is willing to take these accusations at face value including that that he murdered his ward and that of state sponsored piracy and brigandage - but not the self interested motives ascribed to him. He sees him as a ruthless version of Cleomenes sincerely attempting to solve Sparta's social crisis. ^[31] He initiated the building of Sparta's first walls which extended to some 6 miles. ^[32]

Intervention of Rome

Nonetheless, a vigorous struggle was maintained with the Achaean League and with Macedon until the Romans, after the conclusion of their war with Philip V, sent an army into Laconia under T. Quinctius Flamininus. The War against Nabis or Laconian War of 195 BC was fought between the Greek city-state of Sparta and a coalition comprised of Rome, the Achean The Achaean League (Ἀχαϊκὴ Συμμαχία or (Ἀχαϊκὴ Συμπολιτεία was a Confederation of Greek city states in Achaea The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Titus Quinctius Flamininus (c 228 BC &ndash 174 BC was a Roman politician and general instrumental in the Roman conquest of Greece. Nabis was forced to capitulate, evacuating all his possessions outside Laconia, surrendering the Laconian seaports and his navy, and paying an indemnity of 500 talents (Livy xxxiv. 33–43). On the departure of the Romans he succeeded in recovering Gythium, in spite of an attempt to relieve it made by the Achaeans under Philopoemen, but in an encounter he suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of that general, who for thirty days ravaged Laconia unopposed.

Nabis was assassinated in 192 BCE, and Sparta was forced by Philopoenien to enroll itself as a member of the Achaean League under a phil-Achaean aristocracy. Events By place Greece The Achaeans respond to Sparta 's renewed interest in recovering lost territory by sending an envoy to This gave rise to chronic disorders and disputes, which led to armed intervention by the Achaeans, who compelled the Spartans to submit to the overthrow of their city walls, the dismissal of their mercenary troops, the recall of all exiles, the abandonment of the old Lycurgan constitution and the adoption of the Achaean laws and institutions (188 BCE). Events By place Greece The leader of the Achaean League, Philopoemen, enters northern Laconia with his army and a Again and again the relations between the Spartans and the Achaean League formed the occasion of discussions in the Roman senate or of the despatch of Roman embassies to Greece, but no decisive intervention took place until a fresh dispute about the position of Sparta in the league led to a decision by the Romans that Sparta, Corinth, Argos, Arcadian Orchomenus and Heraclea on Oeta should be severed from it. This resulted in an open breach between the league and Rome, and eventually, in 146 BCE, after the sack of Corinth, in the dissolution of the league and the annexation of Greece to the Roman province of Macedonia.

For Sparta the long era of war and internal struggle had ceased and one of peace and a revived prosperity took its place, as is witnessed by the numerous extant inscriptions belonging to this period. As an allied city it was exempt from direct taxation, though compelled on occasions to make “voluntary “ presents to Roman generals. Political ambition was restricted to the tenure of the municipal magistracies, culminating in the offices of nomophylax, ephor and patronomus. Augustus showed marked favour to the city, Hadrian twice visited it during his journeys in the East and accepted the title of eponymous patronomus.

The old warlike spirit found an outlet chiefly in the vigorous but peaceful contests held in the gymnasium, the ball-place, and the arena before the temple of Artemis Orthia: sometimes too it found a vent in actual campaigning as when Spartans were enrolled for service against the Parthians by the emperors Lucius Verus, Septimius Severus and Caracalla. The Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia, an Archaic site devoted in Classical times to Artemis, was one of the most important religious sites in the Greek Lucius Aurelius Verus ( December 15 130 &ndash 169 born as Lucius Ceionius Commodus, known simply as Lucius Verus, was Roman co-emperor Lucius Septimius Severus (or rarely Severus I) ( April 11 145 - February 4 211) was a Roman general and Roman Emperor Caracalla ( April 4 188 &ndash April 8, 217) born Lucius Septimius Bassianus and later

Medieval Sparta

In CE 396 Alaric destroyed the city, and at a later period Laconia was invaded and settled by Slavonic tribes, especially the Melings and Ezerits, who in turn had to give way before the advance of the Byzantine power, though preserving a partial independence in the mountainous regions. Events By Place Western Roman Empire The Romans enlist the Franks and the Alemanni to defend the Rhine border Alaric I ( Alareiks in the original Gothic; Alarik or Alarich in modern Germanic languages Alaricus in Latin and Alarico It has been theorized that speakers of the now-moribund Doric derived language of Tsakonian are the descendants of Spartans who were isolated as a result of barbarian invasions. Tsakonian, Tzakonian or Tsakonic ( Greek Τσακωνικά) is a dialect of modern Greek spoken in the Tsakonian region

The Franks on their arrival in the Morea found a fortified city named Lacedaemonia (Sparta) occupying part of the site of ancient Sparta, and this continued to exist^[33], though greatly depopulated, even after William II Villehardouin had in 1249 founded the fortress and city of Mistra, on a spur of Taygetus some 3 miles northwest of Sparta. William II of Villehardouin, (Guillaume II de Villehardouin (died May 1, 1278) was the last Villehardouin prince of Achaea and ruled the principality Mystras (also Mistra, Mystra and Mistras Greek: Μυστράς Μυζηθράς Mizithras or Myzithras in the

This passed shortly afterwards into the hands of the Byzantine Greeks, who retained it until the Turks under Mehmed II captured it in 1460. Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines or Romaioi, is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenized citizens In 1687 it came into the possession of the Venetians, from whom it was wrested in 1715 by the Turks. Venice ( Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venesia or Venexia) is a city in Northern Italy, the capital of the Year 1715 ( MDCCXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Thus for nearly six centuries it was Mistra and not Sparta which formed the center and focus of Laconian history. The Mani Peninsula region of Laconia retained some measure of autonomy during the Ottoman period, and played a significant role in the Greek War of Independence. The Mani Peninsula ( Μάνη in Greek) also long known as Maina or Maïna, is a region in Greece. The Greek War of Independence (1821–1829 also commonly known as the Greek Revolution (Ελληνική Επανάσταση Elliniki Epanastasi; Ottoman

Modern Sparta

In 1834, after the War of Independence had resulted in the liberation of Greece, the town of Sparta was rebuilt as a modern city on part of the ancient site from the designs of Baron Jochmus, and Mistra decayed until now it is in ruins and almost deserted. Year 1834 ( MDCCCXXXIV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Sparta is the capital of the prefecture (nomos) of Laconia. For subsequent types of praefectura, see Prefect. Prefecture (from the Latin Praefectura) indicates the office

Notable Spartans

• Chelidonis
• Cleomenes I
• Helen
• Leonidas I
• Gorgo, Queen of Sparta
• Lycurgus
• Menelaus
• Nabis
• Arachidamia
• Chelidonis
• Hydna
• Cynisca

See also

• List of Kings of Sparta
• Spartan army
• Spartan pederasty

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. Chelidonis was a Spartan princess who acted as a captain of a group of female warriors during a 280 BC siege of Sparta Cleomenes (kliːˈɑməniːz Greek Κλεομένης (d c 489 BC was an Agiad King of Sparta in the late 6th and early 5th centuries BC This article is about the mythological figure Helen of Troy For other uses see Helen (disambiguation and Helen of Troy (disambiguation. Leonidas ( Greek:; "Lion's son" "Lion-like" was a king of Sparta, the 17th of the Agiad line one of the sons Gorgo (Γοργώ (fl 480 BC) was the daughter and the only child of Cleomenes I, King of Sparta (r Lycurgus ( Greek:, Lukoûrgos; 700 BC?&ndash630 BC was the legendary lawgiver of Sparta, who established the military-oriented reformation of In Greek mythology, Menelaus ( Ancient Greek:) was a king of Ancient Sparta, the husband of Helen, and a central figure in the This article is about the Spartan king For the Parisian artistic group see Les Nabis. Arachidamia was a Spartan princess She was the captain of a group of female soldiers who fought Pyrrhus during his siege of Lacedemon in the 3rd century Chelidonis was a Spartan princess who acted as a captain of a group of female warriors during a 280 BC siege of Sparta Hydna of Scione ( fl 480 BCE) was an ancient Greek swimmer and diver given credit for the destruction of the Persian navy around 480 BCE Cynisca ( Greek: Κυνίσκα (440 BC was a Greek princess of Sparta. Sparta was an important Greek city-state in the Peloponnesus. Spartan pederasty, the traditional intimate and pedagogic friendship between a man and a boy a custom held in common with other Dorian tribes is thought to have either The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone

Notes

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