A Companion to Sparta by Powell Anton

Author:Powell, Anton
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781119072393
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Published: 2017-12-11T00:00:00+00:00

14.5 Areus and Hellenistic Monarchy

One of the most notable aspects of Spartan history in this period is the continual tension between the political reality of the Greek world at large and Sparta’s perception of its place within that world. Sparta still sought a prominent place for herself in a world that had moved on from inter‐polis competition. When Alexander spoke of a muomakhia, he was not being dismissive of the scale of the battle of Megalopolis, he was being dismissive of the struggles of Greek poleis for hegemony over other poleis. The kings of Sparta in the third century still hungered after Messenia, they saw it as a tool to rebuild their influence. In a sense, this was both an accurate assessment of the broader political situation and a misjudgement. Messenia would provide for Sparta much‐needed resources, but the resources of the Alexander’s successors and their kingdoms dwarfed anything that Messenia might have provided.

The death of the Agiad Kleomenes II in 309 sparked something of a crisis of succession, if we are to read between the lines of our (much) later sources. Areus I was the son of Akrotatos, and grandson of Kleomenes II, and a minor at his accession. His uncle Kleonymos contested the throne, but the gerousia – the ‘council of elders’ that held much of the deliberative power in the Spartan constitution – maintained the linear succession (Diod. Sic. 20.29.1; Paus. 3.6.2). Following the pattern established centuries earlier for Dorieus (the sixth‐century Spartan prince who attempted to found a colony in North Africa), the disaffected Kleonymos left Sparta to make his name: he went to Taras in 303, with official blessing and 5000 mercenaries (Diod. Sic. 20.104–5; Duris FGrHist. 76F18; Livy 10.2.1).

There were clear benefits to everyone in sending a dynastic ‘outlier’ (that is, a potential challenger to the succession) away from Sparta. Primarily, it avoided splitting support for kings and their heirs at home; but it also provided an avenue for the ‘outlier’ to make a name for himself and further Sparta’s influence.

The Eurypontid line was still the senior partner, however, and on Eudamidas’ death c.305, Archidamos IV ascended to the throne. Not much is known about this Archidamos, except that in 294 he was chosen, in preference to the young Areus and the experienced Kleonymos, to lead a Spartan force against the Macedonian Demetrios Poliorketes. Demetrios was landless at the time, and was seeking to use a quiescent Peloponnese (and refounded League of Corinth) as a stepping‐stone to the Macedonian throne. Archidamos met the Antigonid outside Mantineia, and was conclusively defeated – the Spartan king may even have lost his life alongside those of 700 other Spartans. Demetrius then invaded Laconia, the fourth such invasion in 80 years (Plut. Dem. 35.1–2; Polyaen. 4.7.9–10). He made it as far as Sparta itself before troubling news forced him to withdraw – Lysimachos had taken all his cities in Asia and Ptolemy had captured most of Cyprus.

Despite (or because of) the lucky escape, Sparta continued its policy of

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