Archidamus III ( grc-gre, Ἀρχίδαμος ) was the son of

Agesilaus II Agesilaus II (; grc-gre, Ἀγησίλαος ; c. 442 – 358 BC) was king of Sparta from c. 399 to 358 BC. Generally considered the most important king in the history of Sparta, Agesilaus was the main actor during the period of Spartan hegemo ...

and

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

from 360 to 338 BC.

Biography

While still a prince, he was the eispnelas (εἰσπνήλας, inspirer, or pederastic lover) of Cleonymus, son of

Sphodrias Sphodrias ( el, Σφοδρίας) (d. 371 BC) was a Spartan general during the Spartan Hegemony over Greece. As governor of Thespiai in 378 BC, he made an unsuccessful attack against Athens without any order from Sparta. He was put on trial for thi ...

. He interceded with his own father to spare his aites's (ἀΐτας, lover) father's life in a legal matter, an action which further intensified friction between Athens and Sparta. He later led the Spartan forces both before and during his rule. Archidamus headed the force sent to aid the Spartan army after its defeat by the

Thebans Thebes (; ell, Θήβα, ''Thíva'' ; grc, Θῆβαι, ''Thêbai'' .) is a city in Boeotia, Central Greece. It played an important role in Greek myths, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus, Heracles and others. Archaeolo ...

at the

Battle of Leuctra The Battle of Leuctra ( grc-gre, Λεῦκτρα, ) was a battle fought on 6 July 371 BC between the Boeotians led by the Thebans, and the Spartans along with their allies amidst the post- Corinthian War conflict. The battle took place in the vici ...

in 371 BC and was commander later during the fighting in the Peloponnese. Four years later he captured

Caryae Caryae or Karyai ( grc, Κάρυαι) was a town of ancient Laconia upon the frontiers of Arcadia. It was originally an Arcadian town belonging to Tegea, but was conquered by the Spartans and annexed to their territory. Caryae revolted from Sparta ...

, ravaged the territory of the Parrhasii and defeated the Arcadians,

Argives Argos (; el, Άργος ; grc, label=Ancient and Katharevousa, Ἄργος ) is a city in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and the oldest in Europe. It is the largest city in A ...

and

Messenians Messenia or Messinia ( el, Μεσσηνία) was an ancient district of the southwestern Peloponnese, more or less overlapping the modern Messenia region of Greece. To the north it had a border with Elis along the Neda river. From there the borde ...

in the "tearless battle", so called because the victory did not cost the Spartans a single life. However, he was in turn defeated by the Arcadians in 364 BC at Cromnus. In 362 BC, he showed great courage in the defense of Sparta against the Theban commander

Epaminondas Epaminondas (; grc-gre, Ἐπαμεινώνδας; 419/411–362 BC) was a Greek general of Thebes and statesman of the 4th century BC who transformed the Ancient Greek city-state, leading it out of Spartan subjugation into a pre-eminent posit ...

. As king, Archidamus supported the Phocians against Thebes in the Sacred War of 355–346. In 346 BC he went to Crete to help Lyttos in their struggle against Knossos in the

Foreign War The Foreign War ( grc-gre, Ξενικὸς Πόλεμος, ''Xenikos Polemos'') was fought between the forces of Knossos with the help of mercenaries under the ousted Phocian leader Phalaikos and the forces of Lyttos who received help from the S ...

. In 343 BC, the Spartan colony

Tarentum Tarentum may refer to: * Taranto, Apulia, Italy, on the site of the ancient Roman city of Tarentum (formerly the Greek colony of Taras) **See also History of Taranto * Tarentum (Campus Martius), also Terentum, an area in or on the edge of the Camp ...

asked for Sparta's help in the war against the Italic populations, notably the Lucanians and the

Messapians The Messapians ( grc, Μεσσάπιοι, Messápioi; la, Messapii) were a Iapygian tribe who inhabited Salento in classical antiquity. Two other Iapygian tribes, the Peucetians and the Daunians, inhabited central and northern Apulia respective ...

. In 342 BC, Archidamus arrived in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

with a fleet and a mercenary army and fought against the barbarians, but in 338 BC he was defeated and killed under the walls of the Messapian city of

Manduria Manduria is a city and '' comune'' of Apulia, Italy, in the province of Taranto. With c. 32,000 inhabitants (2013), it is located east of Taranto. History It was an important stronghold of the Messapii against Taras. Archidamus III, king ...

. He was succeeded by his son Agis III, and was also the father of

Eudamidas I Eudamidas I (Greek: Εὐδαμίδας) was Spartan king between 331 and c. 300 BC. He succeeded his brother Agis III, who died at the battle of Megalopolis against Macedonia. Eudamidas' reign was therefore peaceful as Sparta recovered from this ...

and another son named Agesilaus.

References

4th-century BC Spartans Ancient Greek generals Ancient Greeks killed in battle Pederasty in ancient Greece Ancient LGBT people Eurypontid kings of Sparta Year of birth unknown 338 BC deaths 4th-century BC rulers {{AncientGreece-bio-stub