Charilaus ( grc-gre, Χαρίλαος), also spelled Charilaos, Charillos, or Charillus, was a king of

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 ...

in the middle of the 8th century BC. He was probably the first historical king of the

Eurypontid dynasty For most of its history, the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta in the Peloponnese was ruled by kings. Sparta was unusual among the Greek city-states in that it maintained its kingship past the Archaic age. It was even more unusual in that it had ...

Life and reign

Sparta was a

diarchy Diarchy (from Greek , ''di-'', "double", and , ''-arkhía'', "ruled"),Occasionally misspelled ''dyarchy'', as in the ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' article on the colonial British institution duarchy, or duumvirate (from Latin ', "the office of ...

, with two kings of equal powers from distinct dynasties. However, in its earliest history, Sparta was likely ruled by only one king, from the

Agiad dynasty The Agiad dynasty was one of the two royal families of Sparta, a powerful city-state of Ancient Greece. The Agiads were seniors to the other royal house, the Eurypontids, with whom they had an enduring rivalry. Their hypothetical founder was Agis I ...

. In the 8th century, a

synoecism Synoecism or synecism ( ; grc, συνοικισμóς, ''sunoikismos'', ), also spelled synoikism ( ), was originally the amalgamation of villages in Ancient Greece into ''poleis'', or city-states. Etymologically the word means "dwelling toge ...

occurred on the site of Sparta, where four villages merged to create the

polis ''Polis'' (, ; grc-gre, πόλις, ), plural ''poleis'' (, , ), literally means "city" in Greek. In Ancient Greece, it originally referred to an administrative and religious city center, as distinct from the rest of the city. Later, it also ...

of Sparta. At this occasion, two of the villages ( Limnai and Kynosoura) probably requested to also have a king from their territory sharing power with the Agiad one, who was based in the other two villages ( Pitana and Mesoa). In later times, the Spartans crafted a mythical story making the second dynasty—the

Eurypontids For most of its history, the ancient Greek city-state of Sparta in the Peloponnese was ruled by kings. Sparta was unusual among the Greek city-states in that it maintained its kingship past the Archaic age. It was even more unusual in that it ha ...

—as old as the Agiads, notably by inventing several kings to make the two dynasties symmetrical. Modern scholars consider instead that Charilaus was the first historical Eurypontid king.Cartledge, ''Sparta and Lakonia'', p. 92. Charilaus and the Agiad Archelaus are indeed the first kings of Sparta mentioned together in ancient sources, a good indication that they were the first pair of kings formed after the synoecism. The dates of his reign are nevertheless conjectural and disputed.

Paul Cartledge Paul Anthony Cartledge (born 24 March 1947)"CARTLEDGE, Prof. Paul Anthony", ''Who's Who 2010'', A & C Black, 2010online edition/ref> is a British ancient historian and academic. From 2008 to 2014 he was the A. G. Leventis Professor of Greek C ...

dates his reign from c.775–c.760, W. G. Forrest and

Joseph Fontenrose Joseph Eddy Fontenrose (17 June 1903, Sutter Creek – July 1986, Ashland, Oregon) was an American classical scholar. He was centrally interested in Greek religion and Greek mythology; he was also an expert on John Steinbeck, commenting on the ...

from c.775–c.750, but Victor Parker places it a generation later in c.750–c.725.Cartledge, ''Sparta and Lakonia'', p. 89.Fontenrose, ''The Delphic Oracle'', p. 192. During the joint reign of Charilaus and Archelaus, Sparta conquered the Aigys, an area in the northwest of

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word ''laconic''—to speak in a blunt, c ...

, on the border with

Tegea Tegea (; el, Τεγέα) was a settlement in ancient Arcadia, and it is also a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the Tripoli municipality, of which it is a municipal unit w ...

. This event is principally know thanks to an oracle from the

Pythia Pythia (; grc, Πυθία ) was the name of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed i ...

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...

. The oracle reads: "If they divide a half share of the additional portion for Apollo, it will be much better for them."Parke & Wormell, ''Delphic Oracle'', p. 93. The oracle is considered genuine by modern scholars, as it is very simple without the elaboration typical of later forgers. Moreover, it was given at a time when Delphi was gaining international credibility within the Greek world (mainly for

colonisation Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...

enterprises) and started a special relationship with Sparta. The oracle tells that the kings should devote half of the land taken from Aigys to Apollo. Writing in the 2nd century AD, the geographer

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

precisely mentions that there was a temple of Apollo Cereatas in the area, a further indication of the oracle's authenticity. If genuine, this oracle would be the oldest known from Delphi. Pausanias also embellished Charilaus' reign by saying that Sparta's expansion was blocked in the south by the resistance of Amyklai, therefore prompting the conquest of Aigys in the north. Paul Cartledge however dismisses this story as "worthless", because Sparta would have never attacked Aigys with Amyklai so close to its southern borders. He suggests instead that Amyklai was conquered in the earliest times of Sparta, in the 10th or 9th centuries. According to

, Charilaus was the successor of his father Polydectes.Pausanias, ''Description of Greece''. Robert Hale Ltd., London, Book 3, VII, 2-3. Charilaus is best known as the ward and nephew of the Spartan reformer

Lycurgus Lycurgus or Lykourgos () may refer to: People * Lycurgus (king of Sparta) (third century BC) * Lycurgus (lawgiver) (eighth century BC), creator of constitution of Sparta * Lycurgus of Athens (fourth century BC), one of the 'ten notable orators' ...

.Plutarch, ''Lives: Lycurgus''. During his reign, the Spartans invaded

Argolis Argolis or Argolida ( el, Αργολίδα , ; , in ancient Greek and Katharevousa) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese, situated in the eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula and part of the tri ...

. The long-standing hostility with

is also believed to date from Charilaus' reign. Charilaus was succeeded by his son

Nicander Nicander of Colophon ( grc-gre, Νίκανδρος ὁ Κολοφώνιος, Níkandros ho Kolophṓnios; fl. 2nd century BC), Greek poet, physician and grammarian, was born at Claros (Ahmetbeyli in modern Turkey), near Colophon, where his famil ...

, the father of

Theopompus Theopompus ( grc-gre, Θεόπομπος, ''Theópompos''; c. 380 BCc. 315 BC) was an ancient Greek historian and rhetorician. Biography Theopompus was born on the Aegean island of Chios. In early youth, he seems to have spent some time at Athen ...

Notes

Bibliography

Ancient sources

, ''Description of Greece.'' *

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

, ''

Parallel Lives Plutarch's ''Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans'', commonly called ''Parallel Lives'' or ''Plutarch's Lives'', is a series of 48 biographies of famous men, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, probably writt ...

'' (Lycurgus).

Modern sources

, ''Sparta and Lakonia, A Regional History 1300–362 BC'', London, Routledge, 2002 (originally published in 1979). * W. G. Forrest, ''A History of Sparta'', New York, Norton, 1986. *

, ''The Delphic Oracle, Its Responses and Operations, with a Catalogue of Responses'', Berkeley, University of California Press, 1978. * Herbert William Parke, D. E. W. Wormell, ''The Delphic Oracle: The History'', Oxford, Blackwell, 1956. * Victor Parker, " Some Dates In Early Spartan History", ''Klio'', 75, 1993, pp. 45–60. {{Kings of Laconia & Sparta 8th-century BC rulers 8th-century BC Spartans Eurypontid kings of Sparta 8th-century BC deaths Year of birth unknown