Charilaus ( grc-gre, Χαρίλαος), also spelled Charilaos, Charillos, or Charillus, was a king of
Sparta in the middle of the 8th century BC. He was probably the first historical king of the
Eurypontid dynasty.
Life and reign
Sparta was a
diarchy, 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. In the 8th century, a
synoecism occurred on the site of Sparta, where four villages merged to create the
polis 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 Mesoa ( grc, Μεσόα), or Messoa (Μεσσόα), was a settlement that existed before the Dorian conquest. It was united with three other such settlements ( Pitane, Limnae, and Cynosura) by a common sacrifice to Artemis, and eventually coalesc ...
). 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 dates his reign from c.775–c.760, W. G. Forrest and
Joseph Fontenrose 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.
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 ...
of
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 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 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
Amyclae or Amyklai ( grc, Ἀμύκλαι) was a city of ancient Laconia, situated on the right or western bank of the Eurotas (river), Eurotas, 20 stadion (unit), stadia south of Sparta, in a district remarkable for the abundance of its trees and ...
, 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
Pausanias, 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. The long-standing hostility with
Tegea 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.[
]
Notes
Bibliography
Ancient sources
* Pausanias, ''Description of Greece.''
* Plutarch, ''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
* Paul Cartledge, ''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.
* Joseph Fontenrose, ''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