Kleomenes I

Cleomenes I (; Greek Κλεομένης; died c. 490 BC) was Agiad King of Sparta from c. 524 to c. 490 BC. One of the most important Spartan kings, Cleomenes was instrumental in organising the Greek resistance against the Persian Empire of Darius, as well as shaping the geopolitical balance of Classical Greece.

Herodotus' account

Most of the life of Cleomenes is known through the '' Histories'' of Herodotus, an Athenian historian of the second half of the 5th century. He is one the most important characters of books 5 and 6, covering the decades before the Persian Wars. Herodotus' account however contains many mistakes, especially on the chronology of several major events, and is also very biased against Cleomenes. It seems that Herodotus got his information on Cleomenes from his opponents: the descendants of his half-brothers Leonidas and Cleombrotus, as well as those of Demaratus, the other Spartan king who was deposed by Cleomenes in 491. Herodotus for instance states that Cleomenes' reign was short; however he ruled for about 30 years. Damaratus conversely receives positive treatment in the ''Histories'', even though he betrayed to the Persians during the First Invasion of Greece. Paul Cartledge writes that Cleomenes suffered from a ''damnatio memoriae'' from the Spartans, notably for having corrupted the Oracle of Delphi in 491.Cartledge, ''Sparta and Lakonia'', p. 130.

Family background and accession

Cleomenes was the son of Anaxandridas II, who belonged to the Agiad dynasty, one of the two royal families of Sparta (the other being the Eurypontids). As his father did not have a son from his first wife (who was also his niece), the ephors forced him to marry another woman, without divorcing his first wife—an unprecedented occurrence of bigamy in Sparta. His new spouse likely came from the family of the ephor Chilon, an important reformer, who held office in during the mid-6th-century.Ste. Croix, "Herodotus and King Cleomenes", p. 422. Cleomenes was born from this second marriage, but then his father returned to his first wife and had three further sons with her: Dorieus, the future king Leonidas, and Cleombrotus—the latter two were possibly twins. The name Dorieus ("the Dorian") explicitly refers to the Dorian ethnicity of Sparta, and might be a rejection of the ephor Chilon's policy of establishing an amicable relationship with the ethnically different Achaia in the northern Peloponnese.

The family of Anaxandridas' second wife immediately contested the legitimacy of Dorieus even before his birth, as the ephors attended his birth in order to certify the authenticity of the pregnancy.Griffith-Williams, "The Succession to the Spartan Kingship", p. 49. This shows that there were strong familial rivalries among Spartan royal circles; besides, at the same time, a cousin of Anaxandridas' second wife was also the bride of the future Eurypontid king Leotychidas. In turn, when his father died, Cleomenes' succession was contested by Dorieus, because of his superior "manly virtue".Griffith-Williams, "The Succession to the Spartan Kingship", p. 49. Perhaps this statement is related to a great performance during the agoge—the rigorous military training at Sparta—which Dorieus had to endure, while Cleomenes avoided it as heir-apparent (the only possible exemption). Dorieus could have also contested Cleomenes' legitimacy on the ground that he was a son of the king's first wife, who was additionally of royal descent. As Cleomenes was the eldest son, his claim was nevertheless deemed stronger and he became king. It prompted the departure of Dorieus to colonial ventures in Libya and Sicily, where he died in c.510.

The date of Cleomenes' accession had been debated among modern scholars for a long time, until historian David Harvey found that the Greek historian Diodoros of Sicily had confused the length of Cleomenes II's reign (370–309) with that of his earlier namesake. Putting aside Diodoros' error, Harvey states that as Cleomenes came to the throne "a few years earlier than the Plataia incident", he dates the start of his reign to 524–523.

Reign

During the first years of his reign, Cleomenes adopted prudent diplomacy, rejecting foreign expeditions when solicited, possibly due to the threat of a helot revolt that a defeat in a war abroad would cause.

Encounter at Plataia (519 BC)

The first known deed of Cleomenes as king is his dealing with the city of Plataia, located between Thebes and Athens. In 519, Herodotus states that Cleomenes happened to be in the vicinity of Plataia, when the Plataians requested an alliance with Sparta, which he rejected. Instead he advised them to ally themselves with Athens, because he wanted to stir a border conflict between Thebes and Athens, two of the most powerful ''poleis'' of central Greece.Ste. Croix, "Herodotus and King Cleomenes", p. 423. The Plataians probably wished to avoid their forced incorporation into the Boiotian League, which was being built by Thebes at this time. Their Spartan alliance request perhaps indicates that they wanted to become a member of the Peloponnesian League, which was likewise being put in place at this time. G. E. M. de Ste. Croix and Paul Cartledge call this move "a master-stroke" of diplomacy, but other modern scholars do not believe it was Cleomenes' intention to create a rift between Thebes and Athens.

Herodotus does not explain why Cleomenes was near Plataia at that time. A number of theories have been advanced to explain it. Perhaps he was marching on Thebes to support an invasion of his ally, Lattamyas of Thessaly, but as the Thebans had defeated the Thessalians at the Battle of Ceressus before he arrived, he took the opportunity to try and undermine them without engaging his forces. Another possibility is that he was trying to convince either Megara or Thebes to join the Peloponnesian League, or he was arbitrating between Megara and Athens over the island of Salamis.

The date of this event has been challenged by some modern scholars, who have often suggested 509 rather than 519, as it would better fit with Cleomenes' latter involvement in Athenian politics, but the majority view remains in favour of 519.

Foreign embassies (c.517–c.513 BC)

In c.516, Cleomenes received an embassy from Maeandrius of Samos asking him for help to expel the tyrant Syloson, a puppet of the Persian Empire, which was at the time was subjugating the city-states of the eastern Aegean Sea.Cartledge, ''Sparta and Lakonia'', p. 124. However, with the support of the ephors, Cleomenes refused and they expelled Maeandrius from the Peloponnese. Perhaps Cleomenes did not want to commit the Peloponnesian League to long-distance wars, especially against Persian Empire. Maeandrius' intentions may have also played a role, as he probably coveted the tyranny of Samos.

In about 513, Darius the Great invaded Scythia, which prompted the latter to send an embassy to Sparta in order to request an alliance against the Persians. Herodotus says the Scythians offered to go from the river Phasis to Media, while the Spartans would march east from Ephesus. This story is however suspect, as the Scythian ambassadors later resurfaced to explain the death of Cleomenes, and the proposed alliance looks like a Pan-Hellenic fantasy of Herodotus'. An alternative date of after 494 BC has been proposed, because the mention of Ephesus by Herodotus implies that the city was not under Persian control, which only happened after the Ionian Revolt of 499 – 494.

Interventions into Athenian politics (511–501 BC)

First and second Spartan-Athenian War (c.511–510 BC)

In the 500s, Cleomenes meddled four times in Athenian politics, which ultimately led to the creation of democracy in Athens.Cartledge, ''Sparta and Lakonia'', p. 124. The powerful, but exiled, Alcmaeonid family of Athens bribed the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi to tell the Spartans that they would not have access to the Oracle unless they removed the tyranny of the Peisistratid dynasty, who had held power in Athens since 561. The first Spartan expedition, headed by Anchimolus, took place in c.511, but was defeated by the tyrant Hippias, son of Pisistratus, thanks to the help he received from his Thessalian allies, who had sent a force of 1000 cavalrymen.Cartledge, ''Sparta and Lakonia'', p. 126.

In 510, Sparta sent a bigger force commanded by Cleomenes, who went to Attica by land. The Spartans defeated the Thessalian mercenaries of Hippias, then besieged Hippias in the Acropolis, where he had sought shelter with his supporters. The tyrant surrendered after the Spartans captured his sons by chance; he then went into exile in the Persian Empire.Cartledge, ''Sparta and Lakonia'', p. 126. The war against Hippias was consistent with the policy of removing tyrants followed by Sparta during the late 6th-century. Moreover, the tyrants of Athens were known for their Persian sympathies (called Medism), which Cleomenes started to vigorously fight throughout Greece at this time. Hippias was also a friend of Argos, another one of Sparta's enemies. Embarrassed by owing the fall of the tyranny to the intervention of a Spartan king, the Athenians later promoted instead the story of Harmodius and Aristogeiton, who had murdered Hippias' brother Hipparchus in 514.

Another reason for the Spartan interventions in Athens may be the defection of Megara from the Peloponnesian League, perhaps at the instigation of Hippias. This would also be the reason why Anchimolus had to use ships to reach Attica, since the Isthmus of Corinth was cut off. Cleomenes then forced Megara back into the League in 511/510. Moreover, Plutarch mentions that at the time of Solon, Sparta acted as arbitrator between Athens and Megara for the ownership of Salamis, an island in the Saronic Gulf. But as Cleomenes is cited as one of the arbiters, several modern scholars place the settlement in c.510, just after the war, because Cleomenes finally decided in favour of Athens, probably to punish Megara for its defection, and also to bring Athens into the Peloponnesian League. This theory remains controversial as several other opinions place the Megara arbitration in c.519, at the same time as the Plataea incident.

Athenian Revolution (507 BC)

In Athens, a struggle took place between aristocratic factions headed by Cleisthenes and Isagoras for the control of the city. The pro-Spartan oligarch Isagoras became archon in 508/507, but Cleisthenes promised democratic reforms in order to gain greater support among the citizenry and expand his power-base. Now on the losing side, Isagoras called for help from his friend Cleomenes, whom it was rumoured was also in love with Isagoras' wife. Cleomenes obtained the exile of Cleisthenes through diplomacy, but Isagoras still felt unsafe, and requested intervention by his Spartan friend. Cleomenes personally came to Athens with a small bodyguard, possibly thinking that his prestige would be enough to change the political course of the city.Forrest, ''History of Sparta'', p. 87. Cleomenes expelled 700 families linked to Cleisthenes, and also wanted to establish a narrow oligarchy or a tyranny, by suppressing Athens' council ('' boule'') and creating instead a new council of 300 men filled with Isagoras' supporters.Huxley, ''Early Sparta'', p. 81. However, the boule rejected the dissolution order; this act of resistance triggered a large revolt among the Athenians. Taken by surprise, Cleomenes and Isagoras sought shelter on the Acropolis, where they were besieged.

While on the Acropolis, Cleomenes tried to enter the Old Temple of Athena Polias, but the priestess barred him access, saying that the temple was forbidden to Dorians—the ethnic group of the Spartans (Athenians were Ionians). Cleomenes likely wanted to show his strength by making a sacrifice in a forbidden place, which was a typical behaviour for conquerors and notably Spartan commanders. Even though the priestess of Athena was the most important cleric in Athens, Herodotus chose not to give her name in order make her speak as the goddess resisting the Spartan invasion. Cleomenes famously replied: "Woman, I am not Dorian but Achaean". In this context, the Achaeans were the Greeks of Homer's poems. The name recalls the ephor Chilon's policy of appropriating their heritage in the middle of the 6th-century. A descendant of Chilon, Cleomenes therefore attempted to present himself as less alien to the Athenians by claiming an Achaean identity. His reply to the priestess also conveys a second meaning, as it can be translated by "I am not Dorieus", the name of his rival half-brother.

In the third day of the siege, Cleomenes realised that his position was hopeless, and negotiated a surrender: the Spartans were allowed to leave with Isagoras, but the supporters of the latter were massacred.

Boeotian War (506 BC)

Revengeful after the humiliation he suffered, Cleomenes set up a large coalition against Athens, gathering the Peloponnesian League, Boeotia, and Chalkis (on the island of Euboea), which pushed Athens to seek an alliance with Persia—another reason for Cleomenes' intervention. The goal was again to install Isagoras as tyrant. However, once the Peloponnesian army arrived at Eleusis in Western Attica, the Corinthians refused to continue and returned home. Demaratus