Theopompus ( grc-gre, Θεόπομπος) was a

Eurypontid 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 ...

king of Sparta For most of its history, the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek polis, 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 Greece, Archaic age. I ...

. He is believed to have reigned during the late 8th and early 7th century BC. 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 ...

, having two kings at the same time, an Agiad and a Eurypontid. Theopompus was the son and successor to the Eurypontid king

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 major event of his reign was the

First Messenian War The First Messenian War was a war between Messenia and Sparta. It began in 743 BC and ended in 724 BC, according to the dates given by Pausanias (geographer), Pausanias. The war continued the rivalry between the Achaeans (tribe), Achaeans and t ...

, which resulted in the defeat of the

Messenia Messenia or Messinia ( ; el, Μεσσηνία ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a ...

ns, for which,

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 th ...

reports,

Tyrtaeus Tyrtaeus (; grc-gre, Τυρταῖος ''Tyrtaios''; Floruit, fl. mid-7th century BC) was a Greeks, Greek Elegy, elegiac poet from Sparta. He wrote at a time of two crises affecting the city: a civic unrest threatening the authority of kings and e ...

credits Theompompus: : To our king beloved of the gods, Theopompus, through whom we took Messene with wide dancing-grounds. Pausanias reports that Theopompus was succeeded by his grandson Zeuxidamas or great-grandson Anaxidamus, Theopompus' son Archidamus having predeceased him, though there is some evidence that his successor was

Anaxandridas I Anaxandridas I ( grc-gre, Ἀναξανδρίδας) (reigned from c. 675 to c. 645 BC) was king of Sparta and a member of the Eurypontid dynasty. He was succeeded by king Archidamus I. 7th-century BC rulers 7th-century BC Spartans Eurypontid ...

, father of

Zeuxidamus Zeuxidamus ( grc-gre, Ζευξίδαμος) can refer to two ancient Spartans. #A king of Sparta, and 10th of the Eurypontid dynasty. He was grandson of Theopompus, son of Anaxandridas I, and father of Anaxidamus, who succeeded him. #A son of Le ...

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 ...

, in his ''

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 ...

'', stated that it was in Theopompus' reign that the

ephors The ephors were a board of five magistrates in ancient Sparta. They had an extensive range of judicial, religious, legislative, and military powers, and could shape Sparta's home and foreign affairs. The word "''ephors''" (Ancient Greek ...

were introduced in Sparta. Plutarch also recorded a tradition in

that Theopompus had fallen in battle, being slain by

Aristomenes Aristomenes ( grc-gre, Ἀριστομένης) was a king of Messenia, celebrated for his struggle with the Spartans in the Second Messenian War (685–668 BC), and his resistance to them on Mount Eira for 11 years. At length the mountain fell t ...

. Sparta denied the truth of this latter story, claiming that Theopompus had been only wounded.Plutarch, tr. Bernadotte Perrin (1921).
Parallel Lives
'.

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a series of books originally published by Heinemann in London, but is currently published by Harvard University Press. The library contains important works of ancient Greek and L ...

, Cambridge and London, X, 804.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theopompus 8th-century BC rulers 8th-century BC Spartans 7th-century BC rulers 7th-century BC Spartans Eurypontid kings of Sparta 8th-century BC births 7th-century BC deaths Messenian Wars