Archidamus IV
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Archidamus IV () was Eurypontid king of
Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...
from 300 BC to 275 BC. An obscure king, Archidamus is only known for his defeat against the Macedonian king Demetrius Poliorketes at Mantinea in 294, where he might have also died since nothing is heard of him afterwards. This defeat marks the beginning of a long eclipse for the Eurypontid kings, who are not mentioned again until the emergence of
Agis IV Agis IV (; c. 265 BC – 241 BC), the elder son of Eudamidas II, was the 25th king of the Kings of Sparta, Eurypontid dynasty of Sparta. Posterity has reckoned him an idealistic but impractical monarch. Family background and accession Agis ...
50 years later.


Life and reign

Archidamus was the son of
Eudamidas I Eudamidas I (Greek: Εὐδαμίδας) was Spartan king between 331 and 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 d ...
() and grandson of
Archidamus III Archidamus III (died 338 BC) ( ) was the son of Agesilaus II and Kings of Sparta, king of Sparta from 360 to 338 BC. Biography While still a prince, he was the Pederasty in ancient Greece#Terminology, eispnílas (, inspirer, or pederastic ...
(), who belonged to 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 ...
, one of the two royal families of Sparta (the other being the Agiads). He was also the probable brother of Archidamia. In 294, Sparta went to war for the first time since 331 and the
Battle of Megalopolis The Battle of Megalopolis was fought in 331 BC between Spartan-led forces and Macedonia. Alexander's regent Antipater led the Macedonians to victory over King Agis III. Alexander, warring in Asia at the time, called it a "battle of mice" (), acc ...
, where Archidamus' uncle
Agis III Agis III (Ancient Greek, Greek: , died 331 BC) was the eldest son of Archidamus III, and the 21st Eurypontid king of Sparta between 338 and 331 BC. He tried to lead a revolt against Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedonian hegemony over Greece, but ...
died. Indeed, after having taken
Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
, the king of
Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...
Demetrios Poliorketes invaded the
Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...
in order to fortify his hold of Greece before fighting the other
Diadochi The Diadochi were the rival generals, families, and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for control over his empire after his death in 323 BC. The Wars of the Diadochi mark the beginning of the Hellenistic period from the Mediterran ...
, the former generals of
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...
. Archidamus was appointed at the head of the army sent to meet Demetrios, perhaps because the other king
Areus I Areus I (; 320 or 312 – 265 BC) was Agiad King of Sparta from 309 to 265 BC. His reign is noted for his attempts to transform Sparta into a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic kingdom and to recover its former pre-eminence in Ancient Greece, Greece ...
was still a minor, while the Agiad regent Cleonymus—the most important Spartan commander at the time—was discredited by his failure in a mercenary expedition in Italy.McQueen, "The Eurypontid House", p. 165. Few ancient sources mention this war: some briefs notes are found in
Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...
and the geographer Pausanias, as well as two anecdotes from
Polyaenus Polyaenus or Polyenus ( ; see ae (æ) vs. e; , "much-praised") was a 2nd-century Roman Macedonian author and rhetorician, known best for his ''Stratagems in War'' (), which has been preserved. He was born in Bithynia, Asia Minor. The ''Suda'' c ...
, who all wrote four centuries after the event. Sparta was possibly allied with the Arkadian city of Mantinea, because the first battle took place near Mount Lyrceum in the north of this city, where Archidamus had moved to block Demetrios' incoming invasion. The Macedonian king however won the battle thanks to a stratagem; he set the vegetation on fire, which the northern wind blew towards the Spartans and forced them to flee. A second battle took place near Sparta, which ended with another victory for Demetrios, who made 500 prisoners and killed 200 Spartans.Cartledge, ''Hellenistic and Roman Sparta'', p. 28. Archidamus might have been among the dead, as he is never mentioned again. The Spartans then restored the city walls that had been built during the reign of Archidamus' father in preparation for a siege, but Demetrios actually left the Peloponnese to fight his enemy Lysimachos in northern Greece. The Spartans still inflicted some casualties to Demetrios' rearguard while he retreated. This defeat, if it did not kill him, cost all of Archidamus' prestige, as well as that of the Eurypontid dynasty, which disappears from the records for 50 years, until the reign of
Agis IV Agis IV (; c. 265 BC – 241 BC), the elder son of Eudamidas II, was the 25th king of the Kings of Sparta, Eurypontid dynasty of Sparta. Posterity has reckoned him an idealistic but impractical monarch. Family background and accession Agis ...
(). For example, the year after Archidamus' defeat (in 293), it is the Agiad prince Cleonymus who is mentioned operating in
Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinisation of names, Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia (; modern Greek, modern: ; ancient Greek, ancient: ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Central Greece (adm ...
against Demetrios. In addition, nothing is known of Archidamus' son Eudamidas II, not even his date of accession. During this period, the Agiad kings, notably
Areus I Areus I (; 320 or 312 – 265 BC) was Agiad King of Sparta from 309 to 265 BC. His reign is noted for his attempts to transform Sparta into a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic kingdom and to recover its former pre-eminence in Ancient Greece, Greece ...
, ''de facto'' ruled as sole monarchs. The date of Archidamus' death—and the start date of his son
Eudamidas II Eudamidus II () was the 24th King of Sparta of the Eurypontid dynasty. He was the son of King Archidamus IV, nephew of Agesistrata and grandson of Eudamidas I and Archidamia. He ruled from 275 BC to 244 BC. He married his aunt, Agesistra ...
—is not known. The transition date is often arbitrarily set in 275, but opinions range between 294 (if he died on the battlefield) to 260.Bradford, ''Prosopography'', p. 75, thinks that Archidamus died in the battle of 294.McQueen, "The Eurypontid House", p. 166, does not suggest a date, apart from dismissing that of 294.


References


Bibliography


Ancient sources

* Pausanias, ''Description of Greece.'' *
Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...
, ''
Parallel Lives * Culture of ancient Greece Culture of ancient Rome Ancient Greek biographical works Ethics literature History books about ancient Rome Cultural depictions of Gaius Marius Cultural depictions of Mark Antony Cultural depictions of Cicero ...
'' (Demetrios). *
Polyaenus Polyaenus or Polyenus ( ; see ae (æ) vs. e; , "much-praised") was a 2nd-century Roman Macedonian author and rhetorician, known best for his ''Stratagems in War'' (), which has been preserved. He was born in Bithynia, Asia Minor. The ''Suda'' c ...
, ''Stratagems in War.''


Modern sources

* Karl Julius Beloch, ''Griechische geschichte'', Tome IV, book 2, Berlin/Leipzig, de Gruyter, 1927. * Alfred S. Bradford, ''A Prosopography of Lacedaemonians from the Death of Alexander the Great, 323 B. C., to the Sack of Sparta by Alaric, A. D. 396'', Munich, Beck, 1977. *
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 ...
, ''Sparta and Lakonia, A Regional History 1300–362 BC'', London, Routledge, 2001 (originally published in 1979). * Paul Cloché,
La politique extérieure de Lacédémone depuis la mort d'Agis III jusqu'à celle d'Acrotatos, fils d'Areus Ier
, ''Revue des Études Anciennes'', 1945 47 n°3-4, pp. 219–242. * Ephraim David, ''Sparta between Empire and Revolution (404-243 B.C.), Internal Problems and Their Impact on Contemporary Greek Consciousness'', New York, 1981. * Ioanna Kralli, ''The Hellenistic Peloponnese: Interstate Relations, A Narrative and Analytic History, from the Fourth Century to 146 BC'', Swansea, The Classical Press of Wales, 2017. * Gabriele Marasco, ''Sparta agli inizi dell'età ellenistica, il regno di Areo I (309/8-265/4 a.C.)'', Firenze, 1980. * ——, ''Commento alle Biografie plutarchee di Agide e di Cleomene'', Rome, Edizioni dell'Ateneo, 1983. * E. I. McQueen,
The Eurypontid House in Hellenistic Sparta
, ''Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte'', Bd. 39, H. 2 (1990), pp. 163–181. * Pat Wheatley & Charlotte Dunn, ''Demetrius the Besieger'', Oxford University Press, 2020. {{Kings of Sparta 270s BC deaths 4th-century BC Greek monarchs 3rd-century BC monarchs in Europe 4th-century BC Spartans 3rd-century BC Spartans Eurypontid kings of Sparta Year of birth unknown