Cratesiclea (died 219 BC), was a Spartan queen, married to king

Leonidas II Leonidas II (; , ''Leōnídas B, "Lion's son, Lion-like") was the 28th Agiad King of Sparta from 254 to 242 BC and from 241 to 235 BC. Biography Leonidas was the son of Cleonymus of Sparta, Cleonymus and grandson of King Cleomenes II () of the L ...

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 ...

(ancient Greece), and mother of

Cleomenes III Cleomenes III () was one of the two kings of Sparta from 235 BC, 235 to 222 BC. He was a member of the Agiad dynasty and succeeded his father, Leonidas II. He is known for his attempts to reform the Spartan state. From 229 to 222 BC, Cleomen ...

and Chilonis. During the reign of her spouse, her foreign origin was used by the opposition of her husband, as Spartan law declared that the queens of Sparta must be Spartan. After the death of her husband, she married the Spartan Megistonoo. She was known for her active support of her son Cleomenes III. During the

Cleomenean War The Cleomenean WarPolybius. ''The Rise of the Roman Empire'', 2.46. (229/228–222 BC) was fought between Sparta and the Achaean League for the control of the Peloponnese. Under the leadership of king Cleomenes III, Sparta initially had the uppe ...

, her son asked Ptolemy III for support. The latter, mistrusting the Spartan king because of his revolutionary ideas, accepted to provide help in condition that his children and Cratesiclea go to Alexandria and remain there as hostages. Cratesiclea, feeling that this was a duty towards Sparta, proudly boarded on the Egyptian ship heading to Alexandria (222). In 222, Cleomenes III joined his mother and sons in Egypt after his deposition. When he failed to secure support with

Ptolemy IV of Egypt Ptolemy IV Philopator (; "Ptolemy, lover of his Father"; May/June 244 – July/August 204 BC) was the fourth pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt from 221 to 204 BC. Ptolemy IV was the son of Ptolemy III and Berenice II. His succession to the throne was ac ...

to retake his throne, he attempted to incite the population of Alexandria to rebel against Ptolemy IV. In retaliation, Ptolemaios IV had both him, his followers as well as his mother and two young sons executed. ;Issue: *

Chilonis (wife of Cleombrotus II) Chilonis () was a Spartan princess and queen: daughter, wife, sister and grandmother of four different Spartan kings: Leonidas II, Cleombrotus II, Cleomenes III and Agesipolis III respectively. Biography Chilonis, daughter of the king Leonidas ...

In poetry

The Greek poet

Constantine Cavafy Konstantinos Petrou Kavafis ( ; 29 April ( OS 17 April), 1863 – 29 April 1933), known, especially in English, as Constantine P. Cavafy and often published as C. P. Cavafy (), was a Greek poet, journalist, and civil servant from Alexandria. A ...

dedicated two poems to Cratesiclea: " In Sparta" and "Come, O King of the Lacedaimonians".https://www.onassis.org/initiatives/cavafy-archive/the-canon/come-o-king-of-the-lacedaimonians

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:cratesiclea 3rd-century BC Greek women Ancient Spartan queens consort 3rd-century BC Spartans 219 BC deaths Murdered royalty