Eupolia (in

ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: ), was an

aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...

and

queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

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 ...

. Likely originating from the ranks of the Spartan aristocracy, she married Archidamus II. Eupolia is also the mother of

Agesilaus II Agesilaus II (; ; 445/4 – 360/59 BC) was king of Sparta from 400 to 360 BC. Generally considered the most important king in the history of Sparta, Agesilaus was the main actor during the period of Spartan hegemony that followed the Peloponn ...

, a major king of Sparta, Cynisca, the first woman to have won the

ancient Olympic Games The ancient Olympic Games (, ''ta Olympia''.), or the ancient Olympics, were a series of Athletics (sport), athletic competitions among representatives of polis, city-states and one of the Panhellenic Games of ancient Greece. They were held at ...

, and their younger brother Teleutias. After the death of Archidamus II, she remarried a certain Theodorus. Several elements suggest that this marriage was desired, as Theodorus was less wealthy than she was; Agesilaus II intervened to finance the couple.

Biography

The character, like other female figures of

ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

, is difficult to access through sources, which exclusively link her to men. Probably originating from an important aristocratic family of the city, she was the daughter of Melesippidas and the second wife of Archidamus II, with whom she had a certain son,

, and a probable daughter, Cynisca. She was said to have been of small stature, as Archidamus reportedly faced criticism from 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 ''éph ...

when he decided to marry her, on the grounds that marrying a small woman would produce "kinglets." The marriage is dated between 445 and 443 BC. After the death of her husband, she remarried a certain Theodorus and had a son named Teleutias. It is likely that this marriage after her widowhood, when Eupolia was over thirty years old, was a marriage of her choice. Several elements suggest that this Theodorus was less wealthy, and marrying him was thus a degradation of her

socioeconomic status Socioeconomic status (SES) is a measurement used by economics, economists and sociology, sociologsts. The measurement combines a person's work experience and their or their family's access to economic resources and social position in relation t ...

. Facing the difficulties of the new couple, Agesilaus II decided to give her lands and funds as soon as he obtained the throne. She was mentioned in several places in

Greek literature Greek literature () dates back from the ancient Greek literature, beginning in 800 BC, to the modern Greek literature of today. Ancient Greek literature was written in an Ancient Greek dialect, literature ranges from the oldest surviving wri ...

, starting with the works of

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eupolia Spartan princesses 5th-century BC Spartans 5th-century BC Greek women Spartans of the Peloponnesian War Year of birth uncertain Year of death unknown Ancient Spartan queens consort Eurypontid dynasty