![]() ![]() ![]() However, this story may be a retrojection from Pausanias in light of the later opposition between Areus and Cleonymus. Pausanias, a Greek geographer of the 2nd century AD, as well as Plutarch, tell that since Areus was still a young child in 309, Cleomenes' second son Cleonymus contested the claim of his nephew, but the Gerousia-the supreme assembly at Sparta-still upheld the traditional linear succession of the Spartan kingship, and ruled in favour of Areus. Paul Cartledge favours an earlier date, about 320. Karl Julius Beloch has suggested that Areus was born shortly after his father had come back from a mission in Sicily in 312. As Cleomenes' reign was very long, his son Acrotatus died before him, and Areus succeeded his grandfather in about 309. In order to facilitate his recruitment of Jewish mercenaries, Areus claimed a shared ancestry with the Jews, who answered favourably and later repeatedly renewed their friendship with Sparta, even though the reality of this Spartan-Jewish connection is disputed.Īreus was the son of Acrotatus, and the grandson of Cleomenes II ( r. 370–309), king of Sparta of the Agiad dynasty, one of the two royal families at Sparta (the other being the Eurypontids). His posture as a Hellenistic king brought him considerable international prestige, but altered the constitutional order of the city, notably by eclipsing kings of the other Spartan dynasty. Areus is also known as the king who first minted coins in Sparta, whereas money was hitherto banned. For the first time in centuries, prominent artists are found in Sparta-likely attracted by the sponsorship of Areus, who probably built the first theatre of the city. The following Chremonidean War was however a disaster for the Greeks Areus died in battle near Corinth in 265 BC.Īlthough the military activity of Areus shows that Sparta had temporarily regained some of its former glory, the main interest of his reign is the introduction of Hellenistic features in the traditionally austere Sparta. Thanks to the prestige of this victory, Areus founded another alliance in 267 BC with Athens and Egypt against the Macedonian king Antigonos Gonatas. Areus nevertheless repelled the attack and pursued Pyrrhus until his death in Argos. ![]() In 275 BC, Cleonymus defected to Pyrrhus of Epirus, who launched an invasion of the Peloponnese in 272 BC. Areus' first record in the scanty ancient sources took place in 281 BC, when he led an alliance of Greek city-states to challenge Macedonian control over Greece, but was rapidly defeated by the Aitolian League (allied with Macedonia). The first part of Areus' reign was dominated by the influence of his uncle and regent Cleonymus, a skilled general who campaigned in Greece and abroad at the head of mercenary armies. His reign is noted for his attempts to transform Sparta into an Hellenistic kingdom and to recover its former pre-eminence in Greece, notably against the kings Antigonos Gonatas of Macedonia and Pyrrhus of Epirus. 320 or 312 – 265 BC) was Agiad King of Sparta from 309 to 265 BC. ![]()
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