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Cleomenes ( Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 ??e?µ????), (d. c. 489 BC) was an Agiad King of Sparta
Kings of Sparta

Sparta was an important Ancient Greece polis in the Peloponnesus. It was unusual among Greek city-states in that it maintained its kingship past the Archaic period in Greece....
 in the late 6th
6th century BC

The 6th century BC started the first day of 600 BC and ended the last day of 501 BC.In India, Panini, sometime during this century, composed a grammar for sanskrit, which is the oldest extant grammar of any language....
 and early 5th centuries BC. During his reign, which started around 520 BC, he pursued an adventurous and at times unscrupulous foreign policy aimed at crushing Argos
Argos

Argos is a city in Greece in the Peloponnese near Nafplion, which was its historic harbour, named for Nauplius ....
 and extending Sparta
Sparta

Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the Eurotas River in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From circa 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars....
's influence both inside and outside the Peloponnese
Peloponnese

The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus is a large peninsula and Regions of Greece in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth....
. It was during his reign that the Peloponnesian League
Peloponnesian League

The Peloponnesian League was an alliance of states in the Peloponnese in the 6th century BC and 5th century BC.By the end of the 6th century, Sparta had become the most powerful state in the Peloponnese, and was the political and military hegemon over Argos, the next most powerful state....
 came formally into existence. During his reign, he intervened twice successfully in Athenian
Athens

Athens , the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the List of cities by time of continuous habitation, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
 affairs but kept Sparta out of the Ionian Revolt
Ionian Revolt

The Ionian Revolts were triggered by the actions of Aristagoras, the tyrant of the Ionian city of Miletus at the end of the 6th century BC and beginning of the 5th century BC....
.






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Cleomenes ( Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 ??e?µ????), (d. c. 489 BC) was an Agiad King of Sparta
Kings of Sparta

Sparta was an important Ancient Greece polis in the Peloponnesus. It was unusual among Greek city-states in that it maintained its kingship past the Archaic period in Greece....
 in the late 6th
6th century BC

The 6th century BC started the first day of 600 BC and ended the last day of 501 BC.In India, Panini, sometime during this century, composed a grammar for sanskrit, which is the oldest extant grammar of any language....
 and early 5th centuries BC. During his reign, which started around 520 BC, he pursued an adventurous and at times unscrupulous foreign policy aimed at crushing Argos
Argos

Argos is a city in Greece in the Peloponnese near Nafplion, which was its historic harbour, named for Nauplius ....
 and extending Sparta
Sparta

Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the Eurotas River in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From circa 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars....
's influence both inside and outside the Peloponnese
Peloponnese

The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus is a large peninsula and Regions of Greece in southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth....
. It was during his reign that the Peloponnesian League
Peloponnesian League

The Peloponnesian League was an alliance of states in the Peloponnese in the 6th century BC and 5th century BC.By the end of the 6th century, Sparta had become the most powerful state in the Peloponnese, and was the political and military hegemon over Argos, the next most powerful state....
 came formally into existence. During his reign, he intervened twice successfully in Athenian
Athens

Athens , the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the List of cities by time of continuous habitation, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
 affairs but kept Sparta out of the Ionian Revolt
Ionian Revolt

The Ionian Revolts were triggered by the actions of Aristagoras, the tyrant of the Ionian city of Miletus at the end of the 6th century BC and beginning of the 5th century BC....
. He died in prison in mysterious circumstances, with the Spartan authorities claiming his death was suicide due to insanity.

Early life

He was the son of Anaxandrides II (of the Agiad royal house) and his second wife (apparently a daughter of Prinetades), and was the half-brother of Dorieus, Leonidas I
Leonidas I

Leonidas was a king of Sparta, the 17th of the Agiad line, one of the sons of King Anaxandridas II of Sparta, who was believed to be a descendant of Heracles, possessing much of the strength and bravery that made his ancestor famous....
, and Cleombrotus
Cleombrotus (regent)

Cleombrotus , Kings of Sparta between 480 BC and 479 BC. He was a member of the Agiad family, the son of Anaxandridas II and the brother of Cleomenes I and of Leonidas I....
. Although the three younger half-brothers were the sons of Anaxandrides' first wife and therefore had a better claim to the throne according to tradition, Cleomenes was apparently the eldest son and succeeded his father around 520 BC. He allowed his half-brother Dorieus to mount expeditions outside the Peloponnesse, perhaps as a way of expanding Spartan influence and territories, and perhaps to rid himself of a potential rival. His interest in the world outside the Peloponnesse may have accounted for some of his reputation for insanity among fellow Spartans who tended to be highly insular, conservative, and suspicious of all things foreign.

War against Athens

Around 510 BC the Alcmaeonidae
Alcmaeonidae

The Alcmaeonidae or Alcmaeonids were a powerful noble family of ancient Athens, a branch of the Neleides who claimed descent from the Greek mythology Alcmaeon , the grandson of Nestor....
 family, who had been exiled from Athens
Athens

Athens , the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the List of cities by time of continuous habitation, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
, requested that Sparta
Sparta

Sparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the Eurotas River in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From circa 650 BC it rose to become the dominant military power in the region and as such was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars....
 help them overthrow Hippias
Hippias (son of Pisistratus)

Hippias of Athens was one of the sons of Peisistratos , and was tyrant of Athens in the 6th century BC.Hippias succeeded Peisistratus in 527 BC, and in 525 BC he introduced a new system of coinage in Athens....
, the son of Pisistratus
Peisistratos (Athens)

Peisistratus was a tyrant of Athens from 546 to 527/8 BCE. His legacy lies primarily in his institution of the Panathenaic Festival and the consequent first attempt at producing a definitive version for Homeric epics....
 and tyrant
Tyrant

This article is about the political ruler. For other uses see Tyrant and Tyranny In modern usage, a tyrant is a single ruler holding absolute political power over a state or within an organization....
 of Athens
Athens

Athens , the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the List of cities by time of continuous habitation, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
. The Alcmaeonidae, led by Cleisthenes
Cleisthenes

Cleisthenes was a noble Athens of the Alcmaeonidae family. He is credited with reforming the constitution of ancient Athens and setting it on a Athenian democracy footing in 508 BC or 507 BC....
, bribed the oracle at Delphi
Delphi

Delphi is an archaeology site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis. Delphi was the site of the Pythia, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, when it was a major site for the worship of the god Apollo after he slew the Python , a deity who lived there and protecte...
 to tell the Spartans to assist them, and Cleomenes came to their aid. The first attack on Athens was a failure, but Cleomenes personally led the second attack and besieged Hippias and his supporters on the Acropolis. He was unable to force Hippias to surrender, but the Spartans captured some of Hippias' relatives and took them hostage until he agreed to give up the city.

Cleisthenes and the Athenian aristocrat Isagoras
Isagoras

Isagoras , son of Tisander, was an Athenian aristocrat in the late 6th century BC.He had remained in Athens during the tyrant of Hippias , but after Hippias was overthrown he became involved in a struggle for power with Cleisthenes, a fellow aristocrat....
 then fought each other for control of Athens. Cleomenes came with an armed force to support Isagoras, and they forced Cleisthenes and the Alcmaeonidae family to go into exile for a second time. Cleomenes also abolished the Boule
Boule

The term Boule may refer to:* Boule , plural boulai, assembly forming part of city governments in Ancient Greece* Boule , block of synthetically-produced crystal material...
, a council set up by Cleisthenes, and occupied the Acropolis. The citizens of Athens objected to this and forced him out of the city. The following year Cleomenes gathered an army, with the aim of setting up Isagoras as tyrant
Tyrant

This article is about the political ruler. For other uses see Tyrant and Tyranny In modern usage, a tyrant is a single ruler holding absolute political power over a state or within an organization....
 of Athens. This army invaded Attica. The Corinthians in his force refused to attack Athens once they learned of Cleomenes' plan, and the invasion failed.

Sparta then proposed to her allies to mount an expedition to restore Hippias as tyrant of Athens. Given that Sparta had been instrumental in the overthrow of Hippias this change in policy was justified because Sparta had discovered that they had been tricked by the Alcmaeonidae into overthrowing Hippias because of the Delphic oracle had been bribed into asking them to do so. According to W G Forrest, Cleomenes was argued this change of position with his allies. However, the allies, led by Corinth, rejected the proposal in the first act of the Peloponnesian League.

The Ionian Revolt and its Aftermath

In 499 BC, Aristagoras
Aristagoras

Aristagoras was the leader of Miletus in the late 6th century BC and early 5th century BC.He was the son of Molpagoras, and son-in-law of Histiaeus, whom the Persian Empire had set up as tyrant of Miletus....
, the tyrant of Miletus
Miletus

Miletus was an ancient city on the western coast of Anatolia , near the mouth of the Maeander River in ancient Caria. Evidence of first settlement at the site has been made inaccessible by the rise of sea level and deposition of sediments from the Maeander....
, came to Sparta to request help from King Cleomenes with the Ionian Revolt
Ionian Revolt

The Ionian Revolts were triggered by the actions of Aristagoras, the tyrant of the Ionian city of Miletus at the end of the 6th century BC and beginning of the 5th century BC....
 against Persia
Persian Empire

The 'Persian Empire' was a series of successive Iranian or Persianization empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland, and beyond in Southwest Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and the Caucasus....
. Aristagoras nearly persuaded Cleomenes to help, promising an easy conquest of Persia and its riches, but Cleomenes sent him away when he learned about the long distance to the heart of Persia. According to Herodotus
Herodotus

Herodotus of Halicarnassus was a Greeks historian who lived in the 5th century BC and is regarded as the "Father of History" in Western culture....
, Cleomenes's young daughter Gorgo warned Cleomenes not to trust a man who threatened to corrupt him.

Around 494 BC, Cleomenes invaded and defeated Argos at Sepeia killing about 6000 of its inhabitants in a sacred grove. Argos would remain a bitter enemy of Sparta for decades after this attack. It is not clear why the attack on Argos took place. It may have been the result of Spartas’ concerns over Argos and the city’s pro-Persian tendencies, or due to proximity of Argos to the Spartans and thus being a growing threat to the security of the Spartan state.

When the Persians invaded Greece
Ancient Greece

The term Ancient Greece refers to the period of History of Greece lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman Republic conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth ....
 after putting down the Ionian revolt in 494 BC, many city-state
City-state

A city-state is an independent country whose territory consists solely of a single major city and the area immediately surrounding it. Examples include the city-states of ancient Greece , the Phoenician cities of Canaan , the Sumerian cities of Mesopotamia , the Mayans of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica , the central Asian cities along the Silk Roa...
s quickly submitted to them fearing a loss of trade. Among these states was Aegina
Aegina

Aegina is one of the Greek islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, 17 miles from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina, the mother of Aeacus, who was born in and ruled the island....
, so in 491 BC, Cleomenes attempted to arrest the major collaborators there. The citizens of Aegina would not cooperate with him and the Eurypontid Spartan king, Demaratus
Demaratus

Demaratus was a king of Sparta from 515 until 491 BC, of the Kings of Sparta#Eurypontid, successor to his father Ariston . As king, he is known chiefly for his opposition to the other, co-ruling Spartan king, Cleomenes I....
 attempted to undermine his efforts. Cleomenes overthrew Demaratus, after first bribing the oracle at Delphi to announce that this was the divine will, and replaced him with Leotychides. The two kings successfully captured the Persian collaborators in Aegina.

Exile and death

Around 490 BC Cleomenes was forced to flee Sparta when his plot against his co-king Demaratus was discovered, but the Spartans allowed him to return when he began gathering an army in the surrounding territories. However, according to Herodotus he was by this time considered to be insane. The Spartans put him in prison. By the command of his half-brothers, Leonidas I
Leonidas I

Leonidas was a king of Sparta, the 17th of the Agiad line, one of the sons of King Anaxandridas II of Sparta, who was believed to be a descendant of Heracles, possessing much of the strength and bravery that made his ancestor famous....
 and Cleombrotus
Cleombrotus (regent)

Cleombrotus , Kings of Sparta between 480 BC and 479 BC. He was a member of the Agiad family, the son of Anaxandridas II and the brother of Cleomenes I and of Leonidas I....
, Cleomenes was placed in chains.

While in prison, Cleomenes was found dead with his death being ruled as suicide by self-mutilation. He was succeeded by the elder of his surviving half-brothers Leonidas I
Leonidas I

Leonidas was a king of Sparta, the 17th of the Agiad line, one of the sons of King Anaxandridas II of Sparta, who was believed to be a descendant of Heracles, possessing much of the strength and bravery that made his ancestor famous....
, who then married Cleomenes' daughter Gorgo.

The veracity of accounts of Cleomenes' insanity and suicide have been the subject of some speculation among modern historians.