Demaratus
Encyclopedia
Demaratus was a king of Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...

 from 515 until 491 BC, of the Eurypontid line, successor to his father Ariston. As king, he is known chiefly for his opposition to the other, co-ruling Spartan king, Cleomenes I
Cleomenes I
Cleomenes or Kleomenes was an Agiad King of Sparta in the late 6th 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 and extending Sparta's influence both inside and outside the...

.

Biography

When Cleomenes attempted to make Isagoras
Isagoras
Isagoras , son of Tisander, was an Athenian aristocrat in the late 6th century BC.He had remained in Athens during the tyranny of Hippias, but after Hippias was overthrown, he became involved in a struggle for power with Cleisthenes, a fellow aristocrat. In 508 BC he was elected archon eponymous,...

 tyrant in Athens, Demaratus tried unsuccessfully to frustrate his plans. In 501 BC, Aegina
Aegina
Aegina is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina, the mother of Aeacus, who was born in and ruled the island. During ancient times, Aegina was a rival to Athens, the great sea power of the era.-Municipality:The municipality...

 was one of the states which gave the symbols of submission (earth and water
Earth and water
In the writings of the Ancient Greek chronicler Herodotus, the phrase earth and water is used to represent the demand of the Persians from the cities or people who surrendered to them.-Usage in Herodotus' histories:...

) to Persia. Athens at once appealed to Sparta to punish this act of medism
Medism
Medism can refer to:* In ancient Greece, imitating or having sympathies or siding with the Persians . It was considered a crime in many ancient Greek states. Themistocles the Athenian was ostracized for Medism...

, and Cleomenes I
Cleomenes I
Cleomenes or Kleomenes was an Agiad King of Sparta in the late 6th 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 and extending Sparta's influence both inside and outside the...

 crossed over to the island to arrest those responsible. His first attempt was unsuccessful, due to interference from Demaratus, who did his utmost to bring Cleomenes into disfavour at home.

In retaliation, Cleomenes urged Leotychidas
Leotychidas
Leotychidas [Leotychides, Latychidas] was a ruler of Sparta 491 BC-476 BC. He led Spartan forces during the Persian Wars from 490 BC to 478 BC...

, a relative and personal enemy of Demaratus, to claim the throne on the ground that the latter was not really the son of Ariston, but of Agetus, his mother's first husband. Cleomenes bribed the Delphic oracle, to pronounce in favor of Leotychidas, who became king in 491 BC.

After the deposition of Demaratus, Cleomenes visited the island of Aegina for a second time, accompanied by his new colleague Leotychides, seized ten of the leading citizens and deposited them at Athens as hostages.

On his abdication, Demaratus was forced to flee. He went to the court of the Persian king Darius I, who gave him the cities of Pergamum, Teuthrania and Halisarna, where his descendants Eurysthenes
Eurysthenes (Pergamon)
Eurysthenes was a descendant of the Spartan king Demaratus. After his deposition in 491 BC Demaratus had fled to Persia, where king Darius I made him ruler of the cities of Pergamon, Teuthrania and Halisarna...

 and Procles still ruled at the beginning of the 4th century.

He accompanied Xerxes I on his invasion of Greece in 480 BC and is alleged to have warned Xerxes not to underestimate the Spartans before the Battle of Thermopylae
Battle of Thermopylae
The Battle of Thermopylae was fought between an alliance of Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas of Sparta, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece. It took place simultaneously with the naval battle at Artemisium, in August...

:
Later King or Tyrant Nabis
Nabis
Nabis was ruler of Sparta from 207 BC to 192 BC, during the years of the First and Second Macedonian Wars and the War against Nabis. After taking the throne by executing two claimants, he began rebuilding Sparta's power. During the Second Macedonian War, he sided with King Philip V of Macedon and...

 claimed to be of his descent.

Popular culture

  • In The 300 Spartans
    The 300 Spartans
    The 300 Spartans is a 1962 Cinemascope film depicting the Battle of Thermopylae. Made with the cooperation of the Greek government, it was shot in the village of Perachora in the Peloponnese...

    , Demaratus appears as a guest of Xerxes I of Persia
    Xerxes I of Persia
    Xerxes I of Persia , Ḫšayāršā, ), also known as Xerxes the Great, was the fifth king of kings of the Achaemenid Empire.-Youth and rise to power:...

    , whose warnings about the Spartans Xerxes ignores. Demaratus was played by Ivan Triesault.

External links

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