The
First Messenian War was a war between
MesseniaMessenia or Messinia is a prefecture in the Peloponnese, a region of Greece. Messenia is bounded on the east by Mount Taygetus, on the north by the river Neda and the Arcadian Mountains, and on the west and south by the Mediterranean Sea, more specifically on the west by the Ionian Sea, and on the...
and
SpartaSparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the River Eurotas in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From c. 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...
. It began around 743 BC and ended around 724 BC.
Sources give different reasons for the cause of the war, but the Spartans and the Messenians laid the ground work for war with a dispute a generation before the war, in a skirmish between Spartans and Messenians during a festival at the
templeA temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
of
Artemis LimnatisArtemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. In the classical period of Greek mythology, Artemis was often described as the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo...
around 768 BC. The Spartan story tells of the raping of virgins and the killing of the king of the Agiad line in Sparta,
TeleklosTeleclus or Teleklos was a king of Sparta during the eighth century BC.Pausanias reports that Teleclus' reign saw the conquest of Amyclae, Pharis and Geranthrae, towns of the Perioeci or "dwellers round about"....
.
The
First Messenian War was a war between
MesseniaMessenia or Messinia is a prefecture in the Peloponnese, a region of Greece. Messenia is bounded on the east by Mount Taygetus, on the north by the river Neda and the Arcadian Mountains, and on the west and south by the Mediterranean Sea, more specifically on the west by the Ionian Sea, and on the...
and
SpartaSparta was a city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the River Eurotas in the southern part of the Peloponnese. From c. 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...
. It began around 743 BC and ended around 724 BC.
Cause
Sources give different reasons for the cause of the war, but the Spartans and the Messenians laid the ground work for war with a dispute a generation before the war, in a skirmish between Spartans and Messenians during a festival at the
templeA temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
of
Artemis LimnatisArtemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. In the classical period of Greek mythology, Artemis was often described as the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo...
around 768 BC. The Spartan story tells of the raping of virgins and the killing of the king of the Agiad line in Sparta,
TeleklosTeleclus or Teleklos was a king of Sparta during the eighth century BC.Pausanias reports that Teleclus' reign saw the conquest of Amyclae, Pharis and Geranthrae, towns of the Perioeci or "dwellers round about"....
. The Messenian story says that the "virgins" were young soldiers sent by Teleklos to get close to the Messenian leaders for an attempt at their lives and the killing of Teleklos was in defence of that attack.
Course
The actual outbreak of war only came in 743 BC, when the Spartans dealt with over population in the region of
LaconiaLaconia , also known as Lacedaemonia, is a prefecture in Greece. Laconia has the legal status of a prefecture, with Sparti its administrative capital. Its main towns and cities are Amyclae, Areopolis, Gytheion, Molaoi, Monemvasia, Mystras, Neapoli and Sellasia...
. In an effort to re-organize their position of power and expand their territory, the
Spartan ArmyThe Spartan Army was the military force of Sparta, one of the leading city-states of ancient Greece. The army stood at the centre of the Spartan state, whose citizens' primary obligation was to be good soldiers. Subject to military drill from infancy, the Spartans were one of the most feared...
headed westward past the
TaygetusMount Taygetus, Taugetus, or Taigetus is a mountain range in the Peloponnese peninsula in Southern Greece. It is the tallest mountain in the Peloponnese, reaching 2,407 m at the Profitis Elias summit. The Taygetus range is about 100 km long, extending from the center of the Peloponese to Cape...
Mountains into the Messenian region Even then there was little campaigning until the war's first major battle, the Spartan's attack on Ampheia. Not wanting to experience another such battle, the Messenians fell back to the heavily fortified Mount Ithome. This is when the Messenians first sent for help from the Oracle at
DelphiDelphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis...
. They were told that a sacrifice of a royal virgin was the key to their success and the daughter of Aristodemus, a Messenian hero, was chosen for the sacrifice.
Upon hearing of this, the Spartans held off from attacking Ithome for several years, before finally making a long march under their kings and killing the Messenian leader. Aristodemus was made the new Messenian king and led an offensive, meeting the enemy and driving them back into their own territory. The Spartans then sent an envoy to Delphi and their following of her advice caused Messenian reverses so great that Aristodemus committed suicide and Ithome fell. The Messenians who had fortified themselves on the mountain either fled abroad or were captured and enslaved.
Legacy
Sparta, under the rule of a
diarchyDiarchy , from the Greek "δύο", and αρχειν, "to rule," is a form of government in which two diarchs are the heads of state. In most diarchies, the diarchs hold their position for life and pass the responsibilities and power of the position to their children or family when they die.The diarchy is...
, suddenly gained wealth and culture with the "socio-economic basis" of classical Sparta emerging from this war and expansion. . In 685 BC, a helot revolt caused a
Second Messenian WarThe Second Messenian War was a war between the Ancient Greek states of Messenia and Sparta. It started around 40 years after the end of the First Messenian War with the uprising of a slave rebellion. This war lasted from 685 to 668.-Prelude:...
.