King Cleomenes III (r.
235-222 BCE) was a powerful ruler of Sparta who tried to revive his country’s
reputation as a military powerhouse in Greece. He increased his own personal
influence by ruthlessly oppressing the checks against his power, such as the
ephors, who usually shared power with the Spartan kings. In addition he
initiated significant social and military reform. Socially, Cleomenes wanted to
steer his kingdom back into the ways of their no-nonsense, strictly militant
past. Militarily, he had adopted the innovations in warfare introduced by
Macedonia, including the use of longer spears and improved infantry formations.
Sparta, with its revamped
military and a competent king in command, quickly began to wreck havoc on its
Peloponnese neighbors. Cleomones’ major rival in the region was the Achaean
League, headed by a skilled commander named Aratus of Sicyon. Starting around
229 BCE, King Cleomenes led such a successful campaign against the Achaean
League that Aratus of Sicyon took the drastic step of placing his people under
the protection of Macedonia in 225 or 224 BCE. As Macedonian troops poured into
the Peloponnese, Cleomenes III soon found that he could not pacify his newly conquered
land and fight the invaders at the same time. The Macedonian king, Antigonus
III, pressed the Spartans back all the way to their native region of Laconia
and finally dealt Cleomenes’ army a fatal blow at the 222 BCE Battle of
Sellasia. Following the disastrous defeat at Sellasia, Cleomenes III fled to
Egypt and Macedonia occupied Sparta.
Ptolemy III, the king of
Egypt, gave the fugitive Spartan ruler a warm welcome and allegedly promised to
finance a future bid for Cleomenes III to reclaim Sparta. Yet, Ptolemy III died
in 221 BCE. The next king of Egypt, Ptolemy IV, reportedly tried to invite
Cleomenes III into his circle of advisors. Nevertheless, the powerful people in
the Ptolemaic king’s inner circle considered Cleomenes to be a threat to their
power and they eventually convinced Ptolemy IV to place the Spartan king under
house arrest in Alexandria.
Cleomenes III, however, was
not one to be restrained, and he had been eager to return home ever since he
learned that the Macedonian king, Antigonus III, had died in 221 BCE.
Nevertheless, the Ptolemaic government had little intention of releasing the
Spartan king. When it became apparent to Cleomenes that he was truly a captive,
he decided to break free.
In 219 BCE, Cleomenes III
made his move. According to the account of the biographer, Plutarch (c. 50-120),
the first step of Cleomenes’ plan was to confuse the sentries who guarded his
house. To do this, Cleomenes called on the friends he had made in the time
before being arrested to spread rumors around Alexandria that the Spartan
prisoner was to be released. To supplement the rumors, Cleomenes also had
cheerful gifts sent to his home, containing congratulations on his imminent
release and also wine…lots of wine. The Spartan king graciously shared his wine
with the guards around his house, and one day when the guards had indulged too
much in the offered drink, a disguised Cleomenes and thirteen companions
slipped away unnoticed into the streets of Alexandria.
At this point, Cleomenes’
ambition and arrogance apparently sealed his doom. Why sneak off to the docks
and sail home to Sparta when he could capture Alexandria, the jewel of
Ptolemaic Egypt. The latter option must have been more appealing to Cleomenes
III, for instead of silently sneaking out of the city, the Spartan king and his
companions reportedly decided to run like madmen through the streets of
Alexandria while shouting for the locals to revolt and reclaim their freedom.
The locals, however, wanted nothing to do with the rampaging Spartans and
ducked inside their homes.
With the popular uprising
plan foiled, Cleomenes decided to enact plan B—a prison riot. According to
Plutarch, Cleomenes and his thirteen loyal companions charged for a citadel in
Alexandria where prisoners were kept. They were apparently met en route to the
fortification by the commander of the city guard, who was reportedly riding on
a chariot through the streets. In the first major brawl of the prison-break,
Cleomenes and his loyal followers pulled the commander of the guard from his
chariot and slaughtered the whole patrol. After that successful skirmish,
Cleomenes rushed over to the citadel, eager to free the army of prisoners
locked inside. Upon his arrival, however, Cleomenes was quickly reminded that
the citadel was a formidable fortress, and the wardens of the prison rudely
thwarted the Spartan king’s plan by simply closing the gate.
After the failure of the
popular uprising and the prison revolt, Cleomenes eventually accepted that he
was defeated. In the end, the Spartan king and his thirteen companions
allegedly committed suicide before the full force of the city garrison arrived.
When Ptolemy IV heard of this chaotic event, he did not react well. According
to Plutarch, the body of Cleomenes III was suspended in a leather bag and the
Spartan king’s children, mother and acquaintances were executed.
Written by C. Keith Hansley.
Picture Attribution: (Image
of a Greek terracotta Storage Jar with Two Warriors. Object Number 86.AE.78, c.
500-480 BCE, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).
Sources:
- On Sparta (Life of Cleomenes), excerpted from Plutarch's Parallel Lives, translated by Richard J. A. Talbert. New York: Penguin Classics, 2005.
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ptolemy-IV-Philopator
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ptolemy-III-Euergetes
- https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cleomenes-III
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/Achaean-League
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