Hellenistic and Roman Sparta 323 BC 476 AD

Hellenistic and Roman Sparta (323 BC. – 476 AD. )

Important Events of Global Significance • 330 -323: Alexander the Great conquers the Persian Empire

323: After his Death the empire is broken to pieces by his generals (Diadochi)

The Roman Conquest • 146 BC: The Romans complete the conquest of Greece and turn it into a Roman province • 48: Caesar v. Pompey • 42: Antony v. Brutus • 31: Octavian v. Antony • After 31 BC: Empire

The Roman World • Under Rome there is widespread peace within the borders of the empire (Pax Romana) • 313: The Edict of Milan allows for tolerance of all religions in the Roman Empire and stops the persecution of Christianity • Under Constantine Christianity florishes • 391: An edict of Theodosius makes Christianity obligatory and the official religion • 476: The western part of the Roman Empire is overrun by the barbarians. The Christianized and Hellenized eastern part continues the name and traditions of ancient Greece and Rome. Modern scholars have called this Byzantium, and was destined to last until the late middle ages. The fall of Byzantium jump-starts the Renaissance and the modern Era.

Byzantium under Basil II (around 1000)

The Roman Theater at Sparta

Areus (309 -265 BC) • Sparta, although diminished and demoralized was not yet finished at the time of Alexander • She abstained from the Lamian war (a revolt of the southern states from Macedonian control, after Alexander’s death) • Under King Areus the dual kingship will start to falter and eventually will disappear, as Sparta increasingly becomes a true Hellenistic monarchy • Whatever is left of the Lycurgan laws is sidelined • Areus partially succeeds in re-establishing local dominance for Sparta as a Hellenistic Kingdom • Now Sparta has silver coinage, with Areus’ head on it

Agis IV (265 -241) [Eurypontid Line] • • • With youthful enthusiasm he wished to restore Sparta to its past glories and restore the Lycurgan system He proposed a land re-distribution (4500 lots of homoioi + 15000 lots of perioikoi) He planned to repopulate the homoioi with naturalizations from respectable perioikoi The Ephors, gerousia and Agiad King Leonidas II, serving the interests of the rich resisted his plan fiercely Agis overturned the ephors When he was on campaign the exiled Leonidas II returned and staged a revolt Agis was arrested and hurriedly executed His widow Agiatis became the wife of the heir to the Agiad throne Cleomenes III Character: noble, well-intentioned but not decisive enough to quash opposition

Cleomenes III (R: 235 -222 BC. ) • Through his wife he came to admire the plan of Agis • Unlike the idealistic Agis, a more pragmatic Cleomenes began his reform with the assassination of the Ephors • He then proceeded with the redistribution of land • He created 4000 new homoioi and equipped them Macedonian Style with long, heavy spears • He restored, at least nominally, the Lycurgan order • Characteristically in this period the ephors are no longer seen as the guardians of the state, but as an instrument for the rich and the privileged

Greece around 200 BC

The Battle of Sellasia (222 BC) • Cleomenes was a great man, perhaps the last truly great man in the Greek World • However, the tide of history was against him • The Achaean League, which dominated northern Peloponnese and Boeotia, finally moved to annex Sparta • Cleomenes was decisively defeated at Sellasia by the superior forces of the League, Sparta was eventually annexed, and lost its independence

Nabis: The Last Stand (207 192) • • • He claimed descent from the Eurypontid line In reality a usurper and dictator, who killed the descendants of the two royal households He seized power, and tried to introduce reforms by force He adhered to the policies of Cleomenes, but imposed them with violence and extreme measures He finally built walls around Sparta Famous for his cruelty, he even invented a torture machine Apega of Nabis. In his foreign policy, like his predecessors, opposed the Achaean League and concluded peace with Rome He re-conquered Messenia but was forced to abandon it, when he was defeated by the brilliant general of the Achaean League Philopoemen. Under Nabis Sparta became again a credible power, but since he was seen as a threat by the Achaean and Aetolian League and Rome too, eventually he was assasinated in 192 and Sparta was annexed into the Achaean Leagure. With Nabis ends Spartan Independence

The Roman Period • Roman Sparta becomes a tourist attraction for people drawn to her glorious past • Since it was the only Greek city which supported Augustus in his struggle with Marc Antony, generous gifts brought prosperity • More monumental structures than ever before are constructed (e. g. the large theater) • The re-instituted agoge becomes like a Roman theme park • This re-invented Sparta lasts well into the Christian era, when Sparta drops out of the picture, and at some point the site of the ancient city is abandoned altogether • In the late Byzantine period (2 nd millenium) Mystras, a new development on a fortified position west of the ancient city, dominates the Peloponnese, and becomes an important center as the ailing capital Constantinople comes under constant pressure by Latin invaders and then the Ottoman Turks