The Spartan Hegemony 404 371 B C The

The Spartan Hegemony 404 -371 B. C.

The Great Victory n n n n Some months after the Battle at Aegospotami Athens surrenders. The Terms: Demolish the Long Walls Surrender all ships except 12 Accept the lead of Sparta An oligarchic government by 30 men is put in place by Lysander Democracy is abolished The Athenian Empire is inherited by Sparta

The Protagonists

Lysander n n n Probably from a family of Inferiors, of noble descent but impoverished Lover of prince Agesilaos (frequently Agesilaus) Ambitious and Un-Spartan in some ways He understood that the only way to defeat Athens was to create a navy. He created a bond with the Persian prince Cyrus, son of king Darius II, who funded the Spartan fleet He was power-hungry, but not enough to stage open revolt against the Spartan constitution

Agesilaos II (401 -360) n n n n A towering figure in Spartan history He became king (Eurypontid dynasty) when Sparta was the ruler of the Greek world, and shortly afterwards went to conquer Persia He died in Egypt, aged 84, hiring out his services as a mercenary to replenish the treasury of a broken and impoverished Sparta Half-brother of king Agis II, unexpectedly became king, with Lysander’s support, after the lawful heir Leotychidas was declared illegitimate He had undergone the agoge despite his lame leg (birth defect), where through relentless effort distinguished himself Very popular among the men in the army, very influencial Also very rigid, relentless in his hatred of Thebes, and very conservative, he influenced many wrong decisions and is largely responsible for the decline of Spartan power.

Pharnabazus / Tissaphernes n n n Rival Persian Satraps of Asia Minor Pharnabazus brings about the end of Spartan Supremacy by funding the Athenian regeneration effort in the 390’s. Tissaphernes was devoted to Artaxerxes II, and a sworn enemy of Sparta He fell victim of queen Parysatis for his role in the death of her favorite son Cyrus. Both seriously impeded Spartan plans in Asia Minor and her imperial ambitions through sharp diplomacy and bribery.

Darius II and Cyrus the Younger n n n Darius, maybe at the suggestion of his queen, Parysatis, changed Persian policy towards Greek affairs. The new policy was to fund the weaker side and keep them fighting in a manner that served Persian interests His heir Artaxerxes II successfully continued this policy. His charismatic younger son Cyrus, funded Lysander to defeat Athens , and then revolted against his brother king Artaxerxes with help from Sparta and other Greek mercenaries (400 BC) In the battle of Cunaxa Cyrus won but was killed. The march of the mercenaries through Persia back to Greece confirmed that it is possible to defeat Persia

The Perils of Athens n n n The sounds of the flutes playing while Lysander’s workers were demolishing the walls of Athens haunted the Athenians for many years. His puppet government exhibited such cruelty that ‘the Thirty’ came to be identified with pure evil in Athenian memory A resistance was staged by Thrasybulus from the fortress of Phyle, which eventually led to civil war, and the rebels prevailed.

Athenian Restoration n n Eventually the Agiad king Pausanias, who disliked Lysander and his tactics, worked out a settlement. The Spartans did not intervene to support the Thirty The democracy was restored in 403, and public life was reorganized The old enemy was back, albeit diminished.

Spartan Government n n n n Sparta inherited the Athenian Empire, but very quickly proved to be highly unsuitable for imperial leadership Instead of the promised freedom, Sparta established oligarchic regimes (boards of 10: decarchies). Instead of the autonomy under Athenian rule, now the cities were tightly controlled by Spartan garrisons (harmosts) Instead of the rule of law under the Athenian empire, now they had the temperamental rule of ill-suited Spartan officials, excessively prone to bribery Instead of fair commerce and free trade, 1000 talents from excessive taxation were sent to Sparta only in the first year Soon the days of Athenian rule were seen with nostalgia, and much resentment arose against Sparta Former allies like Thebes and Corinth created an alliance with Athens

The Campaign Against Persia n n After the return of the 10, 000 a campaign was staged against Persia Agesilaos did well in Asia Minor, but Persian diplomacy seized the initiative before he could inflict serious damage to the empire. They funded Athens and her allies to start war on Sparta. The Corinthian war (395 -387) was an indecisive conflict which damaged the Greek world as a whole.

The Persian Empire

Ancient Corinth

Corinthian War n n n n n The alliance of Athens, Corinth, Thebes, Argos and others remains strong despite a number of setbacks by Spartan armies. Initially funded by Persian money A Persian fleet under the Athenian Conon destroys the Spartan navy off Cnidos (394 BC) Then proceeds to effectively end the Spartan Empire in the Aegean Athens tries to regain some of her possessions At land the Spartan army retains an advantage but does not succeed to dominate The Athenian Iphicrates using light troops succeeds in inflicting casualties on Spartan troops, and reveals the flaws of the Spartan phalanx. This inconclusive warfare ends with the King’s peace in 387/6 Spartan power has diminished, and in the coming years Sparta is going to serve as the police force of the Great King of Persia in Greece.