Agis IV.
Agis IV ( Greek Ἆγις ) from the house of the Eurypontids was from 244 until his death in 241 BC. Chr. King of Sparta .
Possibly under the influence of the Stoic Sphairos , Agis IV, the son of his predecessor Eudamidas II , wanted to overcome the social tensions in Spartan society through land reforms and a new constitution. At that time the number of Spartan full citizens had probably only decreased to about 700, of which, according to an exaggerated tradition at Plutarch, only 100 owned land. The differences in ownership among the full citizens, a class that should actually consist of equals, were considerable. Therefore, the brought Ephor Lysandros at the instigation of a law Agis 243/242, indicating a general debt relief and an extension of citizenship by setting up 4500 Kleroi for Spartiatse 15.000 Kleroi for Perioeci envisaged.
The majority of the Spartians voted for the law, but the Gerusia with a narrow majority refused to approve the law. Thereupon Lysandros had Agis' co-king Leonidas II deposed and banished by the people. Then the reform began. After the debt repayment, however, the process stalled when it came to the distribution of land, which was allegedly due to the selfishness of the co-reformer Agesilaos: according to Plutarch , he had wanted a debt repayment for personal reasons, but as a large landowner was now resisting land reform.
Agis then lost support in the population and Leonidas returned amid tumult. He had the newly installed ephora stage an attack on Agis, who had fled to the temple asylum, and then executed him when a group of supporters of the king demanded his release. The reforms had thus failed for the time being. Agis' mother Agesistrata and his grandmother Archidamia were also executed.
A few years later, Cleomenes III. take up the reform approaches again.
literature
- Benedikt Niese : Agis 4 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume I, 1, Stuttgart 1893, Col. 819-821.
- Karl-Wilhelm Welwei : Agis IV . In: The New Pauly . Vol. 1, 1996, col. 259-260.
Individual evidence
- ^ Plutarch, Agis 5.
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Eudamidas II |
King of Sparta 244–241 BC Chr. |
Eurydamidas |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Agis IV. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ἆγις (Greek) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | King of Sparta |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 4th century BC BC or 3rd century BC Chr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | 241 BC Chr. |