Archidamos II

Archidamos II was an ancient Spartan general and politician. From 469 BC BC to 427 BC He was one of the two kings of Sparta.

Archidamos II threw down the Helot Rebellion (probably 464 BC). At the beginning of the Peloponnesian War of 431 BC BC to 427 BC BC he and his hoplites invaded Attica every year (431, 430 and 428) and devastated the fields, while the Attic population hid behind the " long walls " between Athens and the port of Piraeus (since Athens' naval rule could not be broken) had withdrawn. Only in the year when an epidemic raged in Athens (429 BC), which also fell victim to the Athenian politician Pericles , Archidamos II decided not to attack.

The first phase of the Peloponnesian War of 431 BC BC to 421 BC After him, it is often referred to as the Archidamian War , although Archidamos actually wanted to avoid the war if possible. Archidamos II also besieged the Polis Plataiai, allied with Athens (429–427 BC).

literature

• PA Cartledge: Archidamus. In: The Oxford Classical Dictionary . 4th edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2012, ISBN 978-0-19-954556-8 , p. 140.
• Benedikt Niese : Archidamos 3 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume II, 1, Stuttgart 1895, Col. 467.
• Karl-Wilhelm Welwei : Sparta. The rise and fall of an ancient great power. Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-608-94016-2 , p. 214ff. and p. 427 (Index, sv Archidamos II. ).

predecessor	Office	successor
Leotychidas II	King of Sparta 469–427 BC Chr.	Agis II.