Demaratus
Demaratus, king of
Sparta from
515 until
491 BC of the
Eurypontid line, successor to his father
Ariston. As King he is known chiefly for his opposition to his colleague the other Spartan king
Cleomenes I.
When Cleomenes attempted to make
Isagoras tyrant in Athens, Demartus tried unsuccessfully to frustrate his plans. In
501 BC Aegina was one of the states which gave the symbols of submission (
earth and water) to Persia. Athens at once appealed to Sparta to punish this act of medism, and
Cleomenes I, crossed over to the island, to arrest those who were responsible for it. His first attempt was unsuccessful due to interference from Demartus who did his utmost to bring Cleomenes into disfavour at home.
In retaliation Cleomenes urged Leotychides, a relative and personal enemy of Demaratus, to claim the throne on the ground that the latter was not really the son of Ariston but of
Agetus, his mother's first husband. Cleomenes bribed the
Delphic oracle, to pronounce in favor of Leotychides, who became king
Leotychides II in
491 BC.
After the deposition of Demaratus, Cleomenes visited the island of Aegina for a second time, accompanied by his new colleague Leotychides, seized ten of the leading citizens and deposited them at Athens as hostages.
On his abdication, Demaratus was forced to flee. He went to the court of the Persian king
Darius I, who gave him the cities of
Pergamum,
Teuthrania and
Halisarna, where his descendants were still ruling at the beginning of the 4th century.
He accompanied
Xerxes I on his invasion of Greece in
484 BC and is alleged to have warned Xerxes not to underestimate the Spartans before the
Battle of Thermopylae:
The same goes for the Spartans. One-against-one, they are as good as anyone in the world. But when they fight in a body, they are the best of all. For though they are free men, they are not entirely free. They accept Law as their master. And they respect this master more than your subjects respect you. Whatever he commands, they do. And his command never changes: It forbids them to flee in battle, whatever the number of their foes. He requires them to stand firm -- to conquer or die. O king, if I seem to speak foolishly, I am content from this time forward to remain silent. I only spoke now because you commanded me to. I do hope that everything turns out according to your wishes. — Herodotos vii (trans. G. Rawlinson)
*
Kings of Sparta*
Xenophon Anabasis, ii. j. 3, vii. 8. 17;
Hellenica, iii. I. 6
*
Athenaeus i. 29 f
*
Herodotus v. 75, vi. 50-70, vii ;
*
Pausanias iii. 4, 3-5, 7, 7-8;
*
Diodorus xi. 6;
*
Polyaenus ii. 20;
*
Seneca the Younger, De benefici-is, Vi. 31, 4-12
*
Demaratus on the Spartan Way of Living
