Table of Contents
Did King Leonidas marry his niece?
Before he succeeded to the throne, Leonidas had married Gorgo, daughter of Cleomenes – marrying his niece like his father did before him. Gorgo is one of only a few women named in Herodotus’ histories and was famed for her wisdom and political astuteness.
When did Pausanias die?
470 BC
Pausanias the Regent/Date of death
What did Pausanias do?
Pausanias commanded the allied Greek army that defeated the Persians at Plataea (479), and he led the Greeks in the capture of Byzantium (478). While Pausanias was at Byzantium, his arrogance and his adoption of Persian clothing and manners offended the allies and raised suspicions of disloyalty.
Was Pausanias real?
Pausanias (Ancient Greek: Παυσανίας) was the Agiad King of Sparta; the son of Pleistoanax. He ruled Sparta from 445 BC to 426 BC and again from 408 BC to 395 BC.
How reliable is Pausanias?
Overall, considering his invaluable status as an archaeological source, Pausanias appears to be fairly reliable.
What did king Cleomenes do to his body?
In fact, he claims that Cleomenes “began to mutilate himself, beginning on his shins. He sliced his flesh into strips, working upwards to his thighs, and from them to his hips and sides, until he reached his belly, and while he was cutting that into strips he died.” (The Histories, 6:75).
Why was king Cleomenes forced to flee Sparta?
The two kings successfully captured the Persian collaborators in Aegina. Around 490 BC Cleomenes was forced to flee Sparta when his plot against his co-king Demaratus was discovered, but the Spartans allowed him to return when he began gathering an army in the surrounding territories.
Are there any problems with Herodotus description of Cleomenes death?
Modern historians appear to have two problems with Cleomenes’ suicide. First, such a gruesome death seems aberrant and alienating and so it’s more comfortable to assume Herodotus’s description was just an exaggeration or fabrication than to accept that it accurately describes the event.
Why was Cleomenes ordered to be confined to the stocks?
Rather, self-injury is an unhealthy way to cope with emotional pain, intense anger and frustration.” Note that in Herodotus’ account, Cleomenes – a Spartan King – had just been ordered confined to the stocks for attacking citizens.