page_title: Siege of Sparta
section_title: Prelude
hierarchical_section_title: Siege of Sparta / Prelude
caption_attribution_description: English: Pyrrhus of Epirus. Museo Archeologico Nazionale (Naples) (National Archaeological Museum of Naples) Français&#160;: Statue de Pyrrhus d’Épire conservée au musée archéologique national de Naples (Naples, Italie).
context_page_description: The Siege of Sparta took place in 272 BC and was a battle fought between Epirus, led by King Pyrrhus, and an alliance consisting of Sparta, under the command of King Areus I and his heir Acrotatus, and Macedon. The battle was fought at Sparta and ended in a Spartan-Macedonian victory.
  Following his defeat in Italy by the Roman Republic, Pyrrhus was forced to retreat back to Epirus. On his return to Epirus, he declared war against Antigonus Gonatas, managing to take control of Macedon. In 272 BC, he was approached by a Spartan prince, Cleonymus, a claimant to the Spartan throne who had been overlooked. Pyrrhus saw this invitation as an opportunity to extend his wars of conquest to the Peloponnese and invaded Sparta. Despite the majority of the Spartan army campaigning in Crete, the remaining Spartans were able to mount a defence led by the Spartan Crown Prince Acrotatus. The Spartans were able to withstand the Epiriote assaults until the arrival of the main Spartan army, led by King Areus I, and Macedonian reinforcements, prompting Pyrrhus to abandon the siege.
  After this failure, Pyrrhus ravaged the Spartan hinterland whilst fending off counter-attacks by the victorious Spartans.
context_section_description: Upon his seizure of the Macedonian throne, Pyrrhus was approached by a Spartan Prince, Cleonymus who was serving as an officer in his army. The Spartan persuaded Pyrrhus to assist him in his plot to capture Sparta. Cleonymus' motives in wanting to attack Sparta were twofold. Firstly, he bore a grudge because his countrymen had overlooked him in favour of his nephew, Areus I when determining the successor of the Agiad throne. Plutarch, the Greek historian, attributed Cleonymus' non-selection as king to his violent disposition and arbitrariness. Moreover, Cleonymus had been slighted because his new wife, Chilonis, had been seduced by Areus' son, Arcotatus. These perceived insults spurred Cleonymus to leave Sparta and scheme to usurp the throne.
  Pyrrhus was receptive to Cleonymus' appeals to install him on the Spartan throne and agreed to assist him. To achieve this, the Epiriote King assembled an army numbering of 27,000 men. It consisted 25,000 infantry, 2,000 cavalry and was supplemented by 24 war elephants. The size of Pyrrhus' expedition indicates that he viewed aiding Cleonymus as an opportunity to extend his hegemony into the Peloponnese and securing Sparta as an ally. An alternate theory is that Pyrrhus undertook his invasion of the Peloponnese as a means of cutting off any support that Antigonus was still receiving from the southern Greek poleis. After mustering his force, Pyrrhus marched south through central Greece and through to the Peloponnese. N. G. L. Hammond speculates that Pyrrhus' army marched down to Pleuron on the Aetolian side of the Gulf of Corinth and crossed from there into the Peloponnese. This suggests that the invasion was facilitated by the Aetolian League, a power confederate in Central Greece, which was hostile to Antigonus.
  Upon his arrival in the Peloponnese, Pyrrhus was welcomed in Achaia before continuing his march to Megalopolis. There he was met by Spartan ambassadors as well as those from Messene, Athens and the Achaean League. Pyrrhus appears to have received support for his invasion from some of Sparta's neighbours, namely Elis, Megalopolis and some Achaian cities which would profit from reduced Spartan power. In response to the Spartan emissaries' inquiries as to his intentions, the Epiriote King managed to deceive them. Pyrrhus asserted that his aim in invading the Peloponnese was to liberate the cities still held by Antigonus and to send his sons to Sparta to be educated in the agoge. After the withdrawal of the ambassadors, the Epiriote army advanced into Laconia followed the Eurotas River south and started to ravaging the territory of the Spartan perioeci. Pyrrhus' deceit prompted outrage in Sparta and the ambassadors were again dispatched to the Epiriote to upbraid him for his perfidy.
caption: A bust of Pyrrhus, King of Epirus, at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples
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