Spartan Foreign Policy in the Third Century BC Thesis Submitted to The
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Spartan Foreign Policy in the Third Century BC Thesis submitted to The University of Leicester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Andrea Scarpato School of Archaeology and Ancient History 2017 Abstract – Spartan Foreign Policy in the Third Century BC – Andrea Scarpato Spartan foreign policy in the third century BC is a neglected topic of Spartan history. This work explores this issue and argues for Spartan proactive participation in the interstate interactions of the third century BC. In doing so, it explains the reasons which drove Sparta to interact with other states and the extent of such interaction. It demonstrates that decision-making power was distributed between particular Spartan individuals and institutions, and that the changing distribution of power across these networks (to include ephors, gerousia, and kings) had a crucial impact on the articulation of foreign (military and diplomatic expeditions) and domestic (appointment of the Spartan kings) political decisions. As shown in this work, in the formulation of Spartan foreign policy, important efforts to avoid conflict without recourse to warfare and the presence of cooperation and interstate dialogue, facilitated by tools such as kinship ties and embassies, were central. These were utilised by the Spartan governing bodies to facilitate interactions with smaller (Taras, some Cretan poleis) and larger (Achaean League, Macedonia, Egypt, Rome) Mediterranean states. In adopting its foreign policy, Sparta could cultivate relations with these states and was highly regarded on the international stage. In interstate interactions, certain Spartan individuals were paramount: they were deployed by the Spartan governing bodies (gerousia, ephors) or could act by themselves in important military and diplomatic expeditions. By articulating a proactive foreign policy, Sparta could exercise influence on many locales situated inside and outside the Peloponnese and could even compete for hegemony with superpowers of the century such as Macedonia and Rome. In addressing these issues, it will be shown that the third century was a period characterised by a remarkable Spartan continuity of interest in certain locales inside and outside the Peloponnese. Acknowledgements During the four years of my Doctoral research I had the fortune to meet and work with many inspiring people. It is difficult for me to enumerate and thank them for their invaluable contribution to my intellectual growth. My first debt of gratitude goes to my first supervisor, Dr Daniel Stewart, whose ability to get me to think about historical and other issues from a different and fresh perspective has been incredibly beneficial not only to my approach to the ancient sources, but also to the modern theories. My work has enormously benefited from his constructive criticism. His comments and insights have allowed me to push my limits further and reach this stage of my academic career. Another significant debt of gratitude goes to my second supervisor, Professor Graham Shipley. Throughout my PhD journey he has provided me with great advice on numerous occasions. His availability and diligence in looking over my renderings and his discussions and comments on parts of my work have offered much food for thought. In the last two years, I have greatly benefited from the discussions with colleagues who share the same interest in the Hellenistic world and in Sparta more particularly. Much gratitude goes to fellow PhD students of Ancient History (Manolis Pagkalos, Jane Ainsworth) with whom I organised the Hellenistic Peloponnese Conference, and to other PhD researchers that I had the pleasure to meet during my journey at The University of Leicester. I could have not completed this project without the financial help for conferences and trainings offered by the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Archaeology and Ancient History, the Thomas Wiedemann Fund and the Classical Association. My parents have also greatly supported me financially and emotionally. List of Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 2. Literature Review .................................................................................................................. 6 2.1 Types of Ancient Interstate Interactions ............................................................................. 6 2.2 The Latest Studies on Hellenistic Interstate Interactions .................................................. 10 2.3 Studies on Spartan Interstate Interactions ......................................................................... 18 3. Approaches to the Evidence ................................................................................................ 24 3.1 The Sources and their Issues ............................................................................................. 24 3.1.1 The Literary Evidence ......................................................................................... 25 3.1.2 The Epigraphic and Numismatic Evidence ................................................................ 26 3.2 Approaches ........................................................................................................................ 30 3.2.1 First Case Study (Embracing the Mediterranean: Cleonymus) .................................. 30 3.2.2 Second Case Study (A de facto king: Cleonymus) .................................................... 31 3.2.3 Third Case Study (Areus and the Hellenistic World)................................................. 32 3.2.4 Fourth Case Study (The Peloponnesian Bipolarity) ................................................... 32 3.2.5 Fifth Case Study (Nabis and the Wider World) ......................................................... 33 4. Embracing the Mediterranean: Cleonymus ......................................................................... 34 4.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 34 4.2 Appointing the King .......................................................................................................... 37 4.3 Cleonymus Abroad ........................................................................................................... 38 4.4 Spartan relationships with western Cretan poleis ............................................................. 45 4.5 Continuity of Spartan relations in southern Italy and Crete .............................................. 54 4.6 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 56 5. A de facto king: Cleonymus ................................................................................................ 57 5.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 57 5.2 Cleonymus in Boeotia ....................................................................................................... 61 5.3 The Alliance against the Aetolians ................................................................................... 63 5.4 Cleonymus in Messenia and Argolis ................................................................................. 70 5.5 A de facto king .................................................................................................................. 76 5.6 Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 81 6. Areus and the Hellenistic World ............................................................................................ 83 6.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 83 6.2 Pyrrhus’ Expansionism ..................................................................................................... 86 6.3 Sparta’s relationships with Cretan poleis .......................................................................... 91 6.4 The Origins of Two Alliances ........................................................................................... 96 6.5 The Anti-Macedonian Coalition ..................................................................................... 101 6.6 King Areus I .................................................................................................................... 104 6.7 Conclusions ..................................................................................................................... 111 7. The Peloponnesian Bipolarity ............................................................................................... 113 7.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 113 7.2 Agis IV and The Peloponnese ......................................................................................... 116 7.2.1 Agis in Pellene ......................................................................................................... 120 7.2.2 Agis in Megalopolis ................................................................................................. 122 7.2.3 Agis in Mantinea ...................................................................................................... 124 7.3 Cleomenes III and Peloponnesian Bipolarity .................................................................