This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received 66-15,122 PIPER, Linda Jane, 1935- A HISTORY OF SPARTA: 323-146 B.C. The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1966 History, ancient University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan LINDA JANE PIPER 1967 All Rights Reserved A HISTORY OF SPARTA: 323-1^6 B.C. DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Linda Jane Piper, A.B., M.A. The Ohio State University 1966 Approved by Adviser Department of History PREFACE The history of Sparta from the death of Alexander in 323 B.C; to the destruction of Corinth in 1^6 B.C. is the history of social revolution and Sparta's second rise to military promi­ nence in the Peloponnesus; the history of kings and tyrants; the history of Sparta's struggle to remain autonomous in a period of amalgamation. It is also a period in Sparta's history too often neglected by historians both past and present. There is no monograph directly concerned with Hellenistic Sparta. For the most part, this period is briefly and only inci­ dentally covered in works dealing either with the whole history of ancient Sparta, or simply as a part of Hellenic or Hellenistic 1 2 history in toto. Both Pierre Roussel and Eug&ne Cavaignac, in their respective surveys of Spartan history, have written clear and concise chapters on the Hellenistic period. Because of the scope of their subject, however, they were forced to limit them­ selves to only the most important events and people of this time, and great gaps are left in between. Kathleen Chrimes deals with post-Classical Sparta in 3 Part I of her work entitled Ancient Sparta. She has attempted to ^Pierre Roussel, Sparte (Paris: E. de Boccard, Editeur, 1939), PP. 189-216. 2 Eug&ne Cavaignac, Sparte (Paris: Librairie Arth&me Fayard, 19^8), pp. 179-218. ^K.M.T. Chrimes, Ancient Sparta (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 19^9), PP« 1-55* reinterpret the history of the period in the light of the major reforms which took place at this time. Her theories, although L interesting, are generally rejected by Humfrey Michell who, unfortunately, has only one chapter^ on Hellenistic Sparta, in which he concentrates on Agis, Cleomenes, and Nabis. Hie work is important, however, for its extremely informative narrative of the reform movement in Sparta and the part in it played by these three men. The best attempt to cover, in detail, the whole of Spartan i history from its beginning through the Roman period has been made by Victor Ehrenberg in his excellent article in Pauly-Wissowa.^ i His vast knowledge of sources, both literary and epigraphic, as well as his keen intellectual probing into his subject, make his work the most important secondary source of knowledge of Hellenistic Sparta. He records the prominent events in as much detail as is possible in an encyclopedic article, and his listing and analyses of the source material for this subject are especially thorough and valuable. Of the writers of Greek history in general, mention should 7 3 be made of Karl Beloch and Georg Busolt. Beloch treats Spartan H. Michell, Sparta (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1952), pp. 315-357. 5 Ibid., chapter XI. ^Pauly-Wissowa-Kroll, Real-EncyclopSdie der klassischen Altertumswissenshaft, III A-w, 1929, especially columns l*+21-lM+5. 7 Karl J. Beloch, Griechische Geschichte (Berlin und Leipzig: Walter de Gruyter & Co., 1925-1927)* IV, 1 & 2. g Georg Busolt, Griechische Staatskunde, II, Vol. IV, I, 1 of Handbuch der Altertumswissenshaft, ed. by H. Swoboda (12 vols.; Munich: C. H. Beck’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1926), pp. 633-737. ill history only with respect to its relationship to the general history of the Greek world in this period, but his observations, though scattered, are scholarly and authoritative. Busolt narrates the subject in a more concise manner in the first part of the second volume of his work, entitled "Der Staat der Lakedaimonier." He tends to concentrate, however, on the period of social reform to the neglect of other more or less important events. In the field of Hellenistic history, Benedict Niese's q Geschichte der Griechischen und Makedonischen Staaterr and the articles in the Cambridge Ancient History^ are, again, as far as Sparta is concerned, brief, but sound. M. Cary, in A History of the Greek World from 323 to 1^6 B.C. is more specific in his treatment of certain areas of Spartan history, especially the area of social reform, but his narrative is more factual than inter- 12 pretive. Maurice Holleaux interprets Spartan history almost exclusively in the terms of modern socialism. The inadequacy in all these works derives from their neglect of any but the most out­ standing events and persons of the Spartan history of this period. 9 Benedict Niese, Geschichte der Griechischen und Makedonischen Staaten (3 vols.; Gotha, Friedrich Andreas Perthes, 1893-1903). ^Cambridge Ancient History. See: W. W. Tarn, "Greece: 335 to 321 B.C.," VI, chap. 1^, 438-460; W. W. Tarn, "The New Hellenistic Kingdoms," VII, chap. 3» 75-108, "Macedonia and Greece," VII, chap. 6, 197-223, and "The Greek Leagues and Macedonia," VII, chap. 23, 732-768; M. Holleaux, "Rome and Macedon: Philip Against the Romans," VIII, chap. 5, 116-137» and "Rome and Macedon: The Romans Against Philip," VIII, chap. 6 , 138-198; P.V.M. Benecke, "Rome and the Hellenistic States," VIII, chap. 9» 279-305* Cary, A History of the Greek World from 323 to lA-6 B.C. (2d ed. rev.; London; Methuen & Co., Ltd., 1951)* 12 Maurice Holleaux, Rome, la Grece et les Monarchies Hellenistiques, Vol. IZk in Bibliotheque Ecoles Francaises d*Athenes et de Rome (Paris: Ancienne Librairie Fontemoing et 6ie, 1920). iv Several areas of the Hellenistic period lend themselves to specific study, and the leagues which arose at this time especially are of interest in a discussion of later Sparta. A very early work was done by Edward A. Freeman entitled A History of Federal Govern- 13 ment in Greece and Italy. Nothing done in more recent time has surpassed the quality of this book. It gives a highly detailed and scholarly account of the relationships of Sparta with both the Achaean and Aetolian Leagues. More recent works on the leagues lif are J.A.O. Larsen's two articles in Classical Philology. and his 15 book entitled Representative Government in Greek and Roman History. ^ In both his articles and his monograph, Larsen treats Sparta only incidentally. Freeman's example has also been followed in a somewhat lesser degree by F. W. Walbank in his work on Aratos of Sicyon. Walbank gives a vivid picture of Aratos, the man and the politician. He is fair in his treatment of those individuals with whom Aratos came into contact. The weakness in his discussion lies in his tendency, natural enough, to become a special pleader for Aratos, and to seek to justify, or at least excuse, all his acts. Since his scope is limited to the lifespan of Aratos, Walbank discusses , 13 E. A. Freeman, A History of Federal Government in Greece and Italy, ed. by J. B. Bury (2d ed.; London: Macmillan and Co., J.A.O. Larsen, "Representative Government in the Pan- hellenic Leagues," Reprinted from Classical Philology XX (1925) and XXI (1926). ■^J.A.O. Larsen, Representative Government in Greek and Roman History (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1955)* ^F. W. Walbank, Aratos of Sicyon (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1933)* Sparta mainly in the Cleomenic period, but he does this with all due justice to Cleomenes III* Two other works specifically concerned with the Greek * 17 leagues are Marcel du Bois* Les Ligues Etolienne et Acheenne and two articles in Klio by Heinrich Swoboda entitled "Studien l8 zu den griechischen Bunden." Both authors treat Spartan history only incidentally to their main subject, but they give the reader a clear insight into the diplomacy of the time, and Sparta played an important part in this diplomatic activity. Concerning the history of Sparta herself in the Hellenistic age, one special area is almost inevitably emphasized— the social revolution begun by Agis IV and completed by Cleomenes III. One of the best discussions of the background of the land problem in 19 Sparta is found in Le Mirage Spartiate by Francois Oilier. The author gives a precise and detailed discussion of the whole problem, dealing at length with the early period of Spartan history and with the decline in population especially among the citizen- class. Naturally, there have been several attempts made to link the social revolution in Sparta to socialism. Two such endeavors are Robert von Pbhlmann's Geschichte der sozialen Frage und des 17 * Marcel du Bois, Les Ligues Etolienne et Acheenne, XIV (Paris: Biblioth&que des Ecoles Franeaises d'Ath¥nes et de Rome, 1 8 8 5 ) . l 8 H, Swoboda, "Studien zu den griechischen Bunden, I and II," Klio, XI (1911), ^50-463; XII (1912)-, 17-50. To Francois Oilier, L£ Mirage Spartiate. II (Paris: SocietS d'Edition les Belles Lettres, 19^3)• vi 20 Socialismus in der antiken Welt, and an article in Klio by Gawril Kazarow, "Zur Geschichte der sozialen Revolution in 21 Sparta." Although all analogies between ancient and modern "socialism" are apt to be more or less forced, the attempts at analogy throw light on the nature of the social revolution in Sparta, and the characters and purposes of the leading actors in it. There is no one work, therefore, that treats the whole history of Hellenistic Sparta intimately and in detail, and from the Spartan point of view.