Areus I
Encyclopedia
Areus I (died 265 BC) was Agiad King of Sparta from 309 to 265 BC, who died in battle near Corinth during the Chremonidean War
. He was the grandson of Cleomenes II
and was succeeded by his son Acrotatus II.
from Laconia. In 272 BC Pyrrhus of Epirus with 25,000 foot soldiers, 2,000 cavalry, and 24 elephants marched into Laconia on the false pretense of “set[ting] free the cities which were subject to Antigonus” and “to send his younger sons to Sparta, if nothing prevented, to be brought up in the Lacedaemonian customs”. While Areus was in Crete to support Gortys in its war against Knossos
, Pyrrhus set siege to Sparta. The men and women of Sparta dug a trench around the city to defend themselves against Pyrrhus' forces. After a day of fighting, the Spartans managed to hold back Pyrrhus. By the end of the second day of fighting, Areus had returned from Crete to Sparta with 2,000 soldiers, along with aid from Corinth which had just arrived.
) Three letters in the first book constitute the Jewish appeal of a Spartan affiliation. They are reproduced in a variant form by Josephus
.
Chremonidean War
The Chremonidean War was fought by a coalition of Greek city-states against Macedonian domination.The origins of the war lie in the continuing desire of many Greek states, most notably Athens and Sparta, for a restoration of their former independence along with the Ptolemaic desire to stir up...
. He was the grandson of Cleomenes II
Cleomenes II
Cleomenes II was Agiad King of Sparta from 369 to 309 BC. The son of Cleombrotus I, he succeeded his brother Agesipolis II. He was the father of Acrotatus I, the father of Areus I, and of Cleonymus, the father of Leonidas II....
and was succeeded by his son Acrotatus II.
Military Success
In 272 BC Areus I successfully repelled Pyrrhus of EpirusPyrrhus of Epirus
Pyrrhus or Pyrrhos was a Greek general and statesman of the Hellenistic era. He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house , and later he became king of Epirus and Macedon . He was one of the strongest opponents of early Rome...
from Laconia. In 272 BC Pyrrhus of Epirus with 25,000 foot soldiers, 2,000 cavalry, and 24 elephants marched into Laconia on the false pretense of “set[ting] free the cities which were subject to Antigonus” and “to send his younger sons to Sparta, if nothing prevented, to be brought up in the Lacedaemonian customs”. While Areus was in Crete to support Gortys in its war against Knossos
Knossos
Knossos , also known as Labyrinth, or Knossos Palace, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. The palace appears as a maze of workrooms, living spaces, and store rooms close to a central square...
, Pyrrhus set siege to Sparta. The men and women of Sparta dug a trench around the city to defend themselves against Pyrrhus' forces. After a day of fighting, the Spartans managed to hold back Pyrrhus. By the end of the second day of fighting, Areus had returned from Crete to Sparta with 2,000 soldiers, along with aid from Corinth which had just arrived.
Areus in the Maccabees
(Authorized King James Version 1.12.201 Maccabees
The First book of Maccabees is a book written in Hebrew by a Jewish author after the restoration of an independent Jewish kingdom, about the latter part of the 2nd century BC. The original Hebrew is lost and the most important surviving version is the Greek translation contained in the Septuagint...
) Three letters in the first book constitute the Jewish appeal of a Spartan affiliation. They are reproduced in a variant form by Josephus
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
.