Battle of Hysiae
Encyclopedia
The term Battle of Hysiae refers to two battles at the ancient location of Hysiae , located to the southwest of Argos, near the modern village of Achladokampos
. The first battle took place in 669/8 BC, another in 417 BC. Both were battles between Sparta
and Argos
.
(2.24.7), who writes as follows:
The chronology of Pausanias would suggest that the battle was fought in 669/8 BC. All that is known is that the Argives defeated the Lacedaemonians. Some (Andrewes) have suggested that this Argive defeat of Sparta occurred when Pheidon
was king (or tyrant) of Argos, since Pheidon was famed for his military success and daring, but this remains conjectural. Some scholars (Kelly, Hall) have suggested that the first battle of Hysiae was invented by the Argives.
. It is described by the historians Thucydides
(5.83.2), who actually fought in the war, and Diodorus (12.81.1), who wrote in the 1st century BC, over two hundred years later. Thucydides says that the Spartans marched against Argos in the winter of 418-417 BC with all their allies, but failed to take the city of Argos. The Spartans did, however, capture the Argive town of Hysiae, taking all the male citizens as hostages. The hostages were subsequently killed.
Achladokampos
Achladokampos is a village and a former community in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 654...
. The first battle took place in 669/8 BC, another in 417 BC. Both were battles between Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
and Argos
Argos
Argos is a city and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. It is 11 kilometres from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour...
.
First battle
The first Battle of Hysiae is described by the ancient travel-writer PausaniasPausanias (geographer)
Pausanias was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for his Description of Greece , a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from firsthand observations, and is a crucial link between classical...
(2.24.7), who writes as follows:
The chronology of Pausanias would suggest that the battle was fought in 669/8 BC. All that is known is that the Argives defeated the Lacedaemonians. Some (Andrewes) have suggested that this Argive defeat of Sparta occurred when Pheidon
Pheidon
Pheidon was a king of Argos, Greece in the 7th century BC. At that time, the monarch was purely a traditional figurehead with almost no genuine power. Pheidon seized the throne from the reigning aristocracy...
was king (or tyrant) of Argos, since Pheidon was famed for his military success and daring, but this remains conjectural. Some scholars (Kelly, Hall) have suggested that the first battle of Hysiae was invented by the Argives.
Second battle
The second battle took place during the Peloponnesian WarPeloponnesian War
The Peloponnesian War, 431 to 404 BC, was an ancient Greek war fought by Athens and its empire against the Peloponnesian League led by Sparta. Historians have traditionally divided the war into three phases...
. It is described by the historians Thucydides
Thucydides
Thucydides was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC...
(5.83.2), who actually fought in the war, and Diodorus (12.81.1), who wrote in the 1st century BC, over two hundred years later. Thucydides says that the Spartans marched against Argos in the winter of 418-417 BC with all their allies, but failed to take the city of Argos. The Spartans did, however, capture the Argive town of Hysiae, taking all the male citizens as hostages. The hostages were subsequently killed.