Cleomenes I facts for kids

Cleomenes I (/kliːˈɒmɪniːz/; Greek Κλεομένης; died around 490 BC) was a powerful King of Sparta. He belonged to the Agiad royal family. He ruled from about 524 BC to 490 BC. Cleomenes was very important in helping the Greek city-states stand up against the mighty Persian Empire. This empire was led by King Darius. Cleomenes also played a big role in shaping how different Greek cities worked together during the time of Classical Greece.

Learning About Cleomenes

Most of what we know about King Cleomenes comes from the book Histories. This book was written by Herodotus, a Greek historian from Athens. Herodotus wrote about the decades leading up to the Persian Wars. Cleomenes is a main character in parts of Herodotus's book.

However, Herodotus's writings about Cleomenes have some mistakes. They also show a strong dislike for Cleomenes. It seems Herodotus got his information from people who were against Cleomenes. For example, he got stories from the families of Cleomenes's half-brothers, Leonidas I and Cleombrotus. He also got information from Demaratus, another Spartan king whom Cleomenes had removed from power. Herodotus even said Cleomenes ruled for a short time, but he actually ruled for about 30 years!

Cleomenes's Family and Becoming King

Cleomenes was the son of Anaxandridas II. His family, the Agiads, was one of the two main royal families in Sparta. The other royal family was called the Eurypontids. Cleomenes's father did not have a son with his first wife. So, Spartan officials called the ephors made him marry another woman. This was unusual because he did not divorce his first wife.

Cleomenes was born from this second marriage. Later, his father had three more sons with his first wife. These sons were Dorieus, Leonidas I (who would become a famous king), and Cleombrotus.

When his father died, Cleomenes was the oldest son. So, he became king. But his half-brother Dorieus tried to challenge him. Dorieus felt he was a better leader. Cleomenes's claim was stronger because he was the firstborn. After Cleomenes became king, Dorieus left Sparta to start new settlements far away. He died around 510 BC.

Historians have studied when Cleomenes became king for a long time. It is now thought that he started his rule around 524 or 523 BC.

Cleomenes's Reign as King

In his first years as king, Cleomenes was careful with Sparta's foreign policy. He often said no to requests for help in wars far away. This was probably because he worried about a possible revolt by the Helots. Helots were enslaved people in Sparta. A defeat in a war could make them rebel.

Helping Plataia (519 BC)

One of Cleomenes's first actions as king involved the city of Plataia. This city was located between Thebes and Athens. In 519 BC, the people of Plataia asked Sparta for an alliance. Cleomenes told them to ally with Athens instead. He might have wanted to cause problems between Thebes and Athens. Thebes and Athens were two of the most powerful cities in central Greece.

The people of Plataia probably wanted to avoid being forced into the Boiotian League, which Thebes was building. They might have wanted to join the Peloponnesian League. This was a group of cities led by Sparta. Some historians think Cleomenes's advice was a very smart move.

Meeting Foreign Visitors (c.517–c.513 BC)

Around 516 BC, Cleomenes met a visitor from Samos. This visitor asked for help to remove a ruler who was controlled by the Persian Empire. But Cleomenes, with the support of the ephors, refused. He likely did not want Sparta to get involved in long wars far from home, especially against the powerful Persian Empire.

Around 513 BC, Darius the Great invaded Scythia. The Scythians then sent people to Sparta to ask for an alliance against the Persians. This story is a bit strange, and some historians think it might not be completely true.

Sparta and Athens (511–501 BC)

Cleomenes got involved in Athens's politics several times. This eventually helped lead to the creation of democracy in Athens.

Wars Between Sparta and Athens (c.511–510 BC)

A powerful Athenian family, the Alcmaeonids, wanted to remove the rulers of Athens, who were called the Peisistratids. They asked the Oracle of Apollo at Delphi for help. The Oracle told the Spartans they should remove these rulers.

So, Sparta sent an army led by Cleomenes in 510 BC. The Spartans defeated the rulers' allies. Then, they surrounded the ruler, Hippias, on the Acropolis. Hippias surrendered and went into exile. Sparta wanted to remove rulers who were too friendly with the Persian Empire. Hippias was also a friend of Argos, which was an enemy of Sparta.

Changes in Athens (507 BC)

After Hippias was gone, two powerful Athenians, Cleisthenes and Isagoras, fought for control of Athens. Isagoras was a friend of Cleomenes. Cleisthenes promised to make democratic changes to get more support. Isagoras asked Cleomenes for help.

Cleomenes came to Athens with a small group of guards. He wanted to help Isagoras set up a new government. He tried to get rid of Athens's council, called the boule. He wanted to create a new council with only Isagoras's supporters. But the council refused. This led to a big revolt by the Athenians. Cleomenes and Isagoras had to hide on the Acropolis.

While on the Acropolis, Cleomenes tried to enter the Old Temple of Athena Polias. But the priestess stopped him. She said the temple was forbidden to Dorians, which was the ethnic group of the Spartans. Cleomenes famously replied, "Woman, I am not Dorian but Achaean." He was trying to show he was not so different from the Athenians. After three days, Cleomenes realized he could not win. He negotiated a surrender. The Spartans and Isagoras were allowed to leave.

War with Boeotia (506 BC)

After his defeat in Athens, Cleomenes gathered a large group of allies against Athens. This group included the Peloponnesian League, Boeotia, and Chalkis. Their goal was to put Isagoras back in charge of Athens.

However, when the army reached Eleusis, near Athens, the Corinthians refused to continue. Demaratus, the other Spartan king, also disagreed with Cleomenes. He took the rest of the allies back to the Peloponnese. This stopped the invasion. As a result, the Athenians easily defeated the Boeotians and Chalkis.

This failed invasion had important results. First, Sparta made a new rule. The two kings could not go on military campaigns at the same time. This was to prevent disagreements on the battlefield. Second, the Peloponnesian League changed. Sparta had to let its allies vote on whether to declare war or make peace.

A few years later, around 504 BC, the Peloponnesian League met in Sparta. They discussed bringing Hippias back to Athens. Sparta wanted to restore him. But the allies, especially Corinth, said no. Hippias then left Greece for good.

The Ionian Revolt and Its Aftermath

In 499 BC, Aristagoras, a ruler from Miletus, came to Sparta. He asked King Cleomenes for help with the Ionian Revolt against Persia. Aristagoras almost convinced Cleomenes to help. He promised an easy victory and great riches from Persia. But Cleomenes sent him away when he learned how far away Persia was.

Aristagoras tried to bribe Cleomenes with silver. Cleomenes refused. Aristagoras kept offering more and more silver. According to Herodotus, Cleomenes's young daughter, Gorgo, warned him not to trust a man who tried to corrupt him.

War Against Argos (494 BC)

In 494 BC, a peace agreement between Sparta and Argos ended. This led to a new war. Cleomenes wanted to weaken Argos, which was a rival in the Peloponnese.

The Spartan army marched north. They landed their ships near Tiryns and Nauplia, which were cities controlled by Argos. A huge battle took place at Sepeia, near Tiryns. The entire Argive army was destroyed. Perhaps as many as 6,000 men died. The survivors ran to a sacred area nearby. But Cleomenes set the area on fire and killed them.

Cleomenes stayed near Argos after the battle. He created two independent city-states out of Tiryns and Mycenae. This cut off Argos's access to its best harbor. These new cities joined the Peloponnesian League and became good allies of Sparta. Despite his big victory, Cleomenes did not try to capture Argos itself.

When he returned to Sparta, Cleomenes was accused of taking bribes for sparing Argos. But he explained that a prophecy about capturing Argos had been fulfilled. He was found innocent.

Removing King Demaratus (491 BC)

When the Persians invaded Greece around 493 BC, many Greek cities quickly gave in to them. One of these cities was Aegina. In 491 BC, Cleomenes tried to arrest the main people in Aegina who were helping the Persians. But the citizens of Aegina would not help him. The other Spartan king, Demaratus, also tried to stop Cleomenes's efforts.

Cleomenes then worked to remove Demaratus from power. He asked the oracle at Delphi to say that this was the will of the gods. Demaratus was replaced by Leotychidas.

Exile and Death

Around 490 BC, Cleomenes was forced to leave Sparta. His plan against King Demaratus had been discovered. He first went to Arcadia, a region in the center of the Peloponnese.

Rebellion in Arcadia (c.490 BC)

Arcadia had many small cities. Sparta had always tried to keep them from uniting. When Cleomenes arrived, he wanted to unite the Arcadians. He asked them to swear an oath to follow him wherever he led. It seems Cleomenes was trying to get them to switch their loyalty from Sparta to him. He might have promised them that if they helped him get back his power in Sparta, he would let Arcadia become a single political unit.

Helot Revolt

The Spartans arrived late at the battle of Marathon against Persia in 490 BC. Their official reason was that they had to finish a religious festival. But some historians think it was because of a revolt by the Helots in Messenia. This revolt might have been linked to Cleomenes's actions against Sparta at the time. Cleomenes might have promised the Helots better conditions if they helped him. Facing the threat of a combined revolt from Arcadia and Messenia, the Spartan leaders called Cleomenes back to Sparta.

Return to Sparta and Death

However, according to Herodotus, Cleomenes was thought to be mentally unwell by this time. The Spartans were afraid of what he might do, so they put him in prison. His half-brothers, Leonidas I and Cleombrotus, ordered him to be chained.

Cleomenes was succeeded by his older half-brother, Leonidas I. Leonidas then married Cleomenes's daughter, Gorgo.

Many stories tried to explain Cleomenes's death. Some said it was punishment from the gods for bribing the Oracle of Delphi. Others said it was for killing Argive soldiers in a sacred area. The Athenians thought it was for damaging sacred places near Eleusis. The Spartans suggested that drinking wine without mixing it with water had made him unwell. Herodotus believed Cleomenes paid for removing Demaratus from power.

Cleomenes's daughter, Gorgo, seems to have shared the Spartan official story of her father's death with Herodotus.

See also

In Spanish: Cleómenes I para niños