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The Spartan army was the principle ground force of Sparta. It stood at the center of the ancient Greek city-state , consisting of citizens trained in the disciplines and honor of a warrior society . [ 1 ]
In 293 BC, a Spartan force, under Cleonymus, inspired Boeotia to defy Demetrius but Cleonymus soon departed leaving Thebes in the lurch. [106] In 280 BC, a Spartan army, led by King Areus, again marched north, this time under the pretext of saving some sacred land near Delphi from the Aetolians. They somewhat pulled the moral high ground from ...
This was the first time that a full strength Spartan army lost a land battle. As Spartan citizenship was inherited by blood, Sparta increasingly faced a helot population that vastly outnumbered its citizens. The alarming decline of Spartan citizens was commented on by Aristotle.
However, the northern army could not arrive at the scene in time, as they had not expected the call and would have to pass through enemy territory (Argos and Orchomenus). On the whole, the army of the allies of Sparta would have numbered around 9,000 hoplites. In the meantime, the Eleans wanted to attack Lepreum, a contested border town with ...
A map of the southern and central Peloponnese (the southernmost area of Greece) showing important cities. At the time of the invading army's entry into Laconia, Sparta was only lightly defended. The majority of the Spartan army had accompanied Areus on campaign in Crete, where the Lacedaimonians were supporting the polis of Gortyn. [20]
Since many elite Spartan warriors were slain during the battle, Sparta's military strength was greatly weakened by the conflict. This was because it would take years of training, experience, and resources to produce the seasoned veterans lost in the battle, thus the remnants of the military were left in the hands of the less experienced.
Initially, the Spartan infantry were sent into disarray when their retreating cavalry hopelessly disrupted Cleombrotus's attempt to outflank the Theban left column. At this point the Theban left hit the Spartan right with the Sacred Band of Thebes, a troop made up of all male lovers, led by Pelopidas, [11] at its head. The decisive engagement ...
Map of the situation in the Aegean in 394 BC, with the long return of Agesilaus from Asia. After a brief engagement between Thebes and Phocis, in which Thebes was victorious, the allies gathered a large army at Corinth. A sizable force was sent out from Sparta to challenge this force.