Archidamus
476–427 BC
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| BESIEGERS FELLING TREES |
The son of Zeuxidamus, Archidamus reigned 476-427 B.C. He succeeded his grandfather Leotychides upon the banishment
of the latter, his father having already died. His coolness and presence of mind are said to have saved the Spartan
state from destruction on the occasion of the great earthquake of 464. He was a friend of Pericles and a man of
prudence and moderation. During the negotiations which preceded the Peloponnesian War he did his best to prevent,
or at least to postpone the inevitable struggle, but was overruled by the war party. He invaded Attica at the
head of the Peloponnesian forces in the summers of 431, 430 and 428, and in 429 conducted operations against
Plataea. He died probably in 427, certainly before the summer of 426, when we find his son Agis on the throne.
—Excerpted from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Key events during the life of Archidamus:
| Year |
Event |
| 469 BC |
Rose to the Eurypontid throne in Sparta. |
| 464 BC |
Great Spartan earthquake. |
| 445 BC |
Negotiated Thirty Years truce with Pericles regarding disputed territories in Boeotia. |
| 431 BC |
Invaded Attica during summers of 431, 430, 428. Peloponnesian War begins. |
| 429 BC |
Conducted Seige of Plataea. |
| 426 BC |
Died. |
Other Resources
| Contemporary |
Short Biography |
| Pericles |
Athenian statesman during Golden Age of Athens. Made Athens cultural center of Greece. |
| Cimon |
Athenian statesman and general. Fought Persians in Ionia after the war. Friend of Sparta. |
| Demosthenes |
Important Athenian general in the Peloponnesian War. Perished at Syracuse. |
| Brasidas |
Eloquent Spartan general, turned tide of Peloponnesian War in Sparta's favor. Died at Amphipolis. |