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The Destruction of Sparta
EXTRACT FROM HERODOTOS OF HALIKARNASSOS’ HISTORIA
THE DESTRUCTION OF LAKEDAIMONIA
After his meeting with Xerxes, Pausanias rode swiftly to Lakedaimonia. He soon caught up with those Lakedaimonian forces who had not been cornered at the Battle of the Isthmos, under the command of Leotykhidas. Now Pausanias, desirous of the position which had been offered to him as satrap, sought to bring in Leotykhidas into the arrangement, and explained to him the following on the road.
“The battle having been lost by our confederates, and with so many hoplitai dead on the battlefield, it is plain to see that many of them will accordingly capitulate to the Medes. Those without the stomach for defending their strongholds and firm walls against Xerxes’ army will seek equitable surrenders, especially with the example of the cowardice of the Athenians behind them. I say then that we Lakedaimonians, the natural hegemones of Hellas, cannot withstand the full might of Xerxes and his Hellenic allies by ourselves. But I also say that we are Lakedaimonians, and that we shall not sully our name with the ignominy of surrender. Rather than, as lesser Hellenes, pledging ourselves as meek vassals to the Mede and hoping for a few seeds to drop into our nest, I say that instead we become the viceroys for the Mede. It is plain that Xerxes will eventually quit Hellas, and equally plain that the task of managing the Hellenes will become the responsibility of whomever Xerxes trusts to act in his stead when he returns to Asia. Xerxes has brought such an offer to me, and holds the remaining Lakedaimonians under my command as hostage against my breach of it. The Mede shall not reign forever, and in secret preparations shall be made under our leadership for the liberation of Lakedaimonia and trustworthy Hellenes. We should take this offer, and secure the future of the Lakedaimonians against this high tide, then to prepare our boats for when it reduces.”
Leotykhidas considered this offer, but as with Pausanias so it was with him; the hard shell of Lycourgos’ laws cracked, the corruption of power found the soft matter within. Rather than ruling jointly with Pausanias, he saw that he might instead remove the regent and exercise sole power over the Lakedaimonians as a Persian viceroy. Becoming certain that Xerxes would be equally favourable to this solution as to one of Pausanias as satrap, he had Pausanias killed in the night as the Lakedaimonians made camp. When the Lakedaimonians, in the morning, questioned what had happened, Leotykhidas said that Pausanias had committed suicide due to the shame of defeat, having first executed his duty by bringing a message from Xerxes. Due to the lingering shame of the defeat, the Lakedaimonians not involved in the murder did not question the story, and they proceeded back to their polis. But they were surprised, for as they neared their home they found that Persians were awaiting them, having overcome any forces guarding the Lakedaimonian borders. Artabazos had received a rider in the night about the negotiations with Pausanias, and was thus aware of the deal which had been reached, whilst Xerxes had also ordered him to observe the activities of the Lakedaimonians with his force. Not only that, Xerxes had also ordered him to use violence on the Lakedaimonians if something had gone awry with Pausanias. Thus was the situation as Artabazos intercepted the Lakedaimonians.
At first Leotykhidas was confident that there would be no issue, for he believed still that he could simply make any commitments that Pausanias had done, with the Persians not caring who exactly it was that fulfilled them. He explained that Pausanias had committed suicide, but that he had explained Xerxes’ message beforehand, and that the Lakedaimonians would still settle affairs in a just manner. However, Artabazos said the following to him.
“The King, upon speaking with him, officially invested Pausanias as his ambassador to the Lakedaimonians, and once again we find the Lakedaimonians have harmed or allowed harm to come to the King’s ambassadors. Nor am I convinced of your explanation of his death, for was he not to become a King among the Hellenes? I also see no grief in your countenance, o King, despite the unlooked-for death of your colleague. I say to ye that ye have sought to displace Pausanias and usurp what was to become his position, and that ye seek to settle matters with King Xerxes so that he might depart for Asia, when your real intention is undoubtedly to gather forth an insurrection against the King without the royal army present, once again treating sacred vows as fair words to be heeded only when within sight. Witness, o Lakedaimonian, the fury of King Xerxes, and the end of Lakedaimonia.”
Having said this, Artabazos rode back to his army, and then he ordered an attack. Even as demoralised as they were, the Spartiates and other hoplitai fought stubbornly and without yielding. But against such fierce onset and such numbers, they were unable to hold out; Artabazos first had the archers with him bombard the Lakedaimonians in their formation, and then ordered his weakest men to attack the Lakedaimonians in order to break their long spears. Then he sent in both cavalry and armoured infantry to finish the Lakedaimonians off, and at length despoiled the corpse of Leotykhidas. Not a single hoplitai in the column that had returned from the Isthmos to Lakedaimonia was left alive in this massacre, no clemency was considered, such was the power of Xerxes over his subordinates. Artabazos was not finished with the Lakedaimonians and their places. He had the remaining members of the Lakedaimonian ethnos in his hand to do with as he would, and he followed the orders of Xerxes- he crushed it. The villages and strong places of Lakedaimonia were stormed, all Spartiates that could be found were impaled for all to see, and those families of Lakedaimonians who were unable to flee witnessed their sons similarly executed. It is said that the bodies of Spartiate boys were piled outside the smouldering ruins of Sparta. But Artabazos, esteemed of Xerxes as few Persians were, had true foresight, for he ordered that not a single Heilos would be put to death. Indeed, identifying leaders and elders among the Heilotes, he began to award them the property of the Spartiates that had been so slaughtered. Neither were any Periokoi who surrendered put to death. And after the Lakedaimonian villages had been destroyed, and all of the Spartiates put to flight or executed, he restored to the Messenians their ancient lands and rights, with the protection of the King of Persia and his satraps. Indeed still is Artabazos held in high esteem by the Messenians, for they hold him to have been their liberator, and accordingly do they esteem Xerxes who later confirmed the decision. So by the sword and fire, but also by gold and subtlety, was Lakedaimonia ended. Many are those who dwell in other places who say they are of Spartiate stock, that they are of the line of this man of Sparta or that woman of Sparta, but none dare dwell in Lakedaimonia still, for the ban of Xerxes still lies upon the lands, and is still upheld to be the law of the Persians by his descendants.
Having dispatched himself to Lakedaimonia with great haste, Pausanias encountered that part of the Lakedaimonian army which his colleague Leotykhidas had successfully withdrawn from battle at the Isthmus. He and Leotykhidas had had cordial relations in the past, so Pausanias informed his colleague of King Xerxes’ judgement that Sparta must reform or be judged. What he said went something like this;
“Having had the power to destroy us utterly, King Xerxes has instead made demands of us. What it is he demands is nothing less than the reforging of Lakedaimonia, and that I accomplish this lest Sparta be utterly destroyed otherwise, for he does not entirely trust to our nobility, and seeks this proof that Lakedaimonians are capable of fair judgement alongside high valour. What he asks is not so terrible that I will not consider it, for even though the Lakedaimonians are rightly the most noble among all other Hellenes, we do not always fulfill that promise of fairness. We can be more than proud warriors, but upright sovereigns, commanding a peace that will be famed across the ages, whilst being no less firm and unbreaking in our undertakings of war. I ask, Leotykhidas, that to prevent the ending of our lines for all time that we aid one another in the execution of these reforms, whilst also giving thought to the matter of Hellas in the wake of the defeat that our confederates have just suffered; surely no resistance is plausible or desirable, as Sparta cannot fight alone against so determined, skilled, and numerous an adversary as King Xerxes and his army.”
Whilst his speech was noble and eloquent, Leotykhidas set his heart against Pausanias, and against peace- the warmongering blood was too strong in his veins, but additional to that he was jealous that King Xerxes had made the offer to Pausanias, of royal blood but merely a regent, rather than to himself. He masked his intent with fair words and responses, but that night Leotykhidas slew Pausanias, and blamed the death on a heilos who was executed the next day. He had determined that the Lakedaimonians would continue to resist the Persians, come what may, and continued to march the army home with the intention of causing further mischief to territories that had allied with the Persian king. He reached Sparta successfully with his remaining soldiers, and did not cease in his transgressions, for Leotykhidas was soon convinced that he could exercise sole power in the Lakedaimonian state- he had Pleistarkhos, the infant for whom Pausanias was regent, killed. But he was not aware of the detachment of the King’s soldiers that, as previously mentioned, had been dispatched to Lakedaimonia. This detachment was commanded by the noble Artabazus, and had been sent orders in the night by the King- King Xerxes suspected that one Lakedaimonian or another would prove untrustworthy and bring harm to Pausanias, and had sent Artabazos to ensure that the Lakedaimonian was not harmed. Thus Leotykhidas was surprised when a detachment of Persians approached the villages of Sparta, and was caught off guard.
“Where is Pausanias the Lakedaimonian to be found?” said Artabazos.
“He was murdered in the night by a slave, cursed may his memory be by all the gods above. The slave has been executed, but the deed has been done, the pollution still fresh on the air.” said Leotykhidas.
But Artabazos was immediately suspicious. He went among the Heilotes that had accompanied the Persians as guides, and picked out the noblest looking among them, who was named Xenokles.
“Tell me, o child of Messenia, would one among you have murdered Pausanias the Lakedaimonian? Is it in the nature of the Heilotes to countenance such,murderous acts against what must surely be your hated masters.” said Artabazos.
“The vengeance in our hearts cannot be banished, o Persian, whilst our unnatural condition remains upon us. But none among us would commit to violence so cravenly, descending at random upon a Lakedaimonian at night. That is the way of the dreadful Lakedaimonian Krypteia, who descend into our homesteads like wolves every year for sport and to inspire terror among our people. No, were we to give in to our righteous urges it would be on the battlefield, to demonstrate our valour and proudly display our standards once more.”
Such was the directness and honesty of his speech that Artabazos immediately believed the Heilos, and became more convinced in his opinion that Leotykhidas had ordered the death of Pausanias.
“Thou art a liar, Leotykhidas the Lakedaimonian. King Xerxes knew that Pausanias might be in danger from his fellows, and entrusted me with seeing either to Pausanias made it to his homeland or that swift vengeance came to those that might harm him. And I find that not merely harm, but death, has befallen Pausanias at the hands of an alleged king of Lakedaimonia! Think not that I am unaware of the proposal which was discussed with Pausanias, and which he surely discussed with you before his demise, and think not that it escaped my notice that you avoided discussing this subject when I approached you. Ye had hoped to slip quietly into your valleys and fastnesses, and simply await King Xerxes and his loyal retainers forgetting that Lakedaimonia exists? The line of Dareios and Akhaimenes is not prone to dotage! But what of the line of Agis, what shall I say of that? What shall I say of a line where Leotykhidas is introduced to me as its first fruit? This is what I shall say; I pronounce that such a man as you is not fit to remain king, and any man who chooses to serve you is not fit to remain alive, and any state who chooses to crown you is not fit to continue to exist. In the name of King Xerxes, I declare Lakedaimonia an incorrigible enemy of peace, and a seat of lies, and that its sentence is death!”
Upon delivering his sentence, Artabazos ordered his men to dismantle Sparta in order to carry it out, whilst ordering that any Heilotes were to be spared, and women where possible. The remaining warriors of Leotykhidas resisted, and there was fierce fighting, but they were overcome by the grace of the Gods and the skill of their captain. Artabazos himself struck down Leotykhidas, last king of Lakedaimonia, and oversaw the throwing down of the last Ephoros of Sparta. The oracle given to King Xerxes at Delphoi had indeed come to pass, and it is said that Zeus armed himself for battle alongside Artabasos, throwing down the city’s temple to Artemis with a might thunderbolt. So the Gods showed their thoughts on the matter of the Lakedaimonians, and through King Xerxes worked their will on the world. Many have argued over whether the story be true, or whether it should be interpreted so, but I believe it to be true and believe it to have been a sign from Zeus of the doom of Sparta. Once Sparta had been pacified, the men of Artabazos moved through the Lakedaimonian countryside, freeing Heilotes and slaughtering the Spartiates. Then we come to the matter of the Lakedaimonian women- they were held as exceedingly lovely by fellow Hellenes, but they were also fierce and strong-willed. It was debated as to what should be done with them, and many conflicting stories emerged regarding what happened to them.
Some say that the Lakedaimonian women were all married to Heilotes, and to the other former servants of the Lakedaimonians. Some say that the Lakedaimonian women were all slaughtered by an errant captain among the Persians, named Gauzes, and that he for a time proclaimed himself as the new King at Sparta until Artabazos overcame him, and that the sons of Gauzes remained a threat to the peace for years afterwards. Some say that the Lakedaimonian women were taken to King Xerxes, and that he made the fiercest among them into a special unit of bodyguards, and that some among them married Persians, desirous as those Persians were for the martial ability of the extinct Lakedaimonians to enter their people. This last story has, within my lifetime, become the most popular story among the Hellenes for the fate of the Lakedaimonian women, even among the western Hellenes. For my part, I do not feel that Artabazos would have allowed the women to be slaughtered in such a way, but find evidence for either of the other stories- for their is a profusion of strong youths among the Messenians, but equally there are places in which it is known that such-and-such a Persian had a Lakedaimonian wife. More than this, Xenokritos does not know.
After Lakedaimonia was pacified in its entirety, in every village, crag, and field, the task was then to resolve the situation with the many tens of thousands of freed Heilotes. The will of King Xerxes, as had been made clear to Pausanias and to Artabazos, had been that the former Heilotes be able to govern themselves, and not treated as slaves. But, with the notion of a reformed Lakedaimonia dead, the aims of Pausanias were thus crushed. Instead, noble Artabazos devised the next best solution, which was the restoration of Messenia. The Heilotes were gathered together in a great assembly; they were to decide what form of constitution they desired to live under in their new state. They were at first divided between those who wished to adopt some kind of monarkhic mode of government, and those who wished to adopt a demokratic franchise along the lines of some other Hellenes. But at length, the samesuch Xenokles that had assissted Artabazos made his presence known, and delivered a speech to his assembled compatriots.
“It seems to me that with our accursed conquerors vanquished our task is now to restore peace to our lands. What is it that will most result in peace among us? A demokratic situation would bring all of us together as Messenians, and would restore equality among those who have been degraded as slaves for many years, but that degradation is also a curse, for it fills us to anger quickly, and the new power in our hands is easily misused to fill the holes in our own hearts rather than to build our new walls. A king among us would be a strong leader, who would oversee such matters in our people in the manner of a single dedicated mind rather than many competing magistrates. But, having been slaves, we have known what it means to take orders from one man with no power of our own, to have those who control military force abusing our bodies for backbreaking labour and their own luxury. Thus I say to you, Messenians-to-be, that neither mode of settling affairs is to our satisfaction. But neither is lacking government, as though we were some tribe of wild men eating nuts, drinking milk, and raiding civilization for riches. It is my proposal that we can, with all of our newfound energy and resolve, combine both in a moderate monarkhia- where our popular assemblies work alongside a justly appointed king, who will be able to negotiate with the Persians as our representative and who will lead our armies in battle, but where the law is overseen by demokratic means, where juries decide the results of a court case and not a king. This is what I, Xenokles, say to you Messenians-to-be.”
The Heilotes were all swayed by the words of Xenokles, who it seemed to them had dealt with their dilemma most satisfactorily with his proposed mixed constitution. In particular they recognised that King Xerxes was responsible for their newly freed state of affairs, and that it would be expedient to have a single person capable of negotiating with the Great King who was doing so with the authority of all of the Messenians. They also unanimously proposed that Xenokles himself become their new king, and would not be dissuaded by his attempts to refuse.
We now come to the matter of Leotykhidas and Pausanias. Pausanias, having been offered his position as the satrap of King Xsharyarsha in the Peloponnese, certainly returned from the Isthmos and, upon coming across his colleague-in-arms Leotykhidas, desided to immediately conference with him. The nature of what he said to his colleague is the first major disagreement among many- the historians friendly to Persia, with their previously discussed portrayal of Pausanias as being in essence the only virtuous Lakedaimonian, have him wax eloquently to Leotykhidas as to the virtues of Persian rule. Meanwhile, those historians hostile to Persia portray Pausanias as a pragmatic politician first and foremost, presenting Leotykhidas with a plausible strategy to regroup before an eventual insurrection against King Xsharyarsha. In this I am moved to siding with the latter, for as we have already decided the character of Pausanias was that of an adaptable, if not entirely honest, Hellene. It most fits with the kind of offer that he received that Pausanias move to present this to Leotykhidas in the way most pleasing to Lakedaimonian values, as disgusting as those values were. Then we come to another certainty among all sources- that Leotykhidas had Pausanias murdered during the night- and then another disagreement; why was it that Leotykhidas made this momentous decision. Elements of truth are, we find, present in both schools. It is indeed likely that King Xsharyarsha possessed no great attachment to Pausanias, being a Lakedaimonian and at best a necessary tool in the pacification of Hellas. But it is also equally likely that Leotykhidas greatly resented that a negotiation for the entire future of Lakedaimonia had been conducted with a regent, and not with an actual king of Lakedaimonia. As to whether he believed he could negotiate with King Xsharyarsha in the stead of his colleague, or whether he believed that a quiet Lakedaimonia would simply be ignored, we find both explanations lacking. We should instead see that Pausanias was acting contrary to Lakedaimonian custom, and even if Leotykhidas had held enlightened values the other Lakedaimonians would not, and he must have realised this; that those who proposed such a method of escaping the situation would be treated as cowardly by the Spartiates and disregarded. Pausanias would have, if he had taken the proposed peace to the Lakedaimonians, found another method of rendering the situation to have made the potential reaction among them more amenable. This then is the truth of the matter regarding the death of Pausanias.
Immediately afterwards, Artavazdah and his detachment of the royal army arrived in the aftermath of this murder, having been ordered by a suspicious King Xsharyarsha to observe the situation. This was likely an encounter on the road and not, as has been described by some past authors, a meeting at the (entirely figurative) gates of Sparta; what would the good have been of inspecting the state of Pausanias by arriving tardily to the city, with the initial reaction to his presence and his objectives already underway? So then, Artavazdah confronted Leotykhidas, and would have realised swiftly that Pausanias was not present. He certainly challenged Leotykhidas about his colleague’s whereabouts. Leotykhidas offered whatever explanation would satisfy Artavazdah, but Artavazdah had already been informed by his King that Pausanias was liable to be attacked, and was unlikely to believe Leotykhidas in the situation. His orders were probably open-ended, with permission to decide for himself as to what to do had any harm come to Pausanias; Artavazdah was particularly trusted by King Xsharyarsha, and in addition the King had been occupied with the rest of the aftermath of the battle of the Isthmos- Lakedaimonia was important, but not more so than resolving matters with the Korinthioi, for example. Artavazdah was of noble spirit, having never been able to stomach the Lakedaimonians, and was confronted with yet another transgression made against Persians by them. Herodotos of Halikarnassos uses this to continue his theme of the Lakedaimonians dooming themselves by ignoring their own religious instincts, and continually offending the gods by defiling sacred rules. It is more likely that Artavazdah evaluated the Lakedaimonians as permanent trouble-makers, never able to give the Persians peace so long as they were ignored for longer than a moment. In addition, Artavazdah was disgusted by the conditions of the Heilotes, who were in no way in a natural situation. With his cunning insight, he saw that Lakedaimonia’s destruction might be used to restore the Heilotes to Messenia, who would remain forever grateful to the Persians who had remedied their situation, and he knew that this would please King Xsharyarsha.
Artavazdah duly began to slaughter the Lakedaimonians, though it seems that some women were spared and enslaved. It is likely that he spared any Heilotes serving with arms in the Lakedaimonian army present, for that would have made persuading the Heilotes of his genuine intentions much easier. This was certainly confirmed to be the will of the Gods when the main temple of Lakedaimonia, the Orthian temple at Sparta, was utterly destroyed by a thunderbolt. Artavazdah then continued his task with vigour throughout Lakedaimonia, although many Lakedaimonians escaped and sought refuge outside the reach of the the King. This was truly one of the most noble deeds the Persians performed in Hellas, and King Xsharyarsha’s accession to it vaunts him to the height of his dynasty. We know the Lakedaimonians to have been barbarians among barbarians, skilled only in war and possessing no other instincts considered civilized even among other Hellenes, as uncouth and impoverished as the Hellenes were in those days. They had reduced entire peoples to eternal bondage, and so the few Lakedaimonians profited from the misery of an entire nation crying out for vengeance. But at last, the Heilotes were restored to their rightful condition as free men, and Messenia was once again a jewel as Persian rulers continually restored and rejuvenated it. This was done by the destruction of the Lakedaimonians, and their state, and their cities. The Argeioi were awarded lands formerly belonging to the Lakedaimonian, but we shall turn more to the affairs of Argos in later years, merely remarking that at this date they remained the allies of King Xsharyarsha.
There remains only one more tale to tell of ancient Lakedaimonia, and that is the fate of the Lakedaimonian hostages that had been kept by King Xsharyarsha when Pausanias returned to Lakedaimonia. No prior historical inquiry has ever mentioned what happened to them, due to a total lack of knowledge, though the tragedians have won many awards from their speculations upon the story. But we have access to information of a superior kind to previous attempts to tell the tale of the winning of Hellas. By consulting the diaries of the Haxamanishiyan Kings, we discover that the Lakedaimonian hostages were transplanted to parts far from Hellas, and were made a small regiment in the royal army. The reason that Hellenic authors never knew or mentioned this is that these men were kept far away from fellow Hellenes, being used in wars far from Hellenic settlement or from other Hellenic soldiers in the service of King Xsharyarsha. It is not known where they, at last, perished, for the diaries only recall a few incidents involving them. If we are generous with Lakedaimonia, perhaps this was a fitting end; they were after all a barbarian people, and they were unleashed in all of their warlike prowess at the enemies of King Xsharyarsha, and perhaps their restlessly savage needs were satisfied before they were taken to the afterlife.
Μηδίζω! THE WORLD OF ACHAEMENID HELLAS
CHAPTER 1:NIKAO! or AVAJANAM!
EXTRACT FROM HERODOTOS OF HALIKARNASSOS’ HISTORIA
THE DESTRUCTION OF LAKEDAIMONIA
After his meeting with Xerxes, Pausanias rode swiftly to Lakedaimonia. He soon caught up with those Lakedaimonian forces who had not been cornered at the Battle of the Isthmos, under the command of Leotykhidas. Now Pausanias, desirous of the position which had been offered to him as satrap, sought to bring in Leotykhidas into the arrangement, and explained to him the following on the road.
“The battle having been lost by our confederates, and with so many hoplitai dead on the battlefield, it is plain to see that many of them will accordingly capitulate to the Medes. Those without the stomach for defending their strongholds and firm walls against Xerxes’ army will seek equitable surrenders, especially with the example of the cowardice of the Athenians behind them. I say then that we Lakedaimonians, the natural hegemones of Hellas, cannot withstand the full might of Xerxes and his Hellenic allies by ourselves. But I also say that we are Lakedaimonians, and that we shall not sully our name with the ignominy of surrender. Rather than, as lesser Hellenes, pledging ourselves as meek vassals to the Mede and hoping for a few seeds to drop into our nest, I say that instead we become the viceroys for the Mede. It is plain that Xerxes will eventually quit Hellas, and equally plain that the task of managing the Hellenes will become the responsibility of whomever Xerxes trusts to act in his stead when he returns to Asia. Xerxes has brought such an offer to me, and holds the remaining Lakedaimonians under my command as hostage against my breach of it. The Mede shall not reign forever, and in secret preparations shall be made under our leadership for the liberation of Lakedaimonia and trustworthy Hellenes. We should take this offer, and secure the future of the Lakedaimonians against this high tide, then to prepare our boats for when it reduces.”
Leotykhidas considered this offer, but as with Pausanias so it was with him; the hard shell of Lycourgos’ laws cracked, the corruption of power found the soft matter within. Rather than ruling jointly with Pausanias, he saw that he might instead remove the regent and exercise sole power over the Lakedaimonians as a Persian viceroy. Becoming certain that Xerxes would be equally favourable to this solution as to one of Pausanias as satrap, he had Pausanias killed in the night as the Lakedaimonians made camp. When the Lakedaimonians, in the morning, questioned what had happened, Leotykhidas said that Pausanias had committed suicide due to the shame of defeat, having first executed his duty by bringing a message from Xerxes. Due to the lingering shame of the defeat, the Lakedaimonians not involved in the murder did not question the story, and they proceeded back to their polis. But they were surprised, for as they neared their home they found that Persians were awaiting them, having overcome any forces guarding the Lakedaimonian borders. Artabazos had received a rider in the night about the negotiations with Pausanias, and was thus aware of the deal which had been reached, whilst Xerxes had also ordered him to observe the activities of the Lakedaimonians with his force. Not only that, Xerxes had also ordered him to use violence on the Lakedaimonians if something had gone awry with Pausanias. Thus was the situation as Artabazos intercepted the Lakedaimonians.
At first Leotykhidas was confident that there would be no issue, for he believed still that he could simply make any commitments that Pausanias had done, with the Persians not caring who exactly it was that fulfilled them. He explained that Pausanias had committed suicide, but that he had explained Xerxes’ message beforehand, and that the Lakedaimonians would still settle affairs in a just manner. However, Artabazos said the following to him.
“The King, upon speaking with him, officially invested Pausanias as his ambassador to the Lakedaimonians, and once again we find the Lakedaimonians have harmed or allowed harm to come to the King’s ambassadors. Nor am I convinced of your explanation of his death, for was he not to become a King among the Hellenes? I also see no grief in your countenance, o King, despite the unlooked-for death of your colleague. I say to ye that ye have sought to displace Pausanias and usurp what was to become his position, and that ye seek to settle matters with King Xerxes so that he might depart for Asia, when your real intention is undoubtedly to gather forth an insurrection against the King without the royal army present, once again treating sacred vows as fair words to be heeded only when within sight. Witness, o Lakedaimonian, the fury of King Xerxes, and the end of Lakedaimonia.”
Having said this, Artabazos rode back to his army, and then he ordered an attack. Even as demoralised as they were, the Spartiates and other hoplitai fought stubbornly and without yielding. But against such fierce onset and such numbers, they were unable to hold out; Artabazos first had the archers with him bombard the Lakedaimonians in their formation, and then ordered his weakest men to attack the Lakedaimonians in order to break their long spears. Then he sent in both cavalry and armoured infantry to finish the Lakedaimonians off, and at length despoiled the corpse of Leotykhidas. Not a single hoplitai in the column that had returned from the Isthmos to Lakedaimonia was left alive in this massacre, no clemency was considered, such was the power of Xerxes over his subordinates. Artabazos was not finished with the Lakedaimonians and their places. He had the remaining members of the Lakedaimonian ethnos in his hand to do with as he would, and he followed the orders of Xerxes- he crushed it. The villages and strong places of Lakedaimonia were stormed, all Spartiates that could be found were impaled for all to see, and those families of Lakedaimonians who were unable to flee witnessed their sons similarly executed. It is said that the bodies of Spartiate boys were piled outside the smouldering ruins of Sparta. But Artabazos, esteemed of Xerxes as few Persians were, had true foresight, for he ordered that not a single Heilos would be put to death. Indeed, identifying leaders and elders among the Heilotes, he began to award them the property of the Spartiates that had been so slaughtered. Neither were any Periokoi who surrendered put to death. And after the Lakedaimonian villages had been destroyed, and all of the Spartiates put to flight or executed, he restored to the Messenians their ancient lands and rights, with the protection of the King of Persia and his satraps. Indeed still is Artabazos held in high esteem by the Messenians, for they hold him to have been their liberator, and accordingly do they esteem Xerxes who later confirmed the decision. So by the sword and fire, but also by gold and subtlety, was Lakedaimonia ended. Many are those who dwell in other places who say they are of Spartiate stock, that they are of the line of this man of Sparta or that woman of Sparta, but none dare dwell in Lakedaimonia still, for the ban of Xerxes still lies upon the lands, and is still upheld to be the law of the Persians by his descendants.
EXTRACT FROM XENOKRITOS’ PERSIKA
THE MURDER OF PAUSANIAS AND THE VENGEANCE OF THE PERSIANS
THE MURDER OF PAUSANIAS AND THE VENGEANCE OF THE PERSIANS
An inscription erected at the sanctuary of Olympia in 479 BCE, written with both Old Persian cuneiform and Greek letters.
Having dispatched himself to Lakedaimonia with great haste, Pausanias encountered that part of the Lakedaimonian army which his colleague Leotykhidas had successfully withdrawn from battle at the Isthmus. He and Leotykhidas had had cordial relations in the past, so Pausanias informed his colleague of King Xerxes’ judgement that Sparta must reform or be judged. What he said went something like this;
“Having had the power to destroy us utterly, King Xerxes has instead made demands of us. What it is he demands is nothing less than the reforging of Lakedaimonia, and that I accomplish this lest Sparta be utterly destroyed otherwise, for he does not entirely trust to our nobility, and seeks this proof that Lakedaimonians are capable of fair judgement alongside high valour. What he asks is not so terrible that I will not consider it, for even though the Lakedaimonians are rightly the most noble among all other Hellenes, we do not always fulfill that promise of fairness. We can be more than proud warriors, but upright sovereigns, commanding a peace that will be famed across the ages, whilst being no less firm and unbreaking in our undertakings of war. I ask, Leotykhidas, that to prevent the ending of our lines for all time that we aid one another in the execution of these reforms, whilst also giving thought to the matter of Hellas in the wake of the defeat that our confederates have just suffered; surely no resistance is plausible or desirable, as Sparta cannot fight alone against so determined, skilled, and numerous an adversary as King Xerxes and his army.”
Whilst his speech was noble and eloquent, Leotykhidas set his heart against Pausanias, and against peace- the warmongering blood was too strong in his veins, but additional to that he was jealous that King Xerxes had made the offer to Pausanias, of royal blood but merely a regent, rather than to himself. He masked his intent with fair words and responses, but that night Leotykhidas slew Pausanias, and blamed the death on a heilos who was executed the next day. He had determined that the Lakedaimonians would continue to resist the Persians, come what may, and continued to march the army home with the intention of causing further mischief to territories that had allied with the Persian king. He reached Sparta successfully with his remaining soldiers, and did not cease in his transgressions, for Leotykhidas was soon convinced that he could exercise sole power in the Lakedaimonian state- he had Pleistarkhos, the infant for whom Pausanias was regent, killed. But he was not aware of the detachment of the King’s soldiers that, as previously mentioned, had been dispatched to Lakedaimonia. This detachment was commanded by the noble Artabazus, and had been sent orders in the night by the King- King Xerxes suspected that one Lakedaimonian or another would prove untrustworthy and bring harm to Pausanias, and had sent Artabazos to ensure that the Lakedaimonian was not harmed. Thus Leotykhidas was surprised when a detachment of Persians approached the villages of Sparta, and was caught off guard.
“Where is Pausanias the Lakedaimonian to be found?” said Artabazos.
“He was murdered in the night by a slave, cursed may his memory be by all the gods above. The slave has been executed, but the deed has been done, the pollution still fresh on the air.” said Leotykhidas.
But Artabazos was immediately suspicious. He went among the Heilotes that had accompanied the Persians as guides, and picked out the noblest looking among them, who was named Xenokles.
“Tell me, o child of Messenia, would one among you have murdered Pausanias the Lakedaimonian? Is it in the nature of the Heilotes to countenance such,murderous acts against what must surely be your hated masters.” said Artabazos.
“The vengeance in our hearts cannot be banished, o Persian, whilst our unnatural condition remains upon us. But none among us would commit to violence so cravenly, descending at random upon a Lakedaimonian at night. That is the way of the dreadful Lakedaimonian Krypteia, who descend into our homesteads like wolves every year for sport and to inspire terror among our people. No, were we to give in to our righteous urges it would be on the battlefield, to demonstrate our valour and proudly display our standards once more.”
Such was the directness and honesty of his speech that Artabazos immediately believed the Heilos, and became more convinced in his opinion that Leotykhidas had ordered the death of Pausanias.
“Thou art a liar, Leotykhidas the Lakedaimonian. King Xerxes knew that Pausanias might be in danger from his fellows, and entrusted me with seeing either to Pausanias made it to his homeland or that swift vengeance came to those that might harm him. And I find that not merely harm, but death, has befallen Pausanias at the hands of an alleged king of Lakedaimonia! Think not that I am unaware of the proposal which was discussed with Pausanias, and which he surely discussed with you before his demise, and think not that it escaped my notice that you avoided discussing this subject when I approached you. Ye had hoped to slip quietly into your valleys and fastnesses, and simply await King Xerxes and his loyal retainers forgetting that Lakedaimonia exists? The line of Dareios and Akhaimenes is not prone to dotage! But what of the line of Agis, what shall I say of that? What shall I say of a line where Leotykhidas is introduced to me as its first fruit? This is what I shall say; I pronounce that such a man as you is not fit to remain king, and any man who chooses to serve you is not fit to remain alive, and any state who chooses to crown you is not fit to continue to exist. In the name of King Xerxes, I declare Lakedaimonia an incorrigible enemy of peace, and a seat of lies, and that its sentence is death!”
Upon delivering his sentence, Artabazos ordered his men to dismantle Sparta in order to carry it out, whilst ordering that any Heilotes were to be spared, and women where possible. The remaining warriors of Leotykhidas resisted, and there was fierce fighting, but they were overcome by the grace of the Gods and the skill of their captain. Artabazos himself struck down Leotykhidas, last king of Lakedaimonia, and oversaw the throwing down of the last Ephoros of Sparta. The oracle given to King Xerxes at Delphoi had indeed come to pass, and it is said that Zeus armed himself for battle alongside Artabasos, throwing down the city’s temple to Artemis with a might thunderbolt. So the Gods showed their thoughts on the matter of the Lakedaimonians, and through King Xerxes worked their will on the world. Many have argued over whether the story be true, or whether it should be interpreted so, but I believe it to be true and believe it to have been a sign from Zeus of the doom of Sparta. Once Sparta had been pacified, the men of Artabazos moved through the Lakedaimonian countryside, freeing Heilotes and slaughtering the Spartiates. Then we come to the matter of the Lakedaimonian women- they were held as exceedingly lovely by fellow Hellenes, but they were also fierce and strong-willed. It was debated as to what should be done with them, and many conflicting stories emerged regarding what happened to them.
Some say that the Lakedaimonian women were all married to Heilotes, and to the other former servants of the Lakedaimonians. Some say that the Lakedaimonian women were all slaughtered by an errant captain among the Persians, named Gauzes, and that he for a time proclaimed himself as the new King at Sparta until Artabazos overcame him, and that the sons of Gauzes remained a threat to the peace for years afterwards. Some say that the Lakedaimonian women were taken to King Xerxes, and that he made the fiercest among them into a special unit of bodyguards, and that some among them married Persians, desirous as those Persians were for the martial ability of the extinct Lakedaimonians to enter their people. This last story has, within my lifetime, become the most popular story among the Hellenes for the fate of the Lakedaimonian women, even among the western Hellenes. For my part, I do not feel that Artabazos would have allowed the women to be slaughtered in such a way, but find evidence for either of the other stories- for their is a profusion of strong youths among the Messenians, but equally there are places in which it is known that such-and-such a Persian had a Lakedaimonian wife. More than this, Xenokritos does not know.
After Lakedaimonia was pacified in its entirety, in every village, crag, and field, the task was then to resolve the situation with the many tens of thousands of freed Heilotes. The will of King Xerxes, as had been made clear to Pausanias and to Artabazos, had been that the former Heilotes be able to govern themselves, and not treated as slaves. But, with the notion of a reformed Lakedaimonia dead, the aims of Pausanias were thus crushed. Instead, noble Artabazos devised the next best solution, which was the restoration of Messenia. The Heilotes were gathered together in a great assembly; they were to decide what form of constitution they desired to live under in their new state. They were at first divided between those who wished to adopt some kind of monarkhic mode of government, and those who wished to adopt a demokratic franchise along the lines of some other Hellenes. But at length, the samesuch Xenokles that had assissted Artabazos made his presence known, and delivered a speech to his assembled compatriots.
“It seems to me that with our accursed conquerors vanquished our task is now to restore peace to our lands. What is it that will most result in peace among us? A demokratic situation would bring all of us together as Messenians, and would restore equality among those who have been degraded as slaves for many years, but that degradation is also a curse, for it fills us to anger quickly, and the new power in our hands is easily misused to fill the holes in our own hearts rather than to build our new walls. A king among us would be a strong leader, who would oversee such matters in our people in the manner of a single dedicated mind rather than many competing magistrates. But, having been slaves, we have known what it means to take orders from one man with no power of our own, to have those who control military force abusing our bodies for backbreaking labour and their own luxury. Thus I say to you, Messenians-to-be, that neither mode of settling affairs is to our satisfaction. But neither is lacking government, as though we were some tribe of wild men eating nuts, drinking milk, and raiding civilization for riches. It is my proposal that we can, with all of our newfound energy and resolve, combine both in a moderate monarkhia- where our popular assemblies work alongside a justly appointed king, who will be able to negotiate with the Persians as our representative and who will lead our armies in battle, but where the law is overseen by demokratic means, where juries decide the results of a court case and not a king. This is what I, Xenokles, say to you Messenians-to-be.”
The Heilotes were all swayed by the words of Xenokles, who it seemed to them had dealt with their dilemma most satisfactorily with his proposed mixed constitution. In particular they recognised that King Xerxes was responsible for their newly freed state of affairs, and that it would be expedient to have a single person capable of negotiating with the Great King who was doing so with the authority of all of the Messenians. They also unanimously proposed that Xenokles himself become their new king, and would not be dissuaded by his attempts to refuse.
EXTRACT FROM DATIS OF SINOPE’S PERSIKA
THE DESTRUCTION OF LAKEDAIMONIA IN THE REIGN OF KING XSHARYARSHA
THE DESTRUCTION OF LAKEDAIMONIA IN THE REIGN OF KING XSHARYARSHA
Opening line to Sophokles' Lakedaimonians.
Now thou mayest behold with thine eyes all that thy soul hath desired so long, for there is the ancient Sparta of thy yearning, and thy search for vengeance.
We now come to the matter of Leotykhidas and Pausanias. Pausanias, having been offered his position as the satrap of King Xsharyarsha in the Peloponnese, certainly returned from the Isthmos and, upon coming across his colleague-in-arms Leotykhidas, desided to immediately conference with him. The nature of what he said to his colleague is the first major disagreement among many- the historians friendly to Persia, with their previously discussed portrayal of Pausanias as being in essence the only virtuous Lakedaimonian, have him wax eloquently to Leotykhidas as to the virtues of Persian rule. Meanwhile, those historians hostile to Persia portray Pausanias as a pragmatic politician first and foremost, presenting Leotykhidas with a plausible strategy to regroup before an eventual insurrection against King Xsharyarsha. In this I am moved to siding with the latter, for as we have already decided the character of Pausanias was that of an adaptable, if not entirely honest, Hellene. It most fits with the kind of offer that he received that Pausanias move to present this to Leotykhidas in the way most pleasing to Lakedaimonian values, as disgusting as those values were. Then we come to another certainty among all sources- that Leotykhidas had Pausanias murdered during the night- and then another disagreement; why was it that Leotykhidas made this momentous decision. Elements of truth are, we find, present in both schools. It is indeed likely that King Xsharyarsha possessed no great attachment to Pausanias, being a Lakedaimonian and at best a necessary tool in the pacification of Hellas. But it is also equally likely that Leotykhidas greatly resented that a negotiation for the entire future of Lakedaimonia had been conducted with a regent, and not with an actual king of Lakedaimonia. As to whether he believed he could negotiate with King Xsharyarsha in the stead of his colleague, or whether he believed that a quiet Lakedaimonia would simply be ignored, we find both explanations lacking. We should instead see that Pausanias was acting contrary to Lakedaimonian custom, and even if Leotykhidas had held enlightened values the other Lakedaimonians would not, and he must have realised this; that those who proposed such a method of escaping the situation would be treated as cowardly by the Spartiates and disregarded. Pausanias would have, if he had taken the proposed peace to the Lakedaimonians, found another method of rendering the situation to have made the potential reaction among them more amenable. This then is the truth of the matter regarding the death of Pausanias.
Immediately afterwards, Artavazdah and his detachment of the royal army arrived in the aftermath of this murder, having been ordered by a suspicious King Xsharyarsha to observe the situation. This was likely an encounter on the road and not, as has been described by some past authors, a meeting at the (entirely figurative) gates of Sparta; what would the good have been of inspecting the state of Pausanias by arriving tardily to the city, with the initial reaction to his presence and his objectives already underway? So then, Artavazdah confronted Leotykhidas, and would have realised swiftly that Pausanias was not present. He certainly challenged Leotykhidas about his colleague’s whereabouts. Leotykhidas offered whatever explanation would satisfy Artavazdah, but Artavazdah had already been informed by his King that Pausanias was liable to be attacked, and was unlikely to believe Leotykhidas in the situation. His orders were probably open-ended, with permission to decide for himself as to what to do had any harm come to Pausanias; Artavazdah was particularly trusted by King Xsharyarsha, and in addition the King had been occupied with the rest of the aftermath of the battle of the Isthmos- Lakedaimonia was important, but not more so than resolving matters with the Korinthioi, for example. Artavazdah was of noble spirit, having never been able to stomach the Lakedaimonians, and was confronted with yet another transgression made against Persians by them. Herodotos of Halikarnassos uses this to continue his theme of the Lakedaimonians dooming themselves by ignoring their own religious instincts, and continually offending the gods by defiling sacred rules. It is more likely that Artavazdah evaluated the Lakedaimonians as permanent trouble-makers, never able to give the Persians peace so long as they were ignored for longer than a moment. In addition, Artavazdah was disgusted by the conditions of the Heilotes, who were in no way in a natural situation. With his cunning insight, he saw that Lakedaimonia’s destruction might be used to restore the Heilotes to Messenia, who would remain forever grateful to the Persians who had remedied their situation, and he knew that this would please King Xsharyarsha.
Artavazdah duly began to slaughter the Lakedaimonians, though it seems that some women were spared and enslaved. It is likely that he spared any Heilotes serving with arms in the Lakedaimonian army present, for that would have made persuading the Heilotes of his genuine intentions much easier. This was certainly confirmed to be the will of the Gods when the main temple of Lakedaimonia, the Orthian temple at Sparta, was utterly destroyed by a thunderbolt. Artavazdah then continued his task with vigour throughout Lakedaimonia, although many Lakedaimonians escaped and sought refuge outside the reach of the the King. This was truly one of the most noble deeds the Persians performed in Hellas, and King Xsharyarsha’s accession to it vaunts him to the height of his dynasty. We know the Lakedaimonians to have been barbarians among barbarians, skilled only in war and possessing no other instincts considered civilized even among other Hellenes, as uncouth and impoverished as the Hellenes were in those days. They had reduced entire peoples to eternal bondage, and so the few Lakedaimonians profited from the misery of an entire nation crying out for vengeance. But at last, the Heilotes were restored to their rightful condition as free men, and Messenia was once again a jewel as Persian rulers continually restored and rejuvenated it. This was done by the destruction of the Lakedaimonians, and their state, and their cities. The Argeioi were awarded lands formerly belonging to the Lakedaimonian, but we shall turn more to the affairs of Argos in later years, merely remarking that at this date they remained the allies of King Xsharyarsha.
There remains only one more tale to tell of ancient Lakedaimonia, and that is the fate of the Lakedaimonian hostages that had been kept by King Xsharyarsha when Pausanias returned to Lakedaimonia. No prior historical inquiry has ever mentioned what happened to them, due to a total lack of knowledge, though the tragedians have won many awards from their speculations upon the story. But we have access to information of a superior kind to previous attempts to tell the tale of the winning of Hellas. By consulting the diaries of the Haxamanishiyan Kings, we discover that the Lakedaimonian hostages were transplanted to parts far from Hellas, and were made a small regiment in the royal army. The reason that Hellenic authors never knew or mentioned this is that these men were kept far away from fellow Hellenes, being used in wars far from Hellenic settlement or from other Hellenic soldiers in the service of King Xsharyarsha. It is not known where they, at last, perished, for the diaries only recall a few incidents involving them. If we are generous with Lakedaimonia, perhaps this was a fitting end; they were after all a barbarian people, and they were unleashed in all of their warlike prowess at the enemies of King Xsharyarsha, and perhaps their restlessly savage needs were satisfied before they were taken to the afterlife.
TELEO or AKUNAVAM: END OF CHAPTER 1
- Daeres
- Word Count: 4.6k