Chapter 28 - Bronze Age History of Laconia

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Create:2023.4.23, Update:2024.3.26

1 Introduction
Euripides, a tragic poet of the 5th century BC, described Laconia as “There is a lot of arable land, but cultivation is not easy. Surrounded by mountain ranges, the land is rocky and steep, making it difficult for foreign enemies to penetrate.” [1]
The 2nd century AD writer Apollodoros reports that the wife of Cranaus, the second king of Athens, was a Lacedaemonian. [2]
Cranaus' marriage dates to around 1530 BC, but there is no traceable lineage to Laconia at that time.
If there were Greeks living in Laconia during Cranaus' time, they were probably Pelasgians who had migrated south from Arcadia.

2 Age of Lelex
2.1 Emigration from Egypt
In 1430 BC, Lelex emigrated from Egypt to Greece via Rhodes with Danaus. [3]
Their first landing in Peloponnesus was near Pyramia in Thyrea, on the border of Argolis and Laconia. [4]
From there Danaus sailed on, landing at Apobathmi near Lerna, and sailing to Argos. [5]
Lelex moved inland from Pyramia, descending along the river, and settled in the middle reaches of the river.
That river was the Eurotas, which was called by the names of Marathos or Himeros. [6]
The inhabitants of the land ruled by Lelex were called Leleges. [7]

2.2 Identity of Lelex
Lelex was the son of Epaphus' daughter Libya and the brother of Danaus' father Belus. [8]
Lelex was a Greek Egyptian who, like Danaus, lived in Chemmis in the Nile Delta, and fled Egypt under pressure from Upper Egypt. [9]
The person who drove out Lelex and Danaus was the 18th Dynasty Pharaoh Thutmose III, the conqueror king who made the most of ancient Egypt. [10]

2.3 Emigration to Megara
Lelex then moved to Megara, leaving the place to his son Myles. Megara had been migrated from Argos by Car, son of Phoroneus, son of Inachus, before Lelex. [11]

2.4 Founding of Therapne
In 1430 BC, the husband of Lelex's daughter Therapne founded Therapne near Lacedaemon. [12]
It is assumed that Therapne's husband immigrated from Egypt with Danaus and Lelex.

3 Age of Myles, son of Lelex
When Lelex moved to Megara, Lelex's son Myles succeeded his father. [13]

3.1 Founding of Andania
In 1405 BC, Polycaon, son of Lelex, moved about 50 km northwest of Lacedaemon and founded Andania. [14]
Many residents from Argos, the birthplace of Polycaon's wife Messene, participated in the construction of Andania. [15]
The people Polycaon led from Lacedaemon were the Leleges, but those who migrated from Argos were the Achaeans. [16]
A part of Andania came to be called Messene, after Messene's name. [17]
Later, when the descendants of Polycaon died out, they received successors from Thessaly, suggesting that many of Andania's inhabitants were Achaeans. [18]

3.2 Father of Messene
Pausanias, in his Description of Greece, mentions Messene's father as Triopas of Argos. [19]
Pausanias also reports that Messene's father was the best in Greece in both fame and ability. [20]
At the time of Polycaon's marriage to Messene, Danaus ruled Argos, and Triopas may have been another name for Danaus, or perhaps his real name.
The Egyptian chronicle of Thutmose III records that there was a tribute from the land of Danaya (Tanaju), presumed to be Greeks. [21]
Danaya is the tribal name of Belus, the father of Danaus, and Danaus may have been coined from that tribal name to sound like a human name.

4 Age of Eurotas, son of Myles
Eurotas succeeded his father, Myles. [22]
Apollodoros tells us that Eurotas is the son of Lelex. However, if I draw up a genealogy, it would be more appropriate to make Eurotas, the son of Myles, as Pausanias tells us.

4.1 Emigration to Acarnania
In 1390 BC, Teleboas, son of Therapne, daughter of Lelex, migrated from Therapne to western Acarnania. [23]
Aristotle tells us that in ancient times, western Acarnania was inhabited by Leleges and Teleboans. [24]
The settlers led by Teleboas were first called Leleges, but the people directly ruled by Teleboas's descendants are thought to have been called Teleboans.

4.2 Founding of Oetylus
In 1380 BC, Oetylus, son of Amphianax, migrated from Ptolis (or Mantineia) in Arcadia to north of Cape Taenarum and founded the town of Oetylus. [25]
Amphianax was the son of Antimachus, son of Aegyptus, and Midea, daughter of Danaus. [26]

5 Age of Lacedaemon, son of Taygete
Since Eurotas had no sons, his daughter Sparta's husband Lacedaemon succeeded him. [27]
Lacedaemon's mother, Taygete, was the daughter of Orchomenus, son of Lycaon, who lived in Arcadia. [28]
Orchomenus was the founder of Methydrium and Orchomenus, also known as Atlas, and the father of daughters called Pleiades (or Atlantides). [29]

5.1 Founding of Sparta
Lacedaemon gathered together the scattered people and founded a city, calling it Sparta after his wife. [30]
Previously, their region and people were called Lacedaemon and Lacedaemonians after him. [31]
Strabo reports that the same town was also called Lacedaemon or Sparta. [32]

5.2 Marriage to Argos
In 1357 BC, Eurydice, daughter of Lacedaemon, married Acrisius, son of Abas of Argos. [33]

6 Age of Amyclas, son of Lacedaemon
Lacedaemon was succeeded by his son Amyclas. [34]

6.1 Founding of Amyclae
Amyclas migrated to the right bank of the Eurotas River, about 4 km south of Sparta, and founded Amyclae. [35]

6.2 Marriage from Thessaly
In 1351 BC, Amyclas took Lapithus' daughter Diomede from Thessaly as his wife. [36]
Acrisius, husband of Amyclas' sister Eurydice, had connections with Lapithus in organizing the Amphictyons. [37]
Lapithus, son of Aeolus, lived near the Peneius River in northern Thessaly, and was the progenitor of the Lapiths. [38]
Along with Diomede, many Aeolis migrated to Amyclae.
Amyclae was the home of the last remaining Achaeans in Laconia, which was ruled by the Dorians. [39]

7 Age of Aigalus, son of Amyclas
Aigalus succeeded his father Amyclas and lived in Amyclae. [40]

7.1 Founding of Acriae
In 1320 BC, Acrias founded Acriae on the coast of the Gulf of Laconia. [41]
Acrias is presumed to be the son of Amyclas.

8 Age of Cynortas, son of Amyclas
Cynortas succeeded his brother Aigalus and lived in Sparta. [42]

8.1 Passage of Pelops
In 1312 BC, Pelops, son of Tantalus, was attacked by Ilus of Troy and migrated from Lydia to Greece. [43]
Pelops' landing place on Peloponnesus is presumed to have been Laconia based on the following facts.
1) At Acriae, near the mouth of the Eurotas river, was the oldest statue of the Mother of the Gods in the Peloponnesus peninsula. The oldest statue of the Mother of the Gods is in Lydia and was made by Pelops' brother Broteas. [44]
2) Acrias, the founder of Acriae, is the only one of the 12 people said to have been killed by Oenomaus who is believed to have existed at the time. Acrias is believed to have participated in Pelops' attack on Oenomaus and was killed in action. [45]
3) Tombs of the Phrygians, who migrated to Greece with Pelops, can be found throughout Peloponnesus, but a particularly large tomb was located in Sparta. [46]
4) Before the battle with Oenomaus, Pelops sacrifices at Phrixa, more than 5 km inland from Pisa. This indicates that Pelops moved north along the Eurotas River and along the Alpheius River to Pisa from the mountain side. [47]

8.2 Participation in Pelops' expedition
Cynortas is presumed to have participated in Pelops' attack on Oenomaus.
Tombs of the Phrygians, who migrated to Greece with Pelops, can be found throughout Peloponnesus, but one of the largest was in Sparta. [48]
After participating in an expedition with Pelops, Cynortas took as his son Oebalus' wife Batia, the daughter of a Phrygian magnate who had migrated with Pelops to Greece. [49]
Batia is also the name of the wife of Dardanus, the founder of the kingdom of Troy, and is an Asian Minor name. [50]
Many Phrygians immigrated to Sparta with Oebalus' wife Batia. [51]

9 Age of Oebalus, son of Cynortas (1290-65 BC)
Oebalus succeeded his father Cynortas and lived in Sparta. [52]

9.1 Oebalus' wife
In 1303 BC, Oebalus took Perseus' daughter Gorgophone from Mycenae to be his wife after the death of his wife Batia. [53]
Gorgophone was the wife of Perieres, son of Aeolus of Andania in Messenia, but she too was widowed. [54]
Pausanias reports that Gorgophone broke with the customs of the time and remarried for the first time after the death of her husband. [55]
However, there are at least two female examples before Gorgophone.
1) Europa, daughter of Phoenix, remarried Asterius, son of Tectamus. [56]
2) Tyro, daughter of Salmoneus, married Cretheus, son of Aeolus. [57]

9.2 Children of Oebalus
Oebalus and Batia had a son, Hippocoon. [58]
Oebalus and Gorgophone had two sons, Tyndareus and Icarius, and a daughter, Arene. [59]
Arene married Apahareus, the son of her mother Gorgophone's former husband Perieres. [60]
Apahareus founded a town near the southeast coast of Messenia, named after his wife Arene. [61]

9.3 Founding of Helos
In 1290 BC, Helius, son of Perseus, migrated from Mycenae to near the Laconian Gulf and founded Helos. [62]

9.4 Emigration from Helos
In 1277 BC, Helius, son of Perseus, migrated from Helos to the Echinades islands of Acarnania. [63]

10 Age of Hippocoon, son of Oebalus (1265-39 BC)
Hippocoon succeeded his father Oebalus. [64]

10.1 Emigration to Aetolia
In 1265 BC, Tyndareus migrated from Sparta to Aetolia. [65]
Hippocoon reportedly drove Tyndareus and Icarius out of Lacedaemon. [66]
But Hippocoon was the rightful heir to Oebalus, and he had many sons of Tyndareus's age, so the throne could never have passed to Tyndareus.
Tyndareus left Sparta of his own free will and went to Apahareus, who lived in Arene of Messenia. [67]
Apahareus was the half-brother of Tyndareus and the husband, or step-brother, of his sister Arene. Apahareus had a son, Idas, who was the same age as Tyndareus. [68]
Tyndareus moved to Aetolia with his nephew Idas.

10.2 Migration destination of Tyndareus
Aetolia is located far away from Sparta, and there are no intermarriage relationships between the two.
Iphiclus, son of Thestius of Pleuron and Leucippe, was a Lacedaemonian. [69]
From this it is assumed that Leucippe was the daughter of Oebalus and Gorgophone, and that Tyndareus immigrated with the help of a sister who married Thestius. [70]

10.3 Tyndareus's Marriage and Idas's Marriage
After moving to Pleuron, Tyndareus married Leda, daughter of Thestius. [72]
Idas married Marpessa, daughter of Evenus and Alcippe, and they had a daughter, Cleopatra (or Halcyone). [73]
Cleopatra, daughter of Idas, married Meleager, son of Calydon, of the town of Calydon. [74]

10.4 Aetolia conflict
A conflict broke out in Aetolia in which Meleager, son of Calydon, was killed in battle. This is an event known as the Calydonian boar hunt. [75]
It was a battle between the inhabitants of Pleuron, who descended from the Curetes, the natives of Aetolia, and the inhabitants of Calydon, who descended from Aetolus, the son of Endymion, who migrated from Eleia.
Tyndareus fought on the side of Pleuron, and Idas on the side of Calydon. [76]
However, Tyndareus does not appear in the story of the Calydonian boar hunt, and his sons, Dioscuri, participate. [77]
It seems that the author of the story did not think of Tyndareus and Idas as being of the same generation, but rather that Tyndareus was one generation earlier than Idas.
This battle in Aetolia continued even after Dioscuri and the Idas brothers returned home, as a battle between Messenia and Lacedaemon, resulting in the death of both. [78]

10.5 Marriage of Icarius
In 1256 BC, Icarius founded Pharis in south of Sparta and took as his wife Dorodoche, daughter of Orsilochus, from Pharae in Messenia. [79]
The founder of Pharae was Pharis, the father of Telegon, the mother of Orsilochus. [80]
Pharis, founded by Icarius, was also called Pharae. [81]

10.6 Death of Hippocoon
In 1239 BC, Hippocoon was attacked by Heracles and was killed along with many of his sons. [82]
The cause of the battle is said to have been because Hippocoon sided with Elis when Heracles attacked Elis. [83]
However, the battle between Hippocoon and Heracles occurred after Heracles had disbanded the expedition against Elis, and Cepheus of Tegea and many of his sons were killed in the battle. [84]
From this it can be assumed that Heracles joined forces at Cepheus's request, and that the conflict between Lacedaemon and Tegea was the cause of the battle.

11 Age of Tyndareus, son of Oebalus (1237-05 BC)
In 1237 BC, Tyndareus migrated from Aetolia to Sparta. Legend has it that Heracles recalled Tyndareus to Sparta after his battle with Hippocoon. [85]
However, in reality, it is assumed that Tyndareus immigrated to Sparta, where Hippocoon and Icarius had disappeared and there was no one to succeed Oebalus.

11.1 Emigration to Acarnania
In 1237 BC, Heracles led an expedition to Ephyra in Thesprotia. [86]
Icarius took part in this expedition and moved to Acarnania. [87]
Icarius' two sons, Leucadius and Alyzeus, founded the cities in Acarnania that they named after themselves. [88]
Icarius joined the expedition at Calydon, and along the way met Tyndareus at Pleuron and persuaded him to return to Lacedaemon. Perileos (or Perilaus), the son of Icarius, remained in Sparta, but he was a minor. [89]

11.2 Icarius' second wife
Icarius married Polycaste (or Polyboea), the daughter of Lygaeus, whom he had taken prisoner in a battle against the Teleboans. [90]
The founder of the Teleboans was Teleboas, son of Therapne, daughter of Lelex, who migrated from Lacedaemon to Acarnania 150 years ago. [91]
Icarius' second wife Polycaste gave birth to Penelope, who became Odysseus' wife. [92]

11.3 Tyndareus' second wife
Tyndareus returned to Sparta from Aetolia and married Nemesis. [93]
Nemesis is the name of a goddess, and although her human name is unknown, she is presumed to be the daughter of an orphaned Hippocoon.
Tyndareus' second wife produced Clytaemnestra, wife of Agamemnon, and Helen, wife of Menelaus. [94]
Many sources say that Helen was the daughter of Leda, daughter of Thestius. [95]
However, when creating a genealogy, the age difference between Dioscuri, sons of Leda, and Helen was more than 40 years, making it unlikely that both were born to the same woman.
Thus, Clytaemnestra and Helen were daughters born after Tyndareus returned to Sparta.

11.4 Battle with Andania
The battle with Tyndareus and Idas in Aetolia became a battle with the Lacedaemonians and Messenians.
In 1237 BC, Tyndareus first attacked Andania.
Andania was a Lacedaemon colony and was close to Sparta. [96]
Andania had been inherited by Perieres' son Leucippus after Perieres' death. [97]
In the battle with Tyndareus, Leucippus died, and his two daughters were taken away by Tyndareus' two sons, Castor and Polydeuces, and became their wives. [98]
The sons of Tyndareus and the daughters of Leucippus were cousins.

11.5 Battle with Oechalia
In 1237 BC, Tyndareus next attacked Eurytus in Oechalia, near Andania. [99]
Eurytus moved to Euboea and founded the third Oechalia. [100]
The first Oechalia was built in 1310 BC by Melaneus, father of Eurytus, in Thessaly. [101]

11.6 Participation of the Idas brothers
Leucippus of Andania was the uncle of Idas, and Eurytus of Oechalia was the son of Melaneus, whom Idas' grandfather Perieres had invited from Thessaly. [102]
Melaneus and Perieres were the sons of Aeolus, son of Lapithus. [103]
In other words, Idas and Eurytus are Lapiths whose common ancestor was Lapithus, and it is presumed that the Idas brothers also joined forces with Andania and Oechalia to fight against Tyndareus.

11.7 Exile of Agamemnon and Menelaus
In 1215 BC, after the death of Atreus, Agamemnon and Menelaus, exiled from Mycenae by Thyestes, came to Tyndareus in exile. [104]
Atreus, grandfather of Agamemnon and Menelaus, was the son of Autochthe, sister of Tyndareus' mother Gorgophone. [105]
In other words, Agamemnon and Menelaus fled to Sparta with the help of Atreus' cousin Tyndareus.

11.8 Battle with the Idas brothers
The battle between Tyndareus and the Idas brothers was continued by Tyndareus' two sons and lasted for nearly 30 years.
The final chapter of their battle began with the abduction of Tyndareus' daughter Helen by Idas.
In 1210 BC, Idas kidnapped Helen and gave her to Theseus of Athens, who entrusted Helen to Aphidnus of Aphidnae. [106]
At the time, Helen was a 7-year-old (or 10, 12) girl. [107]
Peirithous, a friend of Theseus, was Lapiths, and Idas and Theseus may have been friends through Peirithous. [108]
Tyndareus' two sons took Helen back. [109]
Then the battle between Dioscuri and the Idas brothers ended in the destruction of both. [110]

12 Age of Menelaus, son of Plisthenes, son of Atreus (1205-1180 BC)
In 1205 BC, Tyndareus married his daughter Helen to Menelaus and gave Menelaus the throne of Lacedaemon. [111]

12.1 Return of Agamemnon
In 1203 BC, Menelaus led the Lacedaemonians to help Agamemnon return to Mycenae. Agamemnon sent Thyestes and his son Aegisthus to live on the island of Cythera off the coast of the Laconian Gulf. [112]
Then Thyestes died on the island of Cythera. [113]

12.2 Entering Messenia
Idas was succeeded by Neleus' son Nestor, but he was unable to subjugate all of Messenia. [114]
Menelaus took control of Cardamyle, Enope, Hire, Pherae, Antheia, Aepeia, and Pedasus on the coast of the Messenian Gulf, which were beyond Nestor's reach. [115]
According to Homer, these seven towns were under Menelaus' control before the Trojan War. [116]

13 Age of Agamemnon (1180-1173 BC)
Pausanias tells us that Agamemnon's son Orestes also became king of Lacedaemon. [117]
However, Pausanias also tells us that Orestes migrated from Mycenae to Arcadia. [118]
In other words, Orestes seems to have ruled over the Lacedaemonians without living in Sparta.
Presumably, Menelaus died before Agamemnon, and Agamemnon ruled not only the Mycenaeans but also the Lacedaemonians. The basis for this estimation is as follows.
1) There was a sanctuary of Athena built by Agamemnon on the Onugnathus peninsula near Cape Maleae in Laconia. [119]
2) There were seven towns in Messenia that were ruled by Agamemnon. [120]

14 Age of Orestes, son of Agamemnon (1173-1150 BC)
14.1 Battle with Cleodaeus
After Agamemnon's death in 1173 BC, the Dorians, led by Cleodaeus, son of Hyllus, attacked Mycenae and destroyed the city. [121]
Orestes gathered an army and drove the Dorians out of Peloponnesus.
At this time Abia, the nurse of Heracles' son Glenus (or Gleneus), and some people settled in Ire of Messenia. [122]
In this battle, Cleodaeus' eldest son fled to Ire with Abia. Polyphontes, grandson of the eldest son of Cleodaeus, killed Cresphontes, the son of Aristomachus, who made his final return and captured Messenia. Polyphontes claimed to be the “True” Heracleidae, that is, the rightful successor of Heracles. [123]

14.2 Construction of Tenedos
In 1170 BC, Peisander of Amyclae and Orestes went on an expedition to the island of Tenedos and founded Tenedos. [124]
Peisander's maternal grandfather was Melanippus, a defender of Thebes. [125]

15 Age of Tisamenus, son of Orestes (1150-1104 BC)
Orestes sent Tisamenus to live in Sparta when he came of age, and entrusted him with the Lacedaemonians. [126]

15.1 Battle with Aristomachus
In 1126 BC, Tisamenus attacked the Dorians led by Aristomachus, son of Cleodaeus. [127]
Aristomachus attacked Sparta but was killed in battle. [128]

15.2 Exile of the Minyans
In 1115 BC, the Minyans from Lemnos were chased by the Pelasgians and moved to Lacedaemon. [129]
Tisamenus accepted the Minyans on the basis that they were descendants of those who took part in the expeditions of the Argonauts with Dioscuri. [130]
Dioscuri were the brothers of Helen, the mother of Hermione, the mother of Tisamenus. [131]

15.3 Battle with Temenus
In 1110 BC, Tisamenus attacked the Dorians led by Temenus, the son of Aristomachus, who had invaded Argolis from Arcadia, but was defeated and besieged in Argos. [132]
Afterwards, Tisamenus surrendered Argos to the Heracleidae and besieged himself in Sparta. [133]

15.4 Emigration to Achaia
In 1104 BC, Tisamenus was persuaded by Philonomus, who had made secret deals with the Heracleidae, to migrate from Sparta to Achaia. [134]
Philonomus was a Minyan who migrated from Lemnos to Lacedaemon, chased by the Pelasgians. [135]
Philonomus was entrusted with Amyclae by Eurysthenes and Procles. [136]

16 Age of Eurysthenes and Procles (1104- BC)
With Tisamenus gone, Sparta became a town ruled by the Dorians.
Aristodemus' two sons, Eurysthenes and Procles, became the first kings of Sparta. [137]

16.1 Emigration to Thera
In 1099 BC, Theras, son of Autesion, who had ceased to be the guardian of Eurysthenes and Procles, led the Lacedaemonians and Minyans to the island of Thera. [138]
Eurysthenes and Procles were twins who disagreed and were constantly at loggerheads, but both actively supported the migration of Theras. [139]

16.2 Emigration to Eleia
In 1098 BC, the Minyans, who did not join the Theras emigrants, migrated from Lacedaemon to southern Eleia and founded Lepreum, Macistus, Phryxae, Pyrgus, Epium, and Nudium. [140]
By Strabo's time in the early 1st century AD, no such towns remained. [141]
Most of the six towns built by the Minyans on Eleia were destroyed by Elis during the time of Herodotus in the mid-5th century BC. [142]

16.3 Aid to Aepytus
In 1073 BC, Eurysthenes and Procles joined forces with Aepytus, son of Cresphontes, to reinstate him as king of Messenia. [143]
Aepytus was their paternal cousin.
When Polyphontes killed Cresphontes and usurped the king of Messenia, Aepytus was spared because he was being cared for by his grandfather Cypselus of Trapezus in Arcadia. [144]

16.4 Expulsion of Achaeans
After the Dorians became rulers, there were still three Achaean towns in Laconia.
They were Amyclae, Pharis, and Geranthrae. [145]
In 1070 BC, the Dorians attacked these towns and expelled their inhabitants, but Amyclae evacuated the towns after staunchly resisting the Dorians. [146]
Although the town was no longer owned by the Achaeans, it appears that some Achaeans continued to live in Laconia. For example, the tomb of Talthybius, the herald of Agamemnon, was in Sparta, and his descendants had the privilege of being heralds for generations. [147]

16.4.1 Dates of the Expulsion of the Achaeans
Pausanias dates the expulsion of the Achaeans from Amyclae to the time of Teleclus, son of Archelaus, in the early 8th century BC. [148]
However, in the 1st century BC the theologian Conon, there was a migration to Crete led by Polis and Delphos when Amyclae revolted against the Dorians. [149]
At this time the emigrants of Polis and Delphos joined forces with the emigrants of Althaimenes, son of Ceisus, son of Temenos. [150]
In other words, the battle between Amyclae and the Dorians took place around 1070 BC.
If Conon's account is true, then the Achaeans lived in Amyclae, near Sparta, for over 300 years in conflict with the Dorians.
Polybius describes Amyclae as the most productive land in Laconia, and Conon's theory seems more plausible than Pausanias's theory. [151]

16.5 Emigration to Crete
In 1070 BC, Polis and Delphos led the Dorians to migrate to Crete, where they lived with the Gortynians. [152]
Around the same time, Apodasmos, son of Philonomus, who left Amyclae, migrated to the island of Melos. [153]
The Melians were immigrants from Lacedaemon. [154]

17 Age after Eurysthenes and Procles (11th-10th century BC)
After the Achaeans left Laconia, no records of Lacedaemon remain for about 150 years. Regarding the genealogy of the kings of Sparta, the names of the four kings between Eurysthenes and Agis, and between Procles and Sous are unknown.
It is assumed that the cause was that the engineers who recorded in writing left Lacedaemon with the Achaeans.
It was around the end of the 10th century BC that records began to be recorded in Laconia again.

17.1 Helos Strategy
In the reign of Spartan King Sous, the Spartans enslaved the Helots. [155]
King Agis of Sparta ordered the inhabitants of the surrounding towns to pay tribute, but when Helos rebelled, he enslaved the inhabitants. [156]
The inhabitants of Helos became the first public slaves (Helots) of the Lacedaemonian state. [157]
The capture of Helos was during the reign of Agis and Sous, estimated to be around 930 BC.

17.2 Battle with Arcadians
In 920 BC, the Spartan king Sous of the Agiadae fought against the Cleitorians. [158]
The Cleitorians were the inhabitants of Cleitor, founded in northern Arcadia by Cleitor, son of Azan, in 1355 BC. [159]
In 900 BC, Spartan king Agis of the Eurypontidae invaded Arcadia and was killed by the Mantineans. [160]
Euryphon (or Euryphon), son of Sous, king of Sparta, attacked and occupied Mantineia. [161]

17.3 Destruction of Helos
In 760 BC, during the time of Alcacmenes, son of Teleclus, the Dorians attacked and destroyed Helos. [162]
Pausanias describes Helos as an Achaean town inhabited by Helots. [163]

End