Reign c. 560 BC - c. 520 BC Parents Leon of Sparta Name Anaxandridas II Grandparents Eurycratides | Dynasty Agiad Died 525 BC | |
Issue Cleomenes IDorieusLeonidas ICleombrotus. Children Leonidas I, Cleomenes I, Dorieus, Cleombrotus Similar People Leonidas I, Cleomenes I, Pleistarchus, Gorgo - Queen of Sparta, Pausanias | ||
Great grandchildren Pleistarchus, Pleistoanax | ||
Anaxandridas II (Greek: Ἀναξανδρίδας) was a king of Sparta between 560 and 520 BC, father of Leonidas I and grandfather of Pleistarchus.
Contents
Biography
At the time when Croesus sent his embassy to form an alliance with "the mightiest of the Greeks" (about 554 BC), the war with Tegea, which in the late reigns went against them, had now been decided in the Spartans' favour, under Anaxandridas and Ariston. They also had main carriage of the suppression of the tyrannies, and with it the establishment of Spartan hegemony.
With the reign of Anaxandridas and Ariston commences the period of certain dates, the chronology of their predecessors being doubtful and the accounts in many ways suspicious; the only certain point being the coincidence of historians Polydorus and Theopompus over the timing of the first Messenian War, which itself cannot be fixed with certainty and it seems related to the earlier Anaxandridas I, who was son of Theopompus, the 9th Eurypontid king of Sparta; himself never reigned, but by the accession of Leotychidas became from the seventh generation the father of the kings of Sparta of that branch.
Family
Anaxandridas II was a son of Leon of Sparta and also his successor. The mother of Anaxandridas II is not known.
Having at that time a barren wife whom he would not divorce, the ephors, we are told, made Anaxandridas II take with her a second wife. By her Anaxandridas II had Cleomenes I, and after this, by his first wife he had three sons; Dorieus (father of Euryanas), famous Leonidas I, and Cleombrotus.