Aristomenes
Sign in to savethumb|upright=1.5|Aristomenes fighting his way out of Eira. Aristomenes () was a king of Messenia, celebrated for his struggle with the Spartans in the Second Messenian War (685–668 BC), and his resistance to them on Mount Eira for 11 years. At length the mountain fell to the enemy, while he escaped and, according to legend, was snatched up by the gods; in fact he died at Rhodes.
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 0720-00-00
- Died
- 0660-00-00
- Works
- 3
Top works
- Hodoiporos pros tēn pēgē
- Odoiporos pros tēn pēgē
- To pneuma tēs polēs
via Open Library + Wikidata
Key dates
- Born
- 720 BCE
- Died
- 660 BCE
via Wikidata · CC0
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Messenia
- Place of death
- Rhodes
- Occupation
- military personnel
- Position held
- strategos
- Languages spoken
- Ancient Greek
Show 2 more facts
- P1343
- Pauly–Wissowa
- P7153
- Messenia
via Wikidata · CC0
Article
4 sectionsContents
- Life
- Other narratives
- In literature
- References
thumb|upright=1.5|Aristomenes fighting his way out of Eira. Aristomenes () was a king of Messenia, celebrated for his struggle with the Spartans in the Second Messenian War (685–668 BC), and his resistance to them on Mount Eira for 11 years. At length the mountain fell to the enemy, while he escaped and, according to legend, was snatched up by the gods; in fact he died at Rhodes.
==Life== Aristomenes was a member of the Aepytid family, the son of Nicomedes (or, according to another version, of Pyrrhus) and Nicoteleia, and took a prominent part in stirring up the revolt against Sparta and securing the co-operation of Argos and Arcadia. He showed such heroism in the first encounter, at Derae, that the crown was offered to him, but he would accept only the title of commander-in-chief. His daring is illustrated by the story that he came by night to the temple of Athene "of the Brazen House" at Sparta, and there set up his shield with the inscription "Dedicated to the goddess by Aristomenes from the Spartans."