Siege of Sparta

Part of Pyrrhus' invasion of the Peloponnese

The Siege of Sparta by Pyrrhus,
François Topino-Lebrun

Date	Spring 272 BC
Location	Sparta
Result	Spartan-Macedonian victory

Belligerents

Epirus

Sparta
Macedon

Commanders and leaders

Pyrrhus
Ptolemy †

Areus I
Acrotatus
Ameinias the Phocian

Strength

27,000 men,
24 elephants

2,000 +

Casualties and losses

Heavy

The Siege of Sparta took place in 272 BC and was a battle fought between Epirus, led by King Pyrrhus, (r. 297–272 BC) and an alliance consisting of Sparta, under the command of King Areus I (r. 309–265 BC) and his heir Acrotatus, and Macedon. The battle was fought at Sparta and ended in a Spartan-Macedonian victory.

Following his defeat in Italy by the Roman Republic, Pyrrhus was forced to retreat back to Epirus. On his return to Epirus, he declared war against Antigonus Gonatas (r. 283–239 BC), managing to take control of Macedon. In 272 BC, he was approached by a Spartan prince, Cleonymus, a claimant to the Spartan throne who had been overlooked. Pyrrhus saw this invitation as an opportunity to extend his wars of conquest to the Peloponnese and invaded Sparta. Despite the majority of the Spartan army campaigning in Crete, the remaining Spartans were able to mount a defence led by the Spartan Crown Prince Acrotatus. The Spartans were able to withstand the Epiriote assaults until the arrival of the main Spartan army, led by King Areus I, and Macedonian reinforcements, prompting Pyrrhus to abandon the siege.

After this failure, Pyrrhus ravaged the Spartan hinterland whilst fending off counter-attacks by the victorious Spartans. On the invitation of an Argive ally, Pyrrhus attempted to seize Argos. The assault culminated in a fiasco with Pyrrhus being attacked by his Argive opponents, the pursuing Spartan army of Areus and a Macedonian army commanded by Antigonus Gonatas. Pyrrhus was killed in the ensuing battle in the streets of Argos, ending Epiriote hopes of establishing a hegemony in Greece.

In 281 BC, at the request of the Greek city of Tarentum, Pyrrhus, the King of the Greek state of Epirus, went with an army of 25,500 men and 20 elephants to Italy to help fight the Romans. The Romans had succeeded in conquering most of Italy and were now moving in to take the Greek cities in Magna Graecia. After arriving in Italy in 280 BC, Pyrrhus defeated a Roman army at the Battle of Heraclea, near Tarentum. Pyrrhus repeated his success against Romans by defeating another army at the Battle of Asculum.

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