King Theopompus was an early Spartan king who flourished in the 8th and 7th centuries BCE. Similar to the legendary Spartan lawgiver, Lycurgus, Theopompus was seen as a founding father of Sparta’s government system and the ancient Spartan way of life. In addition to being known as the architect of Sparta’s conquest of Messenia in the First Messenian War (c. late 8th century BCE), Theopompus was also attributed with founding the council of ephors who served as a check and balance to the Spartan kings. This innovation reportedly caused Theopompus some family drama, especially with his wife, as the new council of ephors would somewhat restrain the power of the royal families. Theopompus’ wife accused her husband of doing a disservice to their royal descendants, as she believed he would be leaving his sons with a weakened throne to inherit. On the creation of the ephors and the royal reaction to it, the scholar Plutarch (c. 50-120) wrote: “It was apparently about 130 years after Lycurgus’ time that the first ephors were appointed, headed by Elatus, during the reign of Theopompus. This is the king about whom they also relate that when his wife criticized him because the kingship he would hand on to his sons would be less than the one he inherited, he replied: ‘No, greater—since it will last longer’” (Plutarch, Parallel Lives, Life of Lycurgus, chapter 7). On a similar note, the philosopher and intellectual, Aristotle (c. 384-322 BCE), agreed that Theopompus’ decisions stabilized the government and contributed to the longevity of Sparta’s dynastic rule. He wrote, “This diminution of the royal power had in the long run the effect of strengthening the kingship, so in a sense Theopompus did not reduce it but increased it, as he himself is reported to have said in a reply to his wife, when she asked if he was not ashamed to be passing the kingdom on to his sons in a lesser state than he had inherited it from his father. ‘Certainly not,’ he replied, ‘the kingdom that I pass on is longer-lasting’” (Aristotle, Politics, Bekker page 1313a). Indeed, the Spartan kings persisted for centuries, with the last independent monarch of the Spartans being King Nabis of Sparta (d. 192 BCE).
Written by C. Keith Hansley
Picture Attribution: (Illustration of Leonidas II and Kleombrotos, by Vincenzo Camuccini (1771-1844), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons, Europeana and Albertina).
Sources:
- On Sparta (Life of Lycurgus), by Plutarch excerpted from his Parallel Lives, translated by Richard J. A. Talbert. New York: Penguin Classics, 2005.
- The Politics by Aristotle, translated by T. A. Sinclair and revised by T. J. Saunders. London: Penguin Classics, 1962, 1992.
- https://oxfordre.com/classics/display/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-6374
- http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DT%3Aentry+group%3D12%3Aentry%3Dtheopompus-bio-1
- http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/sparking.html
- https://www.britannica.com/event/Messenian-Wars
