Siege of Sparta 272 BC
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Year | 272 BC | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Ancient (before 500) | derived from year |
| Location | Greece | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Pyrrhus' invasion of the Peloponnese | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Epirus, Macedonia, Sparta | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 37.0819, 22.4236 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
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 Antigonus Gonatas. The battle was fought at Sparta and ended in a Spartan-Antigonid 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 except for some coastal parts. 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 Epirote assaults until the arrival of the main Spartan army, led by King Areus I, and Antigonid 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.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Sparta (revision 1374176589), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the Pyrrhus' invasion of the Peloponnese
- Battle of Argos 272 BC
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