Messenian War II

The Second Messenian War - 685 ~668 B.C.

The Second Messenian War provoked a major reorganisation of the Spartan state. Sparta transformed itself into a permanently militarized society, which was to last for another three centuries. The Second Messenian war also stimulated the development of hoplite warfare, in which armored infantry fought together in regiments in close ranks. This transformation reduced Spartan dependence on the nobility in time of war and increased the importance of the general population. Accompanying the Spartan victory was a growing demand for the redistribution of the newly acquired Messenian lands, which was the probable origin of the practice that gave each Spartan male at birth a minimum parcel of land to be worked by Helots. That practice, in turn, became the basis for the Spartans' considering themselves as equals or peers who could all make their contributions to communal life.

With Messenia revolting again their leader Aristomenes in a daring move entered Sparta at night and offered a shield in the temple of Athena. Spartans after this event went to the oracle of Delphi, which gave them the answer "to take an Athenian adviser".
Spartans asked from the Athenians a general and they sent them Tyrtaeus, who was poet and lame from the one leg. Tyrtaeus with his poems encouraged Spartans and helped them to win the war. It is more likely that Tyrtaeus is not from Athens but this storyline probably comes out of the Athenian help for Sparta against the Messenia's. Tyrtaeus probably came from within the Peloponesse.

During the war the leader of the Messenians, Aristomenes, was made a great hero and many stories talk about him.

According to the legend three times Aristomenes sacrificed to Zeus Ithomatis, the so-called Hecatophonia, reserved only to the warrior who had killed with his own hands one hundred enemies. Three times he was captured by the Spartans but he managed to escape. His last capture occurred in a battle between him and many Spartans, in which he was wounded all over his body, but he was still fighting, until a stone found him on the head and fell. He was captured along with fifty others and for punishment were thrown into the deep pit Kaeadas, on Mt. Taygetos. All the others were killed, but Aristomenes fell upon the wings of an eagle and survived. When he realized, that there was no way to get out from this abyss, he laid down and covered himself with his cloak, waiting to die. Three days later, during the night he heard a soft sound and in the darkness show a fox eating the corpses. He managed to catch the fox from the tail and he was guided by her to a small hole, which he opened further and passed through.
Immediately he went to the city of Eira, which was besieged by Spartans. Passing from their camp, he killed many of them in their sleep and plundered the tents of the generals.
Some time later, in a stormy night and with the help of an informer, the Spartans entered Eira. There was a hard battle, Messenians fought desperately, the women too, throwing tiles to Spartan soldiers, but at the end they were defeated.
Aristomenes with many others managed to brake the Spartan lines and took the women and children in Arcadia. Immediately he chose five hundred men from Messenian volunteers and with the help of three hundred Arcadians decided to take Sparta by surprise, now that most of its army was away. They were ready to move, when they discovered that the king of Arcadia, Aristocrates, had sent a messenger to the Ephors, informing them about their plan. The treacherous king was killed in the square of the city by the Arcadian people with stones and his corpse was thrown out of Arcadia.
The Messenians moved then to Kyllene and from there to lower Italy, where they founded the new city of Zancle (later renamed Messene). Aristomenes did not follow them and went to his brother in Rhodes, where he died from bitterness. The Messenians who did not leave, became Helots and thus ended the second Messenian war.

cont..The history of Lydia