Cleomenes Faces Defeat
In the once-mighty city-state of Sparta, unrest brewed as citizens grew increasingly disillusioned with their king, Cleomenes. Whispers of his descent into madness echoed through the marble-lined streets, fueling speculation that divine retribution was at play for his numerous betrayals. Others, however, suspected that such rumors were a calculated ploy by his adversaries seeking to topple him from his throne.
Amid the swirling hearsay, Cleomenes’s siblings, Leonidas I and Cleombrotus, found their ambitions unshackled by the absence of their brother Dorieus, who was no longer in contention for power.
This familial rivalry reached its zenith in 490 BCE when the embattled king was forcibly detained and shackled, a grim directive issued by his own flesh and blood.
Tragedy struck the Spartan royal house when Cleomenes met his grim end within the confines of his cell. The official tale, as recounted by the prison guards, painted a harrowing picture: a king, in the throes of despair, claimed his life in a savage act of self-harm. With only a knife as his instrument, he is said to have inflicted fatal wounds upon his thighs, shins, and abdomen, leaving the people of Sparta to ponder the true nature of their king’s tragic demise..