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Cleomenes, the son of Leonidas, the son of Cleonymus, having succeeded to the kingship at Sparta, resembled Pausanias1 in being dissatisfied with the established constitution and in aiming at a tyranny. A more fiery man than Pausanias, and no coward, he quickly succeeded by spirit and daring in accomplishing all his ambition. He poisoned Eurydamidas, the king of the other2 royal house, while yet a boy, raised to the throne by means of the ephors his brother Epicleidas, destroyed the power of the senate, and appointed in its stead a nominal Council of Fathers. Ambitious for greater things and for supremacy over the Greeks, he first attacked the Achaeans, hoping if successful to have them as allies, and especially wishing that they should not hinder his activities.

1 The victor of Plataea （479 B.C.）. Afterwards put to death for treachery.

2 There were two kings at Sparta, one from each of the two royal houses.

Pausanias. Pausanias Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918.

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    • Titus Livius (Livy), Ab urbe condita libri, erklärt von M. Weissenborn, books 33-34, commentary, 34.26
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