Spartan foreign policy in the third century BC
Spartan foreign policy in the third century BC is a neglected topic of Spartan history. This work explores this issue and argues for Spartan proactive participation in the interstate interactions of the third century BC. In doing so, it explains the reasons which drove Sparta to interact with other states and the extent of such interaction. It demonstrates that decision-making power was distributed between particular Spartan individuals and institutions, and that the changing distribution of power across these networks (to include ephors, gerousia, and kings) had a crucial impact on the articulation of foreign (military and diplomatic expeditions) and domestic (appointment of the Spartan kings) political decisions. As shown in this work, in the formulation of Spartan foreign policy, important efforts to avoid conflict without recourse to warfare and the presence of cooperation and interstate dialogue, facilitated by tools such as kinship ties and embassies, were central. These were utilised by the Spartan governing bodies to facilitate interactions with smaller (Taras, some Cretan poleis) and larger (Achaean League, Macedonia, Egypt, Rome) Mediterranean states. In adopting its foreign policy, Sparta could
Scarpato, Andrea
Spartan foreign policy in the third century BC. Spartan foreign policy in the third century BC is a neglected topic of Spartan history. This work explores this issue and argues for Spartan proactive participation in the interstate interactions of the third century BC. In doing so, it explains the reasons which drove Sparta to interact with other states and the extent of such interaction. It demonstrates that decision-making power was distributed between particular Spartan individuals and institutions, and that the changing distribution of power across these networks (to include ephors, gerousia, and kings) had a crucial impact on the articulation of foreign (military and diplomatic expeditions) and domestic (appointment of the Spartan kings) political decisions. As shown in this work, in the formulation of Spartan foreign policy, important efforts to avoid conflict without recourse to warfare and the presence of cooperation and interstate dialogue, facilitated by tools such as kinship ties and embassies, were central. These were utilised by the Spartan governing bodies to facilitate interactions with smaller (Taras, some Cretan poleis) and larger (Achaean League, Macedonia, Egypt, Rome) Mediterranean states. In adopting its foreign policy, Sparta could
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