Areus I

Areus I (Ancient Greek: Ἀρεύς Α΄) (died 265 BC) was Agiad King of Sparta from 309 to 265 BC, who died in battle near Corinth during the Chremonidean War. He was the grandson of Cleomenes II and was succeeded by his son Acrotatus II.

Areus I on a coin (309-265 BC)

Military success

In 272 BC Areus I successfully repelled Pyrrhus of Epirus from Laconia. In 272 BC Pyrrhus of Epirus with 25,000 foot soldiers, 2,000 cavalry, and 24 elephants marched into Laconia on the false pretense of “set[ting] free the cities which were subject to Antigonus” and “to send his younger sons to Sparta, if nothing prevented, to be brought up in the Lacedaemonian customs”. While Areus was in Crete to support Gortys in its war against Knossos,[1] Pyrrhus set siege to Sparta. The men and women of Sparta dug a trench around the city to defend themselves against Pyrrhus' forces. After a day of fighting, the Spartans managed to hold back Pyrrhus from the large moat around the city. By the end of the second day of fighting, Areus had returned from Crete to Sparta with 2,000 soldiers, along with aid from Corinth which had just arrived.

Letter to Jewish High Priest

In Book 12 of his Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus Flavius brings a letter written by King Areus of the Lacedemonians, to the Jewish High Priest (Cohen Gadol), Onias (Chonyo), in the Judean capital of Jerusalem:

Areus, King of the Lacedemonians, to Onias, sendeth greeting.

We have met with a certain writing, whereby we have discovered that both the Jews and the Lacedemonians are of one stock, and are derived from the kindred of Abraham. It is but just therefore that you, who are our brethren, should send to us about any of your concerns as you please. We will also do the same thing, and esteem your concerns as our own, and will look upon our concerns as in common with yours. Demoteles, who brings you this letter, will bring your answer back to us. This letter is four-square; and the seal is an eagle, with a dragon in his claws.[2]

This letter is also referenced in 1 Maccabees 12:20.

It is not clear where King Areus got the impression that the Lacedemonians were descendants of the patriarch Abraham, although it is known that Abraham had children by Keturah who dispersed "to the East". It does not appear that the high priest responded to this attempted alliance with Sparta.

References
  1. R. F. Willetts , Aristocratic Society in Ancient Crete, 2013, p. 235
  2. Whiston, William. Josephus Flavius' "Antiquities of the Jews".

Sources
Preceded by
Cleomenes II		 Agiad King of Sparta
309–265 BC		 Succeeded by
Acrotatus II
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