ARCHIDAMUS II

died 427 BC king of Sparta from about 469. A member of the Eurypontid house (one of the two royal families of Sparta), he succeeded to the throne of his grandfather, Leotychides. When the Messenian helots (serfs) revolted against their Spartan masters following a severe earthquake about 464, Archidamus organized the defense of Sparta. Nevertheless, for the next 30 years all known operations of the Spartan army were commanded by members of the other royal house (the Agiads), and there is no further record of Archidamus' activities until 432, when, according to the Greek historian Thucydides, the king attempted without success to prevent the outbreak of war with Athens (Peloponnesian War, 431404). Archidamus led the Spartan invasions of Attica in 431, 430, and 428 and a campaign against Plataea in 429. The first 10 years of the conflict are known as the Archidamian War. His two sons became the Spartan rulers Agis II and Agesilaus II.