
Archidamus II (498 BC-426 BC) was King of Sparta from 476 to 426 BC, succeeding Leotychidas and preceding Agis II.
Biography[]
Archidamus was born in Sparta in 498 BC, the son of Zeuxidamus and the grandson of King Leotychidas. His father predeceased his grandfather, so he inherited the Spartan throne on Leotychidas' banishment in 476 BC. His presence of mind saved Sparta from destruction in the great earthquake of 464 BC, and, in 446 BC, he negotiated a peace treaty with the Athenian leader Pericles to end the First Peloponnesian War. He sought to prevent the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War in 432 BC, but he was overruled by the war party. He invaded Attica in 431-430 BC and 428 BC, and, as the war with Athens raged on, Archidamus and his co-ruler Pausanias fought for control of the war effort and internal politics. With the help of the mercenary Kassandra, King Archidamus discovered Pausanias' leadership of the Cult of Kosmos' Peloponnesian League branch, leading to Pausanias' deposition. Archidamus died either in 427 BC or by the summer of 426 BC, and he was succeeded by his son Agis II.