
Tegea was an Ancient Greek polis and former Greek municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese. Tegea was founded by Tegeates, a son of Lycaon, and Tegea became the capital of ancient Arcadia and one of its most celebrated towns. Its king Echemus slew Heracles' son Hyllus in single combat, and the Tegetae also resisted the Spartans of Laconia to the south. However, in 560 BC, the Spartans finally succeeded in conquering Arcadia and forcing the Tegetae to accept their overlordship. Tegea became one of the earliest members of the Spartan-led Peloponnesian League, and its army fought alongside Sparta during the Greco-Persian Wars. From 479 to 464 BC, the Tegetae twice rose against the Spartans, but they were defeated each time. During the Peloponnesian War, the Tegetae were firm allies of Sparta against the Athenian-led Delian League, taking part in Sparta's expedition against Argos in 418 BC and fighting on the Spartan side of the Corinthian War in 394 BC. Tegea later joined the Aetolian League, leading to its conquest by the Achaean League in 222 BC during the Cleomenic War. In 218 BC, the Spartans captured Tegea, but, by the 2nd century AD, Tegea was one of the few ancient Arcadian towns to still be inhabited. Tegea was renamed "Amyklion" during the Middle Ages, and it was captured by the crusaders in 1206 during the Fourth Crusade, becoming part of the Principality of Achaea. Known as Nikli, Tegea was in Frankish hands until 1302, when it was reconquered by the Byzantines. In 2011, Tegea was merged into the Tripoli municipality; that year, it had 3,544 residents.