Eupolia

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Eupolia
Born5th century BC Edit this on Wikidata
ChildrenAgesilaus II, Cynisca, Teleutias Edit this on Wikidata
Titlesqueen consort Edit this on Wikidata

Eupolia (in ancient Greek: Εὐπωλία), was an aristocrat and queen of Sparta. Likely originating from the ranks of the Spartan aristocracy, she married Archidamus II. Eupolia is also the mother of Agesilaus II, a major king of Sparta, Cynisca, the first woman to have won the ancient Olympic Games, and their younger brother Teleutias.

After the death of Archidamus II, she remarried a certain Theodorus. Several elements suggest that this marriage was desired, as Theodorus was less wealthy than she was; Agesilaus II intervened to finance the couple.

Biography

The character, like other female figures of ancient Greece, is difficult to access through sources, which exclusively link her to men.[1][2] Probably originating from an important aristocratic family of the city,[3][4][5] she was the daughter of Melesippidas and the second wife of Archidamus II, with whom she had a certain son, Agesilaus II, and a probable daughter, Cynisca.[1][2][6][7]

She was said to have been of small stature, as Archidamus reportedly faced criticism from the ephors when he decided to marry her, on the grounds that marrying a small woman would produce "kinglets".[1][4][6] The marriage is dated between 445 and 443 BC.[6]

After the death of her husband, she remarried a certain Theodorus and had a son named Teleutias.[1] It is likely that this marriage after her widowhood, when Eupolia was over thirty years old, was a marriage of her choice.[3] Several elements suggest that this Theodorus was less wealthy, and marrying him was thus a degradation of her socioeconomic status.[3] Facing the difficulties of the new couple, Agesilaus II decided to give her lands and funds as soon as he obtained the throne.[3]

She was mentioned in several places in Greek literature, starting with the works of Aristophanes.[1][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Paradiso, Annalisa (2015-11-27). "Garder et transmettre la mémoire des femmes. Cléora, Eupolia, Proauga et les archives lacédémoniennes". Pallas. Revue d'études antiques (in French) (99): 47–59. doi:10.4000/pallas.2996. ISSN 0031-0387. Archived from the original on 2024-04-11. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
  2. ^ a b Thommen, Lukas (1999). "Spartanische Frauen". Museum Helveticum. 56 (3): 129–149. ISSN 0027-4054. JSTOR 24820760.
  3. ^ a b c d Hodkinson, Stephen (2004). "FEMALE PROPERTY OWNERSHIP AND EMPOWERMENT IN CLASSICAL AND HELLENISTIC SPARTA". Spartan Society: 103. doi:10.2307/j.ctv1n357xm.8. Archived from the original on 2024-07-18. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
  4. ^ a b Boëldieu-Trevet, Jeannine (2018-08-16). "Des nouveau-nés malformés et un roi boiteux : histoires Spartiates". Pallas. Revue d'études antiques (in French) (106): 213–228. doi:10.4000/pallas.5737. ISSN 0031-0387. Archived from the original on 2024-07-18. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
  5. ^ Kyle, Donald G. (2003). ""The Only Woman in All Greece": Kyniska, Agesilaus, Alcibiades and Olympia". Journal of Sport History. 30 (2): 183–203. ISSN 0094-1700. JSTOR 43610326. Archived from the original on 2024-04-14. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
  6. ^ a b c Piccirilli, Luigi (1994). "Teofrasto e il secondo matrimonio di Archidamo II". Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. 101: 187–192. ISSN 0084-5388. JSTOR 20189100.
  7. ^ Magdalena Myszkowska-Kaszuba, « The only women that are mothers of men : Plutarch's creation of the Spartan mother », Graeco-Latina Brunensia, vol. 19, no 1,‎ 2014, [77]–92 https://digilib.phil.muni.cz/cs/handle/11222.digilib/130051,%20https://digilib.phil.muni.cz/cs/handle/11222.digilib/130051
  8. ^ Paradiso, Annalisa (2022-12-01). "Lampito in Aristophanes' Lysistrata and the Reasons of a Choice". Klio. 104 (2): 471–486. doi:10.1515/klio-2021-0043. ISSN 2192-7669.
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