Nabis

Family: Spartan · Role: tyrant · First appears: Book 4 · Chapter 29

After the Lacedæmonians got rid of Cleomenes and Machanidas rose against them, Nabis became tyrant following Machanidas’s death. At Messene, Philopœmen and the people of Megalopolis made a nighttime sally after Nabis occupied the city, and Nabis departed on conditions. During his rule, Sparta’s fortifications were strengthened; he also exiled Areus (Spartan exile) and Alcibiades.

When Nabis’s power at Sparta was overthrown, the Lacedæmonians became their own masters again. Later, he seized all Messene except its citadel in a surprise night attack, but withdrew under wartime conditions when Philopœmen arrived the next day. Not many days after a naval engagement, Philopœmen defeated Nabis in a night attack, killing many Lacedæmonians. Before the agreed time expired, Nabis was assassinated by a man from Calydon who had come ostensibly to negotiate an alliance and had been suborned by the Ætolians. After Nabis’s death, the Achaeans restored Areus (Spartan exile) and Alcibiades to Sparta, and the Lacedæmonians offered Philopœmen Nabis’s house in return for his service and success against both their tyrants.

Relationship record

Life events

• Nabis occupied Messene, then departed on conditions after a nighttime sally.(Book 4 · Chapter 29 · 📍 Messene)
  • With: Philopœmen
  • “And when he occupied Messene Philopœmen and the people of Megalopolis made a sally by night, and the Spartan tyrant departed on conditions.”
• Nabis’s power at Sparta was overthrown, restoring Lacedæmonian self-rule.(Book 7 · Chapter 8 · 📍 Sparta)
  • With: Lacedæmonians
  • “And when the power at Sparta of Nabis, a man of the most unrelenting cruelty, had been overthrown, the Lacedæmonians became their own masters again”
• Nabis captured all Messene except its citadel in a surprise attack.(Book 8 · Chapter 50 · 📍 Messene)
  • “as he made his attack by night, when they had no expectation of it, he took all Messene but the citadel”
• Philopœmen arrived with an army, forcing Nabis to withdraw from Messene under wartime conditions.(Book 8 · Chapter 50 · 📍 Messene)
  • With: Philopœmen
  • “but upon Philopœmen’s coming up the next day with an army he departed from it on conditions of war.”
• Philopœmen defeated Nabis in a night attack and killed many Lacedæmonians.(Book 8 · Chapter 50)
  • With: Philopœmen
  • “defeating Nabis and slaying many of the Lacedæmonians in this night attack, raised his fame still higher among the Greeks.”
• Nabis was assassinated by a hostile envoy suborned by the Ætolians.(Book 8 · Chapter 50)
  • “but before the time expired he was assassinated by a man from Calydon, who had come ostensibly to negotiate an alliance, but was really hostile, and had been suborned by the Ætolians for this very purpose.”

Book 4 · Chapter 29

• enemies with Philopœmen “And when he occupied Messene Philopœmen and the people of Megalopolis made a sally by night, and the Spartan tyrant departed on conditions.”
• with Machanidas (Nabis succeeded Machanidas as tyrant.) “And when the Lacedæmonians had got rid of Cleomenes, there rose up against them the tyrant Machanidas: and after his death Nabis sprang up as tyrant over them.”

Book 7 · Chapter 8

• with Demetrius (invader of Sparta) (The fortifications were associated with Demetrius's invasion and later Nabis's rule.) “the fortifications of Sparta, which had been formerly run up hastily at the time of the invasion of Demetrius and afterwards of Pyrrhus and the Epirotes, but during the power of Nabis had been very strongly fortified.”
• with Pyrrhus (son of Æacides) (The passage contrasts the fortifications during Pyrrhus's invasion and Nabis's rule.) “the fortifications of Sparta, which had been formerly run up hastily at the time of the invasion of Demetrius and afterwards of Pyrrhus and the Epirotes, but during the power of Nabis had been very strongly fortified.”

Book 7 · Chapter 9

• with Areus (Spartan exile) (Nabis exiled Areus.) “And further charges still were brought against the Achæans by Areus and Alcibiades, who were held in great repute at Sparta, but who did not act well to the Achæans: for when they were exiled by Nabis the Achæans had kindly received them, and after the death of Nabis had restored them to Sparta contrary to the wish of the Lacedæmonian people.”
• with Alcibiades (Nabis exiled Alcibiades.) “And further charges still were brought against the Achæans by Areus and Alcibiades, who were held in great repute at Sparta, but who did not act well to the Achæans: for when they were exiled by Nabis the Achæans had kindly received them, and after the death of Nabis had restored them to Sparta contrary to the wish of the Lacedæmonian people.”

Book 8 · Chapter 50

• enemies with Philopœmen “Thereupon Nabis intercepted Philopœmen and all the Arcadians with him on difficult ground, they were very brave but there were very few of them. But Philopœmen changed the position of his troops, so that the advantage of the ground rested with him and not with the enemy, and, defeating Nabis and slaying many of the Lacedæmonians in this night attack, raised his fame still higher among the Greeks.”

Book 8 · Chapter 51

• with Philopœmen (Philopœmen was offered the house of Nabis.) “the Lacedæmonians, in return for this service and for his success against both their tyrants, offered him the house of Nabis”

⭐ Constellation map → · 📖 Read the original → · 🗂 Character index → · 🕰 Chronicle → · 📍 Places →

Extracted from the original text of Pausanias' Description of Greece. Made with Rho MD.