Agiads

The Agiads, or the Agiad dynasty, were one of the two royal houses of ancient Sparta, the other being the Eurypontids. Together the two houses supplied the city with its dual kingship, a system in which one king from each line ruled concurrently. The Agiad line was traditionally linked to Agis, an early Spartan king, and their name became attached to the elder royal line in Sparta’s legendary genealogies. In many accounts, the Agiads traced their origins to the line established by the twin kings Procles and Eurysthenes, with the Agiad kings arising from Procles’ line.

The kings of the Agiad dynasty held significant religious and military duties and were expected to embody Spartan ideals. They shared political authority with the Eurypontid kings and, in later periods, with the ephors, a set of magistrates who helped check royal power. The Agiad and Eurypontid lines together shaped Spartan policy, military decisions, and religious ceremonies, though the balance of power shifted over time as institutions evolved.

Notable rulers of the Agiad dynasty include Agis II, who ruled during the later stages of the Peloponnesian era; Agis IV, who attempted agrarian and social reforms in the 3rd century BCE; and Agis III, who led a late-archaic attempt to restore Spartan influence against rising Macedonian power. Cleomenes III, another prominent Agiad king, implemented sweeping reforms but was defeated at Sellasia in 222 BCE, marking a turning point in Spartan independence. The defeat and subsequent Macedonian and later Roman dominance led to the decline of the Agiad line’s political power, though the monarchic tradition persisted in name for centuries.