Arachidamia

Who is Arachidamia?

Arachidamia was a wealthy Spartan queen, wife of Eudamidas I, mother of Archidamus IV and Agesistrata, grandmother of Eudamidas II, great-grandmother and grandmother of Agis IV.

The earliest accounts of her depict her leading Spartan women against Pyrrhus during his siege of Lacedaemon in the 3rd century BC. In the face of Pyrrhus's invasion, the Spartan Gerousia considered sending the Spartan women to Crete for their safety. Arachidamia, speaking on behalf of the Spartan women, entered the Gerousia, "with sword in hand," and contested this proposal, questioning whether the Spartan women were expected to survive the ruin of their own city.

With the matter settled, the Spartans initiated the construction of a defensive trench running parallel to Pyrrhus's camp. It is likely that Arachidamia helped direct the Spartan women in this respect, since it is reported that the Spartan women impressively "completed with their own hands a third of the trench." Consequently, it is likely that Arachidamia led the efforts of Spartan women during the subsequent battle against Pyrrhus, as they are noted for supplying the defenders with weapons and refreshment during combat, and extracting wounded from the battlefield.