Anaxandridas II (Anaxandrides, Greek Αναξανδριδης) was a king of Sparta between 560 to 525 BC. Anaxandridas was of the Agid (or Agiad) dynasty. The father of Anaxandridas was Leon. Sparta (Doric: Spártā, Attic: SpártÄ“) is a city in southern Greece. ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 610s BC 600s BC 590s BC 580s BC 570s BC - 560s BC - 550s BC 540s BC 530s BC 520s BC 510s BC Events and Trends 562 BC - Amel-Marduk succeeds Nebuchadnezzar as king of Babylon 560 BC - Neriglissar succeeds... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 570s BC - 560s BC - 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC Events 529 BC - Cambyses II succeeds his father Cyrus as ruler of Persia. ... Leon was King of Sparta from 590 to 560 BC. Category: ...

Anaxandridas had 4 children: Leonidas I, Cleombrotus (regent), Dorieus, all by his first wife; and Cleomenes I, the last of whom was his child by a daughter of Prinetades. Of these, Cleomenes I was apparently his eldest-born son and thus his successor. Leonidas (Greek: - Lions son, Lion-like) was a king of Sparta, the 17th of the Agiad line, one of the sons of King Anaxandridas II of Sparta, who was believed to be a descendant of Heracles. ... Cleomenes (Eng. ...

His most notable achievement was saving Sikion from the tyrant Aeschynus in the middle of the 6th century BC, which he accomplished with the aid of the ephor Hilon. (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) The 6th century BC started on January 1, 600 BC and ended on December 31, 501 BC. // Monument 1, an Olmec colossal head at La Venta The 5th and 6th centuries BC were a time of empires, but more importantly, a time... An ephor (Classical Greek ) (from the Greek , epi, on or over, and , horaō, to see, i. ...

Anaxandridas's two marriages and four sons

According to Herodotus's Histories Bk 5 (5.4), Anaxandras II was long married without children, and was advised by the elders to remarry (i.e. take a second wife) which he did. His second wife gave birth to the future Cleomenes I who was thus his eldest son. However, his first wife became pregnant, and eventually gave birth to three sons, including Leonidas I.[1] This version is however not supported by other sources, which imply that Cleomenes was either born by the king's first marriage or by a non-marital alliance. Cleomenes (Eng. ... Leonidas (Greek: - Lions son, Lion-like) was a king of Sparta, the 17th of the Agiad line, one of the sons of King Anaxandridas II of Sparta, who was believed to be a descendant of Heracles. ...

According to Herodotus, the fact that his first wife became pregnant only after the king had already remarried led to the family of the second wife spreading rumors about the first wife claiming a false pregnancy out of envy. If this was true, the rumors alone along with the fact that the children of the first wife were passed over in favor of their elder half-brother would have led to considerable intra-family tensions. One of the younger sons Dorieus vehemently protested the accession of his half-brother and was pacified by being given command of expeditions overseas.[2]

Two of his sons became Agiad kings of Sparta, while a third Cleombrotus served briefly as Regent of Sparta.

Sources

• Dorieus in Sicily from Herodotus's Histories 5.42-5.48. The prince was killed in Sicily.