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Part I: The Sea Peoples
Chapter I: Therapnes
Therapnes, the younger sister city of Sparta, rested at the mouth of the Eurotas, which drew the attention of a warlike peoples that would in time wipe away most of civilization in the Eastern Mediterranean: the Sea Peoples. Spartan civilization had never encountered an existential threat like the Sea Peoples in her history, but some would say that the Spartans had prepared for the event all their history.
Sparta was ruled by the powerful Lycurgus dynasty, thrust into power after the bloodletting of a civil conflict that torn Spartan life asunder a decades ago as rival claimants of the tribal council attempted to seize power in the city. Lycurgus the Great prevailed, exiled his enemies, and created a powerful militia with a strong focus on archery. Sparta rested on the Eurotas, but she was a landlocked city-state, and that made all the difference in the development of Sparta, as it meant it took the Sea Peoples longer to target it.
Helping Lycurgus and his descendants maintain legitimacy were the high priests, who used local myths and faith to promote the righteous rule of Lycurgus and the royal family.
When mysterious ships were sighted near Therapnes starting in 748 BC, it was the first king after Lycurgus, Charillos, that ordered troops from Sparta march southeast to reinforce the city. The garrison of Therapnes fought off wave after wave of Sea Peoples, but the First Battle of Therapnes was a Pyrrhic victory. The Spartans would not reach the city before Sea Peoples, who outnumbered the garrison, stormed and sacked the city.
The Sea Peoples suffered a Pyrrhic victory that day as well. Their ships heavily damaged by storms, and with no hope of survival, the surviving war bands launched an assault on the Spartan camps northwest of the raider camp. Spartan shortbowmen, equipped and trained to fight in the familiar forests, soundly defeated the raiders and a counterattack destroyed the raider camp.
The Spartans destroyed the raiders, but lost a city in the process. Charillos's reign thereafter focused on expanding the militias and securing the capital, leaving the mission of "retaking" the mouth of the Eurotas to his son upon his death.
Chapter I: Therapnes
Therapnes, the younger sister city of Sparta, rested at the mouth of the Eurotas, which drew the attention of a warlike peoples that would in time wipe away most of civilization in the Eastern Mediterranean: the Sea Peoples. Spartan civilization had never encountered an existential threat like the Sea Peoples in her history, but some would say that the Spartans had prepared for the event all their history.
Sparta was ruled by the powerful Lycurgus dynasty, thrust into power after the bloodletting of a civil conflict that torn Spartan life asunder a decades ago as rival claimants of the tribal council attempted to seize power in the city. Lycurgus the Great prevailed, exiled his enemies, and created a powerful militia with a strong focus on archery. Sparta rested on the Eurotas, but she was a landlocked city-state, and that made all the difference in the development of Sparta, as it meant it took the Sea Peoples longer to target it.
Helping Lycurgus and his descendants maintain legitimacy were the high priests, who used local myths and faith to promote the righteous rule of Lycurgus and the royal family.
When mysterious ships were sighted near Therapnes starting in 748 BC, it was the first king after Lycurgus, Charillos, that ordered troops from Sparta march southeast to reinforce the city. The garrison of Therapnes fought off wave after wave of Sea Peoples, but the First Battle of Therapnes was a Pyrrhic victory. The Spartans would not reach the city before Sea Peoples, who outnumbered the garrison, stormed and sacked the city.
The Sea Peoples suffered a Pyrrhic victory that day as well. Their ships heavily damaged by storms, and with no hope of survival, the surviving war bands launched an assault on the Spartan camps northwest of the raider camp. Spartan shortbowmen, equipped and trained to fight in the familiar forests, soundly defeated the raiders and a counterattack destroyed the raider camp.
The Spartans destroyed the raiders, but lost a city in the process. Charillos's reign thereafter focused on expanding the militias and securing the capital, leaving the mission of "retaking" the mouth of the Eurotas to his son upon his death.