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0.Introduction
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archaicandtheclassicalperiod,itmeansthatitpredates,intheshapeweknow,the
otheralliancesystemsattestedbyoursources,namelytheHellenicLeagueandthe
DelianLeague.
Teprincipalaimofthepresentbookisasystematiccritiqueofhistoriograph-
icalandhistoricalassumptionsofthetraditionalistmodel,takingthestudiesdis-
cussedaboveasitsstartingpointandprovidingfresharguments.Testructureof
thepresentstudy,asissoofenthecasewithworksdominatedbyparsdestruens,
mayseemsomewhatconvoluted.
Chapter1isdevotedtothecritiqueofthesources.Iwillfirstattempttode-
monstratethattheSpartantreatieswiththeAitoliansandwithTegea,traditionally
takentobetheearliestandthuskeytoanyefortatreconstructionofSparta)s
foreignrelationsinthelatearchaicperiod,referinfacttomuchlatereventsand
oughttobedatedtotheearlyfourthandmid-fifhcenturyBCE,respectively.As
demonstratedinthelatterpartofchapterI,theHerodoteanaccountofSparta)s
mid-sixthcenturyrelationswithTegea,takenbytraditionalistsmostlyatface
value,isinfactapresentistreconstruction,inwhicha(limited)memoryofadis-
tantpastismixedwiththehistorian)sviewsonhiscontemporaryworldandhisob-
servationsofSparta)srelationswithitsallies,whichhethenprojectedintothepast.
Teopeningchapter)snegativeconclusioncompelstoattemptadiferentap-
proachtotheoriginsoftheSpartansymmachy.Sincewehavenodirectsourceson
thecharacterofSparta)srelationswithitsalliesinthelatearchaicperiod,letalone
treatytexts(iftheyfeaturedinsuchrelationsatall
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),thentheorigins,extentand
characteroftheSpartanalliancenetworkinthesixthcenturymustbededuced
indirectlyfromthehistoryoftheeventsintheperiod.Tus,inchapter2,welook
atthreeareaswheretheoriginalimpulseforthecreationofacoherent,uniform
alliancearoundSpartahasbeensought:Sparta)shelotproblem,relationswith
ArgosandfinallytheallegedSpartan“crusade”againstGreektyrants.Aswillbe
seen,nonecontainstheseedsofauniformPeloponnesianLeague,aspostulated
bythetraditionalistsforthesixthcentury.Onthecontrary,avarietyofinterstate
relationshipsinthelatearchaicperioddoessuggestthatsuchdiverseproblems
andregionalnetworkscoexisted.
Inchapter3,thesupposedconstitutionofthePeloponnesianLeagueisad-
dressed.Itwillbeseenthattheeventsof504donotconstituteaturningpoint
inthemechanismsofitsfunctioning,thatno“constitution”wasintroducedat
thetime,notevenarudimentaryone,suchastheinstitutionofapermanentas-
semblytodecideonmattersofwarandpeace.TePeloponnesianLeaguecould
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OntheimpossibilityofstudyingGreekalliancetreatiesearlierthantheveryendofthe
sixthcentury,seebelow,p.50n.94,cf.alsop.159.
