The Cleomenean War was fought by Sparta and its ally, Elis, against the
Achaean League and Macedon. The war ended in a Macedonian and Achaean
victory. In 235 BC, Cleomenes III ascended the throne of Sparta and
began a program of reform aimed at restoring traditional Spartan
discipline while weakening the influence of the ephors. When, in 229 BC,
the ephors sent Cleomenes to seize a town on the border with
Megalopolis, the Achaeans declared war. Cleomenes responded by ravaging
Achaea. At Mount Lycaeum he defeated an army under Aratus of Sicyon, and
then routed a second army near Megalopolis. Meanwhile, in domestic
politics, he ordered the assassination of the ephors. In quick
succession, Cleomenes cleared the cities of Arcadia of their Achaean
garrisons, before crushing another Achaean force at Dyme. Facing Spartan
domination of the League, Aratus was forced to turn to Antigonus III
Doson of Macedon and request that he assist the Achaeans' efforts to
defeat the Spartans. Cleomenes eventually invaded Achaea, seizing
control of both Corinth and Argos. When Antigonus arrived in the
Peloponnese, however, Cleomenes was forced to retreat to Laconia. He
fought the Achaeans and the Macedonians at Sellasia, but the Spartans
were routed. Cleomenes then fled to the court of his ally, Ptolemy III
of Egypt, where he ultimately committed suicide.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleomenean_War>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1671:
Irish-born Colonel Thomas Blood was caught trying to steal the
English Crown Jewels from the Tower of London.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Blood>
1877:
An 8.5 Ms earthquake struck the northern portion of Chile and
killed 2,541 people, including some as far away as Hawaii and Japan.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1877_Iquique_earthquake>
1918:
First World War: Germany repelled Britain's second attempt to
blockade the Belgian port of Ostend.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Ostend_Raid>
1977:
The Hotel Polen in Amsterdam was destroyed by fire, which
resulted in 33 deaths and 21 injuries.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Polen_fire>
1992:
An underground methane explosion at the Westray Mine occurred
in Plymouth, Nova Scotia, Canada, killing all 26 coal miners who were
working at the time.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westray_Mine>
2004:
Akhmad Kadyrov, the first President of the Chechen Republic,
and about 30 others were killed by a bomb during a World War II
memorial victory parade in Grozny.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akhmad_Kadyrov>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
fuzzword:
A term that is deliberately vague or euphemistic in meaning.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/fuzzword>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Were art to redeem man, it could do so only by saving him from the
seriousness of life and restoring him to an unexpected boyishness. The
symbol of art is seen again in the magic flute of the Great God Pan
which makes the young goats frisk at the edge of the grove. All modern
art begins to appear comprehensible and in a way great when it is
interpreted as an attempt to instill youthfulness into an ancient world.
--José Ortega y Gasset
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Ortega_y_Gasset>