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'''Laconicus''' ({{lang-grc-gre|Λακωνικός}} {{transl|grc|Lakonikos}}; fl. 192 BC) was a Spartan of [[List of kings of Sparta|royal descent]] who appears as king of Sparta for a brief moment in the aftermath of the assassination of the [[tyrant]] [[Nabis of Sparta|Nabis]] in 192 BC. Little is known about him; even his name may not be correct.

== Life ==
The name Laconicus is dubious, as it is otherwise unattested in Sparta. The name is only found in the account of the Roman historian [[Livy]], who may have made a mistake while reading the Greek historian [[Polybius]], his main source for the events of 192.<ref>Livy, [[wikisource:From_the_Founding_of_the_City/Book_35#36|xxxv. 36]].</ref> Polybius might have only mentioned a "Laconian boy", translated as a name by Livy ("Laconicus").<ref>Briscoe, ''Commentary on Livy 34–37'', p. 199, rejects the name Laconicus.</ref> Other spellings have been suggested instead, such as Laonicus or Leonidas, but Alfred Bradford accepts it as several unusual names were given in Sparta at the time.<ref name=":0">Bradford, ''Prosopography'', p. 257.</ref><ref>Cartledge, ''Hellenistic and Roman Sparta'', pp. 71, 232 (note 30), is hesitant on the name.</ref> Bradford furthermore suggests that Laconicus could have been a son of [[Lycurgus (king of Sparta)|Lycurgus]], [[List of kings of Sparta|Eurypontid]] king of Sparta between 219 and c.212.<ref name=":0" />

Laconicus grew up under the rule of Nabis, king of Sparta since the death of [[Pelops]] (son of Lycurgus) in 212, and was raised with his sons. In 192, Nabis was murdered by a contingent of 1000 [[Aetolian League|Aetolian]] allies led by [[Alexamenus of Aetolia|Alexamenus]], who were present in the city to help Nabis in his war against the [[Achaean League]].<ref>Cartledge, ''Hellenistic and Roman Sparta'', p. 70.</ref> The Spartans then massacred the Aetolians and appointed Laconicus as king. However, the [[strategos]] of the Achaean League [[Philopoemen]] took advantage of the crisis to enter Sparta and forced the city to join his League, ending the independence of Sparta.<ref name=":1">Cartledge, ''Hellenistic and Roman Sparta'', p. 71.</ref> The kingship was abolished, and Sparta came under the rule of an oligarchy loyal to Philopoemen.<ref name=":1">Cartledge, ''Hellenistic and Roman Sparta'', p. 71.</ref><ref>Shipley, ''Hellenistic Peloponnese'', p. 91.</ref>

==References==
<references />

== Bibliography ==

=== Ancient works ===
* Titus Livius ([[Livy]]), ''[[Ab Urbe Condita Libri (Livy)|Ab Urbe Condita Libri]].''

=== Modern works ===
*Alfred S. Bradford, ''A Prosopography of Lacedaemonians from the Death of Alexander the Great, 323 B. C., to the Sack of Sparta by Alaric, A. D. 396'', Munich, Beck, 1977. {{ISBN|3406047971}}
*John Briscoe, ''A Commentary on Livy: Books 34 - 37'', Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1981. {{ISBN|9780198144557}}
* [[Paul Cartledge]] & Antony Spawforth, ''Hellenistic and Roman Sparta, A tale of two cities'', London and New York, Routledge, 2002 (originally published in 1989). {{ISBN|0-415-26277-1}}
*Graham J. Shipley, ''The Early Hellenistic Peloponnese: Politics, Economies, and Networks 338-197 BC'', Cambridge University Press, 2018. {{ISBN|9780521873697}}

{{Kings of Laconia & Sparta}}

{{Ancient Greece topics}}
[[Category:2nd-century BC Spartans]]
[[Category:Kings of Sparta]]
[[Category:2nd-century BC monarchs in Europe]]
[[Category:Ancient child monarchs]]