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The Battle of the Fetters was an engagement
between Sparta and Arcadia c. 550 BCE, in which the Arcadians defeated the
Spartans. According to Herodotus, the Spartans consulted the Delphic Oracle
before taking military action. They were told that they would not conquer all
of Arcadia but it was possible for Tegea to fall, for the oracle would
"give you Tegea to dance in with stamping feet and her fair plain to
measure out the line". The Spartans misinterpreted this oracle, believing
that it referred to them measuring out the line to split it into kleros (the
land allocated to each Spartan citizen upon coming of age). They then marched
to battle carrying rods with which to parcel out their soon-to-be-conquered
land and chains (fetters) with which to shackle their soon-to-be-conquered
Arcadian Helots. Instead, they themselves became prisoners of war and ended up
wearing the very chains they had brought with them.[1] Sparta, still recoiling
from the defeat at Hysiai and Messian revolts, in need of more land and
resources took to attacking Arcadian Tegea. Though few details are known today
of the battle itself, the upset victory for Tegea is legendary. The fetters,
the chains that the Spartans brought, were put on display for centuries to come
in the temple of Athene Alea, in Tegea. Sparta's cocky attitude and Tegea's
non-militaristic status was often remarked on by Herodotus, Greek historian of
the time, saying the battle's failure for the Spartans and the shame that came
with it inspired Sparta to further improve their military.
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