Hetoimaridas and Sparta’s Lame Hegemony: a Historiographical (Sceptical) Reading of Diodorus 11.50

Diodorus Siculus (11.50) tells of a debate in Sparta after the foundation of the Delian League, in which the Spartans, though apparently unanimous in wishing to recover naval supremacy, were unexpectedly persuaded by Hetoimaridas not to declare war on Athens. Long viewed as evidence of early Spartan hostility, the episode is more likely a dramatic rendering of Thucydides 1.95.7, where Sparta’s reasons for peacefully accepting Athenian leadership are briefly stated. Accordingly, this paper examines the oracle on ‘lame hegemony’ mentioned in the debate, its relationship to the response on ‘lame kingship’ recalled in the dispute between Leotychidas and Agesilaus, and its connection with Cimon’s saying about ‘lame Greece’ (Ion FGrH 392 F 14). Like other passages in Book 11, where Diodorus gives us Ephorus’ versions of Herodotean episodes recast as dramatic reversals, the tale is a literary construction rather than authentic historical memory. Its significance lies in its historiographical perspective, which identifies Spartan greed and civic arrogance as enduring traits that underpin the city’s proclivity for war.