Amompharetus
Amompharetus (son of Poliadas) was a
Spartan company commander at the
Battle of Plataea.
Before the battle, both the
Greek and
Persian armies camped in front of each other for 10 days on the plain of Plateaea, with only small raids on each side. However, the Persians diverted the Greek water supply and cut off their supply of food, so the Greeks were forced to find a new camp.
The plan was for the main contingent of Greeks to set out first during the night, with the Spartans guarding the rear. After the main contingent of Greeks had left the encampment, and it was time for the Spartans to set off to take up the rear, Amompharetus refused to leave the field without a fight.
On discovering the Greeks had abandoned their positions and their Spartan allies, the leader of the Persian forces,
Mardonius, launched an attack in haste. The Persian offensive was in disarray before battle was joined, and Mardonius soon lay dead and the Persian army crushed.
There is another mention of Amompharetus (in
Plutarch's
Solon) as one of the five Spartans arbitrating the dispute over the island of
Salamis between the citizens of
Athens and
Megara. The
verdict was in favor of Athens.
The Histories by
Herodotus
