Ariston of Sparta

When Ariston was first told of the birth, he counted the months since the marriage and swore that the child could not be his – this in the presence of the council of ephors.

The boy was named Demaratus (Attic: Δημαρατος, Doric: Δαμαρατος), meaning “prayed for by the people”.

As the lad grew to manhood, Ariston fully accepted him and loved him as his son, and after his death Demaratus succeeded him as the Eurypontid king of Sparta.

His outburst before the ephors was remembered, and later used to challenge the legitimacy of Demaratus’ kingship by the Agiad king, Cleomenes.

[In response to] an Athenian making a funeral oration in praise of those that fell by the hand of the Lacedaemonians, he said, “What brave fellows then were ours, that conquered these.”[3]This ancient Greek biographical article is a stub.