Charilaus

Charilaus (Ancient Greek: Χαρίλαος), also spelled Charilaos, Charillos, or Charillus, was a king of Sparta in the middle of the 8th century BC.

[2][3][4][5] During the joint reign of Charilaus and Archelaus, Sparta conquered the Aigys, an area in the northwest of Laconia, on the border with Tegea.

[7][2][4] Moreover, it was given at a time when Delphi was gaining international credibility within the Greek world (mainly for colonisation enterprises) and started a special relationship with Sparta.

Writing in the 2nd century AD, the geographer Pausanias precisely mentions that there was a temple of Apollo Cereatas in the area, a further indication of the oracle's authenticity.

[4] Pausanias also embellished Charilaus' reign by saying that Sparta's expansion was blocked in the south by the resistance of Amyklai, therefore prompting the conquest of Aigys in the north.