37:
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that at the time the city was relatively small and spread out, with most buildings being one floor and constructed from wood or sun-baked brick making it hard to believe that casualties could have been so high. The lack of detailed population records, coupled with flight of survivors to other areas, may have contributed to the uncertainty, as it can today. In such a catastrophic earthquake, it is also unlikely that a number of the anecdotal tales from the time could be true, such as the
Spartan king
175:
317:, I.101–102), the Spartans were concerned that the Athenians would switch sides and assist the helots; from the Spartan perspective, the Athenians had an "enterprising and revolutionary character," and by this fact alone posed a threat to the oligarchic regime of Sparta. The Athenians were insulted, and therefore repudiated their alliance with Sparta. Once the uprising was put down, some of the surviving rebels fled to Athens, which settled them at
44:
325:. The alliance between Sparta and Athens was never revived, and disagreements continued to intensify until the outbreak of war in 460 BC. Since the Helot population used the earthquake as their opportunity to rebel, the Spartans were forced to wait to reform their society until after they had suppressed the Helots.
264:
Due to the lack of proper infrastructure and seismic engineering knowledge during this time casualties were originally thought to be very high with some contemporary sources believing the death toll to be around 20,000. However, modern scholars believe this might be an exaggeration due to the fact
298:
subjects of Sparta revolted; Sparta invoked the aid of other Greek cities to put down the rebellion, which they were obliged to help in accordance with the alliance. Athens, whose aid the
Spartans sought because of their "reputed experience in siege operations," sent approximately 4,000
507:
Papanastassiou, D.; Gaki-Papanastassiou, K.; Maroukian, H. (September 2005). "Recognition of past earthquakes along the Sparta fault (Peloponnesus, southern Greece) during the
Holocene, by combining results of different dating techniques".
269:
leading the
Spartan army out of the city to safety. Regardless of the exact death toll, there was some destruction, and the helots, the slave class in Spartan society, took advantage of this moment to rise in rebellion.
154:. Historical sources suggest that the death toll may have been as high as 20,000, although modern scholars suggest that this figure is likely an exaggeration. The earthquake gave Spartan
687:. Warner, Rex, 1905-1986,, Finley, M. I. (Moses I.), 1912-1986 (Revised ed.). Harmondsworth, England: Harmondsworth, Eng., Baltimore] Penguin Books.
734:
241:
of the event. However, the earthquake is believed to have been 'medium to large' according to many historians and occurred due to movement on a
217:
Accounts of the earthquake and its consequences are based on only a few often unreliable historical sources, specifically the writings of
162:
was sent to the
Athenians to seek their aid. Their immediate dismissal upon arrival is said to have been a key event that led up to the
253:
based on satellite imagery and fieldwork. The authors of the study conclude that if the 464 BC event took place along the fault whose
36:
979:
580:
Armijo, R.; Lyon-Caen, H.; Papanastassiou, D. (May 1991). "A possible normal-fault rupture for the 464 BC Sparta earthquake".
83:
727:
233:. As there is little recorded about the earthquake itself in contemporary records, it is difficult to judge the exact
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209:
still experiences seismic activity regularly; however, it is usually much more mild than the one felt in 464 BC.
974:
720:
339:
743:
334:
878:
194:. The convergent and subduction of these plates are also seen in the geographical landscape in present-day
380:
PAPAZARKADAS, NIKOLAOS (2006-03-24). "A Brief
History of Ancient Greece. Politics, Society, and Culture".
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908:
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249:. A 1991 study attempted to locate the fault responsible for the event and estimate the magnitude of the
938:
933:
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307:, but this contingent was sent back to Athens, while those from other cities were allowed to stay. By
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888:
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772:
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Prakken, Donald W.; Chrimes, K. M. T. (1952). "Ancient Sparta: A Re-Examination of the
Evidence".
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943:
918:
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797:
279:
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361:"Catalogue of Strong Earthquakes in Italy 461 B.C. – 1997and Mediterranean area 760 B.C. – 1500"
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The 464 BC Sparta earthquake is marked by scholars as one of the key events that led to the
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which is predisposed to large seismic activity due to the convergence and subduction of the
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when the earthquake struck. In the aftermath of the earthquake, the helots and various
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with large mountain ranges as well as many islands and the lands drop off into the
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Holladay, A. J. (November 1977). "Sparta's role in the First
Peloponnesian War".
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242:
174:
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Guidoboni, E.; Ferrari G.; Mariotti D.; Comastri A.; Tarabusi G.; Valensise G.
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occurred along the Sparta fault in the year 464 BC destroying much of what was
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an opportunity to revolt against their aristocratic rulers, and the
Spartan
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they identified, its magnitude would have been approximately 7.2 on the
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19:"Sparta earthquake" redirects here. For the 2020 event, see
182:Sparta was located on what is currently called the
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178:Seismicity around Greece between 1990 and 2000
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468:"Large seismic faults in the Hellenic arc"
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290:, Sparta had already decided to invade
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286:, the ancient Greek chronicler of the
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16:Earthquake affecting ancient Greece
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683:History of the Peloponnesian War
466:Papazachos, B. S. (1996-11-25).
314:History of the Peloponnesian War
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543:Wilson, Nigel Guy, ed. (2006).
425:The Journal of Hellenic Studies
321:on the strategically important
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547:Encyclopedia of ancient Greece
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340:List of historical earthquakes
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980:1st-millennium BC earthquakes
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335:List of earthquakes in Greece
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140:464 BC Spartan earthquake
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303:under the leadership of
282:. However, according to
27:464 BC Sparta earthquake
551:. New York: Routledge.
280:First Peloponnesian War
274:Historical significance
164:First Peloponnesian War
510:Journal of Geodynamics
259:surface wave magnitude
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21:2020 Sparta earthquake
975:Earthquakes in Greece
744:Earthquakes in Greece
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884:1981 Gulf of Corinth
638:The Classical Weekly
472:Annals of Geophysics
382:The Classical Review
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522:2005JGeo...40..189P
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768:426 BC Malian Gulf
247:Taygetus Mountains
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879:1978 Thessaloniki
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200:Mediterranean Sea
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949:2021 Crete I
944:2021 Larissa
919:2015 Lefkada
869:1956 Amorgos
864:1954 Sofades
837:Contemporary
798:1743 Salento
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364:. Retrieved
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312:
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216:
205:Present day
204:
190:beneath the
184:Hellenic arc
181:
139:
137:
132:up to 20,000
104:37.08; 22.43
924:2017 Lesbos
899:2006 Greece
894:1999 Athens
859:1953 Ionian
788:1481 Rhodes
311:' account (
160:Pericleidas
148:city-states
102: /
969:Categories
844:1904 Samos
818:1881 Chios
813:1861 Eliki
808:1856 Crete
803:1810 Crete
793:1630 Crete
783:1303 Crete
751:Historical
644:(8): 122.
366:2009-10-19
346:References
309:Thucydides
284:Thucydides
267:Archidamus
251:earthquake
231:Thucydides
129:Casualties
778:365 Crete
658:1940-641X
610:0028-0836
494:2037-416X
445:2041-4099
431:: 54–63.
410:231889409
402:0009-840X
319:Naupactus
296:Messenian
245:near the
239:magnitude
235:epicenter
223:Pausanias
78:Epicenter
64:Magnitude
854:1933 Kos
567:60605267
329:See also
301:hoplites
227:Plutarch
666:4343103
618:4278524
590:Bibcode
518:Bibcode
261:scale.
213:Effects
90:22°26′E
87:37°05′N
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985:Sparta
703:777896
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582:Nature
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292:Attica
229:, and
219:Strabo
207:Greece
196:Greece
156:helots
144:Sparta
123:Greece
119:Sparta
59:464 BC
662:JSTOR
614:S2CID
478:(5).
449:JSTOR
406:S2CID
305:Cimon
255:scarp
243:fault
699:OCLC
689:ISBN
654:ISSN
606:ISSN
563:OCLC
553:ISBN
490:ISSN
441:ISSN
398:ISSN
237:and
138:The
67:7.2
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150:in
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