Menelaus time was ripe to dethrone Mycenae’s hostile ruler, they returned. Assisted by King Tyndareus of Sparta, they drove Thyestes away, and Agamemnon took the throne for himself. When it was time for Tyndareus’ stepdaughter Helen to marry, many kings and princes came to seek her hand. Among the contenders were Odysseus, Menestheus, Ajax the Great, Patroclus, and Idomeneus. Most offered opulent gifts. Tyndareus would accept none of the gifts, nor would he send any of the suitors away for fear of offending them and giving grounds for a quarrel. Odysseus promised to solve the problem in a satisfactory manner if
Theopompus of Sparta is some evidence that his successor was Anaxandridas I, father of Zeuxidamus. According to Plutarch, it was in Theopompus' reign that the ephors were introduced in Sparta. Theopompus of Sparta Theopompus () was a Eurypontid king of Sparta. He is believed to have reigned during the late 8th and early 7th century BC. Sparta was a dyarchy, having two kings at the same time, an Agiad and a Eurypontid. Theopompus was the son and successor to the Eurypontid king Nicander. The major event of his reign was the First Messenian War, which resulted in the defeat of the Messenians, for