Nabis, the tyrannos of the Lakedaimonians, killed Pelops the son of King Lykourgos, who was a child at the time.1 This was a matter of precaution, since the child, when he came of age, might restore the freedom of his country, using the assurance of his noble birth. He also selected the most accomplished Lakedaimonians and put them to death, and gathered mercenaries of the worst type from everywhere to guard his power. Thus temple robbers, thieves, brigands, and those sentenced to death came to Sparta from every place. He had made himself tyrannos through his impiety, and he believed that only by such people could he best be guarded.