the Battle of Thermopylae: Xerxes also asked Demaratus about his knowledge of the Greeks and if they would put up a fight against the Persian army. In response, Demaratus spoke favourably about the Greeks even after he had been deposed and exiled from Sparta: Greek exiles in Achaemenid Empire Demaratus was one of several Greeks aristocrats who took refuge in the Achaemenid Empire after reversals at home. Other famous cases were Themistocles and Gongylos. In general, they were generously rewarded by the Achaemenid kings, received land grants to support them and ruled over various cities in Asia Minor. Demaratus's family continued to flourish in Asia as subjects of the Persians, and several of his descendants have been identified. One of them was likely Demaratus, the son of Gorgion, who was restored to Sparta in the early 3rd century BC and was in turn the putative great-grandfather of Nabis, the last king of Sparta (ruled 207–192). See also Kings of Sparta References Xenophon Anabasis, ii. j. 3, vii. 8. 17; Hellenica, iii. I. 6 Athenaeus i. 29 f Herodotus v. 75, vi. 50–70, vii ; Pausanias iii. 4, 3–5, 7, 7–8; Diodorus xi. 6; Polyaenus ii. 20; Seneca the Younger, De benefici-is, Vi. 31, 4–12 Bibliography Paul Cartledge & Antony Spawforth, Hellenistic and Roman Sparta, A tale of two cities, London and New York, Routledge, 2002 (originally published in 1989). Brenda Griffith-Williams, "The Succession to the Spartan Kingship, 520-400 BC", Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, Vol. 54, No. 2 (2011), pp. 43–58". External links Demaratus on the Spartan Way of Living DEMARATUS – Encyclopaedia Iranica 6th-century BC births 5th-century BC deaths 6th-century BC rulers 5th-century BC rulers 6th-century BC Spartans 5th-century BC Spartans Eurypontid kings of Sparta Battle of Thermopylae Ancient Greek emigrants to the Achaemenid Empire Year of birth unknown People of the Greco-Persian Wars Military personnel of the Achaemenid Empire Rulers in the Achaemenid Empire