Battle of Sellasia
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Sellasia took place during the summer of 222 BC
between the armies of Macedon
and the Achaean League
, led by Antigonus III Doson
, and Sparta
under the command of King Cleomenes III
. The battle was fought at Sellasia on the northern frontier
of Laconia
and ended in a Macedonian-Achaean victory.
, Cleomenes III
, captured the strategically important Arcadian cities of Tegea
, Mantinea, Caphyae
and Orchomenus
, which had aligned themselves with the powerful Aetolian League
, a state in Central Greece
. Historians Polybius
and Sir William Smith claim that Cleomenes seized the cities by treachery; however, Richard Talbert, who translated Plutarch's account of Sparta, and historian Nicholas G. L. Hammond
say Cleomenes took them at their own request. Later in the year, at the behest of the ephors, Cleomenes captured the Athenaeum, which was close to Belbina. Belbina was one of the entry points in Laconia
and was at the time disputed by Sparta and the city of Megalopolis
.
The seizure of these cities, caused the Achaean League
, a state that possessed a large area of the Peloponnese
, to declare war on Sparta. Attacks by the Achaean strategos
, Aratus of Sicyon
, to take Tegea and Orchomenus by using night attacks failed and forced Aratus to retreat. The Spartan army of 5,000, under the command of Cleomenes, marched into Arcadia and ravaged Achaean territory before forcing a much larger Achaean army to withdraw.
Meanwhile, Ptolemy III of Egypt
, who had been subsidising the Achaean League in their struggle against Macedon
, decided to shift his financial support to Sparta as he saw a resurgent Sparta as a bigger threat to Macedon than a failing Achaean League. In May 227 BC, Aratus attacked the city state of Elis
, which appealed to Sparta for military support. As the Achaean army was returning from Elis, they were attacked and routed by Cleomenes.
Having bribed the ephors into allowing him to continue his campaign, Cleomenes invaded Megalopolitan territory, where he was confronted by an Achaean army. After a minor setback, the Spartans rallied and destroyed the Achaean army. The demoralised Achaean League made no further efforts to attack Sparta in that year. Cleomenes was now confident enough of his strong position to start plotting against the ephors. After recruiting a few followers, he returned to Sparta with a group of mercenaries
and killed all of the ephors except one, who managed to gain sanctuary in a temple
. With the ephors vanquished, Cleomenes was able to initiate his social, economical and military reforms, which included land reforms, cancellation of debts and the conversion of the Spartan military into a Macedonian-styled army.
In 226 BC, Mantinea, which had been captured by the Achaeans, appealed to Cleomenes for assistance in expelling the Achaean garrison
. After he removed the Achaean garrison from the city, Cleomenes move his army into Achaea in hope of drawing the Achaean army into a pitched battle. At Dyme, the Spartan army met the entire Achaean army and routed the Achaean phalanx
. This crushing defeat forced the Achaeans to negotiate and Cleomenes demanded that the League be surrendered to him. However, before terms could be reached, Cleomenes became stricken by an illness and was forced to return to Sparta.
Taking advantage of the lull in the negotiations, Aratus began to negotiate with King Antigonus III Doson
of Macedon. However, the majority of the League was against negotiating with the Macedonians so Aratus's plans were quashed for the time being. In a quick campaign, Cleomenes managed to capture the cities of Cleonae
, Argos
, Corinth
, Hermione
, Troezen
and Epidaurus
. This latest disaster forced the Achaeans to conclude an alliance with Antigonus, under which they were to give him the Acrocorinth
, as well as the cities of Orchomenus and Heraea in return for his assistance against Cleomenes.
. They resorted to this after having their passage blocked by the hostile Aetolian League, who threatened to block their march if they went further south. After reaching the Isthmus of Corinth
, the Macedonian army found their march halted by a series of fortifications that Cleomenes had erected across the Isthmus. Several attempts to breach the fortifications were repulsed with considerable losses.
Argos, however, revolted against Sparta and expelled their garrison with the help of some Macedonian soldiers. This defeat forced Cleomenes to abandon his position on the Isthmus and to retreat back to Arcadia. Meanwhile, Antigonus revived the Hellenic League
of Phillip II of Macedon under the name of the "League of Leagues" and managed to incorporate most of the Greek city-states in this League.
Antigonus proceeded to capture several cities in Arcadia that had sided with Cleomenes. He returned to Achaea before dismissing his Macedonian troops so that they could winter at home. Around this time, Ptolemy of Egypt stopped paying subsides to Cleomenes, which left Cleomenes without money with which to pay for his mercenaries. In order to obtain money, Cleomenes began to sell helots
their freedom in exchange for a sum of money.
Cleomenes became aware of the fact that Antigonus had dismissed all of his Macedonian troops and decided to launch a raid on the Achaean League. He gave the impression that he was going to raid the territory of Argos but instead switched directions and attacked Megalopolis. The Spartans managed to overrun a weak section of the fortifications and began to take over the city. The citizens of Megalopolis were not aware that the Spartans were in the city until dawn after which a rearguard
action by some of the citizens allowed most of the Megalopolitans to escape. Cleomenes sent the Megalopolitans a message offering back their city if they joined his alliance but when this offer was refused, Cleomenes ordered that the city be sacked
and razed
.
Cleomenes had taken up a strong position, placing his army across a road that followed a river running between two hills, Olympus and Eva. His army of 20,000 infantrymen was composed of Spartan hoplites, possibly Spartan pikemen (according to Plutarch
, Cleomenes had armed 2,000 Lacedaemonians in the Macedonian military style), perioeci, mercenaries and about 650 cavalry. The Spartan phalanx, under the personal command of Cleomenes, made up the right wing of the battle line and was positioned on the hilltop of Olympus near Sellasia. This force was supported by a body of light infantry mercenaries. The allied troops as well as the perioeci phalanx were led by Cleomenes' brother, Eucleidas. These forces made up the left wing of Cleomenes' battle line and were positioned on Eva. The center occupied the valley and road and was made up of Spartan cavalry, supported by mercenaries. Cleomenes probably hoped that the higher tactical position his army enjoyed would compensate for his numerical inferiority. To be sure, he ordered a ditch dug and a palisade raised all along the front line.
Antigonus, for his part, arrived on the scene with a superior force of around 30,000 men, including the allied forces of the Achaean League
. For the first time since the beginning of the 3rd century BC, the Macedonians arrayed against the Spartans a true national army and not one composed of mercenaries. Antigonous alone had with him 10,000 pikemen, 3,000 peltasts and 300 cavalry from Macedonia as well as 1,000 Agrianes
, 1,600 Illyrians
, 1,000 Galatians and 3,000 unidentified mercenaries and 300 cavalry. The allies provided him with further important contingents, the Achaeans with 3,000 infantry and 300 cavalry, the Boeotians with 2,000 infantry and 200 cavalry, the Acarnanians with 1,000 infantry and 50 cavalry, and the Epirotes with 1,000 infantry and 50 cavalry.
Antigonus placed his phalanxes facing the Lacedaemonian infantry which was arrayed at the top of the two hills, with the order to advance and take the heights. His cavalry of Macedonians, Achaeans (led by Philopemen), Boeotians and mercenaries under the command of Alexander, were arrayed in front of the enemy cavalry in the center. The Macedonian right wing on Eva advanced against the Lacedaemonians, but was attacked from the rear by enemy light infantry that was initially arrayed with the cavalry. Assaulted both from the rear and the front, Antigonus' phalanx was hard pressed until Philopemen, disregarding his orders, charged with his men and relieved the phalanx forcing the enemy light troops to retreat, thus ensuring victory for the Macedonians. After the battle, Antigonus praised young Philopemen's initiative. According to Plutarch, out of 6,000 Spartans, only 200 survived, the others preferring honorable death to disgrace. Cleomenes fled to Alexandria where he stayed until his death.
222 BC
Year 222 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Marcellus and Calvus...
between the armies of Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
and the Achaean League
Achaean League
The Achaean League was a Hellenistic era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese, which existed between 280 BC and 146 BC...
, led by Antigonus III Doson
Antigonus III Doson
Antigonus III Doson was king of Macedon from 229 BC to 221 BC. He belonged to the Antigonid dynasty.-Family Background:He was a grandson of Demetrius Poliorcetes and cousin of Demetrius II, who after the latter died in battle and rescued Macedonia and restored Antigonid control of Greece...
, and Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
under the command of King Cleomenes III
Cleomenes III
Cleomenes III was the King of Sparta from 235-222 BC. He succeeded to the Agiad throne of Sparta after his father, Leonidas II in 235 BC.From 229 BC to 222 BC, Cleomenes waged war against the Achaean League under Aratus of Sicyon. Domestically, he is known for his attempt to reform the Spartan state...
. The battle was fought at Sellasia on the northern frontier
Frontier
A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. 'Frontier' was absorbed into English from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"--the region of a country that fronts on another country .The use of "frontier" to mean "a region at the...
of Laconia
Laconia
Laconia , also known as Lacedaemonia, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti...
and ended in a Macedonian-Achaean victory.
Background
In 229 BC, the Spartan kingKings of Sparta
Sparta was an important Greek city-state in the Peloponnesus. It was unusual among Greek city-states in that it maintained its kingship past the Archaic age. It was even more unusual in that it had two kings simultaneously, coming from two separate lines...
, Cleomenes III
Cleomenes III
Cleomenes III was the King of Sparta from 235-222 BC. He succeeded to the Agiad throne of Sparta after his father, Leonidas II in 235 BC.From 229 BC to 222 BC, Cleomenes waged war against the Achaean League under Aratus of Sicyon. Domestically, he is known for his attempt to reform the Spartan state...
, captured the strategically important Arcadian cities of Tegea
Tegea
Tegea was a settlement in ancient Greece, and it is also a former municipality in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Tripoli, of which it is a municipal unit. Its seat was the village Stadio....
, Mantinea, Caphyae
Caphyae
Caphyae or Kaphyai , was an ancient city of Arcadia situated in a small plain, northwest of the lake of Orchomenus. It was protected against inundations from this lake by a mound or dyke, raised by the inhabitants of Caphyae...
and Orchomenus
Orchomenus (Arcadia)
Orchomenus or Orchomenos was an ancient city of Arcadia, Greece, called by Thucydides the Arcadian Orchomenus , to distinguish it from the Boeotian town. Its ruins are near the modern village of Orchomenos .-Situation:It was situated in a plain surrounded on every side by mountains...
, which had aligned themselves with the powerful Aetolian League
Aetolian League
The Aetolian League was a confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece centered on Aetolia in central Greece. It was established, probably during the early Hellenistic era, in opposition to Macedon and the Achaean League. Two annual meetings were held in Thermika and Panaetolika...
, a state in Central Greece
Central Greece
Continental Greece or Central Greece , colloquially known as Roúmeli , is a geographical region of Greece. Its territory is divided into the administrative regions of Central Greece, Attica, and part of West Greece...
. Historians Polybius
Polybius
Polybius , Greek ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic Period noted for his work, The Histories, which covered the period of 220–146 BC in detail. The work describes in part the rise of the Roman Republic and its gradual domination over Greece...
and Sir William Smith claim that Cleomenes seized the cities by treachery; however, Richard Talbert, who translated Plutarch's account of Sparta, and historian Nicholas G. L. Hammond
N. G. L. Hammond
Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière Hammond CBE, DSO was a British scholar of ancient Greece of great accomplishment and an operative for the British Special Operations Executive in occupied Greece during World War II....
say Cleomenes took them at their own request. Later in the year, at the behest of the ephors, Cleomenes captured the Athenaeum, which was close to Belbina. Belbina was one of the entry points in Laconia
Laconia
Laconia , also known as Lacedaemonia, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti...
and was at the time disputed by Sparta and the city of Megalopolis
Megalopolis, Greece
Megalópoli is a town in the western part of the peripheral unit of Arcadia, southern Greece. It is located in the same site as ancient Megalopolis . "Megalopolis" is a Greek word for Great city. When it was founded, in 371 BC, it was the first urbanization in rustic and primitive Arcadia. In...
.
The seizure of these cities, caused the Achaean League
Achaean League
The Achaean League was a Hellenistic era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese, which existed between 280 BC and 146 BC...
, a state that possessed a large area of the Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
, to declare war on Sparta. Attacks by the Achaean strategos
Strategos
Strategos, plural strategoi, is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor...
, Aratus of Sicyon
Aratus of Sicyon
Aratus was a statesman of the ancient Greek city-state of Sicyon and a leader of the Achaean League. He deposed the Sicyonian tyrant Nicocles in 251 BC. Aratus was an advocate of Greek unity and brought Sicyon into the Achaean League, which he led to its maximum extent...
, to take Tegea and Orchomenus by using night attacks failed and forced Aratus to retreat. The Spartan army of 5,000, under the command of Cleomenes, marched into Arcadia and ravaged Achaean territory before forcing a much larger Achaean army to withdraw.
Meanwhile, Ptolemy III of Egypt
Ptolemaic Egypt
Ptolemaic Egypt began when Ptolemy I Soter invaded Egypt and declared himself Pharaoh of Egypt in 305 BC and ended with the death of queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and the Roman conquest in 30 BC. The Ptolemaic Kingdom was a powerful Hellenistic state, extending from southern Syria in the east, to...
, who had been subsidising the Achaean League in their struggle against Macedon
Macedon
Macedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
, decided to shift his financial support to Sparta as he saw a resurgent Sparta as a bigger threat to Macedon than a failing Achaean League. In May 227 BC, Aratus attacked the city state of Elis
Elis
Elis, or Eleia is an ancient district that corresponds with the modern Elis peripheral unit...
, which appealed to Sparta for military support. As the Achaean army was returning from Elis, they were attacked and routed by Cleomenes.
Having bribed the ephors into allowing him to continue his campaign, Cleomenes invaded Megalopolitan territory, where he was confronted by an Achaean army. After a minor setback, the Spartans rallied and destroyed the Achaean army. The demoralised Achaean League made no further efforts to attack Sparta in that year. Cleomenes was now confident enough of his strong position to start plotting against the ephors. After recruiting a few followers, he returned to Sparta with a group of mercenaries
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
and killed all of the ephors except one, who managed to gain sanctuary in a temple
Temple
A temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
. With the ephors vanquished, Cleomenes was able to initiate his social, economical and military reforms, which included land reforms, cancellation of debts and the conversion of the Spartan military into a Macedonian-styled army.
In 226 BC, Mantinea, which had been captured by the Achaeans, appealed to Cleomenes for assistance in expelling the Achaean garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
. After he removed the Achaean garrison from the city, Cleomenes move his army into Achaea in hope of drawing the Achaean army into a pitched battle. At Dyme, the Spartan army met the entire Achaean army and routed the Achaean phalanx
Phalanx formation
The phalanx is a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar weapons...
. This crushing defeat forced the Achaeans to negotiate and Cleomenes demanded that the League be surrendered to him. However, before terms could be reached, Cleomenes became stricken by an illness and was forced to return to Sparta.
Taking advantage of the lull in the negotiations, Aratus began to negotiate with King Antigonus III Doson
Antigonus III Doson
Antigonus III Doson was king of Macedon from 229 BC to 221 BC. He belonged to the Antigonid dynasty.-Family Background:He was a grandson of Demetrius Poliorcetes and cousin of Demetrius II, who after the latter died in battle and rescued Macedonia and restored Antigonid control of Greece...
of Macedon. However, the majority of the League was against negotiating with the Macedonians so Aratus's plans were quashed for the time being. In a quick campaign, Cleomenes managed to capture the cities of Cleonae
Cleonae (Argolis)
Present-day Archaies Kleones Corinthias or Αρχαίες Κλεωνές Κορινθίας. Cleonae or Cleonæ or Kleonai was an ancient city in Argolis, now in the prefecture of Corinth, Greece. Αρχαίες Κλεωνές lies a few kilometers northwest , between Corinth and Nemea. It was at Cleonae that, according to legend,...
, Argos
Argos
Argos is a city and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. It is 11 kilometres from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour...
, Corinth
Corinth
Corinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
, Hermione
Ermioni
Ermioni is a small town and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ermionida, of which it is a municipal unit. It is a popular tourist resort. It is on a very small out-cropping of the land facing the island of...
, Troezen
Troezen
Troezen is a small town and a former municipality in the northeastern Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Troizinia, of which it is a municipal unit....
and Epidaurus
Epidaurus
Epidaurus was a small city in ancient Greece, at the Saronic Gulf. Two modern towns bear the name Epidavros : Palaia Epidavros and Nea Epidavros. Since 2010 they belong to the new municipality of Epidavros, part of the peripheral unit of Argolis...
. This latest disaster forced the Achaeans to conclude an alliance with Antigonus, under which they were to give him the Acrocorinth
Acrocorinth
Acrocorinth , "Upper Corinth", the acropolis of ancient Corinth, is a monolithic rock overseeing the ancient city of Corinth, Greece. "It is the most impressive of the acropoleis of mainland Greece," in the estimation of George Forrest. Acrocorinth was continuously occupied from archaic times to...
, as well as the cities of Orchomenus and Heraea in return for his assistance against Cleomenes.
Prelude
Antigonus marched towards the Peloponnese with a large army of 20,000 infantry and 1,300 cavalry via the island of EuboeaEuboea
Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. The narrow Euripus Strait separates it from Boeotia in mainland Greece. In general outline it is a long and narrow, seahorse-shaped island; it is about long, and varies in breadth from to...
. They resorted to this after having their passage blocked by the hostile Aetolian League, who threatened to block their march if they went further south. After reaching the Isthmus of Corinth
Isthmus of Corinth
The Isthmus of Corinth is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with the rest of the mainland of Greece, near the city of Corinth. The word "isthmus" comes from the Ancient Greek word for "neck" and refers to the narrowness of the land. The Isthmus was known in the ancient...
, the Macedonian army found their march halted by a series of fortifications that Cleomenes had erected across the Isthmus. Several attempts to breach the fortifications were repulsed with considerable losses.
Argos, however, revolted against Sparta and expelled their garrison with the help of some Macedonian soldiers. This defeat forced Cleomenes to abandon his position on the Isthmus and to retreat back to Arcadia. Meanwhile, Antigonus revived the Hellenic League
League of Corinth
The League of Corinth, also sometimes referred to as Hellenic League was a federation of Greek states created by Philip II of Macedon during the winter of 338 BC/337 BC after the Battle of Chaeronea, to facilitate his use of military forces in his war against Persia...
of Phillip II of Macedon under the name of the "League of Leagues" and managed to incorporate most of the Greek city-states in this League.
Antigonus proceeded to capture several cities in Arcadia that had sided with Cleomenes. He returned to Achaea before dismissing his Macedonian troops so that they could winter at home. Around this time, Ptolemy of Egypt stopped paying subsides to Cleomenes, which left Cleomenes without money with which to pay for his mercenaries. In order to obtain money, Cleomenes began to sell helots
Helots
The helots: / Heílôtes) were an unfree population group that formed the main population of Laconia and the whole of Messenia . Their exact status was already disputed in antiquity: according to Critias, they were "especially slaves" whereas to Pollux, they occupied a status "between free men and...
their freedom in exchange for a sum of money.
Cleomenes became aware of the fact that Antigonus had dismissed all of his Macedonian troops and decided to launch a raid on the Achaean League. He gave the impression that he was going to raid the territory of Argos but instead switched directions and attacked Megalopolis. The Spartans managed to overrun a weak section of the fortifications and began to take over the city. The citizens of Megalopolis were not aware that the Spartans were in the city until dawn after which a rearguard
Rearguard
Rearguard may refer to:* A military detachment protecting the rear of a larger military formation, especially when retreating from a pursuing enemy force. * Rear Guard , a computer game released in 1982...
action by some of the citizens allowed most of the Megalopolitans to escape. Cleomenes sent the Megalopolitans a message offering back their city if they joined his alliance but when this offer was refused, Cleomenes ordered that the city be sacked
Looting
Looting —also referred to as sacking, plundering, despoiling, despoliation, and pillaging—is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe, such as during war, natural disaster, or rioting...
and razed
Demolition
Demolition is the tearing-down of buildings and other structures, the opposite of construction. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a building apart while carefully preserving valuable elements for re-use....
.
Battle
The sack of Megalopolis came as a big shock for the Achaean League. Cleomenes followed this success up by raiding the territory of Argos, as he knew Antigonus could not resist him due to a lack of men. Cleomenes had also hoped that a raid on Argive territory would make the Argives lose faith in Antigonus because of his failure to protect their land. Walbank describes this raid as being "an impressive demonstration, but it had no effect other than to make it even more clear that Cleomenes had to be defeated in a pitched battle."Cleomenes had taken up a strong position, placing his army across a road that followed a river running between two hills, Olympus and Eva. His army of 20,000 infantrymen was composed of Spartan hoplites, possibly Spartan pikemen (according to Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
, Cleomenes had armed 2,000 Lacedaemonians in the Macedonian military style), perioeci, mercenaries and about 650 cavalry. The Spartan phalanx, under the personal command of Cleomenes, made up the right wing of the battle line and was positioned on the hilltop of Olympus near Sellasia. This force was supported by a body of light infantry mercenaries. The allied troops as well as the perioeci phalanx were led by Cleomenes' brother, Eucleidas. These forces made up the left wing of Cleomenes' battle line and were positioned on Eva. The center occupied the valley and road and was made up of Spartan cavalry, supported by mercenaries. Cleomenes probably hoped that the higher tactical position his army enjoyed would compensate for his numerical inferiority. To be sure, he ordered a ditch dug and a palisade raised all along the front line.
Antigonus, for his part, arrived on the scene with a superior force of around 30,000 men, including the allied forces of the Achaean League
Achaean League
The Achaean League was a Hellenistic era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese, which existed between 280 BC and 146 BC...
. For the first time since the beginning of the 3rd century BC, the Macedonians arrayed against the Spartans a true national army and not one composed of mercenaries. Antigonous alone had with him 10,000 pikemen, 3,000 peltasts and 300 cavalry from Macedonia as well as 1,000 Agrianes
Agrianes
The Agrianians a Paeonian-Thracian tribe, who chiefly inhabited the area of present-day Northeastern statistical region of Republic Of Macedonia and Pčinja District of southern Serbia, north of the Thracian Maedi tribe, who were situated in what is now the Greek region of Macedonia and Western...
, 1,600 Illyrians
Illyrians
The Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...
, 1,000 Galatians and 3,000 unidentified mercenaries and 300 cavalry. The allies provided him with further important contingents, the Achaeans with 3,000 infantry and 300 cavalry, the Boeotians with 2,000 infantry and 200 cavalry, the Acarnanians with 1,000 infantry and 50 cavalry, and the Epirotes with 1,000 infantry and 50 cavalry.
Antigonus placed his phalanxes facing the Lacedaemonian infantry which was arrayed at the top of the two hills, with the order to advance and take the heights. His cavalry of Macedonians, Achaeans (led by Philopemen), Boeotians and mercenaries under the command of Alexander, were arrayed in front of the enemy cavalry in the center. The Macedonian right wing on Eva advanced against the Lacedaemonians, but was attacked from the rear by enemy light infantry that was initially arrayed with the cavalry. Assaulted both from the rear and the front, Antigonus' phalanx was hard pressed until Philopemen, disregarding his orders, charged with his men and relieved the phalanx forcing the enemy light troops to retreat, thus ensuring victory for the Macedonians. After the battle, Antigonus praised young Philopemen's initiative. According to Plutarch, out of 6,000 Spartans, only 200 survived, the others preferring honorable death to disgrace. Cleomenes fled to Alexandria where he stayed until his death.