The defeat of Leonnatus by Antiphilus occurred during the

Lamian War The Lamian War, or the Hellenic War (323–322 BC) was fought by a coalition of cities including Athens and the Aetolian League against Macedon and its ally Boeotia. The war broke out after the death of the King of Macedon, Alexander the Great, ...

(323–322 BC) fought between the Greek allies who had rebelled against the

Macedonian Empire Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by ...

, and

Leonnatus Leonnatus ( el, Λεοννάτος; 356 BC – 322 BC) was a Macedonian officer of Alexander the Great and one of the ''diadochi.'' He was a member of the royal house of Lyncestis, a small Greek kingdom that had been included in Macedonia by King ...

, the Macedonian

satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with consid ...

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; grc, Φρυγία, ''Phrygía'' ) was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. After its conquest, it became a region of the great empires ...

, who had come to aid the regent

Antipater Antipater (; grc, , translit=Antipatros, lit=like the father; c. 400 BC319 BC) was a Macedonian general and statesman under the subsequent kingships of Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. In the wake of the collaps ...

, who was being besieged by the Greeks in

Lamia LaMia Corporation S.R.L., operating as LaMia (short for ''Línea Aérea Mérida Internacional de Aviación''), was a Bolivian charter airline headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as an EcoJet subsidiary. It had its origins from the failed ...

. The Greeks defeated the Macedonians. The Greeks, hearing news of Leonnatus's advance, lifted the siege of Lamia and detached their baggage train and camp followers to Melitia and advanced with their army hurried to defeat Leonnatus before Antipater's forces could join him. The Greeks and Macedonian armies were equal in number but the Greeks' 3,500 horsemen, including an elite 2,000 Thessalians commanded by

Menon Menon may refer to: People *Menon (subcaste), an honorary title accorded to some members of the Nair community of Kerala, southern India; used as a surname by many holders of the title Surnamed *Menon (surname), the surname of several people Give ...

, against the Macedonians' 1,500 horse gave the advantage of mobility to the Greeks. When the battle began, although the

Macedonian phalanx The Macedonian phalanx ( gr, Μακεδονική φάλαγξ) was an infantry formation developed by Philip II from the classical Greek phalanx, of which the main innovation was the use of the sarissa, a 6 meter pike. It was famously commanded b ...

gained the advantage everywhere, the Thessalians drove off the Macedonian cavalry and Leonnatus was carried from the battlefield already mortally wounded. After their cavalry was driven back the unsupported Macedonian Phalanx retreated from the plain to difficult terrain where the enemy cavalry couldn't pursue them. The next day Antipater arrived at the field and joined with the defeated army. He decided not to fight the Greeks yet, in view of their superior cavalry, and instead retreated through the rough terrain.

References

{{coord missing, Greece Battles of the Lamian War Battles involving Macedonia (ancient kingdom) 322 BC Battles in Hellenistic Thessaly