The Battle of the Elleporus was fought in 389 BC between the forces of
Dionysius I of Syracuse
Dionysius I or Dionysius the Elder ( 432 – 367 BC) was a Greek tyrant of Syracuse, in Sicily. He conquered several cities in Sicily and southern Italy, opposed Carthage's influence in Sicily and made Syracuse the most powerful of the Western Gr ...
and the armies of the
Italiote League
The Italiotes ( grc-gre, Ἰταλιῶται, ') were the pre-Roman Greek-speaking inhabitants of the Italian Peninsula, between Naples and Sicily.
Greek colonization of the coastal areas of southern Italy and Sicily started in the 8th cen ...
. The armies of
Syracuse triumphed, and Dionysius' control was extended into
Southern Italy
Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half.
The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...
.
After arriving in Italy, with a force of 20,000 men, 3000 horses, and a fleet of 40
galley
A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...
s, Dionysius decided to lay siege to
Caulonia, a city belonging to
Locri
Locri is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, southern Italy. Its name derives from that of the ancient Greek region of Locris. Today it is an important administrative and cultural centre on the Ionia ...
. To force Dionysius into relaxing his siege,
Heloris decided to leave his camp and marched north towards Eleporus with his army numbering 25,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalrymen mostly composed of other Syracusan exiles, Dionysius then lifted the siege and decided to march his army to Eleporus away from the enemy. The two armies were ignorant of each other's whereabouts until Dionysius acquired intelligence about Heloris's whereabouts from one of his scouts. Exploiting the advantage he ordered his forces to surprise attack the enemy at the dawn. Dionysius used his overwhelming numerical superiority to form a tight noose around their group. The disorganized and scattered forces of Heloris become easy prey to Dionysius's well organized phalanx, the Greeks fled after hearing that their leader Heloris
had fallen, the fleeing Greeks sought refuge on a hill, but were surrounded by Dionysius later 10,000 Greeks surrendered.
Dionysius I of Syracuse
Dionysius I or Dionysius the Elder ( 432 – 367 BC) was a Greek tyrant of Syracuse, in Sicily. He conquered several cities in Sicily and southern Italy, opposed Carthage's influence in Sicily and made Syracuse the most powerful of the Western Gr ...
successfully managed to conquer southern Italy (Magna Graecia), crushing the Italiote (Greek) League and Heloris at the Battle of the Elleporus.
[''The Encyclopedia of World History'' by Peter N. Stearns, William Leonard Langer Page 68 ]
See also
*
Magna Graecia
Magna Graecia (, ; , , grc, Μεγάλη Ἑλλάς, ', it, Magna Grecia) was the name given by the Romans to the coastal areas of Southern Italy in the present-day Italian regions of Calabria, Apulia, Basilicata, Campania and Sicily; these re ...
Notes
References
*Tucker, Spencer C. (2010). ''A Global Chronology of Conflict: from the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East; Volume I: ca. 3000 BCE - 1499 CE''. Santa Barbara, Denver, Oxford: ABC-CLIO. .
External links
*
the Elleporus
Elleporus
389 BC
Magna Graecia
{{AncientGreece-battle-stub