Lyttian War
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The Lyttian War was an internal conflict fought from around 220 BC to about 216 BC between two coalitions of Cretan city-states, led by Cnossus and
Polyrrhenia Polyrrhenia or Polyrrenia ( grc, Πολυρρηνία; modern el, Πολυρρηνία, Polyrrinia), Polyrrhen or Polyrren (Πολύρρην) or Polyren (Πολύρην), or Pollyrrhenia or Pollyrrenia (Πολλύρρηνα),''Periplus of Pseudo- ...
respectively. The events of the war are recorded by the historian
Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...
. It is considered "the greatest war in Cretan history" during Antiquity.


Prelude

The prelude to the conflict in Crete was the commercial war between the cities of
Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
and
Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...
about the toll introduced by the Byzantines for all ships passing through the
Bosporus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern T ...
on their way to the
Pontus Euxinus The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
. Posing a huge threat to Hellenistic trade, the conflict was ended in 220 BC with a compromise.


Outbreak

Meanwhile in Crete the allied cities of Cnossus and
Gortys Gortyna ( grc, Γόρτυνα; also known as Gortyn (Γορτύν)) was a town of ancient Crete which appears in the Homeric poems under the form of Γορτύν; but afterwards became usually Gortyna (Γόρτυνα). According to Stephanus of ...
had gained control of the whole island, except for the
Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...
n colony of
Lyttos Lyctus or Lyttos (Greek: or ), was one of the most considerable cities in ancient Crete, which appears in the Homeric catalogue. Lyttos is now a village in the municipality of Minoa Pediada. Lyctus in mythology According to Hesiod, ''Theogony' ...
which alone resisted. When the Rhodian
navarch Navarch ( el, ναύαρχος, ) is an Anglicisation of a Greek word meaning "leader of the ships", which in some states became the title of an office equivalent to that of a modern admiral. Historical usage Not all states gave their naval ...
Polemocles returned from the war against Byzantium, the Cnossians thought that he could be helpful to their efforts against Lyttos. So they asked the Rhodians for assistance and Polemocles arrived with three decked and three undecked ships. Soon after his arrival, however, the people of
Eleutherna Eleutherna ( grc-gre, Ἐλεύθερνα), also called Apollonia ( grc-gre, Ἀπολλωνία), was an ancient city-state in Crete, Greece, which lies 25 km southeast of Rethymno in Rethymno regional unit. Archaeologists excavated the si ...
accused him of assassinating a citizen, Timarchus, and, in response, they declared war on the Rhodians. Meanwhile the Cnossians and their allies had moved against Lyttos, but then, for some unknown reason, the alliance broke up and the Cretans began to quarrel with each other. Thus, the cities of Polyrrhenia and Lappa, along with some other communities, defected from the Cnossians and allied with the Lyttians.


Civil War

In Gortys the citizens were divided on the question of alliance and a civil war broke out in the city. The elder Gortynians remained loyal to Cnossus, while the younger Gortynians favoured the Lyttians.


Aetolian intervention

Taken by surprise by the sudden reverse, the Cnossians asked the
Aetolian League The Aetolian (or Aitolian) League ( grc-gre, Κοινὸν τῶν Αἰτωλῶν) was a confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece centered in Aetolia in central Greece. It was probably established during the early Hellen ...
for help. The Aetolians were already present in
Cydonia Cydonia may refer to: Music * ''Cydonia'' (album), a 2001 album by The Orb * "Cydonia", a track by heavy metal band Crimson Glory from '' Astronomica'' Places and jurisdictions * Kydonia or Cydonia, an ancient city state on Crete, at modern ...
and sent 1000 warriors as assistance. After the arrival of the Aetolians, the elders in Gortys led the Cnossians and the Aetolians to occupy their citadel and proceeded to kill or expel their younger opponents. The young Gortynians took refuge in the ancient castle of
Phaistos Phaistos ( el, Φαιστός, ; Ancient Greek: , , Minoan: PA-I-TO?http://grbs.library.duke.edu/article/download/11991/4031&ved=2ahUKEwjor62y3bHoAhUEqYsKHZaZArAQFjASegQIAhAB&usg=AOvVaw1MwIv3ekgX-SxkJrbORipd ), also transliterated as Phaestos, ...
overlooking the bay south to Mount Ida. Later, the young Gortynians in Phaistos launched a bold attack against the port of Gortys which they occupied, and they then besieged their opponents in the citadel of Gortys.


Destruction of Lyttos

While the Cnossians were occupied at Gortys, most of the Lyttian warriors left their city to invade the enemy territory. The Cnossians, however, got intelligence of their plan and took the opportunity to invade the undefended city of Lyttos, capturing all the women and children and razing the city to the ground. When the Lyttians returned from their expedition, they decided to abandon their devastated homes and settled in Lappa whose citizens were willing to host them.


Achaean intervention

Meanwhile, tensions on the mainland had risen between the
Achaean League The Achaean League (Greek: , ''Koinon ton Akhaion'' "League of Achaeans") was a Hellenistic-era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea in the northwestern Pel ...
and the Aetolian League. As a result, in 220 BC the Social War broke out, which was to involved the
Macedon 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 ...
ian king
Philip V Philip V may refer to: * Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC) * Philip V of France (1293–1322) * Philip II of Spain, also Philip V, Duke of Burgundy (1526–1598) * Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was ...
as he was a key ally of the Achaeans. The Polyrrhenians then used the Aetolian interference in Crete as justification for asking Philip and the Achaeans for assistance against their common enemy. The Achaeans and Macedonians accepted them as allies and sent a mercenary force led by Plator to the island, consisting of 400 Illyrians, 200 Achaeans and 100 Phocians. With these reinforcements, the Polyrrhenians made great progress moving against Eleutherna, Cydonia and Aptera. They quickly forced these cities to abandon their Cnossian allies and enter the opposition coalition. Thus the Cnossians, in a short time, not only lost most of their allies, but also their hegemony over the island. Nevertheless they were still able to assist the Aetolian allies with 1000 archers in their war on the Greek mainland. The Polyrrhenians on the opposite side did the same by sending 500 Cretans to support Philip V.


Outcome

The war continued for several years, but the further narration by Polybius is lost. Generally, the war went favourably for the enemies of Cnossus. Thus the Aetolians were expelled from the island and by 216 BC Crete was more or less a Macedonian protectorate. Two years later the Achaean
strategos ''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek language, Greek to ...
Aratus of Sicyon Aratus of Sicyon (Ancient Greek: Ἄρατος ὁ Σικυώνιος; 271–213 BC) was a politician and military commander of Hellenistic Greece. He was elected strategos of the Achaean League 17 times, leading the League through numerous m ...
confirmed this outcome claiming that Philip V of Macedon enjoyed the faith of the Cretans and his ships ruled the Cretan Sea, while most of the island's strongholds obeyed his command. Among the mercenary leaders fighting on the island was a young
Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...
n named
Philopoemen Philopoemen ( el, Φιλοποίμην ''Philopoímēn''; 253 BC, Megalopolis – 183 BC, Messene) was a skilled Greek general and statesman, who was Achaean strategos on eight occasions. From the time he was appointed as strategos in 209 BC ...
, who acquired great fame and experience which would serve him well in his later years as strategos of the Achaean League. As a side effect of the conflict, Cretan mercenaries (the famed archers and the so-called Neocretans) are recorded all over the Hellenistic world, although none of the leaders (Cnopias of Allaria, Philon the Cnossian, Eurylochus of Crete, Zelys the Gortynian at Raphia 217 BC;
Lagoras Lagoras (Greek: Λαγόρας) was a Cretan soldier of fortune, who, when in the service of Ptolemy IV Philopator, king of Egypt, was sent by Nicolaus, Ptolemy's general, to occupy the passes of Mount Lebanon at Berytus, and to check there the a ...
, Kambylos and Bolis at the siege of Sardis 215/13 BC) can be traced directly to the civil war. The Lyttians eventually returned to their homes and rebuilt their city on a nearby hill.Florence Gaignerot-Driessen, ''The 'killing' of a city'', p. 285-297. The conflict over Crete was renewed in 205 BC, when Philip V of Macedon used the island as a base for naval raids against the Rhodians. In the
Cretan War (205–200 BC) The Cretan War (205–200 BC) was fought by King Philip V of Macedon, the Aetolian League, many Cretan cities (of which Olous and Hierapytna were the most important) and Spartan pirates against the forces of Rhodes and later Attalus I of Perga ...
, Philip's major allies in Crete were the cities of
Hierapytna Hierapytna ( grc, Ἱεράπυτνα or Ἱερὰ Πύτνα), also Hierapydna (Ἱεράπυδνα), Hierapydnes (Ἱερά Πύδνης), or Hiera, was a town of ancient Crete. Strabo says that it stood in the narrowest part of the island, opp ...
and
Olous Olous or Olus ( grc, Ὄλους, or ''Stadiasmus Maris Magni'' § 350.) was a city of ancient Crete; now sunken, it was situated at the present day town of Elounda, Crete, Greece. According to the ''Stadiasmus Maris Magni'', it had a harbour and w ...
. Toward the end, when the
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
entered the coalition against Macedon, the Cnossians sided again with the Rhodians and forced Hierapytna to surrender. As a result, the Rhodians took control over eastern Crete which allowed them to largely stamp out piracy in the area. Following the
Second Macedonian War The Second Macedonian War (200–197 BC) was fought between Macedon, led by Philip V of Macedon, and Rome, allied with Pergamon and Rhodes. Philip was defeated and was forced to abandon all possessions in southern Greece, Thrace and Asia Min ...
, in 197 BC, Philip V lost all former allies and all possessions outside Macedonia proper.


Notes


Sources

*
Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...
, '' The Histories''
IV 53–55
* *Florence Gaignerot-Driessen, ''The 'killing' of a city: a destruction by enforced abandonment'', in: Jan Driessen (ed.), ''Destruction: Archaeological, Philological and Historical Perspectives'', Presses universitaires, Louvain, 2013 *Teocharis Detorakis, ''History of Crete'', Heraklion, 1994 {{Ancient Greek Wars, state=autocollapse 3rd-century BC conflicts 3rd century BC in Greece Civil wars involving the states and peoples of Europe Hellenistic Crete Wars of the Hellenistic period Wars involving ancient Rhodes Wars involving Macedonia (ancient kingdom) Wars involving the Achaean League Wars involving the Aetolian League Knossos