The Battle of Megalopolis was fought in 331 BC between

Spartan 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 referred t ...

-led forces and Macedonia.

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

's 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 ...

led the Macedonians to victory over King

Agis III Agis III (Greek: ) was the eldest son of Archidamus III, and the 21st Eurypontid king of Sparta. Life Agis was the son of King Archidamus III () and the grandson of Agesilaus II (), who belonged to the Eurypontid dynasty, one of the two royal fam ...

. Alexander, warring in Asia at the time, called it a "battle of mice", according to

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

Background

In the autumn of 333 BC, the Spartan King Agis III had met with the

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

n commanders Pharnabazus and

Autophradates Autophradates (Old Persian: ; Ancient Greek: , lived 4th century BC) was a Persian Satrap of Lydia, who also distinguished himself as a general in the reign of Artaxerxes III and Darius III. Rule as a satrap of Lydia During the reign of the Ar ...

, somewhere in the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek language, Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish language, Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It ...

, and revealed to them his plans for a war against Alexander—in Greece itself. The Persians agreed to support Agis; however, they could only spare for him 30 talents and 10 ships. Agis also recruited the Greek mercenary survivors of the

Battle of Issus The Battle of Issus (also Issos) occurred in southern Anatolia, on November 5, 333 BC between the Hellenic League led by Alexander the Great and the Achaemenid Empire, led by Darius III. It was the second great battle of Alexander's conquest of ...

- who had served in the Persian army – a force of 8,000 veterans. In the summer of 331 BC, Agis defeated

Coragus Coragus (Κόραγος) of the Macedonian army was a celebrated warrior and companion of Alexander the Great. He is best known for his defeat at the hands of the Athenian Dioxippus, practitioner of pankration. During a banquet thrown by the Mac ...

, the Macedonian general in command of the Peloponnese and the garrison of

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...

. Agis asked for help from the Peloponnesians and Athens, though Athens refused to help the Spartans. Meanwhile, Antipater, Alexander's

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

in Macedonia, was occupied in

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...

where the Macedonian general, Memnon, was involved in a rebellion. After the rebellion was resolved, Antipater marched against King Agis. Antipater had recruited a large force, over 40,000 strong, with a core of Macedonian troops and substantial numbers of tribal warriors from the northern fringes of Macedonia, reinforced with troops from his Greek allies. Antipater received aid from Alexander of 3,000 talents to support in what Arrian names the Lacedaemonian (Spartan) War.

Battle

The final battle, fought near

Megalopolis A megalopolis () or a supercity, also called a megaregion, is a group of metropolitan areas which are perceived as a continuous urban area through common systems of transport, economy, resources, ecology, and so on. They are integrated enoug ...

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 ...

, ended in defeat for the Spartans. Early in the battle Antipater's lines broke, but in the end it was the sheer weight of numbers that brought victory to the Macedonians. It is written that 5,300 died on the Spartan side and 3,500 on the Macedonian side, though it may have been as little as 1,000 for the Macedonians, Curtius agrees that there were 5,300 Spartans killed. For the Spartans that meant a death toll of over 25 percent. King Agis, now wounded and unable to stand, ordered his men to leave him behind to face the advancing Macedonian army so that he could buy his men time to retreat. Diodorus states that the Spartan king slew several enemy soldiers before being finally killed by a javelin.

Aftermath

After the battle, Antipater remained apart from the peace talks (which did not please Alexander), instead leaving it to the Peloponnesians to organise their own peace terms (Curt. 6.1.17-19). The Spartans were forced to send ambassadors to Alexander, the Tegeans (apart from its "ringleaders") were pardoned and the Achaeans and the Eleans gave 120 talents to Megalopolis for laying siege to their city (Curt. 6.1.20).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Megalopolis 331 BC 330s BC conflicts Megalopolis 331 BC Megalopolis 331 BC Regency of Antipater

Background

Battle

Aftermath

See also

References