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| {{Infobox military conflict | {{Short description|Battle in ancient Greece}}{{Infobox military conflict | ||
| |image=] | |image=] | ||
| |caption=A map of depicting the location of the Battle of Mount Lycaeum. | |caption=A map of depicting the location of the Battle of Mount Lycaeum. | ||
| |conflict=Battle of Mount Lycaeum | |conflict=Battle of Mount Lycaeum | ||
| |partof=the ] | |partof=the ] | ||
| |date=227 BC | |date=227 BC | ||
| |place= ], border of ] and ] | |place= ], border of ] and ] | ||
| |result= Spartan victory | |result= Spartan victory | ||
| |combatant1= ] | |combatant1= ] | ||
| |combatant2= ] | |combatant2= ] | ||
| |commander1= ] | |commander1= ] | ||
| |commander2= ] | |commander2= ] | ||
| |strength1= | |strength1= | ||
| |strength2= | |strength2= | ||
| Line 17: | Line 17: | ||
| |}} | |}} | ||
| {{Campaignbox Cleomenean War}} | {{Campaignbox Cleomenean War}} | ||
| The '''Battle of Mount Lycaeum''' was |
The '''Battle of Mount Lycaeum''' was fought between ] led by ] and the ] commanded by ]. It was the first major battle of the ]. The battle occurred at ] on the border of ] and ] and ended in a Spartan victory. | ||
| ==Prelude== | ==Prelude== | ||
| In 229 BC, Cleomenes III, ], initiated a campaign with the aim of extending the regional power of his kingdom.<ref name="P4-P">Plutarch. ''Life of Cleomenes'', 4</ref> This was opposed by the major power in the ], the ]. In an attempt to curtail the resurgent power of Sparta, the Achaeans led by their ], Aratus, |
In 229 BC, ], ], initiated a campaign with the aim of extending the regional power of his kingdom.<ref name="P4-P">Plutarch. ''Life of Cleomenes'', 4</ref> This was opposed by the major power in the ], the ]. In an attempt to curtail the resurgent power of Sparta, the Achaeans led by their ], Aratus, unsuccessfully attempted to re-capture the cities of ] and ].<ref name="P2.46-P">Polybius. ''The Rise of the Roman Empire'', 2.46; Plutarch. ''Life of Cleomenes'', 4; {{harvnb|Hammond|Walbank|2001|p=342}}.</ref> This failure was made worse when a vastly numerically superior Achaean army commanded by ] declined to offer battle to the army of Cleomenes.<ref name="P4-P">Plutarch. ''Life of Cleomenes'', 4</ref> | ||
| Though these failures were |
Though these failures were offset to some extent by the occupation of ], a city that had previously been taken over by Cleomenes, the Spartan ascendancy in the war was becoming apparent. ] of ], who had been supporting the Achaean campaign against ], shifted his financial backing from the Achaean League to Sparta. Ptolemy based this on the assumption that Sparta would be a more useful ally in counterbalancing Macedon.<ref name="G249-P">Polybius. ''The Rise of the Roman Empire'', 2.51; {{harvnb|Green|1990|p=249}}; {{harvnb|Hammond|Walbank|2001|p=347}}.</ref> | ||
| ==Battle== | ==Battle== | ||
| Aratus was re-elected strategos in 227 BC and |
Aratus was re-elected strategos in 227 BC and then launched an invasion of Elis, a Spartan ally. The Elians, unable to defeat the Achaeans, asked Sparta for assistance. The Spartan response was to dispatch Cleomenes with an army to aid their allies.<ref name="P5-P">Plutarch. ''Life of Cleomenes'', 5</ref> As the Achaeans were returning from Elis, Cleomenes launched an attack on the Achaeans near Mount Lycaeum, on the border of Elis and Arcadia.<ref name="P5-P"/> The Achaeans, who were unprepared for battle, fled in disarray from the combat. The Spartans scored a comprehensive victory, routing the opposing army.<ref name="P5-P"/> They managed to capture a great part of the Achaean army as well as inflicting massive casualties.<ref name="P5-P"/> The victory was so complete that it was initially thought that Aratus had been slain in the midst of battle.<ref name="P5-P"/> | ||
| ==Aftermath== | ==Aftermath== | ||
| Aratus was able to use the confusion in the aftermath of the battle to his advantage. He seized the city of ] from the Spartans and secured it.<ref name="P5-P" |
Aratus was able to use the confusion in the aftermath of the battle to his advantage. He seized the city of ] from the Spartans and secured it.<ref name="P5-P"/> This success was short-lived as the Achaeans were decisively defeated by Cleomenes at the Battle of Ladoceia later in 227 BC<ref name="P6-P">Plutarch. ''Life of Cleomenes'', 6; {{harvnb|Smith|1873}} </ref> and again at the ] in 226 BC.<ref name="P14-P">Plutarch. ''Life of Cleomenes'', 14; {{harvnb|Green|1990|p=258}}; {{harvnb|Hammond|Walbank|2001|p=347}}.</ref> These victories established Spartan dominance over the Peloponnese. | ||
| In attempt to save the Achaean league from subservience to Cleomenes and Sparta, Aratus began negotiations with ], the ], for military assistance to defeat the Spartans.<ref name="P16-P">Plutarch. ''Life of Cleomenes'', 16.</ref> Antigonus accepted in exchange for ] being ceded to his kingdom.<ref name="P5-P">Plutarch. ''Life of Cleomenes'', 5.</ref> This alliance succeeded in reversing the gains of Cleomenes, who was hemmed in the original Spartan territory of ].<ref>Polybius. ''The Rise of the Roman Empire'', 2.54; Plutarch. ''Life of Cleomenes'', 23; {{harvnb|Hammond|Walbank|2001|p=353}}.</ref> The war ended with the coalition decisively defeating Cleomenes in 222 BC at the ].<ref name="Polybius 2.69">] </ref> | |||
| ==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
| Line 38: | Line 36: | ||
| ===Primary sources=== | ===Primary sources=== | ||
| *<span id=Plutarch>]</span>, translated by Richard Talbert, (1988). ''Life of Cleomenes''. New York: Penguin Classics. ISBN |
*<span id=Plutarch>]</span>, translated by Richard Talbert, (1988). ''Life of Cleomenes''. New York: Penguin Classics. {{ISBN|0-14-044463-7}}. | ||
| *<span id=Polybius>]</span>, translated by Frank W. Walbank, (1979). ''The Rise of the Roman Empire''. New York: Penguin Classics. ISBN |
*<span id=Polybius>]</span>, translated by Frank W. Walbank, (1979). ''The Rise of the Roman Empire''. New York: Penguin Classics. {{ISBN|0-14-044362-2}}. | ||
| ===Secondary sources=== | ===Secondary sources=== | ||
| * {{cite book |last=Green |first=Peter |authorlink=Peter Green (historian) |year=1990 |title=Alexander to Actium: The Historical Evolution of the Hellenistic Age |location=Los Angeles |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=0-500-01485-X |
* {{cite book |last=Green |first=Peter |authorlink=Peter Green (historian) |year=1990 |title=Alexander to Actium: The Historical Evolution of the Hellenistic Age |url=https://archive.org/details/alexandertoactiu0000gree |url-access=registration |location=Los Angeles |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=0-500-01485-X}} | ||
| *{{cite book|last1=Hammond|first1=Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière|last2=Walbank|first2=Frank William|title=A History of Macedonia Volume III: 336–167 B.C|location=Oxford, United Kingdom|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2001|isbn=0-19-814815-1|url= |
*{{cite book|last1=Hammond|first1=Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière|last2=Walbank|first2=Frank William|title=A History of Macedonia Volume III: 336–167 B.C|location=Oxford, United Kingdom|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2001|isbn=0-19-814815-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qpb3JdwuDQIC}} | ||
| *{{cite book|last=Smith|first=William|authorlink=William Smith (lexicographer)|title=]|location=London, United Kingdom|publisher=John Murray|year=1873 |
*{{cite book|last=Smith|first=William|authorlink=William Smith (lexicographer)|title=]|location=London, United Kingdom|publisher=John Murray|year=1873}} | ||
| {{coord|37|27|25|N|21|58|30|E|display=title}} | {{coord|37|27|25|N|21|58|30|E|display=title}} | ||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Mount Lycaeum}} | |||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
Latest revision as of 00:15, 16 August 2024
Battle in ancient Greece| Battle of Mount Lycaeum | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Cleomenean War | |||||||
 A map of depicting the location of the Battle of Mount Lycaeum. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Sparta | Achaean League | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Cleomenes III | Aratus of Sicyon | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Light | Heavy | ||||||
| Cleomenean War | |
|---|---|
The Battle of Mount Lycaeum was fought between Sparta led by Cleomenes III and the Achaean League commanded by Aratus. It was the first major battle of the Cleomenean War. The battle occurred at Mount Lycaeum on the border of Elis and Arcadia and ended in a Spartan victory.
Prelude
In 229 BC, Cleomenes III, King of Sparta, initiated a campaign with the aim of extending the regional power of his kingdom. This was opposed by the major power in the Peloponnese, the Achaean League. In an attempt to curtail the resurgent power of Sparta, the Achaeans led by their strategos, Aratus, unsuccessfully attempted to re-capture the cities of Tegea and Orchomenus. This failure was made worse when a vastly numerically superior Achaean army commanded by Aristomachos of Argos declined to offer battle to the army of Cleomenes.
Though these failures were offset to some extent by the occupation of Caphyae, a city that had previously been taken over by Cleomenes, the Spartan ascendancy in the war was becoming apparent. Ptolemy III of Egypt, who had been supporting the Achaean campaign against Macedon, shifted his financial backing from the Achaean League to Sparta. Ptolemy based this on the assumption that Sparta would be a more useful ally in counterbalancing Macedon.
Battle
Aratus was re-elected strategos in 227 BC and then launched an invasion of Elis, a Spartan ally. The Elians, unable to defeat the Achaeans, asked Sparta for assistance. The Spartan response was to dispatch Cleomenes with an army to aid their allies. As the Achaeans were returning from Elis, Cleomenes launched an attack on the Achaeans near Mount Lycaeum, on the border of Elis and Arcadia. The Achaeans, who were unprepared for battle, fled in disarray from the combat. The Spartans scored a comprehensive victory, routing the opposing army. They managed to capture a great part of the Achaean army as well as inflicting massive casualties. The victory was so complete that it was initially thought that Aratus had been slain in the midst of battle.
Aftermath
Aratus was able to use the confusion in the aftermath of the battle to his advantage. He seized the city of Mantinea from the Spartans and secured it. This success was short-lived as the Achaeans were decisively defeated by Cleomenes at the Battle of Ladoceia later in 227 BC and again at the Battle of Dyme in 226 BC. These victories established Spartan dominance over the Peloponnese.
Notes
- ^ Plutarch. Life of Cleomenes, 4
- Polybius. The Rise of the Roman Empire, 2.46; Plutarch. Life of Cleomenes, 4; Hammond & Walbank 2001, p. 342.
- Polybius. The Rise of the Roman Empire, 2.51; Green 1990, p. 249; Hammond & Walbank 2001, p. 347.
- ^ Plutarch. Life of Cleomenes, 5
- Plutarch. Life of Cleomenes, 6; Smith 1873
- Plutarch. Life of Cleomenes, 14; Green 1990, p. 258; Hammond & Walbank 2001, p. 347.
References
Primary sources
- Plutarch, translated by Richard Talbert, (1988). Life of Cleomenes. New York: Penguin Classics. ISBN 0-14-044463-7.
- Polybius, translated by Frank W. Walbank, (1979). The Rise of the Roman Empire. New York: Penguin Classics. ISBN 0-14-044362-2.
Secondary sources
- Green, Peter (1990). Alexander to Actium: The Historical Evolution of the Hellenistic Age. Los Angeles: University of California Press. ISBN 0-500-01485-X.
- Hammond, Nicholas Geoffrey Lemprière; Walbank, Frank William (2001). A History of Macedonia Volume III: 336–167 B.C. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-814815-1.
- Smith, William (1873). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. London, United Kingdom: John Murray.
37°27′25″N 21°58′30″E / 37.45694°N 21.97500°E / 37.45694; 21.97500
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