Battle of Spartolos

Battle of Spartolos
	Part of the Peloponnesian War
Date	429 BC
Location	Chalcidice 40°17′00″N23°17′43″E / 40.2832°N 23.2954°E
Result	Chalcidian victory
Belligerents
Athens	Chalcidian League Chalcidice ; Spartolos ; Olynthus ;
Commanders and leaders
Xenophon †	Unknown
Strength
2,000 infantry, 200 cavalry	5,000 infantry, 400 cavalry
Casualties and losses
430 dead	No more than 315 dead
	Spartolos class=notpageimage\| Location of the Battle of Spartolos

Last updated October 05, 2024

The Battle of Spartolos took place in 429 BC between Athens and the Chalcidian League and their allies, in the early part of the Peloponnesian War.

The fall of Potidaea had not succeeded in quelling the rebellion against Athens in Chalcidice. To ensure a steady stream of imperial revenue and suppress additional local uprisings, the Athenians dispatched Xenophon (son of Euripides) with 2,000 hoplites and 200 cavalry to launch an attack on Spartolos.^[3] They destroyed the crops outside the city and began negotiating with pro-Athenian factions in Chalcidice, but the anti-Athenian factions asked for help from Olynthus. An army from Chalcidice, Spartolos, and Olynthus met the Athenians in battle, but their hoplites were defeated and they retreated to Spartolos. Their cavalry and peltasts, however, gained the advantage over the Athenian troops. Reinforcements soon arrived from Olynthus, and they launched a second attack on the Athenians. The Athenian hoplites could not come to grips with the enemy light troops or horsemen. Eventually the Athenians panicked and were routed, with all of their generals and 430 other men killed.

In the Athenian tribute list of 429/8 BC the only cities of Chalcidice are: Mende, Aphytis, Scione, Stageira and Acanthus (Athos).^[4] Acanthus and Mende had not even joined the Chalcidian League.

Early stage

When the phalanxes of the Chalcidians clashed with those of the Athenians, it was clear that the Athenians had a great advantage. The local Chalcidian hoplites made up the centre and right hand portions of the army while hired Peloponnesian forces made up the left side. The locals on the Chalcidian side gave way first, forcing the mercenaries to fall back as well. This left the Chalcidian army worn and strained, and the battle looked very promising for the Athenians.

Later stage

After the Chalcidian side was worn down by the Athenians, the Chalcidians were reinforced by troops sent from Olynthus. With the help of the troops from Olynthus, the Chalcidians rallied back against the Athenians much stronger than before. They had learned that the Athenians did not have the experience or equipment to defend against large numbers of javelins, so when they came back strengthened by their allies and with a new tactic, the Chalcidians forced the Athenians to retreat. As the Athenians retreated, Chalcidian cavalry and light infantry chased down the Athenians to inflict further damage upon them. The Athenians tried multiple counter-attacks to defend themselves from further harm, but each time the Chalcidians were able to evade the attacks. The back ranks of Athenian troops began to abandon those at the front, allowing them to be overwhelmed, surrounded, and killed, including their general, Xenophon.

Statistics

On the Athenian side of the battle were 2,000 hoplites, 200 cavalry, and around 500 light troops.^[5]

Aftermath

Between a fifth and a fourth of the Athenian troops were killed in this battle- twice as much as was expected prior to the battle. This brutal defeat showed Athens what would be required of them to win the war.

Related Research Articles

The Second Peloponnesian War, often called simply the Peloponnesian War, was an ancient Greek war fought between Athens and Sparta and their respective allies for the hegemony of the Greek world. The war remained undecided until the later intervention of the Persian Empire in support of Sparta. Led by Lysander, the Spartan fleet finally defeated Athens which began a period of Spartan hegemony over Greece.

This article concerns the period 429 BC – 420 BC.

Theramenes was an Athenian military leader and statesman, prominent in the final decade of the Peloponnesian War. He was active during the two periods of oligarchic government at Athens, the 400 and later the Thirty Tyrants, as well as in the trial of the generals who had commanded at Arginusae in 406 BC. A moderate oligarch, he often found himself caught between the democrats on the one hand and the extremist oligarchs on the other. Successful in replacing a narrow oligarchy with a broader one in 411 BC, he failed to achieve the same end in 404 BC, and was executed by the extremists whose policies he had opposed.

Brasidas was the most distinguished Spartan officer during the first decade of the Peloponnesian War. He died during the Second Battle of Amphipolis while winning one of his most spectacular victories.

The Sicilian Expedition was an Athenian military expedition to Sicily, which took place from 415–413 BC during the Peloponnesian War between Athens on one side and Sparta, Syracuse and Corinth on the other. The expedition ended in a devastating defeat for the Athenian forces, severely impacting Athens.

Perdiccas II was the king of Macedonia from 454 BC until his death in 413 BC. During the Peloponnesian War, he frequently switched sides between Sparta and Athens.

The Battle of Naupactus was a naval battle in the Peloponnesian War. The battle, which took place a week after the Athenian victory at Rhium, set an Athenian fleet of twenty ships, commanded by Phormio, against a Peloponnesian fleet of seventy-seven ships, commanded by Cnemus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Pylos</span> Naval battle during the Peloponnesian War (425 BC)

The naval Battle of Pylos took place in 425 BC during the Peloponnesian War at the peninsula of Pylos, on the present-day Bay of Navarino in Messenia, and was an Athenian victory over Sparta. An Athenian fleet had been driven ashore at Pylos by a storm, and, at the instigation of Demosthenes, the Athenian soldiers fortified the peninsula, and a small force was left there when the fleet departed again. The establishment of an Athenian garrison in Spartan territory frightened the Spartan leadership, and the Spartan army, which had been ravaging Attica under the command of Agis, ended their expedition and marched home, while the Spartan fleet at Corcyra sailed to Pylos.

The Battle of Sphacteria was a land battle of the Peloponnesian War, fought in 425 BC between Athens and Sparta. Following the Battle of Pylos and subsequent peace negotiations, which failed, a number of Spartans were stranded on the island of Sphacteria. An Athenian force under Cleon and Demosthenes attacked and forced them to surrender.

The Battle of Delium took place in 424 BC, during the Peloponnesian War. It was fought between the Athenians and the Boeotians, who were allies of the Spartans, and ended with the siege of Delium in the following weeks.

The Battle of Amphipolis was fought in 422 BC during the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. It was the culmination of events that began in 424 BC with the capture of Amphipolis by the Spartans.

The first Battle of Mantinea was fought in 418 BC during the Peloponnesian War. In this battle, Sparta and its Peloponnesian allies defeated an allied army of Argos, Athens, Mantinea and several others.

The Battle of Potidaea was fought in 432 BC between Athens and a combined army from Corinth and Potidaea, along with their various allies. Along with the Battle of Sybota, it was one of the catalysts for the Peloponnesian War.

Phormio, the son of Asopius, was an Athenian general and admiral before and during the Peloponnesian War. A talented naval commander, Phormio commanded at several famous Athenian victories in 428 BC, and was honoured after his death with a statue on the acropolis and a state funeral. He is considered one of Athens' many great admirals, alongside Themistocles and Cimon.

The Battle of Rhium or the battle of Chalcis was a naval battle in the Peloponnesian War between an Athenian fleet commanded by Phormio and a Peloponnesian fleet composed of contingents from various states, each with its own commander. The battle came about when the Peloponnesian fleet, numbering 47 triremes, attempted to cross over to the northern shore of the Gulf of Patras to attack Acarnania in support of an offensive in northwestern Greece; Phormio's fleet attacked the Peloponnesians while they were making the crossing.

The Aetolian campaign, often referred to as "Demosthenes' Aetolian campaign", was a failed Athenian offensive in northwestern Greece during the Archidamian War. In 426 BCE, Demosthenes was dispatched from Athens to the Corinthian Gulf in command of a fleet of 30 ships. Arriving in the north-west, he quickly assembled a coalition force from Athens' allies in the region and besieged the city of Leucas. However, before the siege reached a conclusion, he was persuaded to abandon it in favour of an attack on the tribal region of Aetolia. Leaving Leucas, he set out towards Aetolia, losing along the way several major contingents from his army, whose leaders were apparently unhappy with his change in strategy.

Bottiaeans or Bottiaei were an ancient people of uncertain origin, living in Central Macedonia. Sometime, during the Archaic period, they were expelled by Macedonians from Bottiaea to Bottike. During the Classical era, they played an active role in the military history of ancient Chalcidice, but after the Macedonian conquest under Philip II nothing remained except the names of these two regions and the adjective Bottiaean, which was limited to sole geographical meaning. Unlike other tribes of Macedonia ruled by kings or living in villages, Bottiaeans developed some polis form of self-government. Unfortunately, no Bottiaean individual is known to us and the limited historical or archaeological sources shed no further light.

The Battle of Lyncestis/Lyncus took place in 423 BC between the allied forces of the Lyncestians and Illyrians against those of the Spartans and Macedonians. The battle was part of the wider Peloponnesian Wars. Before Athens suffered defeat at Delium in 424 BC, Sparta had sent an expedition under Brasidas to assist Perdiccas II of Macedonia and other opponents of Athens. At first Sparta avoided involvement in Macedon's war with Arrhabaeus, but in 423 BC they joined an expedition which ended with retreat by the Macedonians and a brilliantly contrived escape of the Spartans.

Aristeus, son of Adeimantus, was a Corinthian general who commanded the expedition to Potidaea in 432 BC. After the Athenians broke a truce with the Corinthians at Sybota, his primary goal was to defend Potidaea from an Athenian attack. He then went on to defend the Corinthian colony from Athens during the Battle of Potidaea in 432 BC, until he was left with no option but to leave the colony with the Chalcidians. In 430 BC he traveled to Thrace with Spartan envoys where they were discovered by Athenians and brought to Athens, by Athenian ambassadors, where they were promptly killed without a trial. After Aristeus' death, Athens seized Potidaea in 430/429 BC during the Peloponnesian War, the battles of Sybota and Potidaea being two main catalysts for the war.

The First Olynthian War involved Sparta, Macedonia and their allies in conflict with the cities of the Chalcidian League, led by Olynthus. The reasons were, firstly, the strengthening of the Chalcidian League led by Olynthus, which created a threat to Macedonia, and secondly, the desire of Sparta to establish its dominance in Northern Greece.

References

↑ Thucydides, 2.79
↑ Kagan, Donald (2013). A New History of the Peloponnesian War. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-8014-6729-5.
↑ Kagan, Donald (2013). A New History of the Peloponnesian War. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-8014-6729-5.
↑ IG I³ 282
↑ West, Allen Brown (1912). The History of the Chalcidic League. Madison, Wisconsin: Bulletin of the University of Wisconsin.

Bibliography

Thucydides, Peloponnesian War, II, 79

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Thucydides, 2.79

[2] Kagan, Donald (2013). A New History of the Peloponnesian War. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-8014-6729-5.

[3] Kagan, Donald (2013). A New History of the Peloponnesian War. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-8014-6729-5.

[4] IG I³ 282

[5] West, Allen Brown (1912). The History of the Chalcidic League. Madison, Wisconsin: Bulletin of the University of Wisconsin.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]