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The Battle of Olpae was a battle of the
Peloponnesian War in 426, between armies led by Athens and Sparta.
Opponents:
Athens, Amphilochia, Acarnanian League verssu Sparta, Ambracia
Commanders and leaders:
Athens - Demosthenes
Eurylochus †,
Sparta -Menedaius
Strength:
Athens - 10,000
Sparta - 5,000
Casualties and losses:
Athens - About 300
Sparta -About 1,000
In 426, 3,000 hoplites from Ambracia invaded Amphilochian Argos in Acarnania on
a gulf of the Ionian Sea and occupied the fort of Olpae. The Acarnanians asked
for help from both the Athenian general Demosthenes, and the 20 Athenian ships
located nearby under the command of Aristotle and Hierophon. The Ambraciots
asked for help from Eurylochus of Sparta, who managed to march his army past
the Acarnanians without being observed. After this, Demosthenes arrived in the
gulf below Olpae with his ships, 200 hoplites, and 60 archers. He joined with
the Acarnanian army and set up camp in a ravine opposite Eurylochus, where both
sides made preparations for five days. As the Ambraciot and Peloponnesian army
was larger, Demosthenes set up an ambush with 400 hoplites from Acarnania, to
be used when the battle began. Demosthenes formed the right wing of the
Athenian-led army with Athenian and Messenian troops, with the centre and left
wing formed by the Acarnanians and Amphilochians. Eurylochus formed the left
wing of his army, directly facing Demosthenes, with the Ambraciots and
Mantineans forming the rest of the line. When the battle began, Eurylochus
quickly outflanked Demosthenes and was about to surround him when the
Acarnanians began their ambush, causing panic among the other troops when
Eurylochus was killed. The Ambraciots defeated the left wing of the Acarnanians
and Amphilochians, chasing them back to Argos, but they were themselves
defeated by the rest of the Acarnanians when they returned. Demosthenes lost
about 300 men, but emerged victorious when the battle was completed later that
night. The next day, Menedaius, who had taken command when Eurylochus was
killed, attempted to arrange a truce with Demosthenes. Demosthenes would only
allow the leaders of the army to escape. This was psychological warfare by
Demosthenes "...to discredit the Lacedaemonians and Peloponnesians with
the Hellenes in those parts, as traitors and self-seekers". However, some
of the Ambraciots attempted to flee with Menedaius and the other commanders.
The Acarnanians chased them, allowed Menedaius to escape as agreed, and killed
about 200 Ambraciots. Meanwhile, Demosthenes learned that a second army from
Ambracia was marching towards Olpae. These Ambraciots set up camp on the road
to the fort at Idomene, having no knowledge of the defeat of the previous day.
Demosthenes surprised them there at night, pretending to be the other Ambraciot
army, and killed most of them; the rest fled to the hills or into the sea where
they were captured by the 20 Athenian ships. Overall, the Ambraciots lost about
1,000 men over the two days. Although Demosthenes could have easily taken
Ambracia, he did not, because his allies feared a strong Athens in that region
and so the Acarnanians and Ambraciots signed a 100-year peace treaty with them.
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